Upton Court Grammar School

19/05/2018

Year 13 students at Upton Court Grammar School bid an emotional farewell to staff and each other on Friday 18 May, marking the end of seven years at the school.

In an hour long assembly led by students Alexa-Kara Deltchinov and Avleen Sarai, there were singing and dancing performances, speeches, awards and a video celebrating students’ time at the school. The eighteen year old students reminisced about their experiences and successes, and wished each other well for the future.

Amongst the tears of joy, there was a strong sense of determination for the forthcoming A Level examinations, as most students hold conditional offers from a range of universities and degree courses.

18/05/2018

Upton Court Grammar school students in year 9 created innovative ‘showstopper’ recipes as part of a Food Technology competition. The students’ brief was to create an item within one and a half hours, from scratch, with a ‘wow factor’.

Amongst the food items produced were macarons, profiteroles, a Chinese chicken Curry and cup cakes.

The winning rendition was the macarons made by Nidhi Vaidyanath, age 13.

Food technology teacher Emma O’Regan said “Giving the students a chance to be creative really gives them a chance to flourish!”

02/05/2018

26/03/2018

Staff and students of Upton Court Grammar School said their farewells to two long standing teachers this week, as they move on to new professional challenges.

Mrs Ravinder Ghei began her career at the school in 1994 and held many positions including Head of Business and Economics and Senior Assistant Principal. She was instrumental in many areas of school development, and made a significant impact on the recruitment of new entrants to the teaching profession in Slough by leading the local alliance of initial teacher training. Serving on the Senior Leadership Team, Mrs Ghei also provided guidance to pastoral leaders providing real developmental opportunities to thousands of young people, many of whom progressed onto outstanding careers of their own. She has now taken up the position of Director of a Teaching School in Berkshire from April.

Also saying her goodbyes was Ms Sukhjit Gill, Head of Computing since 2012. In addition to leading her department and teaching ICT skills, and Computer Science at GCSE and A Level to the highest standard, Ms Gill also pursued her passion for providing support to homeless members of the community. She founded the UCGS Outreach programme, leading teams of Sixth Form students of Upton Court Grammar School to pursue donations of food and clothing and distributing these around central London. In addition to helping vulnerable members of the community, Ms Gill taught students the value of selflessness and extending charitable support to the less fortunate. She is continuing her teaching career as Head of Computing at a Surrey independent school in April.

Head of Upton Court Grammar School, Mark Pritchard, said “Mrs Ghei and Ms Gill have made significant contributions to our school community. They will both leave an impressive legacy that we will work to maintain. They will be missed by staff, students and their families, and all at Upton Court Grammar School wish them well in their future endeavours.”

Picture attached : Sukhjit Gill (left) and Ravinder Ghei (right)

15/03/2018

Eighteen students from Upton Court Grammar School visited an anatomy exhibition and two art galleries in Amsterdam on Wednesday 15 March 2018. This was to support the year 9 and 10 students’ learning of GCSE Biology and Art.

The first point of call was Bodyworlds in the Damrak area of central Amsterdam, where students studied human anatomy at an exposition of plastinated human bodies and tissue specimens; this method of preservation involves adding polymers to human tissue developed by Professor Gunther Von Hagens for enhancing the learning experience.

To support the Art curriculum, the school party visited the Stedelijk Museum of contemporary art and the Van Gogh art gallery, where students observed classic paintings of the renowned artist.

10/03/2018

Olympic silver medallist Victoria Thornley visited Upton Court Grammar School on Wednesday 7 March, and met with GCSE sports and sports’ council students. Ms Thornley, a former equestrian rider and model, was the first graduate of the Sporting Giants talent identification scheme to win a medal when she struck gold at the 2009 World U23 Championships.

She then represented team GB in the 2016 Rio Olympics in rowing, winning a silver medal.

During the talk, she inspired students discussing how earlier set-backs made her more resolute to succeed, and motivated students interested in sports to pursue their passion to achieve similar successes in the future.

Head of Upton Court Grammar School, Mark Pritchard, said “I am delighted to be able to give our students access and exposure to successful and influential people, such as Victoria Thornley. Our students were very grateful for her visit and left inspired to pursue their own aspirations."

10/03/2018

More able students from Upton Court Grammar School met a representative from the University of Oxford on Thursday 8 March, discussing opportunities at the world famous educational establishment. Dr Joe Organ of Brasenose College, Oxford, inspired the 13 – 15 year old students to set their sights high and aim to join similar Universities in the future. Students learned about degrees on offer, entry procedures and structure of lessons, as well as life as a student in Oxford.

Each year, a number of students from Upton Court Grammar School join Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and other Russell Group Universities in a range of courses such as Medicine, Law and Engineering. Dr Organ spoke in particular about former UCGS student, James Roper, who joined Brasenose College, Oxford in 2016 to read Mathematics, having gained three A* grades in A Levels.

Head of Upton Court Grammar School, Mark Pritchard, said “Many of our students aspire to attending the best universities in the world and we are proud that we prepare them to do so. We are grateful to Dr Organ for meeting and working with our students to help them to prepare for applying for higher education courses."

The year 9 and 10 students will visit Oxford in the summer.

28/02/2018

Water fountain donated by Old Paludian’s Association. Check their website www.oldpaludians.org

28/02/2018

Member of Parliament for Slough, Tanmanjeet Dhesi, met staff and students at Upton Court Grammar School on Friday 23 February in his first visit since being elected in 2017.

Mr Dhesi was particularly interested in the school following the announcement of that it is the highest achieving school by attainment and progress in Slough, and tenth best school in England and Wales, following the publication of Progress 8 data last month.

The MP met with the Head, Mark Pritchard, toured the new facilities of the school and met with students across all year groups, including students of Government and Politics A’ level. Students discussed a range of political issues with Mr Dhesi, including the Labour Party’s stance in the Brexit negotiations, votes for 16 year olds and university tuition fees. Mr Dhesi will be visiting Upton Court Grammar School again in July to preside over the annual academic awards ceremony.

Head of Upton Court Grammar School, Mark Pritchard, said “It was a pleasure to welcome Mr Dhesi to our school and to give our students the opportunity to meet their local representative in parliament. Our students showed that they were engaged citizens and aware of and concerned about key political debates of the day. Their optimism and desire to bring about positive change in our community is inspiring.”

Picture attached : Slough MP Tanmanjeet Dhesi with staff and students of Upton Court Grammar School.

07/02/2018

Seventeen girls from Upton Court Grammar School attended a workshop about law and debating at the Houses of Parliament on Monday 5 February. The visit was part of a wider project aimed at motivating academically gifted girls to transcend gender barriers that still exist in modern Britain, and aim for future careers suitable to their ability.

The tour of the Houses of Parliament including visiting a statue to which members of the Suffragette movement chained themselves to in protest of inequality in voting rights for women in 1918, and viewing art portraying the legislations they influenced.

The students observed MPs debating Brexit issues, as well as Lords discussing about women in politics, which spurred interest in a workshop to debate closing the gender pay gap.

The visit was part of a more able girls’ project being run across all schools in the Pioneer Educational Trust.

Head of Upton Court Grammar School, ‪Mark Pritchard‬, said “At Upton Court Grammar School we aim to give all students the necessary access and exposure to people and experiences that will inspire them and help them to fulfill their aspirations. I am incredibly proud that our school is part of this pioneering project that aims to empower young women. These students are a credit to our school and, I am certain, will be tomorrow’s leaders.”

03/02/2018

A team of sixth form students from Upton Court Grammar School discussed their company’s profile with British Prime Minister Theresa May, on Saturday 3 February 2018. They were presented with this unique opportunity while setting up stall selling merchandise from their company, Ingenium, at the Young Enterprise Fayre in Maidenhead.

Mrs May spoke to company’s CEO, student Heral Raval, 16, about their hand-made bracelets incorporating Swarovski crystals, and commended her and the team for their entrepreneurial skills as well as flair for design and manufacturing.

Young Enterprise is part of Upton Court Grammar School’s curriculum enrichment provision, which enables students to develop real-life skills alongside academic excellence. Each year a team from the school enters regional and national competitions and regularly win prizes from various categories.

Head of School Mark Pritchard said “At Upton Court Grammar School our aim is to grow the next generation of engaged and successful citizens and leaders. Initiatives such as Young Enterprise give students opportunities to develop an array of skills and to experience real entrepreneurship. On Saturday, with the support of Mr. Madhav, our students presented their project to the Prime Minister, Theresa May, demonstrating they have confidence and skills needed to be successful in the twenty-first century. I am very proud to lead a school that offers students unique experiences that they will remember forever.”

30/01/2018

Academically gifted girls aged 9 to 17 attended the launch of a Trust-wide project on Thursday 23 January, aimed at developing the skills needed to be successful as future leaders. Forty four students from Foxborough Primary School, Upton Court Grammar School and Trevelyan Middle School, part of the Pioneer Educational Trust, engaged in team building exercises and studied biographies of female role models from recent history.

The project, aimed at enhancing “LORIC skills” (Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Initiative and Communication) in high achieving students from across the Trust, coincides with 100 years since women were granted the right to vote in the UK. Girls looked at the lives of Emmeline Pankhurst, leader of the British Suffragette movement who campaigned to give women equal status in society, Rosa Parks, an African American woman who paved the way for racial equality in America, Nobel Laureate Malala Yousifzai who continued to fight for equal rights in education for women in Pakistan despite being injured by terrorists, as well as other notable women that shaped modern society.

The girls will be attending visits to the Houses of Parliament and the London Inns of Courts watching female role models in action in the next few weeks, as well as launching their own campaign in the summer, with the expectation of making a difference to addressing a real-world issue faced by modern society.

CEO of Pioneer Educational Trust, Mercedes Hernandez Estrada, said “This project allowed students from our three schools to learn working together and to become empowered to face the future with confidence."

Image attached : Girls aged 9-17 from the schools of Pioneer Educational Trust.