After Life, a play by Jack Thorne
KGS TRIPS 2024
Banyoles Rowing Camp
Madrid MFL Trip
RGS Guildford MUN Conference
Football Tour
Porto
Autumn Concert
the audience at the Autumn
was treated to a wonderful evening of performances from our musical ensembles and choirs
From Mozart to Michael Jackson via Noel Gallagher and Fats Waller,
Concert
Work Well and Be Happy
Sixth Form Production After Life
Based on the Japanese film by Hirokazu Kore-eda, Jack Thorne’s play explores mortality through the story of souls who have recently died and are in limbo Looked after by a group of Guides, they are helped to decide on a memory from their life that will remain with them forever as their only thought
"This production was nothing short of extraordinary."
"It went far beyond the expectations of a standard school play ”
"As I left the theatre, my recurring thought was how extraordinarily brilliant it was "
"The cast of teenagers engaged with such an emotive subject - death and legacy - in such a mature way "
CCF
The CCF proudly represented KGS at the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation Christmas Carol Service at the Guards’ Chapel near St James’s Park.
Upper Sixth student Chen Gao had the honour of carrying the Torch of Commemoration. You can read more about it here
“We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the Cadets of Kingston Grammar School CCF who supported the Foundation team throughout the night ”
CCF Summer Camp
CCF Camps are a crucial part o experience and help to foster c development and team-buildin
The end of the summer holiday the annual trip to Longmoor in where cadets learned about fie attacks, clearances, drills and m Cadet Alyssa Kilimanova repor
On the first day we were taugh skills, including the key princip catch wild animals by setting up traps, starting a fire and checking plants for edibility, along with building a shelter with resources from the forest This was followed by lessons on navigation, map reading and teamwork skills
Activities focusing on accuracy included paintballing in small teams in the forest and laser target shootings As part of the fieldcraft activities, the contingent learnt about being ambushed and carried out a deliberate attack, firing blank rounds while staying camouflaged
This camp taught us important life skills such as teamwork, communication, taking the initiative and being independent It was a social and educational experience, and many memories and friends were made along the way
Community Action and Service
Sincere thanks for the wonderful support of our six school charities this term.
As students move through the school, they learn about each of them in turn, from local charities BRITE Box and Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness in the Lower School, to national and international organisationsYoung Minds, Comic Relief, Macmillan Cancer Support and Save The Children - in the Upper School and Sixth Form This journey reflects our students’ growing independence and ambition, with increasing freedom to develop their fundraising ideas.
Charity fundraising
The Macmillan Coffee Morning in October kicked off our fundraising activity and we were delighted to raise almost £2,000
250kg of donations were delivered to Kingston Food Bank and over 100 gifts were collected for BRITE Box, along with numerous books for our partner primary schools
First and Second Years collected Christmas treats for Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness and Kingston Food Bank, and the First Years created beautiful Christmas cards for patients in the paediatric ward at Kingston Hospital
Taverner and Stanley raised almost £350 with House Cake Sales, with proceeds being split between the six charities
We marked Remembrance Sunday with the Poppy Appeal and wore our Christmas jumpers in aid of Save The Children
Our Charities:
Volunteering
Almost 80% of our Lower Sixth are involved in placements that include Kingston Museum, Kingston Hospital and local schools
Places are still available so students who want to do something different, learn new skills and widen their experience should get in touch with me.
Mrs K Pinnock | Head of CAS
Language Leaders
The Language Leaders Programme gives Third Years the opportunity to learn to teach younger students a language they enjoy and are confident in, sharing the excitement and enthusiasm with primary pupils and sparking a fascination for foreign languages
MFL staff have delivered lessons on the effective use of target vocabulary and gestures and how to structure a lesson With those techniques in mind, we went on our first practical session a couple of weeks ago to St Joseph’s Primary School, with each team assigned a class to which we taught a short list of vocabulary One challenging aspect was maintaining the young children’s attention but our students knew their material well and put into practice the teaching methods they had learned
Being part of Language Leaders is a great way to l new skills and to build sel confidence Our main teaching goal is to deliver 25-minute taster lessons t students in June at all thre our partner primary schoo
Together, we raised over £7,000 this term: huge thanks to everyone!
St Joseph’s, St John’s and King Athelstan Last year the Language Leaders taught over 500 pupils and The Leadership Foundation, which runs the award, featured their work in a case study, which you can read here
Irene Hong and Pene Kerton (Third Year)
School news
Visitors to the UN headquarters in Geneva are greeted by The Broken Chair by Daniel Berset Carved out of wood, it symbolises the campaign against landmines and cluster bombs
In July, a number of German linguists from the Lower Sixth entered the Stephen Spender Schools Laureate Prize for Poetry Translation.
This competition celebrates the translation of poetry or song from any foreign language into English
Our students first spent time considering the particular challenges that might be faced when undertaking creative translation, such as cultural references, rhyme, meter and style before translating a German poem of their choice In addition, they were required to submit an accompanying explanation of three creative decisions that they made during translation
The students tackled the task with linguistic rigour, imagination and creative flair, producing translations and commentaries of a high standard We were delighted that Ralph Hassan was awarded a Commendation by the judges for his translation of the Goethe poem “Der Erlkönig” Congratulations, Ralph!
Mrs A Evans | MFL
Lower Sixth Physicists visited CERN, the home of the Large Hadron Collider, earlier in the term
At CERN we visited the Curious Connections exhibition, a collaboration between CERN and Geneva’s Natural History Museum that showcases how biology and physics intertwine At the Our Universe exhibition, we learned about the inner workings of the Large Hadron Collider, as well as other concepts such as astrophysics and the internet (created by Sir Tim Berners-Lee at CERN) We saw the Low Energy Ion Ring and the now-defunct linear accelerator, LINAC2 We were allowed to see the data storage room, where petabytes upon exabytes of data are stored, as only one run of the Large Hadron Collider produces gigabytes of data
Fifth Year student Alexandria Coen interviewed GB Paralympic rower Gregg Stevenson, who won Gold in the 2024 Paris Paralympics, for thisislocallondon com You can read her article here
Parent & Staff Association
As well as organising the fantastic Christmas Fair last week, the PSA has funded Micro:bit pieces for use in STEAM lessons, and a thicknesser for use in turning waste wood into useable strips was warmly welcomed by the DT Department Thank you, PSA!
Angelina Remisio | Lower Sixth
Stephen Spender Laureate Prize
CERN Trip
Young Reporter
Forging connections
KGS recently welcomed Principals from our partner school, Mountain Kingston Bilingual School in Suzhou, together with a Principal from the Pingue School in Shanghai
The aim of the visit was to observe KGS lessons, concentrating on studentfocused learning and the integration of practical work and problem-solving activities across a broad range of curriculum areas
FIH Pro League
England Hockey’s Pro League campaign has seen KGS coaches Nick Park and Becky Manton, along with Kingstonians Jack Waller, Zach Wallace and Millie Giglio, competing overseas, in Argentina and China.
Particular congratulations to debutants Becky and Millie who both added to the scoresheet in Hangzhou, whilst in Santiago del Estero, Jack and Zach also found the net Just as we take immense pride in achievements within the classroom, we are always excited to see success beyond it.
Miss I Robson | Marketing Assistant and Hockey Coach
Our guests had the opportunity to talk to staff and senior leaders about their roles and responsibilities, describing the experience as inspiring
They were particularly impressed by the students’ engagement and the commitment of KGS staff to deliver thoughtful and considered activities to help foster a love of learning
Mrs D Sherwood | Director of International
British Physics Olympiad
Congratulations to William Adams, Judah Brackin, Joshua Cassidy and Ollie Stone who made it through the A2 Challenge round
Round 1 awaits and we wish them all the best
Mr I Deepchand | Head of Physics
Alumni
The Autumn term started with a farewell event for David Sorley, attended by staff and over 100 alumni who came together to celebrate the significant contribution he has made to the life of the School.
James Heale, Political Correspondent at The Spectator, gave an affectionate and humorous address and a great evening was had by all
A trip to Scotland later in the term was a great opportunity to meet alumni, including Derek Finlay who has been such a generous benefactor of the School, Professor Kenneth Falconer in St Andrews and Tim Ambrose in Glasgow. We ended our trip north of the border with a drinks reception in Edinburgh for alumni currently studying at Scottish universities
Over 40 Kingstonians were welcomed back to school in November for lunch and a tour, supported on the day by a fantastic group of Prefects who enjoyed the many stories shared. We look forward to the One Term On event for our 2024 leavers and in March we will be welcoming back alumni who left KGS between 1950 and 1959
Mrs S Humphrey | Deputy Head
England Hockey selection
"We are incredibly proud of Freddie and Ollie, both at U18 level, and Wilf at U16, for their well-deserved selection to the England hockey squads Their hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence are an inspiration to us all at KGS They are outstanding role models to their peers and this achievement reflects their talent and the support of our school community to allow their growth and development We can't wait to see them represent KGS on the international stage!"
Mr B Edwards | Director of Sport
The KGS Christmas Card
The annual challenge to Art Scholars to create the Head Master’s official KGS Christmas card produced superb designs again this year, all of which represented the joy of the festive season The artists have free rein to be as creative as they like with the one stipulation that there is some reference to the School itself Congratulations to the four winners, whose designs are featured below, and to all those who entered Mr J Dyson I Head of Art
Mavi Turan Third Year
Amelia Marinko Upper Sixth
Judges’ comments:
Judges’ comments:
This image highlights the Victorian part of KGS. The image of the children playing in the foreground serves to remind us what this wonderful place is all about.
This image was chosen because it celebrates our very own Lovekyn Chapel The Christmas tree, glimpsed through the distinctive window, invites us in to celebrate the festive season
Freya Ford-Robertson Fourth Year
Judges’ comments:
The brilliantly painted robin is irresistible, whilst the holly, berries and deep blue sky make for a fantastic composition
Daniela Burger Upper Sixth
Judges’ comments:
This beautiful wreath is an icon of Christmas decoration Its red and golden baubles reflect the colours of the KGS badge
Alexandria Coen, Anna Goodsman,
Anushka Bate, Charlotte Edwards, Ellie Fox-Robinson, Georgia Land, Grace Dormer, Iris Young, Olivia Moore, Phoebe Ryder, Sara Hendrickx, Sophia Olding, Tess Halliwell, Tess Helbing, Tess Joice and Woody Griffith
Season ’sGreetingsfromKGS
Work Well and Be Happy
