Parental Bulletin - 26th June 2020

Parental Bulletin
26th June 2020

The Knights Templar School
Headteacher:
Mr T. Litchfield, G.G.S.M.
Park Street
Baldock
Herts SG7 6DZ
Email: admin@ktemplar.herts.sch.uk Tel: 01462 620700
Dear parents and carers
PARENTAL WEEKLY UPDATE – 26th June 2020
(available on our website)
I am delighted to share with you the new senior prefect team for the academic year 2020 – 2021. You can see the
full list of students on the second to last page of this bulletin. These roles are vital to the running of the school and
as well as fulfilling the roles of the senior students in the school they also act as a direct link to me. I meet with the
head girl and boy and their deputies every week and discuss the key issues that come up through the student
council. The senior prefect team are instrumental in driving our whole school fundraising strategy as well organising
some great events for the sixth form. Congratulations to all the students involved.
As we are now at the end of the week, I am delighted to announce that the return to school of our Year 10 and 12
students has been a great success. The attendance has been just under 90% of all students in the year groups – the
school has come back to life! We have had some great feedback stating how safe the students and staff felt – thank
you for trusting us to do this well.
I love my football and as a Luton Town fan (since a very young age) and more recently a Spurs fan (I have to support
a team that might win the Premiership in my lifetime!) I was delighted to see Liverpool crowned Premier League
Champions last night. How did they achiever this? Well, as Jurgen Klopp stated in 2015 when he was appointed
manager at the club, “We must turn from doubters to believers”. Jurgen popularised the phrase Gegenpressing,
which means “counter pressing”, in which a team, after losing possession, rather than falling back to regroup, they
keep pressing.
After a global pandemic paused a premier league they had effectively won by Christmas, a situation the safety of
which Liverpool Football Club said was far, far more important than their own sporting aspirations, they returned
for one final press to secure the title. And Sir “King Kenny” Dalglish, whom Mr. Klopp dedicated the win to, safely
celebrated more than anyone. The last three months threatened to take away the prize they had waited thirty
years for, but they put public safety first. And quietly in training, they kept pressing.
And if the season had been cancelled, they would have still kept pressing.
So…keep pressing.
You (we) will get there.
Kind regards,
Tim Litchfield
Headteacher

SPORT AND PE CELEBRATION AWARDS
For the past 2 years the PE department have hosted an awards evening to recognise all the hard work and commitment
of our pupils who represent KTS in the various teams. We are going to continue this tradition and ask
that pupils vote for their player of the season via a google form. Certificates will then be sent out to our winners.
If you have played for a sports team this year then look out for the nominations form which will be sent via email.
Thank you
Mrs Gamester
An Inspiring Start in English
After many weeks away from school, it did not take long for one of our pupils to find her enthusiasm for English
not just rekindled, but stoked.
Having had just one lesson on the poem 'Checking Out Me History' under the tutelage of Mr Lowe and after
studying the poem 'Tissue' by Imtiaz Dharker, Georgia Simpson in Year 10 managed to cast a remarkable poem
of her own creation.
‘scars‘
our own little history,
every dimple, every line
etched, not just in memory,
surrounding us, like a vine.
a map of identity -
a compass, pointing northward,
yelling, calling silently;
only seen, and never heard.
clusters of constellations;
but not a sign of weakness.
built up from your foundations,
a blessing of uniqueness.
so please, never be afraid
to show what you have been through -
although they will start to fade,
they don’t make you any less
you.
Taking cues from the poems named above, this thoughtful piece, with its sensitive and careful use of imagery, is
worthy of inclusion in a poetry anthology of its own.
Dr. E. Hadley

Physical Geography Photo Competition 2020
The Geography Department would like to invite all KS3, KS4 and KS5 geography students the opportunity
to compete in the annual GA Physical Geography Photo Competition with the title ‘Finding
Physical Geography’ for years 7-13; there are two age-related categories Y7-9 and Y10-13. A brief summary
is outlined below with web links to find out more. Please contact Mrs Evans via email at
JEvans@ktemplar.herts.sch.uk for more information and guidance before the end of term if you would
like to enter.
About the competition:
This year’s competition is about finding interesting examples of
physical geography in unexpected places, or examples of processes
that someone might ordinarily pass over, or not give a second
thought to.
To enter, a student should take a photograph of some aspect of
physical geography that many people might not notice at first. This
could be something that captures a process, a landscape, a skyscaper
or a particular feature. This could be something on grand scale
but might equally be a small-scale feature of physical geography; it
could be something seen in an urban environment or a garden as
much as a feature of the countryside or a ‘wild’ area; and it may be
noticed and captured in the local area or further afield (if travel and
visiting regulations allow).
The photograph needs to be accompanied with its location and a
description of up to 250 words that ‘show and tell’ the physical geography, describing the focus of the
find and explaining the story that reveals its significance, even though for most people it is ‘hidden’.
Deadline: 30 th September 2020
More information: Example entries, information about prizes and tips for taking a successful photograph
can be found here - https://www.geography.org.uk/2020-physical-geography-photocompetition.
The Geography Department look forward to having lots of entries from KTS students!

Year 9 consider vision for the future
This week in form time year 9 pupils have been thinking about how the Covid 19 pandemic will have changed society
and what the new normal might look like. Prompted by the Open Democracy competition to consider young pupils
vision for the future the year 9 tutor team have been hugely impressed with the response from year 9.
The competition posed the following questions;
What might democracy look like as countries emerge from lockdown? How will public health change as a result
of this global pandemic? What lessons from history have we forgotten that might guide how the world
recovers? How will our societies and cultures respond to this global crisis and its aftermath?
If these questions and this competition has inspired you to get involved please follow the link below to the
competition. Please note to enter you must be 14 years of age. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/worldafter-covid/
Here are some of the thoughtful and thought provoking responses from year 9. Well done to everyone who has
entered the competition.
Mr Matthews
Year Leader Year 9
World After Covid-19 – Charlie Year 9
I think many changes will need to be made to keep our country sustainably and to manage the risks of second
peaks. Each sector of life will have to adapt and provide people with better and healthier opportunities and as we
try to rebuild our economy we will need to keep public health and happiness as a major factor before adjusting
things.
Health-Care: The UK was prepared to open field hospitals across the country under the name ‘Nightingale’. These
were opening too late, with many patients never stepping foot in the specialist Covid-19 hospitals. However, many
doctors and trusts have called for these to stay open to catch up on the nearly 10million procedures yet to happen.
I think the NHS should provide two different waiting lists for operations, one should be the urgent ones who always
get first priority, and the other should be for less urgent surgery or treatment (not life threating). I think this second
list patients should have the ability to move up the list if they pay a ‘Surgery Charge’. This could be as little as maybe
£50 for their surgery to go above others who are of little priority. This way patients can help pay of rent for
these field hospitals if they choose to undergo treatment earlier.
Education: Millions of students will be behind after the Covid-19 pandemic. However, some year groups will not
have missed out on VITAL learning. Primary schools can make sure key numeracy and literacy that was missed will
be caught up, and KS3 students can keep Maths, English and Science standards up in preparation for GCSE exams.
Students in Years 10 & 12 will be some of the one’s most effected by this, with both year groups sitting vital exams
next summer. I think the call to move exams so that they don’t start until June 2021 will benefit the students and
teachers alike.
Transport: The UK’s transport industry is a larger producer of CO2 which is affecting our planet every day. As we
move out of lockdown, we need to prepare for the reality that we need to create greener transport and start
putting things in place. With less and less businesses requiring workers to go into offices, the need for transport will
be lower and we can see a reduction in service, with materials no longer used reused or recycled in the future.

Lucy Year 9
I don’t think that life will ever return to how it used to be. Many jobs have been lost due to this pandemic and it will
take time for all of these people to get a new job. I think that a positive for the future is healthcare. The NHS managed
this and I think they’ve come out stronger and people will appreciate them a lot more now. I think that lots of
people took it for granted that they could just pop over and see their friends and family whenever they wanted so I
think now people will enjoy time with close ones a lot more. Many people will have also lost loved ones but this is
just another reason that they will appreciate time with their friends and family a lot more. Lots of things like sport
has changed too to make sure it is played safely. I think that will be some really good bits of writing and music produced
from this time because lots of people won’t have been busy so they will have had time to spend on writing
and music.
Lilli Year 9
We all thought 2020 would be our year with the phrase we always think to ourselves: "new year, new me!" before
we shortly forget about halfway through January trying to avoid work strangling you with stress. 2020 for me was
like a tsunami, the sea pulls itself back like the world with worry when the threat of war between Iran and USA
emerged. But we all dismissed the anonymous retreat of the sea it at first, thinking it was just the tide, but as time
past everyone caught up. The small waves didn't come back, that was the last thing we thought of as "normal".
Then came the enormous wave of the outbreak of the pandemic stealing peoples' loved ones like the grim reaper
itself, followed by waves of racial injustice which was under our noses. The tsunami stops and retreats, the survivors
are represented with buildings torn apart and their "normal" destroyed. But tsunamis don't occur by themselves,
but because of earthquakes sometimes deep under water, hidden. Could we possibly refer our government
to the earthquake hidden under the sea due to their late responses to the pandemic and racial injustice and many
more problems we may have not known of?
But after all bad things, goods thing come with it, just like with ying and yang; while we are in lockdown, dolphins
have returned to Italy's coasts, China saw its first clear skies in years and the negative impact we had on the environment
decreased. After the tsunami we are left with destruction and possibly no hope, but us humans still pick
up the pieces and still look at the bright side and learn from our mistakes. Countries are now starting to understand
the importance of free health care, we could also say we have also found a new way to live, we can also learn from
countries who have dealt with the pandemic well. The pandemic also taught us how important family is and how
much we care about them due to having to keep apart for so long and the rainbows on peoples' windows have
brought a smile across our faces .Change is possible. Before the pandemic I was living in my own bubble,
completely unaware of how tragic things in life could get before my bubble was burst by the harsh reality by
watching the news every evening. I cannot say what would happen after Covid-19, would I go back to school and
stare at the empty seats which were once filled by students? Would even a second wave come? I cannot predict
what will happen after the pandemic, not everything will be jolly and happy. People will be mourning for the loss of
their loved ones, climate change may become worse despite the calls of action. What I do definitely know, that
there is no "normal", we will always have challenges in our lives and it is up to us how we deal with it.
Thanks,
Lili

Sixth Form Quiz
On Thursday night, we hosted a ‘virtual’ Sixth Form quiz for
over 40 Year 12 and 13 students. The event was organised
entirely by members of our newly appointed Senior Prefect
team and they did a wonderful job of putting on a really
enjoyable event, in their first official duty as student leaders.
We would like to thank the students involved in organising
this event, as well as our resident Quiz Master, Mr Breadmore.
Finally, a big thank you to the students who participated
in the quiz and demonstrated (once again) what a
wonderful community atmosphere we have at KTS.
Online support for higher education and apprenticeships
At this point in the term, Year 13 students are eagerly anticipating
starting their university journey, while Year 12
students are getting to grips with the UCAS application form. With this in mind, we wanted to provide you with
a brief update on what we are doing to support students:
Year 12:
The Unifrog platform is something that students should be utilising on a weekly basis. On Friday 3 rd July, we will
be delivering a video tutorial on how to set up an account on UCAS and complete the application form, as well
as register for apprenticeship updates on the gov.uk website.
In addition, students have recently received a tutorial outlining the online support that is available for those
wishing to pursue the apprenticeship route, as well as those considering university study. The relevant links are
posted below:
Webinar recordings here; business, engineering, physiotherapy and sports science, life sciences, medicine.
Institute for apprenticeships here. Use this as an opportunity to find detailed descriptions and maps of occupations
but also company names to do further research.
Virtual tours (university)
UCAS Blogs- updates from students and staff on a range of HE issues.

Year 13:
In addition to the links provided above, we would encourage all university bound students
to follow their chosen universities on social media to keep up-to-date with virtual
social events, live student chat opportunities etc.
Students should also look at the Unibuddy website which links prospective
students to university ambassadors and staff.
the next week, regarding advice and guidance on how to manage their applications,
decisions to defer and a range of other issues.
The Unifrog twitter account (@Unifrog) are also posting a lot of interesting information
on the current situation with applications, deferring and advice and guidance
from Higher Education institutions.
We will be releasing a communication to all Year 13 students and parents within
All students and parents will be able to find lots of information via the post-18 section of the Sixth Form website
and via the various twitter accounts that the school and Sixth Form operate:
@KTS_SixthForm
@KTSAimHigher
@KTSCareers
Student Leadership Team
Please see the next page for details of the recently appointed senior prefects.

Student leadership 2020-2021

Summer Workshops by former KTS Head Girl
Hannah Reynold’s company, Imagination Arts is holding a Summer Workshop Week in the last week of July -
Monday 27th - Friday 31st July.
Classes that may be of interest are:
West End Juniors (Aged 8-12 for some year 7 students)
Teen Dance (Ages 13-18 - a contemporary class so HIGHLY recommended for GCSE and A-Level dancers. This class
is being taught by former KTS students Anni Tyson - so a friendly face as well!)
Theatre Jazz (Ages 18-25 so could be for any sixth formers or recent alumni)
Adult Dance Fitness (for staff and parents/carers)
To book a space, please email info.imaginationarts@yahoo.com