King's College School_Junior Spring News 2015

Spring 2015

Guys & Dolls

Another successful production

Junior

views

Election fever hits KCJS Read about the candidates’ policies Author Caroline Lawrence Talks about her latest book

Guys & Dolls

Another successful production

views

Election fever hits KCJS Read about the candidates’ policies Author Caroline Lawrence Talks about her latest book

Contents Events 04 Feature: Author Caroline Lawrence visits King’s on page 07

Activities 08 Feature: Paravicini Quartet on page 10 Trips 12 Feature: Ancient Greece on page 13 Sport 16 Football: U8s lift the trophy on page 16

Rugby: U10s crowned national champions on page 19

Performances 20 Drama production: Guys & Dolls on page 20

02

Our mock election just before the end of the spring term was a wonderful occasion.

James: Labour

Election fever

Welcome

who introduced the United Kingdom Dependence Party. He argued that the education system is wrong in seeking to educate young people to be independent, resourceful and resilient. He wants a society which encourages young people to remain dependent on their ‘mummies and daddies’!

Henry: Brains Party

Will: Brains Party

You might not be surprised to know that the Conservative Party candidate was elected but it was striking that the Green Party came second. It was all great fun but the boys’ interest in politics, their ability to argue and express their opinions coherently shone through.

Fred: UKIP

Sami: SNP

Will and Henry launched the Brains Party. Brains is a Welsh beer and these two boys, using very amusing Welsh accents, were really making a bid for the Plaid Cymru vote. They were genuinely funny, the highlight for me being their claim that coal mines are more environmentally friendly than wind turbines because birds have lost their lives in the latter but coal mines have never been responsible for such loss of wildlife! They were followed by Sam

Benedict: Green Party

Charlie: Conservative Party

Sam: UK Dependence Party

Tom: UK Dependence Party

During break times in the previous week these candidates had taken part in hustings to try to build support prior to Election Day. The electorate came into school in political fancy dress: the Green Party’s supporters wore the appropriate coloured shirts, there were Boris Johnson lookalikes and two boys dressed like Margaret Thatcher carrying handbags, of course! The candidates all spoke

extremely well and, while the votes were being counted, we were treated to presentations from two new parties.

Kayal: Liberal Democratic Party

All the Priory (Year 5–8) boys were in the Collyer Hall to hear candidates for the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democratic and Green Parties, the SNP and UKIP bid for their support.

03

Events

Windlesham House School in West Sussex hosted a stimulating afternoon of lectures collectively entitled

Force for Good Richard Foster, the headmaster there, gave a welcoming speech which was shortly followed by an introduction from David Hanson, the IAPS Chief Executive.

The Rt Hon Francis Maude MP then addressed the assembled youngsters and told them how they could be a force for good in politics and make a difference to the country.

He was followed by Tony Little, the headmaster of Eton, who told the boys and girls they could make a difference to education not only in England but all over the world and he asked them what problems they thought our society needs to overcome in order to make a positive change to education around the world.

Next an 18 year old representative from the Step Up To Serve campaign explained that it does not matter how old you are as you are able to make a change to the nation and be a force for good.

04

She was followed by the penultimate lecturer of the day, Lord Michael Hastings CBE. He strode to the lectern carrying two bottles of baby food and, despite the questioning looks the audience gave him, he explained the relation the baby food had to how the children could make a difference in the world.

He told them that Paul Lindley, the creator of the largest baby food company in the UK, had made a fortune from his business. However, rather than taking the money and moving on he created a social enterprise called “The key is E” which subsequently made a difference to the world. Lord Hastings encouraged his audience to always challenge themselves and never choose the easy route out.

He [Lord Michael Hastings CBE] strode to the lectern, carrying two bottles of baby food…

The last lecture of the afternoon was by Jim Hawkins, the headmaster of Harrow. With help from one of his pupils he showed how many of his pupils have been working together to help with various tasks – such as helping people get jobs, improving CVs and interview techniques. As our group headed back to school, they recognised they had been taught valuable lessons – how they could be leaders, how they could change the world, how they should take challenges head on, how they are never too young to do anything but most importantly how to be a force for good.

The power of the mind With Lord Winston We were very fortunate to have as our guest the distinguished scientist, Lord Robert Winston.

Caring to achieve

On Thursday 19 March, King’s College Junior School hosted a pastoral conference entitled Caring to Achieve. At this conference two of our boys, Neil and Max, stole the show when they spoke about their personal experiences practising Mindfulness. Here is a picture of Max and Neil with Ruby Wax and Professor Paul Gilbert, two guest speakers at the conference.

The Long Day Closes

05

Events

Author Caroline Lawrence visits King’s

Screening of Trashed Zac Goldsmith, MP for Richmond Park and environmentalist, Roz Savage ocean rower and environmentalist and Howard Lack, CEO of Plastic Oceans joined us in Collyer Hall for the screening of the award winning film Trashed.

Many parents and students attended and most were both astonished and shaken by this film. Trashed highlights the global damage our pollution creates and the worrying consequences this entails. Jeremy Irons, producer and narrator, travels the world and highlights the areas of mass pollution and its devastating effects on our air, soil and oceans. During the ensuing Q&A session, the panellists gave us suggestions on how we can bring about change. ‘If you think waste is someone else’s problem…Think again!’

Sponsorship of Obera and Rarage schools in Kenya

06

Mr Johanes Kisaka, headmaster of Rarage School in Kenya, visited Rushmere.

He taught every class about the impact that our sponsorship has had on both Obera and his new school, Rarage. The boys were fascinated to learn that over the last nine years ten classrooms have been built, a bore hole has been dug and a computer suite opened. All of this has been possible through the hard work of the Rushmere boys and the generosity of their parents.

Second and Third Form (Year 5 and 6) boys were treated to a visit by the outstanding authoress, Caroline Lawrence.

KCJS was joined on this occasion by boys and girls from Abbotsbury, a primary school where our headmaster, Dr Silverlock, is a governor. Caroline Lawrence is the creator of the Roman Mysteries series and The P.K. Pinkerton series set in the Wild West. She spoke about both of these series and about her latest book, Night Raid, an

adventure set in ancient Greece. At the end of the talk she then gave our teachers a test in which Mrs Beddoe, our librarian, stole the prize, guessing that Caroline Lawrence’s favourite western is The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Our time with Caroline Lawrence was memorable and we were delighted to host this event.

07

Activities

Science week

The theme for Science Week this year was ‘machines’ and the boys in the Upper Remove (Year 8) were again treated to a stimulating lecture from Jeremy Dickin, a pilot and current parent of the school.

London Chess Classic

Twelve boys recently visited the London Chess Classic, a strong grandmaster tournament held at Olympia. They had a coaching session and played in a simultaneous display in the morning before defending the schools’ competition which King’s won in both 2012 and 2013.

Happily, our current crop of players emulated their predecessors by coming back with the trophy for the third year running. Very well done to all the boys involved!

08

Maths Made fun Maths challenge 2015

The Second Form (Year 5) recently took part in an entertaining and challenging morning of mathematics.

The Maths Challenge consisted of twenty assorted mathematical problems, which the boys had 45 minutes to try to solve with their House team.

Once the rules had been explained, they were off! Working alongside a blaring playlist of great music (including some of Miss Fillis’ controversial song choices from Frozen), the boys gave it their all and there was a buzz of excitement and anticipation as the clock drew closer to the finishing time.

Only one team, in fact, Stuart 4, finished the quiz, and they were crowned victors. The others were not too disappointed, however, as everyone had had a great time and the boys left Collyer Hall in high spirits, and more importantly, excited about maths! Later that day, teams of four pupils from fourteen schools in the surrounding area came into the hall to take on the same challenge. This time it was schoolagainst-school in the hard-fought battle for first place. Teachers and parents

cheered on their teams from the galleries and after 45 tense and exciting minutes, the music stopped playing and the challenge finished.

Only five schools had completed all twenty questions and Kew Green Prep, after answering them correctly in a very impressive time of 23 minutes were given their gold medals and prizes. Medals were also awarded to the teams in second and third place.

Afterwards, pupils, teachers and parents headed out to Cotman Gallery for a well-deserved snack and, after their pick of iced buns, doughnuts and sandwiches, everyone left feeling re-energised. Overall it was a brilliant day, lots of fun for both the participants and the Prefects supervising.

My weekend at the Ryder cup Feature by Felix

We are lucky enough to have a family friend, Tim Hunt, who is Director of Marketing and Communications for the European Tour, which includes the Ryder Cup.

Run2Rio On Sunday 8 March we had our first glimpse of spring, just in time for the Run2Rio! Over 330 members of the King’s community turned out to run, and many more to cheer, marshal and organise this wonderful event. Our Visiting Elite Athletes, Shona Richards and Jacob Paul, were there to lead the warm-ups and hand out medals. As the runners departed to the theme from Chariots of Fire, the crepe and pizza vans warmed up for their return! Dominic Mahony MBE talked us through the morning, champions were crowned, the teachers did us proud – Dr Silverlock, Mr Kane, Mr Silvera and Mrs. De Montfort in the 2k, Mr Halls and Dr Clark in the 5k and Mr Lougher and Mr Brambley in the 10k – and we are 1,642km closer to Rio!!

Dominic Mahony MBE The boys were fortunate to have an assembly presentation from Dominic Mahony MBE, Team GB Modern Pentathlon team manager and Olympian. They were able to handle his Olympic medal, an Olympic torch and Olympic village accreditation passes with free coke dispensing tabs attached!

Did you know the dining area in the Olympic village is the size of five football pitches and has every world cuisine available, 24 hours a day?

Earlier this year, Tim invited my Dad, my Grandfather and me to come and watch the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. After a 4am start, we found ourselves great seats towards the back of the grandstand at the first tee. Tim was with the players and passed us players’ hats to wear, as the people around us stared in amazement! Directly in front of us were the Guardians of the Cup, a group of avid Ryder Cup fans who lead all the singing and good-natured chants about the players. The sun rose as play began and the atmosphere was electric. We spent the day following play around the course, catching up with the players at the 6th, 10th and 16th. As we watched Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson’s game end at the 16th (thankfully we won that game!), I rushed forwards to ask Justin Rose for his autograph. He replied that he didn’t have time to sign anything but then said, “Here you go, mate, have this instead.” I couldn’t believe that he had given me the winning ball!

After we got back from Gleneagles, Tim kindly offered to bring the Ryder Cup into school to show everyone. I got the chance to tell the whole Junior School about my brilliant weekend and Tim talked about his job, which everyone found really interesting. Several boys asked him questions, including how much he earns! He answered, “Not as much as I would like, and more than I deserve.” Overall I had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend and met many interesting and generous people who made the occasion unforgettable. I owe Tim huge thanks for this amazing opportunity. It has been great to be able to share it with my friends at school.

Felix.

09

Activities

English Chess federation The U11 team (Ranesh, Rajeiv, Anish, Seb, Andrei and Sne) recently won the London regional final of the English Chess Federation national competition.

KCJS are the current champions, and this win means that the school will defend the title at the national final in July. The U12 team (Pramoth, Ranesh, Rajeiv, Kyle, Anish and Seb) achieved a first for the school by winning the Aldro team tournament. This competition was also notable for the 4th place achieved by the KCJS 2nd team (Aashray, Bennett, Ethan, Andrei, Sne and Oliver).

Playing with the Paravicini Quartet We had a wonderful afternoon and evening with the Paravicini Quartet. Derek Paravicini is a blind, autistic pianist who remembers every piece of music he hears and is able to play it perfectly.

His friend, teacher and mentor is Adam Ockelford, Professor of Music at Roehampton University. On this occasion, Adam and Derek were joined by Hannah, who sings beautifully, Ben, a violinist of verve and panache and Olly, one of the country’s leading young drummers. In the afternoon, Derek and his friends played for and with the boys. Then in the evening, they gave a concert in the Great Hall in aid of the Amber Trust, which works to help blind and partially sighted youngsters enjoy music. We had a great time and it was a privilege to be with such talented people.

10

National prep School challenge The U13 team has been playing this year in division 3 of the Briant Poulter chess league, an U18 competition for Surrey Schools. By beating Wilson’s School last Friday, the team confirmed their victory in the division with a record of played 8, won 7, lost 1. This is an outstanding achievement, emulating our Senior School teams of 2010 and 1985 who also won division 3. The league is in its 78th year and only one other prep school has ever won a division. With promotion to division 2 secured, our chess players are set to play at an even higher level next year.

Congratulations to the team (Anshu, Pramoth, Ranesh, Rajeiv, Martin and Kyle).

It has become an early February tradition for every boy in Priory (Years 5–8) to sit the national prep schools’ challenge – the test consists of 100 questions, and our top five scores in each age group are tallied.

With a score of 346, KCJS came fourth in the Junior Challenge, and credit must go to Samuel and Finn for coming 31st= and 39th= respectively, both winning a £10 Amazon voucher. The Senior team fared even better, and came first with a score of 372.

What’s more, four boys in the Upper Remove (Year 8) came in the top sixteen, earning themselves £10 along the way – quite some feat!

They were Fredric, Chris, Benedict and Adam.

Top five scores in each age group Junior Challenge Sam, Finn, Oliver, Sne & Theodore.

Senior Challenge Frederic, Chris, Benedict, Adam & Amit.

11

Trips

French exchange Le vendredi 7 novembre, 29 garçons de ‘Upper Remove’ ont pris un car à Dover. C’était le début de notre visite à Montreuilsur-Mer en France pour l’échange français.

Nous étions très excités parce que chacun de nous allait rester chez une famille française pendant trois jours. À l’école à Montreuil, après des petits gâteaux et des boissons, nous nous sommes présentés à nos ‘nouveaux amis! Quelques élèves de King’s avaient des filles comme hôtes; c’était chouette! Le week-end était super amusant.

Certains de nous ont regardé un match de foot, d’autres sont allés à la chasse et quelques autres ont visité des musées. J’ai eu de la chance parce que mes hôtes m’ont emmené à Lille pour le weekend chez leurs amis. Lundi, nous sommes retournés au Collège St. Austreberthe où nous avons pris des photos avant de dire ‘Au Revoir’ à nos correspondants. En route au ferry, nous nous sommes arrêtés à ‘La Chocolaterie de Beussent’ et nous avons appris comment faire du chocolat.

Après ça, nous avons acheté des cadeaux pour nos familles et nous sommes partis pour prendre le bateau. C’était une aventure fantastique pour nous.

Nous avons goûté à la culture française et à la manière de vivre en France. Surtout, on devait parler seulement en français et c’était un test de notre compétence en cette langue. Nous voudrions remercier M. Lougher, M. Fogarty, M. Hipkiss et tellement Mlle. Attié, qui a organisé ce voyage, qui était une expérience merveilleuse.

12

Racing in the ancient stadia of Epidaurus and Nemea

The sites of ancient Greece in one week!

Forty intrepid boys and five members of staff spent a week together travelling around the sites of ancient Greece.

A week was not really long enough but we saw much and covered a lot of ground. The trip took in everything from modern engineering to legendary tombs, with the only hiccup coming when the wrath of Zeus prevented a re-run of the Olympic Games with a prolonged thunderstorm which turned the stadium at Olympia into a beach. Luckily we were able to race in the ancient stadia of Epidaurus and Nemea, with Mark Rodrigues crowned victor at both.

13

Trips

RAF Hendon

First form experience life in a World war II classroom 14

The road to Wembley The Third Form (Year 6) boys travelled to Wembley Stadium to study the differences between greenfield and brownfield sites, and why Wembley was built…at Wembley.

On arrival they were greeted by their two friendly tour guides, Nick and Raj. They watched a short video showing the ‘90 years of Wembley’, including all the major events and concerts that had taken place since its opening in 1923. The boys then read a detailed explanation about the site entitled ‘Why Wembley?’

They then set off on a 1k walk through the many corridors and passageways around Wembley, each one festooned with a multitude of pictures of concerts such as the Rollin’ Stones, U2 and Michael Jackson, famous matches, and even the visit from the Pope in 1982! On the way they were told stories about some of the famous people who came to Wembley, such as Bob Geldof who organised the Live Aid! Concert, and how stuntman,Evel Knievel, jumped over 13 buses in the stadium!

After the walk, they returned to the stadium seats, and each got to hold a replica of the World Cup trophy! Back at the Learning Zone they ate their packed lunches and played a Wembley version of Top Trumps, called ELS, and each had a (necessary!) turn in one of the stadium’s 2,618 toilets. Brimming with excitement, the boys then walked down the 108 steps from the Royal Box to the pitch-side tunnel from where the players walk up onto the pitch, on their way passing the drug testing facility, commentary box and interview room.

Unfortunately they were not allowed to step on the sacred turf. They then made their way back up the 108 steps, and collected the badges with the photo of them holding the World Cup trophy.

15

Sport

Football Highlights Congratulations to all the boys: Marcus, Freddie, Ethan, William, Noah, Jack and Oliver

U10 5-a-side Champions The Under 10 team retained their crown as the Thomas’s 5-a-side Champions! They played exceptionally well and produced their very best performances in the hard fought semi-final against Dulwich College and then in the final against Thomas’s Clapham.

U8s lift the trophy The U8A team represented the school in our annual Centenary Soccer tournament.

We welcomed twenty four teams from sixteen different schools to our Kingsway Sports Fields for a fantastic afternoon of football. We moved through the pool matches into the quarter final against our old foe, Shrewsbury House. Confident from our victory over them earlier in the season the boys looked calm with

16

great defending from Ethan and Ollie as well as consistently excellent goal keeping from Marcus. Eventually we got our opening goal and Noah scored the winner sending us through to the semi-final.

Our opponents in the semis were Dulwich College and despite finding it hard to break them down we always looked in control. After full time nothing could separate the teams so the match went to penalties. All the boys scored

their penalties – thankfully we had practised earlier in the week – and after a great save from Marcus, we won 5-4.

The boys worked extremely hard in the final against Thomas’s Clapham and deservedly took the lead again through Noah. We held on until the last minute when they equalised sending us once again to penalties. The boys were solid, all scoring, and a wonderful save from Marcus gave us the break we needed.

No mistakes and the trophy was ours!

U11s win the Plate competition The U11A team played Cranmore in the final of the Surrey Plate Cup competition.

The boys conceded a goal within the first thirty seconds but were soon on level terms as Sebastian smashed home a superb volley from a narrow angle. It was his seventh goal of the competition.

Cranmore came back strongly but the boys held firm and began to settle into the match. Displaying incredible technique, Joe scored possibly the goal of the season with a cracking volley from outside the box. After the second goal the team started to pass the ball with greater confidence and create more chances but the Cranmore keeper was on top form. In the second half Cranmore

had a period of possession which tested the team defensively and brought a good save from Cian at an important time.

The boys weathered this storm and scored two more excellent goals, from Maxime and the outstanding Hugo, which effectively ended the match. Liam had a fifth goal disallowed as Pierce influenced the game from the left-hand side late on in the second half. When the final whistle blew, the team knew they had thoroughly deserved their win and the trophy after playing three matches in four days! There were great scenes as the boys became the first KCJS U11 side to win the Surrey Plate competition.

17

Sport

Callum Trials for harlequins Callum trialled with one hundred and ten other boys and was selected for Harlequins’ Surrey Development Squad comprising just thirty two players! The boys train once a month at Surrey Sports Park and the aim is to improve every aspect of their game also making the boys aware of all parts of being a successful athlete – nutrition, mental approach, strength and conditioning etc. At the end of the programme Callum will receive a detailed report from Harlequins and will hopefully be moved up to the U14 Developing Player Programme (DPP) next year. This is an outstanding achievement.

Rugby news

Smiles all round for u11s The U11A team defended their Thomas’s 7s Rugby title in emphatic fashion.

The boys scored over 220 points in six games and conceded only 7 on their way to victory. Scores of 61-0 v Oakfield Prep, 56-0 v Thomas’s Clapham, 42-0 v Wetherby Prep and 19-7 in the final against Northcote Lodge give a clear indication of how well the boys played. They gave a wonderful display of attractive running rugby.

The leading try scorers were Pierce and Hugo. In defence Cameron was again hugely effective. This was a great team effort and the boys were well deserved winners on the day!

18

U10s keep on winning…

After a long and tough week, with very tired bodies following the success at the Nationals the previous week, we set about trying to win the Donhead Tournament, which was packed with teams aiming to knock us off our pedestal.

The first game against the hosts was a tough affair. We drew 5-5 despite a huge penalty count against us: we knew we would have to up our game to ensure qualification in first place. We did exactly this, dispatching St Benedict’s 35-0, Denmead 15-0 and CLFS 25-5. We secured qualification at the top of the group, meaning we met runners up St Columba’s from the other group in the semi-final.

This was a tough encounter and they were hard to break down Fortunately we took the advantage with a well worked try and defended stoutly to ensure victory and a final spot against the winners of Donhead v Shrewsbury House. Donhead won this game by a single score and we ended up facing the hosts once more for the championship title.

This game we were just too good and we ended up beating them 15-5 and never really looked like being overrun. This capped an incredible week for the U10A squad.

U10s crowned National Champions The U10A rugby team played brilliantly at Epsom College to win the Lexus National Prep Schools’ Tournament.

Last year, as U9s, they lost against a very strong Shrewsbury House team in the final. This year the boys were determined to go one better.

They started well with a powerful win over Cumnor House. A draw against Claire’s Court Ridgeway and a solid win against New Beacon ensured the team finished the group as winners. The

quarter final against Akeley Wood was a tough test and the boys forced a late second half score to win and go through to face QEGS Wakefield in the semi-finals. The KCJS team had so many chances to score but just couldn’t cross the line. The game finished scoreless but due to their far superior group performance the boys went through to the final to face old rivals Shrewsbury

House. They really could not have played much better. They were stronger in attack, stronger at the breakdown and incredible in defence. They won the final two tries to nil and were, therefore, crowned National U10 Champions 2015.

To win this tournament is an incredible achievement, to do it without conceding a single try is simply remarkable. Very well done to all the boys!

19

Performances

Guys And Dolls

After six months of rehearsals and hard work, the cast of Guys and Dolls finally performed their production in the Collyer Hall Theatre.

The show ran for four nights and was a huge success. Gangsters and Hotbox girls lit up the stage with their singing, dancing and colourful

20

costumes. There were many impressive performances from the boys, all were incredibly convincing and entertained the audience with wonderful solos and dialogue.

All the boys were outstanding and performed the most enjoyable and entertaining show.

The main characters: Adelaide played by Charlie, Nathan Detroit played by James, Sarah Brown played by Tom, Sky Masterson played by James, Nicely Nicely Johnson played by Freddie.

21

Performances

La soirée franÇaise La Soirée Française took place in Collyer Hall. This Upper Remove event was the culmination of the French Speaking Competition and featured twelve varied and engaging acts, including speeches, songs, poems and sketches.

The standard was incredibly high, both linguistically and in terms of performance, and guest judge, Mr Saxton (a French teacher at the senior school) had his work cut out! After much considered and complimentary feedback, James and Oliver were named this year’s

22

winners for their rendition of the song Vois sur ton Chemin by Bruno Coulais.

The real winners, however, were the audience, who enjoyed a memorable evening of unrivalled quality, witnessing yet another side of the talented boys that we have here at King’s.

Le Petit Déjeuner

The spring term saw the return of the Modern Foreign Language Department’s annual Petit Déjeuner event featuring the boys of Lower Remove performing a host of French songs to an enthralled audience of parents and teachers.

Taking place in Collyer Hall for the first time, the theatre was transformed into a French café with accordion music playing softly in the background as smartly dressed waiters – selected boys from two of the Lower Remove (Year 7) Forms – delivered a delectable breakfast of assorted pastries.

The varied programme consisted of diverse musical styles, all accompanied with suitable props and costumes. One class even staged their very own song, Bang Bang, je fais le ménage!, ably penned by Elliot (LRL) and brought to life by Max’s (LRL) memorable portrayal of Nicki Minaj! Many boys of this age group find singing and acting in their own language a nerve-wracking experience. To do so in a foreign language demonstrates that our pupils are both highly accomplished and very game; they did very well indeed.

23

King’s College Junior School Southside Wimbledon Common London SW19 4TT +44 (0)20 8255 5335 hmjssec@kcs.org.uk

Design by haime-butler.com

kcs.org.uk/junior-school