Year 10 take on the ‘Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge’, 24 November 2023

During Year 10’s assembly on Tuesday, 30 January, four finalists took to the stage to deliver meaningful, heartfelt, engaging speeches in the next round of the ‘Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge’. Aparna 10G, Mibzall 10W, Prem 10R and Manmeet 10O were exceptional in their delivery and were impressive to listen to. The resilience, ambition and determination all four students demonstrated was admirable.

Miss Strachan [Year 10 Learning Coordinator]

Year 10 were an amazing audience for our four outstanding finalists in the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge, showing incredible support for their classmates. Prem's speech reflected on each individual's route to success, it was inspirational and delivered with clarity and confidence. Aparna's speech on the challenges faced by immigrant communities and the important role parents play in our lives was engaging and self-assured. Manmeet's speech on the impact of medical errors was emotive, she showed such bravery in sharing her experience in front of so many. Mibzall employed an effective hook in his speech about making the most of our time each day. It was a thought provoking speech delivered with aplomb.

After a gruelling debate, the judges declared Aparna Bisht our school finalist with a special commendation for Manmeet Sidhu, who will act as our reserve. The regional final will take place on 27 February.

Ms Kaur [Assistant Curriculum Leader of English KS4]

“On Friday, 24 November we did our ‘Jack Petchey’ workshop, the ‘Speak Out Challenge’. In this workshop, we learnt about how to formulate a speech and speak confidently in front of our peers. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it as we played various games throughout the day, which helped improve our communication skills. My speech was about appreciating our parents as they have done everything for us. Overall, I enjoyed this workshop and feel that it improved my skills at speaking out confidently, which will help me in the future.” Aparna [10G]

      

“On Friday, 24 November we had a ‘Speak Out’ workshop with Jenny. We learnt three ideas about giving a speech: content, delivery and structure. We had our own booklet we could write in. We planned our speeches in bullet points and delivered them in front of everyone. For me, I wrote about knife crime and how it impacts this generation and future ones. I think this workshop helped people to step out of their comfort zones and make them confident outside school, preparing them for workplaces.” Anzal [10O]

"My experience of crafting and performing a speech for Jack Petchey was both eye-opening and aided my progression in my confidence and oral skills. I would also like to sincerely share my appreciation for Ms Kaur for her help and devotion, ensuring all four participants were ready to perform their speech live, to the whole year group. This unique experience is one I will never forgot!" Prem [10R]

“I gained confidence by speaking to everyone about why petrol and diesel cars should not be banned. The activities improved my body language and speaking skills.” Manveer [10W]

“On the day, I completed lots of speaking tasks which developed my confidence and I looked at what makes a speech effective: body language and delivery. I will be completing in the final talking about ‘1984’.” Harman [10W]

"I enjoyed all the speeches, they were all unique and inspiring. Aparna's was amazing, her hand gestures and questions to the audience made the speech feel personal and as if she were personally speaking to us and she made great points on immigrant parents. Manmeet's speech was really personal and emotional, she was so brave for telling us her story about her father's death due to medical negligence, and it was so inspiring to hear her talk about it with such bravery and spreading awareness. All the speeches were fantastic and they were really inspiring and thought-provoking." Raveena [10Y]

    

 

Cultural Fusion was probably the best day of this year so far, the vibes, the people and the event as a whole was so fun I can’t wait for next year!

Jaya Kaur Dhillon [9B]

Cultural Fusion was an amazing experience to showcase all our talents!

Everyone had great fun and the show went amazingly due to the help of the Sixth Formers. We are so grateful for getting a chance to perform and can't wait for the next one!

Jaania Kanwar [9Y]

Cultural Fusion was so fun! I really enjoyed playing for the audience, the crowd were wild with their shouting and singing! All the acts were amazing; the bhangra dancing, the Dhol, the singers and all the other musicians included! Everything went really well and everyone was having a good time and so did the performers. Big shout out to all the Sixth Formers who made the show run so smoothly.

We couldn't have done it without them; we all had such an amazing evening of singing and dancing.

Alicia Joseph [11Y]

  

  

On Friday, 08 December T-Level Business and Healthcare Science students across Year 12 and 13 had the opportunity to attend a workshop organised by GateOneConsultancy, a consultancy firm based in Central London. We learnt about how to write a CV and cover letter.  The focus of the session was to show us how to build our skills, develop ourselves personally as applicants to showcase what we can bring to different organisations. They introduced us to a method called the Ikigai, a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a sense of purpose, a reason for living.

This method used four questions:

1. What I am good at? 

2. What I love? 

3. What the world needs? 

4. What can you be paid for? 

This helped me to analyse and see the variety of career paths that I could pursue based on my skills. As part of the session, we were also introduced to the STAR technique, a significant technique to use during an interview. We worked in pairs, practising the different interview questions using the STAR technique. It was challenging, as thinking on the spot was difficult, however as time passed we did learn how to use the technique and were able to refine our answers to be clear and concise. The benefits of the workshop experience was very insightful and helpful to allow us to prepare for interviews in the future.

Wasi Syed [13F] T-level Management & Administration 

Fifteen aspiring poets from across KS3 visited Lampton School to meet published poet, Neal Zeller. Zeller explained how he uses poetry as therapy but also for fun, performing a range of his own poems covering topics as diverse as frustration on tube trains, to a fear of dark alleyways, to a love of peanut butter!

His quirky and individual poetry style engaged the students, who experimented with vocal recitation and public speaking skills, before finally working on their own poems.

Zeller coached each student, giving them the freedom to really express themselves. Their poems covered serious topics from anxieties about exams, to gratitude to parents, to fear of darkness and uncertainty about identity. The finished poems showed emotional maturity and courage; they were also beautifully accomplished in terms of technical skill. Some will be published in the next issue of the Heston Voice and we hope they will resonate with all of our readers.

“I really enjoyed the trip because we learnt more about poetry and different types of poems. We also got to write our own poems, which I found fun - I wrote mine about clowns! We listened to poems being read aloud and even performed a choral reading of some poems, too. At the end, we got to read our poems in front of other students and teachers, which pushed me out of my comfort zone. Overall, I found the trip interesting and educating.”  

Kaia Hall, [9Y] 

 “The poetry trip was fun, enjoyable and an informative experience. I have learnt new writing styles and I would love to develop even more writing skills. I think this day was beneficial to all of us interested in poetry.”  

Arlynn Rodrigues [8Y] 

 

 

Over the first Half Term, Year 12 students took part in the 'Controversial Question' Essay competition. The title was "Being part of a state-funded sixth form is mostly about how well you do in your academic studies. Discuss". It was great to read so many conflicting views and well-thought-out arguments. Congratulations to the following winning students: Rianna Ludhra, Sara Daci, Arun Kharaud, Saniya Sharma, Salha Abdallah, Harmiter Kular and Shiv Padhiyar. 

Please find Rianna's winning entry below

"This evening’s Open Evening was fantastic. I learnt a lot about the Post-16 options offered at Heston and gained an insight into the subjects I might choose. Our school offers a wide range of subjects, from humanities, sciences to art and graphic communication. Personally, I was more interested in Arts and Maths, so I went to those rooms first and achieved a wider perspective on what the course work is like along with the specification. As well as A Level courses, I made sure to learn more about the BTECs offered and it is reassuring to know that, as well as doing a BTEC, you can also pursue an A Level. Overall, this open evening was quite useful and informative and makes me feel more confident about the future and what I aspire to do after obtaining my GCSEs."

Mancy Dutt [11P]

Overall, the Sixth Form Open Evening was incredibly insightful for those curious about the courses that they are considering taking after GCSEs. Both internal and external students were able to visit different classrooms, each specialising in different courses available at Heston, such as A-Level Chemistry, History, BTEC Business, etc. The teachers guided us through the summary of content on their chosen course, and its curriculum. There were also fellow Post-16 students who answered our concerns about workload, as well as how they manage and utilise their study periods.

As a Year 11 student, I feel that it has widened my understanding and knowledge of the possible pathways I could take after my GCSEs.

Ilhan Abdullahi [11Y]

I was thrilled to share my experiences of transitioning from GCSEs to A Levels with students and with their parents.  I reassured parents that whilst the workload was significant, the expert guidance of teachers and the Post 16 Team made the transition seamless for us all.

Manshveer Longani Deputy Head Boy [12C]