Peter Folkes – Artist and Teacher

On 27th March, the Art Department hosted a fabulous exhibition of the works of Peter Folkes (former Head of Art at King Edward’s from 1954 –1964).

Peter was an outstanding artist and teacher and has left a substantial body of work in numerous public and private collections around the world. Upon joining the school in 1950, he began painting local scenes, notably the Test and Itchen estuaries, boatyards, the docklands, and Southampton Water and these paintings are a priceless record of the post-war period in the city. He also experimented widely with the range of new materials exploring his fascination with old, weathered gravestones, their carvings and inscriptions and church spires appear in his later, more Cubist, watercolours. In 1964, Peter took up a Goldsmiths Travelling Scholarship, visiting the United States and, here, a series of paintings emerged, inspired by the regular geometry of skyscrapers. Our sincere thanks to Rod Rumble (KES 51-59) who made a huge contribution to the organisation of the event and to all those who lent paintings for the exhibition. There were over 120 people in attendance, over half of whom were OEs and former pupils of Peter.

Born and bred in Southampton, Kenzie was a student at KES between 2006 and 2011. Now, she is a presenter making waves in the sports and entertainment industry. From covering the Premier League, to presenting at countless major sporting events, from Cup Finals at Wembley and Lords to Rugby Internationals at Twickenham.

Kenzie thoroughly enjoyed her time at KES and often reminisces with her brother Luke, who also attended the school, about the happy times they spent there.

“KES is a special place and I always smile when I think about my school days. I have so many brilliant memories and I am lucky to have met some wonderful friends there who I am still in regular contact with to this day.”

Upon leaving KES, Kenzie juggled attending college with her work as a runner at Sky Sports on ‘Soccer Saturday’ and ‘Goals on Sunday’ in an attempt to learn her craft. But it wasn’t until her time at university, where she studied Multimedia Journalism, that Kenzie’s presenting career started. At just 19 years old, she was named the new matchday presenter for Premier League Football Club, Southampton and she still fronts their media output to date. She has also worked for Arsenal Football Club as one of the faces of their live matchday show.

Kenzie’s first TV role came back in 2017 on Nickelodeon, which kick started her career in children’s television. From 2018 onwards, she became a familiar face on

CBBC, where she hosted the weekly ‘Match of The Day Kickabout’ programme and ‘Can You Kick it?’, as well as appearing on the likes of Blue Peter and CBBC HQ. “Working in children’s television is a complete joy. Everyone is always happy, and you’re always guaranteed to have so much fun.”

As well as a wealth of experience as a pitch side presenter and children’s TV host, Kenzie has an impressive resumé in a live studio setting. Kenzie has fronted a monthly show for the Premier League since 2020 alongside David Alorka and Alan Shearer, and has presented from the famous SW19 postcode, creating content for the official Wimbledon channels at the prestigious Championships. It was here she teamed up with Andy Murray for a special shoot for AMEX, which saw her go head-to-head with the two-time Wimbledon champ in a hilarious ball boy/girl challenge. This, coupled with her roles as a presenter around the grounds for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 and hosting various The Hundred matches, meant it was a jampacked summer. Kenzie has worked on The Hundred since the inaugural edition of the tournament was announced in 2019, coupling stadium hosting duties with presenting content for their social media channels – a role she is excited to take on once again in the summer of 2023. Sticking with cricket, 2023 will also see Kenzie presenting on both the England men’s and women’s ODIs and T20 series. Kenzie became a TEDx Speaker in 2022 when she spoke about football being a game for everyone. Kenzie is the daughter of Southampton FC legend Francis Benali, so as someone who grew up in a sporting family who thoroughly enjoyed playing ‘the beautiful game’ herself as a child and now being a woman working in football, Kenzie felt it was an important topic to speak about.

Throughout her career to date, Kenzie has presented at many England matches which, in 2022, saw her named as the official England announcer for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

“It was a massive privilege to work on the World Cup and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Announcing the goals when my country scored was such a buzz. I regularly travel for work, but I had never been to Qatar before, so it was a great opportunity to explore somewhere new.”

Through her various roles over the years, Kenzie has interviewed some of the world’s biggest stars, including Jenson Button, Harry Kane and Ben Stokes. She also hosts a weekly interactive show for microlearning platform, PepTalk. Here she has interviewed some of the world’s smartest experts and sporting icons, including Paula Radcliffe, Jonny Wilkinson and Katie Piper. Kenzie is now an ambassador for Saints Foundation and is hugely passionate about supporting their work in the local community. As well as this, together with her family, she is an avid supporter of various other charities, including Cancer Research UK.

In her personal life, Kenzie married cricketer Lewis McManus in November 2021 in a beautiful winter wedding setting and the couple have spent the last year building their new home in Southampton. The end of 2023 will see the 10-year reunion for Kenzie’s KES cohort, an event for which she is hugely excited.

“I am so looking forward to catching up with everyone. It will be so lovely to come back to the school that did so much for me and to take a trip down memory lane.”

Gregor McKenzie always had a life-long love of sport and, in particular, cricket. During his years at KES, he was Vice Captain of the 1st XI cricket team in the Sixth Form, during which time the team went on to win the Altham Trophy in 2017. Upon leaving KES, Gregor gained a place at Oxford Brookes University to do a sports coaching and physical education degree. Playing and coaching cricket was a critical component part of Gregor’s course, and he played university cricket three times a week and was President of the CC and Assistant Coach at the MCCU. However, during his first year at university, in a sudden and unexpected turn of events, Gregor was diagnosed with ARVC (arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy) a disease of the heart muscle in which fatty fibrous tissue replaces normal heart muscle that subsequently interrupts normal electrical signals and may cause irregular and potentially life-threatening heart rhythms. As well as the knowledge that this disease was potentially life threatening, Gregor was also faced with the possibility that he would no longer be able to play any kind of sport or take part in any competitive type of exercise due to the nature of the condition and the risks that this posed to his health.

‘I went from playing cricket three times a week to thinking that I couldn’t play for the rest of my life and also didn’t know how much I would be able to coach – it was a horrendous time.’

Thankfully for Gregor, the then President of the University Cricket Club had a disability and was able to let him know about the disability section of Hampshire Cricket Club. In his second year at university, Gregor started playing disability cricket for

Hampshire and was able to continue with the sport he loved – a big relief!

In 2022, the English Cricket Board introduced a new tournament designed for cricket players with disabilities that aimed to bridge the gap between international and county cricket. Existing England squad players were automatically put forward for the teams and there were 8 slots made available for county cricket players and Gregor was awarded one of these slots.

Since last year, he has been playing disability cricket in the Disability Premier League (a tournament which is the first of its kind) for his team, Tridents. The team features players with a range of disabilities from physical and mental to sensory impairments. Because of his heart condition, Gregor plays alongside a runner when in bat so that he does not have to overexert himself and put his heart under strain. Each team is provided with an interpreter for those who are deaf and speak only sign language, whilst different adaptions are also made for other players to enable their participation in the game. The training schedule is fairly intense and requires Gregor to attend weekend training camps monthly at locations around the country.

“Disability cricket is a different form of cricket which can be challenging for both the players and coaches with the wide mix of disabilities within the team, but it allows me to play the sport I love which is great. I’ve made some really good friends.”

Last year Gregor and the Tridents reached the final of DPL in the inaugural competition season. There were some incredibly close games throughout the qualifying rounds, but the culmination of the competition was a final played at Bristol County Ground and streamed live by Sky, leading to a victory for Tridents.

“Playing at Bristol was awesome – another level of cricket altogether. Commentators, professional umpires and stump mics all made for an unforgettable experience.”

Gregor’s performances in last season’s matches have ensured him a place in the squad for next year and he has been retained by Tridents for the forthcoming 2023 cricket season.

The ECB’s ultimate goal is to become world leaders in disability cricket and the creation of the DPL is their first step in achieving this. Last year, as part of the ongoing promotional work for the DPL, Gregor featured in an ECB commissioned film for broadcast by Sky. The production team followed and recorded Gregor in all aspects of his daily life; at home, at training and at work, and we were delighted to welcome them into KES as they trailed Gregor conducting coaching sessions. Their footage has now been made into a 30-minute film that will be used by the ECB to promote the competitive sporting opportunities available to those with disabilities.

Gregor’s experience of disability sport has been a positive one and he is keen to help make sure that everyone is aware of all the opportunities that are out there.

“I think it’s important to make people aware of the opportunities available outside of mainstream sport. There are a lot of people who would benefit from it and they are unaware of their existence as they don’t get publicity. DPL has the potential to reach a big audience and encourage other people to play disability sport which can only be a good thing.”

If the popularity of DPL continues there may be future possibilities for players to be given 6-week seasonal professional contracts. Gregor would love this to happen but, for now, he is combining his training schedule with his role as Graduate Sports Coach here at KES, in the hope that this will help him in his quest to become a full-time county coach.

“I loved my time at KES as a student. I made friends for life and enjoyed every day. It gave me fantastic opportunities and the mindset to strive and succeed and be the best I can be. It’s great to be back!”

James Chamberlain is currently working as a junior doctor at Winchester Hospital. On leaving KES, James proceeded to Cardiff University, where he enrolled on a biology undergraduate course, something he attributes to the inspirational teaching of his Sixth Form biology teachers. However, after finishing amongst the top performing students at the end of his first year of study, James took up a place on the medicine feeder scheme, via which, after two further years, he finished top of his year with a Biomedical Science degree. He then spent a further four years at Cardiff Medical School where he qualified as a doctor before moving back down south and taking up a position as a Foundation Doctor at Winchester Hospital and sharing a house with his friend from KES, Tom Thwaites.

James’ medical training, like so many, was severely interrupted by the COVID pandemic and, as such, much of the time he would have spent learning, observing procedures and practising surgical skills in theatre, such as how to use laparoscopic surgical equipment, was curtailed due to the lockdown. As the ‘Skills Lead’ for the Cardiff University Surgical Society, he would normally have been busy organising suturing teaching and other practical sessions for students, but this was not possible due to the global pandemic. With time on his hands, James set about working on a project to enable him, and others in the same situation, to be able to practise these skills without the need to access a clinical environment or expensive equipment. And with this in mind, he designed a laparoscopic training box – a piece of equipment that medical students can use to practise simulated laparoscopic surgery but that can be produced at a low cost, utilises the student’s smartphone, is easily put together and can be used in a home or study environment.

After qualifying as a doctor, James revisited this fledgling idea and with the help of Tom (a qualified architect who had studied A Level Design and Technology at KES), produced a detailed design of the kit to enable it to be produced on a laser cutter. The pandemic had produced a generation of young medics who are now experiencing a surgical skills gap, due to the shortage of time spent in theatre due to the lockdown. Producing the laparoscopic training box at a low cost and with relative ease would be one way to help counteract this and give young doctors the opportunity to practise their surgical skillset with just a mobile phone or tablet and one of the laparoscopic box sets.

Earlier this year, James contacted the KES Design & Technology Department and requested help with his project by using the school laser cutter to produce the first prototype of the design. The School were only too pleased to assist and, last month, James was delighted to see his project finally come to fruition. The plan going forward is to produce a number of these kits and, with the support of his surgical colleagues at Winchester Hospital, set up a training session for some of the young doctors there. Looking ahead, the project is one that James hopes could help many more medical students and young doctors, providing an ideal way for them to get to grips with the intricacies of working in a 3D environment on a 2D screen and honing the fine motor skills needed for such delicate surgical work.

James will soon be starting his rotation within the A&E department at Winchester before he heads off to Australia to take up an 18-month contract in Sydney before returning and hoping to specialise in interventional radiology.