Summer 2026

8 May – NEWSLETTER

EDITION 64

Head’s Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to another Highbury Fields School newsletter.

In this week’s edition, you can read about our Year 8s being a fantastic representation of our school at an ‘Arsenal in the Community’ workshop. Our Sixth Form was also busy, meeting Lan Leeder, Head of Education at Fashion-Enter Ltd, for an enrichment session.

In other news, I am very pleased to share with you all that Highbury Fields School has won the FFT National Attendance Award for Spring term 25/26.

Please enjoy reading the rest of this week’s newsletter.

Tim Fox
Headteacher

annual parent/carer and student survey

Our annual ‘parent/carer and student survey’ has three days left to complete. We would appreciate if parents/carers would sit down with their child to fill out the form. The school values the views of all parents, carers, and students and your feedback can help shape the school in the future.

The survey is anonymous, but it is useful to know your child’s year group, so that we can identify any trends or patterns within year groups.

The survey will close on Monday 11 May.

SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK

Sixth Form Success

friday enrichment

Last Friday, Lan Leeder, Head of Education at Fashion-Enter Ltd / Fashion Technology Academy (FTA), participated in an enrichment activity with our Year 12 students. The aim of the session was to share insights about the fashion industry and inspire students to explore the courses at the FTA.

The Year 12s decorated tote bags using various techniques, such as hand-stitching, colouring, sticking, and adding trimmings. It was a fun and creative session where the Year 12 students took a break from their usual timetable to create something fun to take home. It was a relaxing, informal session and all the students had a great time.

“The activity was relaxing and therapeutic. I really enjoyed it” – Ayesha

“I liked how the activity allowed us to take inspiration from our friends and peers to make our art work even better.” – Ayyad

“This enriching creative experience of designing tote bags allowed me to express my creativity and deepen my appreciation for artistic mindsets.” – Sanjeda

Work experience Support needed

We are currently looking to secure work experience placements for our Year 12 students on 25 – 26 June 2026. In particular, we are searching for placements in the following areas of work:

Law
Journalism and media
Healthcare
STEM

If you can help the school source placements for our Sixth Formers, please email Ms Douse: rdouse@highburyfields.islington.sch.uk.

Trips and Enrichment Activities

uPCOMING Trips

sign up on Arbor Today so you don’t miss out

We have some fantastic trips lined up. Scroll through the carousel below to see what’s in store for each Key Stage.

Parent volunteers needed

There are many trips coming up for which we are seeking parent volunteers. If you are willing to chaperone students on any of the following trips, please email rdouse@highburyfields.islington.sch.uk or call the school. The approximate time commitment is also included below:

Year 10 Noughts & Crosses Drama trip: 13 May (11am – 4:30pm)
Year 10 Neals Yard Dairy trip: 19 May (9am – 1:30pm)
Year 10 Imperial War Museum: 26 June (8:30am – 3:30pm).

Arsenal in the community

We are incredibly proud of our Year 8 students who recently took part in a workshop delivered by Arsenal in the Community. Students were challenged to develop and present ideas on what they believe would make a meaningful and positive change within our school.

The quality of their presentations was outstanding, demonstrating thoughtful insight, confidence, and a strong commitment to improving their school environment. In recognition of their exceptional efforts, the group of students were rewarded with an invitation to attend the Arsenal Women’s Champions League Semi-Final as centre circle flag bearers.

Staff from Arsenal in the Community commented on how impressively the students conducted themselves, highlighting their maturity and dedication. We’re very proud!

pONDERING OUR SIXTH FORM POND

HFS Gardening Club took a lovely five-minute walk down to our Sixth Form site at Aberdeen Park to visit the pond and experience the wonderful biodiversity. We identified a variety of species on our visit including tadpoles, dragonfly, hoverfly, wasps, birds, bees, millipede and spiders. Our wonderful Year 10 student Zahia found a caterpillar, which is sadly quite a rare find these days!

Gardening club hopes everyone enjoyed Earth Day on the 22nd April and is excited to wish Sir David Attenborough a Happy 100th Birthday.

Gardening club is on Tuesdays from 3.20pm-4.20pm and we meet in the Atrium.

other news from across the school

FFT National Attendance Awards

We are delighted to share with you all that Highbury Fields School has won the FFT National Attendance Award for the Spring term 25/26. FFT collects daily attendance data from thousands of schools, which helps schools to track, monitor and compare their attendance every week through their Attendance
Tracker system.

We would like to say well done to all students who continue attending school everday and to all in our parent community. This award is a reflection of your continued support of your child’s education; ensuring their attendance in school is laying the foundation for their academic and social success.

The awards have been given to schools with attendance in the Top 10% and Top 25% of all FFT schools nationally for the 25/26 Spring term.

TERM DATES

Term dates for 2026-2027 are now available to view on our website.

TERM DATES

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ HFS Rewards ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Attendance

Here are top performing forms for attendance last week:

Top Forms for Attendance
Year 7: 7/Junko Tabei – 100%
Year 8: 8/Serena Williams – 98.42%
Year 9: 9/Helen Keller – 98.81%
Year 10: 10/Sylvia Earle – 98.69%
Year 11: 11/Margot Fonteyn – 98.64%
Sixth Form: 12/Amelia Earheart- 100%

Merit Awards

Congratulations to all students who achieved merit milestones last week.

30 Merits
Form tutor Merit
.

Year 10: Khairuni
Year 11: Tianna

.

60 Merits
head of year Merit
.

Year 9: Fozia
Year 10: Taliyah, Tamar, Savannda, Coumba, Khairuni, Sophie, and Isabelle
Year 11: Rim

.

120 Merits
Headteacher Merit
.

Year 7: Milana, Amirah, and Soraya
Year 8:
Halima
Year 9:
Houda, Rosie, and Le’Mae
Year 10:
Ahsoka, Nesa, Isis, Lilja, Aisha, Afifah, Serena, and Luel.

.

240 Merits
Board of Governors Merit

Year 7: Alice, Bella, Maria, Alvira, Poppy, Makeda, and Teayanna
Year 10: Arayiah

.

500 Merits
Commitment to learning award

Year 8: Masa and Taybah

.

Students of the week

This academic year, we have introduced ‘Students of the Week’ to recognise individuals who have demonstrated excellent commitment to learning and the community. Here are the successful students from last week:

Year 7
7/Frida Kahlo – Ed-Lynne
7/Junko Tabei – Violet
7/Rosa Parks – Mila
7/ Winona LaDuke – Razan

Year 8
8/Alicia Keys – Leen
8/Jane Goodall – Emma
8/Margaret Atwood – Kiah
8/Marie Curie – Natalia and Mumtaz
8/Serena Williams – Evie and Samiya

Year 9
9/Helen Keller – Sofea
9/Katherine Johnson – Ruwayda
9/Maya Angelou – Elizabeth, Helena, and Lola
9/Olga Korbut – Taahira
9/Wangari Maathai – Hana

Year 10
10/Angela Carter – Catalina
10/Jacqueline Du Pré – Gabi
10/Mae Jemison – Barbra
10/Nicola Adams – Alice
10/Sylvia Earle – Zoe

Year 11
11/Ada Lovelace – Rumeysa

Our Parent Community

Islington Parent/Carers’ Corner – WAITING ROOM

The Islington Parent/Carer’s Corner page on the Waiting Room site is for all parents and carers in Islington who are supporting a child or young person with mental health needs, and / or neurodivergence. It is designed to increase your confidence in parenting these needs and help you access additional support.

There are links to information on support, resources and services to support your wellbeing as a parent or carer.

They also have a calendar of events, workshops and groups for parents and carers in Islington to get involved in.

Click Here To Find Out More