It`s always nice to write for the school newsletter, as it gives me the

From the Headteacher:
It’s always nice to write for the school newsletter, as it gives me the chance to reflect on the events of the weeks since the last
one.
I am pleased to report that the school continues to be very popular with the local community. Having had over four hundred
first choice applications for the first time last year, we have recently been informed that it is over four hundred once again this
year. We’ve also just received notification that our most recent GCSE results (2014) place us in the top 8% of all state secondary
schools (including selective ones) in the country – our highest ever previous position was in the top 9% in 2012. We’re all very
pleased.
It has been a busy and very enjoyable half term with lots going on, in and out of school, which you will read about in the rest of
this newsletter. I have had the privilege of awarding green conduct points badges (for 100 points) to the thirteen students
pictured below, who were the first to reach that milestone; the figure stands at over two hundred now, with over eight hundred
wearing their bronze badges (for 50 points) very proudly. It’s so nice to see the students wearing their badges with pride. Next
stop, the red badge (for 200 points).
We’ve installed the Students of the Week book (from Years 7 to 11) in its very smart display cabinet on the main corridor, with
sixty-five different students’ names in it so far this year. It’s a record of each of those with the most achievement points each
week; picking up even one behaviour point that week (usually for forgetting homework) disqualifies you for that week I’m
afraid.
Amongst many other events which I have enjoyed attending, I was at the Cluster Carol Service most recently, where our concert
orchestra did the school very proud, playing while all the students from St John Fisher, Pinner Park, West Lodge and Cannon
Lane sang carols. There is nothing more certain to get one in a festive mood. Wishing you all ‘Season’s Greetings’ and all the
very best for a healthy and happy 2015.
Chris Livesey
Music Festival 2014
There have been many wonderful things
happening in the Music Department this
term. In November many students
entered into the Music Festival, which
consisted of a series of heats and then a
day of finals and a concert given by the
winners of each instrumental category.
The independent adjudicator James
Topp, who is a professional orchestral
performer, was very impressed with the
amount of talent he saw.
The overall winner of the grades 1-3
category was Damian Jethwa (Year 7)
who plays clarinet. The winner of the
grades 4+ category was Ben Bucknall
(Year 12) who plays violin.
Autumn Concert with a Christmas Feel
In the wake of the Music Festival, the musicians and singers of Nower Hill gave an outstanding performance at the
annual Autumn Concert with a Christmas Feel on the 26th November. The concert was a selection of
performances by ensembles run by the Music Department, including Concert Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Choir,
Chamber Ensemble and Steel Pans to name but a few. The evening also included a vast array of musical styles,
ranging from popular songs and musicals to classical repertoire. The main hall was full of parents, friends and
staff who came to support the children which created a really lovely atmosphere on the evening. The staff in the
Music Department are very much looking forward to future concerts in the Spring and Summer terms!
Mrs Sheppard
Community Christmas Lunch
On Wednesday 10th December we had the privilege
of entertaining guests from the local community. They
enjoyed a lovely Christmas dinner, the school choir
sung carols and Santa popped in and gave every guest
a Christmas present. Ho Ho Ho.
Mr. Nagle
Community Christmas Lunch
We were pleased to receive many a
‘thank you’ from guests but I would like
to share with you an excerpt from a
lovely letter.
‘The canteen staff obviously worked hard
in the kitchen to produce a lovely lunch
brought to us at the tables by a delightful
group of Yr. 7 pupils who were most
polite and helpful. The Yr. 10s who
seemed to be in charge of drinks made
sure we were well supplied. The bingo
session was an enjoyable interlude and
Father Christmas made a fitting end to
the afternoon.
May I congratulate you on the boys’ and
girls’ politeness and interaction with all
the elderly folk who were present, they
were a credit to you, your staff and the
school’
Mr. Livesey
Year 10s visit Imperial College, London
On the 22nd October four Year 10 students visited Imperial College London, to attend a
chemistry outreach day. The students enjoyed a busy day which involved some practical
exercises, like turning a 2p piece into ‘gold’ (just a brass coating really!) They toured and
discovered the Imperial College campus by solving cryptic quiz questions. We were helped in this
by bumping into Kunal Bhatia who was in Year 13 last year and is now a physics undergraduate
there. The group also listened to a very interesting talk given by a researcher who spoke about
his work on separating individual molecules for studies into cancer treatment.
Mr. Katz
From left to right: Zak Mirza, Riya Panchmatia, Alice Agerbak, Rahil Pandya
Making ‘gold’ coins
This year, 9AMN have decided to donate our usual Secret Santa money to
Oxfam, because we feel that giving is better than getting and we would like to
give less fortunate people a special Christmas present from our own money.
The idea is to give up presents from our tutors for this year and also to donate
the money we would usually spend on Secret Santa and teacher presents to
Oxfam. Toilets, goats, medical attention, wells, teacher training and mosquito
nets are all options and 9AMN are determined to buy as much as we can.
If you have any loose change, please donate and 9AMN will make good use of it!
Lauren McNeil, Simran Mehta, Shania Ramnarine, Kartik Hirani
EDEXCEL DRAMA CONFERENCE
On the 17th November we attended an Edexcel Student Drama
Conference at The Piccadilly Theatre. The conference was based on
how to achieve high grades in our exams. Throughout the day we
were given presentations to show us mark schemes for the different
parts of the exams. These presentations helped us to understand
what is required to achieve top marks in both coursework and
performances in the future.
One aspect of the conference was a practical activity where we all
participated. We were given a script and were asked to interpret the
lines and prepare a short scene.
Some groups were asked to
rehearse on stage and our group was lucky enough to be chosen for
this. At the end of the exercise our group was highlighted by the
organisers as “amazing” out of all 40 groups!
Later in the day we were shown a mini scene and heard a talk about
revising for our exams and preparation, We were shown what would
happen if we left our preparation until the last minute!
One highlight of the day was a presentation from an Edexcel
Examiner who reiterated to us that examiners are not there to
criticise but to give us the marks we deserve and that we will
therefore get out what we put into the process.
Towards the end of the day, we saw a presentation by a group of
students who had received Band 1 in their exams. The whole day
was both informative and extremely enjoyable.
Imogen Kelly and Rosie Bashford Year 10
Citizenship Showcase 2014
On Friday 7th November Year 10 students at Nower Hill High School held their annual
Citizenship Showcase. As part of their GCSE Citizenship Studies, students have been
campaigning on a wide range of issues including High Speed 2, homelessness, university fees,
world hunger, homophobic bullying, tax avoidance and animal rights. At the same time
as researching their chosen issue in detail, students have been learning how to organise an
effective media campaign.
The Showcase gave them an opportunity to engage with a wide audience of parents, teachers,
governors, their local Councillor James Bond, MP Gareth Thomas and the Mayor of Harrow,
Councillor Ajay Maru.
Jon Mason, Head of Citizenship, said:
‘We are delighted with the passion that the students have shown for their campaigns and that
they now realise that with clever use of the media, they as individuals they can make a real
difference to their communities. Each year this event has gone from strength to strength and
we plan to build on this years by holding a Youth Question Time in the near future.’
Mr. Mason
Are you able to offer a 6th Form Nower Hill student a work placement?
Year 12 go on work experience from Monday 22nd June to Friday 3rd July
2015. The placements are linked to the degree course they wish to study at
University.
We strive to place our students in high calibre placements. If any parent or
carer is able to offer Nower Hill students an opportunity to work in a
professional
environment,
please
contact
Mrs
Doshi
on
[email protected] or 0208 863 0877 x 2209
6th Form Tablets
All 6th Form students now have a school tablet computer.
Students and teachers are using the tablets as a tool both in
and out of lessons to help with learning.
Some of the uses of the tablets by the students so far include:
• Internet to access resources on Fronter and educational
websites.
• Past paper apps to aid revision.
• Interactive questioning apps to allow teachers to see all
student responses and provide immediate feedback.
• Use of the camera to record tutorials for fellow students
The use of this learning tool is developing and we are sure
that it will have a long term positive effect on learning.
Mr. Hardy
Outstanding achievements
Holly Woollen, pictured here on the
right of the photo with her team mates
Abbie and Tash, competed in the
Commonwealth Taekwondo (Poomsae)
Championships in Edinburgh on the
15th and 16th November. We are
delighted to let you know that Holly
and the girls represented England as
part of a synchron team in the Cadet
division coming home with a silver
medal at Commonwealth level.
This is a tremendous achievement and
testament that attending club sport
really does pay off!
Mr Parker
Girls Netball Results
Year 10 fixtures
Year 11 fixtures
VS Sacred heart Lost 11-1
VS Bentley Wood Lost 7-5
VS Park High Lost 7-0
VS Whitmore Lost 5-4
VS Sacred Heart Lost 12-5
VS Park 8-8
VS Bentley Wood Won 9-3
VS Whitmore 8-8
Year 10 Netball Rally
The girls put in a great effort at the Netball Rally hosted by Nower
Hill, showing enormous improvements from previous fixtures.
Nower Hill came 5th over all with Nikita Mistry as our player of the
tournament.
Year 11 Netball Rally
Nower Hill came 5th in the rally with our player of the tournament
going to Leanne Ting for consistent effort and determination.
Miss Reynolds
Girls’ Badminton
Years 7/8/9
Years 10/11
The lower years Badminton
team put in a great effort and
came 5th over all with, Prisha
Bathia as our player of the
tournament winning 3 out of
her 4 games.
The upper years Badminton
team came 6th overall, with
our player of the
tournament going to Sarah
Sabir.
Miss Reynolds
Girls’ Volleyball
U14 girls Volleyball team at Park
High Wednesday 3rd December
2014. The girls first entry to the
Borough tournament finishing a
credible 5th out a field of
experienced teams losing 15-6
to the former London U14
Champions of Sacred Heart. The
team were really spirited and
scored some great points. All
had great fun!
Mr Parker
Prisha Bathia, Chloe Jeanes,
Thaakshajini Vasanthakumaran,
Honey Butterworth,
Mahira Zenk-Medjahed, Theresa Wilson
U14 Boys’ Badminton
The squad this year:
Results:
Kyran Jethwa 9ACN (Player of the season)
Jake Douglas-Brooks 9ACT
Hossam Hannachi 9 9ADM
Thuvarakesh Sivakumar 9AJM
Stephen Trowbridge 9ALH
Sriraghavan Sribalakrishnan 9ASC
Pritul Bavishi 9ALD
Akeed Lareef 8SMB
NH vs Park high – Won 4-3
NH vs Harrow high – Lost 5-2
NH vs Whitmore – Lost 4-3
NH vs Salvatorian – Lost 6-1
NH vs Harrow high – Lost 4-3
NH vs Park high – Won 6-1
Mr Murrell
Harrow Borough District Football Team
Nower Hill students representing
Harrow Borough District football
team. This is testament to the
commitment the students have in
wanting to further their football
development and play to the
highest standard.
Well done lads!
Mr Parker
Back Row- Jacob Loza 4th from left,
Stanley Butterworth 6th from the left
Front Row-Bradley Jerrom 3rd from left GK,
Jake Graham-Rosser 5th from left
Missing from the picture who have also
represented the District are Keyan Martin, Chris
Porter, Anele Mvuni, Tyreese Thomas
Inter-Form
Spelling Bee Competition 2014!
Congratulations to the champions:
7LMX
8RAA
9ADL
10MMM
11WAM
BEHN
Inter-Form
Spelling Bee Competition 2014!
When I was picked to represent my form in the Spelling Bee, along with Toby and Sasisan, I was so happy.
There was nothing like it at my primary school, but I had heard about it, so I was very excited at the
opportunity to have fun in a competition, while increasing my knowledge of words. On the day of the first
round, we walked from our form room to our opponent’s form room and everybody was cheering us on. The
first word to spell was ‘adolescence’ and I knew I could spell it by breaking the word into chunks. So I did. The
suspense throughout the round was great and Toby, Sasisan and I came out on top. Our spelling success
continued to take us right through the semi-final and into the final!
The final came. Our form tutor announced that it would be taking place in assembly, in front of about 300
people, not counting the staff. My stomach dropped to the floor and immediately I felt like a huge wave had
come crashing over me. I was going to have to spell words in front of 300 people!
Assembly day came. Except it wasn’t any old assembly. This was the day that the victors of the C-side and the
L-side would go head to head. We made our way to the Gristwood, with Toby, Sasisan and me at the front of
the line. We were neck and neck on points, which led us to a tie-breaker. The word was ‘reminisce’. Toby
buzzed in first to spell the word. He looked sure of himself as he attempted to spell the word. The teacher
paused for a second, looked around and then said that the word was correct. Our fellow form members
cheered very loudly at our victory and were grinning like Cheshire cats! We had done it! We had represented
our form and our side of the Year Group (L-side) and were crowned the Spelling Bee champions!
When I met my best friend afterwards (who is on the C-side), she said that everybody was looking at her
weirdly because she was the only one cheering for us every time we got a word right. I wouldn’t blame them,
but she is my best friend, so I appreciated that.
By Zoe Kabasele 7LMX
Autumn Term
Literacy Champions!
Many congratulations to the champions:
Year 7
7LDH: Eleanor Forrest
7LLS: Sahana Santhiappillai
7LNB: Oliver Botly
7CPP: Aaran Patel
7CSJ: Muhammad Virjee
7CMP: Kamraan Majeed
7CSL: Amara Siddiqui
Year 9
9ASC: Sonia Lalloo
9ADM: Ishani Thakar
9AMN: Rahul Patel
9ALD: Elica Kargarnovin
9ACN: Jamie Young
9AKC: Zain Ahmed
Year 8
8STW: Devesh Sood
8RAA: Hana Andari
8RHP: Brendan McCarthy
8RLK: Abdulla Al-Janaby
Year 10
10MJG: Stefan McCabe
10MNM: Joe Dadomo
10MSW: Dylan Crook
10MDA: Saorla Hanley
10MKB: Alice Agerbak
Mrs. Christou
Year 11
11WLD: Abishajini Rajakumaran
11WMG: Mayu Greenaway Harvey
Remembrance Day
Head Boy Cavan Day
Lewis and Head Girl
Rachel Chellapha
accompanied by Mr
Nagle laid the wreath at
the Pinner War
Memorial. Megan Bailey
played the trumpet for
her second successive
year. Megan also played
the trumpet during the
whole school two minute
silence.
Mr. Nagle
Harvest Festival Food Collection
There was a very good response to the Harvest Festival food
collection. We collected four shopping trollies full of food
items. These were delivered to Millman’s Day Care Centre on
the 26th October. Lovely photos and a thank you letter
received. Thank you.
Mr. Nagle
The Bike Doctor
The Bike Doctor, Mr
Jeremy Tranter, serviced
42 bicycles on the 28th
September. This was a
free service provided by
Bike It and TFL.
This was followed later in
the term by a ‘Biker
Breakfast’ which was
enjoyed by 23 cyclists on
Friday 21 November. The
breakfast was a much
appreciated - hot
chocolate and a
croissant.
Mr. Nagle
Question: Where can you get an evening full of fun, laughter, questions
to test your knowledge on a wide range of topics and a curry and rice
too?
Answer: At the NHHS Parents Teachers and Friends Annual Quiz Night!
Although this wasn't one of the questions, the ones on the night weren't
too bad either! Our Quiz Master, an ex Nower Hill student and black
cabbie, kept us entertained with really bad jokes and funny stories as
well as ten rounds of brain cell challenging questions. We played our
Jokers to get double points and the competitive spirit was high!
Teams either came as a group, or were put together on the night. I don't
think it mattered as teams that met each other that evening scored
pretty well! Making new friends was a side benefit! By the time the
curries and samosas were served, it was like we had known each other
forever!
Our PTFA came early, set up and then made up their own team, (which
didn't come last!!). We had new volunteers and 'old' working together
to set the tables, create centrepieces and serve the dinner. The on-thespot raffle was very popular and the Kindle, kindly donated by Andrew
Pearce Estate Agents in Pinner was a fantastic first prize. The Virgin
Active Riverside Northwood club donated a family membership and
Starbucks, Pinner donated a bag of goodies. Our grateful thanks go to
each of our sponsors.
I am very proud to say that as our first event for this year, it was a huge
success and sold out! Next year, be sure to get your tickets early to
avoid disappointment! Do look out for the next PTFA events coming in
the new year and if you have a little time to offer some help, please get
in touch via the PTFA email: [email protected]
Wishing you a happy festive season and a successful New Year!
Sejal Wasani PTFA Chairperson
PTFA Quiz Night
Mandarin Classes go from
strength to strength with Ms Wu
Beginners’ Class learning numbers
Mima and Mayu practicing their characters
Limited Spaces now available for beginners on
Tuesdays after school 3.15-4pm in L5 next term
Election of the Classical Society Executive
Committee 2014-15
Back row: Daphne Courtenage (Magazine Editor), Zaine V. Mansuralli (Publicity Officer and
Y9-11 Representative), Katriona Carter-Robinson (Wider Classics Liaison Officer), Thomas
Gardner (Activities Officer), Lacey Ryan (Display and Creativity Officer), Hafsa Ahmed (Y78 Representative). Front row: Riya Nathwani (Vice President), Krupa Choksi (President),
Aarti Popat (Secretary General)
LINGUISTS OF THE ½ TERM
We would like to congratulate and commend the following students for their excellent
work and attitude in Languages this ½ term. Bravo!
French
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Year 13
Achievement
Laura Jane Foley
Amy O’Grady
Amy Wahab
Alice Agerbak
Dylan Mistry
Taher Ebrahim
Ajanth Raveendran
Effort and Homework
Sasha Falloon
Jake Graham-Rosser
Clara Smith
Rasha Jaffrey
Nicole Clarke
Cathrin Fischer
Yathusha Uthayakumar
Spanish
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Year 13
German
Year 8
Achievement
Ariana Ladha
Pauline Boateng
Amirah Sheikh
Mayu Greenaway-Harvey
Courtney Duncan
Nare Amasi Hartoonian
Achievement
Effort and Homework
Rikin Bhudia
Zanjabil Merahi
David Davidovic
Zachary Fitton
Jasmeet Bamrah
Jaina Shah
Effort and Homework
Tilly Mc Cargo
Shasviny Sivaloganathan
Year 9
Jakub Tiupa
Nagumelan Thambipillai
Year 10
Rahil Pandya
Charlotte Prentice-Garner
Year 11
Venoth Arulvasan
Anmol Seth
Joyeux Noël!
¡Feliz Navidad!
Frohliche Weihnachten!
Mr Piesse
CLASSICS DEPARTMENT
STUDENTS OF THE TERM!
We would like to congratulate and commend the students below for their
excellent work and attitude in Classics, Latin and Ancient Greek this term.
Euge!
Year 7 C-side Classics
Year 7 L-side Classics
Year 7 C-side Greek
Year 7 L-side Greek
Year 8 S-side Latin
Year 8 R-side Latin
Year 8 Greek
Harry Brook 7CPP
Gunraaj Kundi 7LDH
Amanbir Bansal 7CSG
Toby Deal 7LMX
Stanley Butterworth
8SLG
Saachin Bhatt 8RSB
Seren Gillett 8STW
Laura-Jane Foley 7CPP
Selina Kelly 7LSM
Alice Jardine 7CSG
Sumayyah Siddiqui 7LSM
Katie Jenkins 8STW
Lena Jan 8RDP
Any O’Grady 8STM
Mrs. Christou
Netball
Indoor cricket nets
Sporting
Facilities
Enquiries?
Phone
Jane Wilkinson
on
020 8863 0877
ext 2211
Dancing
Parties
Main
Hall
Wedding
Receptions
Indoor 5 aside or skills
Basketball court
Family / Friends
Celebrations
Classrooms
Tennis
courts
Productions
Tuition
Meetings
Meetings