Wednesday 21st June 2023

Please take the time to read the attached letter.

New Deputy Head Students

Speaker Series – Gush Mundae (Bulletproof Design)

Gush Mundae visited Villiers High School, as part of our Speaker Series. Gush runs Bulletproof Design a £16 million global design agency. He was born in India and raised in Southall. His design agency specialises in creating visual design and communication materials for businesses and organisations. They work closely with clients throughout the whole product design process from ideation to testing, prototyping and development. The Coca-Cola Christmas advert is part of their biggest campaign. 

The Simon Powell Poetry Prize 2023

Well done to Farjin 10E, for her entry to The Simon Powell Poetry Prize 2023. Despite hundreds of very strong entries, Farjin came in the top 10!

The director of Poetry Live, Daljit Nagra, had this to say about Farjin’s poem: This rhetorically charged poem sustains its carriage of thought with grand images that convey a world of ideas. This poem is hugely impressive for its ability to capture the tension and love that exists between us all but without resorting to mundane details. In this capacity, the poem has the feeling of a classic text whose excitement is to see the ordinary through grandiosity. ‘The Sun and Moon, fire and water and me and you/ The Sun and Moon are destined to stay apart/ But when fire meets water, neither survives.’ A seriously exciting poem.

Farjin has received a wonderful prize of a collection of books from the Poetry Live poets, an invitation to read at one of next year’s Poetry Live events, as well as the chance to attend a poetry workshop hosted by poets Daljit Nagra and Imtiaz Dharker.

The English Department all hope that Farjin continues her poetry writing and we look forward to supporting her on this journey.

Science Club

KS3 scientists got enthused looking at how light behaves. Light is the fastest thing in the universe travelling at 300 000km/s. It takes nearly eight minutes for light from the Sun to reach us on Earth. Students studied light and its properties using various scientific apparatus.

Did you know – the human eye blinks an average of 4,200,000 times a year.

Creative Writing competition winners at the Sher Jung Foundation launch event

The English department would like to congratulate all the winners and runners-up of the Sher Jung Foundation Creative Writing Competition. 

On Friday 2^nd June, students representing Villiers High School attended the charity’s launch event, receiving prizes for their winning entries. The evening involved listening to some of the writings of Sher Jung, listening to inspiring stories about his journey from India to Southall and learning about how this Punjabi Headteacher, renowned author, activist, loving husband and adored father, touched so many lives. 

Students had the opportunity to meet Sathnam Sanghera, a British Journalist and author- widening their understanding about the importance and place of English and History, beyond the classroom. 

All winners have received their prizes, which included Amazon gift vouchers, a souvenir brochure of the launch event and a signed copy of Sathnam Sanghera’s new book ‘Stolen History: The truth about the British Empire and how it shaped us’.

Runners up will receive a gift from the English department, as a token of appreciation for all their efforts. 

Winners: 

1^st place: Eman 12R

Title: ‘Refraction’- prose

2^nd place: Japji 10C

Title: ‘The Tale of Minos and The Four-Headed Brute’- prose

Joint 3^rd place: Inaaya 10G

Title: ‘Dada (grandfather)’- poem

Joint 3^rd place: Harshpreet 10L

Title: ‘#Notallmen’- poem

Notable Achievement ‘runners-up’:

Shirley 12E

‘The Moon’- prose

Aparna 12R

‘He Went Astray’- prose

Pawandeep 12L

‘Cupid is Getting Old’- poem

Farjin 10E

‘1000 light years away’- prose

Epziba 10E

Life’s Odour, Surrounded, Forced Entry, New World & Hurricane- a collection of poetry

Hassan 10H

‘The Caption of My Memories’- prose

Prisha 10H

‘Shards of Happiness’- prose

Sagarika 10S

‘A Rainy Day’- prose

Outstanding attendance

We have, once again, been awarded for having outstanding attendance and are in the top 10% of all schools nationally.

As we know, great attendance is vital in ensuring we achieve our potential, so please ensure students continue to attend school everyday.

A-Level English Literature Trip to the Ballet

Year 12 English Literature class went to Sadler’s Wells to watch the Northern Ballet’s production of ‘The Great Gatsby’. They are currently studying the novel as part of their comparative coursework and it was fascinating to see the story translated into dance. As they were yet to read the dramatic ending, it prompted quite a reaction from students in the back row!

Welfare and Medical Updates

Year 8 HPV vaccinations will be held on Wednesday 5th July 2023. An electronic consent form has been sent to you via email. This must be completed as soon as possible, even if you do not consent, please select ‘no’.  Please read the letter sent out for further details, and if you have any questions you may contact the Welfare Officer.

A reminder that students should not be carrying any medication, unless it has been prescribed by the doctor to take in school and a medication consent form has been filled in for safety purposes. Students are not allowed to call home for sickness, as this disrupts the school. If you are feeling unwell, you must go to welfare and parents/carers will be contacted if necessary.

Summer Term Club Timetable

Eco Day: #GreenerSouthall

Villiers next Eco Day will take place on Friday 23rd June. The theme is #GreenerSouthall. The day will focus on maintaining and expanding green spaces in Ealing and London as a whole. The Eco Committee wants all pupils to understand the myriad benefits of green space, especially in cities. On the day itself, Greener Ealing will be running a workshop teaching pupils about sustainable waste disposal and all pupils will be learning about the importance of green space in their lessons.

Uniform collection

Does your child have any old school uniform items that no longer fit? Are they still in good condition? Would they like to stop this clothing from going to landfill? If so, please consider donating these items. Next Eco Day (23.06.23), they will have the chance to swap or buy school uniform that is used but clean and of good quality. Miss Farrell or their form Eco Rep will be accepting the following items of clothing:

●   Blazers

●   Ties

●   Shirts

●   School trousers

●   School skirts

Gardening Club

The gardening club would like to invite staff, parents/ carers to a presentation in the Sixth Form Centre on Monday 12th June from 3:30 – 4pm. The presentation will be about their work with Ealing council on the regeneration of Southall Square. 

Key Forthcoming Dates