275 NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2023
Celebrating together in our 275th anniversary year
TRANSFORMATIONAL BURSARIES – THE POWER TO CHANGE LIVES “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
SUPPORT THE 275 CAMPAIGN CLICK HERE
For the 275 campaign we drew inspiration from John Wesley’s words, renewing our commitment to expanding the access to life-changing education to more students. A Kingswood education can be transformative and through a transformational bursary, has the potential to change the life of a recipient.
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e have therefore taken the opportunity to hear first-hand from a recipient family who wanted to say thank you and explain how their lives have truly been transformed through the generosity of others. Head to page 2 to read on.
“Before my son was diagnosed with ADHD, his life seemed defined by what he couldn’t do rather than what he could. They say you are only as happy as your unhappiest child. The impact of constant perceived failure and misunderstanding made life incredibly sad, narrow and difficult not just for him but for all of us. Post diagnosis our hope for him was to learn to manage his ADHD for life, not just for educational years. Equally we wanted him to have a chance to understand himself, his capabilities and his true potential. It was my complete conviction that Kingswood was the right school for him to give him this opportunity. Being at Kingswood has utterly changed the trajectory of my son’s life. The best thing is how it has affected him. He is taking responsibility for himself and his ADHD – he recognises when things aren’t working well and takes the initiative to request a change to enable him to work well and continue to achieve his best. Kingswood has given him that. You cannot quantify the value of that – of choice, of the complete transformation of a student’s self-worth and aspiration.
“Kingswood has enabled him to like himself, to be understood, and suddenly through self-belief his world has got wider.”
We are incredibly grateful to our Donors and the contributions they make, helping to drive social mobility by broadening access to life-changing opportunities. Simon Allison attended Kingswood until 1994 and is a supporter of our 10 for 1 Bursary. Here he reflects on his time at school and what being a donor means to him: “Looking back at my years at Kingswood I can see more clearly now the quality of education, the opportunities it afforded and the benefits of living in such a friendly, nurturing environment. The opportunity to enable a child to benefit from the education and experiences I did, seemed like a good chance to give something back. By coming together with others and with a regular donation we are able to fund a child through the whole of the Senior School.”
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e are also enormously grateful to the Quadstar Foundation for their generous support in partfunding several Sixth Form awards. Founder of Quadstar Nick Butcher reflects on the opportunities the foundation are able to offer: “I formed the Quadstar foundation in 2017, inspired by my own four children, to support educational opportunities for children less fortunate than us.
Since 2019 we have focused almost entirely on providing Sixth Form scholarships and we take quite a different approach to many school scholarships, in that we do not focus on academic brilliance. What we look for is a young pupil who has shown courage, determination and resilience, along with some talent, in the face of adversity. The pupils selected will have endured struggles in their home life or environment, sometimes even before they have reached these shores. In every case we look for a truly deserving cause whereby this opportunity will be transformational. It is humbling and a delight to support these young children. They are all, without fail, enormously brave to make the move at a young age into an environment that is very alien to them. The support and encouragement that Kingswood offers is immense – from the other children who are at the school and all the staff – they are treated equally from day one. It is an opportunity for both them and the School – they bring their courage and life experiences that many have us will never have faced at any age and with a smile too. I am full of admiration for each and every one of them.”
It is a humbling experience for people you have never met to help meet the need of your child’s education, because they also meet the needs of your hopes and dreams for your child. We will be forever grateful for what a bursary has done for us and we treat it with the respect with which it’s been given and work hard to honour it.” Current Kingswood Parent 2 | Celebrating Together - 275 Anniversary News
December 2023
Sophie Montagne shares her Ice Maidens talk with parents
Pupils had the opportunity to run with Ben Smith after his talk
Dr T-J shares her understanding on the learning brain
Mr Gordon-Brown wins a point against Paralympian Will Bayley
Ben Smith talks to pupils
Sophie Montagne gets pupils to try on her expedition kit
THE 275 LECTURE SERIES Over the past year, the 275 Lecture Series has presented the unique opportunity to hear from accomplished leaders and individuals in their respective fields. Our guest speakers, who have achieved great milestones, shared their experiences and insights to inspire and motivate students, staff and parents. The purpose of this series was to educate and empower, providing innovative ideas and fresh perspectives to broaden horizons and ignite our pupils’ potential, the speakers certainly didn’t disappoint. Mr Matt Deacon, Head of Science, who co-ordinated the series, reflects on the variety of speakers we had in and what we learnt along the away:
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Will Bayley passed onto us his knowledge of competing in sport at the highest level. We were all amazed with the level of attention to detail and dedication required in his training to compete as an Olympic athlete. This dedication was also on display in the talks from Ben Smith and Sophie Montagne, two people who described themselves as living very ordinary lives who both went on to achieve something extraordinary and are still setting themselves new goals and challenges for the future.
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hroughout the 275 lecture series I was proud that we played host to a wide variety of experts in their respective fields, all of whom generated a great amount of interest amongst our students and parents who were keen to learn more about the background and experiences of our speakers.
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Our very own Dr Rebecca Torrance Jenkins helped us to have a greater understanding of the learning brain and passed on some important concepts and ideas to help enhance academic performance and success in life on a daily basis.
The theme of being your happiest and healthiest self, came across clearly in both Ed Haddon’s and Dr Millie Stone’s talks. Both of them referred to the Japanese concept of Ikigai as a set of principles for how to define your purpose in your life and such a model can give an incredibly strong framework for helping to make important life decisions to ensure a life well lived. The link between happy and healthy lives was clear for everyone to see. I hope everyone has enjoyed the part that the 275 lecture series has played in the celebrations as much as I have and I look forward to welcoming more amazing guest speakers to Kingswood in the future.” Mr Matt Deacon, Head of Science
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275 CELEBRATION OF MUSIC AND DRAMA In October, an ensemble of over 100 actors and musicians from across the Kingswood Foundation came together to celebrate the performing arts, creating a joyous evening.
The Prep School showcased LAMDA extracts and music solos. Offerings from the Senior School included both our choirs, as well as senior LAMDA pieces; music soloists; extracts from ‘Buckets’ and ‘Rails’ performed by our Drama Scholars; and an extract of our forthcoming Senior Production, ‘Blue Stockings’. Westwood Voices displayed great musical theatre talent with songs from ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘Matilda the Musical’, whilst the Kingswood Choir pulled on everyone’s heartstrings with their rendition of ‘Come What May’ from Moulin Rouge. It was a wonderful way to conclude a busy half term, with a genuine buzz in the auditorium as we celebrated and marvelled at the talents of our actors and musicians. Congratulations to everyone involved, and huge thanks to all the staff who made the event happen. 4 | Celebrating Together - 275 Anniversary News
December 2023
FAREWELL FROM GRAHAM PAPENFUS, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR January 2024 will mark 50 years since I arrived at Kingswood College in Grahamstown, South Africa, as an eight-year-old starting my school career and my association with the global Kingswood Community. Rugby match between the two schools
Hockey match between the two ‘Kingswoods’
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s I reflect upon my time at Kingswood, I have been very fortunate to work closely with so many volunteers, donors, legators and staff who have helped me build our community locally, nationally and internationally. I am also enormously grateful for the generosity shown by the Kingswood Community when asking for gifts for the 275 Campaign. My thanks especially to the support I have received from my Campaign Board (chaired by Tim Westbrook, Simon Morris and currently Ian Falconer), my North American and Asia-Pacific Advisory Boards (chaired by Bruce Vaughan, Meg Kerr, Kate Meigneux and Danny Lau) the Old Kingswoodian Association and the Friends of Kingswood School and Kingswood Prep School. Your support, expertise and friendship have been instrumental in raising over £3m in gifts and legacy pledges via the Development Programme. I am particularly grateful to the Quadstar Foundation, the Baines Family, The Tazaki Foundation, the 1994 leavers and the many donors to the 10 for 1 transformational December 2023
2023 marked Kingswood’s 275th anniversary and was the focal point of the Kingswood 275 Campaign. Our 275th anniversary ends in December 2023 but the Kingswood 275 Campaign continues as we seek gifts supporting:
Graham Papenfus, Development Director
• Transformational Bursaries • Refurbishment of the Dixon Sixth Form Centre and • A new Cookery School
bursary fund who currently support nine pupils on 100%+ life-changing bursaries at Kingswood. The need for transformational bursaries is only going to grow in the years to come so please do support the bursary fund if you are in a position to do so.
Exchange students with Simon Morris Headmasters’ John Trafford and Simon Morris
A huge thank you to Headmasters Simon Morris and Andrew GordonBrown for their incredible support, Michele Greene and Zoe Parsons in the Development Office, and our wonderful ‘Gappers’ and staff who have supported our work in so many ways. Celebrating Together - 275 Anniversary News | 5
The Library today
A HISTORY OF KINGSWOOD AN EARLY HISTORY OF TODAY’S SCHOOL LIBRARY
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he Lord Moulton Memorial Hall, sometimes known as “The Moult” and since 2006 the J. O. Heap Library, was until 1926 the original Senior Schoolroom. It forms the arm of the “H” corresponding to the Dining Hall on the east side.
The Schoolroom was in daily use until 1926. Here, at first, the Headmaster taught from his raised desk in the bow window. In the early days several forms were taught here. Behind the Headmaster’s desk were cupboards, also known as book lockers, housing the textbooks. Mr Aust, the Bursar from 1923-1946, recalled in his memoirs how he spent part of a Christmas holiday re-cataloguing thousands of books – a dusty job! Mr Sackett, a student between 19071914 and the Headmaster between 1928 and 1959, recollects how he and the Senior Prefect, W. R. Smith in 1913, sat for preparation at the double desk facing the School. The School was seated on long lidded desks.
The Merry Wives of Windsor, Moulton Hall
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Here they assembled for morning prayer till the opening of the Chapel in 1922 and before meals. Apart from the juniors, who met separately, the whole School did preparation together. Old Masters sometimes December 2023
£15
(£20 inc P&P)
Moulton Hall benches
“A SCHOOL SET APART”, WRITTEN BY GARY BEST
£15
(£20 inc P&P
(Kingswood Headmaster 1987 to 2008)
Pre-order your copythrough of Gary Best's latest A journey time, tracing the book legacy of
Lord Moulton Hall, 1909
A journey through time, tracing legacy of Kingswood School and its Kingswood Schoolthe and its Alumni from 1748 Alumni fromto 1748 to 2023, ascommemorate we commemorate 275 yearsofof excellence 2023, as we 275 years referred to this as Night School, thus distinguishing it from early morning in education.excellence in education. School when a period of teaching took place before breakfast!
How to order HOW TO ORDER onto the QR Code order Code order and to pay for and yourpay for your 1929 saw the Senior Literary Click on the QRClick book, choosing the ‘Association’ payment type. Association’s presentation of “The book, choosing the 'Association' payment type. If you have opted for posting then please add Merry Wives of Windsor”; the first If you have opted for posting then please add your your address in the payment description box. production in the Moulton Hall. address in the payment description box. Today, The J.O. Heap Library is staffed by a full-time Librarian and her assistant, and contains collections of books, films, journals and digital resources to support the teaching and learning at Kingswood School. The Library is a quiet place where students and staff can read, learn and research while enjoying a welcoming and peaceful atmosphere.
£10
DON’T MISS OUT! PURCHASE YOUR STUDENT DESIGNED 275 CELEBRATORY TIE WHILE STOCKS LAST How to Order Order your celebratory 275 tie, designed by Sixth Former, Tilly Bankes, by clicking here. The price of a tie is £10 and can be paid using this link and choosing ‘Other Payments’.
Moulton Hall 1940s
SUPPORT US: kingswood.bath.sch.uk/kingswood-275 | Kingswood School | @Kingswood School
December 2023
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