" I thoroughly enjoyed organising Cultural Fusion as it gave me a valuable opportunity to showcase my leadership skills while fostering a sense of community that we can all take pride in. Although it was initially challenging to persuade students to participate and perform, the effort was well worth it. Together, we managed to raise over £200 for Hounslow Food Bank, making the experience both fulfilling and impactful."  

Liya Ludhra [12A]

"Joining Heston Community School this year has been a fantastic experience, and taking part in Cultural Fusion gave me a true sense of belonging. During the event, I had the exciting opportunity to be the main MC, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Although standing in front of a packed hall was nerve-wracking at first, I’m so glad I took on the challenge. It was an unforgettable experience, and I’m already looking forward to participating again next year!" 

Aariz Khan [12B]

"Participating in Cultural Fusion for the first time was an unforgettable experience, and although it will be my last before heading off to university, I’m so glad I got to be part of it. Creating these memories with everyone was truly special. I’m sure our Year 13 bhangra dance had everyone laughing, but it was absolutely worth it!" 

Jose De Brum Pereira [13D]

On Friday, 13 December, 58 Year 10 students took part in the ‘Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge’ workshops, spending the day off timetable to focus on crafting and delivering impactful speeches. The event gave students a unique opportunity to develop their public speaking skills, with expert external facilitators coaching them on how to select meaningful topics and deliver emotive speeches with a positive message. They were supported by Miss Ali and Miss Cator-Wanli, who enjoyed seeing the students outside their comfort zones and in an entirely unique context. They both commented on how impressed they were with the genuine passion of the students for their topics and their positive approach to public speaking. 

Each student chose a topic they were passionate about, ranging from environmental issues to mental health awareness, personal experiences to social justice causes. The facilitators helped our students refine their delivery, providing guidance on tone, voice projection, body language, and structuring a compelling argument. As the day progressed, our students grew in confidence and even those who may have been initially hesitant to speak made an effort to present, helped by their peers, the facilitators and teachers. By the end of the day, students were confidently delivering their speeches, engaging their audience with clarity and emotion.

Our students commented that the day was a refreshing break from the usual school routine, offering them a chance to explore a new skill in an interactive, hands-on way. The external facilitators commented on the encouraging atmosphere of the workshops and how engaged our Year 10s were. They found our students to be respectful but full of personality and energy!

Miss Ali and Miss Cator-Wanli selected Triston [10Y], Alpi [10W], Kaia [10Y], Angad [10Y], Alexandra [10R], and Jasmin [10B] as our winners from the workshops. They will face each other in our in-school final during an assembly on 28 January where a school finalist will be chosen to go forward to the regional final on 25 February. 

When the London Ambulance came in, they talked to us and demonstrated CPR to us. After that, we had a chance to practice performing CPR. The experience was fun and it has made us more confident in our abilities. The London Ambulance had experienced teachers that taught us very well. We also received cool badges to remember the fun day. Eshal Aamir [8W]

The Team took us through step by step on how to do chest compressions on someone. First, we watched a video telling us why it was important for us to learn. In small groups we learnt where to place our hands and how many times we should do it. We were then given a defibrillator training kit that contained two patches to apply and deliver an electrical shock. The London Ambulance staff told us where to put it and what it would do to the unconscious person. I feel that this was an experience I won't forget and will help me to be a lifesaver in the future. Danvir Singh [8G]

I was assigned to a group and met the adults that were going to be training us on how to do CPR and what to do if a person is in cardiac arrest. I would say CPR was relatively easy to learn. It is important, as whenever a person is in cardiac arrest, we know what to do before the ambulance arrives. Asees Kloay [8Y]

This week, we had the pleasure of having professional actors put on a performance of A Christmas Carol at our school.

The show was a mixture of live singing and entertaining acting from a cast of only three people playing multiple roles. The visual re-enactment of the classic Charles Dickens story greatly enhanced our understanding of the book and brought the characters to life.”

Mila Chan [7G] [Year 7 Scholars Club]

Watching the production of A Christmas Carol was truly an enchanting experience. The way it was framed and staged brought the story to life in a truly captivating manner. Each actor fully embraced their characters, immersing themselves in the roles and making the audience feel as if they were part of the narrative. Their commitment to their performances added a genuine charm that made the whole experience unforgettable.

Samaira Goes [7B] [Year 7 Scholars Club]

We watched a live performance of A Christmas Carol for section B of our GCSE Drama paper. As they were a touring group, they had their own props, they had wigs and numerous costumes and their own backdrop. Watching this performance was important for our GCSE for section B as it is based on live theatre and in the exam, we have to analyse a piece of live theatre. I enjoyed this performance because the actors portrayed their roles really well and made it very clear to the audience who they were symbolising.

Amari Jibril [11G]

In December our drama class were lucky enough to watch a performance of A Christmas Carol with actors who had come to perform at the School. One thing I really enjoyed about the performance was the way the actors used their voices to project as well as using the space on the stage. These tools kept the performance really engaging and interesting. This will be useful for the Year 11 Drama students because, in the Summer GCSE exams we will have to write about a live performance and how the actors use different drama techniques like staging, lighting and costumes to convey a story. I’m glad I got this opportunity to support me in preparing for my GCSE exam.

Lorena Buboiu [11R] 

YEAR 13

We attended two sessions where we received targeted exam support for our subjects. During these sessions, our teachers discussed different approaches to exam-style questions and provided additional insights on key topics and common exam questions to aid our revision. They also took the time to review challenging topics and offered practical tips on how to tackle them effectively. We were given a range of resources to help us prepare for both the upcoming January Mock exams and our A-Level exams. I found these sessions valuable in deepening my understanding of crucial areas of the specification and the exam format. The teachers were supportive, and I left the sessions feeling much more confident and better equipped for my A-Level exams. Abdur-Raheeem [13B]

YEAR 11

I believe that the Academic Mentoring Day sessions were extremely useful in terms of exam preparation. The sessions were very long, but this meant that we could work through full papers. I enjoyed going over what would come up in our upcoming mocks, such as English Language paper 2 and exam prep for Maths. I also think that Science would be a good addition to the day as it is seen as just as important as the others to a majority.  Aparna Bisht [11G] & Amanveer Gill [11G]

Extremely useful because we went through a past paper and I now understand language paper 2, and it will help during my mock examination in January and maths was helpful as we went through paper 2 content and did a mini test after, to see how much we picked upon in the lesson. Munib Ahmadi [11G]

I really enjoyed the Maths and English sessions because for English we did Language paper 2 which I benefited from. However, in Maths we did a Maths Calculator paper which was quite tricky. My English teacher helped us get through the Language paper 2 and broke each question down step by step. In Maths, I think making the papers is really tricky; they made me push myself further and do better in the upcoming papers and try to do better in my January mocks. Faizan Hussain [11G]

The day was quite useful as we got to do a walkthrough of a paper in English and had an exam in Maths. I think it will really help me in my January mocks as I now have an understanding of what Language Paper 2 will be like and how to answer the questions. The Maths test also helped me recall questions from last year that I had forgotten about. Harnoor Kaur [11G]

Year 11 recently spent a week getting involved with Sixth Former activities to experience what tutor time was like in Year 12. It was a great opportunity for us to experience a typical week for a student at Heston. On Wednesday, the Sixth Formers came to visit us in our group. It was good as it involved the whole class playing a ‘Sixth Form Bingo’. As we all had the same sheet, we ended up in a tie! It was useful to be able to ask people who are directly experiencing Sixth Form as they had good knowledge and experience of Sixth Form life. 

Toby Brown [11W]

Sixth Form experience week was an interesting perspective on life after GCSEs. Firstly, we had an assembly on Monday delivered by Mr Naqvi, who posed some relevant questions for us to reflect on when picking our next steps. We also did some other activities in tutor time during the week which revealed the level of work we would experience in Year 12 tutor time. On Thursday afternoon it was very useful to see all the different opportunities available in the Hall with my teachers. I was able to see a wide range of subjects as well as the different levels of qualifications available. This will help me make informed decisions for next year. 

Reva Kumar [11W]

For me, the most useful part of Sixth Form Experience Week was being able to speak first hand with some current Year 12 students. For example, I was able to discuss and hear about the opportunity to do an EPQ on top of my three A-level choices. Before that, I didn’t know that would be an option for me in Year 12. I’m looking forward to learning more about this qualification. Being able to attend the Open Evening was a helpful experience as I had some 1:1 time with my teachers and to learn about subjects I’m not taking at GCSE but may be interested in for A-levels. Overall, this experience helped me decide on my next steps for returning to Heston for my A-levels, although, I’m still deciding what subjects to take!

Sagal Hassan [11O]