Message from the Headteacher, Mr C Richards:
This week, some of our year 12s started a three-week work experience placement in Spain and you can read more about this below. We held a Primary ‘Panathlon’ on site for West Acton, Hambrough, Acton Gardens, North, Laura Tiernan and St John’s Primary schools and our sixth formers set off on an expedition to Kolkata.
Challenge Partners reviewers also visited the school this week and gave us glowing feedback on the provision at school. I will share more details about this in coming bulletins.
A reminder that our family forum meeting takes place 10th February at 5pm.
The Brilliant Club
The first ‘Brilliant Club’ cohort is well underway with a group of Year 12 students. This scholarship programme is a series of workshops that work towards personal development and raising aspirations and achievement.
The workshops are delivered by a Doctoral Research tutor where they share their subject knowledge and passion for learning. This helps the students to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence required to secure a place at a competitive university.
The programme is available to non-selective state schools across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is structured around seven tutorials, and pupils also attend a Graduation Event at a partner university to speak with current undergraduates and learn about university life.
This cohort of students is looking to apply for a range of courses, including Maths, Accounting and Finance, Law, Medicine, Art, Architecture and Engineering. The program works towards developing research, critical thinking, communication and presentation skills to later help them through their A-Level and University careers.
Young Science Writer Awards 2025
Turing scheme work experience – Spain
Sixth-form students have been offered an incredible opportunity to work in Spain for three weeks in partnership with the ‘Turing scheme’ and Villiers High School. This unique initiative, a first of its kind, promises to be hugely beneficial. It will give students a chance to experience Spanish culture, gain insight into different working environments and explore the trade practices in Spain. Workplace experiences can help build social capital for young people with limited professional networks, providing valuable connections and opportunities. Additionally, these experiences allow students to develop critical skills needed for the workforce, such as communication, problem-solving, and adaptability. This programme bridges the gap between education and employment. This encapsulates the Gatsby Benchmark 6 and provides meaningful encounters with workplaces, allowing students to gain firsthand experience of professional environments.
Survey
Monitoring your School Street
The School Street at your school has been in place for almost a year and Ealing Council would like to know what has changed and the impact it has had on the school community.
The scheme aims to reduce traffic around schools at key times of the day, making it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to use the road space, supporting safer routes to school and improving the local area for the whole community. We hope it has also increased active travel for the school journey.
An online survey has been created and we would like you to complete this to give us your views on the scheme. You will find the survey at https://bit.ly/SS-monitoring-T5. It will close at midnight 2nd February 2025.
If you would like a paper copy of the survey, please email us at SchoolStreets@ealing.gov.uk. If you do not have access to the internet, you may request a paper copy by writing to us at School Travel Team, Ealing Council, Perceval House, 14-16 Uxbridge Road, W5 2HL.
Further information about School Streets is available on the Ealing Council website www.ealing.gov.uk/ealingschoolstreets
- The first Clothes and Uniform Swap Shop will be taking place soon. Please donate your preloved, good quality and clean clothes starting next week. Please tell your children to put clothes into the blue wheelie bin at the reception entrance.
- Villiers has been selected for the Tesco Stronger Starts Grant Competiton. Look out for it and VOTE at all the Tesco supermarkets in the area NOW! If we get the most votes, we will win £1500 to install a fantastic new rain planter box in the school grounds. In stores it will appear as: Villiers High School – Calming Rain Planter. We are seeking up to £1500 funding for a sustainable rain planter project that will host calming infusion plants for tea-making and stimulate the senses through sensory regulation. This initiative will include integrated seating and will be part of a calming garden designed specifically for the school. The rain planter project will benefit the school by:
- Promoting health and well-being through interaction with nature.
- Teaching students about sustainability and the benefits of growing food and pollution-reducing plants.
- Creating a habitat for insects and wildlife.
- Reducing localised flooding through sustainable design.
- Providing a calming space that supports the mental health of all students, particularly those with SEN.
- Villiers has also recently won the Gold Award in the TfL Travel for Life school programme which promotes sustainable travel. Congratulations to everyone involved in the fantastic activities organised last year. We have now been awarded £500 for our continuing efforts to promote low carbon travel.
- Family Survey: Thank you to everyone who completed this survey on what you think about sustainability and education. Thanks also to the families who volunteered to help in this area. I have contacted you all to discuss ways to help. Please reply soon if you want to get involved in any projects.
- The Eco-Warriors Club has moved to lunchtime on Wednesdays in the meeting room at 12.45 pm. Members can get a lunch queue pass from Mr Palmer to jump the queue in order to arrive on time for the club.
- Big Green Idea competition. The pupils made a fabulous video about their fast fashion project. The panel of judges from Ealing Council commended them for their strong idea, its creativity and passion and awarded them third place. Well done for all your excellent teamwork on this. Check out the video on our social media pages (below).
- Come along to Acton Reduce and Recycle Hub for their pre-loved free School Uniform Swap. It will take place on Saturday 1st February from 11.30 am to 3pm at the Reduce and Recycle Hub inside St Mary’s Church Acton. At their swaps, you can either give donations, take donations or both. It is all about getting everyone to wear their clothes for longer.
Below are a variety of workshops, guides and opportunities to support Villiers’ families
NHS: Is my child too ill for school?
Key School Information:
PE Extra Curricular Clubs Timetable
Please take a look at the timetable below offering extra curricular activities to all children.
Villiers Diner Menu – Week 2- beginning 27th Jan 2025
Spring Term Intervention Schedule for Years 11 & 13
Please find the Spring Term intervention schedule for Year 11 and 13. Sessions began on Monday, January 6th and will continue through Thursday, April 3rd. They will be offered before school, during lunchtime, and after school.
To see if your child has been selected to participate, please check their Google Classroom. If they have been invited, we strongly encourage them to attend these valuable support sessions.
Contacting Staff
A reminder that if you need to contact staff at school, please use the contact page on our school website to make sure you get through to the right person: https://www.villiers.ealing.sch.uk/contact
If you are reporting lateness or absence, please check the details on this page: https://www.villiers.ealing.sch.uk/key-information/my-child-is-going-to-be-absentlate
Pupils canteen accounts
From 13th January 2025, our school canteen will allow a maximum of £5 overdrawn per student on ParentPay. This is to ensure fair and manageable meal provisions for all.
If a ParentPay account balance is below this limit, students may not be able to purchase meals until funds are added. Please keep your account topped up to avoid any disruption or send your child with a packed lunch. This guidance does not apply to children on free school meals.
Detention Information
In order to support your child’s learning and keep standards high, we have introduced a new centralised teacher detention. This means that if a student’s behaviour has not improved after several reminders, they will have to sit a 40-minute detention after school.
We want to ensure that communication is made, so an automatic email will be sent to you, and students will sit the detention the next day, giving you 24 hours’ notice.
Please do remind your child about this and if you do have any queries about how we can best support your child, please do contact their Head of Year.
Penalty Notices
A reminder to families that following the new guidance on school attendance that came into effect from September, new absence fine rates and thresholds at which penalty notices can be considered are now in place. If a family takes their children out of school without authorisation for 5 or more days (which do not have to be consecutive) in a 10-week period, they will be liable to receive a penalty notice from Ealing. This can also include poor punctuality to school without an acceptable reason. Currently, the amount payable under a penalty notice is £160 per parent/carer, which reduces to £80 if paid within 21 days. If a further 5 days of absence occur, parents will be liable for a second penalty notice of £160 per parent per child with no reduction. If the penalty notice remains unpaid after 28 days, the Local Authority will consider a prosecution in the Magistrates Court.
Please note that penalty notices are issued per parent/carer per family so a family of two parents and two children will receive 4 penalty notices. Further absence could also result in prosecution.
We encourage all our families to notify us of any pupil absence, and for every day they are absent as well. You can report student absences or lateness by calling Ms Gough, our Attendance officer, on either 020 8813 8001 or 020 8867 9077, or by emailing studentabsence@villiers.ealing.sch.uk. When leaving a voice message, please ensure that you are using the mobile number we have on our system. If you have changed your number, please let us know.
For Sixth Form Absences – please contact Ms Boliya, our sixth form administrator, on 020 8813 8001 (extension 1478) or email sboliya@villiers.ealing.sch.uk
Dates for your diary
| 27th January | Sustainability Month Begins (Assemblies delivered by the Eco Warriors Club) |
| 29th January | Intermediate Mathematical Challenge Lunar New Year |
| 30th January | Year 7 – 10 P.E. Trip (Laser Tag) 10.30am – 2.30pm Project Active |
| 31st January | Higher Education Fair Year 13 reports sent home |
| 3rd February | LGBT+ History Month starts → 27th February |
| 4th February | Year 12 Work Experience (Portugal) → 26/02/25 Year 9 Movie Evening (3.30pm) |
| 6th February | Year 13 Parents’ Evening 4 – 6.30pm |
| 7th February | Year 10 Computer Science AI Developer Workshop Year 7 Sustainability Workshops (AM) |
| 10th February | Year 10 R.E. Trip to East London Mosque Family Forum (5 – 6pm) |
| 11th February | Year 9 Movie Night |
| 12th February | Year 11 Drama GCSE Performance Exam Year 9 Sexual Harassment Workshop Year 8 & 9 Mathematical Structures Workshop |
| 13th February | Year 9 Parents’ Options Meeting 5 – 6.30pm Years 7 – 12 PE Trip – Indoor Skiing |
| 15th February – 23rd February | HALF TERM HOLIDAY |
| 24th February | All return (To be in form rooms by 8.30am) Year 11 Mock Exams start in the gym → 7th March |
| 26th February | Year 10 Maths trip to the Bank of England |
| 27th February | Sixth form trip to the Bridge Theatre to see Richard II |
| 28th February | Year 9 Art Trip to the British Museum |
| 4th March | HPV and Teenage Booster Vaccinations |
| 5th March | Year 11 GCSE Music Ensemble Recording → 7th March |
| 6th March | Full Governing Board Meeting 6pm |
In case you missed it, here is the link below to our previous bulletins: Villiers’ Family Bulletins
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.