KGS December Newsletter 2016

EXTREME READING

ROMEO & JULIET

The winners of the Extreme Reading Challenge have been announced

Our latest Senior Play, set in the East End, was one of our most ambitious and impressive productions yet

KINGSTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL 1

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WWW.KGS.ORG.UK

NEWSLETTER

DECEMBER 2016

KIDS’ LIT QUIZ UK NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Four students are crowned Kids’ Lit Quiz UK Champions after victory in the South London Heats On Wednesday 7th December, four students travelled to the City of London School for Girls to represent the South London region in the Kids’ Lit Quiz UK National Final.

Following an address from Alderman Peter Estlin, the Sheriff of the City of London, and guest author Meg Rosoff,

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trips

it was hands on the buzzers for the 18 teams including representatives from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Katie Monaghan (First Year), Freddie Pflanz, Tomas Caldon and Hal Purton (all Second Year) played an effective tactical game in the University Challenge-style quiz in which

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competitions

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every question was on the buzzer and a wrong answer lost a precious point. Going in to the fifth and final round in joint first, it all came down to a nailbiting finale. While the other top two teams lost points through nervous buzzing, KGS remained calm, scooping an impressive six points on the theme of ‘types of books’. Continued on page 3

sport

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events

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alumni

WELCOME As Harold Wilson famously remarked, “a week is a long time in politics”. Well, our First Year students may argue that their inaugural term at KGS makes Wilson’s statement pale into insignificance as they look back on just how much they have experienced and achieved since the start of September. Whether they came with friends from primary school or knowing no-one, new friendships have been forged; whether they are naturally organised or slightly more haphazard, new routines have been learned and consolidated; whether they are musical, sporty or at home on the stage, new cocurricular opportunities have opened up to them; and whether they have a welldeveloped sense of direction or not, the majority will have got lost around school at some point! As a year group they have settled incredibly well into life at KGS and we look forward to seeing them continue to flourish.

PHOTOS FROM OUR SCHOOL CONCERT BY MR ORR

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Further up the School, our Fifth Year students are, no doubt, looking ahead to a Christmas break somewhat tainted by revision for their GCSE mock examinations in January. A healthy balance is the order of the day here: work hard, yes, but rest and have fun too. Get some fresh air, go to the theatre or a gallery, play sport, visit friends and family - and come back refreshed, rejuvenated and with batteries recharged.

On behalf of all the staff at KGS, I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy and fulfilled 2017. • Mr S Lehec Head Master

COMPETITION

MUSICAL SUCCESS Daniel Selimi Awarded 1st place in the Kingstonupon-Thames Festival of the Performing Arts 2016 in the Own Choice Solo Brass Category (Elementary) by playing ‘Bourrée’ by Johann Adolph Hasse. He also passed the Grade 5 Trinity Guildhall exam on trumpet with a Merit this term.

Bijan Ghamsari Came 2nd in the U17 Romantic Piano class at the Kingston-upon-Thames Festival of the Performing Arts 2016 Rachmaninov’s Prelude in G Sharp Minor.

Aoife Parr Successfully re-auditioned for the London Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO) on French Horn for 2017.

Lucy Roberts Successfully re-auditioned for the London Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO) on Cello for 2017.

KIDS’ LIT QUIZ UK CHAMPIONS Continued from the front page

Emily Sprackling (cello), Penny Cairney-Leeming (flute) & Anna Le Huray (French horn) are playing in the National Children’s Orchestra (NCO) at The Barbican.

Juliet Gray Has been awarded a place as a flautist in the NCO U13s orchestra for 2017 • Mrs T Watkins Music

Coached by three KGS Lower Sixth students who are themselves previous winners of the local Kingston literary quiz cup, the annual inter-school competition run by Kingston Library service, the ‘fab four’ will now travel to Canada with me to claim their prize of a week’s holiday in Toronto and to represent the UK in the World Final against seven teams from around the globe including South Africa and the USA. Team member Katie Monaghan said: “I can’t believe it! I didn’t imagine when I started KGS in September that I would achieve something like this! When we walked into the regional competition two weeks ago, we never dreamt we would go on to represent the UK in Canada next year.” •

STOP PRESS • STOP PRESS A* READING MISSION NEWS Huge congratulations to Second Years Hal Purton and Matt Harley who have completed the fiendish A* Reading Mission for which they are required to read six classic novels, poetry, Shakespeare sonnets and a play, going on to write a reflective essay on the experience.

In recognition of this achievement they receive a Head Master’s Commendation and a cloth-bound classic of their choice.

Mrs H Cleaves Librarian

@KGSHEADMASTER

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EL INTERCAMBIO ESPAÑOL The annual Spanish exchange with students from I.E.S. Ángel Corella took place a couple of weeks ago After the long wait to meet our exchange partners, the day finally came.

We were all excited but nervous to meet them. After school, we welcomed them to KGS in Hawkes with a feast of English delicacies. Soon we went home with our excited and chatty exchanges. We all had a fun-filled evening, occupying our new friends with board games, TV and typical English talk of the weather. We were all showered with very generous gifts to say thank you to us for having them. Lots of us received traditional Spanish jamón or sweet specialities from Colmenar Viejo, the town where the Spanish are from.

On Thursday, the Spanish students visited Windsor Castle which they thought was extremely beautiful, especially as they do not have any near to them in Madrid. Friday was a trip to central London, visiting the London Eye, Big Ben and Tower Bridge. They loved touring the city and widening their perception of England. Afterwards, all the girls and their exchanges went bowling where we had a lot of fun.

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Saturday and Sunday were spent with our families and our exchanges – we were on our own to bond! Many enjoyed further trips in to London and they were all shocked at how big the shopping centres were, how busy the trains were, and how Christmassy it was already! Finally, on their last full day, the exchanges and their teachers went back into London. This was a great opportunity to buy ‘British’ souvenirs for their families.

Our last meal was over and all there was left to do was to take a group photo.

Although it was very sad to see our new friends leave, we know that we can look forward to seeing them again, making new memories and strengthening our friendships with them in Madrid. We would all love to say a huge gracias to all the teachers and staff that helped organise a great Spanish Exchange! • Gabriella Linney 3CLB

DECEMBER 2016

A CHRISTMAS COMMUNITY TEA PARTY It was lovely to welcome back our guests from Rosclare Care Home on Friday for our first tea party in the newlyrefurbished Hawkes! Members of 2MEB provided some delicious home-baked cakes and mince pies and we chatted and listened to some music before a competitive game of bingo! We had been hoping to also meet some new guests from Galsworthy House but, because of some last-minute transport difficulties, they were unable to come. They sent their apologies and best wishes and hope to visit next term. Huge thanks to everyone involved and a very happy Christmas to everyone at Rosclare from KGS! • Mrs K Pinnock & Miss L Knight Head of Community Service

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£21K FOR YOUNG MINDS On Wednesday 7th December, Ric Eales and Patrick Gibson from the Sherriff Club handed over a cheque for £21,167.13 to the Young Minds charity. Back in September, a number of students and alumni (and some 100 volunteers) rowed 70k in a day to raise money for the charity. James Cracknell kindly donated some kit which was presented to the top

three fundraisers: Fifth Year Zoe Samama who raised a hugely impressive £1435.31, Jacob Walker and Lily Abbott (both Fourth Year).

Diane Gault, Director of Fundraising said “We can’t thank the Rowing Team at Kingston Grammar school enough for the amazing effort shown by the rowers

in their ‘70K in One Day’ fundraising challenge. The final amount raised, £21,167.13, will be of significant help to YoungMinds mission of improving the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people in the UK, where 3 children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental health disorder.” •

MATHS DAY IN ACTION A few weeks ago the top two maths sets took the train to the University College London for a day of very interesting lectures on mathematics, physics and computing.

The first speaker of the day spoke about many well-known problems in mathematics, such as the map shading problem, as well her own creation, the “1 pound in change problem”. The next speaker spoke in detail about the physics of angular velocity, with some very entertaining demonstrations of its uses.

After this, we listened to a talk about Twitter, and how it related to revision strategies.

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Having then taken a break to eat lunch, we were greeted back into the lecture theatre by physicist and YouTube star

Steve Mould who told us about shapes and solids of constant width, fractals, and the physics behind his own discovery the ‘Mould Effect’. The fifth speaker talked about how data reflects the world around us and its impact on it. The final speaker of the day spoke about numbers in general, their origins and the different kinds of numbers which we use, such as negatives, irrational numbers and imaginary numbers.

Overall, we found the topics covered to be very interesting, and the speakers entertaining. Given the opportunity I know that all of us would choose to go again. • Theo Weeden & Daniel Sykes 5SJW

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MY EXPERIENCE IN THE AJEX REMEMBERENCE PARADE I was honoured to be invited to join the Annual Remembrance Parade at the Cenotaph, held by the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women on Sunday November 20th. The parade recognises the sacrifice by many in the Jewish community as part of the Armed Forces in both World Wars and later actions. Being a part of this gave me an opportunity to meet senior officers as well as veterans, serving soldiers and other cadets. I was pleased to see that none of the other cadets marched quite as well as we do at KGS! During the parade I held the wreath for Group Captain Philip Lester. We marched from Horse Guards to the Cenotaph to music played by the Guards’ Band. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis led a prayer for the Royal Family, the Armed Forces and for peace. Jewish Chaplain to the Armed Forces Rabbi Major Reuben Livingstone recited from the poem “For the Fallen”

and, after the Last Post and a two-minute silence, we ended with Psalm 23 and the National Anthem.

We then marched past the reviewing officer, Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford, and were thanked by Lieutenant General Richard Nugee, Chief of Defence People, for braving the “balmy” winter weather for so long.

It was an experience I am grateful for and look forward to repeating next year.

I particularly want to thank Mr Beggs and Mr Gardner for ensuring that I had the right uniform on the day. I was very proud to represent KGS CCF in Whitehall! • Portia Katzauer 4MPW

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EXTREME READING WINNERS

ECONOMICS IN ACTION Our Sixth Form Economics students had a day trip to London and took part in a Target 2.0 competition

WINNER - ADAM COMLEY, 1T

Stephen King (Senior Economic Adviser, HSBC) spoke about the impact of the emerging nations on western economic prosperity and what actions governments can take to prevent an economic collapse of the sort that happened in 2008.

2ND PLACE - HAL PURTON, 2RMM

3RD PLACE - HATTIE FOWKES, 1L

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Tim Harford (‘Undercover Economist’ at the Financial Times, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s ‘More or Less’ and author, most recently, of ‘Messy’) discussed the challenges of economic forecasting, ranging from the experience of two great economists – Fisher and Keynes – to the latest thinking on forecasting from the IMF and the US intelligence services. Vicky Pryce (Centre for Economics and Business Research, former Joint Head of the UK Government Economic Service) spoke on the challenges of Brexit to the UK economy and how the government might respond to them.

Professor Sarah Smith (Head of Department of Economics, University of Bristol) talked about what can be learned about giving from standard – and non-standard – economics models of behaviour.

Dr Judith Shapiro (Undergraduate Tutor, Department of Economics, LSE, former Chief of the Transition Economies Section, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and Professor, Academic-Coordinator and Co-Chair of the Research Centre at the New Economic School, Moscow) used game theory and insights from behavioural economics to answer the question “Why do we procrastinate?” • Mr P Ricketts Head of Economics

EVENT

TARGET 2.0 A budding team of KGS Economists, accompanied by Mr Powell, Mr Symington and Mrs Clifford, headed to the City on Monday 21st November to take part in the Bank of England’s Target 2.0 competition. Harry Kershaw, Emile Pinder-Hussein, Joe Mallinson and Jenny Shpeter took on the role of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, with the task of assessing economic conditions and the outlook for inflation and then setting the official Bank Rate and the level of quantitative easing with a view to meeting the government’s inflation target of 2.0% in the medium term. Teams from seven other schools took part in this regional heat in the first round of the competition. They were required to present their analysis and monetary policy decision to a panel of three judges from the Bank and explain their reasoning.

SRE FOR GENERATION Z CONFERENCE

With the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement just two days away, Team KGS recommended keeping both the official bank rate and quantitative easing at their present levels (0.25% p.a. and £435 bn, respectively). We shall have to wait until the 15th December to see whether the Monetary Policy Committee makes the same decision.

The best of the opposing teams were very good, and, sadly, our four contestants will not be progressing through to the next round. Nonetheless, they gave a cogent and well-delivered presentation and they coped well with some searching questions from the judges. • Mr P Ricketts Head of Economics

On 30th November we hosted a national PSHE conference on Sex & Relationships Education, welcoming well-known TV presenter and writer Dr Christian Jessen as a guest speaker.

Dr Jessen began his morning at KGS by speaking to our Sixth Form students before joining the conference delegates.

Mr Lehec commented: “We were delighted to welcome Dr Jessen to KGS. As teachers, we know that high quality SRE is essential to pupils’ personal development and welfare and is a crucial part of preparing young

people for happy and healthy lives.

SRE is also vital in helping our pupils to stay safe; as Dr Christian said, “an illinformed child is an at-risk child.” KGS will continue to promote and support up-to-date and age-appropriate SRE for all children, not just those at KGS.” Over 80 PSHE staff & School Nurses from a range of primary and secondary schools from across the UK attended the main conference which we hosted in partnership with the Sex Education Forum in our Performing Arts Centre. • Mrs N Man, Head of Marketing

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VERONA COMES TO KINGSTON - VIA THE EAST END Mr Crohill’s immersive production of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, that of the starcrossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, was one of KGS Drama’s most ambitious, and impressive, yet The theme of rivalry was made immediately apparent as audience members were given red or blue glow sticks according to which of the two sides of the theatre they were seated.

By staging it in traverse, Mr Crohill used the audience to visually represent the conflict between the Montagues and the Capulets before a word of the script had even been spoken. Before taking a seat on one of the opposing sides, however, audiences were invited to dance in the pre-show rave happening on stage with members of the Chorus. This immediate immersion in the loud, base-heavy action reminded us that this production, set in twenty-first century East London, was worlds away from the classical Verona of the original plot.

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Mr Gray and Mr Edwards transformed the theatre into The Apothecary, a dingy rock bar run by Daisy Kakkar (5MDS) and Fair Verona, a sleek and polished nightclub belonging to Lord Capulet (Finn Stammers, U6PSG and Jenny Shpeter, U6JWS). The differences between the two families were further reinforced by the costumes, designed and assembled by Mrs Borrows. We saw the rocker Montagues donned in black leather, fake tattoos and heavy eyeliner versus the denim and plaid-clad hipsters of the Capulet family.

Stand-out scenes include the dance number starring Teddy Coward (U6PSG) as Romeo and 10 members of the cast dressed in the bridal costume worn by Juliet (Maddie Kelly, U6JAD). Immediately after discovering her body in the tomb and unaware of Friar Lawrence’s (Charlotte Le Feuvre, U6TMR) plan to unite them once more, Romeo’s world begins to fall apart and his hallucinations cast multiple visions of Juliet around the room. • Miss L Robinson Drama

ARTS

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ALEX WALDMANN TAKES TO OUR STAGE Drama students in the Fourth Year, Fifth Year and Sixth Form and English students in the Sixth Form had the opportunity to attend a Question and Answer session with actor Alex Waldmann Alex trained at LAMDA in London and his career breakthrough came when he played Troilus in Cheek by Jowl’s ‘Troilus and Cressida’. Most recently he played Chris Keller in Michael Rudman’s production of ‘All My Sons’ at The Rose Theatre which drew to a close on 19th November. Since coming in to speak to our students, Alex has gone on to start rehearsals for the RSC’s ‘Julius Caesar’ in which he plays the antagonist Brutus alongside Andrew Woodall as Caesar.

Miss Hanson hosted the discussion during which she asked Alex about his time at LAMDA and how difficult it was to remain motivated between jobs upon graduating. Alex was forthcoming about his experience studying History as an undergraduate before moving on to Drama School.

He was honest with our Drama

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students about the difficulties that can be faced and acknowledged that having a ‘back-up plan’ in the form of an undergraduate degree had been hugely beneficial to him both as an actor and as a person. Miss Hanson asked Alex how he approached the roles of Laertes and Horatio in rehearsal and what the process had taught him about them as characters within ‘Hamlet’, one of the set texts for our English students. Following discussion included an analysis of the character of Antonio in ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ and what so attracts Alex to plays of this ilk. Following the main discussion, Alex stayed to talk to A Level Drama students about their career and higher education choices and, as most of them study English, he gave them further opportunity to enquire about approaching the text from an analytical point of view.

This was a brilliant chance for all of our English and Drama students to pick the brains of a hugely talented actor and KGS Drama would like to extend our warm thanks to Alex for being so helpful and detailed in his responses to the questions asked by Miss Hanson and our students. • Miss L Robinson Drama

ALUMNI

80s DECADE REUNION Some 130 Old Kingstonians and 20 former members of staff from the 1980s, including both the decade’s Head Masters, Sidney Miller and Tony Creber, and their wives, attended the Decade Reunion at the School OKs from all over the country flocked to be there, as well as several from overseas. Former Biology teacher Chris Taylor came from Austria, Sam Gratton made the trip from Spain but the prize for the longest journey went to Harunobu Matsui, who came all the way from Mexico!

The day began with drinks in the Dining Hall, after which there was lunch in the Hall, tours of the School and then tea, back in the Hall. Archive displays, courtesy of archivist Jo Halford, helped give the day context, and a huge debt of gratitude goes to all the prefects and Sixth Formers who helped out, to the catering team and the caretakers, the Development and Alumni teams, and the KGS Friends committee, all of whom helped ensure the event ran smoothly.

The next KGS Friends extravaganza will be the two One Term On reunions on Monday 19th December – one at the Gazebo for pupils who left this summer, and one at the Bishop for their parents. If you qualify on either count, we hope to see you there. • Mr N Bond Head of Alumni Relations

Our guests had a lovely day to remember and a few slipped away – who knows where – to prolong the day’s warm glow of life-long friendship and joyful reminiscence.

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ON YOUR MARKS...

The House Technology Competition took place on Wednesday 23rd November.

Three weeks before, all the teams had been challenged to make the fastest toy car they could to race against the other houses. Each team could make two cars and the fastest car in the drag race would win. However, there was a twist - it had to go straight.

Every team was given only the basic components of the car, such as the engine, batteries and mechanism, also

TEAM STANLEY

known as an elastic band! They would have to build the frame of the car by themselves by sourcing materials and wheels. On the day, the tables in DT1 were cleared and the race track marked out. There was an air of excitement in the room as we all started to prepare our cars, and hoped that they would pass inspection. Next, the order was decided and two cars were placed on the starting line to begin the racing. Nerves were running high as the cars had to go both fast and straight, a problem for many of

the constructions, which crashed off the track.

The tension-filled final saw Walworth race Stanley and triumph! • Jess West 2CES

TEAM WALWORTH

DEBATTIEREN AUF DEUTSCH Ibstock Place School recently hosted the second German Debating competition, which saw 21 teams from six schools battling it out in three categories - Year 11, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth. Even though none of our teams won the overall title, we won individual debates and our students impressed with their German knowledge and debating skills.

The topics ranged from part-time jobs for young people and the importance of learning MFL, to social media and the support for German-speaking bands while the Upper Sixth students impressed with their knowledge of fracking, Theresa May’s grammar schools and the value of the Olympic Games.

The standard in all year groups was high and as always we enjoyed meeting and debating with students from Tiffin’s,

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Highgate, Hampton, Sevenoaks and Ibstock Place School. • Mrs TM Russell Head of Modern Languages

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‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL’ REVIEW On Wednesday 23rd November, all the First Years watched a play in the Theatre Quantum Theatre Company came to perform ‘A Christmas Carol’, which was based on the book by Charles Dickens. In the play, a man called Ebenezer Scrooge, a cruel man who detests Christmas, works and spends the minimum amount of money so he can make a profit for his business. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, has a poor family at home and works very hard to keep his family and his little boy, Tiny Tim, who can’t walk well. He is delighted to get Christmas Day off from Scrooge. On Christmas eve, Scrooge is visited by his dead work partner, Jacob Marley, who warns him that he will be visited by three spirits, the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. The last ghost shows him something he will never forget.

Scrooge realises he has to embrace the Christmas spirit or submit to his deadly fate…

I would recommend the play to adults and children over 10 years old because the ghosts were quite scary. I think the play suited people of all interests, because it got me in the Christmas spirit and was very fun to watch. I thought it was very clever that there were only three actors multi-rolling a number of characters, changing costumes very quickly and expertly. I think it would be very hard to do that!

The play was full of Christmas songs and decorations. My favourite parts were when Scrooge got visibly moved when he saw his past and present laid out before him. Also, when the Cratchit family has Christmas dinner together, even though the food was tough and measly, they were merry and thankful.

I thought this was very inspiring for everyone.

I also liked the part where Scrooge changed and everyone looked at him oddly. My favourite ghost was the ghost of Christmas present, because he was merry, and showed Scrooge how people were celebrating Christmas even though they were away from home and times were tough for them.

I would definitely recommend this play because it was sad, funny, and got us feeling Christmassy! I gave it 5 stars! • Saskia Thompson 1S

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PSA XMAS FAIR Christmas came early to KGS: the 25th November to be exact, for the PSA Christmas Fair. Organisers Helena Caldon and Leanne Gorin put on an event that catered for both adults and students alike The KGS bear was a huge success, with pre-orders before the event meaning that more had to be ordered which have arrived in time for Christmas stocking fillers! Thanks to Miss MacDonald who organised the Christmas Fair Bake Off. In his capacity as judge, Mr Lehec was disappointed not to be able to taste the cakes as they were earmarked to be sold that evening. A particular favourite was the Antarctic spectacle made by the Junior Art Club with support from Jess Murray in the Upper Sixth.

The rain that had threatened the week before held off and the weather was crisp and the skies were clear, which added to the ambience of the evening.

Highlights included the bucking reindeer which the Head Master had three attempts on, although sadly there is no photographic evidence to corroborate this, the bullseye kindly organised by Captain Beggs and Mr Gardner and the CCF, and new to the fair this year, the photo booth which was busy all evening!

Some wonderful memories of the evening, no doubt.

Other popular stands included guess the number of sweets, the ‘pocket money’ stall, the wonderfully aromatic beauty products, the jewellery and the chocolate tombolo which quickly ran out of prizes!

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Refreshments were laid on by the PSA volunteers and popular choices were the

chocolate Oreo milkshakes, the popcorn stand and for those who wanted an alternative to sugar, the gourmet barbeque was on hand to provide savoury alternatives. Parents were able to drink mulled wine whilst listening to the wonderful flautists in the second year, whilst nibbling on the delicious chocolate panettone and perusing the selection of artisan breads and cheeses, fine wines and locally-produced gin from a shop in Norbiton, Wined Up Here (http://wineduphere.co.uk).

The ever-popular raffle, organised by Alastair Brown, drew the fair to a close.

It was a wonderful evening and a significant amount of money was raised by the PSA which is all donated back to the School. Many thanks to all who gave up their time for the benefit of the students. • Mrs A Lett Assistant Head

SCHOOL LIFE

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U18 GIRLS’ SOUTH INDOOR HOCKEY FINALS Our first game was against Cranleigh School. It was a highly contested and fast game but we narrowly lost 2-0. We then went on to win our second game 4-0 against Reigate Grammar which gave us more confidence going into our last pool game (which was a must-win to qualify for the semis). It was a very close match and despite having the better of the play, we came out with a 1-1 draw which, due to goal difference, meant that we did not proceed through to the semi-finals.

Although we did not come out with the results we had hoped for, everyone performed to a very high standard and contributed well. We played some great indoor hockey and can be proud of our efforts! • Saffi Martineau U6MJR

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WORLD WISE QUIZ VICTORY

On the evening of Monday 5th December, six KGS junior geographers represented the School at the regional round of the Geographical Association’s World Wise Quiz competition at Hampton School.

Having come second and third at the event last year, it was hoped that our success might be repeated during six rounds of, at times, rather obscure general geographical knowledge. Our two teams of three pupils decided to eschew thinking of fancy names in favour of saving their mental agility for the quiz itself, and as a result “KGS1” (Oliver Sandry-Butler, Freddie Pflanz and Rose Cashmore) emerged victorious out of the twelve competing teams, narrowly ahead of “KGS2” (Annabell Theron, Alex Middleton and Millie Furner) who came in second place overall. It was a splendid and hard-fought result across rounds such as ‘the Geography alphabet’ and ‘guess the Google Earth location’; indeed, a fine performance in the ‘Geography photo reveal’ final round saw “KGS2” shoot up the rankings and nearly topple “KGS1” from the upper perch of the podium. All of the KGS competitors enjoyed the quiz and were kindly rewarded by Hampton for their performances, with Amazon vouchers

for the winners and chocolate for the runners-up. Looking ahead to next year, as the World Wise Quiz is only open to First, Second and Third Year geographers, we will be sad not to have Oliver and Annabell to bolster our teams, but I hope that there will be many more enthusiastic junior geographers to fill their places. If you are interested in finding out more about the competition, or Geography in general, try visiting the Geographical Association’s ‘WorldWise’ website: http://geography.org.uk/getinvolved/ worldwise/#top or pop in to the Geography Department Office and have a chat with us! I would like to congratulate all our competitors on a brilliant result, Hampton School for hosting us so well, and Mrs Stones for her support during the evening. • Mr Waddington Head of Geography

SPORT

ROWING: MY JOURNEY TO GB SELECTION

I have always enjoyed rowing and have appreciated the benefits that I gained from it but over the last two years I have begun to realise what I am capable of in the sport.

Next summer, I would love to take part in the World Rowing Junior Championships in Lithuania – and if I win a medal that will definitely be a bonus. I will take the next step towards that goal during the Christmas holidays as I have been invited to take part in the Great Britain Junior Potentials camp in Arnoia in northern Spain.

After taking up the sport at Walbrook RC, I began to row for KGS in the Third Year and always enjoyed the competitive aspect of it, when the opportunities came around. However, the first time I realised I had potential was during the Fourth Year, when I won the gold medal in my age category at the British Rowing Indoor Championships.

Last February I finished in the top five in both the single and double sculls at GB Under-16 trials and as a result was invited to a J16 camp. That gave me my first taste of training alongside the best rowers of my age group in the country.

The Arnoia camp is likely to involve three or four sessions of training each day, on the water, on rowing machines and in the gym. We had a taste of what to expect on another GB camp last half term when we were on the water straight after breakfast and weights sessions went on until 9pm some evenings.

It means a lot to be invited as I have worked hard to get here and it is good to be recognised by the GB Rowing Team coaches. It is also a good opportunity to improve my rowing alongside some of Britain’s best junior rowers.

Final trials take place in April and there is a crew-formation camp just after the end of the summer term. Only then will we know whether or not we have made it into crews for Junior Worlds.

My ultimate aim is to be part of the Great Britain senior team and take part in the Olympics in 2024 but I am following the road there one step at a time. • Cameron Spurling L6HJW

Sixteen sweep rowers (as opposed to scullers, who row with two blades) are going to Arnoia and in most years a similar number are selected for Junior Worlds. However, anyone who celebrates selection at this point is likely to find someone else has overtaken them by the summer.

There are lots more steps before final selections are made. The next is another long-distance trial in Boston, Lincolnshire in February. Spring Trials take place in Nottingham over Easter, when I aim to be selected to represent GB at the Munich International Regatta.

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PUTTING ‘HOME’ INTO HOMELESSNESS

For the past two years, a group of Sixth Formers have volunteered at Joel Community Trust, just a stone’s throw from KGS. As the only widely accessible provision for single homeless men and women in the borough, Joel Community Trust provides a year-round shelter in a permanent building. Their guests are part of the Joel community which provides a holistic environment, providing a bespoke care plan and supporting them through their journey out of homelessness. Dan Wheeler, the centre manager, is an inspirational spokesperson and talks with real passion about the work done by Joel. We were delighted to hear about the Gold award Joel had just won for Best Social Action Project, awarded at the Christian Funders’ Forum Awards at Lambeth Palace.

One of Joel’s aims is to put HOME back into homelessness and they provide food, friendship and shelter to people experiencing homelessness.

Our volunteers are an important part of this by helping to make Joel a friendly, sociable and enjoyable place to be, chatting, cooking, eating and playing games with the guests. They do a fabulous job and their contribution is really valued by Dan, his staff and, most importantly, the guests! For our part, we are very grateful for the opportunity to

send our volunteers to Joel and for the support they receive from the staff and other volunteers. For more information about the important work Joel do, please have a look at their website: www. joelcommunitytrust.org.uk • Mrs K Pinnock & Miss L Knight Head of Community Service

Our volunteers were recently invited to see the newly-finished dorm which, as it is equipped with an ensuite bathroom, will enable Joel to provide shelter for additional female guests or for male guests who have secured employment while at Joel. It was inspiring to hear that 40% of guests at Joel are able to do just during their time at the shelter.

BOOK REVIEW WITH MISS SEARL The Smell of Other People’s Houses

By Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock Set in the centre of 1970s Alaska, The Smell of Other People’s Houses follows the lives of a group of teenagers, each struggling to cope with a personal crisis. These are not just any ‘coming of age’ tales – we witness acute poverty, alcoholism, teenage pregnancy, domestic abuse and family loss within metres of one another in the small-town Alaskan community of Fairbanks.

In successive chapters, the different characters narrate their stories and as the book is so short, with a lot of ground being covered very quickly, it can take the reader a while to really establish their

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separate personalities. Perseverance pays off, however, when you start to understand how their behaviour, and the choices they make, are the inevitable and sometimes necessary consequences of living in this harsh American terrain.

There are frequent references made to the book’s intriguing title with many of the characters judging their own poor circumstances by the state of their friends’ home lives. The ‘smells’, both real and metaphorical, are completely believable and add a lot of colour and authenticity to the narrative. The map at the start of the book reminds us that the places described are real, and though one does not need to be a geographer to understand the landscape, it is likely that by the end of the book readers will want to know more about the fascinating

social anthropology of the Alaskan and Athabascan people. • Miss C Searl Geography