School Review 2020 by AshfordSchool

SCHOOL REVIEW

2020

Foreword................................................. 3 School Statistics..................................... 4 Nurseries................................................. 6 Bridge Nursery................................. 6 The Stables Nursery......................... 6 Prep School............................................. 7 Prep School Nursery........................ 7 Reception.......................................... 8 Year 1................................................. 8 Year 2................................................. 9 Year 3................................................. 9 Year 4................................................ 10 Year 5................................................ 10 Year 6................................................ 11 Sports................................................ 12 Senior School......................................... 13 Humanities...................................... 13 Mathematics................................... 16 Science............................................. 17 English.............................................. 18 Languages....................................... 19 Creative & Performing Arts........... 20 Sports............................................... 22 House Reviews...................................... 26 Boarding House Reviews..................... 28 Leavers Destinations........................... 30 Exam Results......................................... 31

I feel extremely proud as I write the foreword of this year’s School Review, because this academic year has been one like no other before it. We, as a School, have been stretched and pushed in ways for which we could not have known to plan. I know that despite the difficulties we have encountered, we will come out of this stronger than ever and our children will thrive. The year started off extremely promisingly with the opening of our new Stables Nursery, our pupil numbers being the highest they have been in the history of the School, with our exam year groups on the right trajectory to do extremely well and with exciting new plans for a Sixth Form Centre. While we have always held technology high on our agenda as an innovative and forward thinking School, we did not realise back in the Michaelmas term just how useful the investment in technology and staff training would be until the announcement by the UK Government that on 20 March schools in the UK were to close, due to the pandemic Covid-19. In the two weeks leading up to 20 March, our international pupils flew back to their home countries and we rallied and planned the launch of our Online Learning Platform. Although we had the technology and ability to do this, the reality of delivering lessons to over 850 children, in 31 countries, by teachers who themselves potentially would be home-schooling, shielding or isolating was a huge task! Government guidelines were changing daily, and we certainly learnt the true meaning of the words “scenario planning”! Despite these challenges, this academic year has been phenomenal and when you flick through the pages of this book and read about the exciting and inspiring learning journeys that your children have been on, you will agree that we should all feel immensely proud of what our children, teachers and staff have achieved. Our School relies heavily on our community of pupils, teachers, staff, parents, governors, alumni and local partners and I would like to thank you for the support and kindness you have shown over the last few months.

Mr Mike Hall, Headmaster

Bridge Nursery has had a wonderful year with over 105 children from 3 months to 3 years exploring and developing lifelong curiosity and confidence through play and adventure. Whether they are planting seeds in the garden, dressing up, making sandcastles or listening to stories, the children have enjoyed the safe and tranquil environment of the Nursery. Calm hubs were introduced to all the rooms along with yoga and mindfulness sessions for all our very young children. We aim to show them that in this very busy world we need to sometimes stop to breathe and take in our surroundings. Children have also been encouraged to be leaders of their own learning using the curiosity approach to inspire awe and wonder, which has created a thinking and doing environment which leads the children to be motivated learners.

We are delighted to have opened our brand-new nursery, The Stables, in September 2019 on our Great Chart site, adjacent to Ashford Prep School. We have over forty babies from 3 months to 3 years now enjoying our purpose-built, modern and homely nursery. The Babies have enjoyed engaging in a wide variety of fun activities both in the Nursery and around the 40 acres of grounds here at the Prep School enabling them to develop key skills to promote learning, curiosity and wonder. We look forward to seeing them grow these skills as they move through the School. Head of Stables, Kelly McBeath, and her team look after the children as part of a big family in a “home from home” environment. Whether they are singing, mark making, exploring the School grounds or enjoying music and role play, there is always lots of smiles and giggling from all!

This year, the Nursery has continued to provide exciting learning opportunities and adventures for all the children. Ball Skills, P.E., Cooking Lessons and Story Time in the Library have continued to be favourite activities with the Nursery, allowing the children to engage in different skills and experiences within the Prep School environment. The Prep School Nursery has also explored many topics over the three terms from Animals to books and poems. The children have enjoyed working together to write and illustrate their own books which have been placed outside the Nursery for the rest of School to read.

Reception started the year with the topic ‘This is Me’. The pupils had opportunities to share information about themselves, learn about others and explore differences. We finished the Michaelmas Term with a wonderful Nativity performance to our parents and families. The Lent term began with a visiting TRex to kick start our dinosaur topic. The children dug for fossils, identified bones and were able to become palaeontologists by carrying out research, building dinosaur models and recording their own dinosaur documentaries! Learning remotely in the Trinity term did not stop the Reception children being enthused by our ‘Around the World' topic. The children travelled across the globe visiting famous landmarks, exploring environments and even trying some edible delicacies. Our welcome return to class saw our pupils display their love for nature. We created a ‘mini’ topic centred on insects and spent the week exploring our creepy crawly friends outside. The children showed great care and consideration for the smallest members of our community, culminating in building micro habitats within our grounds.

Year 1 pupils began the year with a tremendous trip to Port Lympne Safari Park as part of their Science unit ‘Animals Including Humans’, where they were guided by an expert ranger who told them fascinating animal facts. The year has also seen our pupils engage in their exciting Space topic. This included a delicious workshop where they used a selection of foods to create a Solar System! In addition to this our Year 1s stepped inside a giant planetarium and experienced a trip to the stars. Another highlight for the year was during Friday Factor when our children sang a French Rhyme with real gusto. There have been lots of fun projects going on throughout this year and all our children have unlocked and expanded their creative talents.

Year 3 have had a fantastic year in the Prep School and through the different clubs, activities, topics and representing the School in sports fixtures have found inspiration and continued to nurture and develop their individual talents and skills.

Year 2 have had a very successful year which started witch their wonderful trip to Leeds Castle. Whilst there, the whole year performed in a drama production of The Swan Princess. This was later followed by an interactive workshop about Samuel Pepys and his historic diary. Our children have also enjoyed talks from our Nurse and a vet from the local wildlife park. Twelve Year 2 children competed in the Dulwich cross-country and went on to win the boys’ cup. The children are inspiring as some have independently created charity events to help others and endangered animals. Our House Captains and children have also used their enthusiasm to create charity events for their Houses and complete a number of challenges.

This academic year, children have been inspired by a Science 'Rock workshop' creating volcanic eruptions and dressing up and immersing themselves in a 'Roman Day', all to complement and broaden their learning in curriculum topics. Impressively this year, the children have also collectively read over seventeen million words, which equates to an average of fifty-three books per child and individually there are three millionaires and two double millionaires in the year group: a fantastic reading achievement by all! Our children also experienced success across several sporting fixtures. Notably in cross-country, the Year 3 team won the competitions at the Spring Grove cross-country, our own Ashford Prep School cross-country and at the huge Kent County Junior Schools crosscountry at Brands Hatch, as well as having many individual medallists.

Year 4 have enjoyed a very successful year with so many opportunities to extend their learning and take part in sports and music events, as well as opportunities to thrive and shine on an individual basis. This academic year, children have been inspired by History workshops and plays and have been visited by the head vet of Howletts and Port Lympne animal parks (and her tortoise!) to compliment and broaden their curriculum topics. Throughout the year all our children have taken part in a huge number of sports fixtures with some also representing the School in swimming galas and cross-country events. Some members of Year 4 also represented the School singing carols at The Wealden Christmas Fair and at the Senior School’s Carols by Candlelight. The highlight of the year, however, was most definitely the Year 4 Entertainment Evening, which included a production of The Lion King. All children danced, sang and had an acting role – an outstanding performance which highlighted the children’s many talents.

Year 5 have, as always, had a busy year. Within days of starting back in September they were deployed on a 3day bush craft trip. To a child, they embraced the challenges of outdoor life, constructing and sleeping in their own shelters, learning survival skills and even eating the odd fisheye. This trip set the pace for the remainder of the year with highlights including Victorian and Egyptian days, an amazing entertainment evening and the class assemblies. There was also a wealth of sporting achievements, including David and Bertie being part of the boys’ team that qualified for the IAPS hockey finals. Tilly, Evie and Caitlin were a part of the girls’ team that qualified for the IAPS finals in netball, with Tilly also reaching the finals for hockey. Both Katie and Caitlin were selected for the Kent County Cricket team and Yuvraj has been selected for the Southern Spartans. Ava qualified for the Kent cross-country team after winning her under 10 qualification race. Finally, in swimming, Tilly and Ava both qualified for the national swimming finals.

This has been a particularly jam-packed year for our Year 6 children. The start of the year saw most children complete Bikeability levels 1 and 2 and encouraged some of the Year 6 children to subsequently ride to School (in a safe and road-aware manner!). In October, the children had the amazing opportunity to visit Parliament for a campaigning workshop and a tour of the buildings. Despite the added excitement of Brexit and Extinction Rebellion, the children showed the adults how to behave and were an example to the School. Year 6 have also enjoyed a successful sporting year: 2019 IAPS gold medallists in girls’ cricket; 2020 IAPS finalists for netball; IAPS finalists for both girls' and boys’ hockey finishing second in the country. In addition, three of our Year 6 boys were selected to represent the South East of England Pumas in the Gothia World Youth Cup tournament. A special mention also to our under 11s rugby team who had an outstanding 100 percent winning season.

As a part of our extra-curricular activities, a handful of children started to visit their local BUPA care home, building up links with our local community and putting into practice their compassion, sensitivity and understanding around patients with dementia. The Michaelmas Term also saw our Head Boy and Girl, assisted by the Deputy Heads, embark on a fundraising project as a part of the United Learning Leadership Programme. Their combined efforts raised a total of £1206.00 for Tree Aid. The end of the year saw most of the children return to School eagerly to be reunited with their friends after online home schooling. We have had a very busy and unusual end to Year 6, spending our last weeks participating in a LOC (Learning Outside the Classroom) day full of activities based outside the classroom, a Sixties day dressed in Sixties costumes and participating in many different activities based on the 1960s, quizzes and competitions, prize-giving and some emotional goodbyes.

We have had the most impressive achievements in sport this year. 2019 IAPS gold medalists in girls cricket. 2020 IAPS National finalists for girls netball and boys hockey finals and IAPS National finalists for girls who then finished 2nd in the country at the finals.Â Four of our Year 5 and 6 pupils, Tilly P, Ava C, Chloe & Kai, qualified for the National Swimming Finals which means all four of them finished in the top 20 on the national ranking list after their regional time trials. Year 5 pupil, Ava C, won the Kent Schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Regional Cross Country Competition and three of our Year 6 girls (Connie, Hannah A and Molly) won the Year 6 girls Team competition. From this Competition, Ava C and Connie qualified individually for the National Cross Country Competition. The Under 11/10 girls Cross Country teams won the competitions at Claremont, Godinton and Spring Grove.

Our Year 3 girls won the team Cross Country at the Kent Schools competition and our Year 3 boys and girls, Year 4 boys and girls and Year 5 and 6 girls all won team competitions at Spring Grove. The Year 3-6 Swimming Teams won all of their swimming galas versus Sutton Valence, The Schools at Somerhill and Kings, Rochester. Both our Year 5 and 6 girls won their regional hockey tournaments at APS and at Sutton Valence respectively. The Under 9 boys won both their football and hockey tournaments and our under 11 boys won their regional football tournament. All the boys had fantastic rugby seasons with many teams being unbeaten. The Under 11 girls won their regional netball tournament at Wellesley House.

Before lockdown, the Humanities subjects provided a rich variety of extracurricular opportunities for pupils this year. To take a few examples, the History department organised a trip to the Imperial War Museum for Year 11 pupils to take part in a Holocaust forum and to visit the exhibition on that subject; Year 12 Politics pupils went to Canterbury to take part in the all-night General Election ballot count; Year 12 Religion, Philosophy and Ethics pupils went to a conference in London delivered by Peter Vardy. His lectures are interactive and entertaining and are always enjoyed by the pupils. Year 13 Psychology pupils visited the Welcome Collection to see “Smoke and Mirrors”, an exhibition on the history and psychology of magic and the supernatural, followed by a muchrequested trip to the Freud museum.

We also hosted a number of extracurricular events in School, for example a hustings in December with all parties on the Pupils also enjoyed a trip to London to hear talks on the Psychology of Magic by ballot paper represented on the stage in Brake Hall and pupils from three other Oliver Meech and were able to observe local Schools in the audience, which was a fellow pupils being hypnotised during a fun and informative event. We have also lecture on hypnotherapy by Andrew continued to organise Humanities Twilight Newton. evenings in which pre-reading on a topic is discussed in an informal seminar setting. In Unfortunately, Year 12s had their Dr November we ran a lunchtime forum on Zimbardo conference cancelled due to the changing relationship between the UK lockdown but thanks to the remarkable and the EU, hosted by Mr Kendall, which efforts of the organiser, every lecture was recorded and made available online was very well-attended by Sixth Formers and staff alike. for the pupils to enjoy.

Year 12 Economics and Business pupils set up and ran their Young Enterprise company, Euphoria, which developed two products, natural candles and environmental T-shirts, the former of which sold extremely well within the School community. Further down the School, the new History and Archaeology after School club saw Year 7 pupils building their own motte and bailey castles from scratch. Usually, we would take them to Canterbury to learn about medieval towns and pilgrimage; this year the tour was virtual, but the pupils still embraced the project and produced some excellent presentations.

In our new course, Global Perspectives, Year 10 pupils have undertaken three team projects this year, among which have been a tea-tasting workshop showcasing teas from around the world, some international food stands on the theme of Culture and Celebration, and the creation of a board game to raise awareness of the Syrian migrant crisis. Despite the unusual way the year has unfolded, the Humanities faculty has sought opportunity from crisis and has embraced Microsoft Teams to deliver the curriculum to schedule across all year groups. I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the Humanities team for their tireless dedication to their pupils and their subjects which has made this possible.

Outstanding work has been produced by pupils across the year groups. Two Year 8 examples stand out: a Geography project on Biomes in which pupils produced desk-sized ecosystems evidencing flora and fauna within a climatic zone, and a Religious Studies project in which the pupils learned about impermanence in Tibetan Buddhism by creating their own mandala pattern. Once finished, the beautiful design was then destroyed to reflect Buddhist thinking on transience. In History, battles have been re-enacted with Year 7 and Year 9, and during their study of the History of Medicine, Year 10 pupils had to perform emergency surgery to remove a bullet (a Tic-Tac) from an injured soldier (an orange). We have also tackled issues of race and ethnicity in various forms, ranging from a whole-class debate on the positives and negatives of the British Empire, to projects on the Civil Rights Movement.

In November, the inaugural Maths Week England was celebrated, with competitions, puzzles, prizes and games. Pupils entered the daily puzzles and challenged the Maths staff in games of reasoning and speed. This year also saw the creation of Maths Academy, in which Year 12 pupils helped to plan and deliver extension sessions to local Primary School pupils. In December, Year 3 pupils from the Prep School visited the Senior School for a morning of fun Maths activities, with staff helping Sixth Form pupils to deliver the sessions. The Maths Journals continue to be a success, with pupils researching creative ways of explaining Mathematics. Topics range from decimals and data in Year 7 to fractals and advanced integration techniques in Year 13. Pupils represented the School in the UKMT Team challenges. Ashford School hosted the regional round of the Junior Team competition and our Senior Team came second in the regional round, just missing out on qualification for the National Final. Pupils of all ages took part in the individual UKMT challenges, with some fantastic results.

As the year draws to an end under these usual circumstances, the departments in Science have seen yet another outstandingly successful year. This year we have seen our Biology pupils complete the Biology Olympiad and achieve Gold, Silver and Bronze CREST awards. We have also seen EPQs in the field of biodiversity and conservation in South Africa, which have been outstanding. Our GCSE class were aiming for very high levels, alongside our A Level classes.

Year 12 Physicists enjoyed the annual trip to Geneva to visit CERN’s Large Hadron Collider where they also had the opportunity to build cloud chamber particle detectors in a workshop with CERN Physicists. Year 13 Physics pupils went on the annual trip to Iceland in search of the Aurora Borealis and to experience renewable energy at its purest. The Physics department extended its mentor scheme to top Year 9 pupils who were awarded Physics mentor badges in recognition of their excellent contribution in Physics.

For Chemistry the main event was the UK Chemistry Olympiad. This is the leading Chemistry competition for pupils in secondary education across the British Isles. This enriching experience is a unique opportunity for our pupils to push themselves further and excel in the Chemistry field. It was an opportunity to develop critical problemsolving skills, learn to think more creatively and get a chance to test their knowledge in new, real-world situations. Special mentions to Sicong (Gold), Angela (Silver), Katherine (Silver), Katrina (Bronze) and Gabriela (Bronze).

In Computer Science, pupils took part in UK Bebras. This is an international computational thinking competition with participants in forty different countries worldwide. This year, nearly a quarter of a million pupils took part in the UK alone. All pupils from KS3 and the Computer Science pupils in KS4 and KS5 took part this year. Entrants are challenged to answer a series of problem-solving questions in a set time limit. Fifty-six pupils from Ashford School received the highest award. Twenty-seven of these were in the Top 10 percent in the country.

This year saw the relaunch of The Literary Society for all KS5 English Literature and Language pupils, starting with a film showing of the iconic A Streetcar Named Desire. KS4 had the opportunity to watch Gerald Hopkins, Charles Dickens’ great-great-greatgrandson, perform an inspiring a oneman show of A Christmas Carol at St Mary’s Church. The English Faculty and LRC celebrated World Book Day with a book café and World Book Day themed lessons in class. Each Year 7 and 8 pupil participated in Bookbuzz, where pupils chose their own book to keep from a fantastic list. Pupils gained Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond awards in the School’s Reading Challenge which was relaunched during the second half of the year, with a focus on pupils driving their own reading goals. We are also proud of our updated Reading Challenge lists which have been sent out to parents, shining a spotlight on diverse writers. Numerous competitions were run throughout the year alongside the LRC, with a Christmas and Halloween short story competition which saw some original and exciting contributions from the pupils. Creative Writing Club had a high turnout and pupils were inspired to discover their own creative writing talents. We also saw the return of the Junior Debating Club and the Carnegie Book Club. The new Anglo-Saxon Club was launched in January, looking at such matters as poetry, architecture, warfare, costume and kingship from the period.

This year, the Spanish Department has continued to instil a love of all things Hispanic in our pupils. We welcomed our fantastic new Spanish assistant, Míriam Gimenez Hernández, to the department, who has brought great creativity and fun to the Speaking lessons. A Spanish department highlight was visiting London to watch La Casa de los Espíritus at the Cervantes Theatre, performed entirely in Spanish. Our German pupils enjoyed another busy year. Special mention must go to Year 9 pupils, Thomas and Alan, who were recognised by the German Embassy in London for their excellent work in promoting the German language and culture. They received German Ambassador Awards for their tireless dedication to German. They have taught lessons to Years 7 and 8, taken on leadership roles during German trips, and planned and led assemblies to promote German in general.

The French department continued to promote languages and culture throughout a series of activities across all Key Stages outside the classroom (culture and cooking, singing and performing French music). Our pupils transitioned to online learning fantastically well and have produced some remarkable work. This year the EAL department have welcomed two new members of staff: Mrs Power, teaching through KS3 and Ms Long, supporting more pupils in lessons. All our pupils have shown fantastic development and been stellar in engaging in their online learning towards the end of the academic year.

At Christmas, Years 7 and 8 Drama pupils took part in two productions, The Grinch and Aladdin. Years 9-13 performed Disney’s Beauty and The Beast. It was performed to audiences of over three hundred on three consecutive sell-out nights. This year we opened a matinee performance to local Primary Schools. We currently have forty-nine pupils across the Prep and Senior School taking LAMDA Acting, Verse and Prose and Public Speaking exams. The School also held National Youth Theatre Auditions through which two pupils received a place on the prestigious NYT training course. This year also saw several Drama trips including Annie, Frankenstein, Endgame a nd Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and workshops with the National Youth Theatre and Paper Birds.

The Music department enjoyed another busy year. There were two Scholars’ concerts, another excellent Guitar Showcase (masterminded by Mr Green) as well as the third annual Keyboard Kavalkade. It was exciting to launch the new Brass Ensemble with help from our Prep School colleagues. It was good to welcome the Whitehall Orchestra during the early part of 2020, who were in School to accompany Jane Wisely (Squires, 1998) at the piano. Our magical production of Beauty and the Beast was the final musical highlight of the year, with a talented ‘pit’ band consisting 75 percent of School players. They acquitted themselves magnificently.

The Art department has been busy across the Senior School with Year 8 involved in a pop-up exhibition on Cubism. Year 10 enjoyed a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to research their project “Lost worlds” and gather lots of valuable resources to use for their coursework back in the classroom. Sixth Form pupils loved their trip to the National Portrait Gallery and used the experience to help support their Year 13 project and ideas.

In Design and Technology all our pupils have been busy, with Year 7 and 8 designing and building the wonderful Brake Hall vestibule set for Beauty and the Beast, the highlight of which must be the castle turrets and portcullis.

In addition, our Art Scholars are working on a community outreach project they have designed and are completing a mural for the Beacon Centre homeless shelter. A Photography competition was held for pupils in all years which highlighted the imagination and quality of our pupils’ photography skills.

Year 12 Science, Design and Technology, Mathematics and Computer Science pupils had the opportunity to meet socially and compete in a friendly quiz. Whilst there we all had the pleasure of listening to Nathan Lawson, a third-year undergraduate at Jesus College, Oxford, talk about the biological impacts of climate change. A special mention to Bo who won the Cadet Designers (U18) category in the Fountains of Hygiene design competition.

Special mentions to Joyce, whose work this year was shortlisted for the International High School Arts Festival Competition, and Bo, who entered Grayson Perry’s Art Club and won a place at the Royal Academy Young Artists’ Summer Show.

Year 9 took part in the annual STEM day (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). This year we also had the pleasure of visiting Tonbridge School for the annual Big STEM quiz.

Helped by some fine weather, and excellent rugby pitches at the Prep School, we did not have to cancel a single game. We have continued to win our yearly block fixtures against Dunnotar, Duke of York, Kent College, St Dunstan’s College and Cranbrook, and also added Tonbridge School and Gravesend Grammar School as block fixtures, and one-off matches against King’s Canterbury, to this already tough fixture list, which has also helped raise our rugby profile and growing reputation. Following the arrival of Phil Bubb as our Head of Rugby, the 1XV underwent a culture change and the atmosphere was extremely positive throughout the season. Overall, the 1XV boasted a 60 percent win ratio and the double victory over Kent College was particularly pleasing. We kept the U16s together as a side for the season, for the first time. This proved to be successful for all stakeholders, and they had a pleasing 43 percent win ratio. I am keen to see the positive knock-on effect this will have on the size and depth of the Senior Rugby Squad next academic year.

We have successfully provided competitive sport for all by being able to fulfil fixtures for our U13B and U15B teams; it is always a fantastic achievement having almost two thirds of the boys representing the School at rugby. The Junior teams have been our most successful teams in the School. The U13s won 92 percent of their fixtures; this is a very talented cohort of pupils who need to be pushed and challenged further next season. As always, every student in Year 7 has represented the A team, who progressed well over the season. We have more pupils than ever before in the Saracens & Kent Rugby DPP and PDG programmes, and having Mr Bubb as one of the coaches of the U15 PDG squad has helped strengthen our links with Saracens, who also now use our facilities at Great Chart to host Saracens Training Days. The following pupils are involved with Saracens: Anthony (U16 PGD), Oliver (U16 DPP), James (U16 DPP), Toki (U15 DPP), Bryn (U15 DPP) and Andrew (U14 DPP).

It was an extremely busy hockey season with a planned eighty-nine fixtures played over the course of the season. We have successfully provided competitive sport for all by being able to fulfil fixtures for our U13C, D & E teams which is always a fantastic achievement, having every boy in Years 7 and 8 playing competitive sport and representing the School at hockey. Following the arrival of Linden Lockhart as Head of Hockey, the young 1st XI improved dramatically over the course of the season, with the highlight being undefeated in the Frank Mason tournament, only losing in the quarter finals in a penalty shootout. The Junior teams have been our most successful teams in the School. The U15A had a 66 percent win ratio and reached the plate final and the U13A (56 percent win ratio) reached the semi-finals of the County Cup. Both these teams rely heavily on a couple of star players, so we believe the U14A will be one of the stronger School sides in the future. Statistically our most successful hockey team was the U13C who boasted a 100 percent win ratio which clearly shows our strength in depth in the lower years. The girls finished the season with a 62 percent win rate from over seventyseven fixtures, with the U13A and U13B contributing greatly to this, losing only one fixture between them all season. This win ratio was 50 percent last year, so the decision to combine year groups at Years 7 and 8 was justified and had the desired effect, with improvements in our levels of performance and competitiveness.

The U18As enjoyed a highly successful season with a 56 percent win ratio and they were victorious in this year’s John Maylem Plate Competition. Ethan (Kent U18 Squad), Millie (Kent U18 Squad), Ben (Kent U16 Squad) and Edward (Kent U14 Squad) have all been involved in the County Squads and we have an increasing number of pupils developing in the JDC District Programme and lots of pupils playing club hockey.

Our block fixtures in netball have included Sutton Valence, St Edmunds, King’s Rochester, Duke of York and Dover College. Despite the season being cut short we managed to play sixtyseven competitive fixtures. A win rate of 46 percent is similar to previous years (44 percent in 2019; 47 percent in 2018). Following the arrival of Hannah Hyams as Head of Netball, the young 1VII improved dramatically over the course of the season, with the highlight being the victory against Bethany School. Despite having a tough season, the senior team made rapid progress and lost several fixtures by a narrow margin; this experience will make them stronger next season. The Junior teams have been our most successful teams in the School. The U12A and U13A had a 63 percent win ratio and both sides finished as runners up in the District Tournament. We also had some promising results for the U12B and U13B teams where there are a number of talented girls. This is extremely promising for the future of girls’ netball. Special mention to Bronwyn (London Pulse Pathway Player) and Ellen (Kent) for their involvement in the County Squads.

Swimming continues to be successful for Ashford School pupils. The Lent term started with the Kent Schools Championships, where the School had seventeen Top 10 finishes, including a first in the Senior Boys’ 100m Backstroke.

The boys’ team was placed third out of forty-four Schools and the girls’ team was eleventh out of forty-four schools, an outstanding achievement. The Kent Club Swimming championships tied the School’s swimmers up for three weekends in January and February. The School had six senior pupils qualify for events. Ashford School again hosted the District Swimming Gala for Years 7 and 8, winning both the boys’ and girls’ events convincingly, with the boys’ B team also placing third. The final achievement of the term was another emphatic win over the annual all-School gala against Sutton Valance. We had record number of pupils swimming at County (eight), Regional (five) and National (two) level competitions.

We entered the District Indoor Athletics competition for Years 7 and 8. The U13 girls won the District Competition by a large margin and qualified for the Kent School Games County Finals. The girls had an excellent day; they all produced personal bests and finished fourth. The U15 Girls’ Lady Taverners Indoor Cricket team finished third and played well against more experienced opposition. Our U13A girls were extremely successful and were rewarded for their efforts with pre-season and early morning training sessions, winning both the District and County rounds of their Indoor tournament. The U18A mixed badminton season culminated with the Granville Tournament which we won for the first time ever. Pupils have also learned badminton during their PE lessons and during co-curricular activities. All four teams performed well at the District Competition with the U16 Boys winning the District Tournament. They progressed through to the County Finals where they finished third overall. We had twenty-two athletes qualify for the National Biathlon Championships which is a fantastic achievement. The School also had a small team of four compete in several NSEA show jumping events individually and as a team. The team qualified for the NSEA winter regional finals and finished fourth.

We had a strong contingent of runners compete in the Kent Schools CrossCountry finals this term with some commendable performances. Most notably was Thomas finishing 7th in the Year 10 and 11 boys’ category. He qualified to represent the Kent County team at the National Championships. Following the recent appointment of Callum Thomas as our Basketball Coach we had huge numbers of pupils wanting to play basketball during the Senior Games programme. Consequently, a substantial fixture list was collated for them with training opportunities up to three times a week. We saw twelve fixtures played this season and boasted a 50 percent win ratio. The future looks bright. Sport has managed to continue through various virtual fixtures that have taken place in the Summer Term. This includes fixtures against Sutton Valence School, King’s Rochester and our annual Sports Day. In terms of engagement, we have had over 250 participants from the Ashford School Community involved in walking, running or cycling, contributing miles towards the Schools’ total distance. Special Mention also to Charlie for his trampolining success this year and continued commitment to training throughout lockdown.

Franklins House has enjoyed a year of successes. The start of the academic year was buoyed by the enthusiasm earned by winning the School Sports Day trophy at the end of the 2019 academic year – a first for Franklins House. This enthusiasm has been carried through to all activities. This was typified by an outstanding performance by the junior debating team within the House debating competition. Led by Sam and his excellent team of prefects, Franklins recorded consistent performances in the Maths and General Knowledge competitions. On the sports field, there were outstanding performances in both senior boys’ house rugby and hockey.

Our sports teams have also performed admirably, with excellent individual and team performances in hockey, netball and rugby. The highlight of the year has been the exemplary way that Knights have shown their character, overcoming challenges and struggles with grace, determination and perseverance.

Aside from the whole House performances, there were some superb individual achievements both within and outside School. One stand-out performance was Thomazina reaching the finals of the national ballroom dancing competition.

It seems like a lifetime ago that we took part in House Maths, debating, general knowledge, and other sporting events. Many of our House members came together to help bake and decorate cakes for the Beauty and the Beast production, which was a great success.

Knights House has continued to make excellent progress. We’ve had some fantastic performances in various House competitions, but the highlight was victory in the opening competition of the year, House Debating. The Knights were articulate, persuasive and very well informed, testament to their thorough research and dedication beforehand.

As a House, we have showed great resilience this year. We have a lot of new pupils getting involved and team building is an integral part of our success!

We have strong teams for House Rugby, and this year was no different, with our boys showing great determinations, teamwork and skill to win the competition in the inter group. Special mention to Radu who has been a great and proactive House Captain, striving to bring the pupils together to compete and get involved in one way or another!

This has led to some outstanding achievements on the sports field, most notably wins in senior girls’ swimming and junior girls' hockey. Squires also bagged one of the top spots in the Maths Competition as well as in the House Quiz. In addition performances in Beauty and the Beast by Sabrina, Ryan, Alfie, Kitty and Annabel will be talked about for years to come. Pilgrims have had another busy year littered by a multiplicity of successes. Under the superb stewardship of Lauren and Becca, supported by the superlative Upper Sixth team, Pilgrims has been a lean, mean winning machine. Notable highlights included our House Charity Day; featuring live music and enough cakes to sink a battleship, as well as our now legendary German Waffle stand and, of course, the ever-tasteful Man-OMan competition on the Brake Hall Stage. It has also been an excellent year in the arena of House competition, with notable successes in General Knowledge and a string of Lower-School sporting triumphs. Pilgrims continues to be characterised by a real sense of cohesion, and this is in no small part down to the actions of each pupil, taking their lead from the ever-wonderful tutor team.

Squires has had a fantastic year under the capable leadership of Charlie and Angela. Every single member of the House has approached events and competitions with customary positivity, resilience and commitment.

Charlie and Lino helped to raise allimportant funds by cooking up a storm in the Charity Day kitchen once again alongside Connor from Pilgrims. We said farewell to Miss O’Sullivan at Christmas and welcomed Miss Loughlin as our new Head of House in January.

Yeomen winning the House Cup for the second year was a great way for the House Captains to start their year and since then the House has continued to flourish under the leadership of Ethan and Marcella. Enthusiasm, commitment and resilience are qualities that can be witnessed from all year groups of Yeomen. The House’s first Newsletter, Yeo News, was published at Christmas with another to follow the Trinity term to celebrate the successes and creativity of Lockdown. House Maths needs a special mention, where we walked away with first place, and the Intermediate Girls who won House Netball in a convincing manner. A big thank you to all House tutors who have been such a tremendous support to pupils throughout the year.

Brabourne House continues to be a happy place, full of life and warmth. Mrs Sagastuy and Miss Spicer have taken over the house and have been delighted with all the successes of the girls through the year. Anja, our Girls Boarding Captain, has been relentless in ensuring that all birthdays and special celebrations are done in style, and our House CoCaptains, Emily and Marcella have helped organise and run numerous house events, like the legendary Fancy Dress party in October and pizza and movie nights. We were the undisputed winners of the House Gingerbread House building competition and came in a strong second in the Inter-house Quiz.

It is not uncommon for Brooke House to emanate a ‘youthful feel’, however with the addition of eleven new boarders in September, there was an aura of excitement. The diverse blend of ages, nationalities, and levels of experience ensured a perfect mix of enthusiasm and fresh ideas were combined with wisdom and know-how. Led by Sanskar, House Captain, Prefect Team Jeremy, Edwin and Sebastian and other senior members, the boys quickly settled into life within Brooke and began to flourish as a result of the opportunities Ashford School has to offer.

We were fortunate to have an extremely talented cohort this year, across a range of different fields. Two boys have trained with Saracen’s Rugby Club; six attended the School ski trip; one performed as a jazz soloist; several orchestra members excelled in a variety of concerts – and this is just the tip of the iceberg! Finally, it was great to see some of the more experienced boarders take fulladvantage of the recently introduced ‘Inspiring Minds’ program, maximising their time here and enriching themselves by exploring the diverse range of opportunities found on Ashford’s doorstep.

Alfred House enjoyed a hugely successful year with victories in basketball, badminton and rugby fixtures, as well as of winning the massive Boarding Quiz and the inaugural mobile gaming competition.

The boarding house formally known as ASIC was renamed Judith Webb House for the start of the academic year to honour Judith Webb, a former governor of the School and parent of Ashford School pupils.

Alfred House was also often treated to music being painstakingly and passionately practised on pianos, electric and classic guitars, violins, oboes, voice (beatboxing!) and DJ mixing decks; all this work naturally translated in acclaimed school performance.

In September, twenty new boarders from eight different countries arrived to make this House their home for the year. Despite all being new to Ashford School, the cohort threw themselves into the activities on offer. Movie nights, climbing, paddle-boarding and a pumpkin carving competition for Halloween are a few of the activities they enjoyed.

This year Alfred House had an incredible generation of Year 13s: inspiring role models with amazing care for the House and the School: primarily Lucian, the House Captain, assisted by Tony, but also the others, many of them School prefects (a Deputy Head Boy, a Head of Boys’ Boarding, a day House Captain and more). Good luck to all of them!

Highlights of the year include the School production of Beauty and the Beast in which Petar, Tybalt and Adrian played leading roles and the rest of the House turned out to support enthusiastically from the stalls, and Katherine and Tiffany’s wonderful display of traditional Chinese dancing in a whole School assembly to celebrate Chinese New Year.

42%

Gained a place at a Russell Group University

22%

Gained a place at a UK Top 10 University

Gained a place at a World Top 10 University

2019 Leavers' Destinations: Architecture (AA School) Drama (Bristol, UWE) Air Transport with Commercial Pilot Training (Buckinghamshire New University) Natural Sciences (Cambridge, Clare College) Multimedia Journalism (Canterbury Christ Church) Applied Criminology (Canterbury Christ Church) Architecture (Durham University) Natural Science (Durham University) Accounting & Finance (Durham University) Business & Management (Durham University) Drama (Guildhall) Digital Culture (KCL) Accounting & Finance (KCL) Physics (KCL) Film Music (Leeds College of Music) Fashion Photography (London Metropolitan) Mathematics, Statistics & Business (LSE) Fashion, Business & Management (Manchester Metropolitan) Cinema di Animazione (Nemo Academy) Accounting & Finance (Newcastle University) Business & Management (Oxford Brookes) Computer Science (Oxford Brookes) Electrical & Electronic Engineering (Queen Mary) Mathematics with Management (Queen Mary) Medicine (Queen Mary) Law (The University of Law) Art & Politics (Tufts University) Nutrition & Medical Science (UCL) Biomedical Sciences (UCL) Cancer Biomedicine (UCL)

Computer Science (UCL) History (University of Aberdeen) Physics (University of Birmingham) Architecture (University of Dundee) Natural Sciences (University of Exeter) Business & Management (University of Glasgow) History (University of Glasgow) Accounting & Finance (University of Greenwich) Business & Finance (University of Greenwich) Architecture (University of Greenwich) Human Geography (University of Kent) Financial Economics (University of Kent) Psychology (University of Liverpool) Biomedical Science (University of Manchester) Criminology, Deferred (University of Manchester) Business Studies (University of Northampton) History (University of Plymouth) Human Geography (University of Reading) Museum Studies & Archaeology (University of Reading) Politics (University of Southampton) International Relations (University of Surrey) Veterinary Medicine & Science (University of Surrey) Geography (University of Sussex) Primary & Early Years Education (University of Sussex) Art Foundation (University of the Arts London) Economics (University of Warwick) Digital Media & Communications (University of Westminster) Business Management (University of Westminster) Business & Management (University of York)

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