KING’S HIGH NEWS SPRING 2020 FEATURING: THE SPIRIT OF KING’S KING’S ART GOES PUBLIC MALALA’S FATHER ON EDUCATING GIRLS SPORT, DRAMA, MUSIC AND MUCH MORE…
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THE SPIRIT OF KING’S King’s High marked 140 years of girls’ education, and the move to a new, purpose-built school, by commissioning a dramatic work of Art. Kathleen Soriano, Chair of Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art (and former Director of Compton Verney), unveiled The Spirit of King’s. Head Master, Richard Nicholson commented: ‘We decided to commission something spectacular and lasting, to celebrate these key moments in our school’s history. Reflecting on what made the King’s community so special, the answer was: our spirit. It was therefore important that our signature sculpture should capture this unique quality.’
The eight-metre polished steel sculpture, which stands taller than the front of the school buildings, is the work of sculptor, Liz Middleton, who was recently invited to carve a modern ‘grotesque’ for St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Liz Middleton spent three months researching King’s High’s history, talking with pupils and former pupils, discussing what the school meant to them. She comments: ‘It was really inspiring, spending time with the girls, seeing them start their exciting journey at school, and how that develops over time, as they learn, change direction, and take risks. I wanted to express the ambition, dynamism and compelling energy I felt at the school and heard from the school community. I love the harmony between the effort, skill and power required to bend stainless steel, and the gestural lightness and joy of the form.’ This was something of a family affair for King’s High. The sculpture was made possible due to the generosity of a former pupil, Aileen Littleton. Another former pupil, Sarah Collicott, founder of Artscape Management, whose Public Art projects include Tottenham Hotspur stadium and Trafalgar Square’s 2020 Fourth Plinth, commissioned Liz Middleton, and curated the project. Unveiling The Spirit of King’s, Kathleen Soriano said: ‘This isn’t just about your rich past and incredible future. It is so enlightened and brave to commission such a project.’ ‘Liz Middleton has gone beyond the call, really getting under the skin of the school and all of you in it, creating this elemental and vibrant work of Art that captures a real sense of your energy and promise.’
HEAD MASTER’S INTRODUCTION This newsletter was planned before the Government’s closure of all schools, as part of a range of measures to tackle the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. As I write this introduction, I am mindful of the enormous changes and challenges these have made to everyone’s lives. I know our thoughts will also turn to those members of our community who are on the front line as critical workers, helping to keep our country safe. Our Spring edition of ‘King’s High News’ highlights some of the many activities and achievements before the 20th March. It tells the story of a vibrant, engaged, and aspirational community, which cares deeply about others, and the wellbeing of everyone within it. It sums up eloquently the spirit of our school; the spirit of King’s, now made manifest in a glorious sculpture outside our new Reception. The life of King’s is continuing unabated remotely. If any community could rise to the challenge of a shut-down, it is ours. This is a whole-community endeavour: teaching and support staff, pupils supported by parents, we have all adjusted with remarkable speed to ensure that our virtual school is every bit as caring, stimulating, and purposeful as our physical school. Through assemblies, online lessons, house and co-curricular activities, pastoral time, the enrichment programme, Careers, and collaborative activities with Warwick School, the day-to-day life of King’s continues. We remain a community at work, sharing our stories, enjoying companionship albeit at a distance, and displaying tremendous camaraderie. I encourage you all to visit our social media feeds to keep up-to-date with our story at this extraordinary time in the life of our country. I will end with our mottos, which seem more relevant now than ever: ‘Aspire, Achieve, Enjoy’; Spiritus Reget.
Please take a look at our Social Media sites to see what we have been up to: www.kingshighwarwick.co.uk kingshighwarwick.uk @KHSWarwick kingshighschoolwarwick
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THE INTERVIEW: ZIAUDDIN YOUSAFZAI Continuing a series of girls interviewing well known figures, here is the interview Jess Worth and Rosie Brooker (Year 8) conducted with Malala’s father, Ziauddin Yousafzai
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‘WHENEVER YOU SEE AN INJUSTICE, YOU MUST RAISE YOUR VOICE. YOU MUSTN’T WAIT FOR OTHERS TO RAISE THEIR VOICES FOR YOU.’ Jess and Rosie write: ‘Ziauddin Yousafzai is, in essence, an inspiration. To you, to me, to others, to people experiencing injustices – and to the world. The inspiration he has stimulated has been a consistent theme throughout his career, if not throughout his life and his work as a human rights activist. At the end of last term, he came to King’s High for an AmnesTEA talk and, before this event, we were able to interview him about his inspirations to speak out. In our interview, Ziauddin Yousafzai said: ‘Whenever you see an injustice, you must raise your voice. You mustn’t wait for others to raise their voices for you. Your voice is the most powerful.’ He told us that, in reference to girls’ education and the construction of girls’ schools in the Swat Valley: ‘I was not the pioneer of it – my school was different because I used it as a platform for social change.’ Mr Yousafzai said they had a good life, but the Taliban had banned girls’ rights to education and over 400 schools were bombed, and they stopped women and girls from going to school. They also burnt people’s possessions, such as televisions, CDs and other items. Ziauddin Yousafzai said that he saw it and he had to change it. ‘In our culture, you shouldn’t attack a girl, but I wasn’t expecting the Taliban to attack a girl anyway. I took it for granted that Malala wasn’t
challenging to the Taliban; she was just saying she was believing in human rights, so I didn’t believe that they would attack her.’ He said that about 60% of the girls that live in Pakistan don’t go to school because of the Taliban attacks. He told us why he thought his daughter was so successful: ‘Malala is wise, powerful, free of jealousy and hate, full of forgiveness, and always looks towards tomorrow, not living in the trauma of the past.’ He is very proud of his daughter and the good work that they do together and the difference that they make in the world. Malala was fighting for the rights of so many people and her story has affected and inspired numerous people.
success, perhaps, is due to both Ziauddin’s and Malala’s strong philosophy, expressed, as he says, by: ‘People who opposed me, who criticised me – I didn’t yield to them.’ Ziauddin Yousafzai and his daughter have made a huge difference in the world of injustices, and in girls’ rights and education. They look forward to the future when they can expand their work and continue to do good for the world. The power of change is alive and running in the capable hands of inspirational people such as Ziauddin who, in his own words, believes: ‘Education is the greatest equaliser, and we should use education to expand and enhance opportunities for everyone across the world.’
Ziauddin Yousafzai, wanting to make his and his daughter’s stories known so that they can inspire others to stand up for themselves, wrote a book about his and Malala’s experiences. Let Her Fly: A Father’s Journey is about his journey – from his youth as a stammering boy living in a tiny village in the mountains of Pakistan – to an activist for equality, and the father of the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He says: ‘We never thought in our dreams we would work for the world of girls’ education. My dream was to work for my local community.’ This dream escalated and expanded, breaking boundaries and creating major changes in the world. Some of this
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DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
An ‘Inspire’ trip to Parliament saw the youngest pupils at King’s High tour the House of Commons and the House of Lords, prompting much debate on democracy, power, history, and the forces shaping the current political climate across the world. The girls explored Whitehall, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace, filming for a Video Diary Creative Challenge.
SUPPORT FOR AUSTRALIA Pupils wrote letters of support to fellow pupils in Australia, following the devastating bushfires. Girls sent handwritten letters and cards to children at King’s High’s sister school, Tara School, in the suburbs of Sydney, to greet the Australian pupils when they returned for school after their summer holiday. Sarah Didlick, Director of Co-Curricular Activities, told local press: ‘Our pupils had been studying the cause of the fires in Geography and, like us all, they were very moved by the images from Australia. Tara School visited us with their choir in 2018. We had a lovely time together, and the girls decided they wanted to express their concern, and show their support.’ Twelve-year old Hannah wrote in her letter: ‘It looks very scary. I hope you have a good start to the school year and the situation improves quickly.’ The girls shared messages of support, spoke about their own family and connections in Australia, swapped school news, and told how they had been raising money for aid work through their chosen charities at King’s High.
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INSPIRE PROGRAMME: BEARING FRUIT Dr Phil Seal, Director of Studies, reports: ‘Our Inspire Programme continues to bear fruit, with students achieving recent success in national competitions including the Appleton Rutherford Essay School Science Prize, as well as five girls receiving scholarships in the Immerse Education Scholarship Programme in Cambridge. Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) are now using their Inspire Homework allocation to prepare entries for the Shell Bright Ideas competition and Queen’s Commonwealth Prize – our fingers are crossed for all entrants. Our Creative Thinking Working Party has been working with an artist from Imagineer Productions to design a new set of sculptures to go in the heart of our new quad; all will be unveiled during our Festival of Creative Thinking after the Easter Holidays. While Prof Angie Hobbs (philosopher) sadly had to postpone her Inspire Lecture for now, we welcomed Dr Anne Whitehouse (feminist author) for a Hobbs Society talk, Darren Bloom (composer) for an Inspire Dinner, and Prof Greg Leadbetter (poet) for a series of workshops and events, and we look forward to some more extraordinary guests in the summer term. In recent months, Mrs McClean has led our Senior Debating team to unprecedented success, with Maud Beidas, Emile Linfoot and Gigi Thomas from Year 11 storming their way to the regional finals of the ESU’s School’s MACE competition in style. They proposed the motion: ‘This House condemns the commercialisation of the Pride movement.’ We are also working towards making a national splash as a school with our Certificate in Creative Thinking, with Year 10 producing work that will be used as a model later in the year when we launch the certificate with Prof A C Grayling at the New College of the Humanities.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Girls approached a serious subject in a fun way, in Geography lessons. Kirsty White, Head of Geography, reports: ‘The girls became a greenhouse gas and made a hat with the name of the gas and pictures of why it was increasing. Different colours were different gases to reflect the proportion of gases in the atmosphere. The balls represented the sun’s radiation and some pupils were the sun, pushing balls towards pupils who represented the earth. We saw how when there were no greenhouse gases all the heat would be lost into space, with an average world temp of -18’C. Then we added a few greenhouse gases, who caught the balls and trapped the heat. We then added more gases to reflect the effects humans have. More greenhouse gases meant more heat trapped, therefore climate change!’ 5
OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE OFFERS More girls from King’s High received offers from Oxford and Cambridge this year, in subjects ranging from Architecture, to Natural Sciences. The following students have received offers: Holly Ward, to read Law at Lincoln College, Oxford; Amber Parr for Architecture at Girton College, Cambridge; Emma Cooley for French and German at Exeter College, Oxford; Lucy Hyde for Natural Sciences at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and Maya Evans for German and Beginners’ Russian at St Peter’s, Oxford. Head Master, Richard Nicholson comments: ‘We are very proud of all our Oxbridge candidates, and congratulate those girls who received
offers. The continued rise in candidates is testament to our dedicated girls and staff, and our Higher Education Enrichment programme, which has been created to foster Creative Thinking throughout school. We are hugely proud of all our girls, who go on to such exciting journeys beyond King’s, studying a vast range of subjects. In the past three years, 75% of our girls have gone to one of the 25 universities targeted by the top employers. 86% go to their first-choice university, and girls go on to Arts Foundation courses, Music Conservatoires, Drama Colleges, and Degree Apprenticeships.’
UPDATE FROM THE WELLBEING AMBASSADORS Lucy Jennings, a Wellbeing Ambassador in Year 8, writes: ‘We have completed numerous reports in and out of school, promoting kindness and understanding. On Safer Internet Day, we did an Assembly for the whole school on cyber-identity, and being safe online. Each of the teachers had to hide something about themselves and everyone voted electronically, in a ‘teacher identity parade’, to find which teacher fitted the identity.’ Ambassadors from Year 11 presented an Assembly on sexting to Year 9. This included suggesting that to maintain respect, a photo of a pig was sent when something less appropriate was suggested! We were lucky enough to have a PSHE talk from the founder and Chair of Warwickshire Pride. He presented an interesting and informative assembly to Years 8 and 9 to help us understand LGBTQ+. He was met and introduced to the year groups by our Year 9 Wellbeing Ambassadors. Seven Wellbeing Ambassadors visited Eversfield School in Solihull. We had been invited to give top tips on wellbeing to their newly appointed Peer Mentors. We spoke to a group of Years 4-6 boys and girls and they were very responsive to our ideas …and shared a few of their own! At the Old Girls’ Lunch, Wellbeing Ambassadors were on hand to help guide former pupils and staff of King’s High around our new site. They were keen to hear about our role in the school and very interested to see how we support pupils in 2020. 6
LANDOR LECTURE: DR HELEN CASTOR Abigail Hunt (Lower Sixth) reports: ‘We were incredibly excited to welcome Old Girl, Dr Helen Castor to give the Landor Association Lecture. A British historian of the medieval period, and a BBC broadcaster, Dr Castor was a lecturer and is a current Fellow at Cambridge University. She is the author of Blood and Roses, and She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth. Dr Castor’s talk treated us to a rich history of British female monarchs, and those that tried, and nearly succeeded, in becoming Queen, like Matilda. It was captivating, and incredibly frustrating, to hear about the attitudes of old, that so sadly are still running through today’s political society, when it comes to our female leaders. We heard that in today’s society, females that do become leaders again are often portrayed as the exception, like Margaret Thatcher, who was cast in her role as the Iron Lady, and not as an ordinary woman. Both Elizabeth I and Thatcher relied solely on male advisors, with Thatcher having a male-only Cabinet, making her leadership easier to stomach, for those of traditional conservative values, or with a misogynistic view of women, as they had only the advice of men. The ruthless attacks on female leaders, be it Theresa May or Margaret Thatcher, who have been public figures of hate, in a way no male leaders have had to endure, can be traced back to Medieval times, with the sad conclusion that society’s attitude to the She Wolves who have Ruled England has changed little over the last 800 years. It was an incredibly powerful and insightful talk, which captivated the audience, and those that I spoke to afterwards, who unanimously voiced their appreciation of our guest speaker, spoke of a determination, as King’s girls, to do their bit to change society’s attitudes for the better.’ Polly Beidas, Development and Landor Association Administrator, adds: ‘Dr Helen Castor was delighted to find a supportive and captivated audience in the Landor Association, including several special guests. These were Mrs Walton, mother of an Old Girl and Dr Castor’s former Primary School teacher from Milverton, and three of her King’s High teachers, Mrs Hall, Mrs Lampitt and Miss Lenygon. The last named was one of Dr Castor’s History teachers and a dedicatee of Dr Castor’s book She Wolves with the late Miss Mary Yates.’
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THE POWER OF YOUNG ENTERPRISE The imagination and ingenuity of King’s High and Warwick School’s Sixth Form Young Enterprise teams is always inspiring. Young Enterprise students have been out and about this term, promoting their companies, and selling their products to the public – most recently, outside Morrisons, and at a trade fair in the Royal Priors shopping centre in Leamington. Company Cura are developing QR codes to help identify food allergies; Earth+ are creating an environment-themed, illustrated storybook for young people, and Endure are developing healthy cookery products for young children, which include specially created, easy to cook recipes. Grace Bennett, from Company Endure, reports: ‘We have been out selling apron sets to our target audience of children aged 7-10 to promote healthy eating and cooking from a young age with family. The sets include an apron with our ‘five a day friends’ fruit and vegetable characters, and three recipe cards, easy enough for children to make with a parent, plus a wooden spoon, to get children started on their cooking adventures. We have been busy self-printing characters onto aprons and sewing on colourful pockets in the Design Technology room, designing recipe cards, testing and cooking recipes, photographing the outcomes, and preparing our sales and marketing material.’ Saskia Morel, of Company Cura, reports: ‘We have arranged meetings with potential clients (including The Farm and El Greco) to see if we can take our product even further.’
UK COMPUTATIONAL THINKING
SCIENCE FOR ALL Sixth Form scientists have been showing younger Warwick Prep pupils around the ten new labs at King’s, taking part in a series of fun, weekly science sessions together.
Emily Strens (Year 7) came in the top 61 of 79,986 students, as a finalist in the UK Brebas Computational Thinking Challenge. Emily attended the national finals at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford. The Thinking Challenge, supported by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, is designed to get students excited about computing and computational thinking. It is a problem-solving contest, with questions inspired by topics in Computer Science lessons. The highest scoring students from four age groups (Elite, Seniors, Intermediate, and Juniors) were invited to Oxford for the finals. Girls ran a fabulous Valentine’s Fete, raising money for their chosen charities. The whole school embraced a Friday afternoon of charity fundraising, which also featured King’s High’s Key Stage 4 Running Group, formed this term. House charity officers have been busy planning activities for the four house charities: Roy Castle Lung Cancer foundation – Dench, UNICEF – Hepburn, Kindled Spirit – Pankhurst, Lumos – Rowling.
CHARITY FUNDRAISING 8
After an inspirational Assembly led by students, girls organised a series of fund-raising activities including a non-uniform day, sale of biscuits (produced by Lower Sixth Business students as part of an enterprise project), visiting Morrisons to help with bag packing and a sponsored walk/run.
WORLD BOOK DAY
King’s High’s English Department always create wonderful events around World Book Day, in March. For this year, they developed the theme: ‘literary role models’. Staff shared their own literary role models with their classes, reading short extracts from their chosen authors’ work, and girls dressed as their own favourite role models. Rachel Bradbury, Head of English, said: ‘The official World Book Day message this year was #readingispower and this was an excellent opportunity to focus on the kind of life lessons and positive messages we have gleaned from literature.’ Girls led a fun, interactive Assembly with younger pupils at Warwick Prep and, together with boys from Warwick School, read some of their own favourite children’s stories to the Pre-Prep children.
ROCK BAND GET BBC PLAYTIME
King’s High rock band, MACH4 – Charlotte Syson, Caitlin Hughes, Alisha Raines, Millie Perkins – featured on BBC Music Introducing. MACH4 have been together three years, writing their own material. Last summer, they went into a professional recording studio, and recorded their debut 4 song EP with John Rivers, at Woodbine Studios in Leamington. John has worked with the Specials, Buzzcocks and Paul Weller, and has helped many up and coming bands into the music industry. Nick Jones, Drum teacher at King’s High, (who has supported the girls all along) submitted two of their songs to BBC Music Introducing, the BBC’s platform for discovering, and playing, emerging UK artists. BBC Introducing ‘graduates’ include George Ezra, and over half of the artists performing at Leeds and Reading. BBC Coventry and Warwickshire’s Brody Swain introduced MACH4’s song, Deny (right after Stormzy) on his show. MACH4’s clever lyrics and gorgeous sound proved a hit, and the station has since replayed their songs. The girls have been a popular fixture at King’s High and Warwick School concerts, and are currently in talks for more public performances. Nick Jones says: ‘They have worked so hard over three years, crafting their songwriting and performances. With these guys, it really is a case of ‘watch this space’, as they are so good!’
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FIELDWORK IN NORTH YORKSHIRE
INSPIRE DINNER: WHAT IS POETRY King’s High’s Poet in Residence, Gregory Leadbetter, Professor of Poetry at Birmingham City University, gave a fascinating talk at the Inspire Dinner. He is working on a number of exciting projects within school. Girls from across the school attended a writing workshop with Prof Leadbetter, looking at Roman finds, and using them for inspiration for some poetry.
On a Geography field trip to North Yorkshire, girls completed three days of practical fieldwork, including investigations on the carbon cycle and coastal processes. They visited Flamborough Head and saw some amazing coastal scenery such as arches, stacks and geos, and scrambled through a tiny cave. They saw seals and porpoises. They also did a place study in Scarborough, which included looking at street art and measuring sense of place, using the Great Places Wheel.
MR PARDOE’S CLAYPIGEON LEGACY The entire King’s High community was saddened by the death of our colleague and friend, Mr Pete Pardoe this term. For the girls he helped in Design Technology – always giving up his lunchtimes to help with projects – and our Claypigeon teams – giving up his weekends to train, support and drive them around the country – it is a particular loss. Part of Mr Pardoe’s legacy at King’s will be the extraordinary achievements of his Claypigeon teams. Regularly beating famous ‘shooting’ schools, such as Millfield, and even university students, the Claypigeon teams became a force to be reckoned with, under Mr Pardoe’s dedicated training. They were four times Champions at the National British Schools Championships (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) and regular winners at major competitions.
CAREERS: YOUR FUTURE 10
Susan Ostrander of King’s High’s Futures Department writes: ‘We strive to make sure our students have the edge in this fast paced and rapidly changing world. As part of our Lower Sixth ‘Your Future’ Careers Education programme, students did one-to-one mock job interviews. These were led by Claire Jenkins, Senior Visiting Lecturer for Interview Skills at Worcester University, and the University of Wolverhampton. Claire’s interview tips included: ‘Use ‘I’ instead of ‘We’ and say it aloud. Often those interviewing haven’t read your application or anything about you because someone else did the shortlisting. Behave as if they know nothing about you. If you don’t say it out loud, you won’t get that tick on the scoresheet!’. Students have been thinking about their employability skills, how they can best communicate these to potential employers, and preparing for interviews.’ The ongoing Careers Talks programme has included Digital Marketing, Careers in Medicine, Studying Abroad, Sports Scholarships in the USA, and Apprenticeships.
‘We all know how seriously the Romans took their cuisine and how drawn-out dinner parties featured as a major part of their cultural experiences. In that vein, some of our most enthusiastic classicists in Year 9 attended a Roman ‘cena’ in their Latin class. The event proved to be a true symposium during which the intrinsic values of Latin were expounded; namely the subject’s ability to stretch powers of logic, to develop superb analytical skills, to heighten literary prowess and to sharpen knowledge of linguistics and wordsmanship. The discipline of Classics provides a solid academic foundation, which provides a fundamental grounding for the pursuit of other languages and the study of English language and literature, as well as reaching out into the logical realms of Science and Maths; such solid skills will be valuable and essential beyond school within chosen professions.
REPORT ON A ROMAN ‘CENA’ LINGUISTICS OLYMPIAD
As a twist on the usual entertainment, pupils indulged in a feisty and competitive game of Latin bingo, a fun activity that also tested their knowledge of vocabulary. Roman artefacts were on display including a 2000-year-old anulus/ring, a fibula/brooch, and a dolphin-shaped Greek coin, minted in the 5th century BC. Huge thanks to the incredible King’s catering team for providing such wonderful food, of which even the famous Roman chef, Apicius, would have been proud. We have also enjoyed a wonderful Year 7 Classics Assembly.’
ROSIE WINS ROUTES INTO LANGUAGES Rosie Heath was a UK winner in the ‘Routes into Languages’ annual Foreign Language Christmas Card competition. Rosie’s wonderful Adventskalender contained an interesting fact about Germany behind each window.
In conjunction with Warwick School, fifteen of our linguists from Years 11 to Upper Sixth took part in the Advanced Level competition at the annual Linguistics Olympiad. The questions this year included linguistic challenges on the Cypriot Idalian Tablet from the 5th Century BC, the Sino-Tibetan language Chintang, and Kolyma Yukaghir from the far east of Russia, a dying language whose origin and relation to other languages is unknown, with only five fluent speakers. Leonie Howells and Shivanshi Bhatt won Silver awards. 11
FOCUS ON ART:
KING’S HIGH ART GOES PUBLIC The wonderful Art produced at King’s High, displayed to such great effect around school for everyone to enjoy, has been reaching a wider audience recently, as King’s High Art goes public… 12
LEAMINGTON STUDIO ARTISTS Leamington Studio Artists (LSA) has been working on a new project to support Art in schools. King’s High is the first to get involved, with our pupils taking part by designing a piece of artwork which illustrated their individual strengths. Sarah Jordan, Director of Art, says: ‘Art at King’s is widely celebrated, and our girls are encouraged to be creative in as many diverse ways as possible. We know the benefits of the arts within a well-rounded curriculum. We hope the girls’ involvement continues to foster their love for the arts and empowers them to embark on a creative future pathway.’
THE IMPORTANCE OF ART IN SCHOOLS Unveiling The Spirit of King’s, Kathleen Soriano, Chair of Liverpool Biennial, gave a powerful speech on the role Art plays in education: ‘The value of Art, especially in schools, is not to be underestimated. It is even more important today, and I despair that so many schools are removing Art from their curriculum, when we all know that the fourth Industrial Revolution, with all its automation and Artificial Intelligence, will reshape the labour market, and skills that will be needed. Those so-called 21st Century skills are: judgement and decision-making; fluency and ideas; active learning; learning strategies, and originality. All skills that are developed through the study of art-related subjects. The UK creative industries are a real success story, growing at twice the rate of the economy as a whole, and generating £92 billion per annum, making up almost 50% of the UK’s economy. They are one of the fastest growing sectors of the British economy as a whole, bigger than the car industry, life sciences, aerospace, oil and gas, all put together. It is estimated that 87% of creative jobs are at low risk of automation, compared with 40% of other jobs, so you are better prepared for the job market if you have creative skills, and an artsrich education, which gives you so much. So you’re all in the right school, clearly, at King’s High!’
MY LIFE IN ART: LAURA WILLEY Art Scholar, Laura Willey has exhibited her work in public four times recently (five times, including an online Art exhibition). One gorgeous painting (‘I just call it my ‘bottle and cloth’ piece’) was displayed at the Scholars Exhibition in Leamington, and the Rugby Open. Laura’s most recent project, an extraordinary series of oil paintings, The Figure, was inspired by the school trip to Iceland. ‘I was shocked by the physical impact of the glaciers shrinking, and decided to explore this, transposing images of the glaciers over a portrait of a friend.’ Considering how she has developed as an artist during her time at King’s, Laura says: ‘Even though it may seem obvious, I truly believe that without Ms Jordan and the Art Department (and the amazing photography from Mr Reeves), the artworks produced wouldn’t be as thought-provoking and outstanding. They are always so supportive, kind, and inspire me to develop the most imaginative ideas. Also, I think that looking up at the Sixth Form artworks/sketchbooks (or Year 10/11s for the younger students) is really encouraging and motivational, as well as bouncing off ideas with your friends, which makes it such a fun and enjoyable subject.’
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KING’S ARTS MARY POPPINS JR: KING’S HIGH AND WARWICK SCHOOL Caron Burman, King’s High Librarian, reviews the show: ‘Mary Poppins was ‘Practically Perfect’, other than a slight kite mishap and these sorts of things can happen to the best. (Even the RSC had a non-goal during The Boy in the Dress recently). The show was a visual feast, the costumes superb, scenery and lighting worked seamlessly in the hands of a slick back stage crew. Slightly different to the classic film everyone is familiar with, there were some nice additions that made the show feel fresh and fun, including another nanny who had to be turfed out of the Banks’ household by Mary Poppins herself. And Mary Poppins was exactly how I had hoped she would be, with just the right air of authority, a fab hat and lovely singing voice. The musical and dance numbers were brilliant, especially the poignant ‘Feed the Birds’ and the toe-tapping ‘Step in Time’. All the cast and ensemble performed so well together it was a real treat to watch. Thoroughly professional and extremely enjoyable, it was exactly what a night out at the theatre should be, with the audience leaving with a big smile and humming the songs on the way home.’ Caitlin Hughes and Charlotte Syson, sharing the role, were magnificent Mary Poppins, with spit-spot performances from Lottie Perry, Charlotte Knights, Tilly Stevens, Yasmin Bakhtiari, Lily McElfatrick, Julia di Matteo, Charlotte Isbell, Millie Perkins, Ottilie Lampitt, and a fabulous ensemble and crew. 14
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SPOTLIGHT ON LAMDA
Fiona Mills, Head of LAMDA, reports: ‘We currently have approximately 180 students studying a range of LAMDA qualifications in Verse and Prose, Acting, Reading for Performance and Speaking in Public. The majority of students have recently taken their LAMDA Examinations under the new LAMDA syllabus, which has a more rigorous knowledge section. The LAMDA Evening was a great success, with different students performing a range of pieces from a selection of genres and periods. The students also created a short devised piece based on superstitions. We enjoy seeing the students progress and are proud of what they have achieved. We are now eagerly awaiting the exam results and we hope the students will have achieved the marks they deserve.’
DANCE EVENING
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Themed ‘Light and Dark’, the Dance Evening showcased the many talents of our Ballet, Hip-Hop and Contemporary dancers, along with the joint King’s and Warwick School group, Altiora, with solos from Millie Bellamy, Alodie Rigby and Natalie Baker.
KING’S MUSIC
MUSICAL HORIZONS: SHOWCASING TALENT Alex Laing, Artistic Director (Music) for King’s High and Warwick Prep, reports: This has been a busy term of concerts. Our Musical Horizons series showcases the talents of girls from Warwick Prep up to Sixth Form, as they perform as soloists or in ensembles in the hall to a friendly audience. There have been many outstanding performances from all ages, including ‘Reeds Rule’, piano soloists, and the Junior Choir (Years 3 and 4) from Warwick Prep, right up to the King’s High Senior Wind Ensemble. Jessica Zhou and Ema Jasper continue to shine as pianists and the singing goes from strength to strength, with notable performances from Katy Burrows, Taryn Young, Lottie Coombe and Annabel Ledgard amongst others.
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BBC YOUNG MUSICIAN Pupils across the Foundation were treated to a short recital from the current BBC Young Musician of the Year, Lauren Zhang. She perfomed a glorious movement of Schubert, before generously giving her time and advice to some of our senior musicians.
HEARING NICOLA BENEDETTI Alex Laing has been working with the world famous violinist, Nicola Benedetti as a conductor, and teaching teachers, for the newly formed Benedetti Foundation. The Foundation seeks to inspire musicians of all ages and stages. Mr Laing took some pupils from Years 6 and 7 to join the Benedetti Sessions. The girls had great fun, were inspired to work with Nicola and, we gather, are practising even more, as a result! An orchestra of nearly 100 string players performed for an incredibly enthusiastic audience in the Birmingham Town Hall.
JOINT CONCERTS Musical collaboration with Warwick School has been notable this term. Musicians from both schools joined forces for a concert dedicated just to Percussion. There were super solos on xylophone from Charlotte Allen, (accompanied beautifully by Ema Jasper on piano), and Charlotte Isbell, and exhilarating performances from our increasingly professional Percussion Ensemble. It was fantastic to hear such strong ensemble skills from the musicians performing Mozart following a successful, hardworking, and enjoyable trip to Smallwood Manor. Other highlights included the first Jazz, Rock and Pop Concert in the new hall – an absolute triumph. Jazz teacher, Tom Lindsay introduced an impressive stream of talent from our singers and musicians. King’s High hosted a day for Ex Cathedra Education’s Singing Playgrounds with local schools, together with Warwickshire Music.
MAKING MUSIC TOGETHER There have been lovely opportunities for senior girls to perform for their younger ‘sisters’ at Prep assemblies. Senior Wind Ensemble wowed the next generation of wind players, while the ‘Rogue’ String quartet entertained with a super Coldplay cover of Viva La Vida.
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KING’S SPORT
SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS NETBALL COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP U13s crowned County Champions
NETBALL COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP U15s crowned County Champions
NETBALL NATIONAL CUP U13s are Quarter Finalists
NATIONAL WATER POLO FINALS U15s Water Polo are National Finalists
NETBALL REGIONAL FINALS U16s are Regional Finalists and in last 16 of the National Cup
WARWICKSHIRE LAWN TENNIS ASSOCIATION Lucia Cassidy, Warwickshire 18 and Unders Tennis, honoured at Warwickshire LTA awards
GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS U13s bronze medallists at Independent Schools Gymnastics Association 4 Piece WARWICK 50S SWIMMING GALA King’s High Swimming teams are overall Runners Up HOCKEY COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP U12s are Runners Up and progress to Midlands Finals NATIONAL SCHOOLS EQUESTRIAN ASSOCIATION UK CHAMPIONSHIPS Gemma Guest qualifies for National Dressage Finals MIDLANDS SKI CLUB SERIES Scarlet Littell finishes 3rd overall in Midlands Ski Races season
MIDLANDS FINALS U13s Hockey are Midlands Finalists COUNTY TOURNAMENT – IN2HOCKEY U13s Hockey are Runners Up ENGLAND HOCKEY Lizzy Pocknell plays for England U18s Hockey, beating Ireland NATIONAL INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS NETBALL CUP U13s are Quarter Finalists
NATIONAL SCHOOLS EQUESTRIAN ASSOCIATION EVENTER CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS King’s High riders qualify for National Eventer Challenge Championship at Hickstead HOCKEY COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP U13s crowned 11-aside County Champions 2020 BRITISH SCHOOLS MODERN BIATHLON NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS All 13 from King’s High and Warwick Prep Sports Department (and coach, Mrs Riley!) qualify for national finals 2020 BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS NATIONAL FENCING FINALS Anne Mynors to represent the West Midlands WEST MIDLANDS AGE GROUP EPEE CHAMPIONSHIPS Bronze medallist in U16 Championship
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PLAYING FOR ENGLAND
WATERPOLO FINALS The U15s competed at the National Waterpolo Finals. Congratulations to Evie Jeavons, Georgia Johnson, Annabel Lawrence, Isabella Balzaretti, Lucia Cassidy, Hannah Constance, Scarlet Littell, Elisabeth Paley, Jess Payton, Mollie Hegarty, Laura Watts and Izzie Montandon. Our swim teams were overall runners up at the Warwick 50s.
FENCING FOR WEST MIDLANDS Lizzy Pocknell is progressing through the England Hockey Girls’ Programme. Playing for England U18s, Lizzy was part of the winning team against Ireland. As well as contributing to King’s High hockey success, Lizzy plays for Stourport Hockey Club in the Investec National League North Division.
Anne Mynors won the Bronze medal in the Under 16 event at the West Midlands Age Group Epee Championships. She goes on to represent the West Midlands at the 2020 British Youth Championships National Fencing Finals.
WARWICKSHIRE LTA AWARDS At the Warwickshire Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) Awards, Lucia Cassidy was awarded a prestigious bursary for her ‘hard work and promise’, having broken through to national junior level last year. Aged 13, Lucia won her first age-group tournament on the national junior tour, but was unable to collect her bursary in person, as she was in action for Warwickshire 18 and Unders at the Junior County Cup – one of the youngest girls ever selected for the side.
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Top row: Under 12 hockey (left) and Under 13 hockey champions Bottom row: Under 15 Netball and Under 19 Netball
EQUESTRIAN: HICKSTEAD QUALIFIERS
HOCKEY COUNTY CHAMPIONS The U13s had a particularly impressive campaign, in the run up to being crowned 11-aside Hockey County Champions. They played four matches, won four, and conceded no goals.
CROSS COUNTRY Carly Borgeais was County Champion at the Warwickshire Schools Cross Country in the Minors (Year 7) race and Amisha Modi came third. In the Junior (Year 8-9) race Maddie Linfoot came third and Laura Watts tenth. In the Inter (Years 10-11) race Emma Dobson came fourth and Hanna Schweigert (competing in her first cross country) came ninth, and Gigi Thomas came 14th. The team came second overall. Maddie Linfoot, Emma Dobson, Carly Borgeais and Amisha Modi were selected to run for Warwickshire at the English Schools Cross Country finals, with Hanna Schweigert selected as Reserve.
GYMNASTIC SUCCESS The U13 Gymnastics team, Isobel Davis, Lucy Gifford, Ottelia Tetley, Isabella Beecroft-Luckett and Martha Aldridge, took the bronze medals at the Independent Schools Gymnastics Association 4 Piece competition. In the GSA Gymnastics Cup, all our U14 and U18 girls performed well in the floor and vault competition at Loughborough University.
In a first for King’s High, two equestrian teams have qualified for Hickstead, one of Showjumping’s most famous venues, to compete in the National Schools Equestrian Association Eventer Challenge Championships finals. Alina Kozersky, Amelia Norton and Annabelle Wolverson are competing in the 75cm class; Alina and Annabelle, together with Amelia Norton and Tillie Orton, are competing in the 85cm, and Tillie is competing as an Individual in the 95cm. In other Equestrian news, our first polo players competed in the Senior Schools National Arena Polo Championships. Gemma Guest has qualified for the NSEA National Dressage Championships in October, after coming 2nd at Hartpury College. Annabelle Wolverson, Tille Orton, Eloise Dunning and Amelia Morgan qualified for National County Championships in Dressage. Kitty Jewson and Bella Brown have competed in the Schools Equestrian Games Show Jumping – and all led by Equestrian Captain, Ella Lawton-Smith.
NETBALL COUNTY CHAMPIONS The U13s were crowned County Champions. There was great strength in depth, with the B team playing in the same tournament.
FIRST BIATHLON Participating in their first West Midlands Biathlon (running, swimming), U10-U18 athletes from King’s High and Warwick Prep Sports Department came away with an impressive sweep of medals – and all qualified for the 2020 British Schools Modern Biathlon National Championships. The U10s team won Second (individual) and Third. The U11s won their team competition. Gaia Birch, Scarlett Ward and Serena Newell won the U12 team competition, as did the U14s, with Molly Bullock also winning First (individual), Amelia Wiggin, Second, and Poppy Miners, Third. Ella Vickers placed Second in the U18s. The staff event was won by our own Mrs Riley, GB triathlete, who qualified for national finals.
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Independent Day School for Girls 11 – 18 years King’s High School For Girls Banbury Road Warwick CV34 6YE t: 01926 494485 e: enquiries@kingshighwarwick.co.uk www.kingshighwarwick.co.uk kingshighwarwick.uk @KHSWarwick kingshighschoolwarwick