AHS Sixth Form End of Summer Term Newsletter 2014

A summer BBQ signals closure for Year 13

Acton High School‟s first ever Year 13 celebrated and remembered their time at the school over BBQ food and refreshments at a specially laid on evening to reward all of their hard work. Students and staff were able to watch England vs Costa Rica and Italy vs Uruguay in the Sixth Form cafe while Ms Fosbroke and Ms Lok organised food in the Sixth Form garden. It was particularly enjoyable for those students who have spent seven years at the school going right back to 2007. As these pictures prove they‟ve all grown up in that time! Thank you for the memories and good luck Year 13!

Spotlight on .....Oxford Brookes University

Headteacher’s Message

6th Form Newsletter— End of Summer Term 2014

Over the past six months a group

of Year 12 students have men-

tored students lower down in the

school to help encourage and

facilitate higher education ambi-

tions.

The Year 12 students provided

advice and guidance, especially

on Russell group universities us-

ing their own experiences in the

lower school and now Key Stage

5. It was a extremely positive

programme that brought the

Sixth Form and the main school

closer together.

Shalou Mehra in Year 12 and who

took part in the scheme com-

mented, “I think this programme

helped the Mentees a lot because

they are directed to the right path

and receive a lot of help with uni-

versities (which I had never re-

ceived and I wish I did).”

Academic mentoring programme success

Oxford Brookes is a relatively new university which was formed in 1992 replacing the Oxford

Polytechnic which had existed since 1970. It is seen as one of the leading „new‟ universities

and currently sits 35th in the Guardian league table for universities, specialising particularly in

architecture where it is the 7th best place to study in the UK. The university has seventeen

thousand students, eleven halls of residence, four faculties of study and was the first

university in the country to be awarded the „fairtrade‟ award. Four students in the current

Year 13 were offered places at Oxford Brookes with offers ranging from BBB to BCC.

As we approach the end of this

academic year, we have seen a

very strong and developing empha-

sis on our mission to prepare our

students to be positive contribu-

tors to 21st Century British society.

There has been a great deal of

work done on ensuring that the

daily interactions in the classroom

between staff and students pre-

sent positive and challenging feed-

back, so as to build not just subject

knowledge but also students‟ self-

confidence and understanding of

themselves as learners.

Students have also had many op-

portunities to develop their aware-

ness of the world outside of school,

through many excellent activities

such as the visit to UCL, which

allowed students to take part in

the model UN debate, and our

International Day. Such activities

enable students to see the value of

each and every one of the commu-

nities and cultures that make up

our local area, our nation, and the

world beyond our borders.

At a time when divisions and con-

flicts elsewhere will be much on

the mind of many of our students,

it is vital that the school works to

promote togetherness and toler-

ance of difference. I am proud of

the efforts of our students and

staff to create our inclusive com-

munity, and am sure that they will

carry the message of tolerance

and acceptance into the wider

world.

I would like to wish all our families

a peaceful and happy summer

break.

P a g e 2 A c t o n H i g h S c h o o l S i x t h F o r m N e w s l e t t e r

Check out our Twitter feed, @ActonHigh

AS Computing

Sample University

Computing students from Year 11

and Year 12 visited the University

of West London on the 25th June

to learn about undergraduate

courses in Computing.

The highlight of the afternoon was

the details of the University‟s

Creative Computing course, in

which students learn about “full

stack” development of mobile and

gaming apps.

One student (pictured) was lucky

enough to try out a Virtual Reality

simulation using an Oculus Rift

headset. Interesting for him, and

amusing for those watching!

E n d o f S u m m e r T e r m 2 0 1 4

The legendary tale of the 2014 trip to Reading University For the second year running 43

Year 12 students jumped on a

coach along with members of staff

to attend the Reading University

Open Day.

Students got the opportunity, all

expenses paid, to appreciate the

different nature of a university

outside of London, on a campus.

Students were able to visit all of

the universities facilities, including

subject areas which were running

sample lectures and Q&A ses-

sions, halls of residence‟s and the

student union.

To make the day more memorable

for students and staff the coach

which had dropped everyone off at

10am did not return at 3pm as

expected, in fact it didn‟t turn up at

all! Students were eventually

treated to a bus journey from cam-

pus to Reading station and a train

home to Ealing Broadway. The real

way to experience Reading!

First two pictures from earlier in

the day, the third waiting patiently

for the mystery coach!

English Literature students rewarded with a trip to

Keats House

On Thursday the 19th June all of

the AS English Literature students

headed out on a trip to Keats

House.

Claudia Laxton in Year 12 explains

the day: “The trip to Keats house,

where the Romantic poet John

Keats lived from 1818 - 1820, was

educational as well as enjoyable.

“We were able to explore the

house where he wrote some of his

most memorable poetry and learn

about his life in detail. This in-

cluded his tragic love story with

Fanny Brawne, the girl who lived

next door.

“We were able to appreciate how

much he had achieved in his very

short life, having died at age 25.

“It was an unforgettable experi-

ence.”

UCL Links continue to grow

Over twenty students visited the

University College London to look

around and learn about the

historic university, and receive a

Personal Statement Workshop and

advice on Student Finance.

Fayzan Mir of Year 12 had this to

say: "The trip to University College

London (4th in the world in terms

of ranking) was my first taste of a

central London University. The trip

was on the 18th June which really

consisted of a tour around the

campus and all of the different

departments that a single

University has.

“Surprisingly, the tour was given

my older sister, a former Acton

High School student now studying

medicine in her third year.

“It can be summed up as an

informative trip, offering a real

taste of university life!”