Message from the Headteacher, Ms A. Sharma:
I would like to thank you for all your support throughout this very busy term; as always, it is greatly appreciated. It has been great to hold a range of face to face meetings, host a variety of events, trips and activities for the students and parents/carers. In addition all students who met the rewards criteria were rewarded this term with a trip as well as rewards assemblies.
Please remember that we are here to work in partnership with you to ensure that your child achieves their potential. We have an ‘open door’ policy and are keen to be available should you need a conversation about any matter concerning your child, so please keep in touch via your child’s form tutor, deputy head of year and head of year. You can find our key contacts on our website.
All students must return to school on Wednesday 4th January2023 at 8:30am. Please remember that free breakfast is available for all students in the canteen from 7:50am every day.
Have a restful break and wonderful celebrations with your families and friends. We would like to wish you all the very best for 2023.
Lille, France
Last week eighty-six pupils from Year 7, 8 & 9 went to the historic city of Lille in France to celebrate the festive season. Pupils got to explore over a hundred stalls with all manner of festive surprises and culinary delights, visit a French chocolatier, ride the big wheel and to soak in the French culture and practise their French for the day. In this exciting trip, students experienced the weather and fun of France.
Prav 9I commented “during the trip I went on the ferris wheel and bought some French treats – macaroons in the market. It was an amazing experience to go to Lille, and after going there I would highly recommend the city of Lille in the time of Christmas. The market during Christmas time is busy but it is a fun experience.”
Science & sustainability at PGL
Villiers students annually visit Little Canada Adventure Centre and students noted that this fun trip could be more sustainable by heading the following suggestions:
Minimise food waste – encourage visitors and canteen staff to take and serve food in appropriate portions.
Install solar panels on the roofs of the buildings to produce electricity and to heat the water.
Install wind turbines on the site, so wind energy can be used to generate electricity.
Install tidal wave turbines in the creek. The tide comes and goes twice a day. Electricity can be generated using the changing tides.
Install dual flush toilet cisterns that use minimal water.
Use bicycles for transporting materials on their 48 acre site.
Electrical energy can also be generated from the students’ activities.
Salvation Army Kids Christmas Card Competition
Well done to Rida 9H for winning the ceramic mug competition and congratulations to Jathushigah 9V for her beautiful Christmas card design, which has been chosen as the winner in the 12+ age group for the Salvation Army kids Christmas card competition. She will soon receive a £20 voucher for the Entertainer store for her outstanding effort! The winners will be publicly announced on their Facebook page this weekend:
St Pauls trip
Year Nine students climbed 528 steps to the top of St Paul’s Cathedral in Central London. There were no stragglers this year and the group all made it to the top in record time. They were greeted with an incredible snowy panoramic of London, the students spent some time spotting famous London landmarks, such as the Shard, which stood towering whilst enshrouded in clouds.
Down below, the Year 9 students had a historical tour of the famous cathedral, learning how the building regenerated itself four times after several disasters. Miraculously, it survived WWII, although very narrowly; spectacularly dodging Hitler’s several attempts to destroy it. Meanwhile, students were warmed by the elegant nativity statues, depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus.
The tour guide enjoyed showing students around and was impressed by the many questions Year 9 students had to offer. Overall, Villiers students made a good impression of the school, both academically and ultimately, athletically in making it to the top of the dome!
Spelling Bee
A huge congratulations to Ankit 10S who has been crowned King of the Year 10 Spelling Bee Competition 2022. Out of 268 students; he is officially the best at spelling in Year 10. It has been a great half term of competitions with Year 10 students engaged and tenacious throughout. There will be many more competition to follow over the year.
Brunel STEM masterclass
This week for the sixth and final STEM masterclass, students tested the movement of a ball using a joystick via an app on an iPad. To set up the device a special type of ball was needed and placed near the iPad for connection. A maze was then created to test the movement of the ball. In the second half of the session, students learnt about what made a stable bridge. It was found that shape and material were some of the key factors which affected the stability of a bridge. Students then had to design their own bridge in groups. They discovered that triangles are the strongest shape. The challenge was to use as few materials as possible. A reward ceremony was then held for the last session, with certificates handed out for attending the six week course.
Year 12- Science trip
Year 12 BTEC Applied Science students went on a visit to LGC Laboratories (Teddington). LGC Laboratories are part of the LGC Group – a leading global life science tools company, providing mission-critical components and solutions into high-growth application areas across the human healthcare and applied market segments. LGC’s COVID-19 response included provision of critical test components, quality control solutions and contribution to international standards and research. Students were shown around various state-of-the-art laboratories and saw laboratory analysis being done by scientists using a range of scientific techniques such as high performance liquid chorography (HPLC), gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. The visit was extremely useful in terms of providing highly relevant information for the coursework that students have to produce, e.g. the importance of health and safety in scientific laboratories and how scientific data is stored and communicated within the organisation. This visit also inspired our students to pursue scientific careers.
London School of Economics
Dipti 12L was invited to the London School Of Economics (LSE) to attend the Pathways to Banking and Finance programme. She had an amazing time and got the chance to meet likeminded and driven students alongside many inspirational professional mentors. Only 75 students from over 700 applications were selected to attend this programme. Most of the students were studying similar subjects. Dipti has also been offered a work placement at Deutsche Bank in Birmingham next year. She would like to thank Villers High School and Sutton Trust for making this happen and is extremely grateful for this motivational experience.
Library – top book borrowers
Congratulations to our top fifteen book borrowers for this term. Our top readers received a certificate, bookmark and special reading trophy. Our top three readers also received a book token to spend on a book of their choice. Well done to Aishreet 7R, our top book borrower, who has read over 77 books since September 2022.
Islamic bookmark competition
Congratulations to the top twenty Islamic bookmark winners. Ms Sharma was very impressed with all their hard work and creativity promoting Islamic heritage. Well done to everyone who participated and the top ten students: Aroosh 8S, Farjin 10E, Almina 8G, Fraser 11S, Mashvil 7R, Musthwafa 7S, Farhad 11S, Hafsa 7I, Alliza 7R & Beverly 7R.
Reading list
Please see the links below to the 100 best children’s books and other recommended reads for gift ideas over this Christmas term. Each link has a section for different age groups:
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/our-recommendations/100-best-books/
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2022/03/best-childrens-books-stories
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/our-recommendations/best-new-books/
25 Best Science Fiction Books for Kids
30 Great LGBTQIA+ Books for Kids and Teens
Summer 2022 certificate collection
Students can collect their certificates for Summer 2022 from the Sixth Form Centre on Thursday 5th January from 2:30pm – 5pm.
Group A Strep/ Scarlet Fever
Please take the time to read the following information regarding Group A Strep/ Scarlet Fever.
Young People’s Centre
Please read more to find out about the local and free, amazing services available to to students outside of school hours. This is an opportunity for students to gain many key skills, qualifications or just the chance to meet up with friends.
Christmas holiday supermarket vouchers to support families
Please click on the link below for further information regarding Christmas holiday supermarket vouchers to support families:
Allergy form
Please ensure you inform the school of any new information relating to your child’s allergies by completing the following Microsoft Form by Friday 16th December:
Mental Health article
Please click on the link below the access top tips on how to talk to your children about their feelings:
https://cloud.brandmaster.com/shared/assets/9711206c67008fa6f009
Message to parents of Year 11 – 13 students
Students sitting any exams next summer need to be available for the full exam period. They cannot book holidays until Thursday 29th June onwards.
They will not know their summer exam timetable until next year, as some exams are still being moved due to clashes. However, regardless of when their last exam is, they must be available up until Wednesday 28th June, as this is the contingency day, alongside two contingency afternoons on Thursday 8th and Thursday 15th June.
Contingency dates are added in case there is a national or local emergency and an exam has to be moved and students must be available for this.
Year 9 vaccinations
The Year 9 teenage booster vaccine day will take place on Friday 20th January 2023. Please check your emails for the e-vaccine consent form and complete this as soon as possible.
Students should not be carrying any medication unless it has been prescribed by the doctor to take in school and a medication consent form should be completed for safety purposes.
Due to this cold weather there are many viral infection going around. Please encourage your child to keep warm, have good breakfast and stay hydrated.
Photographs
School photographs day took place on Friday 21st October and the company has planted a tree on behalf of Villiers High School. All orders placed will be sent direct to parent’s home addresses within 10 working days of ordering.
Please note all images are still available for parents to order, however there will now be an increased charge of £3.99 for the delivery.
Sustainability updates
Eco schools report
Villiers achieved the Level Three Eco Schools award for our commitment to creating passionate and hopeful environmentalists. Please follow the link to the Eco-Schools Impact Report which celebrates the tireless work of Eco Schools around the country:
https://c-6.net/virtualdocs/eco-schools_impactreport2021-2022/
Lets Go Southall enquiry form and cycling timetable
Villiers is pleased to be working with Lets Go Southall, a community organisation that aims to get Southall more physically active. Lets Go Southall prioritises change from within communities, and they want to hear your views about travel barriers in Southall.
Please complete their survey here – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSch4KG3uhEZS7_0Bj6DhBGXQBFr6cB2nQlHpgooPJuB2v81mw/viewform
Lets Go Southall also holds weekly bike rides that offer free training, group rides and an excellent atmosphere.
Key forthcoming dates
Get in touch
If you have any suggestions on how to improve the school further or any concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch via email: info@villiers.ealing.sch.uk