SPRING 2017

Head Master’s IntroductionOver the course of this term – the shortest in the school year – our girls have once again distinguished themselves in their academic studies and their pursuits beyond the classroom. From House debating to the myriad sporting opportunities, from success in university competitions to the long list of experts in their fields they have invited to address them, the girls’ thirst for adventure and discovery knows no bounds. The girls, individually and collectively, are to be congratulated on all that they have contributed to our community; we can all look back with pride on a tremendously successful and energetic term. You can read Mr Nicholson’s Blogs by visiting the Home Page of our website at www.kingshighwarwick.co.uk. Go to Head Master’s Welcome, and click ‘Read More’.

Key DatesSummer Term 2017Staff Inset Day Monday 24 AprilTerm Begins Tuesday 25 AprilBank Holiday Monday 1 MayHalf Term Monday 29 May – Friday 2 June inclusiveEnd of Term Wednesday 12 July (12.15pm)

Autumn Term 2017Staff Inset Day Monday 4 SeptemberInset Day (Staff and attendance Tuesday 5 Septemberfor new Year 7 & Year 12)Term Begins Wednesday 6 SeptemberHalf Term Monday 16 – Friday 27 October inclusiveEnd of Term Friday 15 December (12.15pm)

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World Book Day: Heroes and Villains

The theme for World Book Day was Heroes and Villains. We enjoyed a galaxy of Superheroes, several Katniss Everdeens (feisty heroine of The Hunger Games trilogy), Minnie Mice, Marie Antoinette, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Mad Hatter, and an entire Noah’s Ark, amongst many other fabulous costumes. Photographs of Miss Trunchbull (Jessica Strens), Fantastic Mr Fox (Francesca Mannion), and Tweedles Dum and

Dee (Francesca Marshall and Isabella Jones) were published in the Stratford Herald. Girls enjoyed the World Book Day Quiz, hosted by Quiz Master supreme, Helena Board, and ably assisted by Lucy Doncaster. (They both came dressed as Ms Bradbury, Head of English). Other highlights included English lessons with cake, and the Literary Society’s Bram Stoker-themed Dracula’s Banquet.

EventsFrom the British Library to King’s LibraryWe were delighted to welcome Dame Lynne Brindley, DBE, former Chief Executive of the British Library, and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, to open our refurbished Sixth Form Centre, Library, and our new Innovation Centre. At the British Library, Dame Lynne was in charge of treasures that included Magna Carta, the original manuscripts of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Beowulf and Handel’s Messiah, and the Beatles’ handwritten lyrics. Dame Lynne brought the British Library into the digital age, with the aim

of ‘collecting everything that was born digital.’ Dame Lynne addressed the Hobbs Society in a packed school hall and answered girls’ questions. She spoke about her career path through the worlds of Academia, Business and Culture, and told the girls: ‘The notion of a straight career line is not going to be the future.’ Dame Lynne admired the Innovation Centre, and opened the Sixth Form Centre, which she described as ‘a University space.’ Unveiling the Library plaque, Dame Lynne told the girls, distinguished visitors, Governors and staff: ‘Very few places can boast facilities such as these. It’s wonderful to see the whole ethos here, of girls fulfilling their ambitions and enjoying how to learn. I hope it inspires you to dream your dreams and aim very high. We need your generation to be leaders in Parliament, Law and all our institutions.’

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French students very much enjoyed a cooking demonstration (all in French) with our Senior Chef, Christophe Charpentier. They learned how to make a Tarte Tatin avec Sauce Caramel while M Charpentier told them about life in France, and his passion for cookery. In addition to a wonderful French lesson, the girls enjoyed being able to sample the delicious desserts.

Bon Appétit

This year, there has been a whole-school focus on the importance of embracing new challenges, of taking risks, and developing strategies for the resilience and sustained commitment that is essential to success. As part of this programme, Dr Burley, our new Deputy Head (Academic) delivered an Assembly on the topic of Growth Mindset, an inspiring and important concept based on the research of the American psychologist, Dr Carol Dweck. Growth Mindset is the belief that intelligence, rather than being fixed, develops over time as a result of hard work, resilience, perseverance and a positive outlook. As research has repeatedly shown, this can play a vital role in the learning process, with regard not just to academic progress, but to the development of musical, sporting and other skills, as well. Students were introduced to a range of strategies for promoting Growth Mindset as Dr Burley emphasised the transformative potential of passion and perseverance.

Growth Mindset: the Power of Passion and Perseverance

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Diversity Challenge

Mrs Renton writes: ‘Differences become strengths in a collaborative effort. Over the last few weeks, Key Stage 3 forms have been celebrating the diversity in our community. Each of the thirteen forms created thoughtful and insightful creations, ranging from a four foot Mexican piñata, to a felt pin board encompassing a variety of aspects of diversity. In Assembly, girls spoke eloquently and in different languages, about festivals such as Diwali and Eid and wore a range of beautiful costumes from China, Pakistan, Spain and India. All were impressed with the skill shown in the sitar playing! The core message though was that, with freedom and diversity, comes a need to respect difference. Everyone should be able to feel proud of their background. The girls used the analogy of a box of crayons; each is unique and yet when mixed together, the picture is complete!’

Celebrating Diversity

‘Diversity (meaning from the Cambridge English Dictionary) – The condition or fact of being different or varied. Diversity is also the mixture of races and religions that make up a group of people’.7W decided to produce an event for our ‘King’s High Celebration of Diversity’ competition entry. The

event grew into a charity raising opportunity, with their sweet-filled Piñata one of the highlights (celebrating one of their form’s links to Mexico).

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Competitions and Awards

Anna Brown (Year 8) was delighted to be announced Runner-up in the Warwickshire Young Poet Laureate Competition. This prestigious competition, run by Warwickshire Libraries, is open to Warwickshire school pupils aged 13-17. At 13, Anna was one of the youngest contestants.

She wrote four poems, including one on the theme of ‘Life in Warwickshire’, entitled My Walk to School. The judges were impressed by Anna’s powerful poem, The Refugees. Anna said, ‘I really enjoy writing poetry, experimenting with different forms, and it’s something I always see myself doing. This was a great opportunity.’

Young Poet Laureate

Tenner Challenge

The Biology department award a prize at Speech day in memory of a colleague, Dr McGale, each year. We congratulate Emily Button, Year 9, who has won the McGale Prize for her poster on the endangered Amur Leopard.

McGale Prize

Girls in Key Stage 3 have been working hard and the first girls in each year group gained one of our new King’s Silver Crowns by achieving 25 commendations! These diligent girls were: Freya Laycock (Year 7), Shivanshi Bhatt (Year 8) and Rebecca Martin (Year 9). Sixty-one girls in total across Key Stage 3 have now won theirs!

King’s Silver Crowns

Although this competition is aimed at Year 13 girls, a number of our Year 12 girls participated, with Sarah Chapman winning a silver award and Lucca Hunt winning a bronze award.

Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad Winners

Nineteen girls received awards worth up to £300 each, in this year’s King’s High Personal Achievement Awards. The scheme, run by KHAPS, encourages girls to pursue their out-of-school interests, passions and ambitions. Once again, the standard of entries was very high, and produced a wide range of interesting projects. These include Sophie Foster (Year 9) – A Photography Course; Daisy McDarmaid (Year 9) – En Pointe Ballet Lessons; Francesca Hurley (Year 10) – Private Pilots’ Licence; Lucy Hyde (Year 11) and Lucy Shields (Year 12) – Senior Space School; Felicity Murray (Year 12) – Metalwork and Welding Course; Clarissa Griffin (Year 13) – Phlebotomy Course, and Sophie Hodgson (Year 13) – Swimming Teacher Qualification.

From Photography to Pilots: Personal Achievement Awards

Sarah Chapman has been named as runner-up in the prestigious Annual Foxcroft Essay Writing Competition run by Rugby School. Her essay, Choose one Nobel Prize winning scientist from Chemistry, Physics or Physiology and Medicine, and explain the significance of their work on mankind was based on Wilhelm Roentgen, who discovered X-rays. During the final, Sarah gave a 10 minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of questions from the panel of judges.

Foxcroft Essay Competition Year 9 has entered Young Enterprise’s Tenner Challenge competition for secondary schools. Young Enterprise gives pupils real money to take calculated risks in business: students aged 11-19 are pledged £10, and have one month

to set up a business. Year 9 divided into groups to devise business plans. Girls modified their ideas as they realised what was practical, and showed a canny understanding of their market. A fund-raising fête included a sweet stall, doughnut stall and slime stall. One group wrote a staff play, while another organised a fun Talent Show, which drew a large, enthusiastic audience and ended with Mr Nicholson leading everyone in a Sound of Music karaoke.

The Creative Arts

Girls from across the school have created artwork for the prestigious Never Such Innocence Poetry and Art competition. Never Such Innocence commemorates the First World War, to keep it alive in young peoples’ memories. The competition attracts entries from all around the world, and our girls responded with some moving work in etchings and mixed media.

Never Such Innocence Competition

Art: From Abstract Expressionism to Contemporary Landscape

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Artist’s VisitContemporary Landscape and Portrait Artist (and King’s High parent), Angela Gordon-Webb visited the Art Department, and spoke to Key Stage 4 pupils, Sixth Form girls, and Art Scholars. Angela Gordon-Webb exhibits at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Mall Galleries, Cork Street in London, and at Warwickshire Open Studios. She told the girls about her working life as an artist, her inspiration, and what she tries to portray through her work. She showed them some of her

paintings, and demonstrated a new technique, which included covering primed card with oil paint, then using a cloth to wipe away the negative space, so in fact… painting backwards! Lucy Jeavons (Year 12) was inspired by Mrs Gordon-Webb’s work to try some large, broad-brush landscapes. Pictured (above) is some of the work Lucy produced, painting under timed conditions (10 minutes at a time). ‘It was hard, but it was great fun,’ says Lucy.

Over 60 girls gave a rainbow performance of dance at the Dance Evening at the Bridge House Theatre. Our dancers showcased some stunning Hip-Hop, Contemporary Dance, and Ballet, against a backdrop of shifting colours and light. From the opening dance, a multi-coloured Hip-Hop number, to the final Ballet, Somewhere over the Rainbow, the energy and enjoyment of all our dancers was infectious. Highlights included Altiora, our fine Contemporary Dance group formed by King’s girls and Warwick boys, who gave a captivating and powerful performance – physically and emotionally – and some inspired Contemporary, Hip-Hop and Ballet solos and duets from Olivia Waite, Annabella Pagni, Danielle Flower and Elizabeth Willey, along with some creative ensemble work.

Drama and Dance:Dance Evening in Colour

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Maya Evans (Year 10) writes: ‘Five other King’s girls and I had the pleasure of being able to perform Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s The Visit with Year 9 and 10 boys from Warwick School. Everyone got along very well during the production and rehearsals were filled with lots of fun, as well as perfecting scenes and receiving feedback from our three directors, Mr

Perry, Warwick School’s Director of Drama, King’s Old Girl Flo Hatton and Warwick School pupil Daniel Bainbridge.The opportunity to play Claire Zachanassian, a cold-hearted, unforgiving millionaire, was really fun, but also a challenge, as she is involved in some very serious situations, such as condemning a man to death. The Visit was an amazing experience and it was really interesting to try a very different style of drama from musical theatre productions in which I have previously performed.’

The Visit

Girls continue their love of Drama beyond King’s, with recent Leavers studying Acting, Production, and Design at LAMDA and RADA. King’s High girls are making their mark in the Acting profession in the UK and Hollywood. We now have two King’s Old Girls appearing in Game of Thrones – Sophie Turner and Gemma Whelan. Sophie’s career

extends from the UK to Hollywood feature films, where she is making her mark in the X-Men franchise. Gemma was much praised for her performance as Karen Matthews, in the recent gritty BBC 1 drama, The Moorside. This autumn, Ellise Chappell (The Last Dragonslayer) appears in the new series of Poldark (playing Elizabeth’s cousin).

Acting beyond King’s

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School has echoed to the sounds of LAMDA this term. Over 190 girls do LAMDA at King’s, and a record 183 took their LAMDA exams in Acting, Verse and Prose and Public Speaking. We are delighted that they all gained Distinctions or Merits – continuing last year’s clean sweep of awards. Some of our younger Years 7, 8 and 9 girls performed at the St Valentine’s Tea, an event for prospective pupils and their parents, and girls from across the whole school performed at the LAMDA evening. This is an emotional rollercoaster for the audience, as our LAMDA girls can

switch from Comedy to Pathos, or Tragedy, in a heartbeat. It is always wonderful to see them all deliver such well-considered pieces. This year was Head of LAMDA, Sue Marshall’s last event. Clarissa Griffin, who has trained with Mrs Marshall from Year 7 to Sixth Form, presented her with a bouquet. Mrs Marshall has been responsible for the huge popularity of LAMDA at King’s, and worked closely with our Drama and Music departments over the years. The girls’ performances were a fitting tribute to Mrs Marshall and her team.

LAMDA

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Music: Strings Concert

The Senior String Ensemble opened the Strings Informal Concert with a performance of Por una Cabeza by Gardel, followed by Sarah Chapman (Year 12) playing the First movement of Beethoven’s Spring Sonata. This opening gave everyone an insight into the strings talent at King’s High. This was also the first occasion where the school harpists played and Grace Lloyd (Year 7) gave a lovely rendering of Barn Dance Memory followed by Laura Bawden (Year 9) playing The Cockle Gatherer. The Guitar Ensemble also made a welcome first appearance with two short modern pieces. Cellists were represented by Annabella Pagni, Rosie Harris, Emma West, Jessica Bell and Annabel Wehby in solo and duets, and Violinists by Matilda Harvey, Alexandra Williams and Caitlin Hughes. The newly formed Landor String Quartet presented a piece by Schumann. This was an excellent afternoon, highlighting the opportunities for performance for all string players, and thanks go to Mr Smallwood, Mrs Wallace, Mrs Meteyard and Mrs Todd for their support and encouragement.

Parents, grandparents, family members and friends were entertained by a range of songs from the twenty-two girls who took part in

the Vocal Concert. Many of the pieces were to be performed at Associated Board Examinations the following week, and this concert gave girls the opportunity to perform in front of an audience. Duets from Molly Monksfield and Molly Perkins, and Sharanya Arun and Isabella Abbot Parker, opened and concluded the concert, which included songs from musical theatre, pop and classical genres. Mrs Wallace accompanied on the piano with page-turner, Maddie Burrows, and there was a spirited rendition of All of Me from Beth Woolley, who accompanied herself on the ukulele.

All of Me – Vocal Concert

Our Jazz evening raised the roof with a spectacular concert of works from Gershwin and Ellington to Mancini and Styne to Daft Punk. In a Jazz Café setting, our Jazz Combo, Guitar Ensemble, Brass Quartet, Windband and Bella Cappella played and sang with great style and verve and our soloists on trombone, piano, alto saxophone and flute played with distinction. Our vocal soloists: Isabella Abbot Parker and Wendy Miles captivated their audience, and our Year 7 Rock band, MAC 3, rocked the Café with their original piece, Four Seasons. To top it all off, savoury hors d’oeuvres were provided by our expert catering team.

Jazz Evening

It was evident that our pianists had put a good deal of time into learning their pieces for the Piano Concert in the Studio. The concert began with Sonata in E by Scarlatti, played by Jinny Du, and included works by Nystedt, Joplin and Wedgwood, as well as Boyce, Schumann and Mendelssohn. Thanks to Mrs Wallace who organised this concert, which provided an opportunity for works to be played in an informal setting.

Piano Concert

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Who better for our girls to Samba with than the team behind the World’s Largest Samba Band? Year 10 GCSE music students had a fantastic World Music workshop with Mike Simpson, of Inspire-works. Mike and his team are Guinness World Record holders for the World’s Largest Samba Band, following a performance with schoolchildren in the Royal Albert Hall that featured on BBC Blue Peter. Year 10 enjoyed their own exclusive, one-to-one session with Mike, and demonstrated they are Samba no pé! (‘Samba naturals’, in Carnival-speak).

Samba no pé!

Following several days of intensive rehearsals in London, Isabella Abbot Parker (Year 12) performed with Esa-Pekka Salonen, one of the world’s great Conductors, and the London Philharmonia – one of the world’s great Orchestras – at the Royal Festival Hall. Izzy sings with the prestigious Rodolfus Choir, who performed the Wordless Choir in Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé. Izzy remarked: ‘This was a challenging, but very exciting piece to perform, with

the choir sometimes singing behind our hands or humming, in order to create a suitably ethereal effect for Ravel’s story of a Greek shepherd boy and girl who fall in love, set in a world of nymphs, gods, and pirates.’ The concert, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3, included the UK premiere of Stravinsky’s recently discovered Funeral Song (previously thought lost in the Russian Revolution).

Performing with the London Philharmonia

The audience enjoyed a Lenten treat with a performance of the Verdi Requiem given by the Canticum choir. Canticum is comprised of parents and friends with an association to the Foundation, augmented by students from Warwick School and King’s High School, and accompanied by the Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra. The evening also

featured the Foundation Orchestra, conducted by Mr Simon Hogg, performing works by Shostakovich and Copland.

An Evening of Music at the Warwick Hall

STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths

Talk Science

A group of Sixth Formers meet weekly to talk about science. They have watched Ted Talks on topics including: ‘A temporary tattoo that brings hospital care to the home’, and ‘How Baby Diapers inspired a new way to study the brain’. Girls have also tackled some of the NRich material from Cambridge University and have given EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) presentations.

Focus on Year 7

What do Brussels Sprouts have to do with Science? Quite a lot, as Year 7 Science Club discovered. They performed experiments, comparing the vitamin content of freshly squeezed – and carton – fruit and vegetable juices, and boiled Brussels Sprouts to measure the vitamin C content of vegetable water. On discovering that boiling released vitamins into the surrounding water, the girls sensibly concluded that it is probably healthier to discard over-cooked sprouts, pinch your nose, and drink the water!

Birmingham Mathematics Circle

Two Year 10 girls, Maya Dhillon and Cecilia Morel, spent two days at Aston University, studying how the Maths they learn at school can be applied to new, sometimes surprising, situations. They were part of the Birmingham Mathematics Circle, overseen by The UK Mathematics Trust.

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The Institute for Public Policy Research reveals that most girls in the UK have opted out of Science by the age of 16. Not at King’s High, where 79% of our Sixth@King’s girls study at least one STEM subject (compared with 55% in Girls’ Schools Association schools). Girls are involved with STEM subjects throughout their time at King’s. In the past few weeks alone, girls have been involved in the following:Birmingham Mathematics Circle • Year 7 Science Club • Ted Talks • Cambridge University NRich • Solving Science with Sixth Formers • Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad • Science Journal Club • Biology Stop Motion Videos • Materials Science Taster at Oxford University • Rugby School Foxcroft Essay Competition • Café Scientifique • Science in Action • Clare College, Cambridge STEM Workshops • Producing a Documentary on the Northern Lights for Extended Project Qualification • Designing and building model wind turbines in Engineering • Biology McGale Prize • Award-winning Young Enterprise Teams designing and making products.

Computer Science

Year 8 have made presentations on different aspects of computer systems, and held a mini Scientific Research Fair. Earlier this term, girls studying IGCSE Computer Science visited the historic Code-Breaking huts at Bletchley Park – their visit was retweeted on Twitter by GCHQ and the Cabinet Office!

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This year, we introduced Engineering into our Year 8 curriculum. Every girl has a double period a week, and they are currently preparing an Energy Resources Research Project,

deciding which methods of generating electricity the UK should use in the next 20-50 years. They are working on their presentation skills, alongside their designs and products. They will produce a ‘White Paper’, taking into consideration issues such as environmental impact, and economic benefits.

Engineering

Year 7 raised over £200 for our charity appeal with their imaginative St Valentine’s-themed stalls. Key Stage 3’s Charities are the Fibromyalgia Association, Breast Cancer UK, British Heart Foundation, and Pancreatic Cancer. These were chosen after very brave and moving presentations by girls who are directly affected by the illnesses these charities support. Year 9 have planned lots of innovative activities in their Springboard lessons, which we look forward to supporting.

We were delighted to welcome Dr Aric Sigman to talk to Years 7 and 10 on the subject of Screen Time Dependency. The girls were captivated by his talk and the manner in which he looked at how they control their screen time. Parents from across the Foundation Schools were given the benefit of his insights through his talk on Parenting the Demanding Generation.

Dr Aric Sigman

Two Year 12 scientists took the opportunity to attend Oxbridge Science Taster days this term. Lucy Ellwood attended the Materials Science Taster Day at Oxford University and Sarah Chapman participated in a Chemistry Masterclass at Corpus Christi, Cambridge.

University Science Taster Days

Café Scientifique, the informal science society run by girls for girls, discusses areas of interest and invites external speakers. They welcomed visiting experts Dr Armstrong and Dr Davies on the Search for Exoplanets and Nanotechnology, and presented their own papers on subjects, including Fluid Mechanics and X-Rays.

Café Scientifique

Pastoral Forum

Philanthropy

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Collaboration and Outreach

Young Enterprise – West Midlands Winners

Our Young Enterprise companies, comprising Sixth@King’s girls and Warwick boys, are on fire. Team Azure were the Overall Winners in the West Midlands at the Young Enterprise National Trade Fair in Stratford-upon-Avon. The Judges commented on their excellent teamwork. Azure have created, developed and produced a children’s storybook, introducing Modern Foreign Languages to pre-schoolers. Bubba’s Big Adventure is a colourful storybook that gives small children some simple, foreign words. (Miss Carney, Head of Sixth@King’s, bought a copy for her nieces, and says it was a

big hit with them). Teams Vinci and Reflect also did well with their stalls. Vinci are selling their ingenious ‘Pack a Punch’ (a hole punch that fits into a file), and Reflect have their My First… Scrapbook product – a clever take on the vogue for scrapbooking. The week before, teams attended the Young Enterprise Trade Fair in Leamington. When footfall was slow in The Royal Priors Shopping Centre, teams took the initiative and went out, Apprentice-style, to sell directly to the public. We were proud to see the excellent coverage our companies received in The Courier.

The Foundation Family – King’s High and Warwick School

Over the last 10 years, more than 500 King’s High School girls have taken and passed the European Computer Driving Licence – an internationally recognised qualification in IT User skills. This year, the King’s High Computing and ICT department extended the opportunity to Warwick School boys to also undertake the qualification as part of their Friday Afternoon Activities Programme. Chris Short and James Pigden are the first two boys to complete their ECDL Qualification at King’s. Both of them working incredibly hard to finish it in record time!

King’s ECDL Welcomes Warwick Boys

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King’s has developed an exciting initiative for Year 5 and Year 10 pupils in partnership with Clare College, Cambridge. As Warwickshire is one of Clare College’s link areas, along with Tower Hamlets and Hackney, the college is keen to develop links with primary and secondary school pupils, building on a very successful scheme as part of a wider Gifted and Talented programme in London. As their link school in Warwickshire, we are delighted to host a series of workshops, for each year group, which are a part of a programme which engages pupils with our staff and PhD students from Clare. For the final session, in the two series, we will be taking the pupils to spend a day at Clare College, Cambridge. Year 10 King’s girls joined with other students from local schools, as part of the Year 10 Young Scholars’ Programme, to explore subjects such as Development Studies. The girls engaged with Clare PhD students, considering topics such as Gender Politics and Peppa Pig and Fake News – Think What I Say, Say What I Like, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press.

Clare College, Cambridge: Young Scholars

Workshops for next term will include Masterclasses in Art, Drama and PE. We look forward to welcoming the English Speaking Union back to King’s on 16 June for a day-long Find Your Voice Workshop.

Five for Five: Summer Term Workshops

We welcomed 30 Year 5 pupils from visiting schools to a Science Workshop, as part of our Outreach Five for Five Programme. The girls tested fruit juices for vitamin C. They really progressed in terms of practical skills and suggested applications for their findings, for example, thinking about which fruits to give elderly people, or toddlers.

Five for Five: Science Workshop

The Foundation Family – King’s High and Warwick Prep

The Warwick School playing fields and the King’s Netball courts were filled with girls from schools across the region for two of Warwick Prep’s highly anticipated annual invitational events: The Warwick Prep Cross Country Meet and The Warwick Prep Netball Tournament. We were delighted to support them with the inauguration of the King’s Awards. Mr Nicholson presented the King’s Trophy and plates to the winning team and the runners-up team for each event:

• Cross Country Winners: Carrdus School• Cross Country Runners-up: Spratton Hall

School• Netball A Team Winners: Bedford Prep

School• Netball A Team Runners-up: Maltman’s

Green School• Netball B/Small Schools Team Winners:

Thunderbirds Netball Club• Netball B/Small Schools Team

Runners-up: Maltman’s Green School

Warwick Prep Sports Events

Warwick Prep Upper One girls visited King’s for a Science Workshop. Amongst other topics, they looked at which fruit juice would be most effective in preventing scurvy in pirates.

Best Vitamin Source for Pirates

Collaboration beyond King’s

Trips

We were delighted to welcome another group from our exchange school in Lüneburg at the beginning of March. They were hosted by their exchange partners in Year 9 and Year 10. Part of their programme included time in school to see what life at an English school is like. They commented on the uniform and the relaxed atmosphere between pupils and teachers. They also spent days in London and Stratford and visited Warwick Castle. At the weekend, they were entertained by their host families. We are looking forward to seeing them again on the return leg of the exchange in the May Half Term holiday. We would like to thank host families for their kind hospitality and for making the exchange a success.

German Exchange 2017

World War I Battlefields

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The World War One Battlefields Trip took Years 9 and 10 girls on a journey through the First World War. Our Year 10 representatives, Emma Cooley, Imogen Moore, and Olivia Pigden, were privileged to lay a wreath on behalf of King’s at the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate.

The girls visited Tyne Cot Cemetery, Langemark German Cemetery, the Lochnagar Crater, Vancouver Corner (where gas was first used), Vimy Ridge, and the Ring of Remembrance, which lists the names of every single known Allied soldier who lost his life fighting in Northern France. There was a particular

focus this year on the development of medicine and surgery in the trenches, casualty clearing, and advanced dressing stations, (which ties in with the new GCSE unit on Medicine through Time). The girls followed a soldier’s journey, from his initial wounding at the Sunken Road on the Somme, through to being carried behind the lines for treatment, to his eventual grave. Miss Carney, Head of Sixth@King’s, said, ‘The girls were incredible. They were not only attentive, engaged and fascinated by the stories they were told, but asked wonderfully searching questions regarding the causes and events of this tragic conflict.’

Careers

King’s parent Mrs Helen Keays returned to school for a ‘Careers Breakfast’ presentation on interview skills designed to help Sixth Formers prepare for both application to university and job interviews. Mrs Keays works as a non-executive director of the Domino’s Pizza Group, with Communisis and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. The students did indeed benefit from her pertinent guidance on answer technique and on the fine-tuning of presentation skills to ensure success.

Presentation on Interview Skills and Preparation

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The first ‘Careers Breakfast’ was launched this term by our distinguished guest, Barrister and Old Girl, Emily MacKenzie. Emily enthused the Sixth Form with her dynamic and ambitious approach as she urged them to aspire to the heights of professions and to be steadfast and strong in their convictions; she even offered advice on the construction of the perfect email, a skill that is now essential in life to engender responsiveness to requests. During a ‘Careers Lunch’ in Landor Library Emily talked specifically to students about her work in Chambers, citing the nature of certain cases that she had

recently taken on. She also spoke of the flexibility of being self-employed. Emily has kindly volunteered to answer students’ questions via email; two Sixth Formers have already grasped this kindly-offered opportunity.

First Careers Breakfast

King’s Links: University of Manchester

In January, our ‘King’s Links’ programme took girls in Years 10-12 to its third destination, University of Manchester. Twenty-six girls took this ideal opportunity to talk over lunch with our most recent Old Girls about their university experiences. Grace Bridgewater is in her second year studying Politics & International Relations; Rebecca Crummett is a first year

Zoology student; and Harriet Shearman is in the third year of her degree in Medicine. This was followed by a tour of the campus and then some time to explore the city centre. Our next King’s Links trip will be to the University of Bristol on 29 April. A trip to universities in London is planned for the autumn term.

Old Girl Rose Soame, an undergraduate at Nottingham, returned to King’s to address our Sixth@King’s MedSoc and younger girls interested in studying medicine. Rose encouraged the girls to research opportunities within the medical profession as a doctor or as a researcher, as she demonstrated, with intriguing factual evidence, the reasons why top jobs in the industry were mostly occupied by male employees. Her vibrant enthusiasm and superb overview was highly enlightening, both for pupils and the members of staff in the audience.

Talk by Old Girl Rose Soame on Medicine

Year 12 students and their parents attended the King’s’ Higher Education Evening in January. The evening was to kick-start the UCAS Cycle that is a key part within the Years 12 -13 Careers Calendar. Feedback from students and parents certainly indicated that they had found the presentations by the following speakers most informative: • Iwan Hopkins, School Liaison Officer from the University of Cardiff, delivered a presentation on the best ways to prepare a University

application and on effective research methods into courses to ensure informed decisions are being made. • Ms Bradbury, Oxbridge Co-ordinator, offered pertinent advice to potential Oxbridge applicants, stressing that in-depth preparation

and utmost thought are required throughout the process. • Mrs Coplestone-Crow, Head of Careers, encouraged the students to adhere to internal, as well as external, deadlines and to read

the extensive information available in the King’s High Sixth Form Careers Handbook and Information Leaflet and in the well-stocked Careers Areas in the Sixth Form Centre and School Library, as well as using the internet based resources, such as ‘Help-online’.

Encouragement was given to students to fully utilise the individual advice that is available from our expert team of advisors and personal tutors, so that their cohort can follow in the steps of the Year 13 Leavers in gaining an impressive success rate in securing places at their first and second choice universities. The Careers Team very much look forward to guiding our Sixth Form students through the application processes.

Year 12 Higher Education Evening

Our Key Stage 3 STEM Group has been fortunate to hear two inspirational Engineering talks this term. Engineers from a global firm, as well as one who runs his own business, were eagerly anticipated and our girls asked insightful questions. The engineers from MWH, founded in 1820, spoke of the company’s depth which includes engineering, construction, and management of some of the largest and most technically advanced water, hydropower, mining and transportation projects and is now part of Stantec. It was clear that the organisation’s drive to help manage water purity and availability in a sustainable fashion was making a huge difference to people’s lives across the world. Mr Brendan Watts addressed our Key Stage 3 STEM Group with an overview about the great variety of work within the engineering profession. Mr Watts has extremely wide experience within the industry, including working for a marine survey company making products to help map the oceans and also in building a business, over the past 18 years, making products to research and improve steering and safety of cars. He highlighted that each project involves different teams and so one can be working with many other disciplines.

Engineering Careers Talks

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Medic Mentors is an on-going King’s High initiative whereby aspiring medics can filter questions to Old Girls who work within the medical profession. The Alumnae provide specific and individualised advice. The members of our keen MedSoc team are eagerly grasping the opportunity to benefit from such superb and bespoke expertise to help them in their research and preparation for their applications to medical schools.

Medic Mentors

SportStop the Presses! Very hearty congratulations to our Year 7 County Netball Champions! The King’s tradition continues to flourish with their winning games against Kingsley, Stratford Girls’ Grammar, Bilton Grange and Higham Lane.

The King’s High Sports Bonanza ContinuesFrom the pitch to the pool, our girls have been representing the school, competing with many schools around the Midlands. Some recent achievements include:• Five out of six County Netball Championships • County Champions – U15 Hockey • County Champions – U15 Netball • National Water Polo Finalists – U15 • County Seven-Aside Champions and Midlands Finalists –

U13 Hockey • Quarter-Finalists, National Independent Schools Hockey

Championships • Overall winners, Warwick 100s Swim Gala • Masterclass at WASPS Netball • Selection for Warwickshire Under 18 Tennis • County Restricted gold medallists – Badminton • Trophy winners (and record-breakers) at Bromsgrove

Invitational Swim Relays • Cross Country runners selected for Warwickshire • Dench House win first Inter-House Swimming Competition• First Inter-House Hockey and Netball Competitions • Fencing at new competition in Birmingham • Qualified for Youth European Sailing Championship

Hockey U15 Hockey County ChampionsWell done to the whole squad for clinching the County Championship against Kingsley, Princethorpe, King Henry VIII and Bablake.

U13 Hockey County ChampionsOur girls triumphed over Bablake and King Henry VIII, and drew with Princethorpe, to become the County Champions. Congratulations!

U13 County Mini Hockey ChampionsThe team remained unbeaten with wins over Princethorpe, King Henry VIII and Bablake and drawing against Stratford Girls’ Grammar to become County Champions. Well played, girls!

And from the earlier part of the season:

U18 Hockey County TournamentOur First XI finished third in the County tournament, defeating Bablake, and drawing with Princethorpe.

U16 Hockey Midlands FinalistsA brilliant performance in the Midlands Zone round ensured our girls’ qualification for the Midlands Finals, where they finished in the top six teams.

U14 Hockey County ChampionsMore congratulations to our County Champions who were assured a place in the Midlands Zone.

U14 Hockey Midlands FinalsThe girls played brilliantly against some excellent competitors to finish third in their group and joint fifth in the Region. Well done!

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TAP Girls SoarAt King’s, sport is for all, from a recreational activity, to team events at School, Year group and House level. We are also proud to support elite sport alongside top academic performance through our Talented Athletes Programme, and dedicated PE team. Recent individual successes include Eva Healy, selected for the Warwickshire Under 18 Tennis Team (at the age of 14!), Lucy Smith, sixth nationally at 60m Indoor Hurdles, and Charlotte Rockett, ranked sixth Junior in the UK in her Sailing class, and heading for the Youth European Championship.

Clay Pigeon ShootingClay Shooting Teams Victorious

King’s High’s Clay Shooting teams are repeating last season’s storming form. King’s won the Rugby School Challenge competition, beating Tudor Hall, among other schools. Chloe Goulbourne was the highest scoring girl shooter of the competition. We now have three sisters competing together! – Chloe, Charlotte and Cassie (pictured). The teams won First and Second on what proved to be a difficult course at the Warwick School Challenge competition. After a thrilling shoot-off with her arch-rival from Bloxham, Charlotte was declared the highest scoring girl, with Chloe the third highest.

NetballU15 Netball County Champions

Our U15s played exceptionally well, and fully deserved to beat Higham Lane in the Final, to win the County Championship. This crowned a great few weeks, as many of the team are also County Hockey Champions, and reached the Quarter Finals of the National Independent Schools Cup.

NetballU13 County Netball Champions

Our U13 players beat Stratford Girls’ Grammar, St Thomas More, Higham Lane and Bilton Grange, before going on to a nail biting final against Princethorpe, winning 10-9.

Masterclass at WASPS Netball

Girls on the Talented Athletes Programme (TAP) joined our County players from Years 7-9 for an afternoon at the Ricoh Arena with the Wasps Netball Team. Tamsin Greenway, Director of WASPS Netball, has built up a star-studded team, and the girls had coaching from the players, including WASPS goal shooter and England International, Rachel Dunn. Rachel gave the girls lots of tips about shooting and answered all their questions, telling our shooters that they should all put up 100 shots a day! The girls had many opportunities to test their skills and they even got to play on the official netball court.

School Games NetballYear 7 won Level 2 School Games Netball.

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Badminton

Faith Christopherson and Ahbirami Sabanadesan won Gold medals for County Restricted Badminton and along with Emily Skillett and Grace Harvey came third at Level 3 Warwickshire Games Badminton.

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FencingAbigail Hunt and Emily Syson participated in the Independent Schools Fencing Championships. They gained valuable experience, and thoroughly enjoyed their couple of days perfecting their parry and riposte moves.

Skiing King’s High skiers hit the slopes, as six teams participated in the Birmingham & South Midlands Schools’ Ski Race in Birmingham. As Caroline Gilbert, Head of PE, said, ‘This is the first time we have entered ski races, with the intention of starting local, and going global!’

Water PoloU15 Water Polo

Congratulations to our U15 Water Polo team for coming fourth in the Country at the National Waterpolo Finals.

Cross CountryCross Country Victories plus NationalCounty Selections Our congratulations to Evie Thompson who finished ninth at Warwickshire Schools Cross Country and has now been selected as a first Reserve for Warwickshire for the English Schools Cross Country Championships. There were also good runs from Constance Hodge, Gigi Thomas and Maya Sanghera to complete the junior girls team and finish joint fourth team overall. Georgie Cassell finished 10th in the minor girls race, Daisy Nicolle finished 18th in the inter girls race. Our congratulations to Georgie who has been selected to represent Warwickshire at the National Year 7 Cross Country Championships.

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SwimmingU13 Trophy Winners and Record Breakers

Our U13 swimmers powered their way through the Bromsgrove Prep Invitational Swimming Relays to win both the Medley Relay Final and the Freestyle Final. It was a fantastic performance and they broke the current record (previously held by – King’s High!).

U14 Winning Warwick 100s Gala

Our Under 14 swimming team won at the Warwick 100’s Gala, and the Combined Team were winners overall, beating teams from around the Midlands, including Bedford, Bromsgrove and Northampton.

Gymnastics and Hip-Hop

Parents and friends were treated to wonderful performances by our Gymnastics and Hip-Hop enthusiasts. The Gymnastics portion of the evening culminated with a perfectly poised pyramid and a series of mini-trampoline leaps over five to six girls which brought gasps of awe from the audience. The Hip-Hop dancers were resplendent in rainbow tie-dyed tee-shirts and grooved to the songs with flash moves. Danielle Flower gave a solo performance which had the audience tapping along.

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Houses

We are sponsoring two Social Media House competitions over the Easter holidays.

Twitter: The House which obtains the highest number of Twitter followers for @KHSWarwick (both new and current

followers) will receive 50 House pointsFacebook: The House which obtains the most Facebook followers and likes (both new and current) for our Facebook

page: King’s High School, Warwick, will receive 50 House points.

To enter:Ask your friends and family to follow us and/or like us and bring in a screen shot of each one to your form teacher on 25 April, adding your name and your House to each page. Your teacher will give them to the Marketing department. We will then tally up all of our new Followers and Likes and announce the winner within two weeks.Thank you and good luck!

House Competition – Social Media

Dench, Hepburn, Pankhurst, and Rowling Houses

It has been a busy term for the Houses in school. Sporting events included a Swimming Gala and Inter-House Netball and Hockey matches for girls in Key Stage 3. The sun shone on both Saturdays for the matches and the girls competed well, showing the right balance of competitiveness and team camaraderie. We have also been busy planning our House Drama Events which will take place next term. The girls have been set the challenge of developing a sketch which shows ‘Life at King’s High’. We are proud of our Junior and Deputy Heads of Drama, as they have taken the lead in writing and directing these pieces. We look forward to seeing the girls take to the stage in May.

Debating is another important skill which has been introduced at House level. It commenced with an amusing Assembly presented by the Staff Heads of House in character – Dame Judi Dench, Audrey Hepburn, Emmeline Pankhurst and J K Rowling. They had to persuade the audience why they should not be thrown out of a hot air balloon. This was followed up by our Sixth Form Heads of House who adopted a range of characters and tried to stay in the hot air balloon.

SIXTH@KING’S

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The Landor Dining Society welcomed it first speaker of 2017 when Mrs Amanda Campbell (Head of Communications and PR at Intu and a director on a FTSE 100 Board) came and spoke about her career journey, what it is like to work in a big company in central London and how to manage the competing demands of home life and work. Sixth Formers were treated to a delightful three course meal, after which Mrs Campbell delivered an inspirational 20 minute talk which was full of wisdom, insight and encouragement. Our second dinner of this term featured Guest Speaker Ms Asha Devi, Associate Director, Programme & Project Management at Arup Group. Ms Devi is leading the Arup team on Project One Campus. An Engineer, Ms Devi spoke inspirationally about her vast experience leading major projects across the globe.

Landor Dining Society

King’s girls and Warwick boys thoroughly enjoyed the launch of Café Philo. Emily Boorman was an excellent discussion chair, with Saffron Rai and Constance Powell providing plenty of points to stimulate debate. They made certain the KS3 students were included. Emails outlining upcoming topics, such as Is Political Correctness Politically Correct?, are sent to girls in advance, thus giving them a chance to prepare and gather ideas to bring to discussions, should they wish.

The debate was lively and included lots of talk of Democracy, Brexit, Trump’s appointees, his use of Twitter, his use of Executive Orders (which had been discussed during that day’s Politics lesson), as well as an MP’s responsibilities and whether this should always be his or her constituency first, whether it should be the party line or whether their own morals or personal views should always lead them to their final position. Very interesting, and contributions from most students!

Sixth@King’s SocietiesWe have seen the launch of Café Philo, which will be the focus point of debates and discussions on a range of philosophical questions. Girls have been busy creating new societies, such as the school’s own branch of the National Council of Young Women, and the Journalism Society, which is launching a magazine to enter in the Shine Media Awards.

Café Philo: Democracy, Brexit and President Trump

SIXTH@KING’S

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This year, one of the school’s leading academic societies has been run by Year 12 pupils for the first time. The Hobbs Society, named after Dr Angie Hobbs, the Society’s first speaker last year, invites leading professionals from all areas of expertise to share their experience and wisdom with the girls in the format of a brief presentation followed by informal discussion. The Hobbs buffet lunches have become very successful events in the school calendar – the combination of exciting speakers and delicious food has proven extremely popular! In the autumn term, Jess Jeetly MBE, came to speak to Years 10 to 13 about her career in the fashion industry. Dame Lynne Brindley inspired girls from across all year groups with her fascinating experiences as Chair of the British Library and an Oxford college master.

Hobbs Society

Old Girl Caroline Fox, MBE

Katie Arnell, Eleanor King-Turner, Dr Burley and girls from the Hobbs Society welcomed Old King’s girl, Caroline Fox, MBE back to King’s. Caroline received her MBE from The Queen for Services to Women in Science, through her work with Imperial College’s Athena Project, and Oxford University’s Women in Science. Caroline’s work is nationally recognised throughout the UK University sector as the standard in enabling women scientists and engineers to have good career paths in a hitherto male dominated world. Over the years, Caroline has devised methods, such as mentoring, and sharing experiences through video interviews, to help women embrace – and stay with – careers in Science. Before her talk, Caroline chatted informally with the girls (giving them some very useful University advice), and showed them her MBE. She told them: ‘I’m a late starter – I was 71 before I got this!’

Charlie Lee-Potter

The Hobbs Society much enjoyed discussing Novels, Media and Wisdom with Charlie Lee-Potter, distinguished journalist, broadcaster and BBC Radio 4 Presenter (PM, The World at One, Open Book).

Dr Sophie Cox

Sixth@King’s was delighted to welcome Dr Sophie Cox, a chemical engineer at Birmingham University, who works on the development of new materials and manufacturing methods for tissue regeneration – an excellent cross-over between biology, chemistry and physics. Dr Cox is the personification of STEM in action.

Dr Agyapong-Badu

The Hobbs Society was fascinated to hear of the studies of Dr Agyapong-Badu who is a physiotherapy researcher from the University of Birmingham. Dr Agyapong-Badu gave the girls a

thought-provoking talk about the physical effects of sitting.

Lara Melda

Lara Melda, an international concert pianist and previous winner of BBC Young Musician of the year, (she won at the age of 16 in 2010), spoke to the girls about life in the spotlight as a professional musician.

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SIXTH@KING’S

We congratulate the following girls on gaining places at Oxford. Anna Ellwood is going to read Geography at Mansfield College; Lucy Evans, Music at St Anne’s and Jintong Du will read History, most likely at Lincoln College. Anna received her acceptance, via email, when she was sitting in the Sixth Form Common Room. She says ‘I was so amazed, all I could do was grab my friend!’ Recalling the process, Lucy Evans writes: ‘Having completed the taxing task of perfecting my UCAS form, I was thrilled to receive an invitation to interview at Oxford, a period which proved to be one of my most academically challenging experiences to date. I attended four interviews at St Hilda’s, St Anne’s, Somerville,

and St John’s, all of which required me to present ideas about pieces of music I had never seen or heard before (for example, to analyse the form of a Beethoven sonata for string quartet); discuss the philosophies of music (such as the difference between music and ‘musicking’); and respond to questions about music on a global scale (“Should we continue to separate western music and what is known as ‘world music’?”). Other tasks of the week included a harmony test and an audition. I was so pleased to receive an offer from St Anne’s, and the continual updates about student information that I receive make me all the more excited at the prospect of going.’

Going Up To Oxford

The design work for the development of the five new buildings and master plan is progressing well. Senior staff at King’s High School, Warwick Prep School and Warwick School have continued to provide valuable input to the development of teaching spaces and play areas. The internal arrangements of a number of spaces such as the library and dining areas have been further developed and the

images provide an indication of how these spaces might look when they are built in the main school building. The Council has undertaken a consultation period on the planning application for POC and we await an update on progress with the application. Subject to achieving planning, the project is scheduled to start on site this summer.

Project One Campus Update