Autumn 2025

26 September – NEWSLETTER

EDITION 38

Head’s Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to another edition of our weekly newsletter, designed to keep you up-to-date on news and events from across Highbury Fields School.

This week, we held our second ‘How To Be Successful’ event of the term and I’m pleased to say – in keeping with its title – the evening was a success. We welcomed Year 10 students and their parents to learn about this transitional year in their academic journey as students prepare for GCSE examinations next year.

Tim Fox
Headteacher

SIXTH FORM SUCCESS

Reminder: Open Evening

As a reminder, students in Years 10 and 11 can now sign up to our Sixth Form Open Evening on Thursday 23rd October.

This is an opportunity to find our more about life in our co-educational Sixth Form and learn about our A-level and BTEC courses from teachers and current Year 12 and 13 students.

Other news from across the school

Year 10 – How to be successful evening

On Thursday, we opened our doors to Year 10 students and parents for an evening focused on the transition from Year 9 to Year 10. As students continue their preparation for GCSEs and Sixth Form applications next year, we felt it important to provide information on how students can stay focused this year and how parents can support their daughters.

We are holding our next ‘How To Be Successful’ evening for Years 9 and 11 on Thursday 2nd October – we look forward to welcoming more students and parent for another success-centric evening.

Trips and Enrichment Activities

Autumn term clubs: Starting from Monday

Club sign ups for the autumn term have now closed. Students can begin attending clubs from Monday 29th September.

Check out the autumn clubs timetable

Breakfast Club: a great way to start your day!

We’ve had a great week at Breakfast Club, with an average of 55 students attending each morning! Our amazing Breakfast Club cook has been busy making extra bagels — and porridge is coming soon.

Breakfast Club is a warm, welcoming space that helps students start the day with a smile. We’d love to see even more children join us. All students are welcome and it’s FREE to attend – what’s not to love!

Year 11: Go Ape sign up

Year 11 students are invited to an exciting trip to Go Ape on 21st November. This is a fantastic opportunity for fun, teamwork, and adventure. Sign up via Arbor by 15th October to secure a place — don’t miss out on this memorable experience!

Read the Go Ape trip letter

Trip sign-ups

You can now register your child for several upcoming school trips via the Arbor app. Please make sure to sign up and complete any necessary payments before the listed deadlines — some are approaching soon!

You may also notice an ‘Extra Contribution’ option on some trips. These optional donations help make trips more accessible for all students by supporting families from lower-income backgrounds. Every contribution, big or small, makes a difference.

See more guidance for signing up to trips in Arbor

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ HFS Rewards ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Students have kick-started the year demonstrating excellent commitment to learning, through high attendance and already some merit achievements.

This week, we’re sharing the top performing forms for their attendance:

Top Forms for Attendance in each year group
Year 7: 7/Frida Kahlo – 98. 67%
Year 8: 8/Serena Williams – 98.92%
Year 9: 9/Barbara Hepworth – 97.41%
Year 10: 10/Nicola Adams – 97.27%
Year 11: 11/Margot Fonteyn – 98.22%
Sixth Form: 13/Tanni Grey-Thompson – 97.32%

As part of our ongoing rewards system, students receive recognition – from their Form Tutor to the Board of Governors – for each merit milestone:

30 Merits – Form Tutor Merit
Year 7: Maymuna, Maria, Nafeesah, Nawal, and Barlin
Year 8: Ellisha, Hafsah, A’Kaylah, Annabelle, Nawaal, and Arayiah.

Congratulations to all students who have already achieved 30 merits this year! Students will be rewarded with recognition from their Form Tutor for reaching this brilliant milestone.

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 last week’s successful students:

Year 7
7/Chimamanda Adichie – Chloe and Amen Andarge
7/Frida Kahlo – Iris
7/Helen Sharman – Lilla
7/Rosa Parks – Ellora
7/Winona LaDuke – Julie

Year 8
8/Alicia Keys – Iman
8/Jane Goodall – Sarya
8/Marie Curie – Annabelle and Lyra
8/Serena Williams – Elise and Arayiah

Year 9
9/Barbara Hepworth – Asma
9/Helen Keller – Rosie
9/Katherine Johnson – Retaje
9/Wangari Maathai – Amira

Year 10
10/Jacqueline Du Pré – Destiny
10/Nicola Adams – Zuleka
10/Sylvia Earle – Zoe

Year 11
11/Ada Lovelace – Amila
11/Kelly Holmes – Ilona and Megan
11/Malala Yousafzai – Natalie and Havin
11/Margot Fonteyn – Jasmin

Support for Parents/Carers

Webinar: Non-attendance & Mental health support

Kooth offers mental health support to young people and adults, and is offering an upcoming webinar on the relationship between mental health and school attendance.

Attending school is key to academic and social success here at Highbury Fields, so it is important for parents to understand the role that mental health can play in being a barrier to your child’s attendance.