275 Newsletter January 2023

Celebrating together in our 275 anniversary year

HEAD’S WELCOME

2023 at Kingswood is a year of celebration as we mark our 275th anniversary. It’s a wonderful opportunity to draw strength from our roots and reaffirm our values as the first Methodist school, founded by John Wesley to “train up children in every branch of useful learning”, preparing them pre-eminently to lead fulfilling lives of service.

This anniversary year also gives us an extra reason to engage with our community of past and present pupils, parents, staff and governors, and we have curated an interesting programme of events over the year to ensure that there will be something for everyone. This is the first of the monthly newsletters, covering a range of topics and keeping you abreast of the goings on.

I’m excited also about the international possibilities that this year brings as we prepare to host leaders from Methodist schools and universities from every continent at the Transforming Lives Education Conference we are co-hosting in April. This is a fabulous opportunity

to build a vibrant network of schools around the world, taking on the Global Schools Challenge we have designed, learning the newly commissioned conference song, and hopefully cementing strong partnerships for future work. Delegates and schools have already registered in great number to take part, both in person and virtually, through the Methodist Schools portal on the Global School Alliance platform.

Our 275 fundraising campaign is now live as we aim to raise the £2.75m needed to fund some of the extra opportunities we would like to offer our pupils. Thank you to Tim Lindsay, our Chair of Governors for his introduction below and also to Graham Papenfus, our

Development Director, who explains our case for support in a little more detail.

Please follow us on social media, check out our website, and most importantly, please come along to the anniversary events that appeal to you. You will, as ever, be warmly welcomed into school.

Andrew Gordon-Brown Headmaster & Principal of The Kingswood Foundation

“...our 275 fundraising campaign is now live as we aim to raise £2.75m...”

SUPPORT US

Our 275 year will be marked by an array of celebratory events including; Made In Kingswood, Commemoration Day, Creative Writing Competition, 275 Lecture Series, hosting The International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU) Conference and a Charity Hike to name but a few! Some events are open to the wider community and we will share how to register your interest in the coming months.

FEBRUARY

We look forward to welcoming an exciting line-up of guest speakers for our 275 Lecture Series.

We are thrilled to bring a truly inspirational figure for the beginning of our 275 lecture series.

Will Bayley is a shining example of what can be accomplished through determination, drive, and resilience in the face of adversity.

Through his athletic achievements and advocacy for disabled sports, Will promotes inclusion and diversity, reminding us that with the right mindset and attitude, anything is possible. His story is a testament to the human spirit, and we are honoured to welcome him to Kingswood.

TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY:

• Student table tennis session

• Lecture in the Chapel

William John Bayley MBE (born 17 January 1988) is a British professional Paralympic table tennis player, ranked world number one. He is the 2016 Summer Paralympics Games Gold medallist and the 2014 and 2022 World Champion.

From September 2019, Bayley participated in the seventeenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, paired with professional dancer Janette Manrara. At the age of seven he was diagnosed with cancer. During his recovery he began playing table tennis after his grandmother bought him his first table tennis table. Will lives on the coast in Sussex with his partner and two children.

GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE

As Chair of Governors and as the proud son, nephew, sibling and father of Old Kingswoodians (as well as being one myself) I’m delighted to help launch this fundraising campaign in celebration of Kingswood’s 275 anniversary.

John Wesley’s great school has prospered mightily down the years and now is a great opportunity to help fund three very important projects for our future. The Dixon Sixth Form block has been a central feature of the Kingswood experience since it opened in 1970 (my second year at KS, as it happens) and is much loved, but in order to prepare our students for life after school it needs both expanding and refurbishing; the new designs are really exciting.

And what could be more civilising and crucial as a life skill than cooking? The Cookery School will enhance our students’ experience and prepare them for a lifetime of healthy eating, as well as providing a community service beyond the School. Thirdly, we want to increase our offer of Sixth Form transformational bursaries, broadening the access of young people to life-changing opportunities.

Please help the campaign if you’re able to, and spread the word.

Tim Lindsay, Chair of Governors

“...now is a great opportunity to fund three very important projects for our future.”

ENRICHING THE KINGSWOOD EXPERIENCE

As we celebrate our 275th anniversary in 2023, the Kingswood vision calls for us to transform lives through the power of an holistic education where children grow in mind, body and spirit within a diverse and inclusive community. Our experience is that the transforming power of a Kingswood education can be enjoyed by pupils regardless of when they join the School.

Our exciting plans for the new Cookery School will benefit the entire community.

Transformational bursaries are another part of the Kingswood 275 Campaign, offering life-changing opportunities to students who can pay full, partial or no school fees at all while the Dixon Sixth Form Centre is about enriching the whole Kingswood Sixth Form experience.

The two years in the Sixth Form are the pinnacle of a student’s time at Kingswood, providing an exceptional academic grounding as part of an experience as rich and diverse as we can make it. In short, we provide an education of breadth, balance and excellence that will prepare our young people for work and service in society.

The Kingswood 275 Campaign has been launched to support this vision, raising significant gifts for:

• Transformational Bursaries in the Sixth Form, expanding access to life-changing education for our students

• A new Cookery School which will offer enrichment and co-curricular cookery for students and the community, academic courses centred on the prestigious Certificate in Food and Wine and commercial courses to parents, former pupils and to the wider community

• A Sixth Form Centre for the future transformed from the current series of small studies into a modern and open-plan space, allowing for collaborative working and group seminars

Graham Papenfus, Development Director

With just under £1m already donated, with your support, our target of £2.75m is achievable – please do give if you can.

A HISTORY OF KINGSWOOD IN 12 OBJECTS

When you think about objects that remind you of Kingswood, it will be different for everyone. From the symbolic Wyvern, to the imposing Senior School entrance, or the charming Summerhill Mansion at the Prep School. Each may evoke a memory or feeling that is both personal and individual to you. In each of our 275 Newsletters we delve into the history of Kingswood through 12 objects.

OBJECT ONE THE FOUNDATION STONE – WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

The original foundation stone was mounted here at the Senior School back in 2006 and can be found outside the Moulton Hall, fondly now known as the J. O. Heap Library. The stone was brought from the original school in Kingswood near Bristol, some 10 miles away, and was opened by the Rev. John Wesley on 24 June 1748. The School commenced teaching on 28 June 1748.

Wesley laid the foundation stone in 1746 and officially opened the building in 1748. He opened it with a sermon based on the text “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it”. There were only 28 pupils on the school roll at first – each paying £14 a year! This figure increased to about 50 boys and girls, however it was soon restricted to sons of Methodist preachers and leaders. Today the Senior School has over 850 pupils and welcomes children of all faiths and none.

The Foundation plaque translated is “To the glory of God the best and greatest for the use of the republican church.”

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.”