KGS March Newsletter 2017

SCIENCE WEEK

CRICKET CHAMPS

Jelly beans and chocolate both played their part in some tasty Science Week experiments

Our U13 girls continued their run of success in the county heats of the Surrey Indoor Cricket Tournament

KINGSTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL 1

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WWW.KGS.ORG.UK

NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2017

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THREE, TWO, ONE...

ACTIVATE! We were given the fantastic opportunity to compete in BBC2’s Robot Wars after Harry Fletcher, Thomas Skeates and Chris Wilding (all Third Year) created a robot, Frostbite, in Technology Club Weighing only 85kg and costing under £500, the robot could be seen as the underdog of this popular competition, but their chosen weapon, a 600mm spinning bar, running at 2,000 revolutions per minute, created havoc on old school chairs during the testing phase in the KGS playground!

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trips

As well as working towards Robot Wars, the Club also takes part in Greenpower electric car racing, Vex Robotics, a national upcycling competition plus numerous smaller in-house projects such as bird boxes and 3D printed toys. Frostbite took six months to build and is a fully invertible robot made of tubular

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competitions

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steel and 6mm polycarbonate with a frosted design. To help prepare for the competition, the team recently held a driving practice session to see who was the most skilled; Harry Fletcher won the coveted spot to drive the robot in the Robot Wars arena.

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sport

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alumni

WELCOME Everything in our history is part of the whole; all that has been done or even not done has led us to where we are now

Our School today

Our School c1900

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MARCH 2017

‘No man is an island’ wrote John Donne in 1624. As a student of A Level English, I rebelled against the studying of the metaphysical poets, whose texts I considered ancient and irrelevant.

Instead, ‘I struck the board and cried “no more”…’ and immersed myself in the works of modern writers I truly enjoyed, the films I wanted to see and the music I wanted to listen to. In doing so I felt that I was disproving Donne and setting out to be someone or something that was ‘entire of itself’; really, of course, I wasn’t.

What I was actually doing was taking part in the greatest act of unity, togetherness and collaboration that any of us can enjoy – that is, the enjoyment of the talent of others who share their gifts with us. In trying to prove that I could be an island, I forgot that going out with friends, sharing in the thrill of the crowd watching sport – and even better playing sport – are all acts of collaboration writ large.

When we compare our own acts to collaborations that have changed the world, it’s easy to dismiss them as trite and unimportant. Think of Marie and Pierre Curie’s discovery of polonium and radium; Wilbur and Orville Wright daring to believe that man could fly; the work of Watson and Crick, building on the work of Dr Rosalind Franklin to understand DNA; Larry Page and Sergey Brin developing a world where, instead of searching for things, we Google them.

Consider some of the great acting partnerships such as De Niro and Scorsese, the Coen brothers, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Laurel and Hardy would never have been funny on their own, but together they spawned a whole genre of double-act comedy.

Imagine a world without Lennon and McCartney, who forever changed the way music was written and performed and produced some of the greatest, most memorable tunes of all time. In the sphere of history and politics, we cannot ignore the great historical collaborations.

World War II would not have been won

without the coming together of the diametrically opposed political wills and might of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt made one of the most infamous collaborations of all time.

Of course, we don’t have to look very far to find other collaborative acts that are relevant to us today. Focussing on the enhancement of opportunity for young people through education, Edward Lovekyn, William Walworth, Richard Taverner and Queen Elizabeth I together have ensured a continued and successful existence for Kingston Grammar School for the last 456 years.

safer world. Positive collaboration, working together with good moral intent, is the key to our wellbeing, our safety, our security, our progress and our success. To quote Donne again, we are all ‘involved in mankind’. We benefit hugely from working together and what affects one of us, affects us all, for we are a community. Our success and happiness is interconnected in so many ways.

On this day when we have celebrated Commemoration Day, and the founding of the School in 1561, let us look forward to renewed harmony and healthy collaboration around the world.

I wish you all a wonderful Easter break. •

And all of this, of course, reminds us of our Houses, which are nothing without the collaboration of students throughout the year groups, from First Year to Sixth Form, along with staff, to allow everyone to contribute and succeed. Our new House, Stanley, is named in honour of Olympic and international hockey legend Stanley Shoveller, our School’s first Olympian and a double-gold-medalwinning one at that. A great team player, Shoveller was also a unifier in sport, in business and in military service.

Stephen Lehec Head Master

Everything in our history is part of the whole; all that has been done or even not done has led us to where we are now. Take any of it away and we would be diminished. As John Donne said: If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. And whilst I am sure we could all think of a clod or two who we wish would be washed away, let us remember that in times of conflict, we need collaboration all the more.

Britain’s history of operating in ‘Splendid Isolation’ left her much in need of alliances at the start of the 20th century; a similar policy by the USA twice led to a belated engagement to stop the spread of fascism. But how very different this was after the mid-20th century when Europe and many other parts of the world came together to not only rebuild cities and the morale of allies but also of enemies in order to create a better,

@KGSHEADMASTER

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WORLD BOOK DAY On Thursday 2nd March, KGS and the rest of the world celebrated an amazing event of reading - World Book Day 2017 Our library was packed with fun activities for all students to enjoy. For example, Miss Cleaves read segments from short stories each period of the day. You could also make your own bookmark or hunt down teachers dressed as book characters to win a prize.

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World Book Day is the celebration of authors, illustrators, books and, most importantly, reading. Over 100 countries take part in the celebration, giving young people reasons to love reading and to escape reality. One of the ways to encourage students to read is through the £1 pound book tokens given out to each student.

There are many books to choose from; however, if you prefer to buy a book from your local bookshop then you can use it to get £1 off a book of your choice. To make the day even more fun, some of the teachers at KGS took the opportunity to come in to school dressed as a character from a book. Mr Campbell, our English teacher, came in as Hamlet, whilst Miss Robinson and Miss Hanson came dressed as Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee from ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Students hunted the school to collect their teachers’ new

identity and were rewarded with prizes from the library.

Mrs Cleaves was the driving force behind the World Book Day celebration. She says that reading books is the best thing you can do to relax, expand your vocabulary, get better grades in English and writing tasks as well as to widen your imagination. Books place no limitations and with a book you can explore not only our world, but the outside galaxies as well. She also mentions how lucky we are to have access to books as there are children living in some countries where they are restricted to what they can read. Mrs Cleaves and Miss Taylor created a book trailer competition and you can see the winning trailers on Firefly.

I saw lots of smiling faces around the school and particularly the library.

Both Mrs Cleaves and Miss Taylor were amazing at getting pupils involved and hopefully enjoyed leading the activities they set up. • Eva Preskey 3RSS

SCHOOL LIFE

FROM THE SAMURAI TO CYBORGS To coincide with World Book Day, KGS welcomed in two well-known authors to nurture a love of reading and inspire future writers. Chris Bradford brought his best-selling Young Samurai and Bodyguard series vividly to life with a breathtaking sword display.

You could have heard a pin drop as student volunteers were commanded to stand absolutely still during the demonstration of Samurai moves with the deadly blade. They were rewarded with a signed poster for holding their nerve so resolutely! Chris also treated students to an acted out reading from The Bodyguard complete with water pistol which inevitably resulted in a light soaking for the front row. After the talk, students flocked to chat with Chris and buy a signed copy of one of his books.

The ever-captivating Alan Gibbons returned to KGS to run Gothic writing workshops with Second Year students.

Taking inspiration from classic gothic fiction, Alan guided students to write their own contemporary versions, hence Frankenstein’s monster becomes part human, part robot following a near fatal accident. Students are busy finishing their stories to be in with a chance of winning a copy of Alan’s new book, The Trap.

The winning entry will appear in the next newsletter. • Mrs H Cleaves Librarian

JUNIOR AMBASSADORS’ TRAINING DAY In January, a number of Junior Ambassadors went to Burntwood Academy, alongside Miss Pastore and Mr Smalman-Smith, where we took part in an Anti-Bullying training day, sponsored by the Diana Award.

There were many other primary and secondary schools there.

and had a great experience. Please follow us! • Daisy Bainbridge 3CLB & Lara Hood 3HRL

After arriving, we had a short introduction, going around the room explaining what we were proud of.

We played many exciting games learning lots of new facts along the way; for example, did you know that 1 in 6 teachers are bullied? Next, we went outside to learn about our differences using a parachute. We worked our way through a booklet, learning how to identify the signs of a bullied child, how to stand up to and deal with bullies and, most importantly, how to campaign for an end to bullying. Many shared their own bullying stories and told us how to deal with our problems. The now-qualified Junior Ambassadors have set up an Instagram account (@ aba.kingstongrammar) and will try to post something positive every week!

We all feel that we have learnt lots

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NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP WEEK KGS Lower Sixth students attended the National Apprenticeship Show at Sandown Park on Tuesday 7th March at a time of unprecedented and exciting change in the delivery of apprenticeships and school leaver programmes. These are set to grow following the Government’s introduction of an apprenticeship levy from April.

With fees predicted to continue to rise as well, these programmes offer a viable alternative to university to students seeking training and employment.

Lower Sixth students met with some sixty or so employers from a range of sectors including science, law, the armed forces, finance, civil service and hospitality. Thomas Reed in Lower Sixth commented: “All the stands were engaging, with plenty of useful information and it definitely answered questions I had about pursuing an apprenticeship route.” • Mr A Fitzgerald Director of Careers & Universities

QUIZ HISTORY MADE On Thursday 2nd March the KGS quiz team made history in the Schools Challenge, a nationwide competition for schools based on University Challenge. The KGS team of Matt Pugh (Captain), Ben Harrison-Hyde (substituting for the unavailable Ben Park), Izzy Hepburn and Freddie Pflanz notched up several notable firsts. Firstly, they played RGS Guildford, who have an enviable record in this competition, in the South Central regional final, winning an incredibly close match by 680-670. KGS were trailing when the last round began but beat RGS to the buzzer for the crucial starter and then, in extra time, secured the necessary bonuses to pip their hosts to the post and become South Central Champions for the first time. This took them to another new height, the inter-regional round, where they dispatched the Wessex Champions, Bournemouth School for Girls, by 920 points to 600.

This means the team go forward to the National Finals, an allday affair at a venue to be decided, on Sunday April 23rd. • Mr ND Bond English

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LAZY LOADER WINS! KGS scoop second place in a national upcycling competition In the Technology Club, as well as preparing for our appearance on Robot Wars, we have also been working on other projects this year. One of these is a national upcycling competition sponsored by EDF Energy. From over two hundred entries, Alex Middleton and Louis McMahon (Second Year) finished second in the secondary schools’ category with their Lazy Loader, an

upcycled wheelbarrow which has been turned into a seat. • Mr D Farr Head of Design & Technology

KGS Friends Professional Networking Evening

7.00pm, Thursday 4th May 2017 The next meeting of the KGS Friends Professional Networking Group will take place in the Lansdowne Club, Mayfair. Join us for a drinks and canapé reception where parents and Sixth Form students can meet alumni, governors and other guests who are working in the City or professional services.

Guest Speaker

James Robbins, BBC Diplomatic Correspondent James has been a diplomatic correspondent for the BBC since January 1998 and no-one could have a better understanding of the importance of meeting people and engaging in constructive dialogue.

He has covered global crises, reporting around the world, from the United Nations in New York, from Afghanistan, the Middle East and many European capitals. Please visit our website to read a full biography of James’s impressive career.

Tickets are £30 for adults and £25 for students and can be booked at the following link: https://trybooking.co.uk/BUR Address: 9 Fitzmaurice Place, Mayfair, London W1J 5JD Dress code: The Club dress code must be adhered to by everyone entering the Club.

Men must wear a jacket and collared long sleeve shirt and ladies must be smartly dressed.

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT Sports Scholars’ Breakfast Meetings occur throughout the year to help our young athletes cope with academic demands alongside a usually hectic sports programme.

Many are key players in both school and club activities. It is very normal for these young people to have sporting commitments during the week and both days of their weekend. Organisation and Time Management have been a key focus in recent sessions. Athletes have been invited to make a very honest assessment of their own habits and what they notice about the organisational skills and time management habits of those they play alongside. Adopting good habits has benefits for both a young person’s sporting world as well as their school life.

“I find the Breakfast Meetings really useful. As a pupil who finds it hard to balance my work life and my sports life, I am helped to manage a number of issues – whilst enjoying a delicious breakfast!” Clara John (3rd Year Sports Scholar) The Breakfast Meetings offer a good opportunity to discuss current pressures and also celebrate the many highlights and successes enjoyed by our elite athletes. • Mrs S Corcoran Head of Learning Support

SHARING THEIR LOVE OF LANGUAGES Since the Autumn term a group of 16 Third and Fourth Year students have participated in the Language Leaders Award

The Language Leaders Award is a programme led by Miss Pastore and Mr Turner. Language Leaders is designed to enhance students’ language, organisational and leadership skills, through the fun, challenging and new experience of teaching younger pupils.

This original and innovative concept only started at KGS two years ago and has proven to be very successful.

Every Wednesday, Language Leaders meet for an hour at lunchtime where teaching skills are shared by Miss Pastore and Mr Turner, letting us into the secrets of all their methods and strategies.

After weeks of lesson planning the Language Leaders finally taught their lessons. All the younger students loved what we delivered and from the success of the first lessons that were taught, the Language Leaders became more ambitious. On May 19th we are off to St John’s Primary School where six lessons will be taught in French, Spanish, German, Italian and Mandarin to enthusiastic pupils.

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We have been offered an outstanding opportunity to try new things, teach

others, build our linguistic confidence, our communication and social skills and to make new friends and have fun.

On behalf of all the Language Leaders a tremendous thank you is owed to Miss Pastore, Mr Turner and all other members of staff who have given us this fantastic opportunity. Language Leaders is an outstanding programme.

Skills and new vocabulary have been learnt and it has left the Language Leaders believing that with a broader mindset, hard work and a positive attitude, anything is possible. • Gabi Linney 3CLB

COMPETITION

AUF DEM CAMPINGPLATZ On the 10th March, First and Second Year students of German watched a play which was put on by two actors from Onatti Productions Ltd.

MY ROBOT WARS EXPERIENCE

The story was simple but very entertaining and was about two friends who had gone camping together.

Because of their very different approaches to packing, clothes and the countryside, the trip had some disastrous consequences!

We were not sure that we would be able to follow the storyline, but it turned out that their clear actions and emphasis on certain words meant that it was very easy to understand. It was also an added bonus that both actors were very funny.

Any scene that had difficult language in them had been given to us a day beforehand, so that we knew the plot and some of the finer points of the play before watching it. I think we would have been able to follow it without knowing in advance, but it was also nice to identify the scenes that we had translated and acted out on the day before.

We found the play really easy to understand, as well as hilarious, and we think the rest of the Second and First Year did as well. Thank you to Onatti for coming to KGS! • Alice Cassidy & Carmen Gessell 2DAS

The hanger was huge. After our security passes were issued there was time to walk around and see all the other robots. It was amazing to see the size, weight and sheer strength of the robots we would be competing with. A train could do less damage than some of them.

After the first heat it was time to fix up the remains of Frostbite. There was lots of help and people offering spare parts and getting some welding done.

I felt my stress levels rise with the pressure to get us ready for the next round. Then it was time to head back to the hotel for a much-needed rest.

Day one and the first battle: we took Frostbite out of the pits, did a short video and then mics were attached to our clothes. I took position as the driver in the control booth. My heart was racing and the atmosphere was thrilling.

I had the most fantastic time, seeing how a TV show works, meeting the production crew and just soaking up the addictive world of Robot Wars. I can’t wait to go back for another go! • Harry Fletcher 3HRL

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SCIENCE WEEK 2017 National Science and Engineering Week was celebrated at KGS with a number of fun-filled activities including...

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Building Bridges in Physics which considered some of the challenges involved such as the span length of bridges and load-bearing capabilities.

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The Science of Taste in Biology which investigated if the colour of a jelly bean affects the ability to correctly identify the unknown taste.

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The Chemistry of Chocolate in Chemistry which looked at how the molecular structure of chocolate affects the taste.

There were also a number of events in lessons including making slime and ice-cream (not together!) as well as a fun-filled junior assembly that looked at burning things, including the Head Master’s £10 note! • Ms CM Hall Head of Science

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ENTERPRISING SIXTH FORMERS AT THE KINGSTON TRADE FAIR On Saturday 19th March, KGS Young Enterprise group YNOT attended the second trade fair of the year, this time in Eden Walk, Kingston. Our team is selling a fantastic product known as the ‘re-sealer’, a device that, with ease, seals your packaging without the need for a clip or a wasteful zip lock bag. The group set out on a high note following the great success that we had at our first fair in Croydon in February, where we sold all of our stock within just three hours of trading.

This put us in an excellent position to take second place out of 14 companies in the ‘best product’ category awards.

At the Kingston fair we were keen to outdo ourselves and build on the great work the team had put in since our first experience of selling. We had worked on our sales pitch and our star seller, Will Stoner, was raring to go again and build on his record

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13 sales at Croydon. As it happened we could not have hoped for better success at Kingston. A manufacturing mishap meant that on the day we were selling on the promise of preorders, which was a challenge from the start. But it was a challenge that our team overcame with ease, selling an excellent number of sealers. One of the highlights for us was selling one of our products to the Richmond Mayor who, like others, will receive our product by hand. But the best moment was still to come at the end of the day, when our product came first in the best product categories out of the eleven stalls that were there. This result will surely hold us in good stead as we head into the competition stage of the project. • Ross McGeachie L6PJR

SCHOOL LIFE

AFRICAN DRUMMING WORKSHOP On the 28th February, two people from Earthsong came into school to lead an African Drumming Workshop. We learnt how to make different sounds on the drums (we mainly used djembes), a few tunes and then in the end pulled together all we had learnt to perform a final piece. We also did some singing and tribal dancing! Earthsong were very friendly and humorous and the man who taught us the drums was especially interactive with us.

I really enjoyed the day and would definitely suggest that KGS brings them in again some time! • James Don-Wauchope 2NAR

UPPER SIXTH HIGHER EDUCATION SUCCESSES We are celebrating the success of eight Upper Sixth students who have achieved offers at Oxford, Cambridge and highly respected medical schools. Medicine is becoming an increasingly popular choice for KGS students with applications set to rise further in 2017/18. The chosen subjects of the Oxbridge applicants range from Classics and Mathematics to Education and Music. It has been a positive year for the School’s Sixth Form, with almost all the year group receiving at least one offer from a Russell Group university.

Nicole George (Medicine at Imperial College, London); Troy O’Dowd (Medicine at Nottingham University) and Miranda Worth (Medicine at Newcastle University). • Mr A Fitzgerald Director of Careers & Universities

The Oxbridge successes include: Current School Captain Oliver Cole (History at Trinity College, Cambridge); Matt Pugh (Classics at Somerville College, Oxford); Rebecca Dodd (Mathematics at Christ Church College, Oxford); Jamie Bisping (Education at Homerton College, Cambridge); Lucy Roberts (Music at Jesus College, Cambridge);

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GEOGRAPHERS VENTURE INTO THE WILD... ... well, Kingston to be precise On the morning of Friday 3rd March, the Fourth Year GCSE geographers ventured into a rainy Kingston to conduct an investigation titled “Is Kingston encouraging sustainable methods of transport?” Following the six stages of geographical enquiry, pupils conducted cycle counts, mapped cycle routes and used questionnaires to ascertain if sustainable transport methods were being used around Kingston. In the afternoon, pupils returned to the classroom to begin writing up their fieldwork in a newly designed booklet to help them with their revision for the ‘Geographical Applications’ paper in the new GCSE exams in 2018. In subsequent lessons pupils completed all six stages of enquiry and wrote a final conclusion to their fieldwork. Interestingly, not all classes agreed on whether Kingston has promoted sustainable methods of transport, with Miss Jenkins’ class adamant that more needed to be done to support hybrid buses and cycling! Despite

the cold and wet weather on the day, all pupils engaged very well with the trip and their teachers thoroughly enjoyed seeing them get stuck in, especially when being so polite while asking members of the public to answer their questionnaires.

The Department would like to extend their thanks to Messrs Hardy, Bartram and Beaumont for the additional support they provided to ensure the safe and smooth running of the field trip. • Mr H Waddington Head of Geography

BBC INTRODUCING INTRODUCES SHE’S 17!

Sixth Form student Peter Dawson and his band, ‘She’s 17’, have had their first single, ‘Look at me now’, played on BBC Introducing radio. Peter is the front-man and lead guitarist. He and his two friends Harrison (drums) and Ben (Bass) have been together for a year and are currently recording new material with help from members of big named bands such as Muse and Gorillaz.

The Indie/Punk band already have exciting gigs lined up soon at the O2 Academy Islington, Camden Underworld and Twickenham Stadium! To find about more about this up and coming band, they can be found on Instagram @shes_seventeen as well as on soundcloud under ‘She’s 17’. •

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SPORT

#THISGIRLCAN Our U13 Girls became Surrey Champions on Tuesday and progressed to the South Finals After losing the first match narrowly, KGS then beat Salesians (again narrowly) to progress to the semi-finals. A comfortable win eased the girls into the final where again they met Salesians and won another close match. The stand-out batter was Sophie Wood, retiring in three matches, and Maddie Pritchard and Laura Kimber were superb with the ball. Bring on the Ageas Bowl in April! • Mrs N Maclean Director of Sport

NATASHA DEVON TALKS MENTAL HEALTH We were delighted to welcome Natasha Devon back to KGS last week for a highly informative and emotive talk to parents about young people and their mental health. Natasha has worked extensively for the Government as part of their drive to improve the mental health of young people and provided a packed theatre with an insight into the trials of helping our students navigate their way through the complex arena of adolescence and growing up. Natasha talked about her own struggles in her own childhood as well as touching on the pressures our young people face in the complex online and offline world. She then talked about practical strategies parents can use and broke this into three key areas: teaching our young people to critically assess the world around them, teaching our young people to develop effective coping strategies that work for them, and teaching young people to be confident of talking about their fears and feelings.

A lively Q&A followed with parents and KGS staff exploring different ways that have worked for them and possible areas

for development both at KGS and at home.

Natasha’s strategies will be embedded in our PSHE and pastoral programmes here at KGS to better prepare our young people for the world around them. • Mrs VS Humphrey Deputy Head (Pastoral)

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BOYS’ 1ST XI HEADING TO NATIONAL FINALS! On Wednesday 15th March, the KGS Boys’ First XI hockey team played our national cup quarter final match away against Simon Langton. Having been knocked out at this stage for the last two years, there was undeniably a sense of nervousness amongst the squad before the match began. KGS dominated the early stages, with Joe Hughes converting a short corner to give us a 1-0 lead. The Simon Langton supporters, armed with vuvuzelas and drums, created a hostile environment and they had something to celebrate as the hosts levelled the scoring just before half time. Extensive short corner practice again paid off early in the second half however, this time with Owen Williamson scoring his drag flick. Although the tie was never put beyond doubt, with Langton scoring again before Hughes’ second goal of the game, the score line remained at 3-2 until the final whistle. This is the first time that KGS have reached the semi-final of the cup, since it was changed to a straight knockout competition, and two games at the Olympic Park (on 26th and 27th April) will be a fitting end to what has already been a successful year.

The dream of the double is well and truly still alive, after national indoor success earlier in the season. • Ben Park U6EJP

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MUSIC FOR THE SOUL The Maggini Partnership Concert 2017

On Friday 24th February an appreciative audience were treated to the eagerly-awaited Maggini Partnership Chamber Music Concert, where many of KGS’s finest musicians have the opportunity to perform in the same programme as the internationally-renowned Maggini Quartet.

The programme opened with a new grouping for KGS, comprising flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon, playing the first movement of Gustav Holst’s Wind Quintet with some panache. Although this is an early work, it shows Holst’s considerable polyphonic skill, as well as his gift for writing attractive melodies, which are interweaved with much charm. Penny Cairney-Leeming on flute and George Casci on clarinet crafted their lines with considerable care and subtlety, Nonny Jones’s oboe part added piquancy, and Aoife Parr on horn and Mr Watson on bassoon provided an expert and rock solid foundation for the higher instruments, as well as substantial character. This charming, intricate piece was followed by a little-known Shostakovich Prelude, a transcription of an early violin duet, of which the accomplished Lucy Roberts and Emily Sprackling gave a sweet and mellifluous rendition, impressively

making light of the stratospheric writing and exploiting parts of the fingerboard where most cellists fear to tread.

Two of our First Year Scholars, Imogen Marinko and Sophie Jones, then gave a well-drilled, but very spirited performance of a Mozart Allegro, playing with both panache and communication; an excellent debut at KGS. They were followed by the more experienced flute duo of Juliet Gray and Zoe Mason, accompanied

by Mrs Taggart, whose Deux Papillons effectively suggested the butterflies of the title: Juliet’s complex tone and Zoe’s velvety one were attractive, their sense of ensemble palpable.

What a pleasure it is to have an all-girl horn trio at KGS, and it was lovely to hear them in this concert. Anna le Huray’s creamy tone on melody, and Aoife Parr’s athleticism when let off the leash, were particular highlights, but the whole ensemble with Jessica Pringle in the middle was well-balanced and the ebb and flow of the music nicely handled. Good ensemble skills were also, pleasingly, evident in the following String Quartet: although all Lower School pupils, their communication was evident, particularly in the movement’s

SCHOOL LIFE recapitulation. Jemima Jordan provided a strong, confident lead, from which Shayma al Saraf (violin), Alice Tobin (viola) and Louis Pisarro Jensen (cello) were able to produce a well-focused performance; truly (as Goethe said) ‘four rational people conversing’.

Three more experienced students – Anya Aziz, Nora Bajwa (sopranos) and Kevin Liu (piano) - then performed Saint-Saens’ Ave Maria with confidence and not a little charm. The ensuing Clementi piano duet, played by Jasmine Levell and Lila Skeet, showed the effort and rehearsal which had gone into this impressive performance, as well as a true sense of joy in the performance – impressive for two First Year students.

TASTE THE SCIENCE As part of National Science Week, the Biology Department, with help from members of the KGS pupil body, investigated whether being able to see the colour of a jelly bean influences the ability to identify its flavour

The last two pieces in the first half were tours de force. The second movement of Schubert’s Piano Trio D929 is somewhat epic, and was given a heroic performance by Bijan Ghamsari, Lucy Roberts and Vivek Haria: their fearless dynamics and confident ensemble were most engaging. The last piece, extracts from ‘As One’, being for percussion, took longer to set up than to play, but the wait was worth it: Johan Smith and Grace Lloyd have worked tirelessly to produce exceptionally together and striking ensemble percussion playing, truly a ‘battery’ of percussion. The enthusiastic audience were grateful for an immediate second performance!

The second half of the concert featured the Maggini Quartet playing Haydn’s Quartet in E flat major, op. 20 no. 1.

What a fantastic ensemble the Magginis are! Although this is a relatively early work, written over 30 years before Haydn’s last quartets, there is much in it to intrigue, particularly an extraordinary third movement, in which the continual, almost plodding crotchets create a sustained legato with almost nowhere to breathe; the harmony’s modal inflections reference Bach, but perhaps Bach on steroids!

The large audience were hugely appreciative of an excellent, and very varied, evening’s entertainment.

Our students should be very proud of themselves for creating such accomplished work; we are very grateful to all those teachers who helped with coaching the groups, as well as the Maggini Quartet’s incisive and sensitive encouragement. Well done, all! • Miss P Hyde Assistant Director of Music

Research in the Journal of Food Science suggests that the colour of drinks can confuse the identification of the flavour. Our pupils were randomly assigned to two groups, and were each given five jelly beans to eat to identify the flavours. Most were fruit flavoured but we did include bubblegum, toasted marshmallow and coconut!

could influence the enjoyment of the eating experience. • Mr M Rodgers Head of Biology

Out of the 75 jelly beans tasted when pupils could see the colour, 40 flavours were correctly identified, a success rate of 53%. However, of the 65 jelly beans tasted when pupils could not see the colour, only 19 flavours were correctly identified, a success rate of only 29%.

The outcome of the study, although limited in sample size and limited only to jelly beans, suggests that the perception of food, that is its colour in this instance, does have an impact on the ability to identify flavour. Put into context, this may suggest that the presentation of food in a restaurant

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MAKING MUSIC IN SURBITON March 18th saw one of the musical highlights of the KGS year - the annual Choral Society concert This performance was made extra special because, for the first time, it was combined with the School Concert. This provided a wonderful platform for KGS musicians to perform in a terrific venue alongside a number of top professionals.

The first half was a delightful mix of some of the School’s best musicians, beginning with a stirring rendition of Dvořák’s first ‘Slavonic Dance’ performed by the First Orchestra conducted by Miss Hyde. Next was the ever-charming Flute Group directed by Mrs Taggart. The audience was treated to an enchanting performance of La Cinquantaine. The always excellent ‘Chamber Choir’ then performed three pieces including ‘Greensleeves’.

As a prelude to the drama of the second half, students Johan Smith and Grace Lloyd gave an electrifying percussion performance of excerpts of ‘As One’

by Gene Koshinski. The first half was impressively rounded off by the KGS Symphony Orchestra performing Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3.

The second half of the concert saw the Choral Society, the KGS Choir, three amazing soloists, two pianists and six percussionists perform the original version of Carl Orff’s ‘Carmina Burana’.

Mr von Freyhold passionately conducted this extremely rousing rendition and was greeted with spectacular applause.

An immense amount of work goes into planning an event such as this and it was very pleasing that it was so thoroughly enjoyed by all. • Mr J Tierney

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SCHOOL LIFE

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U16 BOYS CRASH OUT OF SOUTH HEATS The U16A team got a buy through the London tournament and won their semi-final against King’s College Wimbledon meaning they had an easy route to the South heats. The tournament took place in Oxford (an hour and a half away).

Upon arrival, we swiftly moved into one of changing rooms to go through tactics and receive match shirts, in the hope we could then quickly get on balls and get a good warm-up going. Our first game was against Borlase and it was very close with both teams having an equal number of chances to score.

However, Borlase still managed to come out on top, winning 2-0.

Next up was Eton. Having lost the first game, we now needed to score several goals to give us a goal advantage over the other teams in the pool. We managed three: Ed Nicholas scored the first and then Luke Mobley added another two to that shortly after.

Would it be enough? Well, we still had another game to win. The final game (and most important) was against Guildford. A win would put us through but anything less would not be enough because Guildford had drawn to Borlase. Consequently, we played some very nice attacking hockey. Unfortunately, due to me receiving a green card, Sam Mayhew receiving a yellow, some questionable umpiring and a few soft goals, we lost 4-0, meaning the U16s will not be proceeding any further. • Artie Rice-Oxley 5LJS

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SILVER FOR OUR U12A GIRLS...

The U12A girls did brilliantly to finish second in the South Finals which were held at Woking Hockey Club on Friday 10th March. The girls finished second in their pool after three wins, a draw against Surbiton High and a loss to St George’s. This meant they qualified for the semi-final against St Thomas’s Clapham; with two minutes left in the tense semi-final KGS won a short corner and scored to win the game 1-0.

This meant they were to play against St George’s again in the final. A muchimproved performance saw them lose a close game 1-0 with Sophie Tomison making some brilliant saves in goal. It is a result which bodes very well for the future. Well done, girls! • Mrs N Maclean Director of Sport

...AND THE BOYS SCOOP BRONZE On the 17th March, the U12A boys’ hockey team played in the South Finals, an all-day event at Woking Hockey Club. They won their group and faced Whitgift in the semi-final.

However, despite having beaten them in the County finals, they went down 5-2 meaning they met Alleyn’s in the 3rd/4th play-off. They drew that final match 2-2 but won on penalty strokes! Well done to all the boys! • Mr M Durban Hockey

SCHOOL LIFE

MAKING THEIR MARK AT KINGSTON MUSEUM Ellen Garard and Holly Godliman are delighted to be running an afternoon of children’s activities at Kingston Museum during the Easter break. The forthcoming exhibition, ‘Ink in Kingston’, explores the change, diversity and importance of tattoo history and culture, revealing how Kingston played an integral part in the history of British tattooing. Ellen and Holly have devised a series of creative activities, taking inspiration from items in the exhibition and are looking forward to engaging and inspiring the borough’s children on Thursday 6th April. Good luck to them both! • Miss K Pinnock Head of Community Service

LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION! Ever wondered what Maltesers and mindfulness have in common? Well, the KGS Media Club might just have the answer for you!

This is the second year that the KGS News team have taken part in this national event run by the BBC and for 2017 the team decided to tackle the subject of stress and look at how mindfulness could be a solution, not just in school, but throughout our lives. They wanted to show how KGS not only acknowledges the stress that young people are facing with exams, friendships and other pressures on their time, but also what they are doing to give students the tools to tackle this head on.

Drawing from their previous experience with BBC School News Report, the Third and Fourth Year students took charge and decided on the shots they wanted to create as well as a schedule for filming and editing.

They worked hard to vary the content, including a more natural conversation to introduce the topic and an interview with Mary-Louise Morris, one of the teachers who delivers the .Be mindfulness programme in school explaining the benefits of the practice for young people. The First Year team created a fantastic lesson, talking the audience through some of their favourite mindfulness activities, including mindful eating, an excellent excuse to indulge in a packet or four of Maltesers.

As always it was the editing process which took the longest, but the whole team came together, sharing the task and producing some excellent results.

On Thursday 16th March the whole team waited excitedly to see the report go live on the BBC website via a link to the school webpage. If you missed it on the day, the report is still available on the KGS website or on youtube via the link below.

If you would like to take part in KGS News as a reporter, presenter, editor, camera operator, journalist, writer or photographer then please come along to En5 during break on Mondays or any Friday lunchtime from 1.30pm.

The BBC School News Report was created by: Izzy Pleasance, Anna Gray, Phoebe Williams, Matt Thom, Tom EwartEllison, Sara Gotham-Pardo, Maya Dickens, Sophie Jones, Sophie Hunt, Lilah Jones, Emily Parnis and Amelie Scott. • Miss Brackley English

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LIT QUIZ TEAM TRIUMPH AGAIN! The KGS Junior Lit Quiz team had further success, taking its silverware tally to four trophies this year Having won the Kingston Literary Quiz in February, the team qualified with the top three teams for the Inter-borough Final.

Having won the first round by just two points, the pressure was on. The team of six First and Second Year students (James Don-Wauchope, Sophie Farrell, Jasmine Levell, Katie Monaghan, Katie Mullally and Freddie Pflanz), which includes two of the national Kids’ Lit Quiz UK champions, more than rose to the challenge and proved welldeserved champions, winning the Inter-borough Final by a country mile.

What a great testament to the lit quiz coaches, Sixth Formers Hannah Cowie, Zac Procter and Kate Scott-Taylor, who have worked tirelessly to whip the team into shape.

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In addition to winning the Junior title for the first time, every team member received two books and the School was gifted a pile of great new fiction for the library.

Help raise £3500 to fund KGS’s Lit Quiz Team to compete in the Kids’ Lit Quiz World Final in Toronto https:// www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ kidslitquizuk •

But the hard work doesn’t stop there.

The team now has its sights firmly set on the greatest challenge yet: the Kids’ Lit Quiz World Final in Toronto, a unique opportunity to see KGS crowned World Champions. In addition to cramming for the ultimate test of their literary knowledge, the team is fundraising to meet the costs involved.

KGS as a whole is joining in the effort by undertaking a Sponsored Read during the Easter holidays.

Mrs H Cleaves Librarian

TRIPS

RACING TO SUCCESS I spent last weekend at Buckmore Park Kart Club in Kent for a testing day with my chief engineer, my dad. It was an important day as I had to prepare myself, and the kart, for the race on Sunday.

We unloaded and assembled the kart beside the track. We had to fit all the bumpers and choose the correct tyres to suit the weather conditions which, as it was a dry day, were slick tyres, i.e. ones with no tread pattern to improve grip.

All the testing sessions in the morning went well but I felt like I could go a bit faster so, during the lunch break, we fitted a new sprocket (gear) to the kart and made a few other minor adjustments. The changes we made improved my overall lap-times and I felt confident for the race on Sunday.

EUROPEAN COOPERATION

On Sunday, everything went according to plan. I was happy with the set-up of the kart and after two heats and a final, I came home with a trophy. •

On Wednesday 8th March, 15 students, ranging from the Second Year to the Fourth Year, travelled to Ham, where we had the interesting opportunity to spend half the day at The German School. Upon arrival, we received a warm welcome from some of the staff, and were ushered into the canteen. Already, the contrast between our school and theirs was evident, as could be perceived by the complete difference in architecture, layout of the school, and the uniform, or rather lack of it, worn by the students. We were then paired up with our exchanges, all of a similar age to ourselves, and sent on a quick tour of the school.

Will Egby 2NAR

Everything was so different to KGS. We sat through a variety of subjects including Physics, Maths and Politics.

Everyone went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and welcome, whether that involved sharing textbooks or translating puns that someone cracked, into English, only to discover that some only work in German. The lessons were interesting and, although (very) confusing at times,

as radioactivity and exponential growth aren’t exactly the normal vocabulary that we learn in lessons at KGS, still a brilliant experience.

The exchanges we were paired with all happily allowed us into their social groups for the short period that we were visiting, and it was a great opportunity to make friends as well as to practise speaking and understanding German. I know lots of us intend to stay in contact!

I would definitely recommend the trip to future years of pupils learning German! I learned lots and it was a unique experience. We’d all love to thank The German School for so graciously and enthusiastically hosting us. We had a wonderful day!• Anna Gray 4AEB

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SCHOOLS’ HEAD The Schools’ Head of the River is the culmination of the winter training schedule and sees junior rowers from around the UK race the 4¼ miles of the Championship course from Chiswick to Putney KGS had six crews entered: boys’ J16 coxed four; girls’ 1st VIII; J15 1st VIII; J15 2nd VIII; and two girls’ J16 coxed fours, both made up of girls from the J15 squad.

This year the weather forecast was for strong winds which promised to make the course even more challenging; however, the day dawned to even stronger winds than anticipated.

Regardless, the organisers were confident that the race could run so preparations continued. All the KGS had their pre-race paddle and came off the water ready to race.

The time came to boat for the race and with the water looking worse, over 300 crews hit the water for the Schools’ Head 2017.

With a start time of 13.00 planned, the message came through that due to the wind the race was to be delayed by half an hour. But then came a further announcement: the race had been shortened to finish at “The Bandstand”, approximately a quarter of the way into the course and close to Barnes Rail Bridge. With the race now being 5-6 minutes long as opposed to the normal twenty, coaches frantically hunted down

their crews to amend race plans for the much shorter course.

The race itself went off without incident but will go down in history as one of the most bizarre head races ever! KGS crews had mixed results, although the seniors had a good day. The boys’ J16 coxed four came 4th in their category. They had been due to race as an eight but illness late on had forced us to switch to a four.

With so little time in that unit, fourth place was a great result. The senior girls’ eight had a superb row to finish in 8th place, just 0.9 seconds behind local rivals Surbiton High School. The two J15 eights both came 15th. The 1st VIII were disappointed with their row whilst to have a J15 2nd VIII on the water is small victory for us, having rarely been able to contest this event. The two girls’ fours finished within 0.2 seconds of each other after some tough racing.

All crews deserve credit for dealing with awful water conditions and thanks must go to the event organisers for getting an event away in such challenging conditions. • Mr P Simmons Head of Rowing