KGS January Newsletter 2017

ICE STAR - Page 12

Big news for our Drama Department! Our Performing Arts Centre is being renamed, and will be streaming National Theatre Live productions from February.

Archie Miller in the Second Year will be representing GB at the AAU Junior Olympics in California in July. Read more about his hopes and dreams on the ice.

WWW.KGS.ORG.UK

JANUARY 2017

NEWSLETTER

KINGSTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL 1

NT LIVE - Page 4

MEET THE U18 NATIONAL INDOOR CHAMPIONS Nine of the sixteen-man outdoor squad took confidence from beating Bath University’s 1st XI going into the National Indoor Finals held at Whitgift School on 14th/15th January While KGS may not have a sports hall to practise in, it more than makes up for this with tactical nous (sometimes dubbed ’Welsh Magic‘) from its coaches and exceptional team chemistry, with every player of the nine having been at the school since the first year.

Coaches Prosser and Williamson created a tactical game plan of

defending deep and counterattacking quickly. It paid off.

On day one a 2-0 victory over defending champions and pretournament favourites Repton was followed by a 2-1 victory against King’s Chester School to leave us top of pool B. Having stayed overnight in Croydon, we returned on the Sunday in a

formidable position.

Sure enough, after a hardfought 2-1 victory over Queen’s Taunton, and thanks to other results finishing in our favour, we were guaranteed to top the group with a match to spare.

Continued on page 5

• school life • trips • competitions • sport • events • alumni

WELCOME

“We are already taking bookings for three fantastic world-class productions, Amadeus, Saint Joan and Hedda Gabler, and we have exciting news of the summer dates for the renowned two-part play Angels in America as well as the exciting launch of the National Theatre season for 2017-18. . �

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JANUARY 2017

From the Supreme Court ruling on a constitutional Brexit vote in Parliament to the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, an interesting era for historians, social commentators and society as whole is coming into being as we enter the time of ‘post-truth’. It was the word of 2016 according to the Oxford Dictionary and everything associated with it reminds us that we should take nothing for granted, regard no piece of information as fact and that both the future and the past will ultimately be what we decide them to be, not what someone else tells us they were and are.

Not since the mid-20th century has there been such an exciting yet worrying time in our history. We can try and guess what might happen next but, more importantly I hope, we shall try to positively influence that future.

With the world in a state of flux at the moment, it is good to be able to celebrate some achievements closer to home. Amidst the concerns and delights of January came the wonderful news that our Senior Boys’ Hockey First XI were crowned National Indoor Champions. We are all so very proud of the boys and their coaches, not least for their performance but also because all of these boys have grown and developed as KGS players from the outset of their secondary school careers. For many of them it will be their final year of school hockey; we have no doubt, however, that they will continue to succeed this year and in their future careers. They have established a great platform for future years to build on, having added this title to their previous U14 National Champions title.

taking bookings for three fantastic world-class productions, Amadeus, Saint Joan and Hedda Gabler, and we have exciting news of the summer dates for the renowned two-part play Angels in America as well as the exciting launch of the National Theatre season for 2017-18.

We are delighted to be able to share our wonderful theatre, Hawkes café and bar with the wider local community whilst bringing the best of what London theatre has to offer to Kingston.

In amongst all of this local, national and international excitement do spare a thought for all of our students taking trial examinations and some GCSEs this January. The Fifth Year were exemplary in their exam conduct and will soon be getting feedback on what they need to maintain and improve on ahead of the actual exams in the summer. There is unfortunately no room for post-truth when it comes to exam results. Excelling, however, will enable our students to continue to make the most of their considerable abilities and opportunities and, hopefully, direct us towards a calmer, more thoughtful and embracing future where fewer will feel fear and despondency and greater numbers will flourish. • Stephen Lehec Head Master

Their success, added to the Kids’ Lit Quiz national title that KGS students won before Christmas, means that we now have two sets of national champions in the School this year. As they say that all good things come in threes I cannot wait for what happens next!

PHOTO BY CHRIS EDWARDS

In the meantime, you may have noticed that the School has recently become a venue for the National Theatre Live transmitted productions. We are already

NEWLY REFURBISHED HAWKES CAFE @KGSHEADMASTER

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Photography (Gemma Arterton) by Mads Perch/Flock

The National Theatre production, broadcast live to your local cinema

The Donmar Warehouse production, captured live.

In cinemas from

16 February

2 February

by Peter Shaffer

Encore screenings in selected venues

HHHHH

‘Fresh, vital and musically inventive.’

‘Gemma Arterton is electrifying’

Daily Telegraph

Time Out

HHHHH

Photography (Lucian Msamati) by Seamus Ryan

‘Epic. Wonderful.

A stupendous revival.’

Time Out

We are screening an encore performance of Amadeus on Friday 3rd February

ntlive.com

‘Highly recommended’ The Independent

ntlive.com

Photography (Ruth Wilson) by Léa Nielsen

The National Theatre production, broadcast live to your local cinema

9 March Encore screenings in selected venues

by Henrik Ibsen in a new version

by Patrick Marber

by Peter Shaffer

HHHHH ‘Dark, bold, devastating.

A triumph.’

Mail on Sunday

HHHH ‘Ruth Wilson is phenomenal.’

Time Out

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE ARRIVES AT KGS

ntlive.com

We are delighted to announce that we have become a public venue for National Theatre Live broadcasts From Friday 3rd February, our superb 200-seat theatre will welcome audiences to experience world-class NT Live performances from the comfort of this local venue. Each production is filmed in front of a live audience and cameras are carefully positioned throughout the auditorium so that cinema audiences get the ‘best seat in the house’ every time.

We have secured the next three NT Live productions and tickets can be booked via our website with the opening night streaming an encore of the smashhit Amadeus featuring the Southbank Sinfonia on 3rd February. Future NT Live productions include Saint Joan, starring Gemma Arterton and Josie Rourke on Thursday 16th February, and Hedda Gabler directed by Tony Award-winning director Ivo van Hove and starring Ruth Wilson on Thursday 9th March. All are now online for booking via www.kgs. org.uk/school-life/all-events.

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Mr Lehec commented: “We are delighted to open up our Performing Arts Centre and Theatre to the public and join a host of venues across the country who are part of the National Theatre Live family.

“As well as bringing the National Theatre to the heart of Kingston we are also delighted to announce that our theatre will be renamed The Michael Frayn Theatre, with support from Michael Frayn, an alumnus of Kingston Grammar School. Michael is a renowned, award-winning playwright, author and translator, and we are thrilled that he will be the patron of our Theatre. The official renaming will take place later this year.” •

Angels in America (Part 1 & 2) will be coming to our Theatre in July

SPORT

U18 BOYS’ HOCKEY TOUR & INDOOR NATIONAL FINALS

NEW YEAR HOCKEY TOUR An exciting start to 2017 for the Under 18 boys’ hockey team began with a three-day tour to Cardiff at the end of the Christmas holidays. Despite the first of the two scheduled matches being called off due to the cold weather, the tour was still an undoubted success.

Activities such as bowling and Laser Quest, which had long since been forgotten by the majority of the team, enabled us to relax and bond; the latter also helped by Mr Williamson’s insistence on ’team card games‘ at regular intervals. On the pitch, two training sessions, including one at the Sport Wales National Centre, blew away the cobwebs that had developed during the holiday. This was shown by our 3-2 defeat of Bath University 1st XI, one of the top university teams in the country.

This match emphasised our desire as a squad to work hard and resolutely hold on to win against an opposition which, on paper, was far superior. •

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Continued from the front page...

The 4-3 loss to The Perse in this dead rubber can, at least in part, be put down to the need to conserve energy for the semi-final ahead. As we were acutely aware, we had not won anything yet.

Although we had ensured the easier of two potential semi-final opponents by virtue of topping our group, Oakham still remained a difficult challenge due to some very technically-gifted players.

A 1-1 draw was a fair result in normal time, but a perfect set of three penalty strokes for Kingston (from Williamson, Moran and Harvey-Kelly) and a smart save by goalkeeper Mackintosh was enough for us to reach the national final against local rivals Whitgift. Despite losing 5-0 to the hosts in our last encounter, we knew that if we kept our discipline we would have a chance.

After going a goal down early on, Owen Williamson levelled from a short corner before half time to keep the match in the balance. A tight and, at times, cagey second half resulted in a 1-1 draw and more penalties. Two inspired saves from Mackintosh, the hero of the hour once again, were coupled with cool finishes from Williamson and Moran to ensure that we had won with a penalty to spare. Despite entering the

tournament as underdogs, we left as champions; this was a feat not achieved by a KGS indoor team for eleven years.

The determination and talent shown throughout surely bodes well for the outdoor tournament which takes place this term, as we chase the lofty heights of double national champions.

Indoor team: Ed Darwin, Ben Gibson, Tom Gooding, James Hall, Ronan Harvey-Kelly, Will Mackintosh, Michael Moran, Ben Park & Owen Williamson. • Ben Park U6EJP

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SCU HOUSE PARTY This year’s Senior Christian Union trip took us back to the glorious Oast Houses for a weekend of luxury, fun and games after a long and busy term For something which was billed as a ‘chance to relax’, the trip began rather energetically, with a trip to a trampoline park on the journey down.

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After two hours, many backflips, dodgeball games and plates of chips (not necessarily in that order) we piled back onto the buses to our final destination, a beautiful country house in the Sussex countryside which would be our home for the next three days. We had plenty to keep us occupied – trips out to a local leisure centre and ice-skating managed to tire us out on the Saturday, whilst onsite we were entertained with some true houseparty classics. The Beetle Drive is always Mr Wenham’s favourite, mainly because if he runs it he doesn’t have to do it!

Instead he gets to see the looks of joy and excitement on the face of each KGS pupil as they get to take part in this wonderful game of drawing beetles based ‘entirely on random dice rolls with no skill involved’ (if the Wikipedia entry on beetle drives is to be believed). You might have thought that a bingo night on the Saturday would have helped perpetuate the old people’s home atmosphere, but our hosts livened up the proceedings with plot twists, forfeits and prizes aplenty to (somehow) leave us wanting more! Add in to the mix Fifa tournaments on the Xbox, as well as real-life football with the annual Paul Angell (the very one - married to our own Mrs A) versus Rory Kinnaird grudge match, not to mention food provided for us which was fit for a king, we had quite a weekend.

Rory, our visiting speaker, organised the talk and Bible study sessions for the whole trip, and with him we were also

treated to some thought-provoking and challenging messages about what it means to live the Christian life: he reminded us that it can be tough to be a follower of Jesus, but that ultimately the adventure is worthwhile because he has our very best interests at heart. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend – so much to do, and so much food for thought – and a great way to begin the Christmas holidays: we hope to see everybody back for SCUHP 2017! • Mr C Wenham Head of CU

SCHOOL LIFE

“A TOUCH OF THE MIRACULOUS” Lucy Roberts and Aoife Parr have again been selected to play in the London Schools Symphony Orchestra for 201617, and had the privilege of playing at the Barbican Hall on 5th January, which received several reviews by national newspapers. In the words of the Telegraph’s review: The concert by the LSSO at the Barbican on Thursday had a touch of the miraculous. They tackled a programme that in some ways was even more taxing than the one played by the NYO the following day, and certainly a lot darker.

It contained three Russian works from the Soviet era, including Schnittke’s Viola Concerto, a piece that mingles the composer’s intimations of his own mortal illness with the spiritual deracination of the dying days of the Soviet Union.

Soloist Lawrence Power summoned a truly desperate intensity, flinging protesting volleys of notes against the orchestra’s tread, played with implacable heaviness by the young players under Sian Edwards.

After the interval came Shostakovich’s tragic Fifth Symphony. What could these young players have made of the overwhelming sorrow of this music, issuing from the dark time of Stalinism that to them must seem like ancient history? Quite a lot, was the answer given by the performance. The violins etched the haunted high lines of the slow movement with admirable control, and the final movement hit the right tone of grim-faced triumph.

They are now hugely looking forward to their Easter concert, again at the Barbican, where they will be collaborating with the Rambert Dance School in a programme of ballets, including dancers – sure to be a hot ticket! • Miss P Hyde Music

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ONE TERM ON KGS Friends celebrated the Class of 2016’s first term away with two very successful One Term On reunions on Monday 19th December at two new venues The parents, some 30 of them, gathered downstairs in the Bishop, while a few doors along 80 of the newest cohort of OKs, joined by about a dozen of their old teachers, were upstairs at the Gazebo.

KGS Friends were liberal with the wherewithal and the spirit of goodwill and good cheer flourished as festive fun was had by all – perhaps a little more festive at the Gazebo, it must be said. Something to do with the altitude, perhaps?

Eventually everyone headed off, nicely primed for the holiday season and looking forward to a very happy Christmas. And a very happy KGS Friends New Year is in the planning.

Please look out for details of future events – the Visual Arts Evening on 23rd February (see page 8) and the Networking Event at the Lansdowne Club on May 4th are open to all and promise to be very exciting and successful events. • Mr N Bond KGS Friends

KGS Friends Careers in the Visual Arts Thursday 23rd February KGS Theatre, 7.30pm KGS Friends invite you to this special evening devoted to interesting career paths in the visual arts. Alumni and parents representing the world of fashion, architecture, graphic design, sculpture and more will showcase their work in a special exhibition.

This exciting occasion is a must for A-level or GCSE art students, even those who are currently considering art for GCSE, people working in or hoping to work in a visual medium and those with a general interest in the arts.

Tickets for the evening are available at the following link - tiny.cc/KGSVisualArt

Incorporating imagery by: Lee Campbell www.leecampbell.co.uk Alister Thorpe www.alisterthorpe.com Ron Arad Architects www.ronarad.co.uk

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CUANTOS ‘ME GUSTA’ TIENES? Onatti Productions Ltd produces amusing plays in French, Spanish and German, offering our younger students the opportunity to be immersed in their chosen language(s) without having to travel too far!

The plays rely on some audience participation, which always enthuses students and motivates them further when they are back in the classroom.

Alejandro spends a night in hospital following a very minor illness. When in hospital he posts on Facebook to tell his friends where he is. At first he does not get the sympathy he thinks he deserves, so he starts to exaggerate. Then he starts to get visitors who think he is seriously ill…

“I thought the Spanish play was so much fun. They really interacted with the audience and entertained us so well. In my opinion, it was the best language play yet! ‘¡Lo pasé fenomenal!’” Holly Harrison 2NAR “I thought the Spanish play was very funny. It was really entertaining and I thought it had a modern and creative storyline that had everyone laughing throughout.” Isabel Morton 2CES

“The Spanish play was “muy divertido” and the actors sustained their characters well throughout.” Reza Omar 2CES “It had a simple storyline which made it easy to follow and with the booklet it was easy to understand as well which meant I enjoyed the play more.” Maddy Clark 2MEB “The play was very funny and interactive.

In addition, it was easy to understand and had a very suitable story line.” Alicia Rodrigues 2MEB “I really enjoyed the play. It was easy to understand and really suited our age group. The leaflet we received a few days beforehand was very helpful and gave us a good idea of what was going to happen without giving the whole play away! They really interacted with us and made us feel part of the play. Lucy Hicks 2DAS •

BRITISH PHYSICS OLYMPIAD SUCCESS We are delighted that four students have made it through to the qualifying round.

Congratulations go to Rebecca Dodd and Elspeth Birchall for their commendation scores, and to Oliver Cole who achieved a Bronze I Award.

Sitting at the top of the tree is Will Lingard who achieved a Silver Award, placing him in the top 400 students nationally.

Well done to you all – you have done yourselves and the Physics Department proud! • Mr I Deepchand Head of Physics

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SOMETHING NEW? New Year is all about trying something new, whether it is in the form of joining a gym, giving up sugar or simply just saying yes to more opportunities. We would therefore like to encourage you to consider joining KGS’s very own Combined Cadet Force.

Joining CCF is one of the best decisions I have ever made. From day one, it became apparent that close friends would be made, and strangely important life skills would be learnt (who would have guessed that knowing how to use a hexi burner would be so vital?!). The close community in CCF allows you to befriend everyone, regardless of their year group or rank in the contingent. This means that there is always someone who is more than happy to give you advice on school, or indeed, non-school related problems.

The camps and lessons are a big part of the attraction of CCF. You’ll be taught a vast array of subjects, including: completely stripping and cleaning a rifle; first aid; navigation; attack strategies; drill; how to use a rifle; leadership; and camouflage. ( A variety of camps and daytrips are also offered These include a day at a local

range, getting to grips with firing live rounds and working on your grouping size (how close your rounds are to each other on the target), and your precision.

The Adventure Training camp over Easter is always popular. We’ve climbed the tallest mountain in South Wales, jumped off a waterfall, scaled a sheer rock face, kayaked and canoed, tried a (shaky) hand at BMX biking, not to mention attempting to navigate our way through a fairly remote Welsh village to a coffee shop!

All of our newly learnt skills are put into use with the concluding camp of the year, taking place over one week in the summer holidays. Here, we encounter a mixture of range days, adventure days, and two slightly terrifying/amazing days in which we are on ‘exercise’. This involves patrolling the local woodland, on the lookout for the vicious ‘enemy’, and setting up ambushes in the dead of night. You’ll have some of the best fun imaginable.

Why don’t you make a resolution this year and join the CCF? • Lance Corporal Anna Gray 4AEB Lance Corporal Emelia Kinzler 4HMN

CLASS OF ‘99 About 20 Class of 1999 alumni met up at an informal, rather impromptu reunion on 14th January to while away a pleasant Saturday afternoon in the King’s Tun. Year reps Deshani Shanmugalingam and James Gray organised the event and KGS Friends happily got a round or two in. I was joined by former colleagues Soliman Hanna and Jacqueline Davies.

All agreed that it was a very enjoyable and civilised affair and it was great to see some old faces getting together. • Mr N Bond KGS Friends

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FROM BOATS TO BIKES: ROWERS ON TWO WHEELS With a tough term of training, exams and racing ahead, the senior rowers returned to training after Christmas with a trip to the Olympic Park and a session in the Olympic velodrome During the London 2012 Olympic Games, the velodrome saw GB greats such as Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Laura Trott and Jason Kenny win multiple Olympic medals as Team GB led the world in cycling. With rowing and cycling being Team GB’s most successful Olympic Sports, it seemed a suitable venue for the rowers to visit and for our young athletes to try their hand on the track! To have the opportunity to ride on the hallowed boards was an event the rowers had been looking forward to for a number of weeks.

Each of the students had a one-hour session with British Cycling qualified coaches and, despite a few nerves at the start, by the end of the session all the students were acquitting themselves well round the 200m-long track. The British Cycling coaches commented that the rowers were particularly receptive to all the coaching points given, pleasing to hear for the senior squad coaches who were on the trip! Whilst cycling on a velodrome looks just like riding round in a circle, the additional skills of riding a

fixed gear bike, clips on the pedals and the steep gradient of the track add many challenges, and the concentration on the faces of the students was clear! As with any sport, some made it look easy, whilst others took their time to get used to cycling in such a different environment.

We hope the rowers take this level of concentration onto the river and into the gym.

The rowers are now back into training, with the Fifth Year showing great commitment and organisational skills as they combine training with their trial exams, a good test for the summer GCSEs. It has been great to see the Sixth Formers supporting the younger rowers at this busy academic time of year.

The Boat Club will be in action on the river over the coming term in preparation for the Schools’ Head of the River on the tideway on Thursday 23rd March. • Mr P Simmons Head of Rowing

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TRIPS

GB ICE STAR

TAKING A BITE OUT OF THE BIG APPLE

I have been chosen to represent Great Britain at the AAU Junior Olympics in Corona, California in July which is the biggest multi-sports event in the United States. Trials started with around 60 80 players and is now down to 15. I have skated since I was 7 (5 years) and picked up ice hockey quite quickly. As a member of the Guildford Flames, I have been picked to play for the South West of England squad and recently took part in a New Year’s Day tournament in Sheffield. My team is also going to a tournament in Quebec, Canada where they will play teams from all over the world. Sadly I don’t get to go because of the tournament in California. I am a first line centre/right wing and train five times or more a week depending on whether or not I have GB or South West sessions.

You have to be pretty dedicated to make it in ice hockey; training on a Sunday takes place at 6am for Guildford and for the South West it’s 11pm! My aim is to develop my hockey even further and go for Team England. • Archie Miller 2MEB At the start of the Christmas holidays, a group of Upper Sixth Psychology students went on a trip to New York for four days. Upon our arrival, we took an open-top night bus tour of Manhattan in order to see the Christmas lights of the city. We then went up to the top of the Empire State Building to get an even better view of the city, despite the -7-degree weather!

After our first night in New York, we visited the tribute centre at Ground Zero to discuss the effects and details of 9/11. We were able to speak with one of the emergency medical technicians about his involvement with the response team, dealing with the attack and the injuries it caused. It was very informative and moving, providing a greater insight into the psychological effects on those involved in 9/11.

Despite the harrowing events that he witnessed and the effects it has had on his health, he explained that he would not go back and change his involvement. After this, we were able to visit the 9/11 museum and memorial centre, which were extremely touching

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as we looked at objects from the day and family memorabilia.

The rest of our time in New York was spent visiting museums and attractions, immersing ourselves in all that the city and its people had to offer. In light of the Christmas spirit, one evening was spent ice skating in Central Park, a highlight of the trip for many. Another favourite moment was a group breakfast at Ellen’s Stardust Diner, during which the teachers and students alike enjoyed a delicious American breakfast and a singalong too! On reflection, the trip was both extremely insightful and fun, allowing us to gain a greater understanding of the events of 9/11, whilst also discovering the impact it still has on New York today. The shopping wasn’t bad, either! •s Charlotte Le Feuvre U6TMR Emily Sansom U6PSG