Hillsyde
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Newsletter for the Hillsyde 14-19 Federation (Forest Hill, Sedgehill & Sydenham Schools)
Issue 1 October 2006
Climate Change
Between 11th-14th July more than 500 delegates attended the Climate Change Student Summit 2006 organised by the Natural History Museum, in partnership with the British Council and the Greater London Authority. The delegates were primarily 17-18 year olds and included more than 60 students representing 18 countries, as well as delegates from the UK.
Hillsyde Federation sixth formers (from Sydenham School) were amongst the
UK delegates who attended the four day conference at the Natural History Museum
in July.
Summit contributors included: Jonathon Porritt CBE, writer and co-founder Forum for the Future, Quentin Cooper, journalist and broadcaster, Sir David King, UK Government Chief Scientific Advisor, Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London, and Dr David Reay, Edinburgh University and author of ‘Climate Change Begins at Home’.
Delegates voted on the motions before and after key talks. A document was
then produced whose aims are to draw to the attention of political leaders
at all levels, from national governments to local leaders, what the student
delegates expect of them.
At the beginning of this term the Sydenham students were then invited to deliver the resulting document to 10 Downing Street and to meet Ken Livingstone at City Hall. Rosemary Challen and Rebecca Kangau were given the honour of delivering the accord to Ken Livingstone. Monica Latchman, Amala Lester and Sophie Regnault were chosen to go to 10 Downing Street.
Introduction / Editorial
Hi. For those people reading this who haven’t yet met
me, my name is Rob Niedermaier-Reed and I’m the new Hillsyde 14-19
Federation Leader.
The Hillsyde Federation is three schools (Forest Hill, Sedgehill and Sydenham) working together to further improve the education of students at the three schools. The Hillsyde Federation now includes all Year 10 to Year 13 students; in other words, the Hillsyde Federation is very important for all students aged 14 and above. This is a big change from the past, when the Hillsyde Federation only included sixth form students.
Working together as the Hillsyde Federation, we will make sure that all our students receive the full educational opportunities to which they are entitled. For example, very soon there will be new diploma qualifications in a range of subjects that have to be made available to all Year 10 to Year 13 students; the best way for us to make sure that all our students can do these new diplomas is to work together as the Hillsyde Federation.
The Hillsyde Federation has two main priorities for this year:
- More collaboration (to further raise achievement) with Year 10 and Year 11 students
- Further raising achievement in the sixth form
On Friday 20 October 2006, teachers from Forest Hill, Sedgehill and Sydenham will get together for their first ever combined Hillsyde Federation training day. This day is a wonderful opportunity for teachers to learn from colleagues across the three schools. I’m sure that what we all learn on this day will make a really positive difference for our students.
If you have any comments on the work of the Hillsyde Federation, then please contact me by email on or by leaving a message for me at any of the three schools.
Rob Niedermaier-Reed Hillsyde 14 – 19 Federation Leader
New York! New York!
Sedgehill School Band wow audiences in the Big Apple and beyond.
Even though it was only five am, and the drizzle was falling steadily, nothing could hide the excitement of seventy three people about to board two coaches to Heathrow Airport and fly to New York. The tour began with a flourish as we boarded our Virgin Atlantic 747 and flew to New York and then headed north to Stamford, Connecticut for an overnight stay in a Holiday Inn.
We met as a group on the Monday morning for a day in Boston and a three hour tour of this historic city. It ended at Quincy Market, which is a little like Covent Garden in London with an interesting shops and a large food court.
On the second day, we headed to Nashua for our first concert in front of three
hundred boys and girls at Broad Street Elementary School. We entertained them
for an hour and received a standing ovation. It was a great start to our performances
and we all felt very satisfied as we left the concert. The next day was a school
shadowing day and our second concert day.
Thursday began on a sad note as we said goodbye to our lovely hosts. There were hugs and tears and farewell gifts as we headed south to New York City. The journey was very hopeful and our expectations were fully realised as we drove down Fifth Avenue, to Central Park and to the American Museum of Natural History.
Over the next week we were privileged enough to see many beautiful places in the New York, Washington and Philadelphia districts of the North East Coast of the U.S.A. We took part in many more concerts and were enthusiastically received everywhere we went, and always made to feel very welcome by our hosts.
This was truly the trip of a lifetime and our thanks go to Mr Masters for organising the overseas adventure.
Paint Project
Hillsyde students participated in a spray painting project recently organised by the Greenwich and Lewisham Young Peoples’ Theatre. Pictures here show the group and some of their impressive work.
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