Here is the news from Westminster Academy via BBC School Report
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TERM 5 APRIL 2012
Here is the news from Westminster Academy via
BBC School Report
script for our news reports within a time limit of forty-
five minutes before having to send it to Miss Rigg and
Miss Brooks. Once we had our scripts uploaded on to
an auto-cue, we were able to start recording.
Our recordings started off with each pair having a
chance to practise without the camera on; this was so
that we were able to judge the speed suitable for us to
be able to read from the auto-cue. After this, we were
able to start recording properly.
By Shaima Mohamed Year 8 Although it took a few tries due to slip-ups and laugh-
On March 15th 2012, a group of Year 7 and 8 stu- ing, we managed to finish on time and were able to
dents had the exciting task of preparing and re- start editing. The task of editing the whole video was
cording the BBC School Report. difficult, as we had our own opinions on how things
Our first task was finding a story; this proved to be should be done. However, it was finished and we were
difficult as a lot of the stories were out-dated or able to send it to Mr Reddington by 3:30.
were not appropriate for our audience. Articles All of us thoroughly enjoyed the experience and had a
ranged from worldwide to local and included a mix- great time working together and helping each other to
ture of sport, news and weather. produce a great video. Please go to
www.westminsteracademy.net/WA-News.php to view
After break, we voted for stories to cover, then
our report.
paired with other team members to write up a
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
strates how Westminster Academy is dents achieving grades C and above.
going from strength to strength, attract-
In order to maintain these improvements, I
ing local, national and international
am urging parents to encourage their chil-
publicity.
dren to participate in extra-curricular activi-
As well as the wonderful opportunities ties and trips as well as never accepting the
and activities you can read about in excuse “I don’t have any homework”; all
this newsletter, I am proud to an- students should be reading, revising and
nounce our continued academic suc- practising questions EVERY EVENING includ-
Principal Smita Bora with students
cess in the recent GCSE Maths exami- ing memorising facts, for example, in sci-
Yet again, this newsletter demon-
nations, with a record number of stu- ence CGP revision guides.
Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 2
Year 11 students Go Ape !
By Priscilla Nott and Merraf Shawul (Year 11)
At the end of term, the Year 11 students working towards
their DofE Award went to Go Ape !. Go Ape ! is an aerial as-
sault course, where you are roped up and then make your
way across a series of bridges, ropes, zip wires and swings
– all forty feet up in the treetops!
It looked extremely scary as we arrived and saw how high
the ropes hung above our heads but we were determined to
complete the course; we hadn’t got up early on a Saturday
morning for nothing! We split into groups and put our safety
harnesses on, before learning how to work our own equip-
ment to ensure we stayed safe.
Hasna Hardaf cheers on Andrea Santi as she starts her
As we approached the first climb, we all looked up in shock zip wire descent.
and asked ourselves what we were doing. However we were We did something we never thought we
really up for it once we started, and we were unstoppable!could do. Go Ape ! was a fantastic place to
The day was filled with examples of us helping each other go, especially with the beautiful weather. I
and guiding one another along the way which we all did. Itknow none of us regret going there and we
helped a lot and got us through the courses. would all love to go again! Thank you to Mr
This trip was certainly an amazing one, which has brought Farmbrough and the other teachers for or-
us that much closer and taught us our weaknesses. ttpor- ganising the trip and giving us the support
to help us achieve what we did!
The Journey to the Heart – MOSAIC Students
visit the Hajj Exhibition
one of most important journeys millions of people make every year.
The purpose of the exhibition is to offer insight to the origins, the history
and the rituals of the Hajj; the pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are
required to make at least once in their lifetime. The exhibition itself
contains a mixture of artefacts collected through the centuries includ-
ing ancient copies of the Qur’an, the cloth that covers the Ka’bah and
other items. It also contains interesting artwork, photography and Ara-
bic calligraphy. There was also an interesting video being shown about
the rituals of Hajj.
The experience was truly a journey to the hearts as we got a glimpse of
the many struggles and hardships the pilgrims go through every year. In
spite of all of the difficulties, millions of pilgrims continue to come each
By Mr Ullah year from all corners of the world. Some by aircraft, some in boats and
The Hajj Exhibition currently some even choose to complete this journey by foot. They complete the
on at the Natural History Mu- journey wearing nothing but two white cloths to symbolise that we are
seum is more than just an equal in the sight of God. They do all of this because of their belief in
exhibition. It is an eye open- Islam and that they are fulfilling one of the five pillars. It is this dedica-
ing experience that captures tion and commitment that is truly inspirational.
Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 3
WA hosts Debate
Mate Competition
Some of the Year 11 students learning about car engines in the Mo-
tor Vehicle session
By Matinur Rahman (Year
Recently, Westminster Academy hosted a de-
10) Year 11
bating competition. As one of the competitors,
I learnt a great deal from the experience.
Through participating I built my confidence to
CWC Taster Day
make speeches and learned to think carefully By Miss Macleod
and logically about what I say. I really enjoyed On Friday 23rd March all of our Year 11 students
my experiences in debating and hope to be- experienced what a day at college might be like at
City of Westminster College. The students heard
come better by practising and taking part in
about what sort of courses were on offer at the Col-
more debating competitions in future. lege from the Vice Principal and were also given a
tour of their wonderful new building.
Westminster Civic
Community Awards 2012 The college has excellent facilities and even has its
own garage for car maintenance, construction facili-
On Tuesday evening Ms Pond and Emily Mar- ties and its own theatre and sport hall. All of the
bach from WA attended the prestigious Civic Year 11 students had pre-selected courses that
Community Awards at Porchester Hall. The they were interested in and so had the opportunity
Awards recognise the efforts of Westminster’s to experience two different taster classes. Many of
community heroes; the people and organisa- the students opted to experience some courses
tions who dedicate themselves to helping oth- which they have not studied before such as Motor
ers in the community. Vehicle, Construction and Building Services, Engi-
neering and Games Design using Missionmaker,
Emily Marbach won the award for Out- while others explored areas in A-levels and Science
standing Contribution : Working with young and Maths. All of the students came away from the
people; for the volunteer work she does at day with more knowledge about Sixth Form and
Westminster Academy helping students to what is on offer to them.
improve their literacy skills. Ms Pond came
runner up in the in the same category. All students in Year 11 will receive an offer to either
study at City of Westminster College or to study the
Cllr Lee Rowley, who hosted the awards, said, International Baccalaureate at the Academy. The
“Tonight’s winners are leading the way to fos- level which they are offered will depend on their re-
ter a strong sense of community in Westmin- sults from this year. If you have not received your
ster. It’s vital that we recognise the great offer letter yet, please let Miss Macleod know and
work already going on.” she will be able to provide you with it.
Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 4
The “Thorpe Park” Experiment
By Mr Ullah
Students often complain that there are not
enough fun and exciting trips at WA. With that in
mind, Mr Ullah (Educational Visits Coordinator) set
students a very simple challenge: raise enough
money for a trip, and we will take you.
So it began….in the October half term holiday, se-
lected students in Year 11 attended cookery
classes run by the Paddington Development Trust
to gain some valuable skills that they might later
use. The same students were invited in February
profiteroles for Valentine’s Day. They also pre-
half term break to use their cooking skills to set
pared mouth-watering soup, finger licking cheesy
up an income generating food business. Their tar-
twists, top class olive bread and a series of differ-
get was to raise enough money in four days so
ent delicious cakes. They managed to sell their
that they could fund a fun and exciting trip. With
meal packages to local businesses and organisa-
the target in mind, the students got to work!
tions (and Ms Bora!); they were even offered a
First, they needed to work on branding their busi- long term contract by one of the organisations! At
ness including making attractive packaging. They the end of four days, they raised the impressive
also had to prepare a number of different meals amount of £365.00 which was enough to contrib-
in time for the lunchtime rush. They made tasty ute, significantly, towards a trip to Thorpe Park.
heart shaped biscuits and beautiful swan shaped
WA students raise £429.39
for Sports Relief
Westminster Academy students raised an impres-
sive £427.39 for Sports Relief on the 23rd March.
This figure continues to rise as more money continues
to come in. To this end, if you have sponsored some-
one, or are collecting money, can you ensure all of the
funds are delivered to the PE team ready for a sub-
mission this Friday to Sport Relief.
Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 5
Youth Bright Ideas trip to the Houses of Parliament
By Shadia Moussa (Year 8)
On Thursday 29th March, twenty-one Year 8 students, Dr
Rana, Mr Clair and Miss Pitt went to visit the Houses of
Parliament to attend an event called the Neighbourhood
Funds Youth Bright Ideas. Four schools in total went on
this trip; Westminster Academy, St. Augustine’s, St.
George’s and Paddington Academy.
The schools were split up into ten groups and we each
had to come up with ideas on what we could spend
£45,000 on in our own neighbourhood. Some had ideas
on youth clubs connecting with schools and boat buses
taking people up and down the canal (this was the idea
by one of our own students; Mohamed Abdi). We were
also given an introduction by the MP for Westminster
Students outside St Stephens Tower
North, Karen Buck, and a Westminster councillor Barrie
Taylor.
Then the groups had to give ideas of how we could do an
individual project that would connect our four schools.
After the event, we shared our ideas with the other
groups and were also lucky enough to get a tour of the
Houses of Parliament.
Inside we were given a very formal tour of the House of
Commons, the House of Lords and we got to see where
the Queen gets ready for the State Opening of Parlia- Karen Buck, MP with WA students
ment. Such a big dressing room to put on a robe! But, of course, we couldn’t leave the won-
derful Houses of Parliament without hav-
We went on to see the galleries and we saw pictures of
ing a group picture. This turned into a bit
the Battle of Trafalgar, The Battle of Waterloo and pic- of a debate itself as the girls didn’t want
tures of all the monarchs that ruled England. We saw the to squeeze into the picture because the
debating chamber in the House of Commons where boys were hogging the spotlight! It took
Prime Minister’s Question Time takes place. some time for Mr Clair to organise us so
we could get a good photo.
The students also noticed there were policemen carrying
firearms, tazers and even machine guns in the Houses of As we left the Houses of Parliament we
Parliament! We ended our tour by seeing the very grand saw the London Eye and some of us got
Westminster Halls and the tour guide even gave us notes scared as we passed a place called the
that MPs would write in actual debates! If you would like London Death Traps! All in all, it was an
to see them, go to the school library as we have archived amazing experience. I recommend stu-
them there for other students to see. dents who are now in Year 7 make sure
they are selected for this trip next year.
Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 6
Westminster Academy prepares for Year 8 Crossrail Day
The Crossrail tunnel boring machines are busy tun- a number of civil engineers from Crossrail and
nelling away behind the school digging the new take part in a number of construction chal-
tunnels eastwards to Farringdon. WA students will lenges.
also shortly be busy learning about careers in civil Below are photos of Year 8 student Alla Kalam
engineering and all the possibilities Crossrail will at the “Ready to Dig” event with Transport Min-
bring their neighbourhood when they enjoy a Cross- ister Justine Greening and the CEO of Crossrail.
rail Day later this month. Alla helped to launch the tunnel boring ma-
On Friday 27 April, many students from Year 8 will chines and was the only student invited to the
be involved in a special event where they will meet event.
Students learn digital design skills in workshop run by
London Print Studio
By Joanna Charafeddine-Akar (Year 10)
Just before Easter holiday, two trainers came
from London Print Studio to teach us how to use
a new program called’ Instantmask. Pro’. During
the workshop I learnt quite a lot about the pro-
gramand how it can be used.
We were taught how to take a picture depending
on the lighting available, so we went up to the
roof terrace, held white cloths as a background,
took some interesting pictures and started learn-
ing more about the program. I found the pro-
gramme very useful; you can crop the back-
ground which in this case was the white sheet
and then you can design your own background.
Joanna Charafeddine-Akar in the workshop
I found the program very easy to use, because I I can also use it in graphic design, and my
am good at computer aided design. It will be teacher was quite happy with the work I have pro-
useful for my art class, as we are doing the duced. It is much easier than ‘Photoshop’ and
theme of ‘barriers’ and are creating different col- less expensive to buy. It is available on some of
lages and backgrounds, which is perfect for the computers in the school and students can
have access to it. I think everyone should learn
'Instantmask'. Pro’.
this program.
Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 7
Chairman of Barclays introduces students to the world
of international finance
By Mr Patel
On March 8th the Chairman of Barclays,
Marcus Agius, came to Westminster Acad-
emy as part of the Speakers for Schools
programme to give a talk to our Year 9 stu-
dents.
All Year 9 students are currently studying
Work Related Learning, where they focus on
learning key employment and enterprise
skills. The event was organised to help sup-
plement the work the students have been
completing in class and provide an example
of what it takes to be successful in the fi- most valuable skills required to succeed in finance? and
nance industry. “Why do bankers get paid such large bonuses?”
Mr Agius started off by explaining his own Mr Agius was so impressed by the questions that he
upbringing and the events that lead to him thought the teachers had planted them amongst stu-
becoming Chairman of Barclays. He ex- dents, which was not the case. The Year 9 students had
plained that through hard work and dedica- so many questions that ,in the end, Mr Agius was not
tion he had been able to complete his con- able to answer them all as he had to leave to meet the
siderable achievements in banking. During Mayor of London.
this part of the talk, the Year 9 students lis-
tened intently for any clues that might help
I was extremely proud of the way students listened and
them be successful in a financial career. participated during Mr Agius’s talk and the intelligence
After his talk, Mr Agius took part in a ques- shown by the range of questions asked by students. I
tion and answer session with WA students. would like to say a big thank you to Mr Agius for coming
The students asked a range of probing and to the Academyand to Dr Rana for organising the talk.
insightful questions such as, “What are the
Internship Review Day
By Rio Spencer-Kamli
'I learnt a range of skills that are important
in the working world. I learnt how to commu-
nicate clearly and efficiently in a group and
why it is important to do so. If you do not
communicate clearly, people may not under-
stand the instructions you are giving and so
they will make a mistake.
I feel glad that I can take these skills and ap-
ply them to the working world. I would 100%
love to take part in a session like those we
did on Internship Review Day again!'
Rio with Ms Jackson on Internship Review Day
Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 8
Year 10 students learn mediation skills
Three Year 10 students from Westminster Acad- will now use their skills in dispute resolution. The
emy have been taught expert mediation skills students have also discussed with their teachers
which they will use to help diffuse conflict in the ways to implement peer mediation at the Acad-
Academy. emy.
Kane Sinclair, Warda Noor Ali and Mohammed Maria Arpa, trainer, said: "The schools nominated
Miah trained with students from Copland School, young people who are not afraid to challenge the
Poplar Grove School and the Coram Children's adults around them. We were clearly able to dem-
Charity. They took part in a three-day training onstrate that even the most challenging young
course on conflict resolution techniques called people can rise to achievement when they trust
the Peaceful Solutions For Young People course . the environment they are expected to operate in.
This was run by charity The Centre For Peaceful
Solutions which is committed to resolving dis- All three students received a course completion
putes peacefully. certificate when the course ended and were a
credit to the Academy with their excellent behav-
The students learned theory, practice, role play iour and participation.
and group work to become peer mediators. They
Lord Sebastian Coe; double gold-medal Olympic
athlete, comes to WA
By Mr Gorton
To celebrate the London 2012 Inspire marked
Parkour facility at Westminster Academy, Lord Coe
(Chairman of LOCOG and Double Olympic Games
Gold Medallist) visited the site on Thursday 19th
April to talk to students about the legacy aims of
the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Also in attendance at the visit was a group of stu-
dents from the Olympic Boroughs known as the
Construction Crew and the 2005 Singapore Am-
bassadors.
The students took part in a parkour session with Mr. Gorton with Abigail Alayu, Lord Coe, Carmen Mia-Crockett,
guidance from Parkour Generation, which was fol- Sami Deiri , Nayef Salaam and Safwaan El-Madkouri
lowed by a very informative question and answer
session with Lord Coe. Westminster Academy stu- "Get Set" partner, Westminster Academy is look-
dent, Abigail Alayu explained, "It was great to take ing forward to attending this summer's events
part in the event and inspirational to meet a dou- with the 144 tickets secured by Westminster
ble Olympic Gold medallist. As a competitive ath- Academy’s status as a “2012 Get Set” School.
lete myself, I was really excited to hear Lord Coe
explain how upcoming athletes could also make a As an advocate in delivering the values of the
future Olympics". Olympics, Westminster Academy looks forward to
helping to develop a legacy of future Olympians
The visit helped to further commend the commit- with strategic partners, whilst ensuring there is
ment of Westminster Council and Westminster opportunity for all in the community whatever
Academy in delivering the outcomes of the Lon- their experience in Sport, thus helping London
don 2012 Olympic Games. As a London 2012 2012 with its promise of "Inspiring a generation".
Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 9
American university students bring an international
flavour to English and economics classes at WA
By Connor McDade and Katie Osborne tors and for students and teachers alike. Due to
As American university students living in London, a less concentrated population spread out across
this spring has been full of exciting experiences. the larger nation, few schools in America are as
While living in flats nearby, we have been fortu- widely diverse as Westminster Academy, and we
nate enough to become familiar with London as a would certainly say that this an opportunity that
whole, the community around Westminster Acad- most Americans would miss in their education.
emy, and more importantly, the people within it.
Our time at Westminster Academy has been full
The experiences we have had also reveal many of
of new terminology, content, technique, and cul-
the similarities between our nations’ educational
ture. Both staff and students have been exceed-
systems. Schools are organised in almost identi-
ingly welcoming from our first day, and many
cal manners, from the smallest classroom details
have been kind enough to greet us with a friendly
to the largest national laws and policies. Aside
face and help us whenever necessary. from obvious differences in population, the stu-
dents behave in quite similar ways, with the
There are some noticeable differences between same spread of problems and displays of excel-
education in the USA and the UK. Few American lence. Overall, we have both been impressed with
schools require uniforms, compulsory education the similarity between American and British edu-
extends to the age of 18, and students special- cational systems, and plan to refer often to our
ise by choosing areas of study far later, some not wholesome international experience at Westmin-
until university. With London being such an inter- ster Academy as enlightening, enjoyable, and en-
national and densely populated city, the schools couraging. We feel confident that the next gen-
within it are remarkably diverse, which only adds eration of Westminster Academy students will
to the educational experience for both us as visi- continue to make this world a better and brighter
place.
Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 10
Update from Savannah Thompson-Allen, our
international exchange student in Taiwan
By Savannah Thompson-Allen play Mulan which you will know from the Disney
version but is actually based on a legend from
Hi to everyone at Westminster Academy from Sa-
ancient China. Here are some photographs of me
vannah. I am really enjoying Sinh Minh School in
up on the stage with my class. We practised for
Taiwan even though the school days are long and
about a month before the show.
I have to write in Chinese all day. My year did theYou can also read
