School News

Academic Colours

Our Student Leadership Team were delighted this term to be able to announce via video to the student body the introduction of Academic Colours, which will be awarded alongside existing Colours for excellence in Sport, Art, Music and Drama.

Academic Colours will be awarded for the following:

· Excellent Attitude

· Prep consistently handed in on time and of a high standard · Consistently high level of attainment

· High level of attainment achieved in End of Year examinations

· High level of independent learning and initiative outside of set work

· Involvement in Co-Curricular

Academic Colours can be awarded in all subjects except Art, PE, Drama and Music as they have their own colours, and will be presented at the end of Years 9, 11 and 12. We said goodbye to Mr Haas, who has returned to America. We also said farewell to Mrs Julia Booth and Mrs Hilary Standen. Mrs Booth had been with the School for 14 years and we wish her and Mrs Standen all the best in their next roles.

Mr Eyers, Ms Lockheart and Miss Deacon also moved on to exciting new pastures. We thank them all for their contribution to the School.

We welcomed Samantha Shipton as our new Boarding Assistant, Lucie Cauvin and Patricia Ortiz Vincent as Language and Boarding Assistants, and Natascha Küsel and Luka Anna Knierim as GAP students.

The Teaching Department welcomed Luke Green as Lead Music Teacher, and Lousie Mayall as Teacher of Photography.

Finally, Angela Wood joined our team as School Nurse, Karen Hearn as a Laundry Assistant, and David Balson and Chris Mackey are our new Drivers.

We are sure our new members of staff will be welcomed by all and will settle into the Cobham Hall community despite the unusual circumstances.

‘Is it Worth It?’ - A Kent Police Workshop

We were pleased to be able to host a Kent Police Workshop about E-safety, the dangers of Sexting and the possible consequences.

Held in the Activity Centre to enable social distancing, the presentation was made to Years 7, 8 and 9 separately.

Race, privilege and justice: Understanding Concepts to Support Anti-Racism

At the start of the new academic year, staff attended a workshop giving them the chance to engage with issues related to race and racial justice in the UK through interactive workshops. The session, led by ConnectFutures, was well received by staff.

Staff News

Virtual Open Morning

Our Autumn Open Morning was once again an online event and we were delighted to see an increase in engagement from families of potential students.

As well as a virtual tour of the School with current Guardian Aoife, viewers were also able to hear from Headmistress Mrs Barrett, Head of Lower School Mrs Wilkinson and Head of Upper School Mrs Thompson.

A number of current students also gave their view of the school, from Year 7 through to Sixth Form, and including Boarding.

We were thrilled this time to expand our virtual event to include testimonials from both a current Parent and an Elder. Mrs Rice was kind enough to give her view of the School, and Stephanie Allen, Guardian in 2015-16, also voiced her opinion in a well-received video.

To date, the videos from the Open Morning have received over 2300 views, with our virtual tour the most popular.

The event was hosted with Mrs Barrett and Mrs Carney, Director of Studies, on hand to answer questions, and is now available to view on our website at www.cobhamhall.com/virtual

Returning to School Post-Lockdown

by Alice, Year 11 It was in September, after the sixmonth lockdown period in the UK, that schools began opening again, allowing both boarders and day girls to return to life at Cobham Hall.

However, like every school across the country, governments guidelines had been arranged and measures put in place to keep students and teachers safe, such as Year Group Bubbles, staggered lunchtimes, and restricted movement around the school.

I spoke to some students who gave their opinions on various elements and their experiences during lockdown and returning to school.

One Year 11 said, “I feel like virtual learning is obviously not as good as learning in lessons, but at Cobham the online learning was better than other schools because we had actual lessons online as per our timetable, instead of just setting work.”

Comparing it to returning to school, she said, “I think returning to school was very good because we can see our friends and get face to face teaching. But it was really hard because the COVID measures are really strong, and there are a lot of things we can’t do that we would normally, but it is nice to be back.”

Loantrang, also Year 11, explained the advantages and disadvantages of the Year group Bubbles: “The pro is that you can genuinely concentrate a lot more on your work, because you’re in your study areas the whole day, meaning you’re in the mindset to work. It improves your study ethic, but it is unfortunate to not be able to communicate with the other year groups, and sometimes it can feel a bit suffocating.”

She also talked about her opinion on the new safety measures introduced in school. “I think they are very strict but at the end of the day, they need to be there, and it’s necessary to keep us safe and stop the spread of coronavirus.”

Overall, Cobham Hall, like every school, has been experiencing challenges since the lockdown in March, especially regarding returning in September, but as a community, everyone has made an effort to make coming back to school as safe and enjoyable as possible. It’s been an interesting term, despite not being able to enjoy some of the activities we normally experience.