SPRING 2022
KA Newsletter
CONTENTS 4-10 News Read the latest news from across the school
11 Friends of King’s Family Fun, fundraising and more
14 In the Spotlight Q&A with Praful Nargund (OK 2009)
15 Old King’s Club Annual Dinner reflection and archival talk
16 Philanthropy at King’s We share our latest stats on the King’s communities generosity
17 Forthcoming Events 2 | KA NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2022
WELCOME Welcome to the latest edition of the King’s Association newsletter which encompasses news from across the whole school community including current and former pupils, staff and parents. This is the first edition of the KA newsletter for 18 months, and an enormous amount has happened in the intervening period. It has been an honour and a privilege to lead the school in the past year, and there have been countless highlights as the school has burst back into life as Covid-19 restrictions have lifted. There has been notable success on the sporting front, with teams reaching national finals or in prestigious events such as Henley Royal Regatta. Whilst the concert hall could not play host to audiences for many months during the worst peaks of Covid-19, the musical life of the school was sustained through online concerts, and this year we have seen a welcome return to audiences who have been treated to a huge range of concerts and events. Our actors, dramatists and directors have also had to adapt to challenging circumstances in recent months.The productions of Hard Times and the Hunchback of Notre Dame were a fittingly superb return to live audiences and were highlights amongst a busy programme in the Collyer Hall Theatre. The academic and co-curricular life of the school has been as vibrant as ever. In addition to adapting to the challenges posed by the pandemic (which forced the cancellation of public examinations for two cohorts), there has been a focus at King’s on driving forward our work around equality and diversity, and pupils have been at the heart of our work to develop our PSHE (personal, social, health and economic education) and RSE (relationships and sex education) provision. Pupils have also taken the lead as the school strengthens its commitment to environmental sustainability. For example – the school now uses fully renewable energy Cover photo: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
suppliers and is seeking to increase the number of electrical vehicles it uses after the introduction of the first electric bus. The partnership programme sees hundreds of pupils and staff involved in projects in collaboration with local maintained schools, and the objective of widening access to the school sits as a core priority for King’s. The school completed its transition to an 11+ structure in the senior school in September 2021, and the introduction of the lower school has seen candidates drawn from more diverse backgrounds and a greater range of schools winning places at King’s in year 7.
consider more broadly how King’s can make a positive impact on educational opportunities and outcomes for those whose financial circumstances would prevent them from attending such a school. I am sure that she will be a fitting successor to Andrew Halls’s remarkable legacy as Head. We are always interested to hear from our alum so please do let us know your news by contacting the development office at: development@kcs.org.uk. I hope that you enjoy catching up on the news in this edition of the newsletter, and encourage you to keep up to date with all that is taking place at King’s via our website.
I am very pleased that we will welcome 67 new bursary pupils in September; many of those deserving and talented pupils will have their time at King’s funded by the philanthropy of donors from within the King’s community. One of these will join us at 16+, and their sixth form place will be fully funded thanks to the U6 leavers from previous years who so generously donated the deposit they lodged with us when their child joined King’s many years ago. We hope that the Class of 2022 will wish to carry on this tradition, but I extend my most sincere thanks to everyone who has supported the bursary programme at King’s.
Jude Lowson, Acting Head
Covid-19 has also made it harder to bring together alumni at reunion and networking events, but this year has seen a welcome return to these. A fuller programme is planned for the months ahead and we look forward to being more able to bring together people from across all parts of our school community. As I am sure you are aware, we are looking forward to the arrival of the new head, Dr Anne Cotton, who will start at school in September 2022. One of Anne’s key focuses will be ‘future pathways’ for pupils and networking with our alum. She is also keen to promote philanthropy, to widen access and increase provision for bursaries and to
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NEWS
JUNIOR SCHOOL HEADMASTER DR SILVERLOCK RETIRES
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fter 15 years at the helm, the junior school bid farewell to Dr Gerard Silverlock on Tuesday 6th July. In his time the junior school has seen a huge number of positive changes including a reorganisation of Rushmere, improvements to the admissions process, significant development of teaching and learning and across sport, music and drama, a real emphasis on participation and opportunity for all. Dr Silverlock brought great energy, humour, insight and good sense to all that he did, but in addition to this he was enormously dedicated to the junior school, its pupils and staff, ever present at events and functions, and involved in all that is good in the school. The pupils and staff held a final Teams assembly and then surprised Dr Silverlock by lining up in their bubbles on the field by the sports hall where the head boy gave a vote of thanks followed by a huge cheer. We sincerely wish him a healthy, long and happy retirement. You can read the letter sent from Lord Deighton to King’s parents regarding Dr Silverlock’s retirement here.
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TED LOUGHER APPOINTMENT
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r Ted Lougher took up the Headmaster position of King’s College Junior School on 1st September 2021, following the retirement of Dr Gerard Silverlock. Mr Lougher is still remembered fondly by many in the King’s community as a very successful, well-liked and respected assistant head of the junior school, where he was also head of modern languages. While at King’s, he coached football and cricket and sang in the Chamber Choir, before leaving us in 2018 to take up the position of deputy head (academic) at Clifton College Preparatory School in Bristol. Before King’s, Mr Lougher was director of upper school at Cheltenham College Preparatory School. He was awarded first class honours in French at the University of Exeter, where he also achieved a qualification in Mandarin, and went on to gain a distinction in his MSc in learning and teaching at the University of Oxford.
THE SUNDAY TIMES PARENT POWER 2022
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n Friday 3rd December, The Sunday Times published the 2022 issue of Parent Power and we are delighted to announce that King’s has retained its place at the top of the tables for boys’ and co-educational independent schools in the UK (and in London). The 29th edition of Parent Power identifies more than 1,600 of the highest-achieving schools in the UK, ranked by their examination results from 2017-2019 and is widely acknowledged as the most authoritative school survey.
Ms Jude Lowson, Acting Head, said: “The position of King’s in this table is testament to the hard work and commitment of pupils and staff and the vibrant culture of scholarship and intellectual endeavour in our school. I am very proud to see their efforts recognised in this way.” The definitive guide, which can be found here, is fully searchable by postcode, town, local authority and name of school to Times and Sunday Times subscribers.
SCHOOL ARCHIVE
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he school archive has a new home! For many (otherwise why keep it all?) and visitors are always years, the archive was located close to the welcome. If you would like further information Bursar’s office in the Lodge. A new dedicated office about visiting, or anything else relating to the and reading room in the old music school means archive or the history of the school, please contact the archive now sits at the heart of the school. the school archivist, Dr Lucy Inglis, at l.inglis@kcs. The archive collects and preserves records of org.uk. enduring historical value relating to King’s, from its It is always great to hear from former pupils and establishment in 1829 to the present day. As such, staff. If you have any reminiscences of your time at it is the school’s collective memory and a unique King’s that you would be happy to share, please do part of its heritage. get in touch. People often think of archives as containing things You can follow the archive on Twitter which belong in the past. Bundles of yellowing or see some of the highlights from the archive on pages gathering dust or heavy ledgers which should the school website. only be handled with white gloves. The reality is somewhat different (and not only because archivists spend a great deal of time keeping storage areas free of dust!). The archive takes care not only of the school’s historic records but also of more contemporary documents; it is these which will inform future generations about the King’s of today. The vast array of activities which are part of daily life at the school – drama productions, sports matches, choir tours, chess clubs, the CCF, trips abroad – are captured in magazines and newsletters, photographs and videos. Dr Lucy Inglis and students looking at archive material The archive is also a resource to be used
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THE ARTHUR WELLESLEY SOCIETY
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he Arthur Wellesley society is a cultural society which organises a series of events each academic year to which members of The King’s Association are invited. These include occasional speeches at school, theatre or exhibition trips, and, from time to time, a celebratory dinner. Arthur Wellesley is perhaps better known as The Duke of Wellington, or “The Iron Duke” who, as Prime Minister, helped to found King’s College School in 1829. On Thursday 23rd September, the society met for the first time since January 2020 for the long awaited talk by Philip Mansel about Louis XIV. Before the talk the society held a champagne reception to celebrate Andrew Halls’s vision in inaugurating the society back in 2011 and to thank him, on his retirement, for his support for the society. A presentation was
made to Andrew Halls in token of his involvement in the success of the society. Later in the term the Society joined forces with the Wimbledon International Music Festival to host a day of seminars and performances focusing on autistic, deaf and blind musicians curated by Prof Adam Ockelford of the University of Roehampton. The talks gave a fascinating overview of how these conditions affect musicians. The final event of the term was the “vinous tour of Italy”. One of the society’s members, Mauro Mattiuzzo, chose the wines to be tasted and led the tastings with a commentary on each wine and its properties, alongside stories and anecdotes that made the talks extremely interesting, informative and fun. Six wines were tasted, three white and three red, plus a glass of fizz.
KING’S LGBT+ King’s College School set up an LGBT+ alumni network in June 2021, which is run by a group of volunteers and works with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion mentor for LGBT+ in the school.The group meets approximately once every term to discuss network activities, relevant school policy, and issues affecting LGBT+ persons at King’s, along with planning social events. In particular, to support current pupils, the group aims to form links with LGBT+ networks in other leading independent
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schools in order to share best practices and further any common objectives, champion LGBT+ inclusive policies within the school, proactively plan future work with school governors, and provide speakers and inspiring role models. King’s is committed to encouraging allyship with minority groups in the community, so membership is open to all King’s alumni who wish to support the group aims. If you are interested in joining, please email Alex Martinelli or Caitlin Farrar.
ALUMNAE NETBALL TOURNAMENT The alumnae netball tournament was held on Saturday 8th January. The matches were fiercely competitive between the alumnae, L6th and U6th teams with the L6th team coming out as the winners. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces in the alumnae team and the morning ended with a pizza fest in the dining hall allowing everyone the time they wanted to socialise and catch up.
THE KEVIN HAWNEY CUP
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he Kevin Hawney Cup, our annual cross country fixture between King’s pupils, King’s alumni and staff, took place on Saturday 26th February on a beautiful day on Wimbledon Common. The race had a good turnout with many alumni running and supporting the annual fixture. The 4km event saw stiff competition with the final results being very close. It was won by upper fifth pupil Caleb (U5L) who ran it in 15:22, Shivoham (L6M2) did really well to clock 15:57 in second place and Hugo (U6L1) followed in third place with a time of 16:20. Special thanks to cross country captain Sam D (U6L2) who helped Mr Reekes to mark and unmark the course, as well as Hugo and Ally (U6MAC2). Thank you also to Kevin Hawney for showing his support, as always, and for putting his name to such a stellar event.
NICK D’ALOISIO (OK 2014)
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ongratulations to former pupil Nick D’Aloisio who has just sold his group chat app Sphere to social media giant Twitter. Nick, who left King’s in 2014, became interested in coding at the age of 12 and at 15 he asked the school if he could delay his mock GCSE exams in order to travel to California to seek investors. He secured £1 million making him the youngest person to receive venture capital funding after impressing such backers as Brian Chesky, the cofounder of Airbnb, and actor Stephen Fry. In 2013, at 17, Nick became one of the world’s youngest self-made multimillionaires when he sold his app Summly to Yahoo for over £20 million. The free app, that topped the App store charts, summarised news stories from other media websites taking the most important information and condensing it into bitesize bullet points. The full story can be read here.
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Hunchback
Andr
Act of Remembrance The Wimbledon Charter launch
Coy16
Act of Remembrance 8 | KA NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2022
Model United Nations
Carol Service
rew Halls’s farewell
Hunchback
European Day
Finance panel Empowering Women in the Workplace
2020 Leavers’ event
The Wimbledon Charter
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UNIVERSITY OFFERS
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ing’s pupils are receiving offers from universities in the UK, US and internationally. While many university decisions are yet to be made, the offers have been extremely impressive; more so in the context of a challenging admissions cycle during Covid-19. So far, 20 pupils have received offers from Oxford University and 20 from Cambridge University, with offers also rolling in from the North American institutions: Yale, Harvard and Columbia, to name but a few.
Mr Kent, Director of Higher Education, said: “This cohort has faced great obstacles to their research and preparation for university applications: opportunities for open days, work experience and volunteering have been significantly restricted. The offers earned so far are evidence that they have applied themselves magnificently. They have been supported by a wonderful team of UCAS advisors, teachers and tutors. Many pupils are still waiting for decisions from cherished destinations and we wish them all the best for the months ahead.”
ONE YEAR ON FAREWELL
We were delighted to welcome back our 2020 leavers on Thursday 16th September for a reunion with their year group and former staff, as well a chance to say farewell to Mr Andrew Halls. We look forward to keeping in touch in the years to 10 | KA NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2022
come and wish you all every success in your future careers. Please contact us to keep up-to-date with school news and events.
FRIENDS OF KING’S NEWS In 2021/22 with the slight relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, The Friends kicked off the autumn by hosting in person welcome events for new parents and a Family Fun Day. Despite the rain the event was well attended by 32 teams comprising parents and pupils forming teams to compete in multi-sport activities held on school site. The event was supported by the school’s Sports Department and sponsored by local businesses Savills and Wimbledon Orthodontics.
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he Friends of King’s College School (“The Friends”) is a registered charity which was founded by parents in 1978. Its objectives are to further the education of pupils at King’s and pupils at other schools in the maintained sector and overseas with which King’s has a formal relationship. During 2020/21, in accordance with our charitable objectives, The Friends supported the school community and raised over £46,100 net funds despite their activities being significantly curtailed due to the pandemic.The main fundraising event in 2020 was the virtual Christmas Fair whilst Second-Hand Uniform sales throughout the period remained consistently strong.
The Friends were busy in the month of November with Fireworks night taking place on 9th November 2021, and the Christmas Fair on 27th November 2021. Savills was the lead sponsor for the fireworks, with Hoban Designs joining as a new sponsor of the event. Despite increased costs and a 40% reduction in capacity due to the new layout, the evening was very successful, and tickets fully sold out as anticipated.
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Chamber Choir at St Paul’s Cathedral
Ukraine collection arriving in Poland
2020 Leavers’ event
1st XV NatWest Plate semi-final Into The Woods
Arts and Media Networking Reception 12 | KA NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2022
Ukraine collection
International Women’s Day panel
U14 football training with Chris Jones David Olusoga talk
Andrew Halls’s leaving event Jazz Club
Peter Tatchell talk
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT ALUMNI Q&A WITH PRAFUL NARGUND (OK 2009) Praful is CEO at CREATE Fertility, which is working to make IVF treatment more women-friendly and affordable. After leaving King’s in 2009, Praful studied Jurisprudence at Oxford University before joining his mother at Create. Tell me about your experience at King’s. What did you take away from your time here? I joined when I was about 9 years old and stayed all the way through until 18. It was a journey overall and a great foundation for work. The extracurricular activities gave us a huge opportunity to pursue passions such as sport, both inside and outside of school. There was also the charitable aspect and giving back. I spent two years in St Anne’s school in Morden helping children with learning difficulties and this had an enormous impact on me. I felt that I did make a difference. I also made lifelong friends. The best man at my wedding went to King’s. How did the school prepare you for your current role? The foundation built at the school helped to give me the confidence and belief to pursue ambitious goals and feel that I could make a difference. It was a privilege to attend King’s and I wanted to do something useful and give back with my education and experience.
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Who inspired your career journey? I remember so many inspirational teachers, there are lots I could mention. If I had to name one person in particular, it would be my personal tutor, Stephen Tint, head of modern foreign languages at the time. He understood how to handle teenagers very well! He used to counsel me on how I could channel my energy more productively and made me hope I could achieve. I owe him a huge debt. Please can you explain Create and how you became involved in the company? Create is on a mission to shift the paradigm of fertility treatment, by making IVF more womenfriendly, safe and affordable. The company was
OKC NEWS
originally started by my mother and I just after I finished university. I had originally intended to become a barrister, so the plan was only to stay for a summer. But we had raised investment from venture capital, and I was very inspired by the mission to transform IVF. I ended up building and delivering the strategy, and we expanded from being very small to becoming one of the largest companies in our field. We’re international now, with nearly 300 employees and patients from across Europe. We have just completed a landmark deal with the world’s largest IVF company, which will help expand our proposition globally.
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he 2021 Annual Dinner was held at the East India, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools’ Club on 26th November 2021. The new Junior School Headmaster, Ted Lougher, was guest of honour. Dr Anne Cotton, who will take over as Head of King’s next academic year, accepted the invitation to represent the school at next year’s dinner. Robin Reeve, Past President of the Old King’s Club and Head Master 1987-1997, and Anthony Evans, Head Master 1997-2008, attended.The vast majority of those present had left King’s in the past decade, including twentytwo OKs from 2015. You can view photos from the event here.
What is the vision for the future? On a personal level, I got married recently and we’re expecting a girl in June! So that’s priority number one right now! Outside of my day job, I’m very keen to work on projects that will find ways to deliver prosperity and a positive impact on society together. I’m working on setting up an investment fund with the aim to support social impact focused entrepreneurs, with a focus on regions outside of London. There are also several charitable projects I’m looking at getting involved with, especially in health and educational inequalities. I hope I can use my experience to help others.
Archive Zoom talk The King’s College School archivist, Dr Lucy Inglis, gave an introduction to the records under her care at a well-attended Zoom talk on 25th May 2021. The school and Old King’s Club archive contains a variety of documents, artworks and objects all of which help to shed light on the history of King’s, revealing its rich heritage.
What advice would you give current pupils on their career choices? Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. If you’re lucky enough to go to King’s, you are being given a massive opportunity and lots of support, something most others don’t have. You’ve got to make the most of it and think about pursuing something that makes a positive difference to others. I wish everyone well and would be happy to give career advice. Please contact me via the development office.
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PHILANTHROPY AT KING’S A s a school, we are committed to widening access to the outstanding education and facilities offered at King’s. We want to enable children from a range of backgrounds to benefit from the transformational opportunities King’s has offered to so many bright and talented young people for nearly 200 years. The school benefits from widening the range of backgrounds of its pupils. Staff and pupils devote a considerable amount of time and effort to achieving excellent outcomes in the wide variety of extra-curricular opportunities offered here in sport, music, and drama. We all
£
£1.159 million Total donated to Bursaries in 2020/2021
74
legators
80
Direct Debits each month
know how successful the school is in achieving outstanding academic results, but in our view it is equally important that pupils also develop other interests and talents, building resilience, improving their mental health and helping them to become rounded, interesting and worthwhile members of the King’s community and wider society. As King’s does not have any form of endowment to fund bursaries, the school relies on fee income, funds generated by our commercial activities and the generosity of the King’s community to allow us to give financial support to those pupils who need it.
66
£89,000 Regular giving raised in 2020/2021
Bursary recipients aged 11-18
£ £
£
£1.214 132
supporters have donated for 3 consecutive years
2018/ 2019 2019/ 2020 2020/ 2021
million
Total donated/ pledged in 2020/2021 buildings, Bursaries and other projects
Please contact the development office for a confidential discussion on the ways you can help us at development@kcs.org.uk.
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS Date
Event
Saturday 23rd April
Friends’ Summer Ball, Hurlingham Club
Monday 25th April
Competitive Admissions Seminar Evening – A talk for lower sixth pupils and parents applying to the top universities.
Thursday 5th May
Arthur Wellesley Society talk: Dr Michael Lynch – China under Communism 1922-2022: From international plaything to global superpower.
Wednesday 11th May
Arthur Wellesley Society talk: A visit to Strawberry Hill House
Thursday 16th June
Summer Orchestral Concert
Tuesday 21st June
Careers Evening
Tuesday 21st – Thursday 23rd June
Matilda, middle school production
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King’s College School Southside Wimbledon Common London SW19 4TT The Development Office +44 (20) 8255 5340 development@kcs.org.uk 10