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NOWER HILL NEWS

From The Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to the final Nower Hill News of the academic year and indeed my last message to you after eighteen and a half years at this wonderful school, the happiest years of my entire working life. In the News, you will be able to read about all of the exciting activities and achievements that we as a school have enjoyed over the past half term; as you can imagine I have savoured every one of them, building memories for the time when I will no longer be coming to this amazing place every day. I know that you will have joined us for some of the activities, so you will understand exactly what I am saying

A school is nothing without the people in it, and the people in ours, staff and students, are second to none. Our students enrich our work and give us purpose; they make us laugh, cry and something in between. They keep us young at heart, bring joy to our day and remind us, through their growth and ambitions, of our moral purpose as educators. I thank each and every one of them for having made my job at Nower Hill so enjoyable and wish them good luck, good health and happiness, both now and in the future.

The staff at Nower Hill are, as you will know because in speaking to parents and carers, I am fortunate enough to receive so many wonderful compliments about them, simply the best. I can honestly say it has been a joy and a privilege to work with such a talented, committed and supportive staff body and in that I include absolutely everyone, from my wonderful senior team who help me to run an outstanding school to our lovely catering staff who ensure we are all well fed each day! I know you would wish to join me in thanking them for the amazing job they do, day in day out, and their complete and utter commitment to your children’s education and well-being.

And on the subject of thanking staff, I would like to say thank you and farewell to everyone who is leaving the Nower Hill family at the end of this year; we thank you for your service, hard work and commitment and wish you all the very best for your future journey, wherever that may take you. Some colleagues are leaving after a significant period of time and I would like to recognise them in particular for their long and meritorious service to the school and for always observing our school motto: ‘Service Not Self’:

Mr George Nagle, Teacher of Physics and formerly Assistant Headteacher (24 years)

Ms Emily Dodd, Head of SES Faculty and formerly Head of Year (13 years)

Mrs Julie O’Halloran, Student Services Administrative Assistant (11 years)

Mr Sajid Latif, Teacher of PRE and Head of Year (10 years)

Mrs Julie Pardoe, Teacher of Maths (9 years)

Ms Emily Reynolds, Head of Sports Studies (8 years)

Mrs Laura Danila, Teaching Assistant (7 years)

Mrs Sarah Standish, School Counsellor (6 years)

Thank you for all you have done for the school and our very best wishes for the future.

From the Headteacher -

Final thank yous go to our Governors, who give their time freely to support the school and to you, our excellent body of parents and carers for your support the whole year round I am sure that you are aware of the difficulties in teacher recruitment (I am delighted to share with you that the school is fully staffed for next year – quite a feat in the current climate!); having a supportive body of parents and carers, who share the school values and work with us to instil those values in their children makes our job all the more pleasurable, genuinely helping with teacher recruitment and retention Thank you for continuing to respect my colleagues and our new Headteacher, Ms Jo Skelhorne, and supporting them in the years to come, so that Nower Hill can continue to deliver an outstanding education to the children of our local community

It has been an absolute pleasure to support the community I have grown up in; thank you all so much for allowing me to do so.

Enjoy reading the News now and it only remains for me to wish all of our families a very happy, restful, safe summer And that’s a wrap from this particular Headteacher!

Louise Voden

Headteacher

Nower Hill High School

UPCOMING EVENTS

September 2024

4th September First day of term for Year 7 students

5th September First day of term for rest of school

23rd – 27th September Open Week

View online school calendar

October 2024

18th October Year 7-9 Vaccinations 25th October Last day of half term

November 2024

6th November First day of term

CULTURE & DIVERSITY WEEK 24

th – 28th JUNE 2024

At Nower Hill we have a proactive approach to creating an inclusive school culture for our students. Culture and Diversity week is about showing respect, acceptance and instilling a sense of equality. We want our students and staff to feel their identity is recognised and celebrated in their school community.

CULTURE

& DIVERSITY WEEK 24th – 28th JUNE 2024

SPORTS DAY

Tuesday 9th July 2024

Despite the weather, we saw some fantastic performances on the track and field events, well done to everyone for showing great sportsmanship and competitive spirit.

Miss Reynolds

HARROW & BRENT FIRE CADTES PASS OUT CEREMONY

Fire cadets takes place on a Thursday evening at Harrow Fire Station next door to Nower Hill. Many of the cadets are Nower Hill students or former students and last Saturday at their pass out ceremony, they proudly demonstrated to parents and friends all the fire drill skills they have developed this year. The cadets were also awarded certificates for all their hard work and commitment throughout the year. The cadets demonstrated teamwork, communication, self-discipline and the ability to follow instructions - all skills that will be valued highly once they enter employment.

Ms Murray

NOWER HILL NEWS

As the 2023-24 House Competition comes to an end, we reflect on a fantastic year of competitions and assemblies, with hundreds of students from across all Year groups taking part. Franklin and King houses dominated the faculty competitions this year, but it was Gandhi House that took the overall conduct competition! Congratulations to Gandhi House and to all students that took part and we look forward to an even bigger and better competition next year!

Mr Bremner

NOWER HILL NEWS

End of Year Celebrations

This week we marked the end of a fantastic school year with a celebration event for each Year group on our Extension Field. Each student received a free ice lolly and were able to take the opportunity to relax with friends and listen to music while playing summer-fete style games, including our coconut shy, giant Jenga, Space Hopper races, badminton, volleyball, beat the goalie and limbo Hundreds of students took advantage of the free face-painting stall and the sweets on offer for taking part in each activity. All events were run by our 6th Form volunteers and it was lovely to see our students and staff come together on such a happy occasion!

School Council

A huge thank you to our fantastic team of 120 School Councillors who represent their Form each half term and share their ideas to improve the school with Mr Bremner, Deputy Headteacher This year the School Council has been particularly important in planning our Diversity and Culture Week, our End of Year Celebration Events and sharing their ideas on students’ safety, behaviour and learning Most recently our School Council met with our newly appointed Head Prefects, Rohan and Shreeya, and our Head Students, Amaan and Keiya, so that they can share the ideas of our students with our new Headteacher, Ms Skelhorne. In September we will be recruiting a new team of School Council representatives, so we look forward to lots of keen volunteers coming forward next year!

Mr Bremner

On Wednesday 3rd July, we invited our newest cohort to join us for the day The Hall was full of excited (and a little nervous) Year 6 students, who were eager to get a glimpse of their Nower Hill journey to come.

During the day, they took part in a range of different lessons, were treated to their own ‘Glastonbury’ live concert and had a special performance from our Glee Choir.

We look forward to seeing our new Year 7 students on Wednesday 4th September at 9:10am.

Mr Suthesh

Assistant Headteacher KS3

YEAR 6 TASTER DAY

YEAR 9 CITIZENSHIP - FIRST GIVE FINAL

Over the past term, our Year 9 Citizenship students have been carrying out social action projects in collaboration with First Give. The prize for the best group was a £1000 grant for their chosen charity. The final was held on Monday 1st July and all the groups were asked to present their work in the hall in front of a large audience - their peers, teacher and external guests. The students tackled this incredibly well and demonstrated a number of skills: teamwork, confidence in presenting to the audience, commitment to active citizenship and drawing upon knowledge when answering questions from the panel.

A special thanks to our panel of judges made up of:

- Cecilia Thomas, Head of Youth Events, Pinner Rotary Club

- Oky Lee-Morris, Champion & Health Programme Director, Voluntary Action Harrow

- Mrs Dodd, Head of SES faculty

- Shreeya Y10, Head prefect and former participant of the competition

The winning charity was Build on Belief and it was represented by, Skye 9SN, Ishika 9SN, Shruthi 9BN, Kaylan 9BN, Aaryan 9BN and Alfie 9NN.

These students raised awareness through posters and leaflets about the dangers of substance abuse. Their presentation in the final included a video made by them explaining the work of the charity.

Ms Issa

YEAR 8 Natural HISTORY MUSEUM TRIP

From June 3rd-16th July, each Form group of our Year 8 students went on an educational trips to the Natural History Museum, where they participated in an interactive workshop about space exploration. During the session, students worked in small teams to design and build LEGO Martian rovers They coded, tested, and analysed their designs before launching them on a Martian surface. This experience allowed students to understand the importance of space exploration and the role museum scientists play in this field They also learnt how using models such as LEGO is essential for engineers when developing real world solutions.

Thank you to everyone who helped organise and accompanied the students on these memorable trips; it would not have been possible without your support.

Ms Tshibola

YEAR 9 DEBATING WORKSHOP

Future First Alumni Organisation

A group of Year 9 students had an amazing opportunity earlier this term to take part in a careers and debating workshop led by Future First. Future First is a social mobility charity that helps connect alumni with students at their former schools, with the aim of inspiring and motivating students during their time at school. 6 alumni returned to school and talked to students about their study and career journeys since leaving school and helped students think about the skills they are gaining at school which will help them in their future careers

We were visited by a variety of alumni; 2 alumni studying at university, reading Economics and Psychology, 2 who have just completed their degrees in Law and Costume Design and 2 employers who were a member of cabin crew with British Airways, and an Operations and Production Manager for a drinks company. Our alumni had plenty of good advice to give our students. The Year 9 students were coached in small groups by alumni to take part in a debate competition at the end of the morning, which really helped build students’ leadership, oracy and teamwork skills. Thank you so much to our alumni who came into school and encouraged our students to think about different study and career routes and helped them develop important employability skills

Ms Murray

YEAR 9 – 10 BIOLOGY CHALLENGE

Twenty-eight of our most exceptional Year 9 and 10 biologists were selected to compete in the ‘Biology Challenge’ on Wednesday 8th May. This highly challenging competition is designed to recognise excellence in young biologists, develop problem-solving skills and to challenge them in their thinking about biological ideas. Some of the best biology students complete the challenge nationally every year and gaining marks on the very challenging questions that our students were faced with was no easy task. Once again, our students did us and themselves proud with some outstanding results Their achievements are noted below.

Our sincere congratulations to all of them!

Ms Akhoundzadeh

Year 9

Joseph McCormick Silver

Garima Gajjar Silver

Zuhayr Mohamed Bronze

Jay Banthia Bronze

Rayaan Mahmood Highly Commended

Darshika Kumar Highly Commended

Sameer Riyat Highly Commended

George Lam Highly Commended

Niamh Shah Highly Commended

Chin Tung Chiu Highly Commended

Sofiyah Momin-Lowe Highly Commended

Kalyani Sharma Commended

Henrique Faustino Participation

Dhanya Rajendran Participation

Kaylan Patel Participation

Year 10

Magnus Aitken Gold

Basil Hasan Silver

Zaki Majid Silver

Aum Patel Silver

Zonglin Li Silver

Arhaan Attar Silver

Ayush Mistry Bronze

Zayd Aboubeih Bronze

Anupansh Agarwal Highly Commended

Kajory Nageswaralingam Highly Commended

Ranveer .S. Kalsi Highly Commended

Rohan Mundy Highly Commended

Adil Ahmed Commended

YEAR 10 GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP TO CUCKMERE HAVEN

In June this year, 170 GCSE Geography students from Year 10 visited Cuckmere Haven in Sussex. This was an incredible opportunity to ‘bring the textbook to life’, where students were able to see a meandering river, pebble beach, the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs and evidence of physical processes in action. Students measured pebble size and angularity to assess the impact of longshore drift and erosion on sediment.

This data will then be used in their GCSE Paper 3 fieldwork exam. A great location, warm weather and fantastic participation from all students made for an excellent visit!

Ms Shufflebotham & Ms Devlin

YEAR 10 ENGINEERS VISIT LOCAL AWARD WINNING FACTORY

Last month, our Year 10 engineers were invited to attend the Silverson factory in Chesham For over 75 years, Silverson has specialised in the manufacture of quality high shear mixers for processing and manufacturing industries worldwide. With customers in over 150 countries, and serving industries as diverse as food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and petrochemicals, Silverson has become the world leader in the field of high shear mixing. With a customer base that includes many of the world’s largest companies such as Heinz, Johnson & Johnson, Shell and Unilever. Silverson is constantly at the forefront of new technologies

During the visit, the students were given an introduction to the company and it’s history and a variety of demonstrations of the different machines they manufacture and how they work After this, students were taken around the different areas of the factory site by two members of staff who have come through the mechanical engineering apprenticeship programme that Silverson runs. This gave students a real insight to future career options in engineering and allowed them to ask questions in a small group setting The tour included seeing the CAD (computer aided design) department, with a demonstration from one of the lead engineers, a walk through of the stores and workshops, where components parts are engineered using a variety of manufacturing methods Demonstrations of one of the largest machines, the D2500, allowed the students to get up close and see the machine working; It also offered the opportunity to observe a number of different activities that link to theory they have been studying in their Level 2 engineering design qualification

We are very grateful to the Silverson team for delivering such an interesting and insightful trip for our engineering students, and hope that it will encourage many of them to continue studying engineering in the future. https://www.silverson.co.uk/en/about-us/

Ms Tomlinson

YEAR 10 PRE GCSE STUDENTS

Cambridge University Islam Enrichment visit –

Monday 8th July 2024

Year 10 PRE GCSE students visited Cambridge Mosque and the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University. Cambridge Mosque was a culturally enriching and enlightening experience. As we toured the stunning eco-friendly architecture, we learned about the mosque's sustainable design and the principles of Islam The serene prayer hall, adorned with intricate patterns and natural light, provided a tranquil space for reflection for our students. We had a talk from Dr Tim Winter which helped students gain a deeper understanding of Islamic practices and community values.

This visit fostered respect and appreciation of diverse religious traditions, and encouraged students to embrace multiculturalism and inclusivity in their own lives. In the Faculty of Divinity we had two lectures on the importance of theology and Muslims in Europe It was an incredible trip and our Year 10 students set an excellent example and asked many questions.

Ms Chaudhry

YEAR 10 DESIGN MUSEUM TRIP

On Wednesday 10th July, a group of Year 10 Design and Technology students (specialising in both Resistant Materials and Textiles) visited the Design Museum in Kensington. Whilst there, the students attended a workshop exploring the use of materials with an emphasis on new, modern and sustainable materials There was a hands-on demonstration where students were able to get a better idea of material properties and potential uses, before presenting in groups one way each of these materials could be used to help a specific group of people.

Sustainability was a key focus throughout and all students had the opportunity to reflect on their decisions as designers, thinking about how these can help impact the environment in a positive way. Students also explored the ‘Designer, Maker, User’ and ‘Enzo Mari’ exhibitions, whilst completing a booklet that helped consolidate knowledge gained from the museum's exhibits. The information gained from this trip will later be used in the students’ Technology NEA, which they begun working on this term.

Ms Gayle

YEAR 11 PROM

On Friday 21st June 2024, we were delighted to hold our Year 11 Prom at Venue 5, as a way of celebrating the end of the GCSE exams and the amazing success of our outgoing Year 11 cohort.

Although the Prom was very much about recognising and celebrating the Year group’s achievements, we would be doing our colleagues a huge disservice if we weren‘t to take this opportunity to acknowledge publicly the impact which they have had on our students in supporting them both pastorally and academically over the past 5 years.

We know that both the students and those of you reading this, will join us in thanking them for their selfless and continued efforts and always going that extra mile!

We very much hope that the Prom provided a fitting end to this chapter of our Year 11’ s time at Nower Hill, (although of course we are looking forward to welcoming many of them back into the 6th Form) and will provide fond memories for them for many years to come.

It really was a fitting way to both recognise and celebrate the achievements and commitment of the Year group during the past five years, and we look forward to celebrating with them on their results day in August.

We are incredibly proud of the young people that they have grown and matured into, and whatever their plans for post-16 study we wish them every future success.

With the very best wishes for the future,

Constantine Michaelides & Ben Ford Heads of Year 11

YEAR 12 INTERMEDIATE BRITISH BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD

On Thursday 6th June 2024, 31 of our Year 12 A-level biologists took part in the ‘Intermediate Biology Olympiad’. This highly challenging competition is designed by the University of Warwick, alongside the Royal Society of Biology, to recognise excellence in young biologists It is completed by some of the best biology students nationally and around the world, with a total of 15,000 students from 722 schools (mainly private schools) participating this year. Our students really did us and themselves proud. All those that competed were awarded certificates, commending their results and participation Well done to all of them!

Ms Akhoundzadeh

Student name Medal

Kayden Rabadiya Participation

Farhan Hussein Participation

Kkhushi Gosrani Participation

Yusuf Mohamed Sures Participation

Mohammed Padela Participation

Mahi Patel Participation

Maegan Peters Participation

Rani Tailor Participation

Henna Patel Participation

Ahmed Padela Participation

Carissa Kumar Participation

Yash Patel Participation

Ethan Kasujja Participation

Dhruvi Parag Participation

Aliza Ahmed Participation

Eelham Maliyat Ahmed Participation

Abdullah Ahmed Participation

Hasna Yussuf Participation

Hassan-Karim Shah Participation

Reese Patel Participation

Ameen Lebbe Commended

Aryan Karadkar Commended

Brian McGovern Highly Commended

Siddhi Subramanian Highly Commended

Zarif Kona Highly Commended

Abbishan Sivakumaran Highly Commended

Musa Quasim

Vedanshree Patel

Shreya Dholakia

Uma Halai

Elin Litt

Bronze (top 30%)

Silver (top 15%)

Gold (top 5%)

YEAR 12 LIFE AFTER NOWER HILL WEEK

Life After Nower Hill Week at the beginning of July was extremely busy for our Year 12 students The purpose of this week is to help students prepare for when they leave school, in terms of applying for university or apprenticeships, developing employability skills and learning about issues that may affect them in the future. During the week Year 12 students started their university applications and personal statements. They learned about finance including student loans and apprenticeships, taxes and pensions Employers visited school to talk about their experiences of applying for jobs, including how to write a good CV and how to perform well at interviews. The following day, students had the opportunity to have a practice interview with an employer and receive feedback on their CV and interview. Students also attended a series of workshops with employers; learning about safe driving, wellbeing, budgeting for university and degree apprenticeships. We were very fortunate to have alumni visit again this year to talk to students about their career journeys since leaving school. Hearing from so many employers and former students will undoubtedly have inspired our 6th Formers to work hard next year and to prepare well for life beyond school.

Ms Murray

YEAR 12 WORK EXPERIENCE

Our Year 12 students thoroughly enjoyed the experience of going into the world of work and applying the skills they gained at school to the workplace. Over 100 students were extremely proactive and found their own work experience by approaching personal contacts or by applying to companies offering work experience.

Here are some of the comments made by students:

• ‘All in all, it was a fantastic experience. Gave me an insight into how organisations operate.’

• ‘I enjoyed meeting with employers and learning about their life at work and what they do.’

• ‘It really made me think about what I want to do and what my aspirations are ’

• ‘So different to being at school; long day and I was very tired.’

• ‘Work experience helped Improve my time keeping skills.’

The photo on the left is one of our students working in a research lab at UK Health Security Agency The bottom right photo was taken at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre and shows the consultant going through a scan with our student

The feedback from the employers who hosted spoke volumes about our students’ remarkable conduct and contributions The employers were highly impressed, praising them for their confidence, politeness, and willingness to learn. This recognition is testament to the exceptional qualities and skills our students possess and we take immense pride in their achievements.

Congratulations to them and we are sure the lessons learnt will guide them on their educational and career journey

Ms Doshi

YEAR 13 PROM

On Friday 28th June, the Year 13s celebrated the end of their exams and their time at Nower Hill. For the majority, this has been 7 years of commitment and hard work culminating in their A Level examinations this summer It was lovely to see everyone so relaxed and enjoying themselves after such a busy and demanding year. The Social & Prom committee did a wonderful job decorating Grim’s Dyke Golf Club in their theme colours of black and silver and there were some stunning outfits on display. A thoroughly enjoyable time was had by all and we wish all our Year 13 students a very relaxing and restful summer

Ms Abbotts

A LEVEL PHYSICS CERN TRIP 2024

Last week, 21 Year 12 Physics students spent 3 days in Geneva, Switzerland in order to visit the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN)

The students were given a tour of the facilities, taking in particle accelerators used in ground breaking Physics research as well as the vast data centre.

The research being carried out at CERN seeks to answer some of the biggest remaining questions about the Universe and overlaps with the Particle Physics topic learnt by our students at the end of Year 12.

As well as a boat trip and treasure hunt to discover more of the city, the students also visited the United Nations’ Geneva HQ.

A great time was had by all!

Mr Meunier

UKMT MATHS CHALLENGE 2024

It has been an eventful year for our key stage 3 Mathematicians who worked passionately in the Junior Maths Challenge. A small number of students were selected internationally to take part in the follow on round of the Junior Kangaroo and the Junior Olympiad Our students performed very well and gained certificates for the rounds they took part in. They were invited to Ms Voden’s office to collect their certificates; these are only given to a small number of top performing students.

Below is a photo of our students with Ms Voden.

Ms Maisuria

ENGLISH – POETRY BY HEART CLUB EVENTS

The English Faculty has been exceptionally busy over the last couple of weeks with the Poetry By Heart Club. Here are the highlights of recent events:

Poetry By Heart Final at Shakespeare's Globe

On Monday, 1st July, Ms Sheikh and Miss Hamilton took a group of students to Shakespeare's Globe for the Poetry By Heart Final We are proud to announce that one of our members, Apernah from Year 10, was a finalist. Apernah delivered exceptional readings of "Cousin Kate" by Christina Rossetti and "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen, on the iconic Globe stage. Although she wasn't the overall winner, she was certainly a winner in our eyes at Nower Hill High School

Celebration Event with Daljit Nagra

On Monday, 15th July, the Poetry By Heart Club came together once more to celebrate their successes We had the honour of welcoming a very special guest, the poet Daljit Nagra. Our students recited their chosen poems to the audience, receiving certificates of commendation from Poetry By Heart and recognition for their participation in the English Faculty House Competition. Sarah and Apernah in Year 10 won a Kindle each for taking first and second place respectively, and Scarlett in Year 8 took third place, winning an electronic dictionary bookmark as her prize Additionally, we bid a fond farewell to Ms Voden, with students reciting their poems in her honour.

Ms Sheikh

We are immensely proud of our students and their achievements in the Poetry By Heart Club.

NOWER HILL ART NEWS

Year 12 Fine Art, Graphics and Photography trip

Students got to visit 4 exciting exhibitions to support their Art coursework.

The V&A

Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence

An Exhibition exploring architecture in tropical climates in West Africa during 1940s. After independence, India and Ghana adopted the style as a symbol of modernity and progressiveness, distinct from colonial culture.

Fragile Beauty

Photography collection owned by Elton John. Themes on LGBTQ+, Protest and Pop Culture.

The

Serpentine

Yinka Shonibare: Suspended states

Explores contemporary culture and national identities, themes of colonialisation.

Judy Chicago: Revelations

An exhibition of work inspired by female subjugation and power.

Ms Weetch

NOWER HILL ARTWORK OF THE YEAR

Year 8: Florence

Year 12 Graphics: Jeffery

Year 9 Graphics: Eli

Year 7: Ishan

Year 7: Ella

Year 10 Graphics: Boyko

Year 12 Fine Art: Imogen // Accepted to be exhibited in the Harrow Open Studios Student Competition

Year 12 Photography: Niall // Accepted to be exhibited in the Harrow Open Studios Student Competition

Year 10 Fine Art: Yashvi

Year 13 Fine Art: Tisa

MUSIC & DRAMA NEWS

Louise Voden’s Farewell Concert

On Monday 24th June, the Arts Faculty hosted a farewell concert for Louise Voden. The night consisted of a range of music and dramatic performances from students, staff, parents and professional musicians There was also some fantastic artwork on display from both students and staff along with cheese and wine supplied by the PTFA As always, our students made us proud and it was a lovely final thank you for all the support that Louise has given to the Arts during her time as Headteacher.

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE)

As part of Culture and Diversity week, on Thursday 27th June, we were fortunate enough to have the world renowned Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment come and perform to all Year 7 and 8 students The orchestra specialise in Baroque music and play using a combination of original and remake period instruments The concert taught students about the instruments; there were interactive pieces involving singing and body percussion We are so fortunate to have been able to give the students this fantastic opportunity. Thank you to Mr Hitchcock and Mrs Johnson for organising this event.

MUSIC & DRAMA NEWS

South African Gumboot Dancing Workshops

As part of Culture and Diversity week, every Year 7 Form group took part in a South African Gumboot dancing workshop. The sessions were led by Lucky, from Inspire Music and incorporated rhythmic performances with dance The sessions were really engaging and enjoyed by all.

Performing Arts Summer Festival

On Thursday 11th July, the Performing Arts Department held their annual Summer Festival. Fortunately, we were blessed with some sunny weather and were able to have our outside Gristwood stage back in action this year! We would like to thank all staff, peripatetic teachers, parents and of course students for their support with this event.

MUSIC & DRAMA NEWS

Musical Summer Trips

On Wednesday 17th July and Thursday 18th July Music students from across all year groups went to see Sister Act and Standing at the Sky’s Edge It was a lovely way to end the year and two fantastic opportunities for students to experience the West End stage in all its glory!

Music Examination Results

The Music Department would like to congratulate the following students for excellent achievements in their recent instrument examinations. Well done for all of your hard work and determination. The Music Department would like to thank parents and carers for their support, as well as our peripatetic staff

Flute:

• Caitlin O'Mahony Grade 7

• Rani Tailor Grade 7

• Anli Breckinridge Grade 6

• Inaaya Ahmed Grade 4

• Kai Anais Mistry Grade 4

• Eva Phillips Grade 4

Clarinet:

• Matty Brown Grade 5

• Edward Orobet Grade 4

• Mahi Nandha Grade 4

Saxophone:

• Veer Tailor Grade 4

• Simon Strugariu Grade 4

Drum kit:

• Jeorgian Nambiath Grade 2

Piano:

• Lyla McCarthy Grade 1

• Sihara Guruge 8BH Grade 1

• Gabriele Mihaylov Grade 2

• Amisha Katwa 10KH Grade 2

• Rushil Parmar 8SH Grade 4

• Sofiyah Momin-Lowe Grade 4

Keyboard:

• Darsh Mehta Grade 4

• Andrew Hill Grade 4

Mr Roberts

SPORTS FIXTURES

Year 7 Cricket Final

The Year 7 Cricket team played against Avanti House in the final. Unfortunately, the game did not go our way, and we lost. Congratulations to everyone on the team It is a great achievement to reach the final in their first borough competition.

Mr Simmonette

Year 8 Cricket

The Year 8 cricket team started off well with a convincing win against Salvatorian in their first game, looking to be one of the stronger teams in the competition Unfortunately they then lost the next two games to Park High and Whitefriars, meaning they didn’t qualify for the knockout games, however they are a team with lots of potential and have a good chance next year of going all the way to winning the borough cricket competition Rushil Parmar finished the season as the leading run scorer and Meet Patel as leading wicket taker.

Mr Blain

Year 10 Cricket Semi Final

Nower Hill set Avanti House a tough score of 77-4 from 12 overs, with Athiyugan Vivehanantharajah top scoring with 40 and Bharath Lal supporting well with 14.

Avanti House could only manage 48-9 in reply, with Sahan Hewavitarne the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets for 13 runs from his 3 overs This was the team's best fielding and bowling display against good opposition. We now play Pinner High in the final

Year 9 Cricket

The Year 9 cricket team unfortunately struggled this year after being drawn in a difficult group against some very strong teams in Park High and Avanti House. They won 1 out of 4 games which meant that they didn’t qualify for the next round of the competition. They are a talented side with the potential to go a lot further next year. Rayaan Zain finished the season as leading run scorer and Prem Patel as leading wicket taker.

Mr Blain

Year 8 Rounders

On Tuesday 2nd July, the Year 8 Rounders team travelled to Bentley Wood for the annual Rounders tournament. For a lot of the girls, this was the first time they had competed in a rounders fixture and so spirits were high.

The girls started off brilliantly with a fantastic fielding display which made it very hard for Bentley Wood to score any rounders and restricted them to a low score Next it was our turn with the bat The girls worked really hard and were able to secure a good total, however we lost the game by only ½ a rounder

Up next, we faced Park High Some super bowling from Sofia and Lea made it really difficult for them to score and Sophie at second base was able to get players out early With the bat we played really well with the girls thinking tactically about their placement of shot.

All of the team played fantastically well and were encouraging and supporting of each other Well done to the following: Amelie Berberian-Tuladhar, Sophie Scanlon, Lea Smith, Leah Devabala, Elsie Mistry, Isla Majid, Anna Porebska, Isla Phillips and Sofia Ciobotaru.

Mr Duerden

Ms Sheppard

SPORTS FIXTURES

Year 9 Rounders

Well done to the Year 9 rounders team who played Park High in their final match. During the match the team were playing tactically and smart, aiming for the gaps and scoring rounders easily During Park High’s final turn to bat. Nower Hill were fielding really tactically and working to stop them from scoring; Skye and Chin did really well catching the Park High balls and getting them out.The entire team played really well and all tried their hardest. Unfortunately, Park high won but the girls worked really hard; a big well done to them.

Year 8 Netball

Well done to the Year 8 Netball team who played Pinner in their finals and won 22-9. They played really well and worked really hard to win. They all supported each other and encouraged each other The Player of the Match was Leah; she played really well and was up and down the court throughout the match The Year 8 Netball team remains undefeated. Well done to them.

U14 Girls’ Volleyball

On Tuesday 16th July, Nower Hill entered their first-ever girls' volleyball team in a borough competition at Park High. With little training, the team did amazingly well and finished second with a record of two wins and two losses. Huge congratulations to everyone on the team; everyone performed well, and we look forward to the competition next year.

Mr Simmonette

Miss Legister

SPORTS FIXTURES

Boys’ Harrow Swimming Gala

On Wednesday 12th June 2024, a squad of 16 students from Years 7-10 competed in the annual Boys' Harrow Swimming Gala at North London Collegiate School In a strong competition against some of the most talented swimmers in the borough, our boys performed admirably and should be very proud of their performances:

Year 7

Butterfly - Zayn Tang - 1st

Backstroke - Kacper Szymczak - 3rd

Breaststroke - Aarav Riyat - 3rd

Freestyle - Alec Mok - 3rd

Medley relay - 3rd

Freestyle relay - 4th

Year 8

Butterfly - Dhruv Bhudia 3rd

Backstroke - Dylan Farrell - 3rd

Breaststroke - Aariyan Pandya - 3rd

Freestyle - Hirav Barot 4th

Medley relay - 3rd

Freestyle relay - 2nd

Year 9

Breaststroke - Ayden Alam - 2nd

Butterfly - Shayan Yadav 3rd

Backstroke - Prem Patel - 3rd

Freestyle - Ishaan Kotak - 4th

Medley relay - 3rd

Freestyle relay - 3rd

Year 10

Butterfly - Krish Bhudia - 1st

Breaststroke - Youcef Bouda - 3rd

Freestyle - Hatim Valiji - 3rd

Backstroke - Bharath Lal - 4th

Medley relay - 3rd

Freestyle relay - 3rd

Mr Gallop

Girls’ Swimming Gala

A huge well done to all the girls who took part in the annual Harrow Borough Swimming Gala at NLCS this year; the results are a true sign of their dedication towards training outside of school.

Year 7 team - 4th

Year 8 team - 5th

Year 9 team - 2nd

Year 10 team - 1st

Well done to all the girls involved - Anaya Patel, Hannah Vallance, Natasha Bass, Harshni Dodhi, Payal Rama, Anaya Naker, Aanya Dhamaraja, Anika Luther, Skye Hupe-Perry, Bhaavya Thakur, Olivia Bass, Jasmine Elmadiova, Mariana Ovsyankina

Miss Reynolds

TRIPS 2023 -2024

There have been over 100 individual trips in this academic year providing over 2,600 places for Nower Hill Students. There are far too many to mention individually and every single one of them is organised by staff who give up many hours of their own time to plan, risk assess and execute these fantastic opportunities Next year we have even more planned and we are incredibly grateful to all the staff involved.

Ms Serrao

SILVER DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD CELEBRATION

On Wednesday 3rd July, we were delighted to be able to present 23 Silver DofE awards to our wonderful Year 12 students. We were very pleased that Charley Kondje, our DofE operations manager, was able to help present the awards to our students. Within her speech she praised the hard work, commitment and resilience shown by our young people in completing the award and how every young person should be incredibly proud of their achievement as we are of them.

As a cohort they have given up numerous hours of their own time volunteering in our community, they have developed new skills, committed to regular physical exercise and been on a qualifying expedition weekend in the New Forest

The DofE programme is a nationally and internationally recognised award that allows our young people to discuss their achievements and challenges in interviews. It helps build on the skills of leadership, organisation, resilience, initiative, communication and teamwork.

We would like to thank the students for the commitment and resilience they have shown throughout and for a brilliant expedition weekend We would also like to recognise the work that enables us to run the programme including the hard work and support of Ms Shah our incredible admin support. This is in addition to all the members of staff, who have helped to support the scheme by encouraging conversations, passing on key messages and giving their time to writing assessors’ reports

Our Year 12 Silver graduates will now have the opportunity to sign up for the Gold level DofE award in the future through the direct entry scheme once they are over 18.

DofE Team

Ms Tomlinson, Mr Blain and Mr Webster

UCL SUSTAINABILITY

Last month one of our Science teachers, Mr. Sadler, was invited by UCL's Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education (CCCSE) to talk to current student teachers at UCL’s Institute of Education

The CCCSE program aims to provide research-informed professional development for teachers and school leaders across the country. Mr. Sadler had previously worked to develop a series of lessons for teaching sustainability through Mathematics education, centred around the number of aluminium drinks cans produced in the world each year. Students use their geometry skills and mathematical understanding to redesign packaging of their favourite canned drinks with an optimal surface area to volume ratio, whilst also extending the real-world problem to discuss all aspects of sustainability, which is not just limited to climate change, but also includes human rights and social justice, global food and water supply, biodiversity and economics By doing so, students become aware of themselves as consumers, the delicate intricacies of globalisation and the socio-political landscape that governs our world and, ultimately, their future.

The day was designed to educate current student teachers on the importance of teaching for sustainable futures and how every teacher can play a role. Mr. Sadler was also joined on a discussion panel by the sustainability leads from Woodford County High School and Fortismere School, alongside the program director of the CCCSE, to answer questions from current student teachers on key topics related to teaching for sustainable futures.

Mr Sadler

NHS CADETS SCHEME OPPORTUNITY 2024/25

NHS CADETS

From September 2024, Sister Marie Gurhy is running the NHS Cadets Programme at Nower Hill High School for students in Years 9 to 13

Please email your interest if you would like your child to enrol to medical@nowerhill harrow sch uk

Dependent on numbers, it will be on a first come first served basis

Please visit https://www.sja.org.uk/getinvolved/young-people/nhs-cadets-home/aboutus/ for more information.

Ms Gurhy

‘This partnership with the NHS will create a new generation of young people motivated to learn more about health volunteering and social action. The unique hands-on experience that being a cadet provides will undoubtedly lead to many future healthcare professionals emerging’

Martin Houghton-Brown CEO, St John Ambulance

NATIONAL SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AWARD

FFT provides expert data for education across the UK. Nower Hill have been recognised in their top 10% of all secondary schools in England

As Attendance Officers, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents and carers of our students for their efforts in supporting student attendance, building resilience and making every effort to ensure students are present in school

We look forward to retaining such high standards for the upcoming school year. Enjoy your summer break!

Mrs Barrett & Mrs Hemmings

STUDENT WELLBEING

Remember, there is always someone at school that students can reach out to.

Students can access the Student Wellbeing Page using their Google Account. A reminder that if parents/ carers need any support, you can access a range of resources on our school website