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News & Events

October 2022

  • Super Learning Day

    Published 31/10/22

    The first Super Learning Day of this academic year saw students taking part in a book display competition, participating in workshops, and brushing up on their interview skills.

    Years 7 to 10 teamed up in groups to rise to the challenge of making book displays that represent different stories from around the world. They put their team-work, creativity and art skills to the test to create some amazing 3D displays using a mystery box of exciting materials.

    They also used their literacy and writing skills to write summaries, quotes, and even alternative endings to their stories. All the groups produced stunning displays, and it was very difficult to pick a winner!

    But, huge congratulations to…

    Group 7 [Ms Nsiah] – The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

    The competition was very close, so all groups should be incredibly proud of what they produced, particularly our runner-ups:

    Group 22 [Mr Haque] – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

    Group 9 [Mrs Wassi] – Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

    Year 12 were fortunate enough to work with Dale Williams and our very own Ms Gould to develop their confidence and interview skills. They really enjoyed their day and found it very useful!

    Year 11 focussed on preparing for their English and Mathematics GCSEs and Year 13 worked closely with a group of teachers and an external University Admissions Tutor to improve their UCAS applications and/or CVs. Good luck to everyone applying this year!

    All in all, the day was a huge success, and we hope there are many more to come in the future!

    Here’s what some Hestonians had to say:

    “On the day I was super excited because it was something I have never done before. We all had to take on different roles like: modelling, drawing the scenes, making a book review, making the book structure and many more jobs. Everyone was involved. Every year group up to Year 10 had to use their imagination and teamwork skills to create a pop-up book. I had so much fun doing this because we had to create and work together.” – Shazil Raja [7O]

    When my teachers first told me about Super Learning Day, I got really intrigued and wanted to do it then, but I had to wait for the day. The night before I was so excited. Then I went to the class the teacher was there, and I was ready to do it. He went through the PowerPoint, and I was even more excited. Then we started to read the books. I hadn't read either of these books so reading them was a new experience. We started design, I started to design aliens because we chose Doctor Who and that was a sci-fi book. Through period 3-6 we started to make it, I made aliens and planets. In the last 30 minutes we started to stick the things on the book. Overall, it was so much fun and if someone else were to do it from another school, I think they would have just as much fun as I had. – Lana-Maria Juneda [7O]

     “Super Learning Day was fun as I interacted with new people and created a masterpiece making an open book on Alex Rider.  We used cardboard to make our 3D book. After sticking in paper, we drew Alex Rider and the villains on each page. Some of the boys made Katanas [swords] and we glued them on.” – Damini Grewal [9O]

    “We used our imagination and made a very abstract project. Super Learning Day was a great experience and a fun day dedicated to interacting with other students from different Year Groups to create a masterpiece. I can’t wait for the next one!” – Haris Junaid [9O]

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  • Careers' Week

    Published 31/10/22

    Medicine

    As part of Careers' Week, we welcomed Dr Ryan Jaswal [Bucks NHS Trust] who explained his own pathway into medicine.  It was very informative, and given that he is also from the local area very encouraging for us as students.  He was very clear about how hard it can be but reassured us that it can be done.  He took the postgraduate out into medicine and that was very interesting to learn about.

    Anit Lond [12D]

    Metropolitan Police

    We were very lucky to have Sergeant Patel come to the School to discuss careers with the Met Police.  He as very frank about the challenges currently being faced by them and how we could potentially be part of a much improved police service.

    Ibrahim Irfan [12D]

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  • Sixth Form Kiosk

    Published 31/10/22

    The kiosk is a great addition to our new Sixth Form Outside Area.  It is a Sixth Form only space which speeds up service and allows us to socialise easily outside.  The range of items is also impressive.  I would love hot chocolate in the winter as well though.

    Mansour Celab Year 13

     

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  • Heston Alumni Festival

    Published 27/10/22

    During careers week, we organised a Heston Alumni Festival where the Alumni were invited back to speak to students from Y9 - Y13 about their time at Heston, what they achieved, how they achieved it and what they currently do. The students thoroughly enjoyed the event, and had many questions to ask the Alumni!

    STUDENTS: 

    I found the Alumni event very helpful to expand my ideas on what I want to do for the future after leaving Heston. Hearing about others and their journey after graduating Sixth Form helped open my eyes and give me a general idea on the options that I have when doing so too. The speeches made were interesting as we saw what career paths they have chosen after being in the same position as us [a student at Heston] and informing us about the positives of their lives.  

    Sameer Gulati [12D]

    It was a great experience, just having an insight into different careers that previous Heston students went into. I learnt about their different routes into their career paths and what they do on a day-to-day basis. Even gaining knowledge on some skills required for their jobs and what their motivation and rewards were for it. There were two people I was really interested in, and have already asked for their contact details to learn more! 

    Iman Zaini Rusly [12G]

    ALUMNI: 

    It was important for me to visit my childhood town and school to share my experiences and advice on how the next generation can fulfil their ambitions. It was a great feeling being back at Heston after 18 years, and being able to see the school site, reminiscing my school days. The afternoon started with a tour of the school, and I was amazed to see how many changes that had been made over the years – a sign of the improvements across the site, but also seeing how it improves the students learning environment.  

    The Heston Alumni Festival was a brilliant opportunity for myself and the other Alumni to talk about ourselves, what we achieved at Heston and beyond. The students will achieve whatever they put their minds to and Heston Alumni will do whatever they can in order to motivate such a mindset. It was a pleasure being back, and would like to come again and speak to more students. 

    Gurveer Singh Calay 

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  • School Canteen Expansion

    Published 27/10/22

    Along with the many changes across the school site, there have been some building works completed in the school canteen.

    I always thought the canteen was nice but felt it was a little small. Over the holidays, there has been an expansion which allows more of us to be in there during break and lunch. It is more spacious, and feels less crowded which allows us to enjoy our lunch more. The canteen itself looks more updated, and modern which is appealing to a lot of us. 

    We think the changes made across all the school site have been amazing, including the canteen.

    Mohamed Bouaroudj [10P]

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  • Happy 90th Birthday Heston

    Published 21/10/22

    We were delighted to have contributed to making the display to celebrate Heston's 90th Birthday. The display included art, messages to friends and teachers and historical photographs, arranged in the pattern of balloons. This is the place that we genuinely feel we have found our true selves and our best friends. It is the place that has helped us to become better people and learn important values. We are so glad to go this school. Happy 90th Birthday Heston!

    Harnoor Kaur and Heer Aoja [9G]

     

     

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  • Our First Science Club Experience

    Published 18/10/22

    This week we went to our first Science Club. We have only been there for one session and this was an amazing experience! We have been recommending this to many children and lots of 7 Orange are now coming next week. 

    We investigated the energy and combustion of assorted products. We blew into a tube full of icing sugar, over a Bunsen burner, and it created a huge ball of fire!! 

    This was some peoples first time ever lighting a match! It was brilliant to see students be resilient and determined.  

    Zahra Haidary and Simran Lali [7O]

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  • Spark T Level Workshop

    Published 14/10/22

    Opting to do T-level Management & Administration in the Sixth Form, gave me the opportunity to attend a workshop, hosted by Spark, a work experience provider for local schools. The aim of the workshop was to work on our employability and interview skills. Spark are based in GSK on the Bath Road, so often have experiences of interviews and the recruitment process in general. We learnt about presenting ourselves as a personal brand unique from others by developing the skill of persuasiveness. Spark used a very hands-on approach during the workshop.  We all had to take it in turns to convince others that our chosen flavour of crisps was the best.  The task seemed daunting at first, but as we progressed we became more at ease and were able to express ourselves with a degree of confidence.  The experience was insightful and most importantly it help us to build our employability skills, which will no doubt be useful in the future. 

    Wasi Syed [T-Level Management & Administration - Year 12] 

     

     

     

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  • More Able Information Evening

    Published 14/10/22

    On Thursday, 29 September, parents and carers of high attaining pupils were invited to an evening of inspiration, information and advice on how to make sure their child thrives at Heston. 

    Ex-Hestonians Jasleen Nagi and Dean Chugtai, both second-year Imperial College medical students, delivered an inspirational keynote on how to make the most of the time at Heston. Heston was also proud to welcome back Talha Javed, a second-year engineering student at Cambridge, and Puneet Bansal, a first-year Economics and Management student at Bristol. They all delivered specialised sessions on how to make competitive applications to the most competitive universities. 

    I found the More Able Information evening extremely informative and helpful, and it gave students the unique opportunity to speak to previous Heston students at Russell Group universities. It was extremely in-depth and covered and expansive range of topics such as writing personal statements, enrichment activities, entrance exams and study techniques.

    Priyal Bharatkumar, another Year 12 student said "The evening really helped and inspired me regard the future career paths and opportunities that are available. For example, there was a talk from an engineering student studying the University of Cambridge which was especially helpful. The insight into the application process and how to get work experience was and will be extremely valuable!".

    Suchi Nair, in Year 8 took on board "the numerous revision strategies and techniques" in the KS3 session and similarly found the stories of other students who managed to get top grades inspiring - so much so that she added "They inspired me to put more effort into my studies and revision"!

    Chloe Achkar [12E]

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  • Open Day

    Published 13/10/22

    This year in our school, we had the Open Morning and Evening, which was different to what we had in the past. Parents came in with their children to view our school to see what it is like inside, and to experience a variety of subjects being taught.

    All the parents I guided thoroughly enjoyed the environment of our school and more importantly, the children were excited, and were looking forwards to coming to Heston.

    I enjoyed talking to new people and telling them about my experiences in school, and welcoming them hoping they consider Heston to send their child to.

    Alishma Fernandes.

    I was one of the tour guides on Open Morning and Evening. This year was quite different to previous years as we held an Open Morning where parents and their children got a presentation from our Headteacher, Mr Ranjit Berdesha, on our school and how it operates. We had some current and past students gave a speech about their experiences and achievements in our school which was so inspirational to listen to. After the speeches were done, in Open Morning, the Year 11s took a group of parents and children around the whole school while lessons were taking place and gave the parents a glimpse at what their child’s education would be like by entering a few classes and talking to some teachers. After the tour, all the parents and guides entered the main hall for some snacks and beverages while the teachers and guides were floating around, communicating with the parents and answering any unasked questions that they had.

    In the evening, once again, Mr Berdesha gave his presentation and the students gave their speeches in front of 200+ people. After the speeches, the guides [ranging from Year 8 – 11] took a group of parents and children around the whole school and into classrooms where separate presentations on each department were taking place, such as the Maths and English department, while the teachers were interacting and answering any questions that the parents had such as the curriculum. The department that caught most of the children's eye was the Science department as many experiments were taking place that the Science teachers and Sixth Formers were conducting.

    While I was giving my tour, I got a lot of great feedback from the parents on how much they loved how the school looked as a whole and how they were in awe as they saw the number of students on the Hogarth wall that achieved such amazing grades and the universities they went to. The atmosphere around the school in the morning and evening was energetic as the parents and children were so eager to learn about the school and pleased to have the ability to ask their guides that have been in this school for many years about what they think about the school and what their personal experiences have been.

    Kiranpreet Gill Year 11

     

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  • Stand Up Conference 29 September 2022

    Published 06/10/22

    Today’s event allowed students from different year groups to explore various issues affecting young people.  I took part in a conference on equality with other schools from across the country. The conference had multiple presenters from completely different backgrounds, speaking on a wide variety of topical issues. We learnt about the issues of pornography, child on child abuse and inequality of women in our society. As a group, we chose to discuss the various ways on how to tackle these growing problems. For example: Child on child abuse has, for a long period of time, caused distress on children therefore our group's main verdict was to ensure that children are well educated and they know what actions can cause serious harm, in other words, actions that are wrong. Collectively, after today's event, we felt as though Heston Community School is doing its best in ensuring inequality, harassment or any other issues are being tackled in our school community. 

    Rezah Haidary Year 12 

    I found the conference on addressing harmful sexual behaviours incredibly educational and interesting.  There were several impressive and powerful speakers who got their point across in a manner that stuck with me, particularly on the issue of feminism.  The lessons learnt in the conference will stay with me for a long time, and I am very excited about sharing what I learnt with my year group. 

    Omolara Moloney Year 12 

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  • Cambridge University Visit

    Published 06/10/22

    When I first stepped onto the Cambridge University ground, I initially felt out of place, as the buildings were extremely grand and prestigious, however I was surprised to see a variety of scholars from different backgrounds and races instead of wealthy, predominantly Caucasian people you would perhaps expect.

    We started with a lecture in either STEM, Arts or Humanities. I chose the STEM biology and natural sciences lecture, taught by a senior student who had recently received her PhD in the field. In the lecture we were taught about the wonders of bacteria and enzymes and how scientists are tackling plastic pollution by changing the genetic code of amino acid chains. I found the subject really informative. 

    We had a chance to have lunch with current students, and ask them lots of questions. We also received a tour of the campus including: the student union, the library, students very own dormitories and to see two Halls of Residence that make up the 31 Cambridge Colleges!

    Overall it was an incredible experience and I loved the fact that students and staff were very informative and inviting.

    Bob Ryatt [10R]

    University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridge, England - Book Tickets &  Tours | GetYourGuide

     

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October 2022