Newsletter of King Edward VI School
Founded 1553
From The Head It has, without doubt, been an exciting Summer Term. Whilst it may seem strange to say it, but the most exciting thing of all has been the sheer normality of things at King Edward’s this term. Nobody would claim that COVID is a thing of the past, but this has been the first term in a long, long time when we have truly been free to host and hold our full range of activities and those special occasions which make a Summer Term unique. Throughout the COVID period these things were adapted, re-thought and reimagined. They happened… but sometimes not precisely as we might wish. With this term, they have come back with a bang, and it has been an absolute joy! So, what are my personal highlights from this busy and buzzing Summer term? Since my arrival at KES three years ago, this has been a relatively easy question for me to answer. Often, the opportunities on show have been somewhat limited, and we have all clung to and cherished the experiences still able to happen. For this term, the opposite has been
the case. Around the School you can palpably feel the relief and happiness as sporting, cultural, intellectual and adventurous co-curricular pursuits have filled the sunny days and occupied the weekends. Of course, along with all of this activity has been a return of public and internal examinations. But in its own way this too has been a relief. For good or ill, the students have this year once again been able to test their knowledge and articulacy under full and fair exam conditions. Coming back to those term highlights, then…? Perhaps the brilliant Lower School production of Matilda, full of laughter and song – and some extraordinary ‘scooter choreography’? Or else the simple pleasure of welcoming our parents and friends back to the annual Sports Day competition? The Arts Festival, of course, was full of creativity and inspiration, so maybe that should be recognised as the stand out event of the term? Or the varied challenges of the ‘Endeavour’ programme? Perhaps the sweet sadness of saying ‘farewell’
to our outgoing Upper Sixth at the Leavers’ Dinner? Or one of the day and residential trips? Or one of the many visiting speakers? Or even the daily lunchtime ice-cream van! You can see the problem… there really have been too many wonderful moments to be able to pick and choose just one. I hope as you read this magazine you get a sense of the sheer exuberance and zest for participation and progress which has been so much in evidence this term. But to return to the question of a single stand-out highlight. Well, I believe it is the wrong question and the wrong way of looking at these past weeks and months. In truth, I believe that the highlight has been that most obvious of things – KES being KES once more. A place of intellectual curiosity; sporting prowess; artistic endeavour; fun and energy. It is nice to ‘be back’. Neal Parker Head
King Edward VI School Wilton Road . Southampton . Hampshire SO15 5UQ Telephone: 023 8070 4561
www.kes.hants.sch.uk
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Academic Physics speednetworking The Physics Department held the first ever KES Physics speed-networking event this term. All Fourth Year students took part in the sessions with a range of STEM ambassadors whose roles in industry are directly related to Physics. The morning was finished off by two talks on careers in Geophysics, and Nuclear Fusion research. The students gained valuable insight into how knowledge and understanding gained in lessons can be applied to real-world situations and an idea of the variety of job roles available through studying Physics.
Spanish Revision weekend Lower Sixth A Level Spanish students travelled to Lovaton, our Rural Studies Centre on Dartmoor, this term for a weekend of revision. From the moment they arrived, the students spoke solely in Spanish, played games, cooked Spanish food and fitted in some all-important exam preparation. The weather was glorious (almost like Malaga!) and the weekend provided a superb way to consolidate learning.
PSHE During this term’s PSHE Day, First Year students took part in a carousel of information and activity sessions, centred around basic drug facts, digital safety, careers, oral hygiene and team building. The sessions were delivered by a mix of KES staff and visiting speakers including Bob Tait from DRED UK and Emma White from OMU Dental. The day provided students with a solid foundation for further PSHE learning.
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Classics Trip to Butser Farm Mid-June the First Years all went to Butser Ancient Farm. They were able to sit in the large round house while they learned about how the Iron Age people of Britain lived. They then did some practical archaeology including digging and identifying different objects, their material and possible use. They also made a wattle fence and tried their hand at chalk carving; colouring their work with natural pigments from the nearby hedgerow. A visit to the reconstructed Roman villa enabled them to compare the two styles of living and the day ended with feeding the goats.
Careers Fair The annual Careers Fair saw the school welcome representatives from a wide range of industries and organisations. KES students were able to ask questions about career paths, entry requirements and the day-to-day job roles of each of their professions. There were even over 20 OEs amongst the visiting guests illustrating the diversity of career pathways amongst our alumni.
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Leavers’ Dinner The end of term Leavers’ Dinner provided the Upper Sixth with the chance to meet one last time, along with their families, to celebrate their time at KES, their many achievements and the lifelong friends they have made. It was an evening of reflection but also one of looking forward and we wish them all the very best of luck as they leave King Edward’s.
French Debating Competition In June, three KES teams took part in the Fourth Year French debating competition hosted by Charterhouse. The entire event was conducted in French and the teams had to debate the advantages and disadvantages of TikTok and also the benefits and drawbacks of electric cars. It was a challenging competition but all the students performed well, with a special mention to Avantika and Rio who impressed the judges with their reasoned arguments.
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Biology field trip to Leeson House This July, for the first time since 2019, the Biology field trip was able to take place as a residential. The group spent a productive three days at Leeson House in Swanage, taking advantage of the wealth of interesting ecological sites in the area and developing their ecology skills, as well as the hands-on side of their practical investigations.
Geography field trip to Slapton In June, A Level Geographers visited Slapton in South Devon to learn about data collection methods, presentation and analysis techniques. Based at the Field Study Centre in Slapton Ley, the group visited Plymouth where they gathered primary data for their projects, as well as exploring the local coastline to learn about methods of data collection, flood risk surveys, sea defences and cost-benefit analysis. All these skills will be used for the non-examined assessment aspect of their A Level course.
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Co-curricular DofE The Easter Break saw the DofE expedition season kick start with 7 expedition teams heading to Dartmoor for their Silver expeditions in the first week, before a further 3 teams followed in their footsteps during week 2. The final week saw members of the Fourth Year take their first foray into the world of expeditions as they completed excursions in the New Forest. Enjoying the great outdoors, camping, bunk housing, navigating and orienteering and spending time with friends are all a valuable part of the DofE experience.
Hospital School partnership Following on from the successful fundraising organised by the Library Leaders during World Book week, the school was able to support the Southampton Children’s Hospital School in their purchase of a Hare of Hampshire. Lower Sixth art students then created a design for the hare, choosing a literary theme with key characters from children’s literature represented. The children undergoing treatment at the hospital then worked collaboratively with KES students to produce the finished piece of work which will be part of the exciting nature trail which will be displayed around key areas of Hampshire during the summer holidays.
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Greenpower In May, the KES Greenpower team returned to the racing circuit for the first time since 2019. The event was hosted at Goodwood and consisted of two 90 minute heats. During the first race, both KES cars suffered mechanical and electrical issues, which were quickly solved by the talented team members whilst, in the second race, one of the cars was unfortunately hit from behind. Luckily, one of the other teams lent KES a spare wheel, allowing the car to finish the circuit. The KES teams are now awaiting the results from other heats across the country to see if they have done enough to earn places in the national finals.
Sixth Form Climbing Throughout the year Sixth Form students have been honing their climbing skills on the Romsey climbing wall as part of their Wednesday games sessions. In the summer term, they were able to put these skills to the test outdoors during a visit to Dancing Ledge near Swanage. Here they were introduced to sea cliff climbing up the carboniferous limestone on a beautiful warm and sunny afternoon. The views from the top were amazing!
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Endeavour The annual Endeavour programme saw the whole school come off of timetable at the end of June to participate in two fun-filled days of activity. Each of the year groups focused on a different area of their development, all based around the school’s ethos and values of flourishing; in achievement, emotionally, with engagement, in relationships and in meaning. The First Years took part in the First Year camp based at Fairthorne Manor filling their days with activities aimed at building their independence and challenging themselves. The Second Years got the chance to improve their confidence with a choice of a photography workshop, a residential climbing trip, a water sports academy trip or a culinary workshop. The Third Years embraced the theme of connection with either an in-house Dragon’s Apprentice, a water activities excursion to SWAC, a history-based trip to Blenheim Palace and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard or a Bush craft training course. Those Fourth Years not on the Geography Field Trip or on Duke of Edinburgh expeditions got involved with the local community running fun and academic-based activities for the primary aged pupils at our local partnership schools and the Lower Sixth focused in on self-improvement. The two days were a hive of activity both on and off-site with all students learning valuable skills outside of their academic studies.
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KES reach Goldsmith Community Award National Finals The School was delighted to be named as one of eight finalists at The Goldsmiths’ Company Awards for Community Engagement. Created in 2018, the prestigious awards celebrate the unsung work of students going above and beyond to support local communities through volunteer work and charitable initiatives. Following the regional heats in March, KES was selected from a total of 147 schools, which took part in the awards this year, to be recognised within the finals. On 28th June representatives from the Charities Commission joined more than 60 students at The Goldsmiths’ Hall in the City of London to present on their community outreach efforts before judges and invited guests.
Second Year Camp Second Year students enjoyed a couple of nights away at Lovaton during one of two organised trips. They took part in a packed programme of activities including camping, cooking, basic map reading and compass skills as well as rock climbing lessons on the Dartmoor granite. Participation in a number of initiative tasks and team building exercises also helped develop their practical and communication skills.
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Creative Arts Matilda! Members of the Lower School took to the stage for this term’s spectacular production of Matilda Jr. The Musical. The ‘revolting children’ gave fantastically professional and energetic performances to packed auditoriums on each of the nights. The Dobson Theatre came alive with dance, music and comedy in this unforgettable show.
Dance workshop In June, Fourth Year GCSE dancers took part in an exciting workshop with Delene Gordon from Juka Dance learning the set phrases they will need to perform as part of the performing element of their course. The dancers had a full day of training - learning the set choreography and by the end of the day, the pieces were looking fantastic.
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KES Annual Art Exhibition The annual KES Art Exhibition took place during the Arts Festival in June and celebrated work produced by the students from First Year through to Sixth Form. The exhibition filled the Atrium and Art Studios with a wide range of fine examples of the creativity of KES pupils and was followed by a lecture in the Dobson Theatre from Tim Craven, former curator of Southampton Art Gallery. His talk entitled ‘Curating a collection’ examined how the gallery collection in Southampton has grown to be one of the best outside of London.
Jazz workshop As part of #KESCREATE, the Swing Band and Big Band joined forces with professional jazz performers for a side-by-side concert. This was preceded by a fantastic afternoon of workshops in which students worked on the art of improvisation and were able to talk to experienced professionals about jazz performance and instrumental techniques. Led by Mr Carrasco and Mr Doherty the evening concert was stunning and the quality of music making was outstanding. Special congratulations go to Elias who performed ‘My Funny Valentine’ with professional accompaniment and produced a sound and musicianship to rival any experienced pro!
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The Arts Festival 2022 #KESCREATE The 2022 KES Arts Festival #KESCREATE spanned three full days in June and this year’s theme was creativity and its relationship to the wider world of work and our interaction with creative thinking. Creativity is frequently listed as a skill sought by employers and for pupils who may not select Arts subjects academically, the festival aimed to raise awareness of creative thinking and engagement. There was something for everyone over the course of the three days. There were workshops galore, concerts and performances at every turn, the annual art exhibition and a raft of visiting guests, artists and speakers. Stage combat, African drumming, KES Strictly Come Dancing, cake decorating, sustainable sculpture making, a poetry open mic, Salsa classes, film and script-writing and so much more all featured on the schedule. The event culminated in a lunchtime street festival on the school field attended by the entire school community and visiting partnership schools.
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Sport
First Year inter-form athletics This term’s First Year inter-form athletics competition took place at Southampton Sports Centre in May. The event saw First Year students compete in relay races, sprints and longerdistance runs, to the sound of their tutor group peers cheering them on from the stadium bleachers. Congratulations to this year’s winners; 1/5!
KES announces Cricket Partnership Last month, we were delighted to announce the renewal of our partnership as Official School Partners of Hampshire Cricket and Official Supporter of The Ageas Bowl. This partnership has been extended for a further two years. During the partnership in recent years, Hampshire Cricket Pathway participants have both trained and played fixtures at Wellington Sports Grounds. The school also acts as a host venue for cricketing charitable provision provided through the MCC foundation, the Lord’s Taverner’s ‘Wicketz’ programme and most recently the newly formed City Scorchers, all providing opportunities for talented young cricketers from all backgrounds in the City of Southampton.
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Sixth Form Sports Day This year’s Sixth Form Sports Day took place in glorious weather at Wellington. Along with the usual keenly contested events on the track and field, there was also a selection of highly competitive rounds of the egg and spoon race, welly-boot throwing, tug-o-war and the infamous space hopper race. Well done to Charlotte for setting a new school record in the girls’ triple jump and to Claudia, Will and Harry who were named the individual winners.
Boys’ cricket success Congratulations to the U12, U13 and U14 boys’ cricket teams who all progressed to the county finals in the Hampshire Cup competition. The U15s went one step further and will now represent Hampshire in the regional rounds.
Altham Trophy Congratulations to the boys’ 1st XI cricket team who beat both Barton Peveril and Peter Symonds to take home the Altham Trophy this season.
Dobson Bat awards Well done to Ben, Rory and Aashish who were awarded their Dobson bats this term. During competitive matches, Rory hit 103 not out and Aashish hit 106 off just 57 balls. For Rory, this marks his second century for the School, but the first for Aashish. Ben had an excellent start to the term scoring 106 for the U15s in their National Cup match. He then backed this up with his first century for the 1st XI. Ben scored 136 not out in one of the most impressive batting displays we have seen at KES for a long time. The Dobson Bat is presented to any KES batter on scoring their first century for the School.
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Sports Day 2022
The annual KES Sports Day was granted dry weather for the afternoon of track and field events. We were delighted to welcome back former Head of School David Cox (KES 74-80) to present the prizes. David was equally delighted to be able to present the cup for the overall winners of Sports Day to his former House Lawrence! Well done Lawrence!
King Edward VI School Wilton Road . Southampton . Hampshire SO15 5UQ Telephone: 023 8070 4561