July 2015

Dear Parents

Thank you for all your support and understanding in a year which has placed the building projects very visibly,

and audibly, in the middle of our campus. These are all going well, and I shall summarise the situation with

each of them later in this letter.

It is important that buildings express in physical form something of the ethos of the school, that they enthuse

the staff and pupils, match their aspirations, and remain fit for purpose over time. But it is the teachers and the

pupils themselves who give a school its deeper character – and none more so than those colleagues who

serve a school for their whole career. I would like to pay special tribute to four colleagues who between them

have devoted a total of over 140 years to King's, and played an exceptional part in the success and character

of this school. By that I mean that their humanity, scholarship, classroom brilliance and day to day example

have together illuminated the paths of thousands of pupils over the years. These colleagues are: Mr Bennett

and Mr Hughes from the physics department, Mr Thomas, head of history, and Mr Davies, of the chemistry

department.

I always think what a tribute it is to the King’s common room and the spirit of our pupils that colleagues of

such calibre stay so long and so happily, keeping their good humour, openness to ideas, and liveliness of

teaching style over decades in the same classrooms and laboratories. Speaking as one who has taught in six

schools with many different common room “characters”, I would like parents to be aware of what an

exceptional atmosphere seems to have distinguished the King's common room for many years – long before I

arrived, and perhaps even before these long-serving colleagues joined, too. I still remember joining King’s eight

years ago and being struck by my new colleagues’ openness to fresh ideas, and their whole-hearted

commitment to seeking the best outcome for every pupil ahead of everything else. To King's parents this may

seem too obvious for words, but there are many schools, some of great standing, where this is not the case.

Graham Bennett is the longest serving of our leavers, with 39 years at King's. He is a colleague and

physicist of the utmost professionalism and decency. He radiates an undimmed enthusiasm for his subject, and

has given unstintingly of his time and efforts not only in his teaching, but in running and supporting trips and

visits to inspire and stimulate our pupils. In the laboratory, Mr Bennett has a strong belief that pupils learn

well through practical work and he also has an incredible ability for crafting detailed diagrams and illustrations

on the board. He is a man of great personal kindness, and this has made him a fine tutor and a great colleague

for trainee teachers joining us for their PGCE placements.

Past pupils will remember his exploits in the CCF RAF section and many middle school pupils have enjoyed his

DIY sessions in activities weeks, introducing them to the key skills of wall papering, electric lighting, plumbing

and even soldering. We shall miss him very much, but are delighted that his son and daughter hold the

Bennett flame aloft in the science department where they are both lab technicians!

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Alan Thomas has held many important posts during a wonderful 38 years at the school, not least taking on

the role of the first head of sixth form when College Court was opened, but perhaps most memorably as the

embodiment of the history department which he has headed with joy, passion and a learning worn lightly, as is

his way in all things.

Alan will be missed by colleagues and parents but especially the pupils: he is a kind, funny and generous man,

always found with lollies in his pockets for deserving pupils. He has been a Kingsley form teacher and tutor for

many years and regularly leads his tutees in renditions of “Nelly the elephant” and “praise be the school”; his

room is often packed at lunchtimes with fourth formers playing board games or just enjoying his company. Mr

Thomas is also ‘King of the Quiz’ both for sixth form induction events and during evenings on history trips. He

is a qualified soccer referee and he led the sport at King’s for many years. He also ran cricket for several years

and I know he looks back proudly on reaching seven cup finals in his time in charge, winning an impressive five

of them. First and foremost, Mr Thomas is an outstanding teacher who loves history, and he will now move

on to our sister institution, King’s College, London, to study for an MA in Modern History. We are very lucky

to have a colleague of the calibre of Mr Stephenson within the department to take on the role of head of

history from September.

Robin Hughes is leaving us after 35 years of quite exceptional physics teaching of the highest level. He was

head of physics until he stepped down to teach part-time two years ago, and was also a stalwart of the Boat

Club. Mr Hughes was highly innovative as syllabuses changed, and, in his teaching, both kindly and rigorous.

During his tenure he arranged or co-ran inspirational and academically stimulating trips to Leiden, CERN,

Hamburg, Iceland and, with the DT department, to Japan. He is not only an exceptionally bright physicist, but

he has a proselytiser's zeal, and it is impossible to come away from a conversation with Mr Hughes without

picking up at least some of his enthusiasm for his subject. Whenever I talked to him at lunch, I always walked

away wishing I had been taught by him – although I suspect he would not have shared the fantasy: I would have

been a challenging student. Physics students all across the country have benefited from this enthusiasm as he

has led the challenging Physics Olympiad for several years. Mr Hughes is going to have a busy retirement, and

is involved in two high level Physics projects, one associated with Cambridge University and the other with

Oxford.

Ian Davies studied Natural Sciences at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and until the appointment of

Mr Wilson in the mathematics department, was the only colleague with whom I could swap memories of

Caius. Once, as we were chatting, we discovered to our mutual astonishment that we had both lodged, at

different times, with the same redoubtable Cambridge landlady whose idiosyncratic approach to student

welfare had clearly left its mark on both of us. Mr Davies has taught at King's for over thirty years and is a

great character in the laboratory, known for his enthusiasm for spectacular demonstrations, often with

explosions attached. Many of our brightest scientists have flourished under his tutelage. He has been a leading

contributor to chemistry extension lessons, always challenging the pupils to extend themselves. He will leave

us with a wonderful legacy, having founded our partnership with Fiwila School in Zambia. Mr Davies first

visited in 2007 and has been accompanying groups of sixth formers there ever since 2009, teaching lessons

and helping with the physical development of the school. For many King’s boys and girls, their visit to the

school at Fiwila represents one of those rare moments that without exaggeration can be called “life-changing”.

I shall refer to other leavers in the staffing appendix at the end, where leavers and new colleagues not referred

to in previous letters are listed. However, I must in this first section add a fifth colleague. Although Sue

Walker has not been at King's for quite the time of the colleagues listed above, she has given us a remarkably

full and enthusiastic fourteen years, as a superb teacher, and, more recently, an outstanding head of IB, a role

that suited her perfectly, combining her natural and articulate passion for the IB, with a supremely organised

and effective style of management. Before joining King’s in September 2001, Ms Walker was a world champion

rower and she used her passion and experience to help transform rowing at King’s, leading the team to win

the First VIIIs for the first time in the school’s history. A highly capable teacher of mathematics, Ms Walker is

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equally effective with pupils on the notoriously demanding IB Higher Level course and those finding IGCSE

challenging, setting very high standards for all her students. She was also a fine tutor, able to bring the best out

of a wide range of boys and girls who very much saw her as their champion. Ms Walker now leaves us to lead

the Learning Enrichment Department at Brighton College where her family have long-held connections, and

which her young daughter will now attend.

Internal promotions

We have made a number of internal promotions in the last term. Dr Laurie will take on the role of head of

sixth form and joins the senior management team. After twenty years of excellent service, Mr Tint has

decided to step down as head of modern languages and will teach part-time next year. Mrs Mulcahy

becomes acting head of the modern languages department for next year, supported by Ms Cerda Drago as

acting deputy head of the department. I am delighted that Mr Tint has agreed to continue teaching French for

one further year, and extremely grateful to Mrs Mulcahy for agreeing to take on her new responsibility. Mr

Stanley becomes head of Glenesk house. Mr Allen will take on the role of head of IB diploma, in addition to

his UCAS role. He will, however, relinquish his role as head of teaching and learning. This passes to Mr

Banyard. The head of girls position will be taken by Miss Collin. Miss Alisse will take on the role of IB

diploma deputy, and Mrs Catterall will be in charge of US university applications. Dr Stewart becomes

assistant head of Major; Mr Grabowski becomes assistant head of Alverstone; Miss Lawton becomes

assistant head of Maclear as maternity cover. Mr Harris takes on the role of events assistant, and Mr

Christou has taken up the mantle of King’s essay co-ordinator as maternity cover. These are all immensely

talented schoolteachers and I am delighted with the quality of candidate we see for every internal promotion

at King’s.

Building works

Quadrangle

It is always interesting to see how OKs react to the new quadrangle when they return to the school – they

invariably do a double-take to see grass, trees and flowers where the old hard play area stood for so long. Old

boys and girls who were back at King’s last Saturday for our service celebrating the life of Rakesh Joshi were

very envious as they had lunch in the quad after the service; they spoke extremely warmly about the

quadrangle and the new building taking shape beside the Taylor wing. I always wonder what previous

generations will say about changes to their old school, so it was good to hear them speak warmly of the new

developments. The remainder of the pathways around the site should be completed over the summer holidays

and all landscaping will be complete by the time the new building opens.

New teaching building

The Allies and Morrison teaching building is due to open early in the spring term 2016 having fallen

significantly behind schedule early in the construction process. Works have been proceeding much more

expeditiously since the new year. It will include six large classrooms, a conference room, offices for the

geography department and the head of lower school, and a 150-seater hall with excellent audio-visual facilities.

A new three-storey façade has been added to the 1950s labs creating corridor access at each level for the first

time since they were built. A lift has also been installed. All year groups will benefit from the building, including

the new lower school who will have their form rooms there from September 2016.

Dining hall

Over the summer, the dining room will be completely refurbished, and I hope all boys and girls feel very happy

when they see the changes on their return in September. It will be more spacious, more efficiently designed,

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and look a great deal more attractive. Everything from chairs and tables to the lighting and the ceiling will be

new. The malodorous carpet, mentioned to me over the years by many parents, will be gone, a wooden floor

taking its place. I should say that the more work we have done on the old dining hall, the more we have found

to address. The project is therefore a surprisingly expensive one, about £3m, with a good deal of the spending

going on items pupils will never see, including re-wiring, new kitchen equipment, and a new plate wash. These

are unromantic purchases, but they will make a great difference to our ability to serve over 1400 lunches

every day, as Mr Hull and his team currently manage to do with great success and good humour. However,

they and we are well aware we cannot postpone these works any longer. My thanks to pupils and staff for

their patience as we served only packed lunches for the last seven days of term.

Music school and recital hall

We were very pleased that Merton Council gave planning permission for the new Hopkins music school;

detailed design work is underway and we aim to tender this project at the end of next term. The project

should begin next summer. We hope to finish by December 2017 but we will update you on this as time goes

on.

Swimming pool and new sports facilities

The architects’ competition for the swimming pool and additional sports hall project is now complete.

Having interviewed ten architects we have appointed David Morley Architects to take this project forward

with a planned start date of summer 2017. Their team was impressive and previous work includes the

Olympic Water Polo arena, various projects at the Hurlingham Club, and the English Institute of Sports,

University of Bath. This fantastic project will provide us with a much-needed second sports hall, a new 6-lane

swimming pool, and various exercise studios and changing rooms, all in the same area of the school, beside

the current sports hall, which of course remains. The tennis courts will move to the location of the current

swimming pool, and the cricket nets will be moved to a suitable location which is currently under discussion.

In this way, taking account of the new pavilion and second astro at Kingsway, our school sports facilities will

have been completely transformed in a period of just seven or eight years, beginning in 2010.

Development and fund raising

Ms Ozmus and her team continue to do a marvellous job for the school. I am very pleased to be able to tell

you that in the last three years alone, we have raised £7.5m in cash and firm pledges. Thank you to all parents

who have supported the school so generously. As ever, may I urge all of you to consider a gift to our

development programme, and to stress once again that donations of any size mean an enormous amount to

us. Please do not be afraid to make a donation of a very small amount – we know that everyone has

completely different giving capacities, but even an annual gift of (say) £50 adds up over time, and, if replicated

by many alumni and parents, means we can try to keep fees under control, fund bursaries and buildings in the

long term, and, one day, achieve the ultimate objective of establishing a permanent King’s College School

endowment fund.

In the coming months, we shall send all parents and alumni a new brochure called Walls and Bridges,

encouraging everyone who cares about the school to support either our building (walls) or our outreach

(bridges) programme. This involves the creation of more bursaries for those families who could otherwise not

afford to send their son or daughter to the school.

There have been plenty of events, and one of the most successful of the term was the City and Business

Networking Reception, kindly hosted by Morgan Stanley, with guest speaker, Vittorio Colao, CEO of

Vodafone. The event attracted over 200 guests from the finance world.

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Captain and Vice Captains of School

The new Captain of School is Nathan Inkester. Nicky Lanceley and Freddie Freeman have been elected Vice

Captains of School.

Prize giving

Prize giving will again be in the excellent venue of the Cadogan Hall, Sloane Square. It takes place on Saturday

12th September at 11am. This year, our prize giver is Lord Deighton. Lord Deighton, whose two boys

attended King’s, oversaw the London Olympic Games, having been appointed CEO of the London Organising

Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) in 2005. Previously he had been Chief Operating

Officer of Goldman Sachs (Europe). Subsequently he was appointed a life peer as Baron Deighton of

Carshalton, and served as Commercial Secretary to the Treasury in the last government.

Curriculum changes

Following the general election, all schools at last can be clear about A level and GCSE reforms. A levels will

indeed become linear, as we correctly anticipated when we reintroduced A levels alongside the IB. For

September 2016, however, some A levels remain modular, and where this is the case we will also keep the

modular format for those subjects. Fully linear A levels include Art, Biology, Chemistry, English, Economics,

History, Physics and Psychology. Other A levels will remain modular (with AS exams at the end of the lower

sixth contributing to the overall grade) next year but will become linear for pupils beginning A levels in 2016

(or 2017 in the case of Mathematics and Further Maths). Therefore over the next few years A level and IB

teaching will become more aligned, with both courses eventually following a linear route.

The current position for King’s pupils is that as A level becomes fully linear, all pupils will begin with four A

levels. If they drop the fourth A level at a later date, they will have benefited from a year of teaching in that

subject, but there will not be any stand-alone AS certification in dropped subjects at King’s. This is because we

will plan our A level teaching around the full two-year course, and so King’s boys and girls will not necessarily

be taught the elements that make up the new stand-alone AS exams. In other words, the dropped A level will

not receive any form of certification. King’s made its position on this clear last November, and I have been

interested to see how most good academic schools, for both boys and girls, have since decided to adopt a

very similar approach.

We will, however, look into the possibility of offering the extended project which counts as an AS, and we will

be in touch with parents again as these details become clear. All A level pupils will continue to complete the

King’s Essay at the same time as IB candidates undertake the extended essay.

Careers and University Entrance

The completed applications cycle (pending IB and A level results this summer) is looking extremely healthy.

217 applications have been made from current pupils and post-qualification applicants. 97% of applicants

have received at least 3 offers (96% in 2014) while 83% have received at least 4 offers (the same figure as last

year). The number of offers this year per candidate is almost identical for both IB and A level cohorts. For

example, 45% of IB candidates have achieved all five offers; for A level, that figure is 46%.

The largest number of firm acceptances after Oxford and Cambridge are for Bristol, Durham, Exeter,

Edinburgh, UCL, Imperial & Warwick. In addition, 12 pupils (from 13 applications) have received offers to

read Medicine. It is worth reminding ourselves that this is a remarkable figure. Very few schools even of our

standing achieve this sort of outcome in a field where, nationally, the figure is the opposite: one in eleven

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medical applicants typically gains an offer. Internationally, a further 11 pupils have received offers from North

American universities including 3 places at Princeton, another at Tuft’s and a place at Harvard.

Important 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 4th; for medical applicants,

September 7th; and for all university applicants, September 28th. 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.

Further important details regarding UKCAT, BMAT and other aptitude tests can be found in Section Two.

This term’s main events

As ever, boys, girls and colleagues have been incredibly dedicated 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. In the last month or so

we have enjoyed a tremendous sixth form leavers’ dinner where school captain, Charlie Allen, spoke

extremely well. I am (as always) grateful to King’s mums Jessica Norbury, Deborah Rochford and Louise Tyrell

of The Friends' flower group for preparing stunning arrangements for all major occasions at the school.

We have also enjoyed a beautiful summer music recital in the Great Hall and an unforgettable production

of Peter Grimes, starring fourth form and lower fifth boys, directed by Mr Antrobus. The set design, lighting

and sound by Mr Leach and Mr Trow, with much help from boys, were of the same exceptional standard.

There was more impressive middle school acting, this time from the upper fifth, in their GCSE productions

of a few weeks before.

The cricket season has had plenty of highs and lows, but I would like to draw attention to the two boys who

scored centuries two Saturdays ago: George Thomas, who also captained the 1st XI to a fine win over Reigate

Grammar School and Victor Bakker, with his century for the 2nd XI. Congratulations, too, to Scott Moore and

Casper Scheible who won the St George’s tennis pairs tournament, and to Claës Sjöborg and Carson Hill

who won the Springthorpe Cup (U15 plate competition) at the ISTA championships at Eton.

Activities week has been full and varied, as always, and the rowers enjoyed a sunny and fun Watersplash

event last weekend at the boathouse and on the Thames, where my wife and I were made very welcome (in

the boathouse, that is – not the river). Spirits were especially high following a great set of results at the

National Schools’ Regatta in Nottingham over half term, especially the first place for the U16s coxed fours:

Sam Oswald, Alexander Chalk, William Monaghan, Charlie Noel and cox Elliot Davies were the gold medal

winners, beating Latymer in their final. The 1st VIII, racing in a very competitive J18 1st 8s event, won silver.

The J15 1st 8s also won silver in a superb final. The senior pair, William Nelson and Dominic Oldroyd, made

the final of championship pairs for the first time. Well done to all rowers for their dedication and success.

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We welcomed the new lower sixth for their summer barbecue on a sunny evening last week – we have a

record number of new girls joining the school next term, and both they and the new boys all seemed in great

spirits. We also held open evenings for the new 11+ entry and for the sixth form for 2016. Both were

extremely well attended, and the excitement about joining King’s at these events is a great joy to behold for

my colleagues and me.

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 had hoped to be there but at

the last minute was asked to fly to Shanghai to visit another possible school site. This is because our

reputation in China is very high, and there is a great deal of interest in creating partnerships with King’s.

However, as I always say, the governors and I are being cautious and circumspect. The original agreement to

act as consultants for a large school some way outside Shanghai is however almost certain to be agreed, and

although the contractual stages seem to take forever, we remain confident this will happen.

In the penultimate week of term, we were very pleased to welcome Mr McBride from the Department for

Education. He shadowed me for one day, a colleague for a second day, and a pupil for a third. He was

extremely enthusiastic about what he saw, and hopes to return to visit our partnerships programme. I am

delighted (and impressed) that a civil servant spent so much time with us to understand school life from the

inside.

Finally, at the weekend we held a celebration of the life of Rakesh Joshi, OK, in the Great Hall. Many boys

and girls from his year came back to support Rakesh’s loving family and their friends. Mr and Mrs Joshi have

asked to sponsor a trophy to be awarded each year to the “players’ player” in the 1st XV. The Rakesh Joshi

cup will be awarded for the first time at prize-giving in September. Members of Rakesh’s family spoke movingly

about this fun, talented and irrepressible young man, as did close friends from King’s and his university. Others

performed songs, and then tea was served from the sixth form centre. Well over two hundred people came

along, and I especially want to thank Mr Milne, Ms Sophie Elles of the development office, and the Chaplain, for

all they did to ensure the event went so well.

Important

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. There is also some information for all parents on access

arrangements (the latest rules on eligibility for extra time in exams, etc).

Not all aspects of this summer term have been easy, and I know my colleagues and I are looking forward to

the holidays. I am sure the same is true for your sons and daughters, and for all of you as parents too. As

always, my best wishes and thoughts are especially with families awaiting public exam results in the coming

weeks. If there are any problems or concerns, I am available either in person or via my usual email throughout

the holidays. Other senior colleagues will be ready to help as needed, too.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Halls

Head Master

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Top Independent Boys’ and Co-ed Schools, November 2014

The following table is from the Sunday Times and was published in November 2014. It is unusual in that it

includes almost all leading schools.

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Section Two

Staff: further details

Santiago Borio has taught mathematics at King’s for six years. He is one of the most passionate teachers on

the staff, often using new techniques to enthral his classes. He has led our Fiwila partnership for the past two

years and can often be seen fund raising for the cause. Santiago leaves us to take up a post in Africa

promoting the teaching of mathematics, combining the two causes closest to his heart.

Graham Kennedy joined us five years ago from Epsom College and quickly established himself as an

excellent teacher of mathematics, a great sports master, particularly in hockey and tennis, and a devout

Christian. He has held positions as head of hockey, assistant Lay Chaplain and unofficial school bagpiper!

Graham is relocating, and joins the mathematics department at Brighton College.

Lucy Kay is leaving us to join Streatham and Clapham High School as head of history and politics. Lucy has

been with us since September 2010 and has been part-time for the past two years as she has studied for a

master’s degree in International Politics. An excellent teacher of history, she has also been an active

supporter of girls’ sport and leader of trips, including two visits to the Battlefields.

Clarissa Goodwin, teacher of geography since September 2012, is moving to Ardingly where she will

continue to teach geography. Clarissa is an outstanding classroom teacher, who has been instrumental in ICT

developments within the department, and she has also made great improvements to the standard of our girls’

hockey.

Also leaving the mathematics department is Andrew Gradon who stayed with us for this academic year

when Kathryn Coffin (then deputy head of maths) was appointed late last year to the post of head of maths at

Whitgift. We are grateful to Andrew for his work in mathematics and also for his contribution to school

sports.

Three members of staff are leaving after covering one year maternity absences. Vanessa Anthony,

economics teacher, is moving to San Francisco with her husband and starting an MSc. in International and

Development Economics. Amelia Simonow (history) is taking up a post at The Harrodian teaching history

of art while Jessica Lewis (classics) is moving to UCS. All three have made an excellent contribution to the

school.

Three colleagues are taking maternity leave in the autumn term: Kate Bird (English), Jessica Perowne (née

Macdonald) (theology and philosophy) and Amy Croft (economics).

New teaching colleagues

In September, in addition to those I have named in previous letters to parents, we will be joined by the

following colleagues: Mr Douglas Fickling and Mr Alexander Trosser both join the mathematics

department. Mr Fickling is reading mathematics at Magdalen College Oxford, graduating this summer, and Mr

Trosser has a First in physics from Imperial.

We have three teachers covering maternity leave; Miss Jessica Blunden will join the English department.

Miss Blunden worked in copywriting at Thomas Reuters; Mr Thomas Sinclair is teaching theology and

philosophy and comes to us from Oundle School; and Ms Meiling Tsang will join the economics department

from Sha Tin College, Hong Kong.

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Miss Melissa Clarke has been appointed as head of geography and was previously at Merchant Taylor’s

School, Northwood. Miss Clarke has a First in geography from Robinson College, Cambridge University.

I am also very pleased to report that David Antrobus, our Director in Residence, is staying on for another

year, thanks to renewed funding from the Friends.

Leavers – non-teaching

Sports coach, Sean Davies, is leaving us to move to New Zealand with his family. Sean has made a great

contribution to the development of cricket in both the senior and junior schools, and has also been an

excellent hockey coach. We will miss his talented and good-humoured approach to all that he does.

Our head of hockey, Rob Schilling, is leaving us to take up a teaching position at Ardingly School. He has

done an excellent job with our hockey squads, with both participation levels and quality improving under his

leadership.

Ms Sue Orr is retiring this summer after ten years in the bursary as Estates Secretary. Mrs Rosemary

Ingram has left to spend more time with her young family. Rosemary was initially my PA, then, following

maternity leave, worked in the Development Office. Mrs Denise Shea, Medical Administrator, Gulam

Shaikh, IT technician, Tony Hadwin, groundsman and Hamdane Bouzid, kitchen porter/storeman are

also leaving at the end of this term. My best wishes to all of these excellent men and women.

New starters – non-teaching

We welcome Miss Heidi Lissamore, Development Office assistant, Jorge Usero-Jorda, kitchen

porter/storeman, Adrien Jones, groundsman and Matthew Boulton, learning resources technician, who

joins us from Bryanston School.

Important Autumn Term dates

Tuesday 1st September New lower sixth and fourth form pupils’ induction day

Thursday 3rd September Full term begins

Saturday 12th September Prize giving

Wednesday 16th September Sixth form open evening

Saturday 19th September Open morning

Wednesday 23rd September Future of King’s talk

Wednesday 23rd September Choral Evensong at Chichester Cathedral

Wednesday 7th- Friday 9th October Wildwood Tales

Monday 16th November Orchestral Concert

Wednesday 25th – Saturday 28th November The Winter’s Tale

Saturday 28th November Christmas concert in Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square

Tuesday 8th December Community carol service

Thursday 10th December End of term

Tuesday 5th January Spring term begins

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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 sitting BMAT should register themselves onto and attend a BMAT KAPLAN course in August or early

September. Our in-house 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, 4th 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, 4th November) during the summer holiday. Additionally, weekly classes preparing for the test

will be held each Wednesday morning at 8.20am.

Other Aptitude Tests

Subject advisors will have guided pupils about constructive preparation for subject-based aptitude tests for the

summer and will provide further guidance in the discrete university preparation classes provided in the

autumn term. All aptitude tests for Oxford are sat in school on Wednesday, 4th November. Tests

required by Cambridge (including TSA) are largely sat at the time of interview in the college to which the

applicant has applied.

Access arrangements in public examinations

Over the last couple of years a number of significant changes have taken place in relation to the provision of

Access Arrangements and reasonable adjustments in public examinations. The Joint Council for Qualifications

(JCQ) and the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) now require substantial evidence in support of

any application for Access Arrangements. In addition to a formal assessment report by a specialist

practitioner (Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist or Medical

practitioner) the awarding bodies expect to see a portfolio of evidence, which is collated by the school. The

evidence in that portfolio must show how the educational, or medical need, impacts on a student’s learning

and how the provisions put in place by the school support of these needs. Such provisions must be able to

remediate the learning needs and show that a student is not at a disadvantage in comparison to his/her peers

but at the same time making sure that the student is not given an unfair advantage either. If you have any

questions about this please contact Mrs Goodchild at your earliest convenience.

Arthur Wellesley Society

At the beginning of the summer term, members of the King’s community were privileged to attend an evening

of conversation with June Whitfield. Adam Cross, Director of Drama, led the audience on a journey through

June’s career as a most successful actress of both stage and screen.

Towards the end of the summer term, over 50 members of the King’s community attended a superb

performance of Carmen at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in Sussex. Our party were able to picnic in the

interval surrounded by the exquisite gardens. Details of the 2015-16 Arthur Wellesley season can be found on

the King’s website.

12

Partnerships and Outreach

The school’s first community production took place in the theatre at the end of March and was a

tremendous success. Over fifty of our pupils joined pupils from two special schools, a primary school, four

secondary schools and two sixth forms on our stage, and the performance was attended by the Bishop of

Southwark and the Mayor of Merton.

There are over 200 students on our aspirations project for partner school pupils in Years 9-12 on free

school meals. This term the Year 10 cohort have enjoyed a science show presented by the Royal Institution

and a debate before visiting the Palace of Westminster, and Year 9 pupils have attended a poetry writing

session in Southside House. In July, sixth-formers at St Mark’s Academy, Raynes Park High School and the

King’s Maths School will attend a conference at King’s run by Future Foundations designed to enhance their

university applications.

Our Open Doors project for primary school children will be run by around 50 sixth-formers from King’s,

Ricards Lodge and Coombe Boys’ School from 6-10th July. The project is generously supported by the Friends.

Sport

Plenty of cricket has been played (just over 100 senior school fixtures in total) and the boys have produced

some excellent performances across the year groups. The school has supported the developments for

cricket well over the past year. The building of a new ground at Kingsway with an AstroTurf wicket has

benefited both senior and junior schools. The Friends also generously bought a roll-on cage to be used on

the main school square, replicating match conditions for our players, as well as providing a training facility for

our wicket keepers.

The 1st XI had a difficult season but victories included beating CLFS, Reigate, Aldenham, Tiffin and an exciting

evening T20 win versus Wimbledon College. The advent of A levels has been helpful in that U6 boys have

trained more than in recent years but we have also missed a couple key U5 and L6 players for important

fixtures due to GCSE and AS levels respectively. Highlights of the season included a second 1st XI century for

U6 and captain George Thomas (108 not out) and a 2nd XI hundred for L6 Victor Bakker (112), both against

Reigate Grammar School. Impressively, we continue to put out a regular 4th XI unlike many schools in the

area. The 2nd XI and 3rd XI sides had impressive seasons with Alex Household scoring 141 not out against St

Paul’s. 30 boys will soon fly out to Sri Lanka for an exciting 12 night tour.We wish them the very best of luck

and thank the U6 leavers for all their contributions to King’s cricket.

Sports scholar, Sanjay Patel, continues to impress in the U14 age group having returned from missing his last

season in the junior school due to injury. He is one of two boys that have represented the county in that age

group and is a promising young player. The other county player, Bobby Woodcock has also been

outstanding, not just for the school but also in taking a personal best, 6 wickets for 35 runs for Surrey CAG

U14 against Essex. The U14 A team have had a tremendous season, winning the majority of their games and

narrowly losing to Whitgift in the county final played at Trinity. The age group also has shown good depth

with the U14 B, C and D also recording winning seasons and 68 boys choosing cricket for their 4th form

sport summer option.

The U15 side have also worked hard at developing their cricket despite a tough term of results for all three

sides at this age group. An extended U15A squad travelled to the south coast prior before the start of term,

playing and training at Eastbourne College and Hurstpierpoint in two friendly pre-season fixtures. The U15B

side recorded an encouraging season whilst the U15A and U15C sides also beat Hampton to make it a clean

sweep for the age group.

13

Among recent leavers, Ruari Crichard and Alex Hunt both represented Cambridge at Lords this season, and

this Ruari year became the first KCS cricketer since Samir Sheikh in 2000 to play first class cricket. Henry

Goodwin (2013) and Alex Hunt (2010) have also represented the Cambridge “Blues” side and Alex Hughes

(2013) has been regularly playing for the Exeter MCCU and 1st XIs. Finally, Mark Clifford (2013 and 2014

Captain) had a very successful season in Australia playing grade cricket for St Kilda CC during his gap year

and has since returned to play for Wimbledon CC.

We will be very sad to lose our coach, Sean Davies, as he emigrates to live in New Zealand with his young

family. He has done so much for junior and senior school cricket in his 12 years working at the school and

we hope that his successor will add just as much to KCS and KCJS cricket.

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 and held even more practices than in previous years. The start of the term saw

22 pupils attending a week long training camp in Majorca. All our tennis squads started the term strongly: all

our teams have been successful, with the U15A and U14A teams qualifying for the Surrey League finals if they

win their remaining fixtures. The 1st VI have also had a successful term, qualifying for the 2nd group in the

Independent School’s League after beating Charterhouse and Tonbridge. The Junior Squads qualified in the

3rd Group of the Independent Schools’ League where they finished 1st ahead of Radley, Abingdon and

Dulwich. We will be playing in the Independent Schools’ Tournament at Eton again at the end of term with

high hopes that our strong team of Maxime Trenikhin, Scott Moore, Zeki Horoz and Nick Katzaros can get

through to the latter stages of the Youll Cup.

It has been a mixed term for the Girls’ 1st VI Tennis team. They started the term having a close match with

Wimbledon High in the Surrey Festival. The Open Championship was a highlight for the term with eight girls

being picked for the first round matches. A strong field of players saw Isabella Sodi win the overall

championship. Isabella has been an excellent captain and has been a role model for the others to follow. The

girls came second in their section in the ISTA championship at Eton, before losing to Rugby School.

This year 48 girls have chosen rounders. We have great depth of skill with the current upper sixth and they

have been committed to playing for the school. The girls have shown a great deal of enthusiasm and they have

enjoyed this sport as a release from exams. Manisha Patel has been an excellent captain. The school have had

four teams this year, the most we have ever put out.

60 boys and girls in the senior school are doing athletics as a Games option. King’s supported the recent

Merton borough championships at Wimbledon Park track with notable performances from Stanley Stott-Hall

(Gold, Junior Boys high jump), Fred Mather (Silver, Junior Boys triple jump) and Rufus King (bronze,

intermediate boys 3,000m – running one age group up). Stanley and Fred were selected to represent the

Merton team at the upcoming Surrey schools championships. They will be joined by Josh Dhillon (senior boys

400m) and Nathan Inkester (senior boys 800m), who qualify on previous form.

In rowing, the Easter training camp had a change of venue this year with the boat club travelling to Portugal.

The annual National Schools Regatta took place in the traditional venue of the National Watersports Centre

in Nottingham. King’s had over 70 athletes competing across all year groups from 4th form to U6 in 11 boats

over the 3 day event and enjoyed great success, as described in the main letter. All crews are back in training

with the focus turning to the Henley Royal Regatta beginning on the 1st of July.

14

Music and Drama

Our new piano competition encouraged an impressive array of pianists from across all year groups. The

adjudicator was the illustrious piano professor from the Royal College of Music, Niel Immelman, whose insight

was most valuable and perceptive. The middle school prize was won by Oliver Gerlach whilst the sixth form

prize went to Eoin Lim.

The third and final scholars’ recital of the year included impressive performances from Raymond Yip (piano)

and Jack Lucas-Clements (cello) amongst others. Just before half-term, a summer recital was held featuring a

number of soloists preparing for various examinations. In the second half of term there were two visits to the

Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. Two further concerts rounded off another remarkable year of King’s

music; the first being the summer orchestral concert. This has traditionally featured more popular music and

this term’s was no exception and included Puccini’s Nessun Dorma and a Beatles medley. The String

Showcase concert celebrated the achievements of our string players in a medley of solo and ensemble items

featuring pupils from both junior and senior schools.

A choir made up of pupils from Rakesh Joshi’s year, staff and current pupils sang at Rakesh’s memorial last

weekend.

Our annual drama improvisation competition House Line is it Anyway? took place in the first week of term,

followed by the GCSE Drama pupils’ final examination pieces: Earnest and the Pale Moon and The Pillowman. At

the end of term the Cambridge Footlights made their annual visit to King’s, and this year’s troupe featured

another OK: Luke Sumner. In August, KCS Theatre Company makes its 18th visit to the Edinburgh Festival,

with Ted Hughes’ Tales from Ovid, featuring a company of twenty sixth-formers, and this will also have a

school performance in early September.

The Friends

The summer term is always an exciting one for the school community as items purchased by The Friends start

to arrive. Our partner schools also benefit from the generosity of The Friends. As we go to press the "Open

Doors" programme in early July is being finalised. This week of art and sporting activities brings together

around 130 children from our partner schools locally. The Friends have paid for clothing, lunches and

materials for use during this, week. Equipment for the students going to Zambia to work at our partner

school, Fiwila, has also been funded by The Friends. This equipment will be donated to the Fiwila community

once the volunteers leave. Special thanks also go to Jackie Harvey and Elspeth Sigee for organising this year's

post exams lunch. Finally this term we say thank you and farewell to Claire Bonnefous who has been a

member of the Council of The Friends and an active supporter for many years.

Trips and Exchange Visits

This 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. During the summer

holidays there will be a third exchange visit to Japan and a cricket tour to Sri Lanka. The annual visit to our

partnership school in Fiwila will be a high point of the year for the boys and girls involved. The CCF (Army

Section) attend annual camp, as do the CCF (RAF Section). There are also CCF (Naval Section) courses. The

Biology department will be visiting Ecuador and the Galapagos. Rugby training will take place in Bournemouth.

Compiled from colleagues’ reports, July 2015

15

Public examination results: Summer 2015

Upper sixth form leavers 2015

EXAMINATION

PROCEDURE

IB Diploma

Monday 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:-

Tuesday 7th July 09:30am–13:00 and Wednesday 8th July 09:30am–13:00 for advice on

re-marks (EURs) and UCAS.

A full breakdown of results will be available at the school from 9:30 on Wednesday

8th July.

AL

(Upper Sixth)

Thursday 13th August: AL results will be released to students’ King’s email

account by the Exams Office and anticipate doing this from 06:30. 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 on this day. 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 exams@kcs.org.uk by Friday 7th

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.

Enquiries About Results (EARs): Information and an application form will be

enclosed with the statements of results.

• Priority re-mark (Service 2P) school deadline is Friday 14th August.

(NB: This service is for those requests where a student’s

university or higher education place depends on the outcome.)

• Standard re-mark (Service 2) deadline is Friday 11th September

16

Lower sixth form 2015

AS

(Lower Sixth)

Thursday 13th August: AS results will be released to students’ King’s email

account by the Exams Office and anticipate doing this as soon as all U6th results

have been successfully released circa 10:00. Staff will devote Thursday 13th to

supporting results and UCAS outcomes for members of the U6th. However,

L6th students are welcome to meet with senior staff on Friday 14th to discuss

their results and re-mark requests.

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.

L6th AS students can collect a paper copy of their results from S.5 near

Reception between 11:00-12:00. 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 exams@kcs.org.uk by Friday 7th August.

Enquiries About Results (EARs): Information and an application form will

be enclosed with the statements of results.

• Standard re-mark (Service 2) deadline is Friday 11th September

Upper fifth form 2015

GCSE/IGCSE

(Upper Fifth)

Thursday 20th 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 exams@kcs.org.uk, by Thursday 13th August. Any uncollected results

envelopes will be posted out to families by 1st class post that day.

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) (MPS@kcs.org.uk) 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.

• Standard re-mark (Service 2) deadline is Friday 11th September

Mr Edwards will be available on Thursday 20th 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 11th September.

17

Lower fifth form 2015

GCSE/IGCSE

(Lower Fifth)

Thursday 20th August: 10:00-10:30. All GCSE/IGCSE results will be available

for collection in Great Hall.

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 exams@kcs.org.uk, by Thursday 13th 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 with a specific French or Religious Studies query should wait

until the start of term to discuss this with the relevant head of department. The

deadline for such requests is Friday 11th September.