On 12 January, we were invited by the University of West London to watch Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare. This allowed the text to be brought to life, as we could get a sense of the lighting and music, as well as the jocular body language. The play proved beneficial, as we were able to gain an introduction to the play's key themes and ideas, and seeing it being explored in real life has really developed my understanding of the text, as I now feel confident tackling harder quotations and exam questions.  Furthermore, this play was extremely humorous, and some scenes were so hysterical, it was inevitable to laugh!

As well as this, we were given the opportunity to speak to the actors and the director of the show, who were very friendly, and discussed not only the play, but careers in acting.  The director also talked us through some of her choices for the set, such as the clothing each character wore, and how she intended to challenge gender stereotypes. The University was very welcoming, as we were able to get a feel of the different courses they have to offer, such as Fashion or Aviation, as well as getting to see the student-run restaurant. Overall, the day was full of smiles and laughter, and I look forward to studying this play further!

Amna Younus [12F] and Arshil Warsi [12F]

On Thursday, 20 December, I had the privilege of delivering our school's donations of non-perishable food items and toiletries to Hounslow Food Box.  This is an annual event; our students this year outdid themselves and were able to raise a sizeable cash donation alongside over 10 large boxes of food items.  Meeting with the volunteers at Hounslow Food Box to hand over the donations was a very rewarding experience and they were impressed with the clear effort and support of our students, and the amount of money we raised. 

Uma [13F]

I am so proud of our school for raising over £1000 to donate to the Hounslow Food Box.  The Hounslow Food Box is a local charity helping and supporting local people and so it is with great pride that we chose to raise funds for them to carry on with their amazing community outreach.  Students, teachers and parents came together to donate toiletries and food for those in need and the volunteers at the Food Box were so very grateful.

Kaia [9Y

]

Year 10 take on the ‘Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge’, 24 November 2023

During Year 10’s assembly on Tuesday, 30 January, four finalists took to the stage to deliver meaningful, heartfelt, engaging speeches in the next round of the ‘Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge’. Aparna 10G, Mibzall 10W, Prem 10R and Manmeet 10O were exceptional in their delivery and were impressive to listen to. The resilience, ambition and determination all four students demonstrated was admirable.

Miss Strachan [Year 10 Learning Coordinator]

Year 10 were an amazing audience for our four outstanding finalists in the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge, showing incredible support for their classmates. Prem's speech reflected on each individual's route to success, it was inspirational and delivered with clarity and confidence. Aparna's speech on the challenges faced by immigrant communities and the important role parents play in our lives was engaging and self-assured. Manmeet's speech on the impact of medical errors was emotive, she showed such bravery in sharing her experience in front of so many. Mibzall employed an effective hook in his speech about making the most of our time each day. It was a thought provoking speech delivered with aplomb.

After a gruelling debate, the judges declared Aparna Bisht our school finalist with a special commendation for Manmeet Sidhu, who will act as our reserve. The regional final will take place on 27 February.

Ms Kaur [Assistant Curriculum Leader of English KS4]

“On Friday, 24 November we did our ‘Jack Petchey’ workshop, the ‘Speak Out Challenge’. In this workshop, we learnt about how to formulate a speech and speak confidently in front of our peers. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it as we played various games throughout the day, which helped improve our communication skills. My speech was about appreciating our parents as they have done everything for us. Overall, I enjoyed this workshop and feel that it improved my skills at speaking out confidently, which will help me in the future.” Aparna [10G]

      

“On Friday, 24 November we had a ‘Speak Out’ workshop with Jenny. We learnt three ideas about giving a speech: content, delivery and structure. We had our own booklet we could write in. We planned our speeches in bullet points and delivered them in front of everyone. For me, I wrote about knife crime and how it impacts this generation and future ones. I think this workshop helped people to step out of their comfort zones and make them confident outside school, preparing them for workplaces.” Anzal [10O]

"My experience of crafting and performing a speech for Jack Petchey was both eye-opening and aided my progression in my confidence and oral skills. I would also like to sincerely share my appreciation for Ms Kaur for her help and devotion, ensuring all four participants were ready to perform their speech live, to the whole year group. This unique experience is one I will never forgot!" Prem [10R]

“I gained confidence by speaking to everyone about why petrol and diesel cars should not be banned. The activities improved my body language and speaking skills.” Manveer [10W]

“On the day, I completed lots of speaking tasks which developed my confidence and I looked at what makes a speech effective: body language and delivery. I will be completing in the final talking about ‘1984’.” Harman [10W]

"I enjoyed all the speeches, they were all unique and inspiring. Aparna's was amazing, her hand gestures and questions to the audience made the speech feel personal and as if she were personally speaking to us and she made great points on immigrant parents. Manmeet's speech was really personal and emotional, she was so brave for telling us her story about her father's death due to medical negligence, and it was so inspiring to hear her talk about it with such bravery and spreading awareness. All the speeches were fantastic and they were really inspiring and thought-provoking." Raveena [10Y]

    

 

Cultural Fusion was probably the best day of this year so far, the vibes, the people and the event as a whole was so fun I can’t wait for next year!

Jaya Kaur Dhillon [9B]

Cultural Fusion was an amazing experience to showcase all our talents!

Everyone had great fun and the show went amazingly due to the help of the Sixth Formers. We are so grateful for getting a chance to perform and can't wait for the next one!

Jaania Kanwar [9Y]

Cultural Fusion was so fun! I really enjoyed playing for the audience, the crowd were wild with their shouting and singing! All the acts were amazing; the bhangra dancing, the Dhol, the singers and all the other musicians included! Everything went really well and everyone was having a good time and so did the performers. Big shout out to all the Sixth Formers who made the show run so smoothly.

We couldn't have done it without them; we all had such an amazing evening of singing and dancing.

Alicia Joseph [11Y]

  

  

On Friday, 08 December T-Level Business and Healthcare Science students across Year 12 and 13 had the opportunity to attend a workshop organised by GateOneConsultancy, a consultancy firm based in Central London. We learnt about how to write a CV and cover letter.  The focus of the session was to show us how to build our skills, develop ourselves personally as applicants to showcase what we can bring to different organisations. They introduced us to a method called the Ikigai, a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a sense of purpose, a reason for living.

This method used four questions:

1. What I am good at? 

2. What I love? 

3. What the world needs? 

4. What can you be paid for? 

This helped me to analyse and see the variety of career paths that I could pursue based on my skills. As part of the session, we were also introduced to the STAR technique, a significant technique to use during an interview. We worked in pairs, practising the different interview questions using the STAR technique. It was challenging, as thinking on the spot was difficult, however as time passed we did learn how to use the technique and were able to refine our answers to be clear and concise. The benefits of the workshop experience was very insightful and helpful to allow us to prepare for interviews in the future.

Wasi Syed [13F] T-level Management & Administration