NEWSLETTER
Michaelmas Term 2022
The Pre-Prep children delighted parents and grandparents as they acted, danced and sang their way through ‘Angel Express’. It was a joy to watch!
Headmaster’s Notes
What a full and varied term we have enjoyed, with the usual very special atmosphere and events of the weeks leading up to the Christmas break. Highlights are many and across the range of activities and the curriculum. The Sports Celebration evening saw 21 plaques unveiled, which, given the criteria for names appearing on them, is admirable. Music continues to thrive and grow at our school and now something like 185 individual music lessons take place each week, on top of the many gatherings, ensembles, choral groupings, often showcased in fabulous concerts. In fact, we have had to add in an extra concert to be able to give every young performer a chance! The digital Art display showcases the work of our children in that important area, and Drama and Dance, along with many other clubs and activities, have enhanced the experiences of our children. The Pre-Prep Nativity was a real treat and enhanced the festive mood, as did the whole Prep School trip to the film of Matilda! The HGA Firework Display and the Christmas Fair were wonderful and very well attended events. Once again I extend my grateful thanks to the HGA for that and the smaller scale events during the term.
Examination/Entry Results
Our ambition to continue to be a school that is right at the very top in terms of its academic performance has continued to be realised in the Kent 11+ Tests, with a staggering 90% pass rate ahead of the parental appeal stage. Huge congratulations to every single child who sat the tests and my sincere thanks to the teachers who have played such an enormous part of their success over the years.
We have very much been in exam season in respect of independent schools, too, for our Year 6 children and it continues into the New Year, of course. The first results are starting to arrive and at the time of writing, we are delighted to report that Bea Gilbert has won a Drama Scholarship to Sutton Valence. Ivy Gustard, Sophia Newing, Cora Silva and Elowen Tremeer Greig have been offered places at Kent College, Pembury, with Ivy being awarded a Dance Scholarship. In addition, Gregory Ejiofor, Alexander Fair, Conor Hughes, Nathaniel McEwanMoore and Callum Rae have secured places at Bethany School. Nathaniel, Sophia, Cora and Saskia Edge have also won places at Radnor House, as has Vivaan Anand who achieved an Academic Scholarship.
Site News
You will know that we have had builders on site as we expand the interior space of our Nursery to accommodate the increasing interest in families joining us, and I know Miss White and her team hugely look forward to moving back in there after Christmas. I thank all current Nursery parents and staff for their patience as we have completed this project.
Just so you know, we also laid new artificial grass made from recycled materials on a new foundation on the bank leading down to the Dining Hall over Half Term. At the same time, new acoustic panelling went up in the Gracey Hall to help with the acoustics in that space, so important for all the many uses it sees.
Staff News
Mrs Jackson-Bartlett, already with us for a day a week, starts full time from January as Digital Lead and Teacher of Computing. We say goodbye and thank you to Alexandra da Costa, who gave us a term as a Maths teacher, and we look forward to welcoming Mr Scott Pethers in the New Year.
We bid a sad farewell to Mrs Alyson Bleakley after eight years at Hilden Grange who, as I mentioned on a previous occasion, leaves us to pursue a full-time position in education in her Church. Victoria Williams, who joins us in January from Mayfield, inherits a thriving Geography Department and we are very grateful to Alyson for all she has brought to our school over her years with us.
I wish everyone in our community a wonderful and very happy Christmas Holidays.
“
Every gift which is given, even though it be small, is in reality great, if it is given with affection.” – Pindar
Malcolm Gough Headmaster
NEWS FROM THE PRE-PREP
Nursery
What an exciting term for Nursery. Due to a demand for spaces, we have been able to undergo extensive renovations to extend our learning space. The nursery children have been able to watch their new environment grow daily and have been absolutely amazing at coping with the transition to a Year 2 classroom, showing maturity way beyond their years.
Our first book this term was “Little Glow”, a heartwarming tale celebrating diversity and traditions across a variety of communities. The children learnt about festivals of light around the world, experimented with different sources of light and finally ended the week with the story of Guy Fawkes and an amazing firework display at school. “Where the Poppies Now Grow”dominated week two, a journey of friendship set against a changing landscape of innocence, war and finally peace. The children explored still life painting using Vincent Van Gogh as inspiration, created 3D tissue paper poppies and stood proud during our Remembrance assembly and two minutes silence. An incredible sign of respect and understanding for children so young.
During week three we found a truly inspirational author and illustrator, Kathryn Otoshi and focused on her book “One”, we used this as a tool to support children’s
understanding during Anti-Bullying Week. A simple book with a powerful message about the power of “one”. The children explored the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and designed their own unique piece of artwork in the shape of a number one. They also learnt lots of fun facts about Japan.
We found Kathryn Otoshi so inspirational that we studied another one of her books in week four. “Zero”, a story that follows Zero a character from the book and how they eventually see value in themselves. The children painted, printed and collaged all within the theme of a circular shape. They also learnt a little more about Japan, mainly focusing on volcanoes and Mount Fuji. Another book by Kathryn Otoshi, “Draw the Line“ followed a different format in week five. A powerful and poignant wordless book about forgiveness supported by some incredible illustrating. The children looked at the work by Pablo Picasso, specifically “The Fearless One” as it is drawn using a very simple line and listened to Picasso’s favourite music by Enrique Grandos.
During week six we thoroughly embraced Christmas and read “The Christmas Tree Wish”, a Christmas tale about hope, friendship and being unique. The children were delighted to paint using shaving foam to create Christmas trees for their cards, had an amazing glitter fest whilst making decorations and learnt about the origins of the Christmas tree.
The children also delivered a sterling performance in their nativity “Angel Express” and enjoyed a pyjama day for all their hard work. Alongside all these activities the children have enjoyed specialist teaching in Drama, Music, Sport and Forest Schools on a weekly basis. I know the children are so excited to move into their new nursery in January and so are we, a new space, new resources and a new year. Exciting times ahead!
Reception
.Reception began the term counting the seeds inside pumpkins then ended the term baking Christmas cakes… with everything in between! It has been a busy yet fun term and the children have worked incredibly hard. A highlight this term is finding an amazing new author called Kathryn Otoshi who has written some brilliant books including ‘One’, ‘Zero’ and ‘Draw The Line’. These stories lead to lots of discussion about kindness, helping others find their value and ensuring everyone “counts”.
Our trip to Kent Life was enjoyed by all, especially meeting Kevin the Dartmoor sheep and Wispa the greedy alpaca! Not to mention the fun we had on the tractor ride!
Our term ended with the magic and sparkle of Christmas. The children wrote letters to Father Christmas and enjoyed walking to the letter box to post them to the North Pole. We eagerly wait for a reply! Our Christmas elf Twinkle Toes arrived at the beginning of December and created some amazing mischief in our cloakroom each day which has had us all in giggles! The grand finale of our term was of course our Pre-Prep Nativity and wow the children did amazingly. We are very proud at how beautifully the children sang and shone brightly just like the little STARS that they are! Happy Christmas everyone, have a wonderful time with all your families.
1
We returned to school at the very end of October, with our batteries recharged and our lights shining brightly, ready for our new topic ‘Sparkle and Shine.’ As busy as elves in the run up to Christmas, we set to work on designing Christmas cards. In the very same week, we learned all about the history of the gunpowder plot, what London was like in the 1600s and discovered the power of onomatopoeia when used in our bonfire night poems.
With Remembrance Day fast approaching, we went back to our busy little workplaces to craft bright red poppies in memory of the fallen. These little 5 and 6 year old children have learnt about the devastation that war can cause. They observed the two minute silence and listened, in awe, to the emotional rendition of the Last Post, played on the clarinet by one of our own senior children. We are very proud of them all.
We have all enjoyed a day of learning in the forest with Miss Young, hiding and finding pine cones, looking for and identifying fungi, observing the depth of the stream as it turned into a rain fueled torrent and probably best of all, toasting marshmallows, squishing them between chocolate digestive biscuits and drinking hot chocolate by the campfire!
We have had our noses in books, reading with author Sophie Henn and exploring the Scholastic Bookfair and listening to Michael Morpurgo read his own endearing story about a little robin red breast in ‘Coming Home’.
Dear parents, you can be forgiven for wondering why you spent so much effort buying and naming uniform, when you receive our letters asking you to send your children to school in old clothes, odd socks or in their pyjamas! Please believe us that this has all been in a good cause. Indeed, at the time of writing, we will be disguarding our smart purple unforms once again, in favour of stripy cotton overshirts and tea towels – and that is another story – a Christmas Story; we hope you loved the singing and were relieved at the end when the cast, led by angels, were ready to sing to the baby Jesus!
With Christmas just around the corner, we leave you very much where we came in – writing cards and being as busy as elves in the runup to Christmas. Little elves, you have had such a busy term, now rest, relax and have yourselves a merry little Christmas. We wish you all a very warm and happy yuletide.
Year
Year 2 ‘Bright Sparks’ lit up the sky as we launched our term to Christmas with writing firework poems including onomatopoeia and similes inspired by our magnificent school firework display.
We glowed with curiosity and enthusiasm at learning about The Great Fire of London. Our time machine took us back to September 1666 with a visit from Samuel Pepys. Mr Pepys told us all about the diaries that he kept about life in London at that time. However, he was a worried man. A fire had broken out and following a long, hot summer a wind was fanning the flames straight towards his house. We took up the writing of his diary using all the facts that we had learned about this period. This term has also been busy with rehearsals for our glittering Nativity. With speaking parts for Year 2 and songs and actions to learn we have had to concentrate hard to polish our performance. We really hope that you enjoyed watching it.
We have enjoyed lots of activities outside the classroom. Our Diwali dance workshop was a shining success. We enjoyed our own ‘World Cup’ with football presentations in Games, having the author Sophie Henn share some of her books with us, a Forest School Day with Miss Young and attending the Book and Christmas fairs.
We have all worked and played hard this term and as the tinsel and glitter adorn our classrooms, we are excited about the approaching Christmas holidays and a welldeserved rest to spend time with family and friends. You never know maybe a visit from Santa too!
Forest School
Pre-Prep children have been learning new skills and building on those they have already learnt. Children are also encouraged to explore and notice nature, it’s amazing how they find new things during each day. Our Forest School rules are: Look after yourself, Look after each other and Look after nature. Before the children are set loose with tools, they have a ‘tool talk’ to learn their safe use. Years 1 and 2 have split firewood with the Kindling Cracker, whittled wands with safety whittlers and used a ‘Dragon Sneeze’ to create sparks for fire lighting. Reception also whittled wands but decorated theirs with cord they had made. The fire became the focus at the end of all sessions, with hot chocolate, s’more and popcorn on the menu.
Year 2
VISITS, VISITORS AND EVENTS
Faraday Challenge
A team of six of our Year 8 pupils took part in a Faraday Challenge Day held at Somerhill. They were tasked with designing and building an accessory for a drone within an allocated budget. Once they had decided on an idea the team assigned themselves jobs within it: William Churchill took on the role of Project Manager. Wilfred Gustard and Sebastian Thomas worked on the electrics and model making, Aaron Langley took control of the Budget, Alex Hennessy oversaw Health and Safety and team morale whilst Daniel Thompson and William Churchill composed the all-important written report. The team built a tower with a moving platform for the drone to land on. When the platform was down, a green light came on to show it was free, after the drone had landed the platform door closed to keep the drone dry and the light turned red.
The Language of Learning was in action as the boys persevered and showed resilience and positivity to trouble-shoot and get their model working. At the end they presented their model to the audience of other competitors and answered questions posed by the judge. Our team worked brilliantly together and ended up winning the event earning themselves £10 vouchers, certificates and a Faraday Challenge Day plaque for the school. They now proceed through to the National finals.
Science Quiz
Two teams of Year 5 and Year 6 pupils took part in the regional heat of the National Quiz Club Science Championships. The event took place online and the teams answered a whole range of challenging questions from across the sciences and world of technology. Out of 37 schools taking part our two teams came 5th and 12th. Our 5th placed team, Team 1 has done well enough to compete in the semi-finals that will take place on the 1st February 2023. Congratulations to both teams. In Team 1 was Ryan Carne-Ross, Toby Briers, Rochelle Johnson and Tarun Gunaganti and Team 2 was made up of Henry McClements, Nathanial McEwen-Moore, Jessica Barnett and Leo McClean.
Author Visit
Some of our younger pupils had the privilege of meeting author Sophy Henn. She encouraged everyone to tap into their imagination when creating characters, writing stories, drawing, or simply doodling. Children found out how she created her character Pizazz (the superhero protagonist in her book series) and even participated in a step-by-step drawing tutorial where Sophy helped them animate their own Pizazz with facial expressions and ‘the power of the eyebrows’ as she calls it. Everyone found out about Pizazz’s adventures and her extraordinary family and friends.
Perhaps this will inspire children to create their own comics and cartoon characters, which we may find in the bookshelves of WH Smith’s in the future…
Divali Dance Experience
The children from Nursery to Year 4 had a fantastic Indian dance experience with Kalpesh Zalavadiya from Kz Dance Company. It was a wonderfully fun, energetic and vibrant way to support their learning about the celebration of Diwali in Hindu culture, and the perfect antidote to a dull November day.
Hamper Donations
Thank you to everyone who brought in goods for Sustain’s Hamper campaign – as ever we were very moved by the scale of the support. As the Year 8 pupils helped to deliver and sort the donations, Pastor Neil Durling impressed upon them how important the bags are to help those in the area who otherwise might have nothing on Christmas morning. He advised them to appreciate all the chances they get at the school, not to hold on to them tightly but to share them with the world – just as they were doing at that moment.
We received this message from Emma and Jemma at TBC:
Please extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone at Hilden Grange who so generously supported our Christmas Hamper campaign. Thank you also to the senior pupils and staff who did a wonderful job unpacking the donations and then repacking them into Hampers. They were a credit to their school. We will be distributing around 300 Hampers to local low-income families and estimate that at least 60 of these came from Hilden Grange’s donations which is absolutely fantastic and incredibly generous.
We wish you all a very Happy Christmas. November day.
Mayor of Tunbridge Wells Toy Appeal
Thank you to everyone who contributed so generously to the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells’ Toy Appeal. We held a special assembly where the gifts were donated and the Mayor spoke movingly of his great gratitude and of the impact that these will make to local families.
GIVING
Girls’ Games
The girls came back from half-term break refreshed and ready to roll with the reminder of the hockey season. The older ones immediately played Sevenoaks Prep, a traditionally tough opponent and came away with the U11 As drawing 1-1, the B team losing 2-0, whilst the U10 As drew 0-0 and the Bs won 3-0. The following week the girls played Fosse Bank, who hadn’t played a lot of hockey. Therefore, we decided that our girls would play in their House sides, giving them practice for the House matches later. Each house won against Fosse Bank, giving them valuable experience, which was to be later witnessed during their House afternoon. The final matches of the season were played against Sutton Valence, where the U11 A team lost and the Bs came 2-0 down to win 3-2, a magnificent comeback, well done girls. Meanwhile both the U10s played and beat their Sutton Valence opponents. Special mention must go to the girls that played in the U10 undefeated side throughout this season. They played 5, winning 4 and drawing 1. Well done girls and we hope you enjoyed the Hall of Fame presentation evening.
Meanwhile all our U8s and U9 girls played Kent College and Hilden Oaks. This saw all our teams do extremely well. The following week our youngest girls played against Sutton Valence, which saw the U9 team and U8 Bs lose closely with a win for the U8 A team. To complete the hockey season, we held the junior and senior House matches. The senior girls played some superb high-level hockey which finished with the Saxons winning. The junior girls enjoyed the freedom of playing on a larger pitch and in slightly larger numbers and this also saw the Saxons finish on top. Well done to the Saxons and to all the girls who so eagerly took part in the exciting event. The girls have begun training with their netball and matches will begin in earnest straight after Christmas.
Games
The Saxon Girls with the Hockey Cup
Judo Champions
Congratulations to Yurii Loktionov in Year 8 who is now a national Judo champion! He competed in the National British Pre Cadet and Cadet Judo Championships in Sheffield and won a Gold medal in the PCB-46 class.
This outstanding result is testament to the huge amount of hard work that he has put in to reach this standard, and the massive support that he’s received from the Judo community since his arrival in the UK. Younger brother Ivan is also showing great promise and last month won a Gold medal at a Judo competition at Tonbridge Judo Club.
Boys’ Games
The second half of term saw the conclusion of the football season and the opening rugby pre-season friendlies. The final action of the football season were the House Matches which were convincingly won by Vikings! Rugby season has started well as the children attempt to learn the HG style of attractive and skilful wide play coupled with uncompromising and physical defence!
The end of the calendar year also sees our annual Sports Celebration Evening where we unveil plaques for this year’s Sports Hall of Fame. This year there were 21 plaques unveiled including achievements in hockey, football, rugby, boys and girls cricket, boys and girls cross-country and athletics. As always it was a fantastic night attended by over 100 children and 200 parents and friends of the school.
MUSIC
It’s been another very busy half term,
It was an honour for the choir to be asked to take part in a fundraising concert for Hospice in the Weald, sharing the programme with the Royal Tunbridge Wells Orpheus Male Voice Choir.
“
All the performances were spectacular, but I found that the pieces that stood out to me the most were the Orpheus choir’s ‘76 Trombones and the beautiful solo singing of Ariana Rebecca Frith’s ‘O Holy Night’.
The Hilden Grange choir started with ‘Pirates’. This fantasy song suited the singers well and it was a difficult piece to sing as it split into three parts. ‘Gonna Rise Up Singing’ was a very fitting piece to sing for the concert and it moved the audience. ‘That’s What Friends Are For’ again was a very fitting piece as it shows that you can overcome anything with help. ‘Gaudete’ was an amazing performance sung with enthusiasm and brought a sense of Christmas spirit. Finally, all the performers came together to sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ ending the concert with a bang.”
Congratulations to all of the children who took ABRSM exams at the end of term. Pass Harry Dunstan (Voice) Grade 2; Alice Baker (Piano), Grade 1; Harry Feachem (Voice), Grade 2; Shelly-Ann Heho (Piano), Grade 5; Benedict Allen (Piano), Grade 2 Merit Felix Chuilon (Voice), Grade 2; Alex Hennessy (Voice), Grade 2; Sebastian North (Euphonium), Grade 2; Sebastian Black (Piano), Grade 1; Eric Li (Piano), Grade 1; Wilfred Gilbert (Piano), Grade 1; Aaron Langley (Music Theory), Grade 4 Distinction Oliver Skelton (Music Theory), Grade 1 and 2; Alex Hennessy (Music Theory), Grade 4; Aaron Langley (Voice), Grade 3; Oliver Skelton (Voice), Grade 4; William Churchill (Piano), Grade 3; Isla Evans (Recorder), Grade 1; Felix Chuilon (Recorder), Grade 1 starting with the Junior and Soloists Concerts and ending with a wonderful array of ensemble playing at the Christmas Concert. Sebastian Thomas, Head of School Music, reflected on the experience:Music
In ADT, Year 6 have been constructing Bagatelle games. The pupils learnt to use woodwork tools and came up with their own designs to compliment the game.
Art
Drama
Congratulations to all the children who received their Drama colours this term as a result of their performances in ‘What a Knight!’.
Year 6 have been enjoying making clay vessels in their art lessons. They have learnt lots of new clay building techniques and had fun creating their own designs.
Full
Half and Full Drama Colours are only awarded once but a huge congratulations needs to go to all those children in the show who have already earned and received their colours from previous years but continuesto work so hard during the process.
The Prep School children created some beautiful Christmas card designs in on the theme of ‘Winter’ in their Art lessons. We had a visit from our local MP, Tom Tugendhat, who came to present a certificate to Ryan Carne-Ross in Year 6 for a ‘Highly Commended’ entry in his annual Christmas Card competition. The competition attracts hundreds of entries so this was a great achievement.
Half colours were awarded to: Freddie Seaton, Isobel Sullivan, Charlotte North, Felix Chuilon, Betsy Simpson, Annabel Buck, Oran McGilchrist, Matilda Lander, ShellyAnn Heho, Celeste Morgande-Smith, Sebastian Black, Fatimah Shahzad, Siya Vijay, Joseph Nield, Vivien Kube-Clare, Sophia Balabina, Barney Lawton, Gad Adekunle, Conor Hughes, Hector Nicholls, Krystian Veldtman, Will Hook, Aaron
We are delighted to say that £814 was raised by the whole school. The HGA is always on the lookout for new members to join a very friendly team. If you would like to get involved, drop a line to hgachair@
Langley, Alexander Hennessy, Will Cruttenden
Colours were awarded to: Henry Pye, Harry Dunstan, Beatrix Gilbert, Adeel Olalekan, Diya Dayalan, Alexander White, Keeley Burns, Cora Silva, Olivia Feachem, Elsa McGilchrist, Agata Chernyshova, George Holyoak, Ethan Moore, Amir Olalekan, Thomas Fisher
A big thank you to our HGA for organising another superb Fireworks Event and a wonderful Christmas Fair. Thank you also to everyone who attended and supported these events with such enthusiasm
The Plus Programme
Hilden Grange Plus is a pre-nursery learn and play programme designed by teachers for children aged 6-30 months and their families. We provide a supportive and educational environment for your child to learn, play and grow guided by expert early years teachers. The programme has been running at Hilden Grange for a year now and includes:
• Twice weekly 60-minute face-to-face learn-and-Play sessions for parent/carer and child to attend together
• Twice weekly virtual learn-and-Play sessions
• Bespoke activities to try at home, created specifically for your child by our earlyyears-teachers
• Fortnightly talks and Q&A sessions from specialist guest speakers as part of an exclusive parenting programme
• Access to advice from experienced early years teachers
If you would like to find out more, please message plus@hildengrange.co.uk
HGA
Internal Prizegiving
Congratulations to the following for their recognition in the relevant categories at our end of term internal prize giving.
100 merit winner (Junior): Archie McCall
Headmaster’s Commendation: Yurii Loktionov
Junior and Senior House Prizes: Norsemen
Junior: Isabel Smith Senior: Harry Feachem and Bharvik More
Saxons Junior: Laura Wrigley and Isla Evans Senior: Diya Dayalan
Vikings Junior: Archie McCall Senior: George Holyoak House Cup
The winners were Saxons with 3288 points, followed by Norsemen on 3228 and Vikings on 3116
HOCKEY
Hockey colours were awarded to U11: Ivy Gustard and Olivia Feachem
U10: Betsy Simpson, Celeste Morgan-Smith and Laura Wrigely
Hockey half colours were awarded to: U11: Isla Griffiths, Diya Dayalan, Bea Gilbert, Sophia Newing, Jess Barnett, Alice Baker
U10: Annabel Buck, Emily McTavish, Charlotte North, Isobel Sullivant, Heidi Thorpe
Hockey prizes were awarded to Attack
Year 5: Betsy Simpson
Year 6: Olivia Feachem Defense: Year 5: Celeste Morgand-Smith
Year 6: Ivy Gustard
The Hockey House Cup was won by the Saxons
FOOTBALL
Football Colours
Full colours were awarded to Senior: Yurii Loktionov, Joseph Buck, Josh Gibbard Colts: Etienne Kingston, Ethan Harper, Otis Imeson
Half Colours were awarded to: Senior: Nic Maloney, Oliver Skelton, Wilf Gustard Colts: Finlay Moore, Daniel Chernyy, Freddie Seaton Christian Ayodele, Nate McEwan-Moore
Football prizes were awarded to Most Improved Colt (Withers Cup): Max Hepburn-Evans Colts Player of the Season (Canty Trophy): Otis Imeson Most Improved 1st XI Football Player:Yurii Loktionov 1st XI Football Player of the Season: Josh Gibbard
The Football House Cup was awarded to the Vikings
Debbie Gales Kindness Cup: Jasper Dobson
Academic Progress Prizes
Junior Progress Cup Theo Svitzer-Woodward
Middle School Progress Shield Archie McCall
Senior Progress Cup Yurii Loktionov
Music Prizes Junior Progress Cup Rory Michelsen Senior Progress Cup Freddie Fry
Junior outstanding performance Shelly-Ann Heho
Senior outstanding performance William Churchill