Summer 2026

12 june – NEWSLETTER

EDITION 68

Head’s Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to this week’s newsletter.

This week, we begin our celebration of Pride month, beginning with our Pride magazine competition, where our whole community have a chance to utilise their creative talents.

In other fantastic news, following our ‘Razing the Roof’ events earlier in the year, members of staff from 12 schools returned to Highbury Fields this Wednesday to learn even more from our leadership team.

Tim Fox
Headteacher

‘THE BIG FUTURE’ CHILDREN’S SURVEY

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, would like all children and young people from across the country to take part in ‘The Big Picture’ Children’s survey. She would like to’ hear from children in every school and college, in every community, across the country. So that students’ experiences, views, and aspirations can help shape future policy.

At a time of significant change for children and young people, it is more important than ever that their views are reflected in policy making. Through this survey, Dame Rachel de Souza can take the voices of our students directly to the centre of government.

Please work with your child to fill out the survey linked below.

The Children’s Survey

pride month

PRIDE MAGAZINE COMPETITION

Students and staff are invited to submit creative work celebrating LGBTQ+ voices, experiences, history, and culture.

Submissions may include:

Creative writing (poetry, short stories, articles, speeches, reflections)
Artwork and photography
Interviews, reviews and opinion pieces
Pieces exploring LGBTQ+ history, activism and role models

Sixth Form Success

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.

news from across the school

Year 10 Capital One Workshop

Another group of our Year 10 students visited the Capital One offices this week, to take part in a full-day workshop focused on developing workplace skills and learning more about the modern world of work.

During the visit, students had the chance to hear from Capital One employees about their career journeys and the roles available in the financial services sectors. Students also enjoyed a tour of the office, to see what a modern working environment may look like, and took part in a range of interactive activities designed to build employability skills. The day ended with a business-style challenge where students worked in groups to create a campaign aimed at young people, before presenting their ideas to a panel. This was a chance for students to show their creativity, and practice their confidence and teamwork skills.

The students were a fantastic representation of our school and we are very proud of how they acted. We would also like to thank Capital One for hosting such an engaging and enjoyable experience.

Don’t just plan-et, Do it!

This week, 30 of our Year 8s visited the Natural History Museum as part of their external learning for Geography. The trip focused on the museum’s new, permanent gallery; Fixing Our Broken Planet.

The Year 8s did a fantastic job at crossing London on the tube. They travelled all the way from Arsenal to South Kensington. Once they arrived at the museum, they were each given a ‘career’. This was the perspective they were to examine the gallery with. Once they finished in the gallery they put together some amazing posters and presentations, making cases on why and how the planet needs saving.

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 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 Imperial War Museum: 26 June (8:30am – 3:30pm).

London Lifesavers

Last week all Year 8 students took part in a workshop with the London Life Savers (who are part of the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust), where they watched a short video and learnt CPR first hand with Hannah and her team.

A great interactive experience, helping us understand how to help someone in cardiac arrest. They were clear, kind and very supportive. It feels very good to know how to save someone in an emergency. – Annabelle

I’m very grateful for the London Life Savers workshop because I now know how to save a life if any goes into cardiac arrest. The workers were very supportive and helped us understand what to do in an emergency. – Freya

Trip to Beligian Battlefields

For Year 9 (current Year 8), there is a particularly exciting wider curriculum trip that your daughter has the opportunity to attend during the upcoming academic year. The school will be running an overnight trip to Ypres in Belgium, which is open to all Year 9 students.

The Battlefields trip has been a most memorable experience for previous students and I am sure this will be a trip that your daughter will enjoy, and remember for many years to come.

Click Here To Find Out More

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ HFS Rewards ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Attendance

Here are top performing forms for attendance last week:

Top Forms for Attendance
Year 7: 7/Winona LaDuke – 98.67%
Year 8: 8/Serena Williams – 97.69%
Year 9: 9/Helen Keller – 100%
Year 10: 10/Kadambini Ganguly – 97.99%
Sixth Form: 12/Berta Cáceres – 96.15%

Merit Awards

Congratulations to all students who achieved merit milestones last week.

60 Merits
head of year Merit

.

Year 10: Margot and Matilda

.

120 Merits
Headteacher Merit

.

Year 7: Sumaiyah and Jameela
Year 10: Emine and Sophie
.

240 Merits
BOARD OF GOVERNERS MERIT

.

Year 7: Hosanna, Sara, Eleri, Amira, Elsie, Ami, Hadjer, Sorayah-Rose, and Ellie
Year 8: Aleena, Maryam, Phoenix, Joycelyn, and Daisy
.

500 Merits
Commitment to Learning
Merit
.

Year 7: Sarah and Nyla

.

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/Chimamanda Adichie – Khaira
7/ Frida Kahlo – Maymuna
7/Rosa Parks – Abigail

Year 8
8/Alicia Keys – Elfida
8/Jane Goodall – Sarya
8/Margaret Atwood – Taslima
8/Marie Curie – Alice
8/ Serena Williams – Olivia

Year 9
9/Barbara Hepworth – Nylah
9/Katherine Johnson- Anisa and Florence
9/Olga Korbut – Tanzila, Alessia, and Charis

Year 10
10/Angela Carter – Lilja
10/Jacqueline Du Pré – Aisha
10/Nicola Adams – Marnie
10/Sylvia Earle – Layla

Our Parent Community

board games to some, fun games to others

All donations gratefully accepted via main site reception.

Our students love to keep busy during lunchtimes. We would greatly appreciate any unwanted games which are still in good working order, but we are especially eager to find: