Front Page News

As you may know, the Met Office has issued a Red Weather Warning for Extreme Heat in London this week. We want to let you know how we are keeping our students and staff safe and comfortable.

Our Cool School Building

We are very lucky to have a modern, fully air-conditioned building. It stays very cool inside. Both students and staff are really enjoying the break from the hot sun when they are in lessons.

Uniform Rules This Week

• Blazers: Students must still bring their blazers to school every day. However, they do not have to wear them this week.

• Other Coats: If your child wants to wear an extra layer over their school shirt, it must be their school blazer. They cannot wear any other jacket, coat, or hoodie.

Break and Lunchtime

It is important for children to get outside for fresh air. To keep them safe in the sun, we have these steps in place:

• Shade Outside:  All ourplaygrounds have shady areas. We recently put up a large cover over the North playground. This gives students plenty of shade to sit under.

• Water Fountains: We have lots of water fountains inside and outside. Staff on duty will make sure students are using them and drinking plenty of water.

• Indoor Cool Spaces: If students want to stay completely out of the heat, they can spend their breaks inside. Air-conditioned rooms like the Library, Study Room, Wellbeing Room, and Prayer Space will be open to everyone.

PE Lessons and Activities

We know parents might worry about children doing sports in the heat. Please be assured that our experienced staff are managing this closely. We will assess the weather dynamically (hour-by-hour) and change any activities to make sure they are safe, low-energy, or kept in the shade.

Travel and Journeys

• Public Transport: Buses and trains can face delays in hot weather. Please ask your child to leave extra time for their journey to school in the morning or better still: walk!

• Walking Home: School finishes between 3pm with some students staying until 4pm. This is a slightly cooler time of the afternoon. Since most of our students live less than a mile away, walking home safely should be fine.

• After-School Clubs: If you prefer your child to travel a bit later when it is quieter, our cool indoor spaces and after-school clubs will be open until 4:15pm.

Please ensure your child comes to school with a refillable water bottle and with sunscreen applied.  Students can not leave lessons to go and get a drink so a water bottle to be filled at break and lunch is vital! Thank you for your help in keeping our school community safe!

Best wishes

Headship Team

Parent Governor Vacancy

Heartlands High School has a vacancy for one Parent Governor to join the Local Governing Committee and applications are invited for the role.  Applicants must either be a parent or a person who has parental responsibilities of a child registered at the school. 

Many thanks to our outgoing parent governor Jasmine Hyman for all her help on the Local Governing Committee.  

We want our governing committee to reflect and represent our wide and diverse communities – and welcome applications from people from every background and walk of life. We want to ensure that voices from our local communities are heard at our governing committee meetings; that the experiences, views and insight from our local communities are always part of the governing committee discussions and decisions. 

We are really keen to hear from parents and carers who have a passion and commitment for education and its power to transform lives and who would like to be part of our governing committee.

Attached you will find:

• NOTICE OF VACANCY 202511.docx

• DETAILS ON WHO CAN APPLY 202511.docx

• FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE ROLE 202511.docx

• APPLICATION FORM 202512 – PARENT GOVERNOR CANDIDATES

How to apply

If you are interested in applying for the role, please complete the candidate application form attached and email governance@searcheducationtrust.com by 9.00am on Wednesday, 7th January 2026.

As we only have one vacancy, if there is more than one application, a ballot will be held. If that is necessary, all Parents and Carers will receive details of the ballot procedure.

Candidates are asked to provide a short personal statement to support their application, which should be no longer than 300 words. In the event of a ballot being needed the personal statement submitted will be circulated as part of that process. 

If you are appointed to the governing body, a Disclosure and Barring Check (DBS) will be made on you and ID/proof of address documentation will be required for this.

Please note that applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.

If you would like to further information about the role please email me: governance@searcheducationtrust.com