JOIN THE ADVENTURE 2016 TO 2017
ASHFORD SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2016 • 2017
WHAT IS AN EDUCATION? THESE INTERACTIONS ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF SCHOOLS AND SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT POINTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. THEY PROD ME TO THINK ABOUT WHY AND HOW THEY ARISE. THEY ARE WHY WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS IS JOYFUL. People make a community and that’s doubly so for a school. The other day one of the students asked me “What do you do all day?” She wasn’t being cheeky. She was genuinely interested as she is in most things. Another came to speak to me about how he could help the staff better understand how to support others who, like him, were struggling with his sexuality. Another, Luca, takes the time to talk to me every time we bump into each other. “How are you, Sir?” “Have you done anything exciting today?” These interactions are the lifeblood of schools and significant development points for young people. They prod me to think about why and how they arise. They are why working with children and teenagers is joyful. How is it that these interactions are a natural part of our daily life? They come from something very deliberate. They come from the patient work of adults in building extraordinary relationships which give children the confidence to talk and question, in good times and bad such as in the aftermath of tragic events. Consistently, visitors to Ashford School comment on the striking strength and ease of relationships. This is what lies at the heart of
extraordinary schools; constancy (you might call this unconditional love), consistency, mutual trust and confidence, understanding and support. It’s what you should look for when you visit a school and, helpfully, it’s easy to see and feel. It’s also easy to achieve over time and with a deliberate approach. Surround the students with inspiring, diverse, capable, positive and engaging people who provide examples of how to behave and the attitudes to adopt. If curiosity is an important characteristic, then surround the students with curious people whether teachers or support staff. I look for variety in my colleagues because each one will have a different way of engaging the children. So amongst my colleagues are cricketers, journalists, TV presenters, marketing experts, barristers, comics, researchers, engineers, naval architects, senior military officers, nurses, economists, technologists, bankers, avid skiers, musicians, artists, dancers and fresh faced graduates. You get the picture. I often seek out people with life experiences and the ability to share their passions, whatever they might be. Finding them is not always easy but they are the essential ingredient to extraordinary schools. Our support staff are equally capable and also intimately engaged in the lives of the students. They are as important as the teachers in demonstrating positive attitudes and behaviours. Curiosity and a desire to take risks are high on my list of personal qualities for employees as is a willingness to embrace the values and ethos of the school. This is all about building and sustaining our culture and climate. This is why the magazine has a theme running through it which is the central importance of the adults in the school in enabling the children to flourish. I hope you enjoy it.
MIKE BUCHANAN HEAD
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14 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
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NURSERY
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ACADEMIC
86
DRAMA
ONTENT
10 RESULTS & LEAVERS
SPORT
BOARDING
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144
ART
CONTENTS
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MUSIC
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ASHFORD SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2016 • 2017
Our school sees inspirational adult leaders in all departments who inspire students with curiosity, passion and drive. As we see pupils across the school take up leadership opportunities, from leading the orchestras to being a prefect, from captaining the hockey team to presenting in class on behalf of a team, we look at the particular behaviours displayed by the adult leaders at the top of our school and how these impact on our students.
TEACHER INTERVIEW
MIKE BUCHANAN HEAD Mike joined Ashford School from Highgate School in London in 2005. Having just announced he will be moving on to new adventures at the end of 2018 we take a look back at the huge and lasting impact that he has had on staff and children at Ashford School. Why did you want to go into teaching?
his first marathon as a result of me imploring him to take
I guess it is unusual but I wanted to be a teacher from about the age of 16. Indeed, I set out to be a head teacher from that same age. Way back then I didn’t understand why I wanted to be in charge but I do now. The opportunity to positively influence young people gets greater and greater the higher you go in the hierarchy of schools. This is what drives me most days of the week.
on a challenge during the summer holidays. What gives you job satisfaction?
What gives me my greatest buzz is to see people flourishing. This might be the students and young people in the school or, equally, it might be the adults who surround them and provide them with love and care.
What is your biggest achievement?
What do you look for in a teacher and how
I am rarely looking backwards to assess my life. I prefer to look forwards to the next opportunity. It’s for others to judge what impact I have had but I hope I have touched the lives of individuals so that they are spurred on to do things they might never otherwise have considered. A particularly poignant memory is of the text I received from an Ashford student saying he was on the start line of
does this impact on the children?
Irrespective of whether I am appointing a teacher or one of the support staff, what I look for first and foremost is people with positive attitudes and those who are likely to be great role models for the children in the school. The reason for this is simple. Children learn most from watching those around them. If you’re trying to encourage
ASHFORD SCHOOL MAGAZINE 2016 • 2017
curiosity then the best way of doing that is to show curiosity as an adult. This is precisely why the school is successful. The adults who surround the children and care for them are great examples. What has been your most difficult time and how was it resolved?
Helping to deal with others’ pain is by far the most difficult challenge. This is particularly the case where you feel personally inadequate to provide help. Rather grimly, over my career I have been involved in trying to provide comfort and support to the families of nearly a dozen colleagues and parents following the death of one of those whom they love. What does leadership mean to you?
I have a simple, personal mission in terms of leadership and that is to enable those who surround me to flourish and to live a joyous and purposeful life. Ultimately, if I succeed in this then I will have demonstrated leadership. What are your hobbies and interests outside school?
We recently moved to a small farm and hence my time outside school is now pretty well occupied learning how to plough. The academic year 2016-17 was an exceptionally busy one for Mike as he was elected Chair of the HMC (Headmasters and Headmistresses’ Conference), one of the most prestigious roles in education. He reflects on his impact…
HMC is the leading association of head teachers of independent schools in the UK and around the world. As chair of the organisation I’m able to set a theme for the year. In my case it was creative leadership, in other words the promotion of creativity and the creative and performing arts in schools. I chose this area because it is the most obvious way that many young people have for exploring who they are and what they might be. Experience of the creative and performing arts can be transformational and that goes to the heart of what a great education should be.
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N S LEAR U O R TU
ERS
S T L U S E S R R E V A E L & ADVEN
13 – R A E Y 11 AND R IEVED A H E C Y A H E T V TO BO ER, HA S H TERS N T R E O A I G U T O A Q T L E , ATU Y THRE – WHO L 7 R CONGR 1 A 0 E LACE 2 P N F E H O C T I I S O E ASS SULTS W EIR FIRST CH E R THE CL T N E TO TH N EXCELL O E G M N O I UDY. S T O S G R 3 E 1 TH R OF YEA OF FUR
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UNIVERSITY, A LEVELS AND GCSES
Particular congratulations to our three students who achieved four A*s: Jonathan Cho in Chemistry,
With some brilliant individual successes
School Captain James Short takes up his place as an organ scholar at Oxford University after achieving
and a great overall score, students and
an A* for Music, A* for Economics and A for History.
staff celebrated an impressive selection of A Level results.
August 17, 2017 saw over one fifth of all grades at A*, nearly half at A*/A, and nearly half of all students achieving at least two A*/A grades. More than half of all students achieved results needed for entry into the elite universities and the most popular universities chosen by our students were University College London, Durham, Canterbury Christ Church, Reading and the London School of Economics and Political Science. The number of UCAS points gained per student was the equivalent of AAA; two thirds of pupils who took the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) achieved A*/A and all grades were at A*-B; and over four fifths of the BTEC Level 3 Diploma were double distinctions with all students gaining at least one distinction. Other highlights include 16 A*s for Mathematics, four A*s and 7 As for Physics and, of the two students who sat Music A Level, one achieved A* and the other an A.
Head of the Senior School, Mr Tom Wilding, said:
“This impressive set of results once again reflects the hard work, aspirations and determination of our students to achieve their very best and the dedication and commitment of our specialist staff in supporting them. We have seen some truly exceptional results across the board and we wish our Class of 2017 every success and happiness as they embark on the next stage of their lives.”
Maths, Further Maths and Physics; Rainie Jin in Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths; and Riley Hu in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Psychology.
Francesca Padgham is off to the highly prestigious Norland College with an A in her Extended Project Qualification and A Levels in Art (A*), Psychology (B) and Spanish (D). At Norland she will be studying their unique BA (Hons) Early Years Development and Learning degree. And there’s a place at Durham for Rebecca Turton who was delighted with her results: Biology A, English Literature A, and Spanish A*. A week later it was the turn of Year 11 to receive their results, this time for GCSE. 90% of grades were at A*-C and nearly three quarters at A*-B. The newly reformed English exams, which are graded 9-1 with 9 being the highest, saw two results at 9, 12 at 8 and 19 at 7, the equivalent of A*/A or higher. Most of them are now beginning two years of A Level study with their sights set on university.
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PASTURES NEW
The end of the Trinity term is also
Our leavers’ programme sees a full day of activities
as they prepare to leave the happy
an emotional time for Year 6 Prep School and to embark on new
culminating in the Leavers’ Ball for Year 13. This year it
adventures.
was held at Frasers in Egerton and was an emotional, yet celebratory, occasion for both staff and students.
They mark the occasion in many ways which includes an evening
Earlier in the day, the year group had put together
BBQ and activities with parents
a special assembly where they took a humorous look
and staff but one of the highlights
at their school memories and enjoyed breakfast
is Sixties Day. Many hours of
on the lawn with staff members.
preparation go into this event, with the Internet being scoured for the best costumes and advice on the best hairstyles.
INSPIRING TEACHERS
Mrs Claire Miller DIRECTOR OF SIXTH FORM AND HEAD OF BIOLOGY FOUNDER OF MARGOT FLORENCE FOUNDATION CHARITY LOVER OF WATERSPORTS LOCAL AREA ASSOCIATE FOR THE SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY
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L A N O S T N R E PE LOPM ADVEN
TU
LEARN ROUS
ERS
A COME E B O T ICS RD TERIST C A R ASHFO A E H V C A E E TH SL S, UDENT T LOPING S E V R TUROU E U N D E O S V E N D P A E ,A HO IS ALLY M CULATE N. WE I N O T S O R S R EVE TH A E R I , E P H Y P C Y P A P P G P A N TO HA ,H GROWI E HOPE D AND S, KIND E W U D . ENCES, O I S N I R G R U E U N O P I C R X E , T FE N-B FULLY E ESILIEN IETY O HUMA R R A S D V E A XAMPL L A E L L I O E H F O L T H I T H U W SC DF OR G THEM CULAR ENT AN I N D I R I R D F R U N C A EM IN B CO H O T M C , O T C R B I O P GH DEM WE SUP THROU BE ACA D Y N E A H , T S. AFF ER CHOICE S OF ST WHETH T R H E G B I R M G THE OF ME MAKIN
E V E D
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DISCOVERING WHAT WE’RE GOOD AT What tantalising adventures were on display at the Senior School Activity Fair at the start of the academic year. The whole Senior School descends on Brake Hall in September to choose the activities they would like to try. “Our programme is at the heart of developing all those valuable and hard to measure personal qualities such as teamwork, perseverance, self-discipline, empathy, resilience and leadership,” said Mr Tony Wilde, Director of the Co-Curriculum. Our co-curricular programme boasts over 100 activities a term to choose from, all headed up by staff and Sixth Formers with particular interests. They range from running club to wildlife garden maintenance, from cypher challenge to orchestra. In the Prep School, pupils choose from Latin, Newspaper Club, Magic Club, Fencing, Shooting, sports development clubs, Learning Outside the Classroom Club, Mountain Biking Club … the list is long.
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O U T D O O R S
I N
OSMINGTON The end of Year 6 is time for real adventure when the whole year group decamps to Osmington Bay in Dorset. As well as being a world heritage site of geological interest, it is also home to a fantastic outdoor activity centre run by PGL. The 54 children spent from dawn to dusk mountain-biking, climbing, speeding along zip wires and conquering the ever daunting trapeze; and the staff didn’t get away with just supervising – they all had a go too. The weekend is aimed at encouraging the children to take measured risks and to develop the self-confidence and assurance needed as they embark on their Senior School years.
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Wow! incredIt was ible!
Pre p Sc hoo l Pu pil
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Q U A L I F Y I N G
F O R
T H E
DUKE OF EDINBURGH The Duke of Edinburgh Scheme is fundamental to developing in young people the values we cherish. From empathy with others to self-discipline and drive, the national scheme gives all 14-24 year olds the opportunity to learn new skills. Nearly 200 of our pupils were involved this year with over half completing various awards. There are three levels for completion: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Seventeen committed Ashford School students enrolled in their Gold awards this year – not an easy undertaking. Once the award is completed, they will look forward to a ceremony at St James’s Palace where they will be presented with their certificates by a member of the royal family. This year saw four expeditions take place from Great Chart to Holland, where students planned, organised and carried out their own expedition with great success.
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I’ve le a muchrnt so !
Sen ior Sch ool Pup il
T H E D U K E OF E D I NB URGH AWARD A N D T H E COMB I NED CAD E T FORCE OF F E R OUR S TUD E NTS S O MANY OP P OR TUNI TI ES . THEY L E ARN S O M U C H F ROM THE EXPERI E NCE - L I FE S K I L L S W HI CH ARE I NVAL UAB L E I N T HE WORK I NG WORL D. MR SIMON BURKE SCHOOL STAFF INSTRUCTOR
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R O F G N I T O O SH PERFECTION
st lebrating its fir det Force is ce Ca d ne bi m Co ’s saw Ashford School 2016, the year 14 September on ed rm Fo n. tary year of actio training in mili ts undertaking de ca 43 and first aid. of ak a pe drill, shooting n, tio ga vi na ld craft, knowledge, fie d r of activities an joyed a numbe en so in al ve Pl ha Martin’s ain Recruits weekend at St ng ni ai tr a g in Farm, camps, includ at North Coat tition weekend pe m co with a , ne Folkesto spent the day ks where they ac rr Ba on pt intball. a visit to Brom y days and pa giment, archer Re er ne gi En l 36 Roya scipline and veloping self-di de r fo rm fo at nt eat pl The CCF is a gr during our rece ills were tested sk e es Th s. ill g from leadership sk w skills rangin cadets learnt ne re he w p exercise. m am ca annual building te ft ra a d an ng n to kayaki se where they firing a shotgu ld firing exerci fie a ed nd te at The cadets also attack. s and a section ol tr conducted pa
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ADVENTURES IN THE WILD Year 5 pupils were joined in their Bushcraft endeavours this year by Headmaster Richard Yeates. They spent a few days camping in the wilderness of rural Oxfordshire learning how to skin fish, forage, build dens and even enjoyed some wild swimming. Eating a salmon eyeball is a regular for the truly brave and it was Head of Boys’ Games Paul Hyde who headed up the queue of volunteers.
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L O C D AY
It was a beautiful day for the dedicat ed Learning Outside the Classroom Da y when Years 3-6 spent th e day outside in th e sunshine crafting all kinds of creation s. Their imaginative and problem-solvi ng skills were put firmly to the test in adult-le d activities which cro ssed the curriculum . The children built willow sculptures , carved whistles and stick s in a workshop wi th Head Groundsman Nick Egan, went on a sca venger hunt to create a m ap from sticks, an d learnt how to light a cam p fire and build de ns. They cooked brea d on an open fire, used nature to create an art installation, lea rnt orienteering skills , and took on a wa te r problem-solving ch allenge in the peac e garden. It was a day desig ned to challenge children and adults to thin k creatively and to develop new ways of thin king that can be ap plied to academic lessons and projects.
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THE DRIVE TO SUCCEED There’s no better way than first-hand to truly appreciate the results of developing good attributes and characteristics. Prep and Senior pupils have enjoyed some inspirational talks and coaching from sporting heroes this year, including Olympic Gold Medallists Alex Danson and Jason Gardener. Our Senior School pupils are also visited in the year by speakers with a wide range of backgrounds as part of the Wider Horizons lecture series. Particularly inspirational this year was a visit from Queen’s Gallantry Medal winner Major Chris Hunter.
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DEVELOPING STRENGTH OF CHARACTER Competition in the House system develops in children a healthy approach to doing their very best at challenges. There are so many competitions throughout the year that every pupil, from Prep to Senior, has the chance to contribute. As well as inter-House sporting challenges, there have been Maths, Creative and Performing Arts, and Drama challenges, poetry and general knowledge competitions.
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YEAR 6 PUPIL AND HEADLEY HOUSE CAPTAIN FOR 2016-17,
Gemma Pocknell,
LOOKS BACK ON HER YEAR AT THE HELM AND OFFERS ADVICE TO THE NEXT LEADER. The highs of being House Captain are that you can lead your House to victory, hold the banner on Sports Day, are already a prefect and have lots of responsibilities. The lows of being House Captain are that you have to deal with defeats, keep spirits high in the House (which can be hard) and come up with solutions for problems. This year we drew first with Nightingale in the poetry competition as we worked as a team to learn the poems, and we won LOC day because of our good listening and team work. Headley came third in the inter-House cross country due to our perseverance and determination to do the best possible for our House and we came third on Sports Day because of our individual talents. Headley came fourth in the U11 girls’ hockey, fourth in the netball, second in the Maths competition and third in the General Knowledge Quiz. All Houses have their own wins and defeats, the difference is what you do to improve next time. As House Captain you need to: keep team spirits high, make sure everyone is doing their best, help when and where you can and keep the trust your House gives you. To do all this takes a very special person, but follow the tips below and you’ll be good to go.
TIP 1: TIP 2: TIP 3:
Offer support to everyone.
Trust your House and they will trust you.
Show good sportsmanship towards other Houses.
TIP 4:
Be a good person and try your best in everything you do. You will find people - not just from your House - looking to you for support.
TIP 5:
Keep thinking outside the box for new ways to improve your House’s achievements, whatever they may be.
STUDE
ENT
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A WEEK OF REAL
ADVENTURE The Senior School’s fabulous Adventurous Learning Week saw a host of activities designed to broaden the mind and to take the pupils and teachers on new adventures.
Years 7 and 8 were taken on a den-building and ecological adventure; Year 8 also found time for an interactive trip to the Science Museum where they investigated challenges at the Winton Mathematics and the Engineer Your Future galleries. There were also trips to London’s art galleries.
Year 9 went on an adventure into the world of digital marketing when they were tasked with creating a multi-media advert for the school using various digital tools. Discussions included brainstorming what makes a good advert, how to develop a storyboard and, ultimately, how to create the project.
A workshop on deaf awareness issues and strategies was also on the agenda for Year 9 pupils who developed their understanding of what it is like to be deaf. They learnt fingerspelling and basic signs giving them the ability to conduct basic conversations in British Sign Language.
DT, Art and Drama joined together to run a series of activities on the theme of speed in celebration of the attempt by the Bloodhound team to smash the current land speed record and build a car that can travel at 1000mph. Students in Year 8 experimented with expressive photography, designed and built rocket-powered vehicles, devised a performance on the theme of speed and baked gingerbread men.
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There were various cross-curricular trips to London including the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Museum of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and a voyage on the Thames Clipper. There was a scientific adventure through the tunnel under the Thames and a visit to the Shard. A select group of Year 10 pupils were privileged to attend the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition which displayed cutting edge scientific developments.
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OUR WONDERFUL PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION There were two spectacular PTA events this year: the Winter Ball at Lympne Castle which raised a fabulous £4000; and – more of a funraiser than a fundraiser – the wonderful AshFest which provided a day of fun for both Prep and Senior families. The PTA have organised a lot of other mini events from year-group cake sales to neon discos and a significant amount of money has been raised through Second Hand Shop sales and the 100 Club. The school has benefited enormously this year from the enthusiasm of the PTA and the generosity of its supporters. The PTA bought three Robox 3D printers for use in both the Senior and Prep Schools, outdoor play equipment for Nursery, an outdoor table tennis table, an outdoor classroom, sports tabards and equipment. A further £10,000 has been set aside for some adventure play equipment for the Prep School quad. The next big event is the Christmas Fair on Saturday 2 December, 2017, so put the date in your diaries and come along for some festive fun.
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CONTINUING THE FIGHT Year 6 pupil, Connor, organised his own fundraising effort in memory of former pupil, Abbie Mifsud, raising £500 for the charity Abbie’s Army. Particular well done to our valiant staff – Mr Wiseman, Mrs Mummery and Mrs Clifford – who cheerfully volunteered to take part in the charity challenge. Together with Connor, they were blindfolded and challenged to identify food through their sense of smell. Those who were mistaken had the offending food poured over their heads. A messy sight – but greatly enjoyed by the children! Earlier in the year, he had organised a Slime Challenge for charity – again, it was the staff who bravely volunteered although perhaps not as enthusiastically as the children.
TOGETHER IN MEMORY We proudly took part in the Great Get Together, a national event in memory of the MP Jo Cox. Staff and students ‘got together’ on the lawn outside Brabourne House and enjoyed a lunchtime gig by Learning Support Assistant Lewis Foreman.
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DIAMOND CHALLENGE Our newly formed Combined Cadet Force conquered a new challenge to raise money for the Duke of Edinburgh Charity, which supports young people from Kent in achieving their goals. Six officers and four cadets took part in a six-mile march to commemorate the organisation’s Diamond Anniversary. The team was diverse with male, female, young and old with ages ranging from 15 to 53. During the march, each member was taken out of their comfort zone, having not done anything as challenging as this before. The team worked extremely well to achieve a march time of one hour and 10 minutes. Our Diamond Challenge raised more than £700 for the young people of Kent.
A NATIONAL AWARD One Prep pupil in particular this year has stood out for his dedication and determination to raise funds for charity. Harrison Cummins has raised thousands of pounds for the Pilgrims’ Hospice after his mother Holly was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Then only seven years old, Harrison was incredibly brave throughout the time leading up to his mother’s death. Harrison organized various events including a special café at which he sold cakes. News of the café soon got out, donations poured in and, together with
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
a raffle and auction, Harrison raised a staggering
Special credit to Jemima and Grace who presented a cheque for £280 to King’s College London after putting their arms in slings after their father had a stroke.
continuing to organize events and raise further funds
£13,000. Holly lived just long enough to be so proud to hear the news of this fantastic success. Harrison is for the Pilgrims’ Hospice and a cake sale is planned for 9 December, 2017. Since his fundraising efforts began, Harrison has won a number of awards including the Ward and Partners Annual Children’s Award and United Learning’s Young Hero Award for which he attended a special ceremony at the House of Lords.
Our active and successful Amnesty International Group has once again made an impact. They visited the Human Rights Action Centre to take part in a national Youth Conference. The theme of refugees was a large part of the day and students heard from Amal Azzudin, one of a group of teenage refugees known as the Glasgow Girls, who challenged the government about the detention of one of their school friends. The Ashford Amnesty Group continues to fundraise and to campaign against human rights abuses worldwide.
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EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR Various charity events go on across the school throughout the year. A record-breaking total of £1001.16 was raised during the Year 6 poppy brooch and ANZAC biscuit sale for the Royal British Legion and they have also raised funds for the Lifeboat Association. The children spent many hours sewing and baking and, with the help of Mrs Madsen and the ladies at the front desk, managed to raise this amazing total. Both schools took part in the annual Macmillan Coffee Morning with a selection of colourful and delicious cakes. The whole Prep School generously covered a picture of Pudsey in coins to do their bit for Children in Need and the clothes couldn’t have been ‘louder’ for Make A Noise Day in aid of The Young Lives Foundation.
HOUSE CHARITY The Houses are tasked with working in teams to come up with ideas to raise funds for charity. This year, for example, Squires and Yeomen joined together to organise a special Charity Day for Cancer Research UK. Pupils across the Senior School paid £1 to wear casual clothes and enjoyed a Caribbean fair-ground theme to their lunch hour. There were cake sales, guess the number of sweets in the jar, a hoop challenge, and several Sixth Formers took to the stage to provide some lively singing entertainment. The Merchants and Pilgrims Charity Day focused on the delectable delights of an oversubscribed Pizza Café and brought in £720 for the Pilgrims’ Hospice. The Headley Mini Olympics is a firm favourite in the Prep School calendar and all credit to the children who plan and organise a variety of challenges and games for the rest of the school. This year saw timed challenges, an obstacle course, guessing games and, of course, throw the sponge at the teacher!
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TEACHER INTERVIEW
PENNY WILLETTS NEW HEAD, PREP SCHOOL Set to take up the reins of headship in September 2017, Penny Willetts has been Deputy Head at the Prep School since 2010. She has a strong vision for the future which includes nurturing resilient and independent children and motivated, valued and confident staff. Why teaching?
What gives you job satisfaction?
Working with young people is quite simply the best job in
When I know that the school I’m leading has made
the world. I get to make a difference and think creatively
a difference to a child’s life and education. When I
about making learning fun. The job has huge variety and
see that the children are happy to come to school and
different challenges and I work with incredible people.
make good progress. When we discover what each
What’s your biggest achievement both in and out of school?
child is good at and allow them to develop that skill to their full potential.
Out of school it has to be achieving a single figures
What do you look for and admire in teachers?
handicap in golf and having my two girls. Career-wise,
A love of children. Are they inspiring? How do they
I was delighted to be chosen as the next leader of
make learning fun? Do they have high expectations
Ashford Prep School.
and are they passionate about teaching? And of course
What makes Ashford School special?
there must be a willingness to reflect.
The breadth of the curriculum gives children such a
What makes your teaching staff special?
wonderful and expansive start in life; the school has a
They are committed and enthusiastic and care deeply
very special family-feel and super facilities. Staff and
about the children. They are always striving to improve
children are positively encouraged to take risks and the
and display a broad range of talents with in-depth
ethos of Adventurous Learning is very real and applied in
subject knowledge. Many of them give up their playtimes
every classroom. We have a real nurturing environment
to develop other skills in the children and to inspire
and it’s a fun and happy school that ultimately produces
them to try different things or a different mindset in
confident children.
order to learn.
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THE BREADTH OF THE CURRICULUM GIVES CHILDREN SUCH A WONDERFUL AND EXPANSIVE START IN LIFE; THE SCHOOL HAS A VERY SPECIAL FAMILY-FEEL AND SUPER FACILITIES. What has been your most difficult time during your career?
When Ashford Junior School merged with Friars Prep School we began building a new school but of course day-to-day life still had to run smoothly. I was tasked with ensuring the children continued to learn safely. In the end it was down to organisation and teamwork, thinking ahead and delegating. What does leadership mean to you?
To have vision and to communicate this with all stakeholders so they are willing to follow my lead. Having the courage, determination and patience to see things through and to challenge when in doubt. Being passionate about teaching and learning and showing great commitment to the children in my care. To lead by example. I would never ask someone to do something I would not be willing to do. What are your interests and hobbies?
I love skiing, lacrosse and golf. I love to travel and particularly enjoy going to the musicals. I also like cooking. Describe your vision for the future.
It is to ensure that the needs of all children are met in all areas of school life and that each child is bombarded with a wealth of experience and opportunities. This will guarantee that they leave at the end of Year 6 feeling extremely confident, responsible and resilient members of society.
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HERS, C A E T IONATE NUES FOR S S A P VE AND SPIRING AVE I T A E R NG, I C N I N F R F O A O E DEN L A TEAM RANGE A Y E O B L R B B D I E D L SROOM AND CRE S E N A I T L A C N R E A B IS T IN TH Y AND O CELE T H THERE S G T U N A UDE IOSIT AT IS T R H U C W OUR ST G D IFELON BEYON L O E G R U O T T JECT. B NUR U S O T A D F AN LOVE O
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AN ADVENTURE OF ENDEAVOUR The Senior School’s first Adventure of Endeavour was a true celebration of pupils’ achievements and all that the school has to offer. The special event featured exhibitions from every academic subject, from Science, Maths and English to Modern Foreign Languages, History and Religious Studies. Pupils really proved they are adventurous learners and weren’t afraid to show it with our artists painting live on stage, our musicians performing background music and our sports men and women running workshops and training sessions. The busy evening was attended by parents, family and friends, as well as the pupils, who watched the newly formed Combined Cadet Force marching and stripping their weapons, our sports students shooting and demonstrating ball skills, a harpist playing in the Atrium and a pianist in Brake Hall. There were beautiful art displays lining the corridors and information on the Ashford School Foundation which raises funds to provide bursaries for places at the school.
NA P I TC H I N G O L E SCA N AT I O N A L
ed n was select School childre ep . Pr ve ti ea competition A team of cr tional ideas na a of ls na in the fi to compete the IBM 6 travelled to ar Ye om fr n re Ideas Final The four child in the United rt pa ke ta film ndon to a 60-second offices in Lo d to produce ha ey Th s. ea aining why of 7 Billion Id ype and expl ot ot pr d an r poster showing thei e world. ill change th their idea w their project Laura named d an l ue m Sa ed for the Julia, Will, d were select an ’ ne O in il tion ‘Pen and Penc hool competi ting in the sc pe m co eir r te to af entation th nationals minute pres ere th a ve ga ace where they at ‘saving sp ea was aimed id r ei Th p. year grou il case’. in your penc d their stall an had to set up am te e th , judges In London the team of om fr s w ie rv inte nge prepare for up the challe and they took e yl st en D Dragons’ dence. d with confi admirably an
EXCELLING AT MATHS Huge congratulations to the senior Maths team who took 1st place in the regional final of the UKMT Senior Team Challenge. Held at the Simon Langton Boys’ Grammar School, the team was up against 20 other schools and their stellar performance qualified them for the national final where they competed against the top 80 schools in the country. Particular congratulations to Year 10’s Claire Wu and Year 11’s Shepard Li who were awarded medals in the Intermediate Maths Olympiad with Claire gaining full marks – the top mark in the UK in this age group – a truly outstanding achievement. This year was a busy one in the Maths department which continued to work with Cambridge University trialling new post-16 resources. They hosted the perennially popular Year 5 team competition for local primary and prep schools and ran a range of fun mathematical activities, from the cipher challenge to a fast-paced problem-solving group.
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L E A R N IN G B E Y O N D THE CLASSROOM Psychology students have been lucky enou gh to benefit from a wealt h of lectures and con ferences to boost their learning and broaden their thi nking. There was a visit to the Wellcome Collection to see an exhibition on the history of mental illn ess, an interactive visit to the Freud Museum in Ca mden, and a dynamic conference with a lecture on the psychology of dance and a demo nstration of live hypn osis. We love to welcome each year the renow ned neuroscientist Dr Guy Sutton who is such a vibrant speaker. He runs a mu ch anticipated Brain Day for our Psychology and Bio logy students. The A Level group wa s asked to consider ho w easy it is to implant false memories by eyewitn ess testimony expert Dr Elizabeth Loftus; and a group of our students (pictu red) have been taking part in research at Universi ty College London to inv estigate decision-making in ad olescence.
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THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD Science at Ashford School continues to be a popular subject, thanks to inspirational teaching from passionate teachers, and we regularly see Year 13s taking up places at the world’s top universities.
Particular highlights have been the annual trip to visit CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Geneva and a chilly trip to Iceland in January to learn more about the Northern Lights, geothermal and hydroelectric power, the formation of lava tubes and Iceland’s history and culture. There was also a Chemistry trip to Greenwich University to use the Spectroscopy equipment and the Year 12 Analysts team won the South East Region Royal Society of Chemists Analysts Competition.
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T H E S T U DY O F SC I ENCE CAN Q U I T E P O S S I BLY CHANGE THE W O R L D ; T H E P OS S I B L I TI ES ARE E NDL E SS . W E A R E EMPOWE RI NG T H E N E X T G E N E RATI ON OF R E S E A R C H E R S , P R OB L E M-S OLVE RS AN D C R E AT I V E THI NK E RS . MRS CLAIRE MILLER
HEAD OF BIOLOGY
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INSPIRING TEACHERS
Mrs Paula Leyden HISTORY TEACHER TRAVELLER, SKIER, BOOK-LOVER
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Biology and Chemistry Olympiads tested our keenest scientists who were bestowed with gold, silver and bronze awards and commendations for their achievements. Particular congratulations to Andy Wu who won Gold as a Year 12. The Biology Olympiad saw record results with 16 pupils achieving certificates, four winning medals and one a Gold, placing her in the top 3% of entrants. More than 100 students have completed CREST awards this year – a fantastic achievement – including the whole of Year 10 who designed a water dispenser in Adventurous Learning Week.
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on Club hysics Extensi P ly k e e w e Th l-time borrow a rea was able to tector d particle de radiation an students Schools and in N ER C m o fr s on ries of video produced a se order y devised in e th ts n e m ri expe e test. uipment to th q e e th t u p to
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ECOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES It was another successful year on the Biology Field Trip which this time saw students on the beach at St Margaret’s Bay near Dover as well as at the zoo at Port Lympne. The department’s field trip is planned and put together by staff and students and always benefits the students’ learning and inspiration. The residential trip provides pupils with a unique experience of ecology activities, understanding of conservation and gives them the opportunity to embark on independent research work, preparing them for university life.
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ZOO AT PORT LYMPNE
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T H E BI OL OG Y F I E L D TRI P WA S A N I N C RE D I B L E E X P E R I E N C E . I L EARNT S O MU C H A BOU T T HE NATURAL W O R L D A S W E L L AS MA ST E R I N G N E W L E ARNI NG AND RESEARCH SKILLS. HANA DAVIS, YEAR 12
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S G A B D N I W M O FR S L I A N TO
ugh ld have eno ed you wou ct ra xt e s a ody w xperiments n in your b ly named e o te ir a e ri p th ll ro a p p of a ow that if evised range Did you kn d staff. A cleverly d s? il a n ll th pupils an a o b sm h o it w tw it e al h to mak children nce Day a re School Scie e presented p m re m P a e gr th ro e p mad day’s akfast, the ing skills. ails for Bre N to ge n roblem-solv e p ll c a fi h ti C n g a ie b sc ind their From the W ges to test xtract ous challen ri va h bottle, to e it w lloon into a a in Years 3-6 b d e ll fi rwate ay to get a ice. to find a w d ge n e ll t using dry a ch fire a rocke to They were d te, n a l a cere every minu m breakfast dren loved il ch e th d the iron fro n a out the day a better density and lved through vo to s in le e cu im le sl o f m plenty o rything from There was ghts of eve u o th h it w . filled veryday life their minds y apply to e e th w o h f ing o understand
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INSPIRING TEACHERS
Mr Jason Kendall
ECONOMICS TEACHER FOOTBALLER, READER, AMATEUR HISTORIAN
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I T ’S SO I M P O RTANT TO B RI NG T H E L E A R N I N G OF HI S TORY TO L I F E . I T M AK ES AL L THE D I F F E R E N C E TO THE CHI L D RE N’ S E X P E R I E N C E AND CREATES A L O N G - L A S T I N G UND E RS TAND I NG A N D L OV E O F THE S UB J E CT. MRS PAULA LEYDEN PREP SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER
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BRINGING HISTORY TO LIFE
Learning History is a lot of fun at the Prep School where children get to go back in time and experience (almost) first-hand what it must have been like. We’ve seen Years 1 and 5 enjoy Victorian Day, although the strictness of their teachers was not something they would like to see every day. Year 5 also turned Egyptian for the day and built a pyramid after crafting the materials they needed. There was fun for Year 4 when they built a Tudor house and Year 3’s Viking Day produced an incredible Longship complete with shields and a sail.
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Trips have included a day at the Museum of Kent Life for Year 1 where they took a tour through a Victorian house and discovered how people used to wring out their washing. Year 6 meanwhile had fun at Dover Castle where they dressed in costumes and learnt about the Battle of Britain.
Year 3 made their own mini Longships and tested their floating skills on the school swimming pool while, in true Indiana Jones style, they turned archaeologists for the day and proved it’s amazing what you can unearth in a school playground.
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W E BOMBARD OUR CHIL DR E N WITH AS MANY EXPERI E N C E S A S EA RLY AS POSS IBL E. WE N E E D TO H A RNESS AND NURTUR E THAT WO NDERFUL CURIOSITY THAT COMES WITH BEING A C HIL D. MISS REBECCA KIRK RECEPTION LEADER
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Senior School historians and English students have also been taking their learning beyond the classroom with a visit to Ypres where they went to Flanders Field Museum, Tyne Cot Cemetery and explored the Sanctuary Wood trench system and museum – a packed day but providing a real insight into the warfare and scale of loss of life in World War 1.
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Year 11 went to a Holocaust workshop at the Imperial War Museum – a sombre and moving day which helped students understand something of the impact of the Nazi policies they had been studying. London was also on the agenda for Year 12 who went to the Cabinet War Rooms as well as the Imperial War Museum.
Year 7 always enjoy their cross-curricular trip to Canterbury where they visit the cathedral, Dane John Mound, the Norman stone keep, the Westgate Towers, the Dominican Friary, the Canterbury Tales Museum and, last but not least, the traditional sweet shop on the high street.
INSPIRING TEACHERS
Mr John Coombes
YEAR 1 TEACHER POOL COMPETITOR, READER, DRAMA ENTHUSIAST
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EXTENDING LEARNING The very best universities look favourably on students who have gone beyond their A Level studies and completed an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Students are tasked with carrying out their own research on a chosen topic to complete a project or five thousand-word essay. This year we’ve seen a cookery book on the ketogenic diet produced for Evelina Children’s Hospital; one student looked at whether psychopaths can be empathetic; a six-a-side football tournament was organised in aid of Cancer Research; and another student explored how revolution has shaped the course of Persian history. Other subjects included ‘How does infinity make black holes special?’, ‘How high status buildings in Andalucia evolved during the Muslim inhabitancy of 711-1492’, and ‘How are the negative impacts of Fairtrade coffee in Tanzania affecting those who work in the industry?’ The 12 students who completed the EPQ this summer maintained our impressive record of 100% A*-B with 3 A*s, 5 As and 4 Bs. The EPQ programme is proving more and more popular as our Sixth Formers realise its benefits and is now an integral part of the curriculum. 24 students are now embarking on the course.
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IT’S ALL ABOUT BOOKS
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The Prep School English department came up with a novel way to promote reading – the Extreme Reading Challenge. Every child was tasked with finding an unusual place to read a book and to photograph it. And the entries certainly were extreme ranging from Iceland to diggers, from HMS warships to Italian volcanoes.
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TALKS, COMPETITIONS AND THEIR OWN MAGAZINE Senior English students have been inspired by several visits
There was also success
and talks including the author
in the UK Linguistics
Nicky Singer whose book,
Olympiad when Year
Feather Boy, was made into a
9 gained bronze, silver
CBBC series, and the poet Luke
and gold certificates at
Wright. The Learning Resource
the Foundation Level
Centre ran their annual Reading
and Year 8 completed
Challenge where students had to
the UKLO Breakthrough
read a set number of books to
Challenge.
win awards. Many pupils gained bronze, silver and gold for reading up to 15 novels.
Year 12 enjoyed a trip to The Globe to watch The Taming of the Shrew and joined Drama students for a Shakespeare workshop at Canterbury Christ Church University. Students are particularly proud of their first English department magazine – a wonderful collection of students’ work – and we look forward to the next.
There was a joint venture for Years 6 and 7 in the annual Spelling Bee – a tense event that sees students put on the spot with their spelling. Congratulations to the winners: Nidhi Sam from Year 6 and Alice Goodman from Year 7.
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A FESTIVE TALE There were some really creative and imaginative entries to the Senior Schools’ Junior Christmas Story Competition. Run by the Learning Resource Centre, the competition attracted entries from across the year groups and the overall winner was Grace Scotton with The Child Who
Saved Christmas. Winners in each year-group were: Alice Kershaw with A Christmas Journey – To The Mantelpiece; Harry Thomas-Banks with From Rags to Riches; and Millie Knox with Christmas Story.
DELVING INTO BUSI
THINKING ON OUR FEET Debating is thriving at Ashford School and is an excellent way for students to learn to think rationally under pressure and to argue their point. 2016-17 saw an exciting season, co-ordinated by Jordan Boucher, and which saw a mixed year for competitions. In the ESU Mace, the Ashford team of Jordan Boucher and Jonathan Cho debated persuasively in the first round of the competition, proposing the motion, “This house supports salary caps in professional sports”. Having successfully progressed to the next round of the competition, they narrowly missed out on getting to the Regional Final. A highlight of the year occurred at the end of the competitions season, when the team of Jordan Boucher and Tini Gabashvili qualified to compete against the 100 best school debating teams in the country, at the world-famous Oxford Union. It is a fantastic achievement to have reached the finals day of the Oxford Schools’ competition and they acquitted themselves very well while debating some challenging topics. In an intensive day of debating, Tini and Jordan had four debates with motions including “This house believes that it is legitimate for states to refuse the admission of refugees who oppose the state’s core values” and “This house would abolish marriage as a state institution”.
NESS
It’s challenging as an adult entrepreneur to devise and set up your own business, but our Senior studen ts have taken it in the ir stride – winning award s along the way. The 14 members of the school’s company, DN A, designed, manufac tured and marketed a range of clothing acc essories made from recycled wood. The badges, hairband s and bow ties proved to be a big hit with shoppers inside and outside of school. The y were so successful in fact that the compan y earned more than £700 in revenue and more than £400 in pro fit. At the mid-Kent inter-school Young Enterprise Competitio n the judges said tha t the Ashford School company was in the running for the Best Overall Business award , and DNA received the award for the Best Com pany Report. Many congratulations to Ma naging Director Tom Xie and the rest of the DNA team. Congratulations are also due to Nick Ho and Xiaonan Xi who were chosen to repres ent the Economics dep artment at the school’s Exhibition of Endeavour. Nick pre sented his Economics research report into the current performa nce of the UK economy, while Xiaon an gave students and parents a flavour of the research work that she had done int o the structure and performance of the UK fast food market. Year 13 Business stu dents took their skills outside the classroom and attended a confer ence in London where they met examiners and swapped ideas and strategies with studen ts from other schools. Among an aud ience of hundreds Am ira Rayner earned a prize for correctly ans wering one of the exa miners’ questions! Our students start you ng when it comes to developing business skills and Year 6 pro ved they are shrewd entrepreneurs by setting up and runnin g their own compan ies – with a starting money pot of just £5. With just one month to
plan and set up their businesses, Year 6 had to bring their lea dership and teamwork skills into play, as well as learning to negotiate, market, bu dget and sell. Each week they worke d on a different part of the challenge: planning and logo des ign; sales pitch (think Dragons’ Den); advertising; and sellin g. So the rest of the sch ool enjoyed a week of buying ice-creams, ordering t-shirts and various craft creation s.
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TAKING TO THE STAGE IN FRENCH
FRENCH TEACHER TURNED PLAYWRIGHT
Nine hard-working Year 6 pupils took the
We are very proud
adventurous step of performing a play in French.
that Prep School
Not only did they have to conquer their performing
French teacher, Mrs
nerves, but they had to muster a good French accent
Dorothy Hamilton,
and learn their lines.
has had a book published that
Tamara, Laura, Gemma, Emily, Evie, Deven, Alan,
can be bought on
Connor and Lily made such an impact with their
amazon.co.uk.
performance of Rapunzel that they were placed
For many years,
2nd at the annual Languages Competition at City of
Mrs Hamilton
London Freemen’s School in Surrey.
has written a play for her Year 6 students to perform
It’s been a busy year generally for languages at the
in French and now she has compiled them all into a
Prep School with highlights including letters to and
book for schools.
from pen pals in France and a special languages day
Fun French Fairy Tale Plays contains 10 adaptations of
at Canterbury Christ Church University where the
well-known stories with a special humorous twist. For
children learnt the basics of Japanese and Arabic.
example, Rapunzel lives at the top of the Eiffel Tower and Snow White loves to play golf.
TRAVELLING THE WORLD WITH LANGUAGES Year 6 joined Year 7 on their Adventurous Languages Day where they explored the basics of Mandarin, German and Sign Language. Each Year 6 pupil was paired with a Year 7 buddy and the children split into three groups. In Mandarin, as well as getting to grips with the language, they discovered culinary specialities, culture and the correct way to use chopsticks. In Sign Language groups, pupils found it a challenge to communicate only through actions and in German, the students explored how German brands are an everyday part of British life.
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NATIONAL EXCELLENCE Excellence across the breadth of the curriculum was rewarded when seven of our students won Best In Everyone awards from United Learning. They faced competition from UL schools across the country to win these prestigious awards, so congratulations to James Short (Music), Sophie Pinney (Geography), Jai Shah (Outstanding Scientist), Yuki Pondeca (Creative Writing), Abigail Gooding (Modern Foreign Languages), Sienna Bates (Sportswoman of the Year) and Tinatin Gabashvili (Pupil of the Year).
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INSPIRING TEACHERS
Mr Scott Wiseman PREP HEAD OF SCIENCE NATIONAL TRIATHLETE, OFF-PISTE SKIER, FORMER ARMY SKI TEAM COMPETITOR
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NURS
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E SUCH V A H O T LUCKY Y E AND L G U D R I T R E B EN AR Y ARE R L D N L E AND I O R H T A C O C E N L R TT LIFE. FF, OU N A I T OUR LI T S ING. R L D A A T N S N A T L O IA OUTS XCEPTI D E E A SPEC T Y A B R RMED TLY RUN I F N Y E N R T E O S S I C S NUR H 2017 IS CON C N R A O I S M PROVI ON IN I T AIN. C E G P A S T N E I AN THIS Y
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NURSERY INSPECTION The full inspection report can be found on our website – www.ashfordschool.co.uk – but ISI inspectors did not hold back in their praise for our Early Years Provision which they looked at in particular.
bitious Leaders demonstrate an am ns of children, vision, and high expectatio d education in all aspects of the care an onstrate a strong they provide. Leaders dem dy outstanding drive to improve the alrea e staff team provision and practice. Th itment to demonstrates a real comm lopment to securing continuous deve ances. improve children’s life ch ISI inspectors
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They went on to note the children’s excellent progress and that they feel safe and secure and are evidently happy. In particular, they reported that
T HERE IS AN EXTREMELY STRONG COMMITMENT TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF HIGH STANDARDS IN PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOUR; THIS IS A PRIORITY IN THIS SETTING. It was a glowing report and one that was well-deserved by our inspirational and outstanding staff.
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TEACHER INTERVIEW
TOM WILDING HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL Head of the Senior School, Tom Wilding, joined Ashford School as Director of Boarding in 2007, previously working at Highgate School and Ampleforth College. Why did you want to go into teaching?
ensure our pupils are happy: the happy child is the
For the chance to share my love of languages (Spanish and French in particular), to help open doors for young people and to be able to contribute, in some way, to their development in the round. Young people have enormous, almost limitless, levels of potential and energy: tapping into these, spurring them on and being able to see the rewards of their efforts over time is not only invigorating but one of the most rewarding experiences you can have.
successful child, not the other way around.
What’s your biggest achievement, both personally
What do you look for in a teacher?
Subject knowledge, enthusiasm, energy and creativity. I want teachers to model the behaviours and attitudes we expect our pupils to display: this includes the willingness of staff to try new things, to challenge themselves, to put themselves out of their comfort zone, to remember what it feels like to be a learner.
and as a teacher?
What does leadership mean to you?
Cycling the Camino de Santiago across the north of Spain, from Roncesvalles in the foothills of the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela (800km) in seven days, raising over £3,000 for the Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance is something I am proud of. At school, I’m particularly pleased with the successful introduction of boys’ boarding and seeing how the co-curriculum programme has evolved to become an integral part of an Ashford pupil’s education.
Energy, compassion and vision. It’s about engaging people and unlocking their potential – “unleashing greatness”! What are your interests and hobbies outside school?
I keep coming back to a handful of favourite ways to spend any spare time: sport (watching or doing), music, reading, cryptic crosswords, jigsaw puzzles and DIY. And your vision for the future?
What makes Ashford School special for you?
I wish for Ashford School to grow and to evolve both in
Seeing the ethos of opportunity and adventure being brought to life on a daily basis by the staff and pupils. It is the pupils who bring the school to life and our pupils are allowed and encouraged to be themselves. Idiosyncrasy is welcome and we work tirelessly – and discreetly – to
terms of building development and pupil achievement (and therefore pupil experience) and to become one of the most sought-after schools in the UK. I am proud of the fresh and forward thinking education that we offer and think it is a wonderful preparation for our pupils’ future.
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TO THE A I B A RY TO OM AR E R S F R , U O N CHICAG FROM S O RLD. T T O N E M W E D E H U H R OF T BETHLE HES, ST U C T M O I T O W R C S AND I F F P T O O A R D M D L A R C BACK EMEMBER N A DR AL WO I E C T I K A G A T A M M HAVE ES, DRA A YEAR TO R M R M U O F T S SIXTH BEEN FUL CO S ’ R T U I O , L Y O SICALIT WITH C U ARDS. M O B G E N I H D N ON T OUTSTA
DRA
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TREADING THE BOARDS IN CHICAGO A gritty tale of murder and the quest for fame gave rise to some remarkable performances from the very talented cast of
Chicago. Senior Drama gave a three-night run of the hit musical which, again, received rave reviews on Seetickets.com where our tickets are sold. The vocal and acting talents of the main characters, including Amira Rayner and Isabella AskeyBrown, were outstanding and the production featured a cast of almost 40 pupils accompanied by a live band of professional musicians.
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CHICAGO - RAZZLE DAZZLE AND ALL THAT JAZZ Ashford School always puts on great annual productions and this year was no different. A school production, yes, but in every other way with the quality and finesse of a professional west-end show. From tremendous acting, singing and dancing performances; creative choreography, great use of the stage; a high quality jazz band; effects; technical and direction that found and nurtured talents within this talented cast. Well done all! Three nights of stellar performances - the best show in Kent this year!
seetickets.com
BEST SHOW WE’VE SEEN THERE YET! Several members of the local dramatic society went and we all thought it was fabulous - what a great evening! Favourite moment? It has to be Roxie - the young lady playing her totally became the character – amazing performance! Also loved
Both reached for the Gun, Cell Block Tango and the courtroom scene which was very funny - well done to everyone! Thoroughly enjoyable evening looking forward to next year!
seetickets.com
INSPIRING TEACHERS
Mr Iain Rayner TUTOR, TECHNICIAN AND TEACHER PAINTER AND EXHIBITER
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G R O W I N G UP I N AN E N V I R ON M E NT WHE RE P E R F O R M A N C E I S THE NORM I S A N E XC E P T I O N A L B ENE FI T FOR O U R P U P I L S. T HE CONFI D ENCE AN D SE N S E OF SEL F-WORTH THAT T H E Y L E A R N I S I NVAL UAB L E. MRS LEANNE DINSDALE
HEAD OF DRAMA,SENIOR SCHOOL
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redibly ked inc r o w e hav ows Drama two sh g n i g Junior n i , br Roald is year ormed f r e p hard th y tells he which tage. T s e n e u h J t to es in d his e Witch boy an h g T n ’s u l o h y Da rave battle s they y of a b a r o r t e s h t e o s. th witche grandm g n n a i i t g a e Norw child-h land’s g n ed E t s nchant E again e h T staged ed by er they b m e devis e l c a e t l D u f n I lour insdale be, a co anne D e L s Wardro r a, M f Dram ents. Head o el stud v e L A r and ou
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OUT AND ABOUT
Trips and workshops this year have seen expertise from the Royal Shakespeare Company for Sixth Form English and Drama students who attended a special day at Canterbury Christ Church University; Frantic Assembly – producers of The Curious
Incident of the Dog in the Night Time – returned to work on stage techniques with
exam students; and a highlight was a trip to Disneyland in Paris for Music and Drama students where they took part in a specialist workshop run by the park’s actors.
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Y E A R 6 P R O D U C T IO N a talented bunch when Year 6 proved themselves the Bongo Bandits. The they staged Ali Baba and saw every member of much-anticipated musical stage for a two-night the year group take to the . run of the musical comedy ed off to Arabia where The audience were whisk hdad was in chaos with the ancient city of Old Bag appearing princess. ruthless robbers and a dis d to save the day after Luckily Ali Baba was on han e of Wonders – discovering the hidden Cav zar Bongo and his the secret hideout of Baltha bumbling bandits.
mystical mayhem, The show was filled with nty of songs – and will colourful characters and ple ny years to come. be one to remember for ma
A B I L A
A B A
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PERFORMANCE AS A WAY OF LIFE Prep School children have enjoyed staging everything from Christmas productions to Entertainment Evenings. Blunderbus Theatre visited the Pre-Prep where they learnt the power of story-telling through drama and the children put their skills to the test with various performances of their own throughout the year. The Nursery children proved there was nothing they couldn’t conquer with a wonderful re-telling of the Christmas story. Mary and Joseph made their way beautifully to the stable surrounded by glittering angels and peaceful shepherds. The much-anticipated Harvest and spring assemblies again gave the children a chance to shine as they sang an eclectic range of songs to family and friends; and their performances were made all the more memorable as they accompanied themselves on instruments from the triangle to the tambourine.
DRAMA ACROSS THE COUNTRY A select group of performers from Years 9 and 10 had the amazing experience of working with the Royal Shakespeare Company to stage a production of Julius
Caesar at the Marlowe Theatre. Young people from eight schools across Kent came together to bring to life Shakespeare’s iconic tale of political intrigue and conspiracy. Following this, Olivia and Sam were chosen to appear in the same production at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon with young performers from all over the country. Competitors have taken part in the Kent and Hastings festivals with excellent results. Highlights from the Kent Festival include Best Junior for Louisa England and Best Senior for Amelia Pearce. And two teams from Years 10 and 11 competed in the Canterbury and East Kent area branch heat of the English Speaking Union (ESU) Public Speaking Competition where Sam Lebeaux was awarded Best Speaker and Sam Austin achieving Best Chairman.
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ch u s d a We hreat fun! g
pil l Pu o o ch pS Pre
Sport and Drama come together for Year 2 in a spectacular Dance Performance. The boys and girls stage separate dances before performing together at the end. A lot of work goes into transforming the girls into cats and the boys into sportsmen and the children clearly loved every minute of the afternoon performing to family and friends. Year 2 end their year – and their time in the Pre-Prep – with an Entertainment Afternoon where the audience are treated to musical solos, songs and a dramatic re-telling of the story of Henry VIII and the unfortunate fates of his six wives.
DANCE
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Full fixture lists for the U13Bs and U15Bs enabled us to fulfil over 100 rugby fixtures in the Michaelmas term in a season that saw the U15B and 2nd XV teams score significant victories and greatly contribute to an overall win rate of 40%. The 1st XV recorded convincing wins over King’s Rochester and Buckswood and Year 11s, such as Ieuan LadumsJones and Jack Price, made the step up to 1st team. Ieuan joined Joseph Whitby and Presley Farrance in respective County training squads. Having represented the U15 Kent Elite team from September 2016, Presley was then one of 30 boys from Kent, Hertfordshire and Sussex selected to represent the Saracens U15 academy, progressing to the U16s from May 2017.
We are extremely lucky to have links with Saracens Rugby Club which gives our students eight hours of specialist coaching every week. Their coaches have also been helping with our sports’ Gifted and Talented programme.
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Emily Brightling and Megan Fox were both called up for the England Touch Rugby Squad; a remarkable achievement as both are relatively new to this fast and exciting version of the game. It’s also been a busy year for rugby events. Six schools attended our Primary School Touch Rugby Festival on the new pitches at Great Chart with coaches including those from the England Touch Rugby team. Our senior team made the final of the England Touch Rugby Schools’ Tournament and, together with the Prep School, a group of pupils enjoyed watching the Barbarians vs South Africa at Wembley.
Prep School rugby has had a successful year with U8-U11s playing in many top class festivals.
Boys and girls enjoyed the annual U14 Holland tour which this year saw a first ever victory over Bassets Rugby Club.
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HOCKEY
Undoubtedly, the highlight of the season
The U9s and U11s have really
has to be the 1st XI’s performance in the
benefitted from the new AstroTurf
U18’s Kent Cup. Beating Eltham College on penalties in the quarterfinal, then Sutton Valence (4-3) in the semi, they played
The senior girls’ teams finished the season
exciting and attacking hockey en route
with a 40% win rate from the 73 games
to the final. Langley park were tough
played after a tough fixture list that included
opposition but our talented team came
St Lawrence College, King’s Canterbury, Kent College, Cranbrook and Sutton Valence.
out 3-2 winners and were deservedly crowned U18 Kent Cup Winners.
at the Prep School and hosted a 10team tournament to celebrate. The U11s did themselves proud at the IAPS tournament, finishing 10th out of 24 schools. Out of the 47 matches the Prep girls played this year, they won 27, drew 8 and lost 12.
Special congratulations to Hamish Roberts who has gained selection for England at U18 level and to Max Howitt, Elliot Carter, Laura Brightling and Sophie Pinney who are hot on his heels and impressing in their respective regional squads. Others are also competing at regional level and the list of County representatives is growing year on year. Currently excelling at County level are Amelia Wright, Bronwyn Hall (U13) and Ethan Broadbank who was selected for every Kent U16 match this season.
Hockey events included an inspirational talk and training session from the GB Olympic Gold medallist Alex Danson; and an elite hockey camp where top players from Years 10-13 were coached by numerous international players and coaches.
Fielding up to nine teams each Saturday, our fixture list for senior boys’ hockey exceeded 100 fixtures in the Lent term. With the new AstroTurf at the Prep School, block fixtures against King’s Canterbury, Langley Park, Kent College and Sutton Valence were added, ensuring that our most able were matched against the strongest teams in the county.
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Senior netball has seen over 140 inter-school fixtures played in the Lent term with D teams in some year groups and a 4th VII in the Sixth Form.
The U11A squad lost only one fixture all season, finishing runners-up in
A win rate of 59% is our best for many years
the plate competition of the Netball
helped in particular by the U14A team who won
London Live Schools’ Tournament.
all seven fixtures that they played. In addition
They were also 4th in their group at
to winning the District tournament, they
the IAPS tournament, 2nd in the local
demonstrated outstanding technique and game
tournament and winners of the area
awareness in a 20-5 win over King’s Rochester.
U11 tournament at Wellesley House.
Annabel Hoskins and Bronwyn Hall are key
More fantastic performances from the
players in the strongest local club, Breakaways.
younger girls with the U9s winning the
Bronwyn’s fantastic performances have seen
area tournament at Kent College and
her achieve selection for the U14 Kent Netball
the U8s remaining unbeaten all season!
Academy.
NETBALL Events have included a trip to watch Surrey Storm vs the Hertfordshire Mavericks as part of Super
League Netball; and a visit from a national league player to coach our U11 and U12 teams.
What a wonderful netball season for our Prep girls who played 56 games winning 41, drawing 4 and losing only 11. The girls have also enjoyed a number of coaching sessions with Dr Katy Dray from the University of Kent.
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The cricket season benefitted from good weather and the two new squares at Great Chart. Our win percentage was boosted by fantastic cup runs for all sides, with the U12s making the quarterfinals and the 1st XI through to the semis in their respective County Cup competitions. The 1st XI had their most successful season ever, most notably beating a strong St Edmunds 1st XI and reaching the semi-final of the County Cup. We’ve also seen some pretty
Pre-season training this year was supported by county
exceptional individual performances
cricketer and ex-international, James Tredwell, a hugely
this year which include: Shaheer
inspirational figure who has had a significant impact on
Malik’s Century vs St Edmund’s;
Definitely the Prep School’s most
the performance of individuals and teams. Well done
Joe Dale’s 93 vs Colfe’s School and
successful season, the U9 boys played
Benjamin Niewoudt’s selection
to our dedicated cricketers who also attended the
many matches against top schools,
for full County squad at U13.
the U11A team won many 20-20 matches and played for the first time on our new wickets winning against Wellesley House. They also played two 6s tournaments, climaxing in a fantastic win in the Kent College event.
winter nets programme and the morning sessions before school.
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It’s been a very exciting cricket season for our Prep girls including the hosting of our first IAPS event. The super U11A squad were unbeaten in fixtures and won Bronze medals at the APS IAPS event. Girls in Years 3-6 played 40 Kwik Cricket matches, winning 28 and losing just 12. They are hoping to progress to hard ball at the end of next season. The U9A team finished 2nd in the area tournament and the U8s were unbeaten again all season.
All this, and we are still finding time for rounders! Fielding three teams at U12 and playing full blocks against St Senior girls will soon be switching from rounders to cricket and entered the U13 and U15 Chance to Shine tournaments which the U13s won. Girls have also been enjoying special lunchtime sessions to develop core skills and Years 5-7 took part in our cricket festival which attracted County players and coaches to enthuse the girls.
Lawrence College, St Edmund’s and Sir Roger Manwood’s, we have played over 60 fixtures. All junior teams took part in Granville or District tournaments and our U14s in particular had a fantastic season. A thrilling victory over St Lawrence College helped to maintain their 100% win record.
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FOOTBALL
It was a truly fantastic season for both the
U9s and U11s with the U9s winning the King’s
Rochester tournament and the U11s stamping out the competition at the Spring Grove
tournament. The boys were also proud to reach
the semi-finals of the Leyton Orient Football Club and the Junior King’s tournaments.
In the Senior School football is played by Year 11s upwards in recreational sessions, but many of our pupils play competitively in local leagues. Year 9’s Rachel Stevens represented Kent Schools with her U14 County team winning the national final.
SKIING Despite being in the final year of his GCSEs, David Williams-Gravener has continued to excel in Slalom skiing. Crowned U16 champion at the Regional competition in October 2016, he went on to gain silver in the U16 category at
ATHLETICS the British Independent Schools Championships. Other highlights of the season include representing Great Britain at the Lowlands competition in Holland
(finishing 17th) and placing 23rd at the British Alpine Championships in Italy.
ATHLETICS
Five schools attended our U13
At the District Athletics, the majority of
competition with many athletes
our athletes gained podium finishes,
achieving personal bests and
with the following achieving gold: James
qualifying times for forthcoming
Cheshmedjiev, U12 Javelin; Bronwyn Hall,
events. Our Year 7s and 8s finished
U12 Javelin; Joshua Smith, U12 High Jump;
2nd overall.
Aaeron Lambert, U13 1500m; Eddie Estcourt, U14 Discus; Gabriel Brabham-Martin, U14 1500m; Amberley Odysseas, U15 300m. Amberley Odysseas also finished 3rd in the 1500m at the Kent Track and Field Championships and 4th in the 300m at the Kent Schools Championships. Twenty-four of our Year 5 and 6 students were also selected for the event with Myles Smith winning a bronze medal for the boys’ 100m, Luciana Francis bronze for the girls’ discus and William Smith bronze for the boys’ discus.
Also at U13, our team performed admirably at the Independent Prep Schools Championships (IAPS), with Aaeron Lambert (1500m) and Yoris Beckett (Javelin) achieving 1st place finishes and qualifying for the national finals in Birmingham.
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THE INVESTMENT IN OUR SWIMMING PROGRAMME HAS SEEN OUR PUPILS COMPETING AT PRESTIGIOUS COMPETITIONS. AT THE TONBRIDGE SCHOOL GALA OUR PUPILS ACHIEVED FOUR 1ST PLACE FINISHES AND PODIUM PLACINGS IN ALL BUT FOUR RACES, PLACING AN OVERALL 2ND.
Swimmers currently competing at County level include
A RECORD NUMBER OF OUR SWIMMERS PARTICIPATED IN THE KENT SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS AND KENT CHAMPIONSHIPS WHICH SAW SOME STUNNING RESULTS.
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Eddie Estcourt, Claudia De Vivo, Sienna Bates, Tom Wilton and James Wilton. Eddie, Claudia and Tom have progressed to Regional level. Whilst Tom is focusing more on multi-sport events, Eddie and Claudia have competed for Excel and we are delighted that Claudia has been selected for the Programme.
Kent Swimming Championships top 10: Eddie Estcourt achieved four top 10 finishes and qualified for Regionals in five events; Claudia De Vivo achieved two 6th place finishes and a 3rd, qualifying for the Regionals in 100m and 50m Butterfly where
SWIMMING she finished 4th in the 50m final; Tom Wilton achieved two top 10 finishes and qualified for Regionals in five events.
Kent Schools top 10 finishes were: Eddie
Estcourt 5th in 100m Backstroke and 9th in 100m Freestyle; Tom Wilton 6th in
100m Individual Medley and 3rd in 100m Breaststroke; Zak Jefferson-Pillai 9th in
100m Breaststroke; Olivia Jefferson-Pillai 10th in 100m Breaststroke.
Our Prep swimmers have enjoyed a course in synchronised swimming, Water Polo Club was a popular activity and swimmers of all ages have taken part in a host of training courses and masterclasses which continue throughout the school holidays.
INSPIRING TEACHERS
Mrs Mhairi Evans PENTATHLON COACH WORLD CHAMPION PENTATHLETE
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CROSS COUNTRY WE ARE PARTICULARLY SUCCESSFUL ON THE CROSS-COUNTRY FIELD WITH EVERYONE ENCOURAGED TO TAKE PART AND SOME VERY KEEN RUNNERS AMONG THEM.
Successes in the Rawlinson Run at Dulwich Prep School saw Tilly Pollard win the Year 2 girls’ race, Hannah Areeson come 2nd in the Year 3 girls’ race and Ismail Adelaja finish 3rd in the Year 3 boys’ race. All our Year 3 runners won the shield for the best Year 3 team, retaining their title from last year. As a school we finished 3rd overall, just three points off 2nd place.
The Ashford Schools’ Cross-Country at Godinton House saw three individual medals and three trophies. Ismail Adelaja (2nd), Emmanuel Anyanwu (9th) and Kai Williams (14th) won the Year 3 boys’ team event. Connie Druggan-Cherry (2nd), Hannah Areeson (3rd) and Molly Kershaw (6th) won the Year 3 girls’ event. Anne Orpin (4th), Amelie Baxter (6th) and Louisa England (15th) won the Year 4 girls’ event. Oliver Gee (4th), Rory Mayes (16th) and Xavier Curtis (24th) were the 3rd team out of 14 teams and 63 individuals. A great afternoon of running.
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It was a fantastic afternoon for our U9 girls who won the Somerhill Regional Cross-Country, beating 15 other preparatory schools. Results were: Anne Orpin 7th, Connie Druggan-Cherry 8th, Molly Kershaw 10th, Hannah Areeson 12th, Amelie Baxter 21st, Jessie Thompson 41st, Matilda Owen 42nd, Louisa Pollard 43rd and Louisa England 47th and there were 112 girls in the race. This is the first time that we’ve won this highly contested shield! The U9 boys came 9th, the U11 girls 7th and the U11 boys 11th. The Somerhill shield was the 4th won that week by the Prep pupils.
The Kent Junior Schools Cross-Country Championships saw more
Teams of senior pupils entered every
success as the children showed exceptional determination,
age group at the District Cross Country
courage and grit in the face of a very cold and wet day. Particular
Competition. In addition to three team wins
congratulations to Connie Druggan-Cherry who won the Year 3 girls’
and three individual 1st places, 27 of our 31
race and became the Kent Junior School Cross Country Champion.
runners qualified for the Kent Schools finals.
Molly Kershaw finished 2nd and Hannah Areeson 3rd in the same race out of 133 girls which also guaranteed that the three girls won the team event. Ismail Adelaja (4th), Emmanuel Anyanwu (15th) and Kai Williams (45th) won silver medals for achieving the 2nd team in the Year 4 boys’ race. Ruby Oliver (4th), Anne Orpin (5th) and Amelie Baxter (14th) were also presented with silver medals for achieving the 2nd team in the Year 4 girls’ race. Oliver Gee also achieved a top 10 placing in the Year 4 boys’ race by finishing in 6th place and Jess Wilton finished 8th in the Year 6 girls’ race. Other exceptional performances were from Joe Lunn and Edward Thompson who finished 11th and 16th (respectively) out of 198 in the Year 5 boys’ race.
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, N O L H B I AT H L O N P E N TAT I - S P O R T S & M U LT
n d has see pupils an r u o r fo ence, lar choice Mhairi Sp and popu including growing a s, e is ch e a entered n li p ur pupils the best co This disci mber of o securing u n in t rd n e co m est s, with 16 lete. A re much inv n Pentath mpionship a io h p C m n a r in h lo C orld Novembe nal Biath former W ern Regio be held in th u to s So ip 14 d n sh East a tition and Champion the South m compe a Biathlon te l sh a ti n ri B io l that a the reg for the re hopefu qualifying finishes in s) we we ce e podium la re p th st rware. 1 h it g three with silve Solihull. W s (includin m Solihull ce o la fr p l rn a 0 boys; u tu re divid , 15th U1 ils would top 10 in i Adeosun b hool pup To Sc : d rd e d fo f Ash a Bates, ghts inclu number o oys; Sienn d - highli 6th U11 b appointe 2 is d t, t it been o v n Le abriel has We were oys; Ollie 14 boys (G U 9th U10 b 1 , th y 4 a 1 U14 boys; , w d o in bert, 32n am-Mart Theo Holl h m b La ra n B l ro e e ri ton mme); Aa girls; Gab d Jess Wil nt Progra 13th U12 e Vivo an d glish Tale ia En d e u la th to Bates, C invited on ys. Sienna st U16 bo 1 , n to petition. il Tom W team com ls ir g 2 1 U rd in the finished 3
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Tom and James Wilton are both on the Pentathlon GB Talent Pathway and James is on TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme). James finished 3rd and Tom 18th out of the 43 athletes when representing GB in the U17 boys European Triathlon Championships.
The Schools Modern Biathlon Championships saw Tom Wilton take a 2nd place in the U16B team with his brother James coming 3rd in the U17B. At the British Modern Tetrathlon Championships James was 1st in the U19B, Tom 3rd in the U17B and Jess Wilton 6th in the U13G.
The Surrey Modern Triathlon event saw Jude Odysseas take
At the South East Regional Triathlon Amberley
1st place in the U11B. In the U13B Ollie Levitt was 4th, Ellis
Odysseas was 3rd in the U17G and at the National
Spedding 8th, Monty Charman 10th and Connor Schneider
Pony Club Triathlon Sienna Bates took 1st place in
Smith 13th. In the U13G Gemma Pocknell took 3rd place.
all four qualifiers.
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SPORTS DAY From egg and spoon races for our very youngest to track running events for our older pupils, sports days are a popular and competitive fixture for our Houses. This year saw Nightingale House win the Pre-Prep event with Mountbatten taking the trophy at the Prep (Years 3-6) Sports Day. Yeomen House were crowned winners at the Senior School Sports Day.
A S H F O RADS H S CF H OO RD O LS CMHAOGOALZ IM NAE G2A0Z1I6N E• 2 0 1 76 • 2 0 1 7
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TEACHER INTERVIEW
RICHARD YEATES PREP HEAD 2001-2017 The end of the Trinity term was an emotional time for the Prep School as we said goodbye to our long-standing Head, Richard Yeates. He joined Ashford School in 2000, becoming Head of Ashford Junior School in 2001. In 2005 he oversaw the successful merger of Ashford Junior with Friars Prep School. Why did you want to go into teaching?
What do you look for in a teacher and how
It was a great outlet for my passions: music, sport, drama, leadership and marketing.
do you think this impacts on the children?
What do you see as your biggest achievement, both personally and as part of your career?
Personally, winning a place at the Royal College of Music and at school, leading a successful merger and helping to develop several people to achieve senior posts or headships. What is special about Ashford School – what gives you job satisfaction?
It is a great combination of relaxed but purposeful – there is a terrific welcome in the Prep School and I am proud of having led a school which offers such a fantastic set of opportunities for all children, whatever their characters, interests or aptitudes. I did not enjoy most of my school life because the school did not seem to value my particular interests and talents Ashford tries hard to recognise all contributions and value all types of children and adults.
Enthusiasm, willingness to learn and improve, inspiring those around them, commitment, desire to get under the skin of children/find out what makes them tick – all these attributes are vitally important. I could list numerous examples of how some quite challenging, unhappy or complex children have been ‘saved’ by members of staff who have gone the extra mile to understand a child and subsequently that has enabled them to blossom. What was your most difficult time and how was it solved?
Working to bring the necessary change to Ashford School in the first years when I joined was a challenging time but we came through it, convincing people that positive change is a good thing. What does leadership mean to you?
Bringing out the best for everyone and inspiring people to change things for the better; building others so they are self-sufficient and that the combined teamwork is greater than the sum of the parts.
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What are your interests and hobbies?
I love playing golf when I’m hitting it straight, musicals, cricket, cryptic crosswords, walking, good food and wine, lovely hotels, travelling to warm climes, time with my wife and family. How would you like to see Ashford School / the Prep School if you were to return in five years’ time?
Outstanding cricket for girls and boys, distinguished successes in singing, instrumental music, full in all years and having influenced other schools in the group to shine in similar ways. Continued excellence in areas like swimming and the co-curricular opportunities and a staff that just loves what they do and sees the fruits of their labours. Are you happy with how you are leaving the school?
Yes! Everyone has been very kind and although I know some are glad to see the back of me, others have at least pretended to be grateful for the small achievements I have made! However, I know that already no-one is missing me and the school is going forward quicker without me because it needed fresh eyes and legs! I have the good fortune of having lots of reasons for coming back, including still working for United Learning as Regional Director.
Richard and Sue Yeates
The portrait of Richard Yeates, commissioned on his retirement and painted by former pupil Beka Smith, now hanging in the Prep School foyer.
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FROM CUSHIONS TO TOYS AND 3D PRINTING, IT’S BEEN A BUSY YEAR IN THE PREP AND SENIOR DESIGN TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENTS. Year 5 emulated the style of William Morris when they crafted appliqué cushions; they created some outstanding Christmas cakes which were beautifully decorated; and – a highlight of the year – they designed and made toys including traditional Victorian pecking birds and automata animal toys. A trip to the Senior School saw
Year 6 came up with
Year 5 take part in the annual
some very groovy tie dye
DT Challenge Day where they
t-shirts and learnt how to
engraved their own bracelets
use the sewing machines
and tried their hand at vacuum
to make drawstring bags.
We h great ad such fun!
forming.
Pre p Sc hoo l Pu pil
The younger years were the beneficiaries of some very clever popup books made by Year 4 when they were read the collection of stories; and Year 3 took advantage of the wind to test their kites which they had worked so hard on designing and making in their DT lessons. DT Club has been busy making Meanwhile, Spitfire planes roared overhead during the Lent term as Year 6 designed a new version of the iconic plane. Battle of Britain spirit showed in the classroom as saws, drills and soldering irons were among the tools used to create some very interesting designs.
torches, sailing boats and taking up many challenges which have included the spaghetti bridge challenge, the mystery bag challenge and the egg drop challenge. Many great and ingenious ideas have been designed and constructed throughout their lessons.
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DESIGNING THE FUTURE Many homes will now be benefiting from the very latest in electronic design fashion thanks to the efforts of Years 7, 8 and 9. This year has seen some inventive flashing LED-based decoration, audio amplifiers and concrete-inspired desk lamps. A beautiful range of pewter jewellery has also been crafted, as well as clocks, flower holders and headphone wraps, thanks to computer aided design and manufacture.
CHALLENGING CONSTRUCTIONS How do you build a metre high tower from just seven sheets of A4 paper? That was the highest structure built on the annual Year 9 STEM day where Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths skills were all called upon. Students had three challenges to complete: to build a paper tower to support 100g; to design and build a bridge; and to design and build a road train to carry 600g and move across the bridge. The end of the day was testing time and all the bridges supported their intended load! However, not all the road trains moved unaided‌
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Creat freedoivity is m.
Pre p Sc hoo l Te ach er
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM FROM CAR PLANTS TO MUSEUMS, FROM ENGLAND TO EUROPE, PUPILS HAVE BEEN TAKING THEIR LEARNING FAR BEYOND THE CLASSROOM. It was the Jaguar and Morgan car plants for Years 10 and 13 DT students where they toured the production lines from beginning to end.
Year 10 artists were intrigued by their visit to the British Museum to draw the cultural artefacts they had been researching as part of their Lost Worlds project; while Years 11, 12 and 13 were lucky enough to go to Madrid. The Prado gallery was a particular favourite with students who were spellbound by Goya and Velasquez.
A major exhibition of sculpture, installation and tapestry from the early 20th century to the present day was the focus of a trip for Year 5 to the wonderful Turner Contemporary in Margate. They also saw how the artist Kashif Nadim Chaudry uses elaborate textile techniques to create sculptures and installations that explore themes of identity, religion and cultural heritage.
At the Dover Museum Year 6 were treated to a workshop on life on the home front in World War 2 – and they also got to make a clay ration book.
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ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Senior artists have had a proper insight into what it means to be an artist as they have worked with our first fully resident artist this year. Lina Ivanova, an artist originally from Bulgaria, has worked alongside our pupils running specialised photography workshops, tutorials and activities. She also guided the students in how to set up exhibitions of their own work in Ashford town centre and exhibited her own award-winning photography alongside the work of the pupils.
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HELPING YOUNGER PUPILS Our Sixth Form Art scholars have been running a popular after-school activity to inspire lower years in their class projects and to provide tips on sketchbook layout, artist knowledge and to discuss creative ideas. And Year 4 received a private tour of the A Level and GCSE Art Exhibition where they could ask questions and discuss their views on the varied and inspirational work on display.
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STYLES THROUGH THE AGES We’re all familiar with the works of the painter LS Lowry, but Year 3 have been taking a different approach to studying his paintings. They’ve used them as a base for learning about different colours, lines and shapes and, as well as finding out more about the artist himself, they’ve learnt to recreate his style.
Year 4 have taken a cultural and historical tour through Tudor art, Abstract Expressionism with Jackson Pollock, and New Mexico with Georgia O’Keeffe. Highlights for Year 5 have included Canadian Aboriginal art and the chance to produce a self-portrait – you may have seen these displayed proudly in reception. Year 6 have had a lot of fun exploring graffiti and discussing whether it is actually an art form, before moving on to making Venetian or Mexican masks.
WINNERS – AGAIN! Ashford School students picked up prizes yet again in the Ashford Photographic Society Inter-Schools Print Competition. Particular well done to Thomas Lawrence (2nd, Photo Journalism), James Mounteney (1st, Pictorial), K-Leigh Hargreaves (1st, Landscape; 2nd, Natural History; and 3rd, Photo Journalism) and Kin Yu Benjamin Liew (3rd, Pictorial).
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SKILLS FOR LIFE In the Prep School Home Economics department delicious delights were created by the children. The first Year 6 Great Biscuit Bake Off saw some fabulous creations whipped up for the lucky panel of judges to taste and admire when the children
The Gingerbread House
worked in groups to design and make their own biscuit recipes.
Challenge saw an array of magical designs as chimneys, sheds and beautiful gardens were created along with some beautiful handmade sugar paste figures.
Senior School Food Studies lessons and clubs have seen a range of tantalisingly tasty sweet and savoury dishes created. Think quesadillas, pies, pasta, sweet and sour chicken, edible cookie dough, milkshakes and fudge.
Baking skills were put to the test when Year 6 held a poppy brooch and ANZAC biscuit sale for the Royal British Legion. The children spent many hours sewing and baking and raised a recordbreaking £1001.16.
Garden Club have grown lots of superb
Special congratulations to those
produce in the Home Economics Garden
Year 7s and 8s who took part in
which have included strawberries,
the Sainsbury’s Active Kids Get
lettuce, beetroot, cabbages and potatoes.
Cooking award where they learnt
They have even grown some wheat
all about healthy eating, how to
which they plan on harvesting, grinding
adapt recipes and of course how
into flour and making into bread.
to create them.
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C I S U
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LEARN ROUS
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ONGS, S H T I SERY W R U NS. AS N O I T N I A R S ONST TER BEGIN N M C E U I S D O C U D N OF M OPS AN HOOL THEY E H S K A LOVE R SICAL O C U S W M E T H R N I T ME P THE OUGH O R L E H INSTRU T V E S IRED. D S P E S O R T N G I S O E PR P THEM TUNITI E R E PUPILS O K P E P NY O HOW W T U SO MA O . FIND TASTES
MUS
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SIC INSPIRING TEACHERS
Miss Charlotte King
SINGING TEACHER OPERA SINGER, BUSINESSWOMAN, CHEF
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Prep School musicians have taken their trumpets to space, their violins down the River Danube, and their voices to South Africa as they have travelled the musical globe. With three major concerts a term, we’ve been treated to
Jupiter from Holst’s Planets Suite from the String Ensemble, the orchestra playing Strauss’s Blue
Danube and a range of songs from the British Isles to South Africa from Senior Choir.
Guitar Ensemble performed a selection of carols at Christmas including the beautiful Tyrolean
Cradle Song and highlights from Recorder Consort were performances of Handel and Purcell. The Prep Music department also supports the school’s services in Great Chart Parish Church and at the Christmas Carol Service we heard individual carols from each Prep School year group. The popular Friday morning Sparktacular continues to be an excellent informal platform for children to gain confidence in performing and family and friends have enjoyed Entertainment Evenings from the older year We’ve heard from many
groups as well as cheerful songs from our
soloists this year who have
younger children.
played confidently and courageously to audiences on instruments from violin and viola to guitar, trumpet and drums.
Nursery’s Harvest and Easter assemblies are very much anticipated by staff and parents as they always include cheerful renditions of popular songs as well as performances on the cymbals, tambourine and triangle.
I overc my ne ame rves!
Pre p Sc hoo l Pu pil
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CREATIVE WITH IDEAS We were lucky enough to host United Learning’s Arts Festival where we welcomed UL schools from across the south to a special day of music-making. Students explored different styles, from African drums to a special street dance workshop from Britain’s Got Talent 2008 winner George Sampson. The day culminated with a sparkling performance in Ashford’s St Mary’s Church.
MUSIC EVERYWHERE Our musicians take part in many events both in and out of school, from trips to massed choirs, from church services to providing background music. Highlights saw our singers joining a United Learning choir at the Olympic Stadium to sing at the opening of the England – Australia rugby league match, which unfortunately England lost! There was a Music and Drama trip to EuroDisney; a poignant trumpet solo from Sam Loader at the Remembrance Day service; a visit to the Marlowe Theatre to see Mozart’s Don Giovanni; and a special lunchtime concert by the Chamber Choir in Canterbury Cathedral.
OUTSTANDING MUSICAL SUCCESS In a year that saw him become an Associate of the Royal College of Organists, School Captain James Short has taken up his place as an Oxbridge organ scholar after achieving A*, A*, A at A Level. Earlier in the year he won the Paul Neville Shield at the Marlowe Young Musician of the Year competition where he was one of six finalists along with Jervis Wei. This summer he was named a finalist in the Northern Ireland International Organist competition, where he was up against music college students from across Europe. Similarly, Govind Dhiman takes up a scholarship at London’s Trinity College of Music to study piano. We wish them both much success.
James with his teacher, Stephen Dandridge, after winning the Paul Neville Shield
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SENIOR CONCERTS In the Senior School, Christmas, Lent and summer concerts have continued to be a popular and important platform for soloists and ensembles. Some have made their debut and others have marked their final performances.
At the Lent concert, Hana Davis delighted the audience with a beautifully sensitive performance of Vivaldi’s Concerto V for
Recorder and Strings; while the second half saw a wonderfully vibrant performance of the St Nicholas Mass by Haydn. Adult singers from Lees Court Music joined our Chamber Choir to sing with an invited adult orchestra; a wonderful opportunity for our musicians to work alongside experienced professionals.
We’ve heard an eclectic range of music from our various ensembles, including Wind Band, Orchestra, String Group, Junior Singers and Elastic Band, to name but a few. The whole of Year 7 should be congratulated for their performance at the Christmas concert and the standard of the soloists – including James Short, Govind Dhiman and Claire Li – at the summer concert was remarkable.
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T H E R A N G E AND CHOI CE O F M U S I C A L ACTI VI TI E S A C R OS S THE S CHOOL M E A N S T H AT EVE RY CHI L D C A N G E T I NVOLVED. I T ’ S A V I BR A N T A ND B UZZI NG M U SI C A L COMMUNI TY. MR BARN VAFIDIS HEAD OF MUSIC, PREP
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G N I D R
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SIER AS U B D SIER AN U KEND B E E G N W I F T ME O RE GET M A A S R FF AND R G A E T O D S R R P H A ACKED BY BOT HOBBIES. P OUR BO D A E L N S AKE O AND TIVITIE S C T S A E L THEY T R O E AR INT R-SCHO L E U T C F I A T AND TH PAR I W S R E BOARD
BOAR
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RDING
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INTERNATIONAL INSPIRATION From movie nights and pool and basketball competitions to Hallowe’en parties, go-karting, gliding and paintballing there has been so much to explore. Our boarders live in four Houses – Alfred, Brabourne, ASIC and Brooke & Refuge – and are looked after by a House Parent and a team of live-in staff. Every year students take on roles of responsibility from Boarding Captain to being a member of the House Council. This year they have voted to buy new items for their Houses and organised joint parties and gaming evenings. New this year has been the introduction of the boarders’ Year 13 drinks receptions which have been very well attended and give students the opportunity to learn formal social skills.
Take a look at the report by ASIC House Parent, Mr Luke Kadinopoulos, to find out a little more about life behind the scenes…
at arding life o b to in s e selv d threw them hts include ts g li n e h d ig H tu s . s 2 lt r1 resu d her Our 20 Yea e excellent m o s h it l Chicago an a w l ic s o u o h m c l S o ent, scho Ashford ing instrum ance in the tr s m r e s fo r e e in p h ’s C ix of eng, a Caroline ur usual m o of the Guzh s g a ll in y e la w p s l tions a beautifu val celebra ti s e F g hts. in r p for our S s games nig u o ing c u a r d n ccess, help ps a u -u s k t o a o e c r g e g a hu been ions ouncil has C e s u aking decis o m H d d e n a m r e s fo u e Ho photo Our newly first House unning of th r r u y o a d -d e o g -t a y y man with the da room into a hey expertl T n . o ll a m f m o o t c fi e ed the for the ben t together a Rayner turn u r p ) M y r r to ta e tu r l sec nis shoot when k (our socia e table-ten ic th N g . in io d d lu tu c s al on by nts, in profession etition – w -House eve r p te m o in c b y r r e e k p su ry’ e coo number of day secreta -competitiv th r ir e p ‘b u r s u a o s d a t an e my w tournamen control of th Archer. Jere k d o n a to y a n m ti e s r , Je ay. Ju aptain ASIC’s Mike ’s special d e n o y n by House C a d d e te s a is tr s m e r h s orc and neve le thing wa o h w e th d budget an n ike. lant our ow -Captain M e p ic to V n d n la a p Kitty lt ether a a. The resu ncil put tog in u h o C c e in th y , a ting D g term e the al Tree Plan In the sprin n o ti a ill just abov h N e h it th w n e o id n c nds be see tree to coin g cherry to ing their ha tt in e r g e w ts o n fl e l d and ur stu is a beautifu ASIC House us to see o f o ll o e y v r r a to is m h s a the e House. It w wn legacy to dition to th o d a ir t e s th te g la in e dd e th dirty and a also becam munity of e m e o c tr a is , h d T r a l. oo l Orch Ashford Sch he council’s tion’s Virtua T . ia K c o U s e s A th l s o cho acros st Boarding S ing schools d r a o e second la b f th o n s o d e ld r e e d h n many hu ams and th barbecue, x e c f ti s o ta d n n e fa e was a ate th swansong m to celebr r te y it in r T f the ar. weekend o morable ye e m a f o n culminatio
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Ashford School, East Hill, Ashford, Kent TN24 8PB Admissions: +44 (0) 1233 739030 Ashford Prep School, Great Chart, Ashford, Kent TN23 3DJ Admissions: +44 (0) 1233 620493
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