End of Term Assembly 10 July 2015
HM address
Review of the term
This is a term marked by some changeable weather. The grass on the south field is
showing all the signs of drought but earlier in the term the ground staff had a big job
trying to keep everything trimmed and mown given the level of rain in May.
You have already heard of the various successes and events at various Monday
morning assemblies and I will not go through all of the detail today, not least
because we have a number of staff to say farewell to
Over the past few weeks we have had a huge array of activities and trips - activities
day, the wonderful production of Gizmo directed by Mrs Hawker, Third year plays, an
art exhibition, the superb arts festival, sporting activities including sports day and the
swimming gala, the Endeavour programme, with the First Year Camp, visits to
France, a geography field trip to Osmington Bay, biology field work week at Dale
Fort, fund raising for our charity projects, a host of university open day visits, work
experience placements, Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and, of course, preparation
for the 4th year students as they consider their next steps beyond GCSE.
You will see this and more recorded in more detail in the latest issue of Konnections,
published today, and again thanks to Ms Hooper for putting it together.
Over the summer many of you will be involved in activities abroad and in the UK
including the Summer Camp, the Goedgedacht team in South Africa, the expedition
to the Himalayas, the sports tour to South Africa and the water-sports holiday in
France as well as further Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.
Our thanks go to all of the staff involved in those trips – they will be giving up a lot of
their holiday to make them work so smoothly.
The Summer Holiday will see a number of projects including an expansion of the
school gym, new music practice rooms and preparations for the construction of the
new Theatre, art department and expanded concourse.
Upper school academic awards 2015-2017
As usual this is the time of year that we announce those who have been awarded
Upper School Scholarships and Exhibitions. These are awarded to those candidates
who combine academic excellence with an intellectual leadership, potential and flair
based on their performance throughout the year. It is always a hard decision and this
year it was a particularly competitive field. If we had had more scholarships we could
comfortably have doubled the field.
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End of Term Assembly 10 July 2015
Upper School Academic Scholars
Upper School Academic Exhibitioners
Michael Hannides L15
Thomas Croft-Baker L1
James Harden L7
Klaudia Glowacz (Hon) L18
Eve Henley L9
Gemma Pearson L6
Chris Lotery L6
Harmeena Sekhon L10
Patrick Lotery L5
Becky Williams L17
Colin McCann L15
Thomas Mitchell L13
Evie Wateridge L12
Kelvin Xie L8
Upper School Music Scholar
Aelfred Hillman L10
Upper School Music Exhibitions
Angus Armstrong L1
Tom Salmon L15
Upper School Drama Scholar
Evie Wateridge L12
Upper School Art Scholar
Angus Armstrong L1
JRTA String Award
Alice Booth L3
Alla Garside L14
Kelvin Xie L8
They all deserve our congratulations.
Ogden Science Quiz
Two teams of First to Fourth Year pupils competed in the inaugural Southampton
Schools Science Quiz this week. Both teams performed well, and KES were
victorious! Luke Davis 1-5, the youngest competitor in the winning team, will present
the trophy to the School.
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End of Term Assembly 10 July 2015
Sport
The weather has been kind for much of the season with very few cancellations
across the sporting calendar this term and 158 sports fixtures played.
The cricket section was very busy from the start with the usual variety of wins and
losses. The U12 year group was very enthusiastic in its approach to the sport with
over 40 students attending after school practices. The U13 teams had good seasons
and in the U15 age group the A team played well on a tough circuit with the highlight
undoubtedly an away victory over Marlborough College in the Taverner’s trophy,
reaching the last 16 of the national cup. The most successful year group in the
school were the U14 teams with success in the county cup final held this week,
beating PGS by 8 wickets. Jovan Dhariwal should to come up to the stage to
present the trophy to the school.
In the senior teams it was very pleasing to see a 2nd XI fielded on 3 occasions and
the 1st XI enjoying a promising season winning over half their matches. Full colours
are awarded to:
Tom Fay S21
Dan Damley-Jones S11
Half colours are awarded to:
Charles Bolton S3
Rory Saunders S19
Alec Damley-Jones U8
In rounders A and B teams were fielded from U12 to U15 level and again there were
some very good performances. The 1st years were particularly strong with both A
and B team winning all their fixtures. The U13 teams found their games tougher but
managed to field A and B teams regularly and the U14 teams achieved some good
wins and the U15 teams showed particular enthusiasm for playing for the School and
were successful as a result of this. Our facilities at Wellington again played host to
the 2nd annual U13 rounders’ tournament which was an excellent event.
In tennis we once again entered the Aegon championships in both boys and girls
teams at U13 and U15 levels. The girls came up against a number of strong schools
and found it challenging. The boys’ teams fared better with both U13 and U15 teams
losing only 1 of their group matches.
It was excellent to hear of the increased opportunity for athletics this term. The 1st
year inter form meeting at the Sports Centre was an excellent event and Sports Day
once again enabled a large number of our athletes to show their abilities in front of
the school. We have also heard this term of the excellent success of the Rhythmic
Gymnasts and the sailing regatta.
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End of Term Assembly 10 July 2015
There are some awards to make as follows:



The Egremont Cup is awarded to the best all round 6th form sportsman and
this year it goes to Tom Fay S21
The Diaper trophy for best novice sailors goes to Isobel Chapman 1-6 and
Marianne Brabazon 1-4.
The Walters-Helps trophy for best sailor goes to Henry Beardsall L7.
The sports captains for next term are:


Rugby
Hockey
Theo Pritchard S22
Yvie Lock S3
Music
This has continued to be an active term for School music with Listen while you
concerts, workshops and of course the activity surrounding the Arts Festival.
Music competition winners
Joe Arthur U10
Eleanor Dunlop L9
Amir Rajput L10
Full colours: Luke Roberts S13, Rosa Sparks S4 & re-awarded to Phil Normand S6
Music Captains
Lower School Music Captain
Upper School Music Captain
School Music Captain
Cecilia Laverty L17
Seb Sheath L7
Richard Brown U6
Drama
Drama finished in fine style with the production of Gizmo and Head Master’s
Commendations Roma Creedon L3, Finbar Ditchfield L4 and Harmeena Sekhon L10
for outstanding commitment
Charities
Although a large part of the term has been spent doing exams, you have still been
involved in a good number of fundraising events including the non-uniform day, the
fun run and various events during the Arts Festival. The total raised this academic
year is in excess of £24,000 with additional donations still to come in from the KES
PTA Ball. This is a real achievement and colours are awarded as follows:
Charities Half colours Eddy Compton S5, Beth Doel S3, James Osman S16, Rory
Saunders S19, Nikhita Sharma S13, Tom Stanley S20
Full colours George Budden U15, Beth Gaunt S21, Max Ivens U12, Sophie Khakoo
U6, Sara Talwar U4
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End of Term Assembly 10 July 2015
House matters
Lower School Colours
It has been another very competitive season for inter-House activity. This is the time
of year we award Lower School House colours. The following should come forward.
CAPON Matthew Duke L2, Henry Gwilliam L1, Megan Magee L3, Eliza Rist L2,
Edward Sheppard L1, Will Wickham L3,
LAKE Matt Bell L4, Barney Clacy L6, Chris Lotery L6, Gemma Pearson L6, Phoebe
Nicoll L6
LAWRENCE Henry Beardsall L7, Amira Douglas-Todd L8, Maddi Holden L8, James
Lander L8, Amy Ritchie L9, Jake Rowland L9
REYNOLDS Jamie Cook L10, Sam Hill-Cousins L12, Sophie Roe L10, Katya Seifert
L12, Henry Southern L11
SYLVESTER Jovan Dhariwal L14, Beth Ryan L15
WATTS Will Barker L16, Alex Liu L16, Izzy Richardson L17, James Webb L17,
Cherida Zhang L16
Swimming Gala Results
6th
Capon
5th
Lawrence
th
4
Watts
3rd
Lake
nd
2
Reynolds
1st
Sylvester Alice Cowell and Mukta Srinivasa Raghavan should come up to
receive the cup.
The Allen Grant Shield 2014-2015
After 47 events, starting back in September and finishing this week with the
declaration of the results for the Swimming Gala and the Lower School Merits, and
with many energetically contested events in between, the Allen Grant Shield table is
now complete. Until Sports Day, the result was very much in doubt with just one
point separating the first two Houses, however, one House was able to pull away
from the rest with a string of victories in the second half of the Summer Term.
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End of Term Assembly 10 July 2015
The runners up in Lower School Cup, with 101 points, is WATTS
The winners, with 128 points, is LAKE
The current LAKE Lower School House Captains Gemma Pearson & Matthew Bell
will now come on stage to receive the trophy.
The runners up in Upper School Cup, with 29 points, is LAWRENCE
The winners, with 31 points, is WATTS
The current WATTS Upper School House Captains Alice Ridley & Matt Stelling will
now come on stage to receive the trophy.
The overall results are as follows:
In third place with 170 points: SYLVESTER
In second place with 183 points: WATTS
And the runaway winner is: LAKE, for the second year in succession, with 197
points.
The current Heads of LAKE House Lucy Porter & Rory Morris will now come up onto
the stage to receive the Allen Grant Shield.
Staff Leaving
We have a number of staff leaving King Edward’s this term and, in order of time
served at the school, we say goodbye in order of time served.
Non-teaching staff
Mr Dar and Mr Webb have been our IT Assistants for the past year. They have both
done excellent jobs. We wish them both well as they return to university to complete
their degrees.
Mr Goldie
Mr Goldie is retiring after 13 years at the School. He joined KES in May 2002 as
Assistant Bursar (Facilities) principally to run our bus system. He had a distinguished
career in the navy and was awarded with an MBE. The logistical expertise he
brought with him guiding nuclear submarines has been invaluable to both King
Edward’s and Stroud. This was first demonstrated in the complex re-organisation of
pupil bus routes in 2002. He also masterminded a number of multi-million pound
construction projects on all four of our school sites with the minimum of disruption to
day to day routines beginning with the Design and Technology building in 2003 and
the latest being a new Dining Hall and three classrooms at Stroud in 2014. He has
also been a key figure in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. He leaves a legacy
of a re-built school and but will continue with his involvement in the Duke of
Edinburgh award.
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End of Term Assembly 10 July 2015
Teaching staff
Mr Reece
Mr Reece has spent a year in the Classics and RS Departments while studying for
his Diploma in Teaching in the Life Long Sector. He has been involved in Classical
Society, the Archaeology Club and the Japanese Club. We are grateful for all that he
has done and wish him well as he moves to teach in Japan.
Dr Berryman
Dr Berryman has been an important part of the KES music team over the past year.
He has also given us some very thought-provoking assemblies, lectures, and
outstanding piano recitals. He moves to the USA to take up the position of Associate
Director of Programming in a summer school company.
Mrs Coker
Mrs Coker joined King Edward’s three years ago. She has shown commitment and
dedication and her friendly and caring approach in the classroom has enabled many
students to conquer their fear of mathematics. Elaine ran the School Mathematics
Partnership Scheme for the last two years and primary school children have
benefited from these fun sessions. She has also put her heart and soul into running
the successful Fencing Club. She is moving to the West Midlands to teach and we
wish her every success in her new post.
Miss Stenning
Miss Stenning joined the School in 2012, and has had to manage the unusually
challenging commute from the Isle of Wight each day. She is an excellent English
teacher and has made innovative use of iPads in her teaching. She has also taken
debating to a new level at the School, and it has become a thriving and successful
society under her guidance KES has hosted the English Speaking Union Public
Speaking Competition and the Schools’ Mace and KES entered the Oxford Schools’
Union Debating Competition. Miss Stenning has solved her commuting challenge by
obtaining the post of Head of English at Ryde School. We wish her every success in
this much-deserved promotion.
Mr Kay
Mr Kay has been teaching at the school since 2007 and his time in the Design and
Technology department has seen him have a significant role at KES: His enthusiasm
for the subject, his creative talent and manufacturing ability has allowed students to
pursue their ideas and to manufacture them in all aspects of the subject. Mr Kay has
been responsible for the instigation of the Arkwright Scholarship Scheme at KES and
under Mr Kay’s guidance King Edward's has very proudly boosted an average of at
least of 2 scholars each year, an impressive achievement.
Mr Kay is a man of many talents. A former international standard fencer; has taken
the sport to new levels with students regularly participating in national competitions.
Few in the school will be unaware of Mr Kay’s devotion to his dogs and his
enthusiasm for the sport of sled racing. No one could forget the moment when Mr
Kay had 10 Huskies on stage during a school assembly.
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End of Term Assembly 10 July 2015
He has been British Champion in several disciplines and took a year's sabbatical
from teaching in 2013 to train and become the first Briton with a UK dog team to
complete the Finnmarkslopet. To put this in perspective, more people have climbed
Everest than completed this race. It will come as no surprise that he has decided to
leave teaching and move to Norway to pursue his passion. He will greatly missed by
staff and pupils alike.
They all deserve our thanks and congratulations
Mrs Thomas
Finally we come to Mrs Thomas. She is retiring after 24 impressive years at KES.
She has been an outstanding contributor to the School throughout her career here,
not just as a superb mathematics teacher, tutor, Head of Year and Deputy Head but
also as a first rate hockey coach.
Her sporting skills are of a very high order and early on displayed her talents for
leadership. She was a top hockey player – Captain of the Loughborough University
1st XI, England Universities Captain and a member of the England U21 training
squad.
Her first teaching post was at Kelly College and her then Head described her as
‘patient, understanding, enthusiastic and having plenty of stamina’, qualities that still
describe her well.
She came to KES in September 1991 and quickly made her mark, becoming Deputy
Head of the Lower School in 1993. Her pastoral expertise quickly became apparent
with a paper on bullying which the then Head Mr Cookson felt was ‘quite
outstanding’. This still forms the basis of our current approach 20 years on.
She was involved with the development of PSHE at a time when it was far from the
carefully structured course it is today. She was very good at fighting her corner, often
on behalf of others. Her experience of the heated conditions of the The Pryory, the
staff work area, resulted in the introduction of air conditioning in 2002 and staff have
enjoyed a much improved office environment ever since. And she was instrumental
in developing the Lower School merit system, something which remains a key part of
the lives of First, Second and Third years.
She was promoted to Head of the Lower School in September 2003 and became the
Assistant Head (Pastoral) in 2008 and Deputy Head (pastoral) in 2010. She is fully
involved in School life, attending almost all school plays, concerts, charity events
and, of course, sports events.
However much of her work takes place behind the scenes. She has been our Child
Protection Lead Officer, a critical and often very demanding role, for the past 5
years. She has also taken on the mantle of compliance officer in addition to her
duties as Deputy Head. In this role she has responsibility for the huge number of
policies and procedures required to run a modern school. It is a tough job and Mrs
Thomas works very long hours but always has time for others and is an expert
listener.
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End of Term Assembly 10 July 2015
Everything she does she approaches with great professionalism, attention to detail
and a robust sense of humour. Few staff have given so much of their time and
energy to the School. She is a remarkable teacher and we will all miss her very
much.
New staff appointments
We have a number of new staff who will join us next year:
Non-Teaching Staff appointments
Mr K Attenberger and Mr G Twum-Barima – IT Support Technicians
New teaching staff and positions
Mr Collinson – Assistant Head (Pastoral)
Miss Champion – English teacher
Mr Evans – Music teacher
Ms Gadsbey – English teacher
Mrs Karis – Religious studies teacher
Mrs Kent – PE teacher
Mrs Penn – PE teacher
Mr Jessep – Mathematics teacher
Mr Rosenburg – Mathematics teacher
Mrs Sheridan – D & T teacher
Mr Dellar becomes Senior Deputy Head and Dr Waymark is the new Deputy Head
(academic). Mrs Sheppard is the new Assistant Head (Registrar), the new Head of
the Lower School is Mrs Kelly and the new Head of the First Year is Miss Stone. Mr
Collins is standing down as Head of Mathematics but will remain teaching part-time;
his replacement is Mrs Platten, supported by Mr Eyssens and Miss Ridley. Mr Smart
will be focused on his work as Head of Curriculum Support and his role for student
learning has been taken over by Ms Jones as the new Assistant Director of Studies
(student learning). And we welcome back Mrs Penfold following her maternity leave.
The A level and AS results will be published on Thursday 13 August and GCSE
results on Thursday 20 August. The new term begins on Wednesday 2 September
and Speech Day is on Friday 18 September and the Chief Guest is Mandy Hickson,
a former RAF G4 pilot and one of the first women to fly in combat in Iraq. She will be
well worth hearing!
I wish you all a very well deserved summer holiday and we look forward to seeing
you refreshed again in September.
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