5th July 2016
Dear Parents
As my time as acting head draws to a close, I am able to look back on a term that has been both busy
and very enjoyable. I have had the opportunity to see the school community from a different
perspective, taking greater responsibility for the day-to-day running of the school, meeting pupils to
celebrate their successes, leading the teaching staff, working more closely with the Friends and
development team and I have even been a ‘treasure’ in the new boys’ treasure hunt. This whole
experience has further reinforced my belief that this is a very special community, and one I feel
privileged to be part of.
One very special member of our community is Heather McKissack, who received her MBE from
the Princess Royal last month. We celebrated this with a special reception in the New Hall on
Friday 24 th June, attended by many guests, including Stephen Hammond, MP for Wimbledon, and a
host of colleagues past and present. After a brilliant performance by the partnership choir, the
head master, and Debbie Walls, head of the Coombe Academy Trust and a King’s governor,
spoke warmly about Heather’s work and the benefits of cross-sector partnerships.
As this is the key term for examinations, both public and internal, these have been the main focus for
the pupils. Our upper sixth have worked incredibly hard for their IB or A level examinations and I hope
their results this summer are all that they deserve. The term started on a more light-hearted note for
them, with the sixth form team hosting a leavers’ event for them at Kingsway. They evidently enjoyed
their special picnic lunch and school captain’s assembly, as well as a host of inflatables and a rodeo bull!
We also enjoyed the sixth form leavers’ dinner together in May, with well over six hundred pupils,
parents and staff gathered together to share good food, exchange tales and simply enjoy each other’s
company. Outgoing school captain, Nathan Inkester, spoke with a sincere passion about his time at
King’s and how proud he is of all that his year group has achieved. The head master interrupted his
sabbatical to attend and he paid tribute the boys and girls, and all they have contributed to King’s life.
Little did I know in April that by the end of my term in office we would have voted to leave Europe one
week and been ‘booted out’ (of Euro2016) by Iceland the next! Thank heavens our own sporting
endeavours are more uplifting than those of our nation’s multi-million pound soccer players.
Sporting excellence is just one of the multitude of talents I have witnessed in our pupils this term, especially
in our summer sports of cricket, tennis, rowing, rounders and athletics. Highlights include watching the
U14A, B and C octos at the National Schools Regatta at Eton Dorney, the 1st XI cricket victory over
Hampton, seven of our athletes representing Merton in the Surrey Schools Championships and the sheer
number of girls representing King’s in fixtures. You can read more about our sports’ results in section
two.
Some of our pupils excel in creative areas. We were treated to GCSE and A level exhibitions in DT and
Art this term, with pupils on hand to talk about their work. We have also enjoyed some wonderful musical
events, including the recent Orchestral Concert and our scholars’ concert in the first half term. This was
noteworthy as it included two harpists for the final time, as Rosie von Spreckelsen leaves us this summer,
leaving her brother Felix as our lone sixth form harpist next year. Rosie has won a harp studies place at
Guildhall School of Music and Drama; an outstanding achievement.
One of our community projects this year has been an art and poetry group that has met weekly at
Southside House with pupils from Ursuline High School. They have produced a wonderful illustrated
anthology of poetry, called Footsteps Heard. When I visited Southside House recently, the curator said
that the pupils’ work was at least as good as that of a group of adult poets who had used the house in the
past. My visit was to see the pupils working with year 10 pupils from partner schools as part of our
Aspirations Programme. The aspirations pupils also participated in a debating session, where our pupils
gave an exemplar debate and then helped the partnership pupils to structure and deliver their own.
One of our pupils who clearly has outstanding linguistic talents is Sam Ahmed who has been picked as
one of a team of four to compete for the UK in India in the international Olympiad in July. This is
the second year running that Sam has competed in this event, as last year he finished second in the
world. Congratulations, Sam, and good luck.
Earlier this term we held our annual Rossetti Day, a cross-curricular seminar day for the lower sixth held
after their internal examinations. The theme this year was Exploration, to which different sessions brought
a wide variety of approaches: pioneers in archaeology, economics and the sciences; Dante’s Inferno; PhD
research projects; recent leavers who have driven to Mongolia; and a keynote lecture from Alistair
Humphreys on his experiences cycling around the world. There was much on offer to inspire the students
as they thought about the road ahead and the opportunities they might exploit this summer and beyond.
Last week saw our annual activities week for pupils in fourth form and lower fifth. This is a great
opportunity for pupils to learn from a wide range of activities outside the classroom. Our fourth formers
enjoyed camping on the South Downs, and the staff who accompanied them said what a lovely group they
were to be with. Other boys helped with sporting activities for local primary schools. One headteacher
who had brought her pupils to King’s for an activity day wrote this in her email of thanks: “We have had a
marvellous day; your students are a real credit to you and demonstrated patience and sensitivity amongst a
whole range of other skills”. Our boys and girls are great ambassadors for the school and this is never
more evident than through our community partnership work, as acknowledged here.
This term I have worked with Sarah Bandurka and The Friends on a number of occasions. The main event
of the term was the Friends’ Ball, held at Stamford Bridge in May. It was an evening filled with laughter,
chatter and dancing, with an auction throughout the dinner. In all, this raised £33,000 for the school, a
remarkable achievement. My thanks to the Ball organisers, Julie Straughan and Jodie O’Reagan. The
Friends have also helped at new pupil meetings and at our celebration for Heather McKissack. I would like
to give special thanks to Jessica Norbury, who is leaving us this summer, as she has arranged the flowers at
a huge number of King’s events in her time at the school. It is further testament to Jessica that she has
already lined up a successor who will, I know, continue this great work.
Staff
This time last year the head master mentioned the “exceptional atmosphere” in our staff common room
and praised our teachers’ whole-hearted commitment to seeking the best outcome for every pupil ahead of
everything else. I could not agree more; they are hard-working, good-humoured and unerringly loyal. This
is true of all colleagues, not just our outstanding teachers. I could exemplify this in any numbers of ways,
but I will share just one; in the recent wet spell we experienced some flooding and, hearing heavy rain in
the night, members of our support staff were on site at 3am putting up flood defences. Dedication indeed.
This term is an extremely important and busy one for our examinations team and I would like to thank
Nigel Edwards and his team for their efficient organisation, close attention to detail and positive approach,
which are vital in the smooth running of these crucial assessments. The IB diploma examinations were
overseen by Mark Allen and his team, and these were once again run with efficiency and warmth. I know
that Nigel and Mark would want me to thank Linda Fallis and Melanie Steele, our examinations
administration team, for their hard work as well. The learning enrichment team, led by Lies Goodchild, is
instrumental in the success of our pupils in their public examinations and I would also like to thank them
for all their hard work.
This is the time of year when we thank colleagues who are leaving us for pastures new. Before mentioning
the teachers who are leaving, I would like to mention our second bursar, Clive Snashall, who is retiring
after over thirty years at King’s, in a career which includes both teaching (ICT) and support roles. Clive is
something of a King’s legend, known to pupils and parents, particularly through his work on school
coaches, as well as both the senior school and junior school common rooms. We will miss his tireless
work and unerring good humour.
Stephen Tint leaves us this year, having been at King’s for twenty-one years. He has been with us parttime for this academic year, but will be remembered for his tenure as head of modern languages and as an
excellent teacher and fine academic, who has inspired many pupils to study languages at top universities.
Cultured, witty and motivated by a passionate interest in French culture, Stephen believes strongly that
pupils should be introduced to the culture and literature of the country whose language they are studying
and that lessons about these should be conducted in the target language. A former native-speaking pupil
was heard to remark that Stephen had the best French accent he’d ever heard. Stephen has always worn
his learning lightly and led by example. He will be remembered by many members of his department as a
wise mentor and good friend.
After sixteen years as a teacher at King’s, Tom Howland (OK 1982-92) is relocating to Norfolk, to take
up a post at Gresham’s School. A popular Mathematics teacher, Tom will be remembered for his skills at
explaining difficult new concepts in an accessible way. In his time at King’s, Tom has taught across the range
of classes, from fourth form to the notoriously demanding upper sixth higher level IB Mathematics course.
Tom has always been heavily involved in school life outside the classroom, and in particular, he is a
formidable sportsman. Tom has been fully immersed in sport throughout his time at King’s, at one stage as
head of cricket and more recently as master in charge of golf. Tom has also run the ski trip, internal exams
and more recently he has been deputy head of exams, looking after the GCSEs.
Two outstanding linguists, Elena Keys (Russian) and Daniela McBride (Italian) are retiring from their
part-time roles this summer. Between them they have given twenty-two years’ service to the school. A
literary expert, Elena has a doctorate in English and Russian literature and has encouraged her pupils to
read Pushkin and Chekhov from an early stage in their Russian careers. Her advice and supervision on
Russian extended essays and written assignments have been particularly valuable. Daniela has been pivotal
in engaging pupils to learn about Italian culture, and has been active in inviting key cultural figures to give
Lingua Franca talks; particularly memorable was A.N Wilson’s talk on Dante. She has also been a leading
light for our pupils in the King’s Bridge society.
Laura Hobbs has been an inspirational English teacher to many pupils during her ten years at King’s. Her
lessons exude a sense of calm and positive learning, full of innovation and scholarship. Laura ran the
Rossetti Society for a number of years, inviting an impressive collection of literary scholars to speak to our
sixth formers. She was also a superb IB co-ordinator for the English department, who oversaw the
organisation of World Literature essays and IOCs at a time when every single Sixth Former did English at
Sixth Form – no mean feat. She arrived at school as Miss Drayton; her transformation into Mrs Hobbs was
followed by the arrival of Jack and Sophia, and she leaves us to devote her time to looking after them in
these important first years.
Caroline Robinson, teacher of modern languages, is relocating and taking a career break to spend time
with her young daughter before she starts school. Caroline will be much missed as a teacher of modern
languages, in particular by students of Russian whom she has taught with energy and great expertise since
joining King’s. She has also taught French and run our lower fifth activities week enthusiastically and
efficiently for several years.
Head of Economics, Adam Hepworth, is relocating to Oxfordshire, taking over as head of department at
Magdalen College School. Adam joined King’s from Whitgift School and was quick to make his mark,
initially in developing the new website and then as assistant head of Kingsley house. He took over as head
of Economics in 2010 and under Adam’s leadership Economics has seen increasing pupil uptake,
involvement in extension opportunities and university outcomes. He is a popular teacher and colleague
and we wish him every success in his new post.
Our director of Drama, Adam Cross, is moving to take on the same role at Harrow. Adam is an
outstanding practitioner, who has a great way with people. When he joined the school, the standard of
drama was very high and many wondered if this would continue with the new head of Drama. Under Adam,
the standard has not only been sustained, but surpassed. Adam has achieved this feat without ever
forgetting that he is working with pupils who have many academic pressures on them. Thanks to his
unwavering support for the partnerships programme, Drama has become a key element of our work with
local schools. He has also been a member of the staff professional development team, helping, supporting
and developing those new to the profession. Adam is a wonderful colleague, a real team player but also an
inspiration to many. Adam is a very kind and thoughtful man with an unerringly composed demeanour and
an inspirational eye for directing; we will miss him, but know that he will quickly make an impact in his new
school.
Jessica Perowne (née MacDonald) has decided to take a career break, following the birth of her son. As
a teacher of Theology and Philosophy she not only ensured pupils achieved excellent exam results, but she
also utilised innovative teaching methods and encouraged original thinking and reflection. She gave
countless one-to-one sessions at lunchtime and after school, and there is no doubt that she made a
significant and positive difference to many pupils across all the year groups. As assistant head of house in
Maclear, Jess relished looking after the new fourth form Maclear students each year, where the key to her
success lay in the relationships she was able to form with the most reserved students. She also had
responsibilities for co-coordinating the LE provision within Maclear and was the key figure in all fund-raising
for the Perseid School.
After six years as deputy director of Sport, James Clark has secured the post of director of Sport at The
Leys School in Cambridge. James brought to the department outstanding administration skills and a great
sense of humour, much appreciated by both the staff and pupils he has worked with. He has devoted a
huge amount of time to King’s sport, perhaps most notably the U16a rugby team, with whom he has
enjoyed considerable success. James has taken the U15a hockey team throughout his time here. James is
also head of rugby in the junior school and I know that Dr Silverlock and the JS PE staff appreciate all he has
done with the younger age groups. James will be missed in Major house, where he has been a dedicated
tutor. Our loss is The Leys School’s gain as I am certain that James will prove an excellent director of
Sport.
Alison Abbott (née Roper) is leaving us to take up the post of head of Biology at St John’s, Leatherhead.
As well as being an excellent and knowledgeable teacher of Biology, Alison has fulfilled numerous roles at
King’s including looking after student teachers and newly qualified teachers as part of the staff development
team. She has also coordinated the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award, giving freely of her time to instruct,
walk and camp with our middle school boys. She will be very much missed, but richly deserves this
promotion to her new post.
Amy Croft joined us four years ago and quickly established herself as an outstanding teacher of
Economics. She sets very high expectations for her pupils and this has helped them achieve great success
both in the classroom and on the netball court, where she has contributed significantly to the achievements
of the 1st VII. In her time at the school, Amy also successfully set up and ran the King’s Essay for lower
sixth A level pupils. Amy leaves us to relocate to Hertfordshire, where she will teach at Bishop’s Stortford
College.
Our director in residence, David Antrobus, has come to the end of his two years in post. He has made
an enormous contribution in his time as theatre director in residence, staging a diverse range of
productions – from Ovidian myths to wild wood tales. Perhaps most special about David’s work is that, as
well as the fantastic sense of ensemble, every boy and girl is nurtured as an individual. His partnership
productions have taken this area of our work to a new level, and we are delighted that through the
generous support of The Friends, David will be working with us again on Friday afternoons to produce
another next year. Community is at the heart of all he does, and he has certainly done a huge amount to
add to ours at King’s.
We also bid farewell to Thomas Sinclair (Theology and Philosophy) and Camilla Simpson (Classics)
who are leaving us, having covered colleagues absent on maternity leave this year. Both have fitted in very
well and made a good contribution to school life. Our head of hockey, Richie Dawson Smith, is leaving
to return to Hamburg, where he will play his club hockey next year. He has been a pleasure to work with
and I know our hockey players have really benefitted from his coaching.
Although not leaving us, I would like to pay tribute to Paul Lavender and John Lawrence who are
moving to part-time roles in September. Paul has held many managerial roles in his time at King’s (over
thirty years), but most recently has led our US universities team. He will stay with us as a teacher of
Biology next year. John is remaining in charge of politics, but will relinquish his leadership of the Duke of
Edinburgh award, which he has championed to great effect.
John Galloway has been an excellent head of middle school for over two years and I would like to thank
him for all he has done for our fourth and fifth formers. John has a wonderfully ‘warm fairness’ when
dealing with the boys and I know they hold him in the highest regard. I am delighted to say that John is not
leaving us, but will be working more with staff and the wider King’s community next year. As the head
master mentioned in his autumn newsletter, John will be handing the head of middle school post over to
John Renwick.
As mentioned earlier in my letter, Jane Woodward is stepping down from the UCAS team at the end of
the year to focus on her History teaching. In her time at King’s, Jane has transformed our support for
those applying to study medicine at university and I would like to thank her most sincerely for her work in
this area.
Internal promotions
One of the consequences of staff moving on is that opportunities arise for others to take on new roles.
Ben Baulf is our new Schools Direct lead trainer, looking after teachers new to the profession, and he is
joined in the staff development team by Ben Bransfield. Giles Bennett is going to look after the CAS
section of the IB diploma, with TOK that he already manages. Shane Williams is going to lead our Duke
of Edinburgh scheme and look after the bronze award. Chan Ramgoolam will succeed Nigel Edwards as
head of examinations in January 2017. Sthen Wiseman will become lower fifth activities assistant and,
finally, Jody Lawton, who was acting assistant head of Maclear has now had the post made permanent. I
look forward to working with colleagues in these new roles next year.
Building works
New teaching building
The Allies and Morrison teaching building, which was opened by the Secretary of State for Education
Nicky Morgan, has proved a great success. The new hall is an excellent venue for school gatherings, events
and examinations, the classrooms are amongst the best in the school, and it is now so much easier to move
between the science labs. I am sure that the new lower school pupils will enjoy the start of their time at
King’s having such a building as their form base.
Music school
We have now appointed Interserve as the contractor for the new music school and recital hall and the
work will start during the summer holidays. This will be another excellent addition to the school with a
200-seater recital hall, four music classrooms, sixteen practice rooms as well as associated offices and a
new porters’ lodge. The contractors plan to finish the project in February 2018.
As was mentioned in the last letter, while this work is going on access via Glencairn Road will be limited
largely to the start and end of the school day as the contractors will need to work across this route into
school. However, pupil access to school from the Ridgway will still be possible either via Glencairn road or
the Ridgway car park and alongside the sports field. Please note that vehicle access to school will be very
limited and will only be possible via the Ridgway car park for special events. I appreciate that this is an
inconvenience but we are working hard with the contractor to minimise disruption.
Sports Projects
David Morley architects and the design team have now completed their designs for the new swimming
pool and sports hall project and we will be applying for planning permission in July 2016. The final designs
include a six-court sports hall, a 25 metre swimming pool, a large exercise area, a strength and conditioning
room, an aerobic studio and changing for 180 pupils. The exact date that the project will start depends on
finances as well as planners but I am sure that the outcome will be fantastic.
Development and fund raising
The school continues to push forward with our ambitious plans for the future, and underpinning all of our
efforts to transform the campus and provide bursaries for talented children is the generosity of the wider
King’s community. Parents, alumni and other friends of the school make an extraordinary philanthropic
contribution to this school in so many ways. Whether it be offering time and energy as volunteers for the
Friends of King’s, giving advice and guidance to students through our careers programme, or by making a
financial contribution at any level to support the work of the school, we are enormously grateful to those
who believe in King’s and the value of what we are trying to do.
The generosity of the King’s community has supported the construction of the new Music School, which
begins this summer, and the additional bursaries we have been able to offer in the new lower school. I hope
you have all seen the recent bursary mailing, and would like to invite you once more to take part in the
2016 appeal – every gift makes a difference, and can help us to support more students who could benefit
from a King’s education.
The sports development is the first project in my time at King’s for which the school will need to borrow.
Donors who wish to support the sports buildings, either by offering the school low-interest loans or a gift,
will thus play a dramatic part in accelerating the project. Please let Mr Jarrett in Development or the head
master know if this is of interest to you.
If you would like to find out more about our plans for renewal of the school and bursaries, or would like to
get involved in any way, please do get in touch with Matt Jarrett, Development Director
([email protected]), or myself.
Security Matters
Like us, I am sure you have been shocked by the armed attacks that have taken place around the world
recently. In response to these attacks we have reviewed our security arrangements to ensure they are
appropriate without causing unnecessary alarm. One of the outcomes of this review is the need to create
a “stay put” procedure in case of such incidents. This procedure has been tested at the end of this term
and there will be a full practice in the autumn term. At a recent meeting of headteachers it was evident
that most schools now have this sort of system in place and I hope you agree that this is sensible planning,
but something we hope we will never need to use.
Captain and Vice Captains of School
The new Captain of School is Sam Hodgson. Emily Sergeant and Jake Hennessey have been elected Vice
Captains of School.
Prize giving
Our prize giving this year will take place on Saturday 17th September at 11am. This year, our prize
giver is Sir Trevor McDonald: writer, reporter, journalist, television presenter and King’s Fellow. He is
an excellent speaker and we are very grateful to him for agreeing to join us.
Curriculum changes
With A level reforms nearing completion (only Mathematics, Further Maths and Philosophy remain modular
for next year’s lower sixth), our eyes have turned to GCSE reform.
You may be aware that over the next three summers numbers will be phased in as the measure of GCSE
performance (with 7, 8 and 9 replacing A and A*). At King’s, the majority of courses follow the
international (I)GCSE structure as we had opted for these where we felt the course to be a better
preparation for sixth form studies. As the national GCSEs undergo reform, it may become the case that
this will cease to be a relevant argument for IGCSEs, but following petitioning from schools such as King’s,
all the IGCSE awarding bodies are reviewing their course content to ensure it is appropriate. Significantly,
they have also set a schedule for moving from lettered to numbered grades. This means that around half
the GCSEs or IGCSEs completed by pupils who are now at the end of their fourth form year will be
awarded numbers and for the pupils joining the fourth form in September, with the exception of French
every subject will be awarded numbers. The new grading system provides the opportunity for the strongest
performances to be recognised with a new top grade, but some candidates who would once have been
awarded an A* may now get an eight, not the highest nine. Although we do not encourage re-sitting of
GCSEs, you should be aware that, with the exception of Mathematics and English, re-sits may not be
permitted in the final year of the old (unreformed) GCSE courses. Re-sit opportunities have been
protected for A level papers.
September sees the introduction of a non-examined computing course as an option for upper fifth formers,
Theatre Studies A level and a new Design and Engineering course for members of the lower sixth who
follow the A level route. With effect from September the DT department will be re-named Design and
Engineering, reflecting the changing shape of the programmes the department delivers. The year also looks
promising for the International Baccalaureate diploma, with a rise in the number of lower sixth pupils
opting for it in September.
Careers and University Entrance
The completed applications cycle (pending IB results in July) is looking extremely healthy and stable. On
top of the pleasing number of 58 offers made by Oxford and Cambridge, King’s pupils following both the
IB and A level programmes continue to receive good offers from the leading universities in the UK. 221
applications have been made from current pupils and post-qualification applicants. 82% of current upper
sixth pupils have received at least 4 offers, while 96% received at least 3. Given the exceptionally
selective admissions policies of the universities to which most of our boys and girls apply (with more
than 140 applications to Oxford, Cambridge and medical schools), this is again a very satisfying
outcome. The largest number of firm acceptances after Oxford and Cambridge are for Bristol, Durham,
Edinburgh, Imperial, UCL, Exeter & Bath. In addition, 17 pupils have received offers to read
Medicine. Internationally, a further 6 pupils have received offers from North American universities
including Harvard and Brown with 3 more places still awaiting confirmation. In addition, 2 pupils hold
offers from, respectively, Valencia and Montpelier universities to study medicine.
As usual the annual introductory evening for parents & pupils to the UCAS application process was well
received. Similarly, the applying to Oxford and Cambridge evening was appreciated not only by our own
pupils and parents, but by pupils and staff from our partnership schools. The pupils benefited, too, from
the annual Careers Evening where they have the opportunity to meet with professionals representing the
careers in which the boys and girls are most interested. This year, with the help of the Development
Office, we have expanded & updated the database for this event linking it with other networking events
planned in the near-future.
Important UCAS information for members of the current lower sixth and their parents
Lower sixth boys and girls have made an excellent start to their university applications during the UCAS
Forum. All pupils are in a strong position to complete their applications early in the autumn term. The
internal deadlines for applicants to Oxford and Cambridge is September 5th; for medical applicants, also
September 5th; and for all university applicants, September 30th. All the boys and girls are expected to
revise and redraft their personal statements during the holiday, to finalise their five university choices, and
to embark on the appropriate range of wider reading and preparation. Each pupil will be interviewed by a
member of the UCAS team next term before their applications are eventually sent to UCAS.
Most of the lower sixth have settled on the five universities to which they intend to apply in September,
open day visits and further research over the summer notwithstanding. All the students should also have
agreed, with their subject advisors, on a structured programme of summer holiday work and suggestions
for redrafting their personal statements. This is an absolute requirement for those students intending to
apply to Oxford, Cambridge or medical schools. In addition, the great majority of students have also
arranged, with the school’s support, work experience where appropriate. Students applying for medicine
must have sat their UKCAT before returning to school in August, when their score will be added to their
UCAS form. Students applying for medicine also need to check whether they are likely to apply to a course
that requires BMAT and register for this at the start of next term.
Oxford, and now Cambridge, both require applicants to sit admissions tests in many subjects either preinterview or at the time of interview. Pre-interview tests for both Oxford & Cambridge will be sat at
school on Wednesday, November 2nd: applicants will need to register for these exams early next term as
they complete their UCAS applications. Full details on assessment tests may be found at
http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/admission-assessments
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/tests?wssl=1.
This term’s main events and achievements
As you will see from my opening comments and the paragraphs that follow, our boys, girls and colleagues
have been incredibly committed to a huge range of school events this term, despite the inevitable impact of
public exams on so much that we do in the summer.
This year’s middle school Drama production was The Exam, a striking piece of physical theatre, devised
by the boys. The company comprised twenty boys from the fourth form and lower fifth, working with Mr
Antrobus and Mr Leach. The set was a remarkably simple, but effective, collection of brightly coloured
wooden chairs. Earlier in the term we enjoyed four plays by the upper fifth GCSE Drama groups, each
impressive in its own way. Our thanks go to Mr Leach and Mr Trow who provide sets, sound and
lighting for our productions.
We welcomed the new lower sixth for their summer barbecue last week, giving those joining us the chance
to meet some of our upper fifth boys. The atmosphere was lovely, with the new girls and boys in great
spirits. We also held open evenings for 11+ entry and for the sixth form for 2017. Both were extremely
well attended, despite some inclement weather, and the prospective pupils and parents clearly enjoyed the
events, staying long after the projected finishing times to ask questions and find out more about King’s.
Activities week for the fourth form and lower fifth boys was a great success. Visits for lower fifth boys
included a number of day trips around London and the Bushcraft experience in Surrey, while our fourth
formers enjoyed the annual camping trip and helping local primary school pupils with their sports days. I
was particularly pleased to hear how much staff had enjoyed sharing the activities with the boys, whatever
the activity, everyone I spoke to had something good to say!
The upper sixth held an extremely enjoyable leavers’ ball in the Café de Paris in London. I would like to
thank the pupils and their parents for all they did to make this such a success. I would also like to thank our
head of sixth form, Dr Laurie, and his team for supporting the ball.
We were delighted to welcome our first cohort of year 7 pupils in for their second induction visit on the
30th June. The boys spent the days in their form groups, getting to know each other and their form tutor
for the next two years. Activities included ice breaker games, map making exercises and a treasure hunt
whose clues led to important school staff and locations. At the end of the day the boys were consulted on
their choice of House names for the lower school. We are delighted to announce that the new lower
school Houses will be called Bourne and Watson. Charles Bourne was Head Master at the turn of the last
century (1889 – 1906) and was responsible for moving the school out to Wimbledon, quite likely saving the
school from closure in the process. Andrew Watson is an OK (1871) and was the first black footballer
capped for Scotland.
We had our first induction day for next year’s fourth form on Friday 1st July. The new boys were greeted
by senior staff and shown round by current middle school boys, including a large number of upper fifth boys
who gave up their free time to come in to help. Next year’s fourth formers seemed to enjoy their day
with us and we look forward to welcoming them into the middle school in the autumn term.
At the end of the summer term the fourth year took part in a cross-curricular project, “Who Am I?”
Across two mornings the boys were challenged to think across all their subjects in a variety of lectures and
special lessons. They then had the opportunity to create an original five minute presentation, in any format
they wished, which they delivered to the rest of their form in the last week of term. It was also a chance
for the boys to discuss issues with lots of different staff and to reflect on important issues in life.
This weekend saw a musical extravaganza, starting on Saturday night with a Chamber Choir Soiree,
featuring some wonderful singing and supper. On Sunday we enjoyed a very special recital in the Chapel
Royal at Hampton Court Palace. Ellie Tsoukkas, Felicity Porter and Esther Duffy performed magnificently
and all present felt that they had witnessed outstanding performances in a magical setting. In another
outstanding musical performance, Alasdair Parkinson was successful in his audition for the National Youth
Jazz Collective and will be joining their summer school at Uppingham in August.
I have already mentioned some of this term’s sporting achievements, but there are others I am sure you
would like to hear about. At the London Youth Games sailing event on the 12th June, in the Laser event
Robbie King won the Gold medal representing Merton, and Edward Benz won the silver, representing
Richmond. Our parents and friends of the school supported our Run2Rio event in numbers, thank you to
those of you who ran and, of course, those who organized the event.
We often hear news of sporting OKs and we recently heard of three who were awarded blues for ski
racing from Oxford and Cambridge. Congratulations to Josh Deru, Liz Adams and Alex Jelicic. On the
topic of OK blues, we were all proud to see Charlie Fisher victorious in the Boat Race this year.
Our pupils are not the only ones to have great sporting achievements, member of staff, Paul Lavender,
reached the final of the 60m sprint at the Indoor Masters Athletics Championships when competing for
Great Britain in Italy over Easter.
Congratulations to upper sixth pupil Jack Mellinger who has completed, and been awarded, his Duke of
Edinburgh Gold Award while still studying in the sixth form. It takes real drive and dedication to complete
this prestigious award, and to do so alongside A level studies is particularly impressive.
At the end of last term twelve middle school mathematicians took part in the national Intermediate Maths
Olympiad. All the boys did remarkably well with distinctions going to Kobe Thielemens, Sam Ferguson and
Rupert McKay all from the particularly successful lower fifth group who also won the FMSP Maths Feast
team competition this year. Meanwhile, upper fifth pupil Rohan Lad competed in the BPhO GCSE Physics
challenge and achieved one of the top gold awards in the country. He was invited to the British Physics
Olympiad presentation at The Royal Society. This was a fantastic achievement and all of us in the Physics
department were impressed by the quality of his problem solving skills.
Other outstanding achievements to tell you about include Matthew D’Aloisio-Montilla winning the Sheffield
University Department of History prize 2016; Anshu Ramaiya being selected by The English Chess
Federation to represent England in the European Schools Chess Championships, 16-26 June 2016 in
Halkidiki, Greece; and our Young Enterprise team of George Argyrou, Jonathan Chen, Rodion Matveev,
Dhilan Patel and Tomas Utting successfully qualifying for the area final.
Absence
This term I have received a high number of last-minute requests for absence, so I would like to take this
opportunity to remind you that leave of absence for medical and dental appointments may be granted by
the form teacher but requests must be made in advance. Permission to attend university open days, or for
interview and driving tests, must be sought in advance from Dr Laurie, the head of sixth form. In all other
cases my permission (in my role as principal deputy) should be sought well in advance (this includes
requests concerning sports fixtures). It should be borne in mind that, while parents may explain absence,
only the school may authorise it.
By well in advance, we ask for at least two weeks’ notice of foreseeable absences. No absence can be
authorised for holidays or non-essential reasons, so please only request absence from school (or Saturday
fixtures) if it is absolutely necessary.
Important information about examination results
In Section Two of this letter, you will find vital information for all members of the lower sixth about the
university process, and public exam information relevant to all members of the lower fifth, upper fifth
and upper sixth. This is in the form of a table on the final pages of this letter and includes key details
about release of results, and deadlines for re-marks.
New Ofqual rules for enquiries and appeals (public examination re-marks)
As you may have read in the press, the government is tightening up the process of re-marks with
immediate effect this summer. I have included a detailed summary in section two, which parents of all
pupils taking public examinations should read carefully. Overall we assume that the impact of this will be
that fewer results will change during the “re-mark season”; however, the picture is the same for all
candidates in all schools and the overall effect may well be fairer than it might once have been. I should be
clear that the IB diploma is unaffected by the Ofqual rules and we will have to see whether it has any
impact on IGCSE re-marks.
In conclusion
Although the term is drawing to a close, I still have many things to look forward to. I always enjoy seeing
our pupils working alongside primary school children in the Open Doors project, with this year’s
performance on Friday 15th July. The following week I am lucky enough to be visiting Fiwila School, in
Zambia, where I will be able to see our lower sixth pupils, meet our friends at the school and see first-hand
the impact previous King’s groups have had.
On a personal note, thank you for your support during my time as acting head. I have enjoyed meeting so
many of you at matches, concerts, productions and other events. Your warmth and positive attitude
towards the school is part of what makes our work here so rewarding. It only remains for me to wish you
a restful summer, and every success to our pupils awaiting public examination results. If, things don’t quite
go as planned, as sometimes unfortunately happens, please do not hesitate to contact us; we are always
here to help.
Best wishes,
Margaret Hunnaball
Acting Head
Section Two
Staff: further details
New teaching colleagues
In September, in addition to those named in previous letters to parents, we will be joined by the following
colleagues:
Post
Teacher
Previous School
Qualifications
Director of
Drama
Ms Davina Barron
Wellington College
BA (Hons) English - University of
Cambridge; MA (Cantab) English;
MA in Drama and Performance Royal Central School of Speech
and Drama,
Director of
Sport
Mr Matthew Baggs
Royal Grammar
School, Guildford
BA (oral distinction) French Studies
- Oxford Brookes University
Teacher of
Mathematics
Mr Simon Bradley
British International
School, Budapest
BEng Hons - University of Bath
Head of
Theology &
Philosophy
Mr Timothy Davies
Whitgift School
BA Theology & Philosophy University of Nottingham
Teacher of
Biology
Mr Nicholas Gardner
St Edward’s School,
Oxford
BSc Natural Sciences - University
of Birmingham
Teacher of
Mathematics
Miss Lauren Owens
Bedford School
BSc Hons Maths – Queen’s
University, Belfast, BA Hons Music
- University of York
Teacher of
Economics
Mr Henry Phillips
The King’s School,
Canterbury
BSc Economics and Management University of Bristol
Teacher of
Economics
Mr Winchester Wilmot
Rivers Academy,
West London
BSc Economics - University of
Bristol
Teacher of
Biology
Miss Rachel Harris
BSc Biology - Imperial College; MSc
Environmental Technology Imperial College
Teacher of
French
Mr Joseph Hyam
Haileybury
Acting Head
of Economics
Mr Geoffrey Simpson
Westminster
MA (Cantab) in Modern and
Medieval Languages – University of
Cambridge
BSc Economics – Hull University
Teacher of
English
Mr Hugh Trimble
Whitgift School
BA (Hons) English Language and
Literature - New College,
University of Oxford
Teacher of
Classics
Mr Angus Sharpe
(maternity cover)
Kingston Grammar
MA Classics – University of
Edinburgh
Our new head of hockey is Ben Tibble, joining us from RGS Guildford. Ben is a former England U21
international and Surbiton HC captain. I am sure he will build positively on the excellent progress our
hockey players made last year.
Leavers – non-teaching
Gwen Murray, art technician, is moving back to her native Ireland. Also leaving us are our languages
assistants William Mouelle Makolle, Laura Domínguez-Morante, Paseuth Phayvorachith and
Nina Weymann.
New starters – non-teaching
We welcome Andrew Stewart – head of support services; Richard Entwistle – engineer in residence;
Joshua Barrington, Matthew Latham and Michael Lawton - graduate sports assistants; Sanja
Doettling - German language assistant; Carlos González Ruiz - Spanish language assistant, and Belise
Habimana and Erwan Boulzennec – French language assistants
Important autumn term dates
Tuesday 30th August
Fourth form and new lower sixth first day
st
Wednesday 31 August
All lower sixth and fourth form pupils’ induction day
Thursday 1st September
Full term begins
th
Saturday 10 September
Open morning
th
Wednesday 14 September
Sixth form open evening
Saturday 17th September
Prize giving
rd
Monday 3 October
Choral Evensong St Paul’s Cathedral
th
th
Tuesday 11 – Thursday 13 October A Man for all Seasons
Wednesday 12th October
Future of King’s reception
th
Monday 14 November
Orchestral Concert
rd
th
Wednesday 23 – Saturday 26 November West Side Story
Wednesday 30th November
Christmas concert St James’s Piccadilly
Wednesday 7th December
Tuesday 13th December
Monday 9th January 2017
Tuesday 10th January
Community carol service
End of term
Upper Sixth mock exams begin
Spring term begins for the rest of the school
Further information for current lower sixth and their parents
UKCAT
Medical applicants have consolidated the programme of preparation for the UKCAT examination by
completing an intensive two day course provided by the school. Students are responsible for registering
for the UKCAT; they then sit the test at an external centre. They must arrange this now and must
have sat the exam by the start of next term.
BMAT
Pupils applying to courses requiring BMAT will have attended the course offered by the school. Our inhouse team will organise further tuition for the students through the autumn term. Students register to sit
the BMAT at the start of next term, sitting the examination in school on Wednesday, 2nd
November. Parents are advised that students will need time in the autumn half term break to prepare for
this demanding and important examination.
TSA
Pupils affected will have been advised to practise for the Thinking Skills Assessment (to be sat on
Wednesday, 2nd November) during the summer holiday. Additionally, weekly classes preparing for the
test will be held each Wednesday morning at 8.20am.
Other Aptitude Tests for Cambridge & Oxford universities
As you will know, Cambridge has now replicated Oxford in requiring its applicants to sit for admissions
tests in the autumn application period. Subject advisors will have guided pupils about constructive
preparation for subject-based aptitude tests at both universities over the summer and will provide further
guidance in the discrete university preparation classes provided in the autumn term. All aptitude tests for
Cambridge & Oxford are sat in school on Wednesday, 2nd November. Some tests required by
Cambridge will be sat at the time of interview in the college to which the applicant has applied. Further
details are available at
http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/admission-assessments or at
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/tests?wssl=1
New Ofqual rules for enquiries and appeals (public examination re-marks this summer)
As you may have read in the press, the government is tightening up the process of re-marks with
immediate effect this summer. The following summary explains the situation:




reviewers will not be allowed to re-mark a script unless the original mark was ‘unreasonable’;
centres can ask boards to give reasons for the outcomes of specific reviews (but reasons do not
have to be supplied at the same time that results reviews are issued);
boards can now decide whether they will accept separate requests for reviews directly from
individual candidates (rather than exclusively from centres);
boards are now at liberty to decide whether to provide centres with access to marked GCSE
scripts;



boards are now at liberty to make mark schemes available prior to the deadline by which centres
must decide whether to request review marking;
in three AS and A level ‘pilot’ subjects (to be confirmed, but probably mathematics, religious
studies and geography) the grounds for appeal against the result of a review will include not only
that the board did not follow its own procedures properly but be extended to embrace an error
made by the original marker not having been corrected;
there is no longer a requirement that boards operate the same turn-around times and deadlines for
considering enquiries about results (although they have issued a set of common deadlines for 2016)
Overall we assume this will mean that fewer results will change during the “re-mark season”; however, the
picture is the same for all candidates in all schools and the overall effect is probably fairer than it might
once have been. Needless to say IB is unaffected by the Ofqual rules; we will have to see whether it has
any impact on IGCSE re-marks.
Arthur Wellesley Society
At the beginning of the summer term, Diana Darke spoke to a packed Collyer Hall Theatre about the
Syrian crisis. Diana provided an overview of the country’s demography, history and geography; in addition
to describing how she came to purchase and restore an historic courtyard house in Damascus which she
consequently opened up as a refuge for displaced friends.
On Wednesday 6th July over 50 members of the King’s community will finish the term in style by attending
a performance of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in Sussex. Rupert
Christiansen of the Daily Telegraph described the performance as ‘Pure joy… a Figaro of rare grace,
naturalness and charm’.
During next academic year on Thursday 1st December, the society will hold its second black tie dinner at
the House of Lords and on this occasion it will be hosted by Lord Grade. Since places are limited for this
event, early booking is recommended. Booking opens for members new to the society in 2016 -17 only on
Monday 20th June with general booking available from Monday 27th June. Further details of the forthcoming
Arthur Wellesley season can be found on the King’s website.
Partnerships and Outreach
As you have already heard, a large number of guests, including Stephen Hammond MP and the head
teachers of our partnership schools, joined us on the 24th June at a reception to celebrate the award of an
MBE to Heather McKissack, who created the partnership in 2003. Her creation is still thriving, and this
term’s aspirations events have included a lecture on magnetics in space, a debate with our pupils, and a
creative writing session in Southside House. The beautiful anthology of verse created by pupils at King’s
and Ursuline High School using the handsome printing press donated by the Friends has been published
and is on sale in the house. Many partner school sixth-formers joined us on Rossetti Day, and there will
be a forum for partner school staff about applications to Russell Group universities on the 8th July. The
Open Doors project for primary schools, run by pupils at King’s, Ricards Lodge and Coombe Boys’ School,
will be from 11th - 15th July.
Sport
Cricket
It has been a summer to forget in terms of weather, yet, with some outstanding work from our ground
staff, we have still completed well over 100 fixtures. Numbers for cricket have continued to thrive and
one of our biggest issues has come in finding regular opposition for all our keen cricketers.
On the field, the 1st XI players have led the way. On the back of a hugely successful senior tour of Sri
Lanka in July 2015 the side played 22, won 10, tied 1, drew 1, losing 10. Four on their last six matches
were decided on the final ball of the match, leading to lots of exciting cricket. The highlights came in
excellent victories against St John's, Hampton, St Alban's Pretoria and Trinity. Captain Jake Hennessey
scored 673 runs and was well supported throughout by his vice-captain Freddie Freeman. Spinner Mayur
Chelvam and opening bowler George Betts both took over 30 wickets, helping the team to some
memorable victories. It was also wonderful to see almost 250 people turn out for the, now annual,
'Ridgway Big Bash' versus Wimbledon College on the final Friday before half term.
The other senior sides have also had successful seasons. The 4th XI went unbeaten and the 2nd and 3rd
XIs produced some outstanding victories despite constant changes to their sides due to exams across
the three age groups. The U15A squad has had another successful season under the watchful eye of Mr
Costello. They travelled to the south coast prior to the start of term, playing and training at Eastbourne
College and Hurstpierpoint (rained off) in two friendly pre-season fixtures. The side’s victories included
defeating St Paul’s, Epsom, St George’s and Trinity but they were unfortunately knocked out in the
quarter final of the county cup. The L5th year group had over 70 boys signed up to cricket and the B, C
and D teams also enjoyed very successful seasons. The Under 14A also produced some excellent wins
over Epsom, St George’s and Reigate amongst others with a number of players impressing throughout.
They also showed noteworthy spirit in their draw against a strong Reeds team. The B, C and D teams
also competed well this summer, especially against Dulwich where all three teams won their matches on
a rare sunny Monday afternoon.
On the representative stage, Sanjay Patel continued to impress in the U15 age group, playing the entire
season in the 1st XI. His U15 Surrey CAG team mate and off-spinner Bobby Woodcock has also had a
chance to represent the 1 st XI this season and was impressively invited to trial for London and South East
England. Dhruv Harish (U15 winter programme) and Ayrian Pillai (U14) have also been involved in the
county squads this year and we wish all these boys the best of luck in their remaining county matches.
Boys’ tennis has continued to thrive at King’s this year with many pupils attending twice weekly practices
throughout the school year. With over 200 pupils choosing tennis this term for games, we have continued
to build the fixture programme with many pupils being able to represent the school for the first time at
U15C and U14C team level. The start of the term saw 26 pupils attending a week long training camp in
Majorca and as a result, all our tennis squads started the term strongly. The U14A team won the Surrey
League beating St Paul’s 5-4 in the final. The U15A team finished as runners-up in their group of the
Surrey Team Tennis League. The 1st VI also reached the quarter-finals of the Rootham Shield and qualified
for the 2nd group in the Independent School’s League after beating MCS Oxford and Dulwich. The Junior
Squads also qualified in the 2nd Group of the Independent Schools’ League with wins over Dulwich and
Abingdon. The tennis squads finished the term strongly at the Independent School’s Championship at Eton
with the U15 pair of Max Trapnell and Kiran Ramasamy winning the Plate competition.
It has been a mixed term for the girls’ tennis. They started the term coming runners-up in the surrey
tennis festival narrowly losing out to Putney High School. They narrowly lost out to Epsom College in the
Aberdare Cup which was an outstanding match. They have beaten Kingston Grammar and St. John’s
Leatherhead and lost out to CLFS and Charterhouse in a fixture. The Open Championship was yet again a
highlight for the term with 16 girls being picked for the first round matches. A strong field of players saw
Luxmie Muhunthakumar win the overall championship beating Alex Reyner in the final. Both Alex and
Luxmie were runners-up in the group stages of the Independent schools tournament at Eton and then beat
Rugby Schools’ 2nd pair in the first round of the main cup, but played an outstanding game against top sport
school Millfield whose 1st pair were just too consistent for us in the 2nd round. They have had an
outstanding term, captained by Vedika Hinduja.
This year 58 girls have chosen rounders and they have played in several fixtures. Notable success came
from the 1st team who came runners-up in the Harrodian tournament. We have had wins against King’s
Canterbury, St. George’s, Weybridge and Harrodian. All the teams have been hit this term by the weather
with several scheduled fixtures being cancelled. Sally Clifford has been captain of rounders this term.
King’s athletes won three gold medals in the Merton Championships: Marcus Walford (senior boys’
3,000m), Stanley Stott-Hall (intermediate boys’ high jump) and Nicholas Febrer-Bowen (junior boys’ high
jump). These three boys also earned selection to represent Merton in the Surrey Schools Championships,
along with Nathan Inkester (senior boys’ 800m), Michelle Hughes (senior girls’ 400m hurdles), Oscar
Millard (junior boys’ 1500m) and Rory Mortimore (110m hurdles). Next up will be the Trinity Schools’
competition and, of course, our own Sports Day
Rowing
The Easter training camp had a record number of rowers attend with 57 boys travelling for the eight-day
camp. Despite persistent rain, a cancelled ferry and a collapsed road, all those involved made the most of
the challenges thrown at them. Good progress was made across all the three squads (J15, J16 and J18) with
boys training twice a day every day.
The annual National Schools Regatta took place at Eton Dorney (the 2012 Olympic rowing venue) on the
last weekend of the first half of term. King’s had 87 athletes competing across all senior school year groups
from 4th form to U6th in both boys and girls crews over the three-day event. King’s finished the weekend
with a gold medal in the J15 1st 8s (the crew of Rufus King, Cameron Keller, Kobe Thielemans, Jack
Fenner, Alexander De Kare Silver, Will Lupson, Alessandro Gallo , Will Tyrrell and cox Sammy Emmins), a
silver in the J18 1st 8s and a bronze in the J16 2nd 4s. The school also had two outstanding 4th place
finishes in the J16 Championship 8s (just two feet from Eton for the bronze) and the J18 Championship
pairs.
Towards the end of term, two crews from the J16 squad narrowly missed selection for the GB team that
would be selected to compete against France in the GB vs France match. The coxed 4 of Theo Von Pryess,
James Blazyee, Ben Firillo, Felix Iggo and Omar Al Miqdadi and the coxless pair of Oscar Olsen and
Dominic Oldroyd were less than 2 seconds off the pace. Victor Olsen is hoping to contend a place in the
GB rowing team on the 6th of July at the GB trials race off.
At the time of writing the 1st VIII are in training at Henley in preparation for their contest against Eton on
the 1st day of racing at Henley Royal Regatta.
Music and Drama
Our annual improvisation competition House Line is it Anyway? took place in the first week of term,
followed by the GCSE Drama pupils’ final examination pieces: Comedians, Collaborators, Brief Encounter and
Billy Wonderful. L5th drama pupils also presented extracts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as part of
their coursework. As mentioned in section one, this year’s middle school production was The Exam, a
piece of original physical theatre, devised by a company of twenty boys in the 4 th and L5th forms. In May,
the King’s Comedy Society presented its first evening of stand-up, which was well received by a full
drama studio, and Director in Residence David Antrobus ran another popular session for King’s parents
on the use of voice. The Theatre Society has this term visited the Young Vic and West End, with theatre
breakfasts lively centres of debate, as always. Percy Jarvis and Luka Sheppard were worthy winners of the
hotly-contested fourth form Duologues competition.
Collyer Hall Theatre also welcomed Nick Clegg MP in June, to discuss the role drama has played in his
life, in an event in aid of Wimbledon’s Polka Theatre. At the end of term the Cambridge Footlights made
their annual visit to King’s, and this year’s show was directed by OK Tom Fairbairn. Congratulations to
Guy Woods in the U6th, who has been offered a place with the National Youth Theatre, and also to
David Antrobus, whose opera In Parenthesis was performed at The Royal Opera House on Friday 1st July.
Thirteen pianists reached the final of the piano competition, which was adjudicated by Marcel Baudet,
professor at the Amsterdam Conservatory. The performances created an impressive concert. The middle
school prize was justly won by Yousif Razin for his rendition of a Debussy Prelude whist the sixth form prize
went to Edward Sternberg for a compelling performance of Rachmaninov’s Prelude in G minor.
In the second half of term there were two visits to the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. Esther
Duffy, Ellie Tsoukkas and Felicity Porter performed superbly as soloists in a well-attended lunchtime recital,
whilst the chamber choir sang an uplifting service of choral Evensong in the chapel. There were four
further concerts in the term, including the summer orchestral concert which featured two of Dvorak’s
Slavonic Dances and well-known music from the film scores of Out of Africa and Gladiator. The string
showcase took place this year in the New Hall and celebrated the achievements of our string players.
A new event took place on the final Saturday of the term when the chamber choir hosted a soirée which
consisted of a musical supper. As well as both sacred and secular items from the choir, there were also
various ensembles and solo pieces from the pupils. It was a very fitting way to conclude the department’s
year.
Looking ahead, we have made a number of exciting new staff appointments for September, including
Nicolas Bricht as head of wind and brass and Richard Bannan as head of singing.
The Friends
The summer term has been a busy one for The Friends, with the highlight undoubtedly The London Ball in
May, as mentioned in section one.
This term, special thanks must also go to Jackie Harvey and Kate Holder for organising the post exams
lunch at Cannizaro in June and to Steph Cox and Maria Kinsella for the success of the revamped second
hand uniform initiative.
As we go to print we are delighted to hear Kola Adedoyin, Shona Richards and Jacob Paul remain in
contention for the British Olympic squad. These athletes have been supported by The Friends as part of
the Visiting Elite Athletes Programme and they have generously shared their experiences with our pupils.
Finally this term we say goodbye to Jessica Norbury and Lizzie Crawshaw who have generously supported
The Friends for many years.
Trips and Exchange Visits
During the Easter holidays, the CCF and civilian gold expedition teams departed for the Lake District and
the Brecons. The CCF also ran their annual AT camp at Warcop Army Camp in the North Pennines.
The annual ski trip took place successfully in the French Alps over Easter and we also had our usual preseason sports camps. The tennis training camp in Majorca was again a huge success. This year 26 pupils
participated, playing 6 hours of tennis each day, with activities in the evenings such as quizzes and games
evenings. Rowing camp took place in Figuiera da Foz in Portugal. The day to day rowing went well, with
most boys getting at least four hours of supervised revision daily. The L5th cricket tour took in the sights
of Eastbourne where they played Hurstpierpoint which was an excellent fixture against and excellent
school. The Eastbourne fixture was cancelled due to poor weather.
Eight staff and fifty seven middle school pupils enjoyed the wonders of the Azores on a Geography trip
during the Easter holidays. The boys explored a range of volcanic landscapes both intrusive and extrusive.
Hiking Mt Pico was definitely the highlight of the trip; the boys have continued to talk about how brilliant
this part of the expedition was and how much they enjoyed the climb in the snow. Our L5 geographers
successfully completed their IGCSE fieldwork in Cuckmere Haven, Sussex and at the start of the summer
term UK2 training for Fiwila took place in the South Downs.
During the summer term, the annual exchanges took place with visits to Spain, France, Germany and
Russia. The termly programme of Art, Music and theatre trips and debating competitions has continued.
Highlights for the summer holidays include the Fiwila partnership project in Zambia, the sixth form
Geography trip to Montserrat and the preseason rugby training in Portugal. The CCF will hold their annual
summer army camp at St Martin’s Palin in Kent and the CCF cadets will also have an opportunity to
participate in the silver qualifying expedition in the South Downs.
Compiled from colleagues’ reports, July 2016
Public examination results: summer 2016
AL, AS, GCSE, IGCSE and Additional Mathematics examination results will be released as follows in August
2016. I have included IB diploma details for completeness sake. Also included in this mailing is important
information about the Enquiry About Results (EAR) process. A second copy of the relevant EAR application
form can be found in your son or daughter’s results envelope in August along with a Statements of Results.
Upper sixth form leavers 2016
EXAMINATION
IB Diploma
AL
(upper sixth)
PROCEDURE
Wednesday 6th July: 14:45 (BST). IB students may access results via the website
https://candidates.ibo.org using their PINs.
While the vast majority of students will obtain the results they require for university,
a small number may narrowly miss their offers. Senior staff will be available in the
Memorial Library at the following times:Thursday 7th July 09:30–13:00 and Friday 8th July 09:30–13:00 for advice on review of
marking (EURs) and UCAS.
A full breakdown of results will be available at the school from 09:30 on Friday 8th
July.
Thursday 18th August: AL results will be released to students’ King’s email
account by the Exams Office and anticipate doing this from 07:00. However, with the
knowledge that a time lag can occur, U6th AL students can collect a paper copy of
their results from S.5 near Reception between 08:00-10:00. If you wish a
relative/family friend to collect on your behalf then you must provide written
permission on the day or notify the Exams Office [email protected] by Friday 5th
August.
N.B. pupils must clear their inbox before the end of the summer term, to
ensure that they are able to receive the results email. Any uncollected
results envelopes will be posted out to families by 1st class post that day.
Students should refer to the UCAS action plan sent by Mr Allen on Wednesday 17th
August. The exams office will prioritise those students whose university place
depends on the outcome of an EAR.
Enquiries About Results (EARs): Information and an application form will be
enclosed with the statements of results.
 Priority review of marking deadline is Monday 22nd August.
(NB: This service is for those requests where a student’s
university or higher education place depends on the outcome)
 Non-priority review of marking deadline is Friday 9th September.
Lower sixth form 2016
Thursday 18th August: AS results will be released to students’ King’s email
account by the Exams Office and anticipate doing this as soon as all upper sixth
results have been successfully released circa 11:00. Staff will devote Thursday
18th August to supporting results and UCAS outcomes for the upper sixth
only.
AS
(lower sixth)
Lower sixth AS students can collect a paper copy of their results from S.5
near Reception between 14:00-15:00. If you wish a relative/family friend to
collect on your behalf then you must provide written permission on the day or
notify the Exams Office [email protected] by Friday 5th August.
N.B. pupils must clear their inbox before the end of the summer
term, to ensure that they are able to receive the results email
Lower sixth students are welcome to meet with senior staff on Friday 19th to
discuss their U6 options, results and EAR requests. The exams office will
prioritise those students whose university place depends on the outcome of an
EAR on Thursday 18th August.
Enquiries About Results (EARs): Information and an application form will
be enclosed with the statements of results.

Non-priority re-mark deadline is Friday 9th September
Upper fifth form 2016
Thursday 25th August: 10:00 – 10:30 GCSE/IGCSE and Additional
Mathematics results will be available for collection in Great Hall.
Results will only be given to the student or to his parents. Written permission
of the student or his parents is required if the results are to be collected by
anyone else. Such requests should be forwarded to the examinations
administrator by letter or email [email protected], by Thursday 18th August.
Any uncollected results envelopes will be posted out to families by 1st class
post that day.
GCSE/IGCSE
(upper fifth)
GCSE results will be released to students’ King’s email account by the Exams
Office at 11:30. N.B. pupils must clear their inbox before the end of
the summer term, to ensure that they are able to receive the
results email.
Mr M Stables (director of studies) ([email protected]) will be available (0208
255 5324) to meet with students and parents to discuss results which pose
problems with lower sixth AS or IB subject choices, or to talk to students
who might like to make a request to change their options.
Enquiries About Results (EARs): Information and an application form will
be enclosed with the statements of results.

Review of marking deadline is Friday 9th September
The exams office will be available on Thursday 25th August should you have
any queries about EARs. Otherwise, students should wait until the start of
term to discuss a specific subject query with the relevant head of department.
The deadline for such requests is Friday 9th September.
Lower fifth form 2016
Thursday 25th August: 10:00-10:30. All GCSE/IGCSE results will be
available for collection in Great Hall.
GCSE/IGCSE
(lower fifth)
Results will only be given to the student himself or to his parents. Written
permission of the student or his parents is required if the results are to be
collected by anyone else. This should be forwarded to the examinations
administrator by letter or email [email protected], by Thursday 18th August.
Any uncollected results will be sent out that day by first class post to the
address to which reports are normally sent.
GCSE results will be released to students’ King’s email account by the Exams
Office at 11:30. N.B. pupils must clear their inbox before the end of
the summer term, to ensure that they are able to receive the results
email
Enquiries About Results (EARs): Information regarding the procedure for
this and an application form will be enclosed with your son’s statements of
results. Students should wait until the start of term to discuss a specific subject
query with the relevant head of department. The deadline for such requests is
Friday 9th September.
Please note that senior staff will be available by appointment to discuss any matters arising from your son
or daughter’s GCE/GCSE results.
Following several queries last year I can confirm that the parent portal does not give access to view
individual student results.
NB: students who are required to sit for BMAT, Oxford and Cambridge University aptitude tests in
November 2016 for a 2017 UCAS application will need to register their entry with Mr Edwards in the
school Examinations Office (top floor South Hayes) by Friday 16th September 2016.
May I take this opportunity to wish your son or daughter all the very best of luck in this summer’s
examinations and in particular for members of the upper sixth in regard to their university applications.