12603 KHS Jan Newsletter:newsletter - King's High
12603 KHS Jan Newsletter:newsletter - King's High
12603 KHS Jan Newsletter:newsletter - King's High
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School Trips and Successes<br />
Hockey tour to Spain.<br />
Trip to Spain<br />
Visiting Parc Astérix during the trip to France.<br />
Trip to France<br />
Half term trip to Germany.<br />
German Exchange<br />
The U16 and U18 hockey teams enjoyed<br />
a hockey tour to Spain during half term.<br />
Spain is one of the leading hockey playing<br />
nations, so our girls faced a really tough<br />
challenge. After a successful round of<br />
matches, our two teams spent some time<br />
out, visiting Barcelona and a theme park<br />
and enjoying a well earned rest on the<br />
beach at Sitges, where they were staying.<br />
The dramatic Barcelona skyline.<br />
Yr 8 girls and French A2 sixth form<br />
students enjoyed Paris in the Autumn<br />
time, staying at the Château de Grande<br />
Romaine, near Paris, on a PGL organised<br />
trip. The girls participated in local<br />
excursions as well as outdoor activities at<br />
the base. Days out included a visit to Parc<br />
Astérix for some fun rollercoaster rides, a<br />
trip to the Château de Fontainbleau and a<br />
morning at a local market, where the girls<br />
practised their French. The girls also spent<br />
a day in Paris, where they climbed the<br />
Eiffel Tower and took a Seine river cruise<br />
on a Bateau Mouche.<br />
Our first exchange with our new German<br />
partner school began in July last year,<br />
when 28 German students came to stay<br />
in Warwick, experiencing school and<br />
family life in England. The exchange<br />
concluded in the Autumn, when 25 girls<br />
and 3 members of staff went to<br />
Luneburg. The King’s <strong>High</strong> visitors<br />
received a warm welcome from their host<br />
families and enjoyed a successful week<br />
engaging in numerous activities at school<br />
and within the area. They enjoyed a<br />
variety show organised by the host<br />
school, sightseeing tours in Luneburg and<br />
Hamburg, a boat trip, a visit to Bremen’s<br />
science museum and a trip to the modern<br />
art exhibition in Hamburg.<br />
Clay Pigeon Shooting –<br />
Heart of England<br />
Championships<br />
Despite truly awful weather conditions<br />
the King’s <strong>High</strong> clay pigeon shooting team<br />
reigned supreme last term, winning the<br />
Team event at the Heart of England<br />
Championships on 18th November.<br />
Remarkably, all three girls came joint<br />
second, with identical scores, in the<br />
Individual event!<br />
.<br />
The winning team: Annabel<br />
Kishor, Vicky Bleasdale and<br />
Pippa Wassall.<br />
ISSP Yr 7 Quantum Theatre<br />
Year 7 girls enjoyed a dynamic Quantum<br />
Theatre production on Electricity, held at<br />
Myton School in November, as part of the<br />
Independent State School Partnership<br />
(ISSP) programme of collaboration<br />
between state and independent schools in<br />
Warwick. Facts about electricity were<br />
presented in a lively and dramatic way,<br />
making science fun, and resulting in an<br />
enjoyable and informative event for all<br />
who took part.<br />
Bringing electricity to life: the<br />
ISSP Quantum Theatre.<br />
Well done to our U16<br />
hockey champions!<br />
Our U16 hockey team were crowned<br />
Warwickshire County Champions last<br />
term after winning both the Indoor and<br />
Outdoor Hockey titles. Not content with<br />
this outstanding achievement, they went<br />
on to win the Rugby Super Sixes<br />
competition as well!<br />
The County Indoor Hockey Tournament in<br />
November saw the King’s <strong>High</strong> team beat<br />
Princethorpe College and Bablake School<br />
to secure a place in the semi-final, where<br />
they then beat King Henry VIII School<br />
before emerging victorious against<br />
Bablake School in the final. The team<br />
went on to represent Warwickshire at the<br />
Midlands Hockey finals later on in<br />
November, where against stiff<br />
competition they missed out narrowly on<br />
going through to the National Finals.<br />
Congratulations to our County Champions<br />
on a real team effort!
king’s high<br />
news<br />
Spring 2008<br />
Les Misérables:<br />
a week to remember.<br />
This stunning production was unique: not only did it match the verve and<br />
professionalism of the West End stage, it did so with a panache, vitality and<br />
freshness that was unmatchable. The capacity audiences were moved to<br />
experience all the emotions stirred by the performances on the London stage<br />
but with the added dimension of seeing our own young people taking the<br />
well-known parts and singing the familiar songs.<br />
The company had been in rehearsal for many long and full weeks, and the directors from<br />
King’s <strong>High</strong> and Warwick School had worked with incredible imagination, dedication and<br />
stamina to mount this ambitious production. The barricades were raised again in the Bridge<br />
House Theatre and the stirring revolutionary spirit (and very convincing ’lovely ladies’ and<br />
visionary young men) invaded the theatre with excellent performances from every principal<br />
and every member of the cast. For musicians, actors, the technical crew, directors and all<br />
involved this huge undertaking was a triumph long to be remembered.<br />
www.kingshighwarwick.co.uk
Changes at King’s<br />
Personalised cakes at the Tea Party.<br />
The famous banana assembly.<br />
Mrs Russell with, from left to right, her mother, ex-<strong>King's</strong><br />
Headmistress Mrs Anderson (background) and Mrs Surber.<br />
Flowers for Mrs Russell.<br />
Farewell to our Deputy Headmistress,<br />
Mrs Russell,1989 – 2007.<br />
One last joke, one final gesture of support: Goodbye Mrs Russell.<br />
The tributes to Caroline Russell resonated with reminiscences of<br />
her indefatigable sense of humour and her infinite capacity to give<br />
sympathy and strength where it was needed.<br />
Old girls and former members of staff at tea on Saturday 15<br />
December and the prefects in the assembly of 18 December told<br />
of their affection, their escapades and their enduring memories of<br />
dramatised lessons and role played scenarios.<br />
The school knows by heart the story of the recalcitrant light<br />
switch and the washerwoman’s change of costume, and rejoiced<br />
at the antics of ‘Five e-mails’ in the staff’s final song.<br />
Mrs Russell herself wanted the school to hear her favourite Bach<br />
Double violin concerto played by two sixth formers, and ‘I<br />
dreamed a dream’ and a Gilbert and Sullivan sung by three more<br />
girls.<br />
Because it is the girls she so cares about: a cameo ‘Russell<br />
moment’ was when, after her final assembly and before the school<br />
had left, a University applicant approached her to return a book<br />
Mrs Russell had lent. ’Did you enjoy it? It’s good, isn’t it?’ said Mrs<br />
Russell, a note of potential intellectual engagement in her voice.<br />
Mrs Surber, Mrs Prance and Miss Court wished Mrs Russell ‘a<br />
happy retirement‘ on the staff’s behalf at a final luncheon after<br />
the Carol Service. The assembled Governors drank her health after<br />
a toast proposed by chairmen past and present, John Francis and<br />
<strong>Jan</strong>e Marshall, at a cocktail party in Landor library on Wednesday<br />
evening.<br />
We know that Mrs Russell will treasure the Sue Lewis-Blake<br />
landscape presented to her as a retirement gift from everyone,<br />
and the engraved bowl given by the Governors. With one voice,<br />
everyone who has known Caroline Russell during her 19 years<br />
wished her a wonderful retirement.<br />
Welcome to our new Deputy Heads<br />
Mrs Renton takes on a new role<br />
as our Deputy Headmistress<br />
(Pastoral). Mrs Renton is already<br />
well-known to the King’s<br />
community, having been a<br />
member of our Senior<br />
Management Team for the last<br />
three years. Educated at St Mrs Renton on her travels.<br />
Mary’s, Worcester, Leicester<br />
University, and University College, London, she was Head of<br />
Geography at a GSA school and a teaching housemistress at<br />
Wycombe Abbey before joining King’s as Senior Teacher (Pastoral)<br />
and Head of Key Stage 4. Such is her apparently tireless energy that<br />
parents and girls are likely to have met her in a number of capacities<br />
in her short time at the School, including as organiser of the<br />
enormously successful trip to L.A. and Arizona in 2006. In her spare<br />
time Mrs Renton enjoys travelling, opera, riding, dining out, and<br />
chocolate.<br />
Mr Bethel joins King’s <strong>High</strong><br />
School as our Deputy<br />
Headmaster, Academic, from<br />
King Edward VI Camp Hill Girls’<br />
School in Birmingham where he<br />
was Head of Biology and Training<br />
Manager. His expertise, in<br />
addition to Biology, lies<br />
Mr Bethel with one of his rescued greyhounds.<br />
particularly in leading and developing classroom practice, use of<br />
performance data to improve learning, assessment for learning,<br />
creativity in the classroom, supporting underachievers and ICT. “My<br />
personal vision for education is that it should not just equip young<br />
people for the modern world but more importantly should equip<br />
them with the skills, knowledge and understanding to change, and I<br />
trust improve, the world that they will inherit. I am married with 3<br />
children and assorted animals, including two rescued, ex-racing<br />
greyhounds. I am looking forward very much to meeting you<br />
personally and making my own contribution to the great history of<br />
success at King’s <strong>High</strong> School.”<br />
Great teamwork! Mrs Surber and Mrs Russell at<br />
their end of term ballet performance.<br />
Non-uniform day in 1990.
More News<br />
Yr 10 girls Louise Keegan and Bhavandip Birdi<br />
serving mince pies at the Iris Lees Day Club.<br />
Christmas at King’s<br />
Enjoying the school Christmas lunch.<br />
The Christmas Concert.<br />
King’s girls were busy in the run up to Christmas, with a variety of<br />
charity and community activities.<br />
As in previous years, the school was involved in Operation<br />
Christmas Child, filling and sending 161 boxes to less fortunate<br />
children in other parts of the world.<br />
Pupils also collected gifts for children and mothers staying at<br />
Warwickshire Women’s Refuge over the Christmas period.<br />
Yr 10 girls provided “Mince pies and entertainment” for<br />
pensioners at the Iris Lees Day Club, also taking along decorated<br />
cakes prepared by the Yr 13 King’s <strong>High</strong> Thursday afternoon<br />
cookery group.<br />
Sixth formers served Christmas lunch at Yeomanry Close.<br />
Pupils enjoyed their own Christmas Lunch at school, and also the<br />
Christmas Concert and Carol Service at St Mary’s: a fitting finale<br />
to a successful term of hard work and extra-curricular activities.<br />
Children in Need 100 mile swim<br />
King’s <strong>High</strong> Girls and Warwick School boys joined forces to swim a<br />
24 hour, 100 mile relay to raise funds for Children in Need. Teams<br />
of 10 boys and girls swam relays of 1 mile (65 lengths of<br />
Warwick School’s 25 metre pool), in batches of 2, 3 or 4 miles,<br />
snatching whatever sleep they could get in between their turn in<br />
the water. The teams started at 5pm on Friday 16th November<br />
and continued through the evening, night and next day to finish<br />
on the Saturday at 5pm.<br />
Mrs Surber says: “I am tremendously proud of everyone who took<br />
part in what was a fantastic physical achievement. Our pupils<br />
were prepared to give up a large part of their weekend to help<br />
children less fortunate than themselves. I must also thank the<br />
parents who got up in the middle of the night to arrange to get<br />
their children to the poolside for their start times.”<br />
A Question of Conscience: the flagship<br />
Sixth Form Conference 2007<br />
The issues raised at this half day conference challenged<br />
everyone’s thinking: does my carbon footprint matter? Who<br />
exactly are the homeless? Would I face personal danger for my<br />
beliefs?<br />
The conference was privileged to hear Jessica Cave, Head of Unit<br />
for Climate Change at the Foreign and Commonwealth office talk<br />
about her exacting work, her travels and her responsibilities in<br />
informing government decisions regarding climate change.<br />
Supporting her and raising further important issues were Alix<br />
Simpson, Youth and community Officer in Buckinghamshire, and<br />
Donna Mattfield, freelance campaign organiser whose work with<br />
Greenpeace took her to Amsterdam and much further.<br />
These three young women (all of whom graduated in the last ten<br />
years, Jessica from Cambridge, Alix from UEA and Donna from<br />
Cardiff) inspired excellent questions and stimulating break out<br />
groups. The conference was organised and chaired by members of<br />
the Lower Sixth.<br />
Swimmers Jenny Brown, Jenny Chapman, Rebecca Sherren<br />
and Rhianne Oscroft, raising money for Children in Need.