Preparing for a life of leadership

King’s St Alban’s/Senior King’s St Alban’s/Senior

Rewriting the history book

In a partnership that is steeped in great tradition, choristers still sing in the Cathedral to this day, as well as performing in a whole host of special services and concerts at the Cathedral and other exciting venues throughout the year. In return, they receive unparalleled musical training from the

Cathedral’s professional music staff, alongside a first-class education at

King’s St Alban’s and King’s Senior. In 2006 the programme took a significant step forward with the recruitment of girl choristers, a number of whom also attended

King’s. It was a successful move, but with girls singing in just one service per week whilst the boys continued to sing on a near daily basis, there was still a significant divide between the experience on offer for girl and boy choristers.

Introducing Chorister Scholarships for girls

Worcester Cathedral Choristers form a rich part of our history here at King’s. Since our re-founding in 1541, boy choristers have combined their studies at King’s Worcester with the commitment of singing in the Cathedral. Read on to find out more about new developments to the programme to ensure equal opportunities between boy and girl choristers.

A brand new era

Earlier this year we were delighted to join with the Cathedral in announcing a brand-new era for the chorister programme, to ensure equal opportunities between boy and girl choristers.

With the announcement of 18 new chorister scholarships for girls, from September this year girl choristers have been singing on a new schedule equal in commitment to that of the boys, with the added benefit of being able to join the programme at a younger age, and gaining access to the Chorister Scholarship programme here at King’s Worcester.

We caught up with Annie B and Leah H, two of the first pupils to take advantage of the new scholarships for girls:

How does it feel to be one of the first girls to take advantage of the Chorister Scholarship?

Annie: It feels like such an exciting time to be joining the programme, so I’m very grateful that I’ve been offered the scholarship and given the opportunity. Leah: It’s a privilege to be able to take part in such a big change; our schedule has increased a lot but I’m really enjoying the new challenges and advantages that have come with it.

What is your favourite thing about being a chorister?

Annie: It’s such a great feeling when a difficult piece comes together and we love the way it sounds. It’s always nice to spend time with the other choristers too -we’re a close bunch. Leah: For me it’s the wide range of music that we sing; it’s not repetitive, it’s a new thing every day. How do you balance the commitment of being a chorister with the demands of daily school life?

Annie: I go to choir when I arrive at school, then after practice I have about five to ten minutes with my House before we go to lessons. We have no chorister commitments on a Tuesday, so that’s a great opportunity to spend time with my House. Leah: I tend to do a lot of my work of the weekends. Also, being in Sixth Form I have the advantage of free periods which really helps me to get organised and complete my school work.

What advice would you give to any young girl considering a Chorister Scholarship?

Annie: “Go for it!” It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I know it’s something that I’ll look back on with fond memories.

You don’t need to worry about juggling homework and school activities; the older girls will always help you. Leah: I would also say just go for it. It’s a really fun experience and a great privilege to be part of a such a warm and friendly community.

Great minds and hearts

flourish here...

Talk to any parent or child at King’s St Alban’s, and they’ll confirm that the school day is action-packed with engaging lessons, co-curricular activities, and a wealth of sporting and creative opportunities.

But dig a little deeper and you’ll find there’s much more to King’s St Alban’s. It’s a place where kindness rules and pupils are encouraged to rise to the challenge, as Head of King’s St Alban’s, Richard Chapman, explains, “We inspire them to think big, and help them to build the strongest foundations for their next pivotal steps.”

Nestled in the heart of the city centre, next to the Senior School, pupils at King’s St Alban’s are regular visitors to ‘Big King’s’, as the Senior School is known colloquially. This means they have access to some outstanding facilities, including drama and dance studios, a fully equipped theatre, and a state-of-the-art sports centre.

Richard continues, “It creates a seamless transition when the time comes to move to King’s Senior, and it also gives them something to which to aspire. They are lucky enough to see performances from our Sixth Form musicians, who are at the very top of their game, or watch the senior rugby team conducting a training session in the sports centre. They find it very exciting and come away thinking ‘that could be me when I’m older.’”

In addition to inspiring facilities and opportunities to learn, King’s St Alban’s has fully embraced the principles of Professor Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset. The idea focuses on the belief that pupils’ abilities can be developed over time through dedication and hard work - they aren’t fixed or limited in any way.

“It’s incredibly motivating, and a wonderful mindset to have,” explains Richard. “If we make mistakes, we look at the opportunities to learn and grow. Rather than saying we can’t do something, we talk about how we can’t do it just yet.”

Alongside the work on growth mindset and encouraging the children to ‘think big’, there is a calmer side to the school that focuses on mental health and well-being.

For several years now, King’s St Alban’s has been leading a mindfulness initiative within school, working to the guidelines provided through the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP), a national charity for young people and schools. All teachers receive mental health first aid training and children participate in a diverse range of activities, from mindful colouring to relaxing yoga and ‘wake up and stretch’ sessions.

“Happy children succeed, so we place great emphasis on taking care of ourselves both mentally and physically,” comments Richard.

Children in the Prep School receive additional support with the delivery of the Paws b Curriculum, a mindfulness programme which teaches valuable breathing techniques to help improve focus and concentration, whilst also minimising anxiety.

Since introducing mindfulness, teachers have reported calmer children, who seem more fulfilled and more supportive and caring of each other. Concentration levels have also increased significantly, helping them to perform better both in and out of the classroom.

For Richard and his team, the hard work in this area is set to continue. The school has recently appointed Year 6 Mindfulness Ambassadors for each class in the Prep School. These Ambassadors will run a five-minute meditation in their classroom each day.

Richard reflects, “I have no doubt that the work we are doing is helping our children to understand the importance of mental health, and what they can do to support their own well-being.”

If we can help them to develop the resilience to tackle life’s challenges head on, and the confidence to go out there and take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way, then we’ve done the job that we set out to do.

Richard Chapman, Head, King’s St Alban’s

Beep beep!

A wonderful walking journey for Reception

Here at King’s St Alban’s we are lucky enough to have such wonderful places of interest on our doorstep for the children to visit.

During the summer term, our Reception children were delighted to take a trip out as part of their Journeys and Holidays topic. The first stop was a very exciting visit to classmate Rudy’s house boat. The children loved learning about how the boat works and enjoyed a full tour, including the opportunity to beep the horn.

The next stop was a visit to the Diglis

Miniature Steam Trains. The children learnt how electric and steam trains work and then had the most fabulous time riding on four different trains. Mr Chapman also joined

Reception for a circuit of the track, much to the excitement of the children! Hearing the children’s squeals of delight and laughter was just wonderful.

After all that fun it was time to refuel with a picnic and a play in Diglis Park.

This was a wonderful morning creating memories. Well done Reception.

Rising star

Leo’s story

King’s St Alban’s is a place where kindness rules and pupils are inspired to think big, two characteristics that have served us well during the course of the pandemic.

One such example comes from nine-year-old Leo S, who was shocked to discover the true extent of food poverty as the issue hit the headlines earlier this year.

In just a few short months Leo had raised more than £1440 for The Trussell Trust and played an instrumental role in a leading UK supermarket chain’s plans to introduce measures to make it easier for online shoppers to help tackle food poverty.

Determined to help those suffering the devastating effects of food poverty, Leo established The Great Malvern

Hills Climb, which saw him climbing the Malvern Hills with his brothers and father to raise funds for The Trussell Trust.

Our PE Department jumped at the chance to support Leo and promptly challenged the King’s St Alban’s community to walk, run, cycle, scoot or even row a collective 612 miles.

This distance was the equivalent of every Junior School child travelling 4.5 miles, which is the distance from the

Worcestershire Beacon Walk to the highest point of the hills.

It was an impressive effort, but Leo was determined to do more and set about writing to the major UK supermarket chains to suggest they add a donate button to online shopping checkouts.

Leo’s letter caught the attention of Waitrose, who were already discussing ways to include a ‘donate’ button in their checkout process. The team were so inspired, including

Waitrose CEO James Bailey, that plans to introduce the feature were implemented as quickly as possible.

Richard Chapman, King’s St Alban’s Head adds, “We all observe things that make us sad or angry, but it takes courage, leadership and responsibility actually to do something about it.”

Leo and his Mum are now thinking of new ways to raise awareness of this issue and vital funds. We can’t wait to see what he does next.

I was watching a television show with my Mum about food banks and I felt like I wanted to do something to help.

Leo S