FBA Update

We are thrilled to celebrate International Women’s Week 2025 at FBA. This is a significant time for us to come together as a school community to honour the achievements, contributions, and resilience of women and girls across the world.

International Women’s Day (IWD), observed annually on March 8th, is a global celebration of women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements while also serving as a call to action for gender equality.

The theme this year is 'Accelerate Action'. Collectively, we can Accelerate Action for gender equality. #AccelerateAction.

At the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum.

Focusing on the need to Accelerate Action emphasizes the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.

It serves as a powerful reminder of the work that still needs to be done and the collective responsibility we all have in driving change and fostering a more inclusive society!

We encourage students to take an active role in these events and to use this opportunity to reflect on the progress made towards equality while acknowledging the work that still needs to be done.

Monday 3rd March - International Women's Week (International Women's Day 8th March)

Thursday 6th March - World Book Day

Wednesday 12th March & Thursday 13th March - Matilda, The Musical

Tuesday 18th March - Year 7 and Year 8 Celebration Evening (online)

Thursday 20th March - Year 7 Parents' Evening (online)

Wednesday 26th March - Year 9 Celebration Evening (online)

Thursday 27th March - Year 11 Academic Review Evening

Tuesday 1st April - Year 10 & 11 Celebration Evening (online)

Ideally, please try to avoid booking medical appointments for your daughters during the school day. That said, we do appreciate that this is not always possible especially for non-routine appointments.

If you do have an appointment that requires your daughter to leave early, please could you let your year group ASO know in advance via email.

In the school canteen, there is a member of the catering team who wears a purple apron - they are an Allergen Buddy. They are there to guide and help our students if they have any questions regarding their food choices.

Congratulations and well done to Radhika and Milana From Year 7 for their great initiative. They created bracelets to sell to their year group on Valentine's day to raise money for Battersea Cats and Dogs.

We have introduced a new recycling scheme at the school which has been driven by the student Eco-Committee supported by Miss Wren (Head of Geography), our Site Manager Mr Broad and Trust Oepration Manager Mrs Smith.

All classrooms are now equipped with new recycling bins. This is part of our drive to become a more eco friendly school.

More will be coming soon!

This week’s health and fitness tip comes from Salihah in Year 8, who is part of the Resilient Health and Wellbeing Committee.

To promote a nutritious morning routine, consider preparing breakfast the night before or opting for quick and easy options like smoothie bowls or overnight oats. This can save time in the morning and ensure you can make healthier choices rather than reaching for less nutritious snacks.

A healthy breakfast is essential for maintaining energy levels and mental focus throughout the morning. A balanced breakfast typically includes whole grains, proteins (aim for 20g or more if possible), healthy fats and plenty of fruits and vegetables (for vitamins and fibre). Quick options like oatmeal with berries and nuts, yogurt with granola, or avocado and eggs on toast are all great options!

There is always free porridge in the school canteen everyday from 8 am!

Health Challenge of the week:

For those seeking a more nutritious morning routine, try the Breakfast Challenge. Meal prep a new healthy breakfast each night for the next day ahead for one whole week, making sure to incorporate diverse food groups. Reflect on how these breakfasts impact your energy and mood. After the week is over, consider incorporating your favourite breakfast options into your regular routine!

A variety of events, in and out the classroom, are occurring this week to celebrate IWD and we really encourage all students to get involved as much as possible!

During the week, all form time activities will be focused on IWD's themes.

Monday: Women's suffrage, Tuesday: Ambitious Activist, Wednesday: Self-Advocacy, Thursday: Supporting the supporters, and Friday: our incentive.

In Year 7,8 and 9 students will have a special lesson to mark IWD for each of their subjects. Lessons will be focusing on individual women who have represented activism or self-advocacy in their field, it will also include a wide range of activities which fit the theme of activism, self-advocacy or International Women's Day more generally. Activism can take many forms, ranging from direct action such as protests and demonstrations to more subtle, long-term strategies such as digital activism and investigative journalism.

On Wednesday 5th March, Year 10 and Year 12 will have a talk from an inspirational woman called Paris Bartholomew. Paris has been recognized for her outstanding contributions to the community. She was nominated for the Role Model of the Year award in the 2023 National Diversity Awards and was a finalist for the CPD Trainer of the Year at the CPD Accreditation Service. Among her key achievements are her foray into writing and attaining her British Sign Language Level 2 certification. This year, she is a finalist in the Women’s Business Awards for Speaker of the Year.

We have also amazing extra-curricular activities planned see below.

We are delighted to present the latest poem written by our wonderful Poet Laureate, Gazi Zakir, to celebrate and mark International Women’s Day.

Students are invited to write their own poetry or speech to celebrate International Women's day.

Entries should be up to 10 lines based on Female Empowerment or this year's IWD theme #AccelerateAction. Submission to Miss Meredith via email by Friday 28th February. Prizes to be won for all Key Stages!

This year, WBD is on Thursday 6th March. During Period 1 on Thursday, students in Years 7 – 9 will be taking part in special activities for WBD. which will include dropping everything and reading so they will need to bring a book with them.

World Book Day Competition for Years 7,8,9,10 - Design a book cover for a real (published) book.

Make this a new design, not a copy of the original book.

Great prizes! The overall and year group winners will receive national book tokens; runners-up will receive a book. Designs are displayed in the Library

Entries to Miss Johnson in the Library by 4pm Thursday 13th March

Dress Up - The Year 7 and 8 are invited to dress up as their favourite book characters. Prizes will be given out in assembly for all winners. Please note that this is not a non-uniform day. Instead, it is a chance for students to showcase their imagination and bring literature to life through carefully chosen costumes. We encourage creativity and ask that costumes clearly resemble the chosen book character. "Normal" clothes will not be accepted unless accompanied by relevant accessories or props that clearly identify the student as a book character.

The chess competition is heating up. We now have a new champion, Alia Ashoul, who defeated Rumah Rafik in a long, protracted battle of thought.

For the Year 7, Georgie took the battle to Nitara and won. For the Year 8, Freya is the standing champion, and she is looking forward to a new challenger. The competition continues next Tuesday.

Thank you to Mr Alozie for running the Chess Club.

During half term, a group of 50 students travelled to the ski resort of Folgarida in the Italian Dolomites. The students had lessons in then mornings and afternoons with ski instructors and made amazing progress especially as the vast majority of students were beginner skiers. In the evenings, the students took part in a range of activities including karaoke, ice skating and a quiz against other schools staying at the resort.

The weather was very kind with fresh snow and blue skies which may have contributed to an injury-free trip!

We want to congratulate the students for the tremendous progress on the slopes and also their superb behaviour. They were excellent ambassadors for the school and we are very proud of them.

Once again, we want to recognise and thank the teacher team who made the trip happen.

It has been a week of changeable weather at the farm, as winter tries to hold on and spring begins to break through. We have a giant new wheelbarrow at the farm, to help with the newly introduced composting system. In order to reduce waste from our farm being sent to landfill, we have moved to being as close to zero-waste as possible.

As well as recycling feed packaging, the main element of zero-waste at the farm is composting, using our new giant wheelbarrow to take all used bedding and animal waste to the compost site adjacent to the farm. Compost is a living system that requires bacteria, microbes, fungi to eat the organic waste and turn it into nutrient-rich soil. The compost produced from the farm will be utilised across the FBA site; compost when used as mulch improves drainage and water retention (reducing flooding), keeps the soil warmer, and feeds nutrients into the soil.

Kooth is a free online counselling designed for young people; however, it is much, much more.

According to the NHS, as many as 1 in 5 young people have a probable mental health issue. In a fast-paced and often stressful world, there are many reasons why young people’s mental health can suffer. That’s why Kooth was created, to provide mental health support and a range of resources designed to help young people manage their emotional wellbeing.

The video below tells you more about Kooth and you can access resources and more information at https://explore.kooth.com/

Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed and peaceful Ramadan! May this holy month bring you joy, health, and prosperity. May your prayers be answered, and may your heart be filled with peace and gratitude. Ramadan Mubarak!