Newsletter of King Edward VI School
Founded 1553
From The Head I write this introduction to KonnEctionS at the very end of November, and at the end of another extraordinary week in the life of KES. In fact, this week provided a bit of a metaphor for school life during a pandemic. Because this week we returned to live theatre in spectacular fashion, with a sell-out three-night run of the wonderful school edition of ‘Les Misérables’. It is an epic work, hugely demanding of the cast, crew and indeed teachers in charge. Almost to the week, it came two whole years after the last major KES production – and almost two years into the pandemic. And just a single day before the first night performance, both Mrs Gilmour (Head of Drama – and our fabulous Director) and Miss Forsey (Director of Music – and Musical Director for the entire show) returned positive COVID tests, and were therefore required to selfisolate with immediate effect. After many, many months of hard work and commitment from pupils and staff alike, the whole production
was thrown into doubt at the very last minute. We were confronted by the genuine prospect that all of the pupils’ work - learning lines, mastering dances, practising songs - would be for nothing.
at KES we once again moved to remote assemblies, and sadly faced the prospect that some of those special communal Christmas ‘events’ which mark the end of a term would once again need to be adapted or lost.
But of course, that wasn’t the case. Staff stepped up and stood in as best they could, and the pupils put in an extraordinary effort despite the sudden loss of the very teachers who had put the entire production together. It was the absolute epitome of ‘the show must go on’. It was resilience writ large! But it was much more than that, because when the show did go on it was simply spectacular. I don’t mean ‘despite the difficulties’. I mean that it was one of the best school shows I have ever had the privilege of witnessing, full stop. It was brilliant and wonderful. Three nights of magic – three nights each ending with a standing ovation from hundreds and hundreds of KES theatre goers.
This is life for our school at the moment. It is frustrating and saddening; but it is also inspirational and uplifting. I wish that our teachers and wider staff, and especially our pupils, did not have to endure these times – but they do, and they turn the constant challenges into something precious and fantastic time after time. ‘Les Mis’ was just one of many examples of this – and as you read KonnEctionS, you can see so many more. What brilliant staff we have – and what wonderful pupils. The show must, and will, go on! Neal Parker Head
The next day, the government advised all schools to return to wearing face coverings in communal areas, and
King Edward VI School Wilton Road . Southampton . Hampshire SO15 5UQ Telephone: 023 8070 4561
www.kes.hants.sch.uk
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Academic OEs join teaching staff This year we are celebrating the return of four former pupils, all of whom have joined the teaching staff. Miss Crompton, Miss Bentley and Dr Lewis all join the Biology Department whilst Dr Fewtrell has taken up a post as teacher of Geography. We are delighted to welcome them back!
Ceremony of Admissions We formally admitted all new pupils to the school in our annual Ceremony of Admissions at the beginning of term. Led by Mr Parker, Mr Robinson and our current Head of School, Ree, the afternoon included hymns, music and the traditional welcome from the Head.
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Prize Giving The annual Prize Giving event provided a chance for staff, parents and guests to recognise and celebrate the hard work and achievements of a large number of pupils. We were delighted to welcome Chris Morris, as our Chief Guest and Speaker. Chris Morris is an award-winning journalist, radio broadcaster, producer, director, TV presenter and Old Edwardian. The evening also saw the launch of this year’s Creative and Critical Review showcasing some of the very best work produced throughout the previous academic year.
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Open Evening The school was awash with activity during October’s Open Evening. All the teaching staff and a large number of students were on hand to take part in demonstrations, science experiments, musical recitals, sports matches, provide advice on academic and co-curricular opportunities at the school and talk generally about daily life at King Edward’s. Visiting families were also able to listen to a talk from Mr Parker.
Foundation Studies Foundation Studies forms part of the Sixth Form General Studies offering aimed at exposing students to new ideas and skills outside of their academic timetable. This term has seen students participating in an intensive Japanese language course, mastering self-defence techniques, communicating in sign language, mastering simple recipes and cookery basics and enjoying dance choreography workshops.
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Psychology students visit Royal Courts of Justice Students studying A Level psychology visited the Royal Courts of Justice in London in November to take part in a mock murder trial. They put forward evidence to a team of three judges (also students) regarding whether the original murder sentence should be maintained or whether it should be reduced to manslaughter upon the grounds of diminished responsibility. The students displayed some excellent teamwork, impressed with their confidence in the courtroom and demonstrated excellent knowledge and insight into the case, eventually reaching the same conclusion as the judges did in the real trial.
Business Studies trip to Winchester Lower Sixth Business students spent a chilly November morning in Winchester gathering field data about the booming café market. The Winchester city centre café market is a very crowded one with over twenty businesses competing for a share of customer spending. The students’ brief was to identify any potential market gaps and determine the viability of launching their own café, before presenting their findings in class the following week.
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Co-curricular New Wellbeing Centre opens This term has seen the opening of our new Wellbeing Centre. Based at the very heart of the school, the Centre offers a place for refuge and calm for all pupils where they can access help, support or when they just need a period of calm or a listening ear. It complements the wide range of student support services - nursing team, chaplaincy and school counsellor - already available at KES. Along with a Wellbeing Room, the Centre encompasses a suite of brand new Curriculum Support rooms. Mr Jackson, Head of Wellbeing, will implement a programme of proactive wellbeing education so that every pupil at KES can learn how to improve and maintain their resilience, selfconfidence and mental health.
PDSA Partnership The school has developed strong partnership links with the Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association over the past couple of years. This summer, for the first time, a group of Sixth Formers welcomed teenagers from the charity for a fun-filled week of activities! KES students each had a buddy from PDSA, with whom they decorated cakes, took part in sporting events, got creative in art workshops and much more! They also took trips to Marwell Zoo and Paultons Park, before finishing off the week with a huge game of rounders and a picnic at Wellington Sports Grounds. The week, paid for by various fundraising activities organised by KES pupils over the past year, was a huge success. The two groups of young people have also joined together for various other events this term. KES students joined their friends for a fancy dress Halloween party in October, and a ‘donutting’ session at the Alpine Snowsports centre in November. Fundraising efforts for the charity have also continued, with a number of staff and students taking part in the Great South Run to raise money for future activities.
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PDSA Queen’s award Our charity partner, Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association, was awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service earlier this term. This is the highest accolade that can be awarded to volunteer groups and Mr Miller was also recognised for his dedication and hard work. The awards were handed out by the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire and the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth at a special ceremony.
Go Ape At the beginning of term, new First Year pupils got the chance to know each other better outside of the classroom when they visited Go Ape. The course was hard work but fun-packed and challenged several pupils to overcome their fears and reservations with the encouragement of other members of their tutor group.
Feminist Society We have recently seen the re-launch of the KES Feminist Society alongside the many other cocurricular clubs and societies on offer at KES. Hosted by Miss Forsey and Mrs Whiting, students in the Upper School and Sixth Form who are curious about equality and sexism in society have met at lunchtimes to explore and discuss the current issues around these topics including the representation of women in the media, gender stereotypes, the impact of gendered pronouns and double standards and the implications that women are ‘less than’ in today’s society.
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Coding Club Coding Club, run by Fifth and Sixth Form students, has been busy this term. Students have been using Python as the programming language, with Lower School students focusing on how coding can be used as a fun activity and Upper School students looking at various programming techniques to support their learning in GCSE Computer Science.
Paddleboarding Paddleboarding Club remains as popular as ever even in the winter months. This term has seen several outings on Southampton Water from the school’s base at SWAC. Many students new to the sport have mastered the art of standing on the boards for the first time which has, inevitably, led to a fair bit of swimming.
Activities trip Fourth Year and Upper Sixth students headed off to Dartmoor for four days of outdoor activities during half-term. Based at Lovaton, the group learnt bush craft, fire building and shelter construction skills and took part in various teamwork scenarios. The students were given a set budget, with which they had to feed everyone for the duration of the stay, as well as preparing all meals and clearing up afterwards. As well as spending time on the moor, walking and orienteering, there were opportunities for rock climbing on the Dartmoor granite before heading home.
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DofE At half-term, two DofE practice expeditions took place involving 60 Silver award participants. During the first week the teams endured rain and heavy mist and their trek combined an overnight stay in a remote farmhouse, as well as camping for two nights. The second week saw brighter weather and included the luxury of a youth hostel. The teams endured all the challenges thrown at them and displayed some great team-spirit and good humour. They will now prepare for their qualifying expeditions, due to take place at Easter. The DofE award is three pronged and, along with the skills and expedition elements, students are also required to complete a volunteering component. The school was delighted to receive a certificate this term detailing the combined impact of our students’ volunteering, as part of their award. The volunteering roles our students have carried out are many and varied and have included assisting in COVID-19 test centres, coaching sports teams, community litter picking, helping disabled/elderly neighbours and working in food banks, to name just a few.
Non-uniform day
Toy Appeal Fun Run
The proceeds of November’s non-uniform day will go towards supporting the school’s Sixth Form charity projects and partnerships; Summer Camp for local young carers, the Sholing Primary School partnership and the ongoing work with Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association. The theme was ‘colourful’ and the corridors were awash with a rainbow of different coloured clothing.
This year’s Toy Appeal Fun Run saw students display a great deal of creativity with their costumes. Each of the First Years adorned a toy inspired fancy dress outfit for their sponsored run around the perimeter of the School Field in aid of the Southampton Toy Appeal. This year they have raised over £2600 – a record amount – for Scratch Charity Southampton that provides services which relieve the effects of hardship, disadvantage and poverty. The charity will purchase and distribute toys on behalf of the KES Charities Commission to disadvantaged children in the local area who might otherwise not receive any gifts at Christmas.
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Slow Fashion Since the beginning of the year, the Sustainability Action Group have been hard at work devising activities and plans to support global sustainability and sustainable practices within the school. They held their first Slow Fashion Week in November, with the aim of shifting mindsets away from fast throwaway fashion towards refashioning and embracing pre-owned clothing and thus diverting clothing from landfill. The school community came together to donate a large selection of pre-loved items that were sold in the Atrium during lunchtimes to raise funds for No Sweat, a charity that campaigns against workplace exploitation and sweatshops.
Remembrance Service
Electric car week
On 11th November the school community commemorated Remembrance Day in a whole school assembly. Wreaths were laid at the foot of the statue in the Memorial Garden and the service, led by our School Chaplain, Mr Robinson, encouraged us all to give thanks to our forbearers for their sacrifices in ensuring that we have the freedoms that we enjoy today. During both World War conflicts many OEs and teachers paid the ultimate price and they too were remembered by everyone.
This half term’s theme for the Sustainability Action Group has been electric vehicles and to round this off, they organised a mini Electric Car Show at the beginning of December. The show gave all members of the school community the opportunity to look at some electric vehicles, see the similarities and differences in design and ask questions about the changing nature of the industry. Thank you to members of the Peter Cooper Motor group who brought a range of different cars in to school for everyone to view.
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Creative Arts London Mozart Players Members of the KES Chamber Orchestra were thrilled to welcome the London Mozart Players to school this term for a workshop and side-by-side concert. The Chamber Orchestra is comprised of the school’s most advanced and talented string players and musicians, all of whom have been working on the concert repertoire for many months. After a day of rehearsal, the KES musicians and their professional counterparts put on a fabulous concert for parents and staff. The day enabled the students to get tips, advice and feedback from the fabulous group of professional musicians which all fed into their performance of the intricate and tricky pieces that they later played.
Brass Masterclass In December, brass students had the opportunity to learn from one of Britain’s leading brass specialists in one-toone masterclasses. Helen Vollam is the principal trombonist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and has been a recording artist on films such as ‘Star Wars’, ‘Inception’ and ‘Harry Potter’, to name but a few. It was with great pleasure that we welcomed her to KES. Students played a wide variety of repertoire and all gained fantastic insights into technique, performance polish and communication.
Back to the theatre! Live theatre is so important for those students studying drama at examination level and so it was a delight to be able to, once again, offer students the opportunity to experience live professional productions. This term’s excursions have included performances of the powerful production of ‘Blood Brothers’ at The Mayflower and ‘Who Cares’ at The Mast Theatre in Southampton.
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Les Misérables In November, the Dobson Theatre was transformed into the barricades of the French Revolution for the spectacular whole school production of Les Misérables. The cast and crew put on an incredible performance, wowing audiences with their talent and professionalism on the three sell-out nights. C’était formidable!
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Carol Service This year’s KES Carol Service was a livestreamed event which meant that everyone could enjoy it from their own home. Members of the Chamber, Senior and First Year Choirs were joined by the community Adult Choir as they all raised their voices in song to welcome in the festive season. Opened by a wonderful performance of the opening verse from ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ by treble soloist, Ben, the Nine Lessons and Carols recounted the story of the nativity beautifully, filling Romsey Abbey with cheer and goodwill. The Service was punctuated with a beautiful dance performance which was serenaded by the Senior Choir, making it a visual and musical feast for everyone.
Drama Masterclasses Drama students have been fortunate to participate in two drama masterclasses this term. GCSE pupils explored and experimented with creating narrative and emotion through contemporary theatrical techniques, during their session with members of The Frantic Assembly Theatre company, whilst Fourth Year and Lower Sixth dramatists examined issues around caring responsibilities with members of The Lung Theatre Company. They were inspired to see how theatre and art can help change policy and bring awareness to such a sensitive and serious societal issue.
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Sport Pre-season rugby tour Just prior to the start of the new academic year, the senior rugby team headed off to Dartmoor for a rugby tour with Devonport Services RFC. The squad were based at the KES Rural Study Centre at Lovaton and were hosted by Plymouth College. The trip provided an excellent chance for the players to gel together as a team before the season and play some fast and free rugby.
Hockey Our girls’ hockey teams have had a busy term. The U13, U14, U15 and U16 sides started with a tournament at Haslemere Hockey Club in September where all teams played well. The U15 side came first in their age category and the U16 team were placed second in their group. The girls have also had a variety of successes at county and regional level. The U14 side were the first to win the Hampshire Cup resulting in them becoming county champions and were swiftly followed by the senior girls’ team who also took the Hampshire Trophy title beating all 6 opposing teams. The U13 squad competed at the Hampshire Tournament and finished in 2nd place and will now head to the South Central finals. The U14 girls progressed to the semi-finals of the South Central finals where they lost to the eventual winners. In indoor hockey, both the U16 girls’ and U16 boys’ sides won the South Central finals and progressed to the national finals, ranking them within the top 8 schools in the country. The U18 girls’ team finished in 2nd place in the county championships and qualified for the South Central finals whilst the U18 boys narrowly missed out on qualifying but finished 3rd in Hampshire.
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1st XI take on OE side In September, the 1st XI football team took on a recent OE leavers’ side in the annual season starter game. Both sides played a great match but the KES side maintained possession and composure throughout, to emerge with a 3-1 win and take the trophy.
Netball success The U16 and 1st VII netball sides both finished runners up in this year’s County Cup competition and therefore qualified for the regional rounds. This is the first time in KES history that the senior squad have progressed through the county stage and the girls should be very proud of their achievement.
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Half-term tour The U13 girls’ netball and boys’ rugby teams flew to Scotland during the half-term break to take part in a sports tour. The teams received skills coaching sessions and competed in a number of fixtures whilst still finding the time to enjoy a trip to the zoo and a Harry Potter tour. It was a great opportunity to get some good match practice in with their team mates.
Sailing
The school has a number of students who compete at national and international level within several different sailing classes. During half-term, KES students, Will, Isla, Hugo, Angus, William and Hennie competed in the Optimist Sailing Regatta hosted in Lake Garda, pitting their wits against over 550 other youth sailors. Fifth Year student, Sam, also travelled to Lake Garda this term to take part in the 29er European Championships. The event consisted of eight qualifying races, followed by a final series which was cut short to five races, due to weather conditions on the final day. Sam and his partner had a tough qualifying series but still managed to qualify within the top 50 (the Gold fleet) and, in the final series, finished 22nd overall. Lower Sixth student, Tim, has been shortlisted for Youth Sailor of the Year 2021 in the British Yachting Awards. Last year, Tim, who joined KES in September, sailed solo around Britain at the age of 15, raising over £20,000 for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer trust. Following a summer of racing in the Solent, he is now setting his sights on a new campaign, to race solo across the Atlantic in the September 2023 Mini Transat race. The two year run-up will see him training and competing in France during the sailing season alongside studying for his A Levels.
King Edward VI School Wilton Road . Southampton . Hampshire SO15 5UQ Telephone: 023 8070 4561