Autumn 2025

12 September – NEWSLETTER

EDITION 36

Head’s Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers,

It was lovely that so many parents and carers were able to attend our Year 7 ‘how to be successful evening’ yesterday. Year 7 students have transitioned to secondary school very well and we are really enjoying getting to know them and their families.

You will all know that, at Highbury Fields School, attending every day is key to your daughter’s academic and social success. This week we have launched our ‘no more than four’ attendance policy, with the ambition of students having no more than than four days of absence without medical evidence or permission from the school. This initiative is rooted in our results data from 2024 and 2025, which showed that 100% of students who had four days or fewer of absence across the year achieved at least Grade 4s across their GCSEs.

Every day in school really matters for both students’ academic progress and their building of friendships. We really hope that you support the school and your daughter in this expectation of her attendance, so that she gets the most out of every day in school.

Tim Fox
Headteacher

SIXTH FORM SUCCESS

Year 12s Break the Ice

Over the last week, our new cohort of Year 12 students have been getting to know their teachers and peers through our Sixth Form induction.

On Monday, Year 12s spent form time building a structure that could stand the weight of a Sixth Former. The challenge: they could only use balloons, tape and string. When the time came to test their inflated formations, students laughed, squealed and cheered as each form successfully balanced a willing (if somewhat hesitant) volunteer on the balloons.

In the coming weeks, Year 12s will continue getting to know their peers with icebreakers and teambuilding activities. In particular, the annual Year 12 trip to Shadwell Basin always brings students together. Parents can now sign up to the Shadwell Basin trip on the Arbor app.

Open Evening: Sign up now

Students can now sign up to our Sixth Form Open Evening on Thursday 23rd October. Discover what makes Highbury Fields Sixth Form a unique place to study, meet our Sixth Form team, and find out about our curriculum from current Year 12s and 13s .

We encourage students in Year 10 and Year 11 to attend the Open Evening to find our more about our co-educational Sixth Form and learn about life at Highbury Fields after GCSEs.

Other news from around the school

Year 7s Talk about Transition

On 3rd September, our Year 7 students took part in a Jack Petchey workshop: Talk About Transition.

During the workshop, students talked about how they have felt starting a new school and interviewed one another to discuss opportunities and challenges they face at school. They also identified their goals for the coming year and presented them to their group.

Year 7s gained valuable life lessons including: “to speak up in lessons, even if I’m scared”, “that you should be yourself” and “to step out of my comfort zone”.

The workshop facilitators reported a really enjoyable day and felt the students benefited hugely. They were impressed by how friendly and respectful our Year 7 students were and how well they engaged with the content during the workshop. It’s great to see that the students, who were initially lacking in confidence, made such excellent progress over the course of the day!

Trips and Enrichment Activities

Parents can now register their child for some of our upcoming trips this year – from Berlin to the Shadwell! Please use the Arbor app to sign up.

Please note: there are plenty more trips coming this term, so if you do not see any for your child’s cohort, keep an eye out on the Arbor app in the coming weeks.

See more guidance for signing up to trips in Arbor

Autumn term clubs

From Monday, you will be able to sign your daughter up to clubs and enrichment activities for the autumn term. Sign ups close on Monday 22nd September and clubs start on the following Monday.

Check out the autumn clubs timetable

Support for Parents/Carers

The Parent Place

The Parent Place is a parent group led by Parent Champion volunteers within Bright Futures.

The group discusses topics including social media and technology, how to support children with friendships, and behaviour.

The group starts on 24^th September, and will run for 11 weeks (not including school holidays).

Find out more

Childnet cheat sheet: Group Chats

Childnet regularly publishes cheat sheets, providing parents and carers guidance on online issues. The information includes insights and experiences direct from young people.

They recently shared guidance focusing on Group Chats – follow the link to download the cheat sheet.

Find out more