KGS Newsletter October 2016

National Poetry Day

House Drama

Having won the National Poetry Day schools’ competition for our plans, the pressure was on to deliver...

The hard work of almost 100 students culminated in our House Drama competition, for which the students have been rehearsing for the past half term.

KINGSTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL 1

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NEWSLETTER

OCTOBER 2016

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FIRST YEARS AT BODIAM CASTLE

FIRST YEAR GO INTO BATTLE Our First Year pupils re-created the Battle of Hastings during the annual History trip to Bodiam Castle On the 13th October the whole of First Year went on a trip to Bodiam Castle.The castle was originally built as a home, although it does have defensive advantages. It has a moat around it, so it would be hard for attackers in heavy armour to swim across. It also has ‘murder holes’, which were used to pour boiling water down.

Our favourite part was when we re-enacted the Battle of Hastings. Half of us were Saxons and the other half Normans and we fought with the shields we had made. We had lots of fun.

We then got to dress up as lords and ladies. The itchy woollen clothes were very heavy; we really don’t know how people used to stand up! Before it was

time to go home, we had a chance to look at armour and medieval medicine. Gruesome though it was, the strange ‘cures’ they used were interesting. We had a great day out and learnt a lot. • Natalia Browne & Lola Crampin 1Q

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

WELCOME “Am I being controversial? Am I being unfair to those who did vote for Brexit and Donald Trump? Of course I am. I am challenging us to think, consider, learn, debate openly and move forward�

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KGS OCTOBER 2016

Sometimes I fear that in the heat of the moment we really do miss the point and ignore what is most important in favour of what I refer to as ‘Victor Meldrewism’. In other words, in our inability to accept what has happened or what other people do, we refuse to address the problem, if it is a problem, and learn what we can from the experience. As an American who has lived in the UK most of her life, my wife could not believe the result of the Brexit vote. Not only did she have to check with me how I had voted but she also wanted to discuss almost ad infinitum the rationale of others. You will know from my July newsletter that I was surprised at the low turnout from young voters. Had the poor weather had an impact on turnout, I wondered privately. Publicly, many of us queried the honesty of those who had campaigned.

What we have only just begun to do is to investigate why previously self-disenfranchised elements of the country felt so strongly. Was it memories of a halcyon pre-EU existence, concerns over immigration levels and misleading advertisements on NHS funding or was it something more inherent in people’s psyches borne of their everyday lives?

What we need to do is to learn how we can engage with areas of the country and sections of society who readily believe that their lives can be materially changed and improved at the expense of others rather than adapting and benefiting from diversity, integration and openness. Now this is beginning to sound dangerously like condescension; ‘I don’t believe it’ becomes ‘you know I am right, I just need to persuade you of that fact.’ The reason that this is dangerous is that we all know what happened to the liberal intellectuals and bourgeois during periods of significant change, even revolution, in mid-19th century Europe, don’t we? Or the same in the first half of 20th century Europe with the collapse of empires, two total wars and a number of other minor wars, and revolution and then renaissance and rebuilding in the Mexican stand-off of the Cold War in the second half of the century.

What is clear is that we cannot stand idly by, we cannot disengage and we cannot assume. We must learn and, more importantly, help our children to learn.

All of this is by way of lengthy introduction to two important points. The first is to recognise that all is not lost with the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States. Mrs Lehec voted and now sits in the same purgatorial disbelief that I did after the Brexit vote. America has effectively played out a very long episode of The Apprentice and now faces the reality of investing not just their money but also their lives in the hands of someone

who, it appears, holds not entirely wholesome views. There may be a return to ‘motherhood and apple pie’ but not for all. Am I being controversial?

Am I being unfair to those who did vote for Brexit and Donald Trump? Of course I am. I am challenging us to think, consider, learn, debate openly and move forward. England will deal with Brexit and America will survive Trumpism in the same way it made a success of much of the period of leadership by a man who came straight out of the movies. The western democratic system of checks and balances is a positive virtue and those who begin to quote Plato to suggest that maybe democracy isn’t all good might do well to remember that without it you don’t just lose your say but also your right to reply when the majority don’t agree with what you say.

The second point is this. If we are unhappy with outcomes of elections and referendums then we must do what we would do in any walk of life.

We don’t hide away indoors and start putting up metaphorical, or literal, shutters. We get out into the open, address what has happened head on, ask how and why it might have been different and what we can do to influence it next time around. We learn from what we got right and what went wrong.

We ask ourselves whether we were wrong. In a very real way this is what we ask our children to do every day. We ask them to learn from their experiences and to listen to reasoned analysis and debate. We get them to look at the results and to feed back on a personal level. We ask them to work out what they will do differently, perhaps better, next time around. We ask them to be prepared to take a risk and, more importantly, to be prepared to fail and use that outcome to better succeed in the future.

At KGS we ask students not only to ‘work well and be happy’ but to be confident and prepared to take on challenges that will stretch their capacity and ability, to make the most of effort, not just ability, and to try and truly understand what that means for them and for others. Finally, we ask them to use all of this to go out into the world and make a positive difference to the lives of others.

As FD Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, told us, “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” • Stephen Lehec Head Master @KGSHEADMASTER

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OLYMPIC MEDAL ADDED TO ARCHIVES Stanley Howard Shoveller’s 1908 Olympic Gold replica joins KGS Archives This is potentially a particularly subjective claim but can anyone put forward a stronger case than this one for Stanley Howard Shoveller (KGS 1892-1898) to be considered the greatest English hockey player ever?

FINGERS ON BUZZERS...

Saturday 8th October saw a mighty assemblage in the Hall of brain-boxes, boffins and brainiacs for the annual KGS Friends Quiz.

It was clear that plenty of fish had been consumed and loads of gingko-biloba taken on board in preparation for the event. In some cases a bit of swotting might have come in handy as well.

It was good to see a group of recently departed rowers taking part and competing fiercely, with all that old Boat Club spirit, for the honour of last place, while at the other end years of training and patience paid off for Team Pugh and Park with an emphatic victory after a long run of second-place finishes.

Our thanks to question-setter Stewart McCartney for his fiendishness and fairness, to guest questioners Jenny Shpeter, Joe Hilty and Matthew Pugh, to former parent Anne Lewis-Lloyd for running the bar and to Jerry and the caterers for another top curry. Next up

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it’s the PSA Quiz in the Spring term. I look forward to seeing you there! • Mr N Bond KGS Friends

To be the best amongst one’s contemporaries is perhaps the first requirement for this accolade. There cannot be much doubt about that.

Stanley played for the KGS 1st XI from the age of 14 and was a prolific goal scorer. He was playing for Hampstead Hockey Club before he left school and for Middlesex the year after leaving.

He first played for England three years later (1902) at the age of 21, which was very young in those days. In the following 19 years he played 35 times for England. He also fought in WW1, rising to the rank of Captain and was awarded a Military Cross.

His international career spanned two Olympics, London and Antwerp, winning gold medals in both. That in itself is an achievement unlikely to be equalled again by a British player. His official England record shows that he scored 79 goals in 35 appearances, including 17 hat tricks. That is an average of more than 2 goals per match. It is possible that this tally could be posthumously increased as ‘Shove’, as he was affectionately known, captained the England team that played in an international tournament in Hamburg in 1912 as a substitute for there being no hockey at the Stockholm Olympics. At this event he scored four times against Germany and three against Austria but at present these two matches do not appear in the England records.

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY SERVICE To make Stanley’s record even more remarkable, he did not play in 23 England matches because his work as a stockbroker did not give him the freedom to do so. What an amazing record it might have been had he played in all the 60 matches of his era. No wonder he was called the WG Grace of his time. This must qualify him to be the greatest English hockey player ever – unless you know different?

The KGS Archive is delighted to have acquired a replica of the 1908 Olympic Gold medal won by Stanley and his KGS teammate Gerald Logan. • Mrs J Halford Archivist

We were pleased to welcome Dan Wheeler from Joel Community Project last week as he came to talk to our new cohort of volunteers about the work he and his team do at St Peter’s Church in Kingston Dan is a really engaging speaker, talking very frankly about the challenges facing people who are experiencing homelessness. He also spoke about the great sense of community and solidarity amongst the people who use the Centre for the Homeless, as well as those who work and volunteer there. He spoke about their future plans for Joel and the role that our students will help to play in creating a homely environment. For more information about Joel’s work, please look at their website: http:// www.joelcommunitytrust.org.uk

Saturdays: Silver Surfers at various libraries in the borough (fortnightly) Sundays: ECL music workshop in Walton (monthly) Weekdays: ECL Board Games and Bingo, Mencap Kingston, Yadapa Drama, Inspire Sports (Monday); ECL Young People Allsports (Tuesday); Mencap at Richmond Theatre (Thursday); ECL Music Workshop (Friday) During free periods: Bedelsford School; Primary School Reading Project at King Athelstan’s and St Joseph’s.

Thank you to all the Sixth Form students who have signed up for volunteering activities, both inside and outside School. Although some activities are now full, other opportunities to volunteer are still available:

Please see the Firefly page for full details and contact the lead member of staff as soon as possible if you would like to volunteer: http://firefly.kgs.org.uk/clubs-andactivities/directory-sites/communityservice. • Mrs K Pinnock Head of Community Service

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ISGA SCHOOLS’ CUP KGS had a fantastic day at the ISGA Schools Cup competition at Magnolia Park Golf and Country Club a few weeks ago. In typically damp conditions, the team of James Hall (Lower Sixth), Max Dawson (Fifth Year) and Jonathan Moeller-Schwartz (Third Year) won the team nett title with a two-ball nett score of 132, 7 shots clear of the team in second place. The team finished 5th out of 16 schools in the gross competition, only 5 shots behind the perennial winners, Wellington College. The most amazing performance of the day came from James who shot a gross level par

round of 73, 13 shots under his handicap, to win the individual gross competition by 4 shots, ahead of players from other schools who have very low single-figure handicaps. James also won the nett individual competition by 7 shots.

Well done to all three players. • Mr M Rodgers Head of Golf

NATASHA DEVON TALKS SELF-ESTEEM KGS was delighted to welcome Natasha Devon MBE, formerly the Government’s mental health champion for schools, on Tuesday. Ms Devon is the co-founder of the Body Gossip education programme and the Self-Esteem Team, which is designed to educate teenagers, teachers and parents about mental health and body image issues and she addressed Second Year students on the issue of young people’s mental health and the pressures of modern society and education.

Mr Forsyth (Head of Pastoral

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Outreach) commented, “We are really grateful to Natasha for coming and sharing her experience and knowledge with us. These are real issues facing young people and it is important for students to have an awareness and understanding of them.” • Mr A Beard Assistant Head

BOOK LONDON (FINALS) CORNER CALLING… She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick Have you ever experienced a coincidence, something too unlikely to have happened by chance?

Laureth’s father did and it changed his life, setting him on a quest to try and rationalise the improbable.

But now he has gone missing!

Can mathematics really explain what is going on or are there more sinister forces at work? Laureth, a teenage girl, and her 7-yearold brother fly off to New York to try and track down their missing father. Armed only with her father’s rambling notebook and her little brother, Laureth certainly has the odds stacked against her. Does the notebook hold the key to unravelling the mystery and finding her father in time? ‘She Is Not Invisible’ is a fun, fast-paced adventure which is well worth a read. • Mrs R Whitby-Smith Mathematics

On Tuesday 4th October, the 1st XI hockey girls travelled to Reed’s to play in the first round of the London heats.

With a competitive group of KCS, JAGS, and Epsom College, we knew it was going to be a competitive but winnable group, although it was important that we started well in all three games as they were only 18 minutes each way.

We took to the pitch for our first game against JAGS, and came out with a 6-0 win which was a real confidencebooster for the whole team. It was great to kick the day off with a good performance and plenty of goals to go with it. Our next game was against Epsom College, again a game where we thought we should come out with a good result. We started well, scoring 3 goals in the first half, and whilst our performance could’ve been better in

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the second half, we ended with a safe 3-0 victory. This put us through to the finals as results in other games meant we topped the group. Knowing we were through already, we mixed things up in the final game to get practice in different styles of play, and managed to come out with a 1-0 win despite a tough battle against KCS. Overall, it was a good day on the pitch. • Eva Gray L6HJW

HOUSE DRAMA This year’s House Drama was a great success As per usual, excitement levels increased as the day grew closer, and despite some sudden script changes from a couple of houses, along with some last-minute re-castings, the performances were all captivating and unique.

On the evening of the show, the mixture of excitement and nervousness settled heavily on all involved. It was time for the last rehearsals. Lines were being shouted, miscellaneous props were gathered into piles on tables. Trays of brownies (kindly baked by Miss Brackley) were being passed around the Stanley room, and all of the students were ‘nervous-eating’ in an attempt to calm their growing anxieties.

Lovekyn were on first, followed by Queen’s and then Stanley. This was the first time the new house had competed in the event, so this gave a very exciting twist to the evening. After the interval (and most of the spectators had made a hasty exit to the bar situated in Hawkes Café), the second half began. Taverner opened the second half, followed by Walworth.

It was time for the judges to deliver their verdicts. All the performers filed onto the stage, the dark lighting setting a curtain of anticipation over the hushed theatre. There was an increasingly nervous silence as we awaited the scores. Witty feedback was given to all the houses and, after all the teams had been addressed and given both positive and negative constructive criticism, the results were announced…

Taverner had won! Their original and endearing script was well rehearsed and even a small technical malfunction involving an ergo, leading them to do a humorous and polished improv section, could not hamper their success and they were the rightful champions of this year’s competition. Unfortunately, things had not gone quite so well for new house Stanley, which ended up with them being placed… not so high up in the rankings. • Anna Gray 4AEB

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“The mixture of excitement and nervousness settled heavily on all involved” Anna Gray

REPORTING ON SPORTS, NEW TRENDS, MUSIC and NEWS all around the school Gain Leadership Skills, Confidence, Learn new skills in editing, presenting, reporting and filming or drafting and writing

When? Friday 1.30-2 Where? EN5

LITERARY DINNER A DEUX Congratulations to Abdullah Qureshi and Florence Chevallier for winning our Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? competition with their humorous answers to the tie-breaker ‘Which author would you invite to dinner?’ Abdullah thinks Anthony Horowitz would make an entertaining guest because “he would use a variety of gadgets to eat dinner”; Florence chose Agatha Christie because if she were poisoned then “she would help solve my murder!” Runners-up Cathlyn Boyle, Natalia Browne and Jasmine Levell chose Catherine Woodfine, J. M. Barrie and Patrick Ness. What a fantastic dinner party that would be! • Mrs H Cleaves Librarian

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THANK PLETHORA OF POETRY YOU, CLASS OF 2016!

Having won the National Poetry Day schools’ competition for our plans, the pressure was on to deliver

The KGS Foundation is delighted to confirm that families of 2016 Sixth Form leavers raised a very generous £7,031 by donating a portion of their School deposits.

The funds raised will help us to provide greater financial assistance to deserving students in the form of bursaries, as well as contributing to material enhancements that benefit all students.

We would like to wish the Class of 2016 all the best for the future and offer our sincere thanks to their families for their generosity in supporting the next generation of students.

Further information: http://www.kgs. org.uk/community/fundraising • Mr C Conneely Development Director

Inspired by this year’s theme of ‘messages’, all form groups received a special poetry ‘message in a bottle’ to kick-start the celebrations. All students were welcome at the poetry surgery hosted by our poet in residence, Jon Sayer. First, Second, Third and Lower Sixth English students took part in mass poetry workshops.

We’ll take the old, we’ll take the new The French, the Brits, the ones who speak Hebrew We’ll take the stupid, the ones who don’t fit We’ll take the fittest of the fit All who walk through the door Will be accepted for this chore.

By Louisa Marshall, 3RSS

After a short ‘conversation’ with Miss Brackley about his life as a poet, Jon read one of his own poems to open the poetry workshop. Students were challenged to complete six lines using three specific rhyming couplets. Here are two of them:

She knows a few things, the old and the new But when they talk about love, she hears Hebrew She’s not short of mettle, not short of wit She’s waiting for her perfect match.

Who will fit?

She sighs and looks at the clock by the door Who will she meet that isn’t a chore?

By Isla Flett, 3RSS

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Jon was also the VIP guest at a special lunch for invited Sixth Formers and staff.

All students received a beautiful poem postcard courtesy of the Scottish Poetry Library, had a poetry-themed lunch and many students entered the interactive Pop-up Poetry Trail, watching poems brought to life by their teachers from Wordsworth to Neruda. Congratulations to First Years Kierth Grewell, Eva Johnston, Rebecca Jones, Jemima Jordan, Jasmine Levell and Lara Pilcher (pictured) who were the first students to complete the trail, winning the grand prize of chocolate, postcards, badges, books and creative writing games that KGS won for its NPD plans. • Mrs H Cleaves Librarian

SCHOOL LIFE

EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES Thanks to the activities created by the wonderfully enthusiastic MFL department, this year’s European Day of Languages was one for the history books

The day began with an assembly exploring the benefits of having the knowledge of a foreign language. We learnt that it is not only appreciated in any career choice, but it is also great for the mind, body and spirit as well as being fun! The day continued with lunch where we were lucky enough to have a themed menu with cuisines from all across Europe.

From traditional Spanish delicacies to tasty Eastern European fare, it was a cornucopia of delights! Once our stomachs were full, we were able to take part in the House quiz.

Spain). As the quiz didn’t test our actual knowledge of each language, all year groups could take part with Taverner winning first place. Celebrating the wonder that is a language, during my French and German lessons we feasted on some sweet potato chocolate brownies whilst reminiscing about the culture and how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to learn a language. As Nelson Mandela once said “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.

If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” •

We were questioned on general knowledge of the main European countries (France, Germany, Italy and

Jessie Howard L6SRC

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JUNIOR ROWING U14AS: LONDON HEATS

Our Fourth Year boys and girls raced in Maidstone on 2nd October

The first match against St. John’s Leatherhead started badly; we were 2-0 down when a short corner was given to our benefit. The ball was hit from the top of the ‘D’ by Jasmin Good. It was saved and Izzy Kerr scored on the rebound. St. John’s came back strongly in the second half and soon the score was 6-1. A short corner was given to our benefit again, just as the final whistle blew.

The original hit by Jasmin Good was saved, and Sophie Fairweather deflected the ball into the goal, making the last touch of the game a positive one. The final score was 6-2.

The next match was against Epsom College and we found ourselves 1-0 up when Izzy Kerr scored a rebound goal from a short corner. Lily Mercier scored a deflection off Jasmin Good and soon after, Clara John scored a magnificent shot from a two on one.

The match ended 3-0.

The final match was against Wimbledon High School. After a goal

by Sophie Fairweather, Wimbledon managed to get a goal back making the final score 1-1. Players such as Maria Uria-Kabashima, Sofie Procter and Rosie Callen worked tirelessly up front but we couldn’t force a winner. We qualified for the next stage of the tournament, with the help of Simi Isaacson and Charlotte Cahn making some incredible saves in goal. • Izzy Kerr 3HRL

Following soon after the 70km KGSBC Sponsored Row, the Fourth Year boys and girls went to Maidstone for a race on the Sunday immediately following Open Day (they are a committed bunch!). Successfully completing a narrow and bendy river course of 2.5km in a single or double was a significant achievement for all of them, especially as for most it was also their first-ever race without a cox to steer and command them.

To excited cheers, there were emphatic wins for the boys’ Quad (Finn Farrer, Charlie Stuart, Ben Davies, Alex Furmston and Zil Burkhardt-Dawood) and the girls’ Double (Lily Abbott and Anna Gray). In addition, Oscar Journeaux raced twice, coming second in his single and third in a double; sadly no medals but two great results nonetheless. • Mr R Smalman-Smith Head of Junior Rowing

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