KGS Friends - April 2017

APRIL 2017, ISSUE 21

www.kgs.org.uk/community/alumni

KGS Friends

...INCORPORATING THE OLD KINGSTONIAN ASSOCIATION

KGS Friends Visual Arts Evening. See page 8.

One Term On Reunion KGS Friends celebrated the Year of 2016’s first term away with two very successful One Term On reunions back in December.

This year saw the events at two new venues. The parents, some 30 of them, gathered downstairs in The Bishop, while a few doors along 80 of the newest cohort of OKs, joined by about a dozen of their old teachers, were upstairs at The Gazebo.

KGS Friends were liberal with the wherewithal, the spirit of goodwill and good cheer flourished and festive fun was had by all – perhaps a little more festive at The Gazebo, it must be said. Something to do with the altitude?

Eventually everyone headed off, nicely primed for the holiday season and looking forward to a very happy Christmas.

Forthcoming Events

Professional Networking Evening

7.00pm, Thursday 4th May 2017 Guest Speaker James Robbins (Former Parent) BBC Diplomatic Correspondent James Robbins is the perfect host for our Networking Evening. He has been a diplomatic correspondent for the BBC since 1998 and no-one could have a better understanding of the importance of meeting people and engaging in constructive dialogue.

After graduating from Oxford University with an Honours degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, James joined the BBC as a news trainee in 1977. Between 1987 and 1991, he was Southern Africa correspondent for the BBC, based in Johannesburg. He witnessed the release of Nelson Mandela, and was one of the first journalists to interview him.

From 1992 until the end of 1997 James was in Brussels as the BBC’s Europe correspondent and Europe bureau chief, covering various issues such as the introduction of the single market, the political fallout from the Maastricht Treaty and the steady enlargement of the European Union.

In 2001 he helped lead the BBC’s television coverage of the September 11 attacks on America, making the first report on that evening’s BBC Ten O’Clock News, a report lasting over 7 minutes.

James has covered global crises ever since, reporting around the world, from the United Nations in New York, from Afghanistan, the Middle East and many European capitals. He has covered wars in Angola, in Mozambique and in Namibia during its transition to independence and democracy and he reported on the first trials in the Hague at the newly established UN International Criminal Tribunal court for the former Yugoslavia.

James was Guest of Honour at the senior prizegiving in 2014, and we are delighted to be able to call on his services for this important and prestigious event. His experience and knowledge make him the ideal host for what we are sure will be a scintillating occasion and a fascinating opportunity for all who attend.

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Following the success of last year’s Professional Networking Evening, held at the Houses of Parliament, we are delighted to announce that the next meeting of the KGS Friends Professional Networking Group will take place in The Lansdowne Club, Mayfair.

Join us for a drinks and canapé reception to meet alumni, staff, governors, current and former parents, and sixth form studends and build your professional network.

Tickets are £30 for adults and £25 for KGS students and can be booked at the following link: trybooking.co.uk/BUR Address: 9 Fitzmaurice Place, Mayfair, London W1J 5JD Dress code: The Club dress code must be adhered to by everyone.

Men must wear a jacket and collared long sleeve shirt and ladies must be smartly dressed.

Feast at the Field and Sturgeon Cricket Sunday 25th June from 1.00pm The sun will shine, the barbie will be blazing and the Pimms will pour forth. There will be tennis, maybe netball too, and the RJ Sturgeon 1st and 2nd XIs will be in action against the School. There will be a bouncy castle, and there will be ice cream. What there won’t be is a charge. The only question is, will you be there?

To help us with the arrangements, please book your places here:

trybooking.co.uk/BWF

Henley Royal Regatta Reception Saturday 1st July 2017 from 12.30pm KGS Friends and the Sherriff Club invite all rowing alumni and parents to the KGS tend at Henley Cricket Club to enjoy drinks and a finger buffet and meet staff and pupils from the KGS Boat Club.

Five Year Reunion Calling the class of 2012 (including those who left from the 5th Form in 2010, of course), the Five Year Reunion will take place on the lovely terrace of the Jam Tree in Chelsea on Saturday 17th June.

KGS Friends will be laying on a generous spread of food and drinks, the heavily subsidised cost to alumni being a rather token £5. And afterwards, we have booked the private upstairs room for those who just don’t want to leave (nearly everyone last year!)

This is always a great night, and this year will be especially special, of course – the best ever!

To book your place please go to: trybooking.co.uk/BWH

Spaces are limited so please book your place here: trybooking.co.uk/BWG

Ten and Thirty Year Reunions This summer will also see reunions for the year of 2007 and the year of 1987. Details are yet to be confirmed, but please watch out for them on email, social media and the website: www.kgs.org.uk/ community/alumni KGS Friends

April 2017

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Alumni News

Andrew Webber, Lad KGS has a proud tradition of producing fine writers. Andrew Webber (OK 1998), though a relative newcomer, already has a number of publications to his credit, mainly collections of short stories and a novella, Today.

Andrew’s first novel, Lad, came out in the autumn. It is a first-person narrative told by Danny, a lad who loves life just the way it is... It’s a cheeky Nando’s. It’s a big sesh down the gym. It’s double shots of Sambuca. It’s a scrap at closing time. It’s a few Stellas before kickoff. It’s larging it in Marbella. It’s not being tied down. It’s working hard and playing harder. It’s a relentless cycle of booze, birds and banter. It’s the lad’s life...but when everyone else is growing up and moving on, life in the fast lane gets pretty lonely. Danny’s mates are settling down. Girls

are demanding commitment. His boss is onto his schemes. Even his mum’s on his case. Does the banter finally have to stop, or does a real lad just crank it up a notch?

This is a really good read, full of surprises (or not?), and it turns out to be a remarkably thoughtful and provocative ‘slice of life’. Danny is a fascinating narrator, in a long tradition of anti-heroes, and he evokes a curious mix of passions.

Andrew is at pains to point out that there is nothing autobiographical about his creation and that ‘characters, events and incidents are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.’

And we believe him, don’t we?

Read the book and judge for yourself!

Available to purchase on Amazon.

Duncan Baxter in Print It has been a busy time of celebrations for former Headmaster Duncan Baxter. As well as the birth of grandson Leo (see December’s issue) and Leo’s dad Sebastian becoming a consultant, Mr Baxter celebrated the 350th anniversary of Milton’s Paradise Lost with the publication of Paradise Lost – A Drama of Unintended Consequences.

In an accessible exploration of one of the more testing Renaissance poems, first published in 1667, Mr Baxter takes the reader on a journey through Milton’s re-telling of the Genesis account of mankind’s fall to reveal how he explores issues which confront the spiritual yearning of every generation. The central thesis is that instead of managing to ‘justify the ways of God to men’, Milton inadvertently put the case for mankind and ‘justifies the ways of men to God’. The aim of the book is to assist readers in appreciating that Paradise Lost is a poem for all time in its confronting of questions concerning our very existence.

The book was launched with a party

at Waterstone’s, Piccadilly. Former colleague Amanda Dowden reports: “Duncan Baxter’s book, Paradise Lost A Drama of Unintended Consequences, was launched at Waterstone’s in Piccadilly on Tuesday 28 February in the company of such august people as former Chair of Governors John Elvidge and former Governor Tony Clinch and his wife Margaret, together with Neredah and Sebastian, former colleagues from Gresham’s and Kingston Grammar School, family and friends. After a glass of wine and some delicious canapes, Duncan gave a talk about his book, a journey through Milton’s moral maze, exploring fundamental questions of human love and ambition, the limitations of reason and our place in the cosmos. Paddy O’Connell, a BBC journalist and presenter and a former pupil of Duncan’s at Gresham’s, gave a reading.

“We were then given the opportunity of having our copies of this great work signed by the author before disappearing into the paradise of Piccadilly.”

Steve Mama Old Kingstonians from the 1970s, or those with an interest in the history of the School, may be interested to learn that Steve Mama, ex Labour Councillor for Norbiton Ward, died in January. He was well known to KGS, most notably because he was behind the preservation order that was placed on the London Road Building in the 70’s, which partly stopped the move to Thames Ditton. Whether this was a good or a bad thing for the future of the School is an endlessly contentious issue.

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Matthew Seager, In Other Words OK actor Matthew Seager (OK 2010) has had his debut play performed at the Hope theatre Islington, with himself in the lead role.

Contact KGS Friends @KGS _ friends friends@kgs.org.uk 020 8939 8859

Produced in association with The Alzheimer’s Society and Playlist for Life, Matt’s play is an intimate, humorous, and deeply moving love story, brought to life by two actors, that takes the audience through fifty years of a relationship, jumping in and out of memories and experiencing, for brief moments, a failing mind as it loses its grip on reality. The play explores the effects of Alzheimer’s disease and the incredible power that music has in helping us to remember the past, connect to the present, and hope for the future.

Matthew’s first play was very well received. It was described in Dave Fargnoli’s review in The Stage as ‘humane, heartfelt, and often gruellingly sad’, and by Laura Ewing on the Upcoming website as a ‘beautiful, emotionally charged love story of a couple facing devastating adversity…with heart-wrenching performances from emerging talent. Lead actor Matthew Seager…expertly portrays Arthur’s vulnerability, fear, anger and despair as he loses more and more of his memories.’

Salena Mastroianni’s Euro Vision Salena had her sights firmly set on the Eurovision Song Contest when she appeared on BBC’s You Decide with her single I Don’t Wanna Fight. The programme set out to find the UK’s next Eurovision contestant. Unfortunately (and, we thought, incomprehensibly), Salena lost out to Lucie Jones, who will now represent the UK. Of course, we wish Lucie well and we are sure Salena won’t let this minor setback lower her spirits or slow down her steady rise to international stardom.

Salena’s single is available to purchase on itunes.

Emily Robbins in the Media Emily Robbins (OK 2009) has caught the media bug and has been enjoying no little success. She is happily settled in Glasgow and currently “between jobs” as a researcher in television factual programmes.

Over the past 18 months Emily has worked for a string of independent TV production companies — a precarious life, but one which she is thoroughly enjoying — and last month she graduated from the National Film and Television School (at a fabulous ceremony in the Odeon, Leicester Square) with a diploma in Factual TV Production after a year-long part-time course she combined with her day jobs.

Emily has had a successful start to her career. A couple of projects for BBC4 she was heavily involved in have just come to an end: Smile! The Nation’s Family Album, which aired on 16th March, and a one-hour film on Surrealism, which will be shown a few weeks from now.

Congratulations to Emily. We will follow her career with great interest.

KGS Friends

April 2017

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Chloe Williams (OK 1987) shared with us the footage of an edition of ‘Crackerjack’ from 1980, with Alistair Hancock and Judith Barnes taking part and the rest of the then first years cheering them on from the stalls. The footage can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/EyTm5gmrLzA

Steph’s Marathon Stephanie Addison (OK 2012) is running the London Marathon in April for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young. She writes: “After cheering/jeering at some pals last year at the London Marathon and feeling exhausted just watching everyone, I have decided to be on the other end of the stick this April! Suddenly my initial rationale of ‘I’ve run two half marathons so I’ve basically run a marathon’ doesn’t seem to quite add up and the realisation of running a marathon has sunk in…

“However, I know it will all be worth it if I can reach my intended target for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young. Not a day goes by, I’m sure, when many of us don’t think about Emma Broad who went to St George’s. An extremely talented, beautiful, funny girl who tragically passed away in 2011. Emma also played at Surbiton HC so a lot of the KGS girls knew her through playing for the club. Emma left a big hole in the Surbiton HC, England hockey, St George’s and KGS families. This money will help prevent another sudden event like this happening to someone else so please do donate any spare pennies: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StephanieAddison

Bursar on a Bike Former KGS Bursar Edward Lang writes: “One of the many things on my bucket list is to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats, a distance of 990 miles taking a relatively scenic route, before I am 60. So this is the year! I am committed to do this over the 13 days 28 May - 9 June 2017 as part of a group of about 14 riders. My training has already begun.

“To recognise the scale of this enterprise, I’m fundraising for Cancer Research UK (25%) Prostate Cancer Research Centre (25%) and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (50%), all very good causes. I would be very grateful if you would please help me make a difference by making a donation to my Virgin Money Giving page. To find out more please visit http://www.virginmoneygiving. com/EdwardLang where you can sponsor me online.

“Don’t forget to tick the box to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation if you’re a UK tax payer. Virgin Money Giving will pass this on in full to charity, making your donation go even further.”

We wish Edward the best of luck on this tremendous enterprise, and look forward to hearing how he gets on.

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Obituaries John Makin (OK 1955)

John Makin died at the age of 79 on January 16th. He was married to Alicia for some 50 years, and they have three sons.

John was at KGS from 1948 to 1953, leaving, I believe, at the end of the Fifth Form. As we were told at the funeral, he managed to fail both his English Language and English Literature O levels, but, despite this, loved reading and spent his working life in publications, being described by a work colleague as a “wordsmith”. He first went into journalism in Fleet Street and sub-

edited a series of magazines. He then branched out into working for companies and became a leading figure in the world of internal business communications. He was described as the doyen of his field.

The affection and respect in which John was held were seen in the more than 100 people who attended his funeral service. These included a large number of members of the KGS Golf Society, to which he gave devoted service over many years. His preferred title was “Scribe” but he was the driving force of everything that went on. He was instrumental in opening the Society to pupils, parents and staff of the School.

He organised events, including the 450th anniversary competition, drew up the rules of the Society, and of its Championship competition and Knock-Out cup. He kept the list of members, and sent and answered hundreds of e-mails a year.

It was a huge loss to all of us, and was devastating for him, when he became ill over a year ago and was forced to retire from golf, from being our Secretary and from coming to matches. We greatly missed his cheerful presence and his bonhomie and enthusiasm. He fought his illness without complaint and with great bravery and, as was said at the service, never lost his wit, his humour or his thought for others.

John Elvidge (OK 1964)

Trevor Barrett (OK 1952) We deeply regret having to report the death of Trevor Barrett. Trevor always felt very proud of his time at KGS. He was the first member of his family to go to university and it was his education at KGS that allowed that to happen. He rekindled his association with the school when his grandson, Peter Le Tissier, joined the school in 2008, and he attended several alumni events over the following years until ill health prevented him from travelling south.

Melanie Horrocks (former staff) It was with great sadness that we learned that Melanie Horrocks (Former staff) passed away in December. Melanie was Head of Modern Foreign Languages from 2000 to 2010, and our deepest sympathies and those of the many OKs taught by her go to her family.

Ronan Child (OK 1996) It is with great sadness that I must inform you that my great friend Ronan Child very sadly passed away in January. After a courageous battle against cancer, which was diagnosed in early 2016, he passed away peacefully on January 6th 2017 in Washington DC. He leaves behind his wife Clara and their two-year old daughter Nola.

Ronan was at KGS from 1990 until 1996 before going to Esher College.

After A-Levels he went on to study IT at Manchester Metropolitan University. After graduating, he worked in and around London until finding his ideal job in 2011, working in Technical Sales for Active Navigation. He married Clara in 2012, and as the business grew in the US, they moved

to Washington DC in 2013. Ronan then became a very happy and proud father when Nola was born in 2014.

Over the years Ronan built up a huge network of friends who cherished him for his great humour and lust for life and laughs. He loved his family dearly and embraced fatherhood when his daughter was born, becoming a wonderful and caring dad. He will be sorely missed by all his friends and especially his family to which he was so precious. A memorial service to celebrate Ronan’s life was held in Thames Ditton in March.

Our thoughts are with Clara, Nola and Ronan’s parents, John and Eileen Child.

Henry Marsh, (OK 1998) KGS Friends

April 2017

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recent Events

A FEAST FOR THE SENSES The latest in a long line of successful careers-related events saw KGS Friends holding a Visual Arts Evening on 23rd February It was a veritable feast for the eyes and the mind, a sensual, immersive experience coupled with in-depth contact with a number of experienced practitioners, as students from KGS and other schools enjoyed exploring the work of a range of professionals working in the visual arts.

Prominent among the exhibitors was award-winning sculptor Jonathan Kenworthy (OK 1959), one of the titans of modern British art, and there was more fine art from local artist Lee Campbell, who had an exhibition running in the Baxter Gallery, and OK and current Art teacher Sophia Christie (OK 2005).

Architecture was well represented, with Tuomas Pirinen (OK 1999) from Ron Arad Architects, Myles Taylor (OK 1993) from Squire and Partners and Kay LungKendall (OK 1999), a landscape architect with Fabrik. Forbes Low (OK 1984), of Forbes Design Associates, represented graphic design and Hayley Bray (OK 1995) photography. Moving image also had its place, courtesy of Sam Ainsworth (OK 2010), a freelance writer and director with his own company, La Paz Films, making commercials and short films. Fashion figured largely, too, with Sophie Dunster

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(OK 2010), whose company Gung Ho focuses on ethical and sustainable design inspired by important issues, and Anya Wheatley (OK 1991), who describes herself as a fashion buyer and importer, but whose activities and interests cover a wide range of fields. Tudor Morris (OK 2010), meanwhile, describes himself as a freelance concept artist, working for indie gaming companies, kickstarter projects, charities and much more. Also exhibiting, but sadly unable to attend in person, were set designer Alistair Turner (OK 2000) and current parent Alister Thorpe , a photographer who specialises in automotive photography.

We are very grateful to all the exhibitors who gave up their time to attend and share their experience and expertise so freely, and to the number of staff who came along to help and support. It was a pleasure to welcome guests from Tiffin and Surbiton High, making this a wider, more important and less parochial event, and to the pupils and their parents who attended so enthusiastically.

Please watch this space for news of the next event in the series; all offers and suggestions welcome.

Alumni Profile

Sophie Dunster (OK 2010) Sophie Dunster is a London-based designer and founder of Gung Ho Design who is highly passionate about animals and the environment.

The new brand wants to get people talking. By looking to connect people with the social and environmental issues of contemporary culture, they want to inspire through design. We recently met Sophie at our Visual Arts Evening and she told us a little more about her path since leaving School and more about her passion to create ethical fashion.

“I loved our year group at KGS. I think school was a time when, if you are happy, you can really push yourself to see what you can do - we definitely worked hard, played hard. I think our school trip to Paris was a highlight.

“I rowed at School! I found rowing difficult but it’s the sort of thing that makes really strong bonds, and I actually think I laughed more than I rowed. It was a lot of fun and I learned to really push myself.

“My favourite subject was always Art. There was definitely a creative vibe in our year, although the Art Department was quite small. I’m still in touch with a lot of people from school and it’s nice being back in London and seeing them much more regularly!

“After KGS I went on to do an art foundation at Brighton and it was one of the best years of my life; it was so inspiring and so much fun – I couldn’t recommend it enough to anyone wanting to do a foundation! It pushed me to get into Edinburgh, which is where I found my textile family – there were only nine of us in our year so it was very intimate, and that’s where I fell in love with silk-screen printing.

“The concept for Gung Ho Design actually came from my final collection at Edinburgh. After working a couple of years in the industry I thought, hang on, why am I doing this for someone else? so I took the plunge and went freelance, which gave me the hours to work part-time on Gung Ho and get the ball rolling.

“I was raised living a zero-carbon lifestyle and I always thought ethical fashion was done so badly, simply because it just looks ethical. So when I was at university I made the decision to

try and change that. All of our garments are made with organic materials in London. I really try to cut down on waste, so the pattern pieces often take minimal wastage into account too and we make the most out of our offcuts, like bowties.

“I try to support small local businesses and with every purchase we donate to a charity that works with the causes ‘hidden’ or illustrated within the print of the garment. The last collection focused on the British bee crisis, with the prints illustrating ‘bee-friendly’ British florals / pesticide sprays, and the Amur leopard with its poaching concerns. We want to create design that has a talking point at its heart and help start a conversation.

“The charity I work closely with at the moment is Friends of the Earth. They have super initiatives and wonderful community projects too. See their website to find out more about their work - www.foe.co.uk “I would definitely encourage anyone considering a more entrepreneurial careers path. It’s a lot of work, but it is so rewarding!

“With Gung Ho, we’re currently trying to build some brand awareness through a series of pop-ups with other ethical, London-based designers, whilst developing relationships with brand ambassadors like Aisling Bea to get our name out there. We’re also looking at getting more of a presence in store and have recently been stocked in a boutique in Brixton.”

You can view and purchase Sophie’s designs on her website here: www.gung-ho-design.com or for any Brixton locals, her beautiful selection of earrings can be found in Make Do and Mend Boutique: www.mdam.co.uk KGS Friends

April 2017

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From the Archive

Early Christian Union Camps I am delighted to have received some wonderful images from Malcolm Colmer (OK 1956).

Malcolm was a keen member of the Christian Union and he has sent a dozen or so photographs from each of four camps held between 1952 and 1955. A real bonus for me as archivist is that Malcolm has added the names and written wonderful captions for all of the photos.

Above: ‘Slosh it’ – a camp game favourite, with much aggression Below: Spud bashing – deep in discussion

The camps took place at various locations in Hampshire.

These photos are from the 1952 camp held at North Ripley, near Christchurch. It was led by Mr RG Collis and Mr Dick Bell and was a great success. Twenty boys attended and enjoyed a week of good fellowship, good food (provided by the school captain, M J Rowbottom) and good weather.

Some other members of the 1950s KGS Christian Union have begun to put together a history of this popular society, which first met in 1933. Do you remember CU camps? Were you a part of the CU in a different decade? What are your memories of the CU? We would be keen to have your reminiscences and photos to add to the archive and to contribute to the new history.

The other photographs have been posted on the Online Archive website at archive.kgs.org.uk Please contact me if you would like to contribute to the project.

Joanne Halford archives@kgs.org.uk, 020 8865 0111 Below: No food hygiene inspectors; Derek Head serving, Dick Bell receiving

Below: the whole camp back row: Michael Edgar, Howard Tomsett, David Bethell, Martin Doughty, Harold Harland, Peter Hunt, Malcolm Colmer, Vernon Hughes. middle row: Derek Head, David Meech, Dick Bell (Adjutant), Ron Collis (Commandant), Michael Rowbottom, Philip Chapman front row: Graham Baird, Ian Murray, Christopher Virley, John Simblett, Brian Edwards

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School News

KGS Masterminds Already national Kids Lit Quiz champions, KGS’s Junior Lit Quiz team has triumphed yet again, adding two more trophies to their impressive haul of silverware. In February, the team won the Kingston Literary Quiz, and qualified for the Inter-Borough Final.

Having won the Kingston quiz by just two points, the pressure was on for the InterBorough Final, but the team of six first and second year students more than rose to the challenge, winning the Final by a country mile. Their victory was a great testament not only to the team but to their sixth-form coaches, who worked tirelessly to whip them into shape.

But the hard work doesn’t stop there. The team now has its sights firmly set on the greatest challenge yet: the Kids’ Lit Quiz World Final in Toronto, a unique opportunity to see KGS crowned World Champions.

If you would like to make a donation to support the team please go to www. justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kidslitquizuk As well as the successes of the juniors in the world of literary quizzing, the School’s General Knowledge team have proved unstoppable so far in the Schools Challenge, a national competition based on University Challenge. The team beat RGS Guildford by the slenderest of margins to win the Regional Championship and then swept past Bournemouth High in the interregional round to make it to the National Finals, which will be held at Westminster School on 23rd April.

KGS Competes in Robot Wars KGS has had a unique opportunity to compete in BBC2’s Robot Wars, taking part in week 4 of the latest series, which aired on the 26th March.

Third Year pupils Harry Fletcher, Thomas Skeates and Chris Wilding created their robot, Frostbite, over six months in the weekly after-school Technology Club. Weighing only 85kg and costing under £500, it was something of the underdog, but its 600mm spinning bar, running at 2,000 revolutions per minute, created havoc on old school chairs during testing in the Cage!

Head of Design Technology Derek Farr, who accompanied the team, writes: “Participating in Robot Wars was quite an experience. As debutant amateurs, we were amazed at the engineering and destructive power of the best professional teams. We progressed through the first group battle and into the ‘head-to-head’ fights but in our first head-to-head we got smashed, bashed and dumped into the pit. The damage was catastrophic, terminal and put us out of the competition.”

Harry Fletcher won the coveted spot to

drive the robot in the arena. He describes the experience, summarising the feelings of the team well: not disappointed but lucky to have taken part. He writes: “The hanger was huge and it was amazing to see the size, weight and sheer strength of the robots we would be competing with. A train could do less damage than some of them.

“Day one and the first battle. We took Frostbite out of the pits, did a short video and then mics were attached to our clothes. I took position as the driver in the control booth, my heart racing. The atmosphere was thrilling.

“After the first heat it was time to fix up the remains of Frostbite. There was lots of help and people offering spare parts and doing some much needed welding. My stress levels rose with the pressure to get us ready for the next round, where, sadly, disaster awaited us.

“I had the most fantastic time, seeing how a TV show works, meeting the production crew and just soaking up the addictive world of Robot Wars. I can’t wait to go back for another go!”

Gibbon Society Dinner After a short hiatus, the annual Gibbon Society Dinner resumed its rightful place in the school calendar this year. In a marked departure from tradition, this year’s dinner was a less formal affair than in previous years, and held off-site at The Gazebo on the riverside.

Some traditions never die, however, and we were delighted to welcome back a number of Old Kingstonians for the dinner. Former secretary Serena Sekhon spoke about her time in the Gibbon Society, and the current secretaries, Matthew Pugh and Oliver Cole, delivered the traditional report on the year’s activity. The formalities, but not the evening, which went on cheerfully until time was called, were concluded with the presentation of the Gibbon Society Cup by Serena to Matthew and Oliver, joint winners this year.

OKs wishing to attend next year’s dinner, which may or may not be back on school premises, should look out for invitations next March and contact Mr N Bond (nbond@kgs.org.uk) to ensure they are on the mailing list.

KGS Friends

April 2017

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NT LIVE COMES TO KGS

We’re delighted to be a host venue for NT Live performances. Tickets can be booked through the Michael Frayn Theatre website.

ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD Thursday 20th April 2017 7.00pm David Leveaux’s new production marks the 50th anniversary of the play that made a young Tom Stoppard’s name overnight.

Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter, The Woman in Black), Joshua McGuire (The Hour) and David Haig (Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Witness for the Prosecution) star in Tom Stoppard’s brilliantly funny situation comedy, broadcast live from The Old Vic theatre in London.

Against the backdrop of Hamlet, two hapless minor characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, take centre stage. As the young double act stumble their way in and out of the action of Shakespeare’s iconic drama, they become increasingly out of their depth as their version of the story unfolds.

Visit michaelfrayntheatre.com for more details Also coming up...

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OBSESSION

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF

Thursday 11th May 2017 7.00pm Rated 15 owing to adult themes

Thursday 6th June 2017 7.00pm

Jude Law (The Young Pope, Closer, The Talented Mr Ripley) stars in the stage production of Obsession, broadcast live from the Barbican Theatre in London. Ivo van Hove (NT Live: A View from the Bridge, Hedda Gabler) directs this new stage adaptation of Luchino Visconti’s 1943 film.

Gino is a drifter, down-at-heel and magnetically handsome. At a roadside restaurant he encounters husband and wife, Giuseppe and Giovanna. Irresistibly attracted to each other, Gino and Giovanna begin a fiery affair and plot to murder her husband. But, in this chilling tale of passion and destruction, the crime only serves to tear them apart.

The stage production of Obsession is produced by Barbican Theatre Productions Limited, London and Toneelgroep Amsterdam; co-commissioned by Wiener Festwochen and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg; co-produced by Holland Festival and David Binder Productions; and supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Sonia Friedman Productions present Imelda Staunton (Gypsy, Vera Drake, the Harry Potter films), Conleth Hill (Game Of Thrones, The Producers), Luke Treadaway (A Street Cat Named Bob, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Hollow Crown) and Imogen Poots (A Long Way Down, Jane Eyre) in James Macdonald’s critically acclaimed, 5 star production of Edward Albee’s landmark play, broadcast live to cinemas from the Harold Pinter Theatre, London.

In the early hours of the morning on the campus of an American college, Martha, much to her husband George’s displeasure, has invited the new professor and his wife to their home for some afterparty drinks.

As the alcohol flows and dawn approaches, the young couple are drawn into George and Martha’s toxic games until the evening reaches its climax in a moment of devastating truth-telling.