KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS
2020/21
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | HEADMASTER'S WELCOME
HEADMASTER’S WELCOME When you look back at the upheavals, complications and restrictions of the past 18 months, the current state of KPS should be a source of justifiable pride to all associated with the school.
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here are record numbers across the whole school from ages 0-11, there has been further investment in our campus by the Foundation, and, most importantly, we have a superb staff, who are continually examining how they can improve their provision for the children, in and out of the classroom. We all have a mindset that focuses on what we can do and what we can achieve. Healthy waiting lists for 2022/23 say a lot about what KPS offers, but they also testify to the trust that our parents have in our school.
As we emerge from the COVID mist, there is a new-found respect for the teaching profession, based on the experience of remote learning and home schooling. Our staff have made the whole process look effortless, although I can assure you that it wasn’t! Well-established pastoral relationships facilitated remote learning and our emphasis on the children’s well-being when we fully re-opened ensured that they felt happy and secure on their return to school.
Home schooling has meant we have all had to learn new skills and follow new ways of working. The children missed their friends, but the daily lessons and pastoral sessions meant that progress continued to be made. Sadly, this will mean the end of ‘snow days’, as we now have the ability to transition seamlessly from ‘real’ school to home learning. The pandemic has also resulted in some changes to procedures which have proved successful and which we will continue with. The staff and I are particularly excited about returning to ‘normal’ and it has been good fun remembering what normal is! Through the various lockdowns, we have continued to look at all aspects of our school with the aim of making the experience for children and parents even better. From September, we have expanded The Garden provision to create much smaller groups in the Pre-School. We will now have seven rooms in operation, each offering bespoke care and learning for our EYFS children. Anna Ballinger and I are delighted to have a room
HEADMASTER'S WELCOME | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
for our young pre-schoolers. The Garden has been a magical addition to our school; seeing the Yurt in full operation and watching the children so stimulated and enthused has been very special. We are really making the most of our wonderful grounds as an ideal environment for children to grow up in. If we add Art, PE, Games, Music, Outdoor Education and Swimming into the mix, it is little wonder that we are Bath’s premier EYFS setting. Our aim is to have all the children truly Reception-ready by the time they leave Pre-School; I know that the staff will do all they can to ensure this transition is as smooth as possible. Our new Admin Hub, which includes Front of House, Getting Better Bay, Office Manager and Admissions, will be ready for the new academic year. There will be two classrooms, toilets servicing Summerhill, a staff changing room and a proper ‘Front of School’,
which obviate the need for visitors searching for Reception to wander through the school. I am very excited by what these developments offer the school as we move forward. Miss Birchall and Mrs McGlynn are already putting plans together to spend the money kindly donated by the Friends of KPS on our Performing Arts Studio. Next year the focus will be on further improving our facilities for play and PE, especially during the cold, wet winter months. In September, our boarders moved into their new bedrooms as part of Westwood House. We are extremely proud of our young boarders and playing our small part in creating the boarding ethos which is integral to the Foundation. KPS is a school that goes the extra mile and that is filled with children who love their school. We have high
expectations, but at the same time we do our level best to remove the stress and anxiety from learning. With a large team of talented and dedicated teachers, our aim is to give the children the broadest experience possible, in and out of the classroom. We have only one chance to give our children the best start to their educational life; it is our avowed aim to do all we can to make sure this is a happy and fulfilling experience. Thank you so much for taking the time to read ‘Kingswood Prep in Focus’. However, an article like this cannot begin to compare with the impression that you get from walking around a school; please come and visit us! I am sure that you will feel the real positivity and enthusiasm and see the wonderful working relationships between staff and children in action.
Mark Brearey (Headmaster)
...our aim is to give the children the broadest experience possible, in and out of the classroom.
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | CONTENTS
CONTENTS 1
Headmaster’s Welcome
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Pastoral
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The Garden at Kingswood
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Reception
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Year 1
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Year 2
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Year 3
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Year 4
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Year 5
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Year 5 Mill on the Brue
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Year 6
25
Year 6 Residential Activities
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English
29
STEM
31
Art
35
Drama
37
Sport
39
MFL
PASTORAL | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
Wellbeing featured in all aspects of the school day...
PASTORAL Pastoral care has been our utmost priority this academic year and has underpinned all that we have done.
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s a school, we are incredibly proud of how, through the COVID-19 pandemic, we have adapted, maintained our excellent standard of pastoral care and supported the wellbeing of the whole Kingswood Community. Wellbeing featured in all aspects of the school day and we provided time for children to explore their feelings, talk about worries, celebrate achievements, rebuild relationships and have fun! School Council, Year 6 wellbeing sessions, our assemblies, playtimes, our exciting and rich curriculum and our after school provision all focused on, and promoted, wellbeing. The laughter and enjoyment around the school was testament to this. We are so proud of the kindness, resilience, positivity and determination the Kingswood community have shown this year, in a year like no other. Well done, everyone!
Ms Helen Worrall (Deputy Head)
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | THE GARDEN AT KINGSWOOD
THE GARDEN AT KINGSWOOD Over the last 18 months every area of education has been negatively impacted by the COVID pandemic.
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hildren from Reception through to students at university have had their lives affected and their learning disrupted in a way that nobody could have predicted or would have wanted. However, for our youngest children in The Garden at Kingswood it has happily been very much ‘business as usual’, albeit with far more frequent handwashing! The children have adapted remarkably well to some of the changes that we have had to make to ensure that we all stay as safe as possible. Dropping off babies and toddlers at the front door to staff
would have been unthinkable prepandemic but the children adapted quickly (and so did the parents) and it became perfectly normal for them to say goodbye with barely a glance over their shoulders. Social distancing is a tricky concept for a baby or toddler to grasp so the Nursery was perhaps the only place outside home ...for our youngest where cuddles children it has happily and hugs been very much were both 'business as acceptable usual'... and expected!
THE GARDEN AT KINGSWOOD | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
If you had been able to come inside the Nursery, you would see that the children’s days are filled with engaging activities with staff thinking carefully about what they want the children to learn. The staff share the children’s interests, listen to their ideas and offer tools, provide guidance and support to enhance their learning. If a child doesn’t enjoy messy play but loves dinosaurs then a tuff tray full of brightly coloured jelly and gloop might just be the thing to entice them to roll up their sleeves and get their hands immersed.
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | THE GARDEN AT KINGSWOOD
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ur children in the Nursery have always loved getting outside to play and explore our beautiful school grounds; this year we have been out and about as much as possible. The addition of a Yurt in the Secret Garden has enhanced our Pre School children’s Forest School experience. It has enabled them to spend a whole day out of the classroom playing and learning in a magical and inspiring setting. Forest school has enabled us to provide a unique educational opportunity for our children using the outdoor environment as their classroom. We have seen the children gain confidence and develop their communication and language skills prompted by their sensory experiences. Activities at The Yurt have helped them to develop their physical skills and their ability to work both independently and as part of a team. They have also extended their knowledge and understanding of the natural world, developing what will hopefully be a lifelong love and appreciation of the world around them.
...extended their knowledge and understanding of the natural world...
In The Garden, just like the rest of Kingswood, we work hand in hand with our families; the relationships we build with our parents is an important part of what we do. We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of our parents for their ongoing support. We are also very fortunate to have a hard working team of staff. Their commitment, dedication and desire to put children at the heart of everything they do has helped to ensure that The Garden has continued to grow, develop and go from strength to strength.
THE GARDEN AT KINGSWOOD | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
...loved getting outside to play and explore our beautiful school grounds...
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | RECEPTION
RECEPTION I
n the Autumn Term, Reception were welcomed to school with the topic “Wonderful Marvellous Me”, where they had a chance to learn about themselves and each other. They made stick family bundles, to represent the love that ties their family unit together. As a class, they explored every sense by going on taste, sight and smell walks. They sampled different foods, and even created their own perfume! The children made and listened to different instruments, and discovered different textures. They loved making porridge with Goldilocks and the Three Bears and having
afternoon tea with a tiger! After half term, Reception learnt about their bodies from the inside. They made ‘blood’ using natural food products, and an organ model using balloons and straws. They experimented with crunchie bars to learn about bone density and wrote letters to the tooth fairy. At the end of term, the children recorded a wonderful Christmas Carol concert in the music room, and enjoyed meeting Father Christmas when he came to visit the secret garden! The spring topic, “The Arctic and Antarctic”, took the children on an exciting journey to the North and South Pole, where they discovered polar bears and penguins. From home,
...the children recorded a wonderful Christmas Carol concert...
AUTUMN TERM
they learnt about the life of Ernest Shackleton, and his voyage to Antarctica. Some built his ship ‘The Endurance’, and some made tea-stained maps of the South Pole. In their magnificent online Art lessons recorded by Mrs Fox, the children made clay or dough penguins, and learnt how to draw penguins and polar bears. Towards the end of term, the children had a chance at becoming eco-monitors around the school, and learnt ten different ways to save planet earth!
RECEPTION | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
...in their magnificent online Art lessons, the children made clay or dough penguins...
SUMMER TERM
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SPRING TERM
eception blasted off into space for their final Summer Term topic, “To Infinity and Beyond!” They learnt a planet rap, and made an extensive planet book including fantastic facts about each of the main planets in our solar system. They used marbles and paint to create their own colourful planets and used chalk to make shooting stars! During their topic time, the children learnt about pressure in rockets, and fired their own from the patch! They also made and launched parachutes when learning about gravity, and turned themselves into astronauts using photos and tin foil! Towards the end of the term, a space ship dramatically crashed outside the classroom, bringing news of Beegu; a lost little alien who needed to find her way home. The children enthusiastically helped her by writing ‘Lost’ posters, and pinning them up around school! In science they made their own alien slime, and in art they junk modelled rockets and spaceships for Beegu!
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | YEAR 1
YEAR 1 Year 1 have had a great time diving ‘Under the Sea’ for this term’s topic.
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hey visited virtual aquariums around the world and learnt lots about different marine habitats and the creatures that live in them. The children became marine biologists and each researched a different animal for our Year 1 Sea Creature Fact File.
The Year 1 gardeners have tended their Year 1 garden with great care and reaped their rewards. They have planted a wildflower bed and weeded and watered all season. The strawberries are delicious but the blackcurrants are a little sour!
We have enjoyed so many wonderful stories about the sea. After reading ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’ the children wrote some great recipes for delicious or revolting sandwiches! We loved 'Dougal’s Deep Sea Diary' and put on our marine archaeologists suits to learn more about the legend of Atlantis. The children did a great job analysing the information they were given and deciding whether they thought the story of Atlantis is ‘Fact or Fiction’. They were so inspired that they wrote their own Atlantis undersea adventure stories.
Our budding engineers made the most of the very wet weather and created some amazing water runs!
As historians, we also learnt about how trips to the seaside have changed since Victorian times… Anyone for a Hokey Pokey?
Our curious Year 1 scientists investigated floating and sinking. They made predictions, tested their ideas and discussed their results. Did you know apples, bananas and satsumas float?
YEAR 1 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
Year 1 have been practising using adjectives and similes to make their writing more interesting. 1W worked together to write this AMAZING poem:
UNDER THE SEA - A POEM BY 1W Under the waves, in the glittering light sea, the ocean is playing. Lots of animals are darting and dancing away. Deep down, the cave water is as blue as the sky. The amazing turtle shines like the sun and glows like a rainbow in the water. The turtles shell, is as hard as rock and as green as grass. The yellow fish glimmers like the sun. The beautiful fish is as shiny as a turtle shell. The tiny blue fish shines like the dark nights sky. The wavy blue coral shines like an angel's halo. The bumpy coral is as green as grass. The pink coral is as bright as morning sunrise. The coral is as shiny as slime and as green as a parrot. The dolphins move like a fish, as blue as the sea. They glide quickly through the water like a current. They swirl through the ocean like acrobats and leap out of the water like waves.
The children could not believe some of the things we discovered!
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | YEAR 2
YEAR 2
Otter Paintings
Another great year has flown by in Year 2, and they have been inspired by their Summer Term topic; ‘Tales of a Riverbank’.
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he children have learnt lots of interesting facts about rivers and our canals and even know how a lock works.
Otters can swim under water by closing their nostrils! CASPAR
Otters have webbed feet to help them swim.
Plant Drawing - Thomas
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They had great fun dissecting flowering plants to see how they are pollinated and learnt what they need to grow. When studying animal classification in our Science lessons, they learnt about the features and characteristics of creatures that live on and by the river bank; they produced some amazing art work!
Do you know otters are mammals and carnivores? WILLIAM
Amphibian Drawing - Polly
Our book this term was 'The Wind in the Willows', and this inspired our creative writing - we even pretended to be an estate agent and write an advert to help sell Mr Badger’s home. The Year 2s enjoyed making simple electrical circuits to light a bulb for Toad Hall and make a buzzer buzz for an alarm for Toad.
Look at some of our fantastic work we have produced this term! Electric Circuits - Alex & Rose
Electrical Circuits We made a circuit with wires to light up a bulb. It worked!
We loved making our circuit with wires and buzzers.
At first it didn’t work and then we tried again and it worked!
HENRY & ALEX G
MONTY & CHIP
ROSE & ALEX R
YEAR 2 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
Nature Club - Lily-Mae & Conie
Pollinating a Plant We enjoyed taking a flower apart to learn how they are pollinated. BEN & ALEX G
Fish I used shades of pencil colour to make the patterns on my Rainbow Trout. Fish breathe through their gills. ISLA Reptile Drawings - Lottie, Max & Alex
Fish Drawing - Isla
Fact File Research - Matilda
Amphibians - Marnie
Reptiles Do you know that some kinds of lizards can run on water? MAX
Clay Dragons
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We had a lively start with some Djembe drumming before learning an African dance.
YEAR 3!
TOPIC - SOUTH AFRICA
Recent travel restrictions did not stop Year 3 from exploring Africa this term, with a special focus on the country of South Africa.
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e had a lively start with some Djembe drumming before learning an African dance. Shortly after, we were inspired by Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, ‘Long Walk to Freedom’. This led to much discussion and thought about the way we treat each other and about difference and resilience. We also pondered over what it must have been like to live during apartheid. Some excellent newspaper reports were then written documenting Mandela’s release after 27 years in prison. Our love of all kinds of animals shone through during our research
and presentations on creatures ranging from the pygmy hippo to the ground pangolin. We learnt some fascinating facts along the way and certainly sharpened our public-speaking skills. In addition, we had fun with alliteration in writing ‘Zealous Zoo’ poems. Members of the Art Club made some beautiful silhouette paintings of an African sunset which brightened our classrooms, and in Drama lessons we worked hard as an ensemble to act out two traditional African tales. Characters included a talking snake, a prince who changed into an impala, an old witch and a jealous brother.
YEAR 3 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
We also enjoyed using atlases and maps to consider the landscape and landmarks of South Africa, and we interpreted symbols to find out what the main industries are and what food is grown there. Did you know that on 24 September, South Africans celebrate National Heritage Day by having a ‘braai’, which is Afrikaans for barbecue? It was interesting when we learned of the life of two children in South Africa and looked for similarities and differences within our own lives. We looked at homes, schools, clothes and added our own interesting facts that we found out in our research. Many of us like barbecues too.
Finally, our main text this term has been ‘The Akimbo Adventures’ by Alexander McCall Smith. In following these exciting stories, we were saddened to learn of how elephants are poached for their ivory. This led on to further discussion and research and a whole class debate about whether Did you know, on or not we should 24 September, South have zoos. Africans celebrate If you are National Heritage curious to Day? know all the pros and cons, just ask Year 3!
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | YEAR 4
YEAR 4 For their topic this term, Year 4 have been learning all about the animals that occupy our ‘Land, Sea and Sky.’
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e have been exploring our earth and the diverse animals, habitats and ecosystems that make it so special. We have researched food chains and what animals eat, the habitats they live in and how animals are uniquely adapted to live in their particular environments. Here is a small selection of some of the amazing pieces of work the children have produced!
EGYPT PROJECT
...some of the amazing pieces of work the children have produced!
YEAR 4 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
ENGLISH WRITING BASED AROUND CLASS BOOK ‘THE BUTTERFLY LION’ Wednesday 16 June 2021 The Butterfly Lion - Diary Entry
CEREAL BOX DESIGN/YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS TOPIC For the final half term of Year 4, the children spent time working in ‘Business Groups’ as part of their Young Entrepreneurs Topic. They were tasked to design a cereal box from scratch and haven’t they done well!
Dear Diary, Today was an exhilarating day. I left hospital to have a walk with Millie to the town. I saw a sign and hobbled over immediately. It said ‘Le Prince Blanc’. I yelled at the café owner, “Where can I find my white lion?” He didn’t know, so Millie, who spoke better French than me asked him and he said “The people from the army had no interest in the circus and only cared about the café, so Monsieur Merlot ran out of money and had to kill all of his animals.” “He killed all the animals?” I said. “No not all the animals, he kept Le Prince Blanc. He couldn’t kill him, he brought him to a house near the river, about seven or eight kilometres away but I expect him and the lion are dead.” Millie and I took a ride and left my wheelchair by the café, it would only slow us down. We got there and I took Millie in with her face looking scared and then we saw him and he said “Who are you?” “Bertie and I’ve come to see the lion.” I said. “Come on.” He said then my white lion emerged from the bed and came and rubbed against me, it finally happened I found him. I will tell everyone at the hospital. Bertie
By Harry (Year 4)
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | YEAR 5
tasks to develop a range of skills and the children were enthusiastic and creative. There were fantastic and persuasive presentations made by the children about the Interceptor – a solar powered boat designed to clean our rivers of plastic. George made his own version from wood.
...an extraordinary year for academic progress, personal growth and independence.
Quotes from children about the project “I like getting a worksheet because you can focus on one particular thing at a time and improve it but I also like the grid so that you can choose.” “I like being creative.” “Using Tin Foil to create my boat was fun and it was cool watching it float.” “I really enjoyed getting messy using spray paint on my boat.”
Boat model
Georgian architecture
YEAR 5 Year 5 enjoyed a wonderful Summer Term and we packed so much fun and learning in.
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he weeks whizzed by, and the staff cannot believe that Year 5 are leaving to continue the KPS journey to Year 6 already. When they returned towards the end of the Spring Term, from many weeks of remote learning, the children bounced into school with smiles and this has continued throughout the remaining weeks. Year 5 is an extraordinary year for academic progress, personal growth and independence. The children never cease to amaze the staff, and this term has been no different.
SUMMER TERM TOPICS We began the term with our Go With The Flow topic looking at rivers. The children studied a river’s journey from source to mouth, how waterfalls are formed, rivers around the world, bridges, animals that use the river as their habitat and river uses and how to clean them. We encouraged lots of research using books and the internet to develop the skills necessary for later study and the children really rose to this challenge. Homework this term consisted of a choice of
After half term, we studied the Georgians. Living in the most beautiful Georgian city, we were inspired by the architecture and history around us. The children learned about the Georgian kings, how Great Britain was united under the Union Jack flag, architecture, transport, food and fashion. The children were delighted to spot Georgian features on our very own dining room!
YEAR 5 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
MUSIC & DRAMA AFTERNOON The children dazzled in their costumes and thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon of Music and Drama performances. Largely led by the children themselves, Drama lessons were given over to the children choosing scripts, sorting roles and rehearsing short extracts in groups. They learnt some songs, which were performed as ensemble pieces, much to the delight of the audience of Year 5 staff, Mrs Wilkinson and their peers.
EXPERIENCE & ENRICHMENT PROGRAM It has been a delight to get the children back to after school clubs as part of our Experience and Enrichment Program. Football proved to be really popular, with the weather usually being kind to the players. There was an absolute downpour one week, but the children just came back with smiles and very soggy socks! Year 5 art club has also proved popular with a mixture of media being used to create a variety of very colourful and creative 2D images. Spotting and Jotting club have scoured the grounds for interesting sights in nature and the Board Games club have tested their wit, luck and judgement against each other with a variety of much loved and new games.
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | YEAR 5
MILL ON THE BRUE What a way to enjoy our last few weeks in Year 5! Mill on the Brue re-opened its doors and invited us back for another residential of fun, team-building and outdoor learning. The children were fantastic, and the weather was certainly on our side. With sun cream at the ready, we embarked on four days of jam-packed activities, ranging from strategy games to highadrenaline adventure, rafting to rifle shooting!
I worked well in my team because in Marble Run, everyone had to communicate with each other – Tobias I think that Mill on the Brue was exciting and an amazing chance to do things I haven’t done before – Reggie
YEAR 5 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
It was exciting and fun, pushed me to my limits and try new things – Sophia D It was a magical place and there was always something to do – Eli The place to be – Freya My greatest challenge was to stay on the raft – James
Tough and challenging but a great place to conquer your fears – Finn
The Leap of Faith was scary but I faced my fear of heights – Sasha I ate every crumb of my food; it was delicious! – Annabelle
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | YEAR 6
YEAR 6 Ending on a High!
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hat a year! After weeks of home learning, they were back for their final term at KPS and raring to go. Having endured the never to be repeated experience of their teachers serenading them with Take That’s I Want You Back for Good, the Year 6 pupils launched into the Summer Term like champions.
WORLD WAR II TOPIC Our Summer Term topic on World War II involved exploring the past through a wide range of cross-curricular learning methods. As well as discovering facts and looking at evidence about evacuees, the Blitz and D Day landings, the children engaged their imagination through creating poetry, making models of Anderson shelters, reading the classic children’s novel The Silver Sword, and reviewing films and documentaries about the war. They also studied the messages and artwork of propaganda posters and had a go at designing some of their own.
The Year 6 pupils have certainly been a creative bunch.
YEAR 6 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
BACCALAUREATE We were blown away by the quality of the Year 6 Baccalaureate boards this year. From Suffragettes to strawberries, the themes were as varied as they were colourful. Who knew that we had experts in the Kushite Empire, interior design and Star Wars in our cohort?
The Year 6 pupils have certainly been a creative bunch. Edible homework was a popular choice this year. From waterfall cakes to edible Anderson shelters, we never knew independent study could be so tasty! So it’s a fond farewell from all the staff as the 2021 Year 6 move on to senior school.
TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU SUPERSTARS: THANKS FOR BEING AMAZING - IT’S BEEN A BLAST!
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | BOARDING
YEAR 6 RESIDENTIAL ACTIVITIES As the updated guidance for schools was announced over the Easter holiday, I was excited to see that residentials were allowed, and even though we would need to go a day later than planned, the trip to Pembrokeshire would be back on.
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updated the Firefly Pages and was ready to go when the email that no outdoor centre wants to send landed in my inbox. Sealyham was closing, permanently. There was no chance of booking a place elsewhere and it simply was not possible to not have a residential of some sort. It was quickly agreed that an activity week would work, maybe even camping on the schools grounds. Five days full of activities including Sailing, Stand-Up-Paddle-boarding, Horse Riding, Mission impossible, Frisbee Golf, Axe Throwing, Adventure
Challenge, Climbing and Archery were organised, with camping on the Upper to finish off the week. The children were truly amazing during the week and, despite not being the residential we had all hoped for, it was an excellent week as you can see from the accounts written by the children. Thank you to all the staff who helped on the week and to all the families whose tents were borrowed for the camping.
Mr Murphy and the Year 6 Team
...despite not being the residential we had all hoped for, it was an excellent week...
BOARDING | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
ADVENTURE CHALLENGE On the Activities Week, one of the activities was Mr Murphy’s Adventure Challenge. It involved orienteering, map-reading, team building exercises and problem solving which were all needed to complete the challenge. Firstly, we used the app What Three Words to locate each of the points on the map, then we had either a challenge or a problem to solve. It started off at the Upper, which then continued into the Mendip Forest. Some of the challenges included; a maze, a medical backpack challenge, a memory card team game, and a game where the whole team had to pass through a hoop. We had to collect letters as well as doing the challenges and out of those letters we created words. The points on the map took us all the way around the forest but in the end, we had found lots of letters. At the end, Mr Murphy bought us all ice cream because we did such a good job! Overall, I think it was a great end to Activities week!
Amelie and Sophie (Year 6)
ACTIVITY WEEK FUN During the Year 6 Activity Week one of my favourite parts was the Sailing and Stand-Up Paddle-boarding day. We did it at a lake which was part of an activity centre which did many water sports. In the morning we did the Stand-Up Paddle-boarding (SUP) and, once we were in our wetsuits and life jackets, we started off by learning how to stand on our boards and how to paddle. Once we had got in the water, we all began on our knees, before progressing to standing up. We played games on the paddleboards, one of which was called ‘World Domination’. Everyone picked a country, and if you tapped someone else’s board three times of the front then they were also your country and had to go around tapping the other boards turning them into the country they switched too.
In the afternoon we were meant to go sailing, but there was no wind, so we went kayaking instead. To start, as with the Paddle-boarding, we were told how to steer and how to paddle. The first thing we did once in the water was go over to the other side of the lake where there was a car which had belonged to Simon Cowell - that had been driven into the lake. After we had all During the Year 6 residential, my favourite activity was sailing. caught a glimpse of it, we did a few races a bit like playing We sailed on a lake in a type of boat called a laser fun boat bulldogs, then went over to a meant for two people. I had a lot of fun as I worked with a long wooden slide on the bank partner meaning we could talk to one another while we which went into the water. sailed. I think we did well as at least we didn’t capsize We all had two goes on like some others, one in the middle of the course the kayak slide, then got I found the whole which caused chaos as boats swerved to avoid out of our wetsuits and hitting the capsized boat and each other! day really fun and life vests went back to would have loved the Upper again. I found I really enjoyed this activity, and I would call it one the whole day really fun to go again! of the highlights of my Year 6. and would have loved to go again!
SAILING
Callum (Year 6)
Sofie (Year 6)
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | ENGLISH
A YEAR OF ENGLISH AT KPS
...we celebrated World Book Day with a virtual assembly celebrating the books we love best.
In addition to all of the incredible work children completed within their English lessons, there was plenty on offer to engage and motivate them to read and write, despite any COVID curtailments.
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ur first term of the year was full of wonderful opportunities for indulging in reading and writing outside of the classroom including the Poetry Out Loud competition, the Christmas writing competition and the Autumn reading raffles.
JOANNA NADIN In addition to this, the Year 5 and 6 children enjoyed the company of author, Joanna Nadin as she discussed her writing process and where her ideas come from. Her books include the Penny Dreadful series and The Worst Class in the World.
In the Spring Term we celebrated World Book Day with a virtual assembly celebrating the books we love best. What a treat it was for staff members to share and pass on the joy which their favourite books have brought them in our World Book Day assembly. Children also shared their favourite books and book reviews on our English page on Firefly.
Much of the hard work of our talent children lies quietly hidden within the pages of their English books. It is such a pleasure to be able to share a few pieces of writing from across the year groups (opposite), and our thoughts on English, written over the course of the past year.
I like finding out new words when reading my story.
CRESSIDA COWELL In the summer term, the Year 5 children had the pleasure of joining Cressida Cowell in a Zoom meeting in which she discussed her ideas and writing process for books such as How to Train Your Dragon. Her enthusiasm was palpable as she shared extracts from her Wizard of Once series.
I love English because it transports you to new worlds you never imagined even existed before.
WRITING OUR THOUGHTS ON ENGLISH AT KPS
I love drifting off into Ruby Redfort and other author’s worlds.
English is a great way to express your thoughts.
I love being creative with my writing!
I love reading because it’s like TV in your brain!
I love writing poems for the way you can express yourself.
ENGLISH | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
A Long Walk To Water Setting Description
Searching for Tutankhamun’s Tomb After countless years of being engulfed in the heat of the bright, burning daylight sun, I am so exhausted from searching and yet still no result of any tombs or caches. I have dedicated many, many years into the Egyptians and yet nothing to show for it apart from a LOT of sunburns, tired achy bones and blinded by the midday sunlight. I long to see my friends and family even though I know that I cannot go back until I find the lost tomb. I feel broken and alone.
In the midst of the baking sun, the travellers were greeted by a wonderful sight. The monstrous river was tumbling as far as the eye could see; it was like a sleuthful snake slithering through the dead grass. Above, the heat ray looked; surrounded by nothing but the bland sky. Flowing freely, the Nile river sounded like a cascade of music to their ears. The bank was damp mud which made a squelching sound underneath their tired feet. Strangely, the absence of the slave-like sand terrain made their feet tingle on the bank. Atop the river’s surface, handmade canoes bobbed gaily in time with the water; awaiting the people about to board them. By Amelie (Year 6)
The scorching heated sand makes my feet feel as numb as they have ever before. My hands look like they are melting in the excruciating, burning Egyptian sun and my face appears to be seen like an old man, after the years of battling against the scrapping sand and red-hot sun. I have spent all my money on this priceless search for the golden tomb full of beautiful riches. The thought of leaving here with nothing is unforgettable. Surrounded by gigantic, crumbling pyramids, gleaming in the rays of the enormous sun, I know he is here somewhere, he has to be! Why is it taking so long? Today was a monumental day of discovery, I have travelled across the desert for years and years, dozens of unsuccessful digs under my belt, until now. In the blazing midday sun, I was busy excavating our latest find of pottery, when a young water boy tripped on a mysterious stone. With great enthusiasm, the water boy called me over, to show me his discovery. I could not believe my eyes, as our team started to dig, step after step started to appear, going downwards into the bedrock. At the bottom of the steps, we unearthed a door with a barely visible cartouche around it. Is this what I have been searching for? I have sent an urgent telegram to my great friend Carnarvon to come and help investigate this outstanding find. This is going to be a long 2 weeks, frustratingly we had to refill the hole to the door. Now we have to just wait, for what will feel like a lifetime, for Carnarvon to arrive. With great joy and an extremely long 14 days my distinguished friend has arrived. With the arrival of the Egyptian official, our team continued the backbreaking dig. The anticipation was overwhelming with every tap of my chisel on the compacted sandstone, will we ever get to find out what is behind this door? Suddenly a hole, a breakthrough, holding our breath Carnarvon handed me a candle so I could see through the door. Carnarvon asked what I could see, I replied “a room of great riches”. By George (Year 4)
Setting Description Waves of amber light cascaded over the landscape, rippling with heat that spread like a disease. The rugged stones and pebbles that carpeted the meandering path, dug into the bare feet of the people passing by. The sun was at its peak now, robbing people of their sanity by stripping them of their sweat. The few cacti that littered the ground were dull and lifeless, their leathery skin grappling for water that could not be found. Vultures ascended into the unforgiving heat, before lurching downwards to feast on the ribs of camels that scattered the desolate floor. By Will (Year 6)
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | STEM
STEM
...the Summer Term has been a frenzy of activity...
For the most part, access to the STEM rooms this year has been quite limited. This has led to more outdoor education and activities with less resources needed during the Autumn and Spring Terms.
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s a result, the Summer Term has been a frenzy of activity as the children have been free to use the resources on hand. I had missed the low hum of the computers in the suite and the tapping of the keys as the Reception and Pre-Prep children typed their first words on a PC, created space montages and coded fish to swim around a fish tank! Year 3 children, having coded ‘micro:Bits’ during lockdown to act as a light house, set to building a model lighthouse with an electrical circuit to allow the Lighthouse Keepers lunch deliveries to go back and forth.
STEM | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
Year 4’s exploration of TinkerCAD and 3D design saw some incredible creations and they demonstrated excellent coding in Scratch. Year 5 and 6 both took to new design software, taking the next step in their CAD journey. The Year 5 children designed bird boxes on SketchUp for Schools and were then presented with the tools to make them. There is always something special about giving a class of 9 and 10 years olds a ‘big saw’! Year 6 were introduced to Easel’s Inventables with a task to design a clock face and to select the correct tools and toolpaths for it to be sent to the CNC machine. I have learnt just as much as the Year 6 children this year and have clocked up just over 150 hours of machining clock faces this summer!
Although in its infancy, more pictures and content is available on the STEAM Twitter handle @KWS_PrepSTEAM from the last year and more will be to come!
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | ART
Amelie - 6SQ Royal Mail Comp
Sassi - Year 4 Homework Diary Comp
Vivi - Year 5
Henry - 6SQ
Amelie - 6SQ
Amelie - Year 6 Art Club
KPS ART GALLERY Josephine - Year 3
Chip - Year 2 Lucy - Year 4 Art Club
Jasper - Year 6 Art Club
Jack - Reception
Dylan - Year 1
ART | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
Noah - Year 5
William - Year 2
Austin - Year 6 Homework Diary Comp Emmy - Year 6 Homework Diary Comp
Poppy - Year 6 Homework Diary Comp
Jasper - Year 6 Art Club
Esme - Year 6 Art Club
Chloe - Year 4
Ben - Year 6 Art Club
Ben - Year 6
Maya - Year 5
Freya - Year 6 Alice - Year 3
Jake - Year 3
Sassi - Year 4
Rosie - Year 6
Evie - Year 1
Sebbie - Year 4
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | ART
Lollo, Y4 Art Club
Poppy, Reception
THE ART ROOM
...we are extremely proud of the outstanding results the children produce.
It was wonderful to welcome the children back into the art room in the Summer Term and we took no time to get out the clay and acrylic paint!
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Ben, Y4
Amelie, Y3 Homework Diary Comp
fter sitting patiently in the cupboard for four months, the Year 2 dragons could finally have a coat of vibrant colour based on themes such as fire, space, and nature. The Year 1 classes soon followed making sea creatures and trying glazes for the first time. Reception classes built ambitious junk model rockets and covered them in papier-mâché. We celebrated some wonderful dinosaur drawings completed in the lockdown by Year 3 and Year 4 learnt about accurate proportions of the figure before completing their Egyptian god foil pictures. Inspired by local artist Helen Stanfield, the Year 5 pupils drew patterned river animals and experimented with printing inks and texture on their colourful backgrounds. Year 6 learnt about the difficult technique of one-point perspective to show depth. Their final painting shows an Anderson Shelter from World War 2. The Year 4 and Year 6 art clubs have been particularly creative, using vibrant colour on fabric paintings and trying out drawing inks with pens and wash. Pop art also inspired our fabulous cake pictures. We have completed two very successful art competitions this year including a new design for the homework diaries and a drawing to celebrate the heroes of the pandemic for the Royal Mail.
Amelie, Y6 Art Club
It is always a pleasure to see such wonderful talent and excitement for the subject and we are extremely proud of the outstanding results the children produce.
ART | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
ART CLUB
Abigail, Y5
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ear 3 were excited when they heard our after school art club was allowed to open up.
Aine - Y6
We spent the Summer Term completing several pieces of stunning work based on our topic in class and the lovely spring weather outside.
Evie, Y1
James, Y3
Beau & Pippa, Y1
Bella, Y5 Stamp Comp
Our topic was on Africa and we had great fun deciding on what animals we would see under a tree at sunset on the African plains. We saw flowers sprouting in the spring sunshine and the petals bloom into colour. We looked closely at the shapes and sizes of the petals. Before long the hot air balloons were back up in the sky and floating over Kingswood prep school a sight we always love to see!
It is always a pleasure to see such wonderful talent...
I am sure you will agree the results were fantastic and everyone was so proud of what they had achieved. Anna, Y2
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | DRAMA
DRAMA
The highlight of the year was... the musical ‘Beauty and the Beast.’
As for everyone, this has been another challenging year for the Drama department at KPS and we have had to think outside the box to make the most of the Drama curriculum in a socially distanced society. But, as ever, Drama has brought creativity, team work, adaptability and a lot of fun to the school lives of the children at KPS. AUTUMN TERM In the Autumn Term we normally run our ‘Poetry Out Loud’ competition and we were not to be deterred, despite the unusual circumstances. Every child in the Prep school is asked to learn a poem by heart and recite it to the rest of the class. Two representatives are then selected from each class to perform in an evening of Poetry to parents and staff. As this wasn’t able to take place, we decided to be a bit creative. The children, selected by their classes, were given the opportunity to create a video of their
poem. They could use costumes, props, video editing tool to be as creative as they could, wherever their imagination took them. The results really were remarkable. Each Year 6 class took on the huge challenge of performing a half hour version of a Shakespeare play. This year we chose Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet. They had to use the original Shakespearean text; not an easy task for children of their age, but they rose to the challenge and exceeded all my expectations!
DRAMA | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
SPRING TERM In the Spring Term the third lockdown impacted on KPS’s Drama curriculum and, once again, we all had to put our heads together and be creative. Many of the children took part in a range of Drama activities we set for them on our Remote Learning platform, Firefly. We received some creative sock puppet videos about precautions to take during the COVID pandemic; children designed props and made fake snow; they used a variety of techniques to improve their mime and some of the Year 6s worked on improving their interview skills.
...their team The highlight work shone of the year was... through in every the musical aspect of their ‘Beauty and the performance. Beast.’
SUMMER TERM The Summer Term is always an exciting one for Drama and Performance. This year the Year 3s, 4s and 5s performed various scenes and musical numbers in an informal concert to the rest of the year group. The highlight of the year was the Year 6’s final performance in the musical ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ They worked incredibly hard throughout rehearsals and their team work shone through in every aspect of their performance. We had a brilliant costume and props team, led by Mr Griffiths, with many of the household objects and props being made from scratch. We have so many talented performers in Year 6, who I have no doubt we will see great things from in the future.
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | SPORT
SPORT
Sports days are always exciting events, but these took on even greater significance this year...
It was a Summer Term like no other for sport at KPS. We were constantly aware of changing situations rules and ideas, trying, like everyone, to balance the need for safety while trying to provide the broadest range of sporting opportunities possible.
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he Summer Term started and our games lessons began with 3 weeks of netball and hockey as these were the sports students had missed out on over the Spring Term. We then got into the swing of our more traditional summer sport, cricket. However, even this was affected, as the need to share equipment made hard-ball games for our older pupils a non-starter. We had a slightly different focus this year across all these sports – we were asking ourselves how we could maximise movement and safe social interaction after so long apart, but also how we could keep up the students’ teamwork skills and develop their abilities within the different sports we played. In our PE lessons we had similar aims – could we use athletics, tennis and gymnastics to get the children moving again, working cooperatively, developing their skills and simply enjoying the experience of being physically active again.
SPORT | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
As with everything else, the restrictions created by COVID also created a great opportunity to learn for everyone – including us teachers. We have been moving towards a more games-based approach to all our PE and Games over the past few years and changes to the way we had to do things has accelerated this change and convinced me about the way forward – which looks less and less like what people might consider the “traditional approach.” Eventually, fixtures returned to our agenda, albeit in quite a different way than normal. Our renewed desire to ensure the best possible experiences for the children meant the same high levels of competition, enthusiasm but far less strict rules with greater focus on the experience of the children, more adaptations of approach to suit the children involved, flexibility of sports and increased collaboration. These were all things we had struggled to achieve in years gone by but as a consequence of COVID, school sport now looks more like the experience I want it to than ever before. Sports days are always exciting events, but these took on even greater significance than normal this year, not least because it was the first (and only!) parentattended event of the whole school year! Again, the disrupted year worked in favour here as we were able to make these true sports days – focussing on far more than athletics. They also provided an opportunity to share how our approach to PE and Games has changed, but still works really well for the children. We often have a discussion about non-competitive vs competitive sports days and – in my opinion – these events showed that true competition and achievement does not need medals and thankfully the recent Olympic games have also shown this to the case at the highest possible level.
Mr Ian Shrubsole (Head of Games)
...simply enjoying the experience of being physically active again.
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21 | MFL
MFL In the Summer Term, it has been lovely to teach the children in person again.
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he pupils enjoyed the opportunity to practise their emerging linguistic skills in class through group work, conversation practice, songs, and collaboration. In the Pre-Prep the children had much fun playing vocabulary games and enacting the story of les trois petits cochons. In Year 3 and Year 4 many topics were explored in French, including expressing likes and dislikes and telling the time. In Year 5 the pupils started to learn Spanish with great enthusiasm while Year 6 enjoyed the challenge of studying German.
...pupils enjoyed the opportunity to practise their emerging linguistic skills in class...
MFL | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
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KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2020-21
KPS is a school that goes the extra mile and that is filled with children who love their school.
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College Road, Bath BA1 5SD T. 01225 734460 E. kpsreception@kingswood.bath.sch.uk www.kingswood.bath.sch.uk/prep
