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Rooks Heath School

Rooks Heath School

Strive to be your best

Reports by 8 Indigo

Child Homelessness

Homelessness is a big issue in the UK with an estimated one child running away from home every five  minutes. 70% of UK runaways are not reported missing, making it harder for people to do a lot of help as they do not know the scale of the problem. Many people may pass a homeless person without even thinking about what life must be like for them: Starvation, exploitation and humiliation.

Homelessness in the UK is becoming more and more common - especially with children. The most common reason for children running away from home is because they find something at home or school stressful, or they along with their family are in poverty. When children do decide to run away it is usually done in the heat of the moment or as a last resort. With an estimated 100,000 under sixteen’s running away from home each year in the UK, the homeless have to rely on charities like ‘St Mungo’s’ and ‘Railway Children’ –charities that raise money to help get people off the streets.

Despite the high number of child runaways in the UK, half of Britain’s parents say that they have never discussed ‘running away’ with their children. A fifth of parents even said that it had never occurred to them to talk to their children about running away. When a child runs away they usually don’t think about important things like where they will sleep, how they will eat and so on. Due to this, 18,000 child runaways will sleep rough in Britain each year.

When asked about what they thought about homelessness, students in 8Indigo of Rooks Heath School in Harrow replied, “I think that everyone should work together to slowly reduce the amount of homeless people on the streets of Britain” Another school student said “ The government should do something to get more homeless people into work”. Most people think that the homeless are in desperate need of help, then why is no serious action being taken?

By Abietha

Cosmetics Tested on Animals

Cosmetics are usually tested on animals to see whether they are safe or not to use. Europe has banned all cosmetics which have been tested on animals. Animals such as rabbits, mice, rats and guinea pigs are used to test on. This can cause death for the animal.

Tonio Borg who is a European Commissioner for health and consumer policy said ‘This is a great opportunity for Europe to set an example of responsible innovation in cosmetics without any compromise on consumer safety.’ But will any other countries change their law on this?

Muntaha, a year 8 student from Rooks Heath School in Harrow, said ‘I think animal testing should be banned everywhere. It’s not fair on the animals and there are a lot of easier ways to test cosmetics.’
Eliz, A 14 year old student  from Somerset says ‘ Animal testing is wrong and should definitely not be allowed.’

A lot of people don’t agree with animal testing but some do. What do you think?

By Jodie

White Smoke Seen: New Pope has been Elected

White smoke was seen from the chimney of The Sistine Chapel on Wednesday 13th March, which signalled that the new pope has been selected.

The crowd who were waiting in Rome with anticipation let out a huge cheer when white smoke appeared. The night led to parties and celebrations for the new leader, Pope Francis.

Pope Francis was previously known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio – the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is the first ever Pope to take the name ‘Francis’ and also the first to be taken from Europe after a long period of years. He has been selected from Argentina- the country containing half of the world’s catholic population.

150 cardinals voted for the new leader and after the ballot of secret voting, the pope was selected. The Pope made his first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

The Catholics have found their new leader, may god bless them all!

Some children at Rooks Heath School in South Harrow were asked how they felt about the new Pope being elected.

 ‘I think it is really cool how you have to watch the smoke to find out what happens next. It builds up tension’

‘I feel sorry for the old Pope but I am sure the Pope Francis will be just as good.’

By Archshana

New Pope Elected

 Argentinean Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio has been elected as the new pope. The 76-year-old Pope is the first to come from Latin America and is the 266th Bishop of Rome. He will be known as Pope Francis I.

White smoke was issued out of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday 13th March 2013 telling the crowd of people outside that the Pope had been elected. People jumped up in joy as the curtains pulled apart to show Pope Francis standing behind them. He gave everyone his blessing following more cheers from the crowd. Everyone seemed thrilled at the idea of Francis becoming the Pope.

When asked, a student from 8 Indigo in Rooks Heath School in Harrow said, “I think they made the right decision to elect Pope Francis, hopefully he will do his job well!” Other people from 8 Indigo also agreed with this and said “Well done Pope Francis, You deserve it!”

Pope Francis has replaced Pope Benedict XVI who said he is no longer strong enough to lead the church due to health reasons. So will Pope Francis be a good leader? Will he succeed in what he is doing?

By Naveen

Comic Relief joy spread throughout Rooks Heath!

Rooks Heath School in Harrow has many Comic Relief fundraising events going on during the month of March, including raffles, a tombola, the candy dance in the playground, a ‘Thriller’ video, the Comic Relief production and what the students especially lov: non-uniform day!

Many students took part in Year 8’s creative stalls in the hall and in the playground. 8 Indigo’s arm wrestling stall raised £7.40 along with 8 Yellow’s ‘Guess Who’ stall which raised £4.00. The football target stall by 8 Red raised £5. In year 8 we would like to get as many students as possible to get involved and to raise money for charity or in this case Red Nose Day; many students from different year groups have participated in these different stalls.

8 Violet’s assembly on Red Nose Day made everyone laugh. I asked Tiana if she enjoyed putting together the assembly along with 8 Violet and she said, “I enjoyed doing the Harlem Shake in assembly, it was very interesting.”
To summarise the fun, Rooks Heath has been very active; as a high school and a School.

By Jennika

Big Ben Tower to be renamed Elizabeth’s Tower

St Stephan’s Tower, or more commonly known as Big Ben, will be formally renamed Elizabeth’s Tower in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s II Diamond Jubilee. Big Ben – which is the name given to the bell in the tower - has been ringing for over 200 years.

The 316 Foot tall clock tower has been an iconic landmark in London for more than 150 years and has attracted tourists from all over the world. The seriously famous tower is about to get even recognition.

The public has a divided opinion on the subject. A man in central London said “you can’t change the name of the tower; it’s been a landmark for centuries. You wouldn’t go to France and change the name of the Eifel tower!”

Another man from Dartford said “changing the name of an iconic landmark is a brilliant way to commemorate our queens’ great achievements. She will be remembered for a millennium!”

So, it’s a nation divided. St Stephan’s tower will be changed to Elizabeth’s tower in a small amount of town but do you want change?

By Prahlad

10-month-old Baby Survives 8-storey Fall

New Yorker Cynthia Wachenheim committed suicide on Wednesday afternoon, by jumping out of an 8-storey window in Upper Manhattan, New York. Cynthia was holding her 10-month-old baby Keston.

She died from the fall. Fortunately, the boy survived the incident.

An officer took him to hospital, and the doctor says he is in a critical but stable condition.

 CCTV inside the building noticed the father exiting the premises, just an hour before the event.

Upon a thorough search of their apartment, officers found a seven-page suicide note underneath the mother’s bed.

In the note, Cynthia (45) stated she would do something ‘evil’ and that her child was not improving well.

36-year-old Katey Williams shared her view on the matter:

“I think this is tragic, yet I don’t understand how the mother could be so callous to want to kill her own child”

The father of the child was distraught, and has no comment on this incident. He wants the press to leave him and his family alone.

By Sam

Read the small print


What are we eating? There are secret sugars added to our food. Just about everything we eat contains sugar. Even our five a day contains it! You would think that fruit and vegetables wouldn’t have sugar in them but you’re wrong they do: they have natural sugars in them. We all know the dangers of having too many salt and high fat quantities in our food. So why is sugar not such a worry in life? As you know Easter is approaching so don’t have too much! The risk of having too much is leading to diabetes, heart disease and cavities. 

 Sugar is found in our everyday meals no matter how healthy the meal is. We can’t escape from sugar, we don’t realise how much sugar we eat unless we constantly check the level of sugar in what we eat. Readymade meals contain more fat and sugar than a homemade meal contains.  Pastries and cakes act as some of the main foods containing the most amounts of fat and sugar.

I interviewed a mother of two children, about her thoughts on sugar. Her kids drank a lot of pop. They didn’t eat enough vegetables and fruit.

What should we eat? Or what shouldn’t we eat? Can we take sugar out of our foods?

By Briana

My Thoughts On Cyber- Bullying

Bullying is a serious crime because it makes the victim unappreciated and isolated. I think the worst possible type of bullying is cyber bullying because you do not always know the person who is doing it and the reason behind it.

In inner city areas, over 43% of children have considered suicide and one in six children under the age of 11 have attempted suicide. Common causes cited include bullying, abuse, poverty, homelessness, and alcohol abuse.

There are also other types of bullying such as: emotional, verbal, physical, mental and social abuse.

If you see anyone getting bullied then tell someone straight away do not hang back in the shadows.

 By Fatima

Is Litter Illegal?

It is against the law to drop litter in a public place. Around the whole world people have been dropping litter which shows that they don’t care.

Some people think that because litter pickers are hired to pick up their litter they think they are doing them a favour, but that is not true. Some people are more likely to drop litter when they don’t feel bothered about  their environment. To get rid of gum off the streets it costs about £150 million pounds!

People might find disposing their litter hard work, so they think it’s easier to just drop it on the street.

Throwing litter on the street causes more danger to the animals living in the area and also will attract vermin (rats and mice) that can carry harmful diseases.

I spoke to Fatima, a Year 8 student from Rooks Heath School, who said “people who litter think they are cool and the environment means nothing to them. They think they can do whatever they want including littering.”

By Muntaha