bsfg spring highlights 2016

BRENTFORD SCHOOL FOR GIRLSspring HIGHLIGHTS 2016

A2 photographyphotography by Amal Yusuf, Omaima Kasmi and Hanna Malik

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IMAGINE THE FUTURE BRENTFORD GIRL...

she thrives on challenge and has a desire to fulfil her learning potential. she is able to think independently and is confident in her social and

academic capability. she is emotionally aware and emotionally intelligent.

she is capable and dependable.she is resourceful and inquisitive.

she embraces the technological world as a global village and is ready to interact with others in the local and worldwide community.

she accepts the welfare of others as her responsibility. she understands the need for sustainable living both locally and globally.

she is ready for life in the future - whatever that may be.

She is the centre of our vision

and will remain the very core of our being and purpose.

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Head teacher’s welcomeI am delighted to welcome you to the Easter edition of the highlights magazine. It has been an incredibly busy, fast paced and short spring term. This edition is packed with opportunities and activities which have enriched the girls’ experience of Brentford and helped to develop those wider skills of the ‘Brentford Girl’ of our schools vision.

In February we welcomed Ofsted to the school. Our previous inspection had been in 2011, so we were delighted that they finally decided to visit again. The school was again graded ‘Good’ and inspectors were unanimous in their verbal feedback to make clear that we are a very good school. The new inspection framework changed in September 2015, making it incredibly difficult, almost impossible for schools to get an outstanding grading. Many schools have actually dropped from their previous grading as the inspection framework has become much more challenging since the changes have been made. The inspection report itself is incredibly positive about the school with only two very small areas for development. We were delighted that the report identifies that the girls at Brentford are treated as individuals and that ‘Every girl is known well’; one pupil said, ‘We are like a family’. The schools ethos that every child counts permeates throughout the life of the school’ (Ofsted 2016) I have three children, two at secondary school and one still in the primary phase. An education that matters is one that focuses on individuals and looks holistically at the child, grows them and helps to nurture and develop their talents and abilities. This is certainly something I would want for my own children and we continue to strive at Brentford, to try and achieve this for your daughters. On behalf of the school community I would like to thank the staff, students and of course you as parents for supporting our values and for ensuring that we are all striving for the same things.

A week after our inspection we received a letter from Nick Gibb MP, schools minister, informing us that we have been congratulated for being one of the top 100 schools in England, for the progress our students make. A massive achievement! If this isn’t outstanding….what is???

This edition of the highlights magazine I hope will provide you with a flavour of what is going on across the school outside of the lesson time. We have run a huge number of community activities over the last term and it has been great to see so many parents join us in these. Last Friday we held a parent daughter/daughter craft morning for Year 7 parents. It was smashing to see so many of you attend this event, taking time away from your jobs and busy lives to come into school and work alongside your daughters. The girls were beaming and the parents who attended all provided incredibly positive feedback about the activities. Thank you to those of you who were able to attend this session.

Please do take some time to look through the magazine and continue to tell your friends and families about the work that we are doing at our school. We are currently full in year 7 (September 2016) with a waiting list, and it is important to us that we allow as many children to join our community who put us as first choice, to get a place at Brentford. We do have a few vacancies in some of our other year groups, so if you do have friends and family who are looking for a great school, please do ask them to contact us directly.

Thank you for all your support this term

On behalf of all of the staff and students at Brentford, we wish you a very peaceful Easter break

Best wishes

Marais Leenders

Creating artwork at Chiswick

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Harry Potter Night

Student adding her final touches for the berkeley homes project

Harry Potter Night

Harry Potter Night

the Berkeley Home project - working progress

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Gate, a new development by Berkeley Homes6th form students were invited by Berkeley Homes (West London) to take part in a creative art project to transform an area of temporary internal fencing at its new Chiswick Gate development on Burlington Lane, where the award-winning housebuilder is delivering a collection of apartments and townhouses, along with an abundance of stunning outside space.

Encouraged by two of Berkeley Homes’ core values ‘Be Passionate’ and ‘Think Creative’, each of the 20 A-level students worked on an individual composition to create a group mural.

Ben Loombe-Temple, Site Manager at Berkeley Homes’ Chiswick Gate development said:

“Contributing to the communities in which we operate underpins everything we do at Berkeley Homes. This latest partnership, with Brentford School for Girls, is a project that we are very proud of”.

“The students were a pleasure to work with and undertook the task at hand with energy, enthusiasm and professionalism, as well as awareness of the environment they were in. The mural, which forms part of the student’s A-level art project, has made a lasting contribution to the site and has inspired and motivated our workforce, for which we would like to thank them.”

Ms Lynsey Storey, Head of Art who headed the project, added “The girls produced a fantastic mural, one that they should be very proud of, they developed excellent team work skills as the project progressed”

Liz Gers, Community Co-ordinator

The Second Harry Potter “Night of Spells”It was once again held in the Library Great Hall!The evening was attended by 20 students which was a magical turnout. We started off the evening by the girls finding out their Harry Potter names, which once again generated huge amounts of laughter. Then the students were put into their Harry Potter houses by using the sorting hat.In their houses they had competitions such as Wizard Duels, Static Electricity (trying to get a drinks can to move by using a balloon), Enchanted Parchment (secret writing using a wax candle and watercolour paint).During the interval the students tasted ‘Berti Botts Every Flavoured Beans’, and other Harry Potter themed food. The evening ended with the Ultimate Spellathon Trivia Challenge.

Congratulations, Slytherin were the overall winners.

Katarzyna Baker, Head Librarian

Victory to the Year 7 Netball The Year 7 netball team thrashed rivals Heston Community School away from home! The end result was an unbelievable 16-0! The team members Avani Sehijpal, Elle Eltham, Zulieka Franklin, Sumaya Aljohani, Tallulah Paisley, Sara Escalona Briceno, Lara Halpern, Zakia Mossi Khamis and Alessia Milhailov were Victorious on Wednesday 3rd February 2016. The team started strongly and straightaway in the first quarter scored many goals. The only disadvantage for Heston was that they only had 5 players, but they were determined to win the match at home and beat Brentford. The Brentford team pulled it out of the bag! After our huge victory, the netball team is at the top of the league! Special and massive thanks to Miss Giddens for preparing us for this triumphant win and Blerta Ibishi for also motivating and encouraging us! By Avani Sehijpal

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Hounslow school library9 students attended an event organised by Hounslow School Library Services to celebrate World Book Day. They were lucky to be able to listen to Caroline Lawrence – author of the Roman Mystery series, who gave a very interesting talk on what inspired

her to become an author and how she writes her books. Various students expressed their opinion on the event:

“It was amazing to be part of this little trip to meet a famous Author”

“I learnt about writing stories and getting inspired… I really liked the way she described it in a fun way.”

“It was super funny and has inspired me to write more stories about history and mystery.”

“She told us some amazing facts about the Roman people; her books are very adventurous and fun”!

“She talked about some of her books. She likes to write about Rome and Greece. Caroline Lawrence was funny.”

“I went to the Paul Robeson theatre and I really enjoyed today.”

Katarzyna Baker, Head Librarian

6th formWorld Book Day was a colourful affair this year with Year 7s and the 6th Form dressing up as book characters both classic and modern. The English and Drama departments read passages from their favourite books around the school site whilst the 6th Form Centre

was transformed into Wonderland for the Mad Hatter’s tea party. A group of Year 7s enjoyed a Disney Book/Movie Quiz followed

by some book-inspired classic party games. Everyone that was involved enjoyed the day and the whole school will be given the chance to partake in this wonderful day next year!

world book day

year 7 students showing off their world book day costumes

year 7 students enjoying the ‘mad hatters tea party’

6th formers celebrating world book day

Hounslow school library celebrate world book day

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year 9 maths masterclassesThis Year, a collection of Year 9 students were selected by The Royal Institution for places at a series of Mathematics Masterclasses. Our students attended six sessions at Kingston University on a variety of topics exploring the use of Mathematics outside the classroom. The Master classes were run by guest speakers, some who work in Mathematical related fields.Our students teamed up with other Year 9 students from secondary schools across Hounslow, Kingston and Richmond. One particular session involved working in teams to create the most robust bridge made from paper, string, tape and card. The guest speaker was an Engineer who had helped design parts of the recent Olympic Velodrome in Stratford.Other sessions looked at probability and puzzles, the Mathematics of Navigation and Games and moral Calculations.Studying Mathematics opens up a lot of options leading to interesting Careers. We want to particularly congratulate Arshpreet Supra and Faryal Sajida for taking part in the Masterclasses.

Sameem Malik, Head of Key Stage 3 Mathematics

Sky Fast forward schemeIn December 2015 I applied for the Sky Fast Forward Apprenticeship scheme. Every year Sky offer 6 apprenticeships to young people studying in the Borough of Hounslow. It’s a unique opportunity to be a part of a fantastic company and for as long as I can remember I have wanted to work for Sky. I really enjoy my A levels in Media, Photography and Geography, with my passion being filming and editing, and I wanted to get some practical experience before I went into further education.During the Christmas break I spent a lot of time completing an application. For this I did extensive research, and tried to think behind their questions,

what they really wanted to know about me and how I could best sell myself and my skills. for February I was asked to be available for a telephone interview. Due to my nervousness, I again prepared with prompt cards after doing further research and undergoing practice over and over. The Interview seemed to go quite well.I was invited for an assessment day in March and I was so excited! On Assessment day I had a group exercise and a one to one interviews – everyone there was so friendly and helpful and I really felt at ease, but there were some great candidates and I was not sure how well I came across.Fortunately it was not too long before Sky called me to tell me I had been offered a place with the Creative Team. I still can’t believe I will be working for them. I cannot tell you how happy I am and how much I would like to thank everyone who helped me.

Christina MacCallum

year 7 & parents arts & CraftsThe ‘Arts & Crafts morning was an event for parents to join us and their daughters in taking part in a creative workshop. The workshops were led by Mrs Mullet, Ms Rogers, Ms Storer, and Ms Welsh. The four workshops covered felt flower making, cooking, name initial plate making, and broach making. The morning was very attended by over fifty parents.

It was a fantastic event with some lovely comments from parents which included: “Great idea, lovey to be part of, good to bond with my daughter, Very relaxing and wonderful to see my daughter attempt things that do not come naturally to her, love to do it again, really fun and friendly staff”

Ms Storer Head of Art added “Parents were particularly grateful to be able to spend quality time with their daughters, it was a heart-warming experience”.


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group photo at the cisco event

a news room at the Cisco event 6th formers trial a green screen at the cisco event

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Youth Conference at Mulberry School for Girls On the 25th of February, 9 Year 13 students went to Mulberry School for Girls to be a part of its 15th annual Youth Conference amongst other selected schools around the UK. Firstly, the students took part in a Q&A with panellists that are well renowned in their respective fields e.g. Art and Law. Then students were split into discussion groups to discuss how one should tackle difficult issues such as: Islamophobia, Immigration and Human Rights. The knowledge and insight gained through this assisted the students with their afternoon workshops where they had the chance to use critical thinking and creativity to begin to deal with issues surrounding social justice. Well done to Tasneem Elnayal, Evy Mansour, Raabiah Atta, Pritha Majumder, Hana Grant, Georgina Mukalere and Jasleen Kaur who delivered a powerful assembly about this experience which left the 6th Form (tutors included) very inspired!

Love Literacy Event The ‘Love Literacy’ event was an opportunity for parents to join us and their daughters in celebrating their reading success in the first half of the Spring Term. Ms Evans, Literacy Co-ordinator, delivered a short presentation on ‘How to support your daughter with her reading, after which there was the opportunity for questions and answers. Additionally there was the opportunity to meet our Librarians Ms Baker (Head of Library) and Ms ‘O’Sullivan (Library Assistant) and to look at ‘Accelerated Reader’ information using a laptop. It was a wonderful event with over thirty parents attending, with some lovely comments which included: I’m very happy for all of the help” another parent added “The workshop was good to understand the progress of my daughter, thank you for running this workshop”


Newnham TripOn the 4th of February, the Year 12 Newnham group visited Brunel University, to take part in a library research skills session. The girls spent the first half of the day learning about Harvard Referencing as well as an introduction to critical thinking and the importance of employing this in their academic writing - both of which are essential skills they will have to practice in order to complete their Extended Project Qualification. After lunch, the girls got taken on a tour of the campus and first year accommodation by current undergraduates. Layosa Kakar of 12C said “the trip to Brunel University helped me get a better understanding about university life and other skills that you need when you’re at university; overall it was a fantastic trip.

Vanessa Lyall, 6th Form Pastoral Supporter

CISCODuring the February half-term holiday Jumana Malik, Layosa Kakar, Sahar Mangal and Zahraa Basma, all in Year 12 attended the Cisco A Level Work Experience programme. The students beat off stiff competition to secure one of 36 places and spent 4 days working in the Bedfont based IT company. Each student spent two days in CISCO headquarters understanding more about the business overall, seeing their technology in action, being interviewed in a speed interviewing session and participating as part of a small group in a Dragon’s Den competition. The students spent the middle two days with specific departments including Global Virtual Sales, Enterprise Sales (Retail) and Supply Chain, learning more about the work the employees undertake and hopefully being inspired to join the IT industry in the future. Jumana said “the work experience ‘exceeded my expectations, it was a very interactive time as I took part in a Dragons Den competition, a teleconference and witnessed some of their amazing technology. The experience wasn’t only about getting to know the company and its roles; with the ‘Global Virtual Sales’ team, they helped prepare me on job and university interviews, writing a CV, personal statements

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Year 8 Students presenting their certificates at the Royal Holloway university

year 8 students prior to their tour and celebration

A gary Hume Art piece recently on exhibit at the Tate modern museum

Students embracing traditional uniforms at the RAF Museum

house captains

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etc. I got to make new links with the people that I met that are still helping me which is really helpful if in the future I may need their opinion”. Layosa worked in the retail team and feedback from department staff was glowing: ‘The feedback on the girls from the retail team was very positive. We found them to be genuinely interested and curious in anything we involved them in. Without being prompted, they chipped in with interesting ideas and opinions which challenged our thinking. The most impressive thing about them, as well as their intelligence and courtesy, was their confidence in expressing their opinion on a wide range of subjects and defending that opinion when challenged. They are a credit to their families and their school.’

Emma Brown, Careers Education Co-ordinator

My Day at the RAF MuseumOn the 23rd February 2015, the pupils from our ASD Centre visited the RAF museum. They met a representative who, upon arrival, showed them around and patiently described the historical background of a selection of aircraft. Many of these planes had flown in the first and second world wars. The girls also tried on clothes that were once worn by soldiers and were then given some free time to wonder around and enjoy the displays. Emily, a student which attended the trip shares her experiences:

Sasha and I found this plane and the place had to pick up the cargo and then you had to drop it into a target. Then Sasha and I found this area that you could watch this documentary about when a plane got bombed and it was very upsetting to watch. I really enjoyed when all of us tried on the uniform and we got to wear the hats as well. Sasha and I had loads of fun because we walked all through the museum and we had loads of fun looking at all the planes. The most funny thing that happened is that when Sasha went around the corner and I made her jump! When Sasha and I found the air raid shelter it was disgusting, we saw people (that were dummies) were sitting in the air raid waiting for the bombs to go. This is the best trip I’ve ever been to.

Museum of Water & SteamIn early February, 20 students in Key Stage 4 and 5 enjoyed an informative twilight session at the London Museum of Water and Steam hearing about volunteering opportunities available there. Students signed up on the spot for opportunities as event assistants, meeter & greeters, education assistants and engine drivers (see picture of the Thomas Wicksteed engine). We also had time to explore the Victorian museum which houses an impressive 90” Cornish Beam Engine the largest working beam engine in the world! 6th formers Laila Mangali and Lawin Baban signed up and attended Event’s Assistant training during the half-term holiday. Volunteering is an excellent way to develop transferable skills for the world of work as well as giving something back to the local community.

If any students are interested in volunteering at the Museum, please see Ms Brown in Careers for an application form. You must be over 14 years old.


Gary Hume ScholarshipGary Hume, a painter who studied at the south London university during the 1980’s presented an opportunity for young artists to apply for scholarships worth £75,000 to study at Goldsmiths, University of London. The concept is to support artists from poorer backgrounds.

Former Brentford School for Girls art student Tayaba Arain, who left in 2013 was one of two initial students awarded a £12.500.00 scholarship to study at the prestigious London university, Goldsmiths. Tayaba now has the opportunity to use the money to buy art materials or help with expenses.

Gary Hume said: “I decided to help because it’s incredibly difficult for young artists. I wanted to help lower the incredible burden on families to help in the current climate.” He also stated “The most important thing this money will bring these students is time. If you haven’t got any money then you have to spend time earning money. Art takes so much time, this

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6th form students collecting data for their biology coursework

6th Form students take advantage of their trip to the Tate Modern museum during RE Day

6th Form students analyse and understand a painting at the Tate Modern museum

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will give them a bit more time to spend working, doing what they’re supposed to be doing, making mistakes and learning.

With the Scholarship, Tayaba will be beginning her Fine Art course in September 2016. Tabaya was always gifted as an art student and as a school, we’re proud of her to be granted this scholarship and know that this will bridge the road ahead in giving her the opportunity to follow her love for art & crafts.

Lynsey Storer, Subject Leader of Art

Brilliant Club Graduation Trip to Royal Holloway UniversityIn the Autumn term, 11 Year 8 students worked incredibly hard to complete a university style assignment. Their assigned PHD tutor was massively impressed with their work, with the girls achieving excellent GCSE level work and 2 students, Rhiannon Pateman and Muskan Khurana were also awarded a ‘Distinction’ by their tutor.

In February the girls were rewarded with a ‘Graduation Trip’ to Royal Holloway University, where they were given a tour of the campus and their work was celebrated in a university style graduation ceremony.

The girls should be incredibly proud of themselves and the work they achieved. Their PHD tutor said that they were one of the best groups she had ever worked with!

Chloe St Paul, Mathematics Teacher

Vinspired VolunteeringCongratulations to Veronika Nikolova, Zoe O’Logbon, Kavita Kaur, Morsal Noori, Daria Boloz and Chloe Hore (Year 8) who have all recently accrued over 100 hours of volunteering, achieving the top award from vInspired: the v100 certificate. Since Christmas, students across all year groups have been busy volunteering and logging their hours on the school’s vInspired portal. Students have been working in a variety of in-school volunteering roles such as prop making for the

upcoming production of Bugsy Malone, Librarian, BASE Supervisor and Prefect. Outside of school, students have been involved in a range of activities including helping out at Brownies, assisting in Arabic School and working at a charity shop. Congratulations to the following students who have also received vInspired certificates:

The vInspired awards scheme is a respected way for 11 - 25 year olds to get official recognition for their volunteer activities so if you haven’t done so already and want to create an account, click on the vInspired logo on the school’s intranet or see Ms Brown in Careers for further information.Emma Brown, Careers Education Co-ordinator

A2 Biology Field TripOn the first two days of February, the A2 Biology students went to the FSC centre in Amersham. The purpose of the trip was to collect data for our Biology coursework. We had the opportunity to conduct our own fieldwork in a habitat of our choice e.g. woodlands, open ground, ponds and canopied grounds etc to collect biotic data using different kinds of equipment to measure abiotic factors such as light intensity, oxygen concentration and many more. Overall, it was a good experience and we also got to practice the theory we learnt in class.

Pritha Majumder 13W

v30 Nadia SeifCheyenne MclaughlinJulia MollAnisha SinghSophia LouisTara GhiasSahreen IftikharZayneb BenyoucefMaryam BhattiRamla Ali

Abigail LuwawaAmanpreet PurewalAasiyah PathanFarhiya AbdiKeyone DowdieVeronika NikolovaZoe O’LogbonDaria BolozKavita KaurMorsal NooriChloe Hore

v10 Nazanin OsmaniCheyenne MclaughlinSarah AlhindiFowzia AdanKatryna VazgyteCheyenne MclaughlinSarah AlhindiFowzia AdanKatryna Vazgyte

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Local business representatives pose for a group photo during Year 9 careers event

sisters appreciate 6th formers art work during January’s exhibition at the watermans art centre

MP Ruth Cadbury & subject lead of art, Ms storer pose at the echoes of emotion exhibition

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RE DayFor this year’s annual RE Day trip, the 6th Form took to the Southbank to visit the Tate Modern and St Paul’s Cathedral. The students were given an insight into the link between art, religion and spirituality whilst enjoying the Tate’s futuristic displays and St Paul’s Cathedral’s breath-taking view of London from the dome.

Echoes of EmotionWednesday 13th January saw the ‘Private View’ of an exhibition of artwork by students The Watermans Arts Centre.

The pieces on show had been selected by Watermans from the huge annual school exhibition of GCSE and A Level work created during 2015. Working to diverse themes, students’ work reflected how ideas and emotions can be conveyed through art.

The ‘Private View’ was well-attended with MP Ruth Cadbury; the Deputy Mayor of Hounslow; Myra Savin Councillor and members of local business and community groups enjoying the evening. Students were on hand to talk to their guests about their artwork and their experience of putting together a professional art exhibition. Of the work on display, Ruth Cadbury commented “Some really interesting pieces showing a variety of reflection on the theme. Some beautiful, some challenging but all showing skill and thought. A credit to the students and their teachers”.

As a school we were grateful for the opportunity to once again exhibit at Watermans, the exhibition ran for the whole of January. Chase Buchanan very kindly sponsored the ‘Private View’. For further information about the school, please contact [email protected]


Careers Speed Networking Event Year 9 students had a day off timetable on Thursday 25th February for a careers day, the students took part in a range of activities designed to help them prepare for choosing their GCSE subjects in early March.

In the afternoon, the students, were joined by a diverse range of local businesses for a careers speed networking. Industry professionals from a host of sectors including accountancy, hospitality, event management, IT, construction, acting and marketing attended the event with organisations such as Reagan & Dean, teapigs, BP, BFCCST, Berkeley Homes and Whitbread taking part.

Brentford School for Girls Alumni also supported the event. Dr. Baljit Ghatora, former student and senior lecturer in Analytical and Forensic Chemistry at Kingston University commented: “It was great to talk to such a lively bunch of Year 9 students, who are at a very nervous stage in their education whilst selecting their GCSE options. They were very curious in what the day to day job is like and fascinated by some of the scientific research that I am currently carrying out on contact lenses.”

Liz Thomas, head of events recruitment at Reagan & Dean added: “It was great to meet such enthusiastic students and the event was a brilliant opportunity to talk about careers, further education options, types of jobs - and what they entail! - and the overall qualities that employers look for in terms of work experience candidates or first jobbers.”

Ben Loombe-Temple, assistant site manager for Berkeley Homes West London said: “We have already had the pleasure of working with the Brentford School for Girls Students, who did a great job on an art project at our Chiswick Gate development. It was great to be able to give something back to them, by offering career advice at the networking event.

“It’s a common misconception that developing and housebuilding is all about dirty boots and hard hats but there is so much more to it! It was really good to get in front of these

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6th Form student Amy speaking at the white teeth

6th formers responding to audience questionsduring their White Teeth COnference

BUGSY MALONEBRENTFORD SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

PRESENTS

VIP Seat regularseat

Wednesday 23rd March at 7:30pm in the School Hall

facebook.com/brentfordschoolgirls www.brentford.hounslow.sch.ukWWW.TWITTER.COM/BRENTFORDSCHOOL Web

tickets:£5 £3

premium seat &Splurge gun for final scene

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students and talk about all of the things that go on behind the scenes when creating a new place to live; from land buying and planning, to interior design and marketing – there are a wealth of career paths that will appeal to both girls and boys.”

Ms Brown, Careers Education Coordinator added: “The students found the whole experience invaluable in supporting the process of choosing GCSE options. It was wonderful to see how many professionals gave up their time to visit the school for the event.”


Jack Petchey’s “Speak Out” Challenge! Through an in-school workshop, I was selected to deliver a speech on a topic of my choice for the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge on 25th January at Chiswick school. I entitled my speech “Are We Really Prepared?” and spoke about education for young people. Despite being extremely nervous, after a lot of preperation I came first place in the Hounslow borough, meaning I get to go through to the national finals which is held in central London on July 4th, one of the judges being Ben Haenow, X Factor winner 2014. I’m excited to be part of such an inspiring project and I’m sure speaking in the national finals against the other boroughs of London and Essex will be a lot of fun.

Emma Germany, 10 Courageous

White Teeth english conferenceOn Monday 07 March, eight Year 12 students presented papers on Zadie Smith’s White Teeth to an audience of

Year 9, 10 and 11 students. The conference addressed the importance of place in Smith’s work and the students spoke passionately and eloquently on important topics like immigration, race, religion and EastEnders. They shared their ideas about the value of literature with their audience and received some fantastic feedback on their work from Dr Ashlee Masterson from King’s College London, who spoke in response to the students’ papers. The conference was a huge success and everyone involved hopes that it will be back bigger and better in 2017.

Dr Calum Mechie. Head of Key Stage 5 English.

bugsy maloneI am extremely proud of the hard work and dedication from the cast of Bugsy Malone. The girls have been working tirelessly over the past 5 months and have given up their Saturdays for extra rehearsals. Within those rehearsals the girls have pulled together and exceeded expectations as well as creating new bonds with girls from different year groups. I am more than confident that the girls will blow everyone away with their talent and enthusiasm. The transformation from two chairs and a script to a full length performance has been remarkable. The girls will be under a lot of pressure over the final couple of weeks of the Spring Term as they will be performing to numerous audiences including our year 6 transition students from across Hounslow Borough.

Jade Nairne, Year 7 & 8 Assistant Head

Preparing for University - 6th form round-upCongratulations to Tamanna Ahmadi for being accepted onto the Homerton Union of Students’ Shadowing Scheme at Cambridge University. Tamanna shadowed a Cambridge University undergraduate for 3 days at the end of February, staying in the Halls of Residence at picturesque Homerton College, experiencing what being at Cambridge can actually be like! Tamanna attended lectures and seminars as well as joining in with the her students’ social life.

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6th Form Student amy filming for Speakout

A massive ‘Congratulations’ to Niruja Shanmugathas, Anisha Singh and Primerose Ndlovu, all in year 12, who have been accepted onto the Social Mobility Foundation’s prestigious ‘Aspiring Professionals Programme’. The programme is designed to support bright, hard working students get to where they want to be in terms of university and jobs. The support lasts throughout 6th form and into university and beyond. The programme offers opportunities including career insight days led by industry leaders, university trips and preparation events, a Personal statement advice and checking service, BMAT and UKCAT Preparation, skill development sessions and internships. The students will also be assigned a mentor drawn from a range of leading firms and professions. Good luck!

On Thursday 11th February, Year 12 students Sarra Ibrahimi and Menaka Alageswaran spent the afternoon at SOAS, University of London, attending a challenging and informative Economics Masterclass. SOAS, University of London, has been recognised in the UK’s top 10 for Arts and Humanities, according to the latest QS World University Rankings 2015-16. The Masterclass, which introduced the students to different theories and perspectives about Globalisation, focussed in particular on the questions “What is Globalisation?’ and ‘Have the economic effects of Globalisation in low-income countries been different for women when compared to men?” The

students were encouraged to develop their critical thinking and analytical skills, essential skills needed for A level study and beyond.

Finally, this term, Niruja Shanmugathas, Holly Morte and Shahena Khan have been working hard with their mentors from City University on the Uni Mentors scheme. City University ranks amongst the top 5% of world universities according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015. Each week the students meet for a 1-to-1 session with their personal mentor to cover topics such as the UCAS process, personal statements and revision techniques as well as setting themselves achievable targets. The programme aims to build confidence, improve academic performance and raise aspirations helping students to achieve their personal goals.


PE results & highlightsThere was a Year 9 Careers trip to Brunel University. Ms Giddens took 10 students who are interested in GCSE to a career/ sports Day at the University. The students had the opportunity to look around the university campus and experience using the University’s sports facilities. After this

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the students took part in an Athletics Training Programme.

The Year 9 Netball Team competed in the Borough Netball Tournament at Heston Community School. The Year 8’s also competed in the Borough Netball Tournament where they were extremely successful and won a number of games.

Students from the Year 10 BTEC Sport class have been working extremely hard this half term to plan and teach a variety of lessons to their peers. Students have been planning basketball sessions which they have been teaching to the 18 other members of their class. The Year 11 GCSE PE class have been working hard in the run up to their practical Moderation. They have been umpiring numerous Table Tennis matches and also competing against other year groups in Netball.

Working with Brentford Football club during Year 10 Core PE. The students have been given the opportunity to take part in coaching sessions ran by Brentford Football club in their Core PE lessons.

Jessica Ashworth, Subject Leader of PE

Giving Time project Building on it’s successful pilot last summer with some of our Year 10 students, the Giving Time project has returned this term to offer professional coaching to nine 6th form students. Azelia Braganza, Tarina Tanin, Daria Boloz, Sahar Mangal, Isma Ismail, Bella Eaves, Shahena Khan, Jumana Malik and Hirukh Patel, all in Year 12, have each signed up to receive 4 hours of professional coaching. The project, delivered by professionals from GSK, in association with Spark!, aims to support young people to start their transition from education into the workplace with confidence and a clear sense of who they are and what matters to them. The coaching programme which takes place at GSK’s global HQ in Brentford, offers 4 one hour sessions over six weeks to support young people to discover their own resourcefulness. Through coaching, young people learn about their strengths, the importance of their actions and start to discover their own values and beliefs.

This enables them to become more self-aware, confident and able to find their own answers in life. In return for this valuable opportunity the students have agreed to volunteer an hour of their time for every hour of coaching they receive.


hounslow Speak Out Cookery workshop, Kids’ Cookery School & LSx6th Form Media student Amy Paterson has recently been filming cookery lessons that teach learning disabled adults how to make affordable, healthy food.

Fiona Hamilton-Fairley from the Kids’ Cookery School showed the members of Speak Out in Hounslow, a charity that supports learning disabled adults to Speak Out , be heard and affect change, to make pizza from scratch, low sugar cakes and savoury rice .

Amy is currently using the film footage to make step - by - step guides of all of the four lessons . The idea is that the completed short films can be shared with everyone so they can also make healthy affordable food in their own homes .

Sally Malit from Speak Out in Hounslow said ‘All of us are very impressed with Amy’s work. The finished ‘How to make a pizza ‘film was fantastic as it was easy to follow and we knew what to look for in the supermarket when buying the ingredients. We are looking forward to seeing the other guides. Our members enjoyed the lessons and being filmed by Amy. We would really like to work with her again’

Project assistant Hannah Gardiner, from The London Sustainability Exchange (LSx) that helps to make London more Sustainable by encouraging people to make connections, set up the project in partnership with the Community Foodbox, Kids’ Cookery School and Speak Out in Hounslow.

Liz Gers , Community Co-Ordinator

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Brentford School For Girls, 5 Boston Manor Road, Brentford, TW8 0PG Tel: 020 8847 4281. Web: www.brentford.hounslow.sch.uk Email: [email protected]

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STUDENT TERM DATESsummer Term 2016: Monday 11 April - friday 15 July• inset day: monday 11 april• year 9 exam week: 18 april• gcse swanage field trip: 18 - 20 april• Duke of edinburgh awards evening: wednesday 20 april• year 8 exam week: monday 25 april• May Day bank holiday: Monday 02 May• year 12 study leave begins: friday 06 may• bank holiday: monday 30 may• Half Term: monday 30th May - Friday 03 june• inset day: monday 06 june• 6th form race for life: sunday 12 june

autumn term 2016 return dates• year 7: wednesday 07 september

• year 8-13: thursday 08 september

We will notify you of any changes throughout the year. These Dates can also be found on our website or tear off this page and stick it on your fridge!

• year 10 exam week: monday 20 june• year 7 exam week: monday 27 june • year 10 work experience week: monday 04 july• year 6 induction day: tuesday 05 july• activities week: wednesday 06 - friday 08 july• sports day: Wednesday13 july• End of term: wednesday 20 July• inset days: monday 18, tuesday 19 & wednesday 20 july• a level results day: tuesday 18 august• gcse results day: tuesday 25 august

bsfg spring highlights 2016

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