Autumn 2025

21 November – NEWSLETTER

EDITION 45

Head’s Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to this week’s school newsletter.

Year 11 students have now completed their mock examinations for their GCSEs, which they will sit in the summer. I was so impressed by students’ maturity and focus during this period, particularly seeing Year 11s coming in school early to revise during Breakfast Club. Next week, A-level mocks begin, and I am sure we will see the same exemplary commitment modelled by Year 13.

Please enjoy reading another excellent edition of our weekly newsletter!

Tim Fox
Headteacher

SIXTH FORM SUCCESS

UKMT Senior Maths Challenge

In October, our Year 12 and Year 13 A-level mathematicians participated in this year’s UKMT Senior Maths Challenge.

These tests are filled with challenging questions designed to make students think beyond the studied curriculum and apply their problem solving skills.

We had another successful year with three of our students awarded a bronze certificate – congratulations to Kiara in Year 12, and Aribha and Elif in Year 13. Kiara was awarded best in school and Aribha achieved a certificate for the second year running and was best in Year 13.

Well done to all of our A-level mathematicians who took part!

Trips and Enrichment Activities

Spring Clubs timetable

The clubs timetable for next term is available now. From Knitting and Crochet Club to Musical Theatre Club, there’s something for every student!

Club sign ups will open via Arbor at 7pm on Monday 1 December. Sign ups will remain open until the club reaches capacity.

Please note: member numbers for each club are limited (see the timetable below for club capacities), and spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

View the new clubs timetable

Upcoming trips

There are many upcoming payment and sign up deadlines for trips from November to February – please ensure you’ve signed up on the Arbor App, so your child doesn’t miss out!

Debate Mate

This week in debate club, students practised their speech style.

Debate is not just about what you say but about how you present your ideas and express yourself. To explore the different styles of presenting, students were each given a different emotion. Then then had to speak for 45 seconds about any topic they wanted, while showing the emotion they had been given. Other students then had to guess what emotion they thought was being expressed.

Students really took to this challenge, displaying a range of emotions including nervousness, surprise, anger, happiness, and confusion. This activity helps students in the club to be aware of their tone and body language while debating, as non-verbal communication influences their debate speeches as much as the words they say. The timing of the challenge also pushed students to be concise yet quick-thinking as they tried to fill the full 45 seconds of their time slot.

Some stand out speeches came from Sarah in Year 7, Olimpia, Ivana and Jocelyn in Year 8, and Yasmin and Erika in Year 9 who all filled the full time for their speeches.

Other news from around the school

Winter Showcase: Tickets now available

Tickets are now available for our annual Winter Showcase on Thursday 11 December.

The Highbury Fields Winter Showcase is one of the most anticipated events of the calendar year. This year’s line up includes performances from across the school’s talented music and performance groups, including Musical Theatre Club and Dance Troupe.

Tickets for the event are now on sale on our designated Music Department website, priced at £3 for Adults and £1.50 for Children tickets.

Winter Showcase Tickets

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ HFS Rewards ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Attendance

Here are last week’s top performing forms for their attendance:

Top Forms for Attendance in each year group
Year 7: 7/Frida Kahlo – 98. 69%
Year 8: 8/Margaret Atwood – 98.32%
Year 9: 9/Barbara Hepworth – 96.43%
Year 10: 10/Kadambini Ganguly – 97.09%
Year 11: 11/Margot Fonteyn – 97.99%
Sixth Form: 13/Tanni Grey-Thompson – 96.40%

Merit Awards

Students have continued to demonstrate excellent commitment to learning, through high attendance and merit achievements. Congratulation to all who received merit awards last week!

30 Merits
Form Tutor Merit

Year 7: Milana, Evie, and Aaliyah
Year 8: Elfida, Ivana, Soraya, Hannah, Daisy, Leticia, Beau-Lily, Violet, Mary Jane, Khadijah, and Somaiya
Year 9: Zoe, Lylah, Aarya, Maryam, Sara, Lorin, Maahnoor, Claudia, Rana, and Tanzila
Year 10: Ellie and Sophie
Year 11: Bella and Caitlan.

60 Merits
Head of Year Merit

Year 7: Olivia, Erin, Myia, Sabrina, Ela, Qamar, Phoebe, Maya, Hannah, Manuela, Laila, Amira, Alicia, Adele, Ami, Eimear, Amina, Nyla, and Ruqayyah
Year 8: Aisha, Iman, Sabrine, Daisy, Anu, Elle, Samiya A, Maha, Shannon, Zahra, Mumtaz, Joycelyn, Arielle, Khadija, Matilda, Mikhaila, Sabrin, Halima, Liyana, Lavin, Somaiya, Evie, Meliyah, Cecilia, Nahidah, Darcey Belle, Samiya P, and Ruby
Year 9: Lorin, Asma, Jannat, and Yasmin.

120 Merits
Headteacher Merit

Year 7: Nafeesah, Ayla, Qamar, Martha, Rosa, and Iris.
Year 8: Masa, Liv, Hafsah, Mira, Eshaal, Taima, Anna, Sarah Ahmed, and Grace.

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 – Alice
7/Helen Sharman – Eleri
7/Winona LaDuke – Maeve.

Year 8
8/Jane Goodall – Zahra
8/Margaret Atwood – Taslima.

Year 9
9/Katherine Johnson – Anisa.

Year 10
10/Nicola Adams – Maria
10/Sylvia Earle – Luel and Matilda.

Support for Parents

Keeping children safe: online & beyond

ParentSafe is an online resource for parents seeking immediate information about the complexities for the digital age your children are growing up in.

From managing screen time to handling difficult conversations, this platform offers guidance and top tips to parents who are intereseted in learning more about online safety.

Find out more about ParentSafe