Message from the Headteacher, Mr C Richards:
We have had a wonderful Charity week this week raising lots of money for ‘Save the Children’ as the school’s international charity, ‘Cancer Research’ as our national charity and ‘Hope for Southall Street Homeless’ as our local charity. We were also delighted to host the ‘Southall Resists’ exhibition on Tuesday welcoming in over ten schools and various local dignitaries as well as Trustees from the Southall Community Alliance, a founder member of the Southall Monitoring Group, representatives from the John Lyon’s Charity, Colleagues from Gunnersbury Park Museum, Pitzhanger Museum and gallery as well as the Young Ealing Foundation. More details below.
The pinnacle of this week has to be our multicultural day and evening. Students and staff alike dressed up to represent their cultures and worked hard to put on a well-attended show in the evening representing many of the different cultures, languages and customs present in our school. Read and see more below.
Exams have continued and 185 students took part in the Junior Maths challenge. We look forward to welcoming year 8 families to our parents’ evening next week. If you need an interpreter or know of someone who might, please do let us know.
Multicultural Evening
Our multicultural event took place on Thursday 25th April and was a huge success. We are very proud of our students who took part and showcased their talents by celebrating their culture with us all. A huge thank you to all staff who supported the students.
The ‘Southall Resists’ exhibition & Presentation
On Tuesday 23rd April 2024 we proudly hosted the ‘Southall Resists Exhibition’: an event organised by the Southall Community Alliance and The Monitoring Group to raise awareness of Southall’s history of anti-racism and to mark the 45th anniversary of the death of Blair Peach in 1979 and the murder of Gurdip Singh Chaggar in 1976.
Janpal Basran from the Southall Community Alliance together with Suresh Grover from the Monitoring Group worked with primary schools and high schools in Southall on a year long project called ‘Young Voices’. The aim of the project was to empower young people by using art to appreciate, understand and celebrate their local history. The link below is a short film showing the work done by the ‘Young Voices’ project.
Students also worked with Mahenderpal Sorya, a Senior Lecturer of Fine Art at Central St Martins. Mahenderpal worked with several schools and produced 11 paintings on silk each depicting a scene from the history of our town. We are very proud of this work as Mahenderpal is an ex-student of Villiers High School from the 1990s.
All the artwork created by the students was displayed at Villiers and over 400 students from the participating schools visited the exhibition together with guests from the John Lyon Charity who funded the project, trustees and the chair of the Southall Community Alliance and Mrs Midha who represented the Mayor of Ealing. Mr Richards opened the exhibition and welcomed the students and the guests. This was a historic day for Southall, its history, its present and its future.
Unicef
We are delighted to have raised money for Unicef and are thankful for the students contributions. Without them this would not have been successful. We hope to carry on supporting and raising money for these good causes.
Junior Maths challenge
Thursday 25th April, a total of 185 students from Villiers, ranging from year 7 to year 8, participated in the UKMT junior maths challenge. The students showcased the core values of Villiers by demonstrating tenacity and aspiration. We eagerly anticipate the arrival of the competition results.
Ealing Book Festival poetry competition
A group of students in Year 9 entered a poem, collaboratively written and entitled ‘Just for Palestine’, to the Ealing Book Festival poetry competition. Their work was shortlisted from among nearly 200 entries to a group of only 24. They have been highly commended by the judges saying the work showed great promise. A massive well done to those students involved: Medina, Prabhjeet, Afifa, Kayla, Milanpreet and Malaika. We can’t wait to hear what you write next!
Year 8 parents evening
It gives us great pleasure to invite you to attend the Year 8 Parents’ Evening on Thursday, 2nd May 2024. This is an important opportunity for you and your child to meet with subject teachers to discuss their classwork, homework, attitude to learning and their progress. The Parents’ Evening will commence at 4:00 pm and end at 6.30 pm. Your child will write the allocated appointment time with their subject teachers on their appointment sheet. The evening will allow you to effectively support your child in their studies. We are expecting full attendance for all the families of all our pupils on this evening.
Please complete and return the reply slip to your child’s Form Tutor confirming your attendance at the Year 8 Parents’ Evening by Thursday 2nd May 2024.
Lanyard Redesign Competition
During the last half-term, the student leadership organised a competition to redesign our staff lanyards. The objective was to represent the nine protected characteristics, ensuring a welcoming and inclusive environment for all at Villiers High School. We’ve received numerous creative submissions and have narrowed them down to three finalists. Now, we’re seeking your input to decide the ultimate winner.
Please take a moment to review the shortlisted designs and vote for your preferred option by clicking the link below:
Summer Design and Technology competition
Students are encouraged to create a piece of artwork on the theme of ‘Time’. Please read the poster below for further detains on how to take part.
Changes to lunchtime arrangements after the Easter break
Our new lunchtime arrangements have started as a result of the work that has begun on our new building. As we will have less space for all the pupils to have the same lunchtime sitting, the split lunches began on Monday 15th April. Please see all details below.
Years 7, 8, 11 and 13 will continue to have their lunch from 12.30pm until 1.20pm
Years 9, 10 and 12 will move to a later lunchtime of 1.20pm until 2.10pm. We recommend that the pupils have a snack at breaktime to help keep their energy levels up until their later lunchtime.
On Thursdays, Years 9, 10 and 12 will not have a lesson after lunchtime. Therefore, they will be dismissed from school at 1.50pm and expected to be off site by 2pm.
On Thursdays, Years 7, 8, 11 and 13 will be dismissed at the usual time of 2.20pm.
Uniform
A reminder to please ensure that your child has all items of uniform. Uniform checks will be ongoing and will be conducted during registration. For more information about our school uniform, please go to our website. Thank you for your support.
A week in Politics
A summer programme will be run by our local MP Virendra Sharma, which will give students the opportunity to work with various different members of parliament. This will be an amazing experience for students to work in politics and learn about the political system.
To apply, please click this link.
Guide to Family Support Services
This guide is funded by Ealing’s HAF (Holiday, Activities and Food). The guide will highlight the important services and organisations that work locally to help various aspects of family life. These organizations provide help, guidance, and support to families.
For more information please click on this link: https://www.egfl.org.uk/news/2024/04/guide-family-support-services-2024-edition
Ealing Mental Health Summer Workshops
Over the summer, the Ealing Mental Health Support Team will be running a variety of online workshops for parents and carers of children who attend a school in Ealing. The workshops will be held online using Microsoft Teams. If you are interested in attending any of the workshops, please fill out this form.
For more information, please follow this link.
Ealing Mental Health Support Team
Over Summer, there will be a range of workshops that the Mental Health Support Team will be running for parents and carers. If you would like further information on how to sign up, please see below.
Ealing Junior Chess Tournament
The Ealing Junior Chess Tournament will be held at the Dominion Centre and Southall Library. Prizes and points awarded to all players. All registration information is on the flyer below:
Year 11 End of Year Celebration
The Year 11 End of Year Celebration on the Thames is taking place 2nd July by Thames Boat Hire. An exciting experience to see London’s famous landmarks and celebrate their achievement once their GCSEs have finished. Please read the letter below and purchase tickets on Parent Pay. We look forward to celebrating!
Young Carers
All pupils were given information about young carers in assemblies recently. Please see the information below about how you can make a referral to access support if you consider your child to be a young carer.
Vape Awareness Letter
Please take the time to read the letter below highlighting the dangers of using any sort of vape devices, and discussing this with your children to raise the importance of just how damaging on their health this could be. We want all children to be safe, so talking about this with them will be a great help.
Behaviour Systems
Our behaviour systems have been further developed so that they are clear and transparent for everyone. Please see our new behaviour pyramid below. The pastoral team has explained this to all the children. Since Monday 19th February, there have been posters up in classrooms and other areas of the school as a visual reminder. As always, we appreciate your support and any feedback is welcome.
Information about free school meals
Families who are not currently registered for free school meals but feel that they are eligible can apply using the following link here.
Free school meals are available for pupils of parents or carers that receive certain benefits.
Further information on the criteria for applying can be found here.
If your child is eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals, please click here for further information regarding supermarket vouchers for the Easter holidays to support families.
Year 10: Non-A level progression to Sixth form
The Ealing Learning Partnership are running a “Progressions to level 2” careers event targeted at families of current year 10 students who may not want to or be able to choose to study A-Levels at sixth form level. Please read the attached for more information.
Top tips for staying secure online from the National Cyber Security Centre
Combine three random words to create a password that’s ‘long enough and strong enough’.
Weak passwords can be cracked in seconds. The longer and more unusual your password is, the harder it is for a cyber criminal to crack. A good way to make your password difficult to crack is by combining three random words to create a password (for example applenemobiro). Or you could use a password manager, which can create strong passwords for you (and remember them). Avoid the most common passwords that criminals can easily guess (like ‘password’). You should also avoid creating passwords from significant dates (like your birthday, or a loved one’s), or from your favourite sports team, or by using family and pet names. Most of these details can be found within your social media profile. If you’re thinking of changing certain characters in your password (so swapping the letter ‘o’ with a zero, for example), you should know that cyber criminals know these tricks as well. So your password won’t be significantly stronger, but it will be harder for you to remember.
If you want to find out more about why the ‘three random words’ technique works, you can read this blog by one of the NCSC’s technical experts that further explains our thinking.
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/top-tips-for-staying-secure-online/three-random-words
Medical needs & allergies
We would like to ensure that our school records accurately reflect your child’s medical needs including information on any allergies. Please keep us informed of any changes to your child’s medical allergies to ensure information is accurate and up to date on our school system. In the case that a student has been prescribed an Epi-Pen by the doctor, they should bring two Epi-Pens to school, one to carry on their person and the other to be provided to the Welfare Office, as a spare in case of an emergency. Please encourage your child to check with the canteen staff for any food allergies and to read the food labels before making purchases. If you have any questions, you can contact the welfare officer directly via email- welfare@villiers.ealing.sch.uk or call reception. For food related questions, you can contact the canteen directly via email- cparameswaran@villiers.ealing.sch.uk
Protect yourself from Fraud and Cyber crime
Fraud and Cyber crime comes in many forms, there are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself.
For more information on how you can do this, please click the link https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/individual-protection
Cash payments
We are a cashless school and families can pay for school meals, stationery, trips and clubs via ParentPay. You can top up your ParentPay account from a bank account or by using a debit/credit card. If you do not have a valid bank account or debit/credit card, please email info@villiers.ealing.sch.uk. We will set up a PayPoint account, so you can make payments using cash.
Villiers Diner
Please click through each slide to view this week’s canteen menu.
Safeguarding and well-being spotlight
There is a lot of advice and guidance available to help and support parents and carers when you have any worries or concerns about your child. Please click this link for the NSPCC website which offers advice on some different issues.
Key forthcoming dates
For our major events, please check here.
| 01/05/24 | Art & Photography GCSE and Alevel practical exams |
| 02/05/24 | Art & Photography GCSE and Alevel practical exams Year 8 Parents’ Evening 1630 – 1930 |
| 03/05/24 | TFL Pioneers Challenge Art & Photography GCSE and Alevel practical exams |
| 06/05/24 | BANK HOLIDAY (No one at school) |
| 07/05/24 | Tuesday: All staff and students back at school |
| 09/05/24 | National Key Stage 4 Exams begin |
| 10/05/24 | Head Student Interviews take place |
| Just ahead… 25/05/24 – 02/06/24 – Half-term holiday | |
Opportunities at Villiers High School
Take a look at our current vacancies and join our team – Click here
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
Don’t forget to follow Villiers High School on social media.