Autumn 2025

28 November – NEWSLETTER

EDITION 46

Teacher Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers,

Hello, I’m Ms Tobia; many of our younger students may not know me, as a I predominantly work at our designated Sixth Form Centre on Aberdeen Park. In celebration of the launch of Sixth Form applications today, Mr Fox has passed on the baton in introducing you to this week’s newsletter!

In this week’s edition, Year 11 students reach new heights – quite literally – on a trip to GoApe. You can also explore the clubs on offer in the Spring Term in the new clubs timetable shared below.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter letter and, if you are a Year 11 parent or student, I look forward to receiving your Sixth Form application soon.

Laura Tobia
Director of Sixth Form & Assistant Headteacher

Parent Governor Vote Results

Following the recent vote, we are pleased to announce that our newly elected Parent Governors are Nasima Zaman and Ellen Harris, who will serve a three-year term on the Board of Governors.

Nasima is a Head of People and Culture and brings a wealth of experience in wellbeing and problem solving to the role. Meanwhile, as a qualified teacher and with a background in charity and education, Ellen hopes to support Highbury Fields’ excellent teaching and opportunities.

This week, they met with the Co-Chairs to begin their onboarding process; we look forward to working with them to support the ongoing development of the school.

We would like to thank all candidates who applied.

SIXTH FORM SUCCESS

Sixth Form Applications now Open

Applications for our Sixth Form have just opened for entry in September 2026!

Please submit your application form via Applicaa by Thursday 8 January.

For any questions or concerns, please email admissions@highburyfields.islington.sch.uk.

Complete your Sixth Form Application today!

Year 12 Enrichment

Written by Amelia & Aaliya

During last week’s Friday Enrichment session, we received a visit from Deliveroo.

The speakers came from different teams across Deliveroo and shared their experiences of the very differing areas they work in. We were interested to gain insight on the many varied roles that just one business can have. In the session, we also engaged in a quiz, through which five Year 12 students won much-coveted Deliveroo jackets. We’re pleased to say we won a jacket each, as did Kiara, Dina and Ashari!

Later in the Enrichment session, we also had a visit from a group of engineering students from City St George’s, University of London. They spoke about the lack of women within STEM and challenged the stereotype that you need to study maths and STEM to go into engineering.

We really enjoy enlightening Enrichment sessions like this one as they make us more aware of different sectors within the workplace.

Trips and Enrichment Activities

Going Ape with year 11

Last Friday, Year 11 students celebrated the end of their mock examinations with a trip to Go Ape at Alexandra Palace. Students braved the cold weather and ascended the tree top challenge, which included a high ropes course, zip lines and a vertical drop, also known as ‘the plummet’.

Year 11s described the trip as “freezing yet thrilling”, and one student expressed how proud they felt by facing their fears and taking on the plummet.

Take a look at the trip photo gallery

Spring Term Clubs timetable

Sign ups open 7pm on Monday 1 December
sign up on Arbor so you don’t miss out

There are lots of exciting clubs on offer next term. Take a look at the options for each year group below, and find out more on the full timetable.

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. Sign ups will remain open until the club reaches capacity.

View the full clubs timetable

Other news from around the school

🎄 Calling all Eco Elves 🎄

Christmas is around the corner and to get into the festive spirit, students will be getting creative with a Christmas craft session in form time next week.

To be environmentally conscious with the festive crafts, we are asking students to bring in:

Scrap paper (eg. old school planners, worksheets from the bottom of your bag, old coloured paper, junk mail)
Used cardboard
Any additional decorations for turning your classroom into a festive wonderland!

Excellent commitment to learning and the community

Congratulations to Maeve and Martha in Year 7; Iman and Lyra in Year 8; Rosie in Year 9; Kinga and Matilda in Year 10; Tano in Year 11; Iqra, Larua, Kiara, Amelia, Tilly and Florence in Year 12 and Tayibbah, Sultana and Sahra in Year 13.

In their recent CTLC reports, the teachers of all of these students reported that they demonstrate our CTLC characteristics of responsibility, effort, ambition, contributions and honesty all of the time, in every single lesson.

Such commitment to their learning and our school community requires considerable dedication and we are very proud of them for the enthusiasm that they are demonstrating in school.

Winter Showcase: Tickets now available

As a reminder, 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
Year 7: 7/Frida Kahlo – 98. 44%
Year 8: 8/Margaret Atwood – 98.09%
Year 9: 9/Barbara Hepworth – 96.63%
Year 10: 10/Kadambini Ganguly – 97.01%
Year 11: 11/Margot Fonteyn – 97.78%
Sixth Form: 13/Tanni Grey-Thompson – 96.60%

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 9: Melisa, Zohra, and Florence
Year 10: Maryamo, Maria, Amelia, and Naima
Year 11: Jasmine and Vesper.

60 Merits
Head of Year Merit

Year 7: Hawi, Oshun, Eshaal, and Rayan
Year 8: Taliya and Ayvah
Year 9: Kadra, Angelique, Ruwayda, and Ilana
Year 10: Asia.

120 Merits
Headteacher Merit

Year 7: Sarah, Avana-Mae, and Nawal.

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 – Issi-Iyak
7/Frida Kahlo – Maymuna
7/Junko Tabei – Layla
7/Rosa Parks – Mila and Feyza
7/Winona LaDuke – Alisha.

Year 8
8/Alicia Keys – Sabrine and Nada
8/Jane Goodall – Scarlett-Rae
8/Marie Curie – Eshaal, Divine, and Mumtaz
8/Serena Williams – Azka.

Year 9
9/Helen Keller – Rosie
9/Katherine Johnson – Ja’Kayla
9/Maya Angelou – Helena and Rana
9/Olga Korbut – Munisa, Ibtisaam, and Isaacy
9/Wangari Maathai – Amelia, Letty, and Soliyana.

Year 10
10/Angela Carter – Sage
10/Jacqueline Du Pré – Maryamo
10/Sylvia Earle – Sophie.

Year 11
11/Andrea Levy – Feriel
11/Kelly Holmes – Amelie
11/Malala Yousafzai – Mia

Our Parent community

Highbury Farmers Market

Every Saturday, 9:30 AM to 3 PM
St John’s Highbury Vale Primary School, Conewood Street, N5 1DL

Highbury Farmers Market, hosted at our partner school of St John’s Highbury Vale, recently launched to bring fresh and organic food to our local community. The market has all the essentials for your weekly shop, including day-boat fish, freshly picked fruit & veg, handmade bread, fresh pasta and pastries. You’ll also find grass-fed meats, artisan cheese, charcuterie, and much more.

This new initiative aims to support local businesses, while bringing quality products to Highbury.

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