Terms 5 & 6 2015

Issue 3 2015

RGS Newsletter

Summer Edition

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Message from The Principal 1

Perspectives of London

The Maya Angelou Thinking Suite

2

International Baccalaureate Success

Exciting New Developments in the IB

3

Choir Trip to Traben-Trarbach

Berlin Exchange Trip

4

Lèige Exchange Trip 5

Year 9 Enterprise Week

The National Enterprise Challenge Year 5 Taster Evening

6

Post-It – KS5 Art Exhibition 7

Sixth Form – Alumni 8

Sixth Form

- Virtually University - Induction

Rochester Grammar Olympiad

9

Founders’ Day

Founders’ Day Ball

10

House Arts Day 11

Year 7 Trip to Dover Castle

Visit by Local MP Visit to the Bank of England

12

Year 8 Activities Week 13

Sports News 14

RGS Calendar – Looking Ahead 15

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to the final newsletter of the year. We start with a real success story as we recently heard that the year 13 IB cohort achieved

an average point score of 36 (out of a maximum of 45 marks), the equivalent of gaining 2 A*s and 2 As at A level. This outstanding

achievement has enabled the students to take up places at Oxford, Durham, UCL, Exeter and Warwick universities.

Julia Selgrad achieved 43 points to secure a place at Oxford University to read Economics and Management. Morgan Morris also obtained 43 points and will head to Durham to read History. Molly McDonough, our former Head Girl, achieved 42 points and will

read Geography and International Relations at Lancaster. Impressively, all IB students holding offers to study Medicine were successful at securing their places. Congratulations to all students.

The school year has ended with a series of big events within which Houses have been competing. The Olympiad certainly promoted ‘thinking’ through Mathletics, the debate and the Spelling Bee. House Arts Day showcased the phenomenal talent of the RGS students

and Sports’ Day rounded off the year with plenty of cheer. The annual Founders’ Day commenced with an outstanding service at Rochester Cathedral followed by a fete themed around the Six Nations. Jessica Taylor and Mrs Orange gave a strong and memorable

speech about their ‘Share a Star/Oakley’s Outings’ charity at the cathedral and Oakley Orange himself opened the fete (see photograph above).

The final assembly was based around the theme of ‘making a difference this summer.’ Students were asked to reflect upon the seven weeks ahead of them and to consider how they will make every moment count with activities or random acts of kindness. They were

also congratulated for their outstanding fund raising this year and were praised for the difference they had made to so many people’s lives within the community and beyond.

Finally, I want to make you aware of some of the exciting upgrades within the school. The Maya Angelou Thinking Suite, the home of

our Library, has been upgraded to include soft furnishings as well as kindles so that students can enjoy reading in comfortable

surroundings. It has also been restocked with some of the latest books selected by curriculum readers to promote research and enquiry. Numerous classrooms have been renovated, the ILC will be upgraded over the summer and all projectors and their software will be

updated in every classroom to bring us completely up-to-date with the new technologies for learning. Also, during the holidays the canteen facilities will be given an overhaul: Café 6 will have its own coffee facility and hot snack counter installed and a new ‘grab and

go’ area will be provided for all students.

I hope you have an enjoyable and safe summer holiday and I wish to thank all parents for their support this year.

Issue 3 2015 July 2015

Term 5&6

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

RGS Newsletter

Yours sincerely

Mr Bassan

Principal

STOP PRESS: News has just come in that RGS has won the District Athletics Championships for the fifth consecutive year. An out-

standing achievement and congratulations to all involved.

RGS Newsletter Page 2

Modelling the Wimbledon Roof As part of the research for my Centre Court Model for the

Perspectives of London project, I visited the All England Lawn Tennis Club and also the architects Populous, who designed the

moving roof for Centre Court.

My mum and I spend a very enjoyable morning talking to the

Populous Senior Adviser Bill Augustyn, who had worked on the

project to build the roof over Centre Court at Wimbledon. He

worked closely with the engineers and the AELTC. I was hugely inspired by him and all the fascinating, which were

During the half term towards the end of

the school year, I went to London with my mum and friends. We spent the whole

day wandering around London looking at all the amazing buildings and structures in

the city. I was searching for the place in London I wanted to study for my project

at school called Perspectives of London

(POL). Year 7 students had been asked to complete the project over the course of

Terms 3 and 4 which was to create a folder and make a scale model of our

chosen aspect of London.

During my research of the many amazing

buildings and areas of London, I came across Liberty in the West End. The

stunning Tudor style building captured my imagination. The project was cross-

curriculum and work for various subjects

was included in our folders. For example, in Geography we studied how

environmentally sustainable our individual aspect of London was and in English, we

wrote a sonnet about our building. The project was also broken down into other

parts i.e. Music and Product Design.

During my project I used thinking tools to

help me plan and I also used many in my final pieces of work. I included thinking

maps such as the bubble map and circle map as well as using the thinking hats to

create a detailed account of what I saw and

felt when I went there. Thinking tools also helped me to think outside the box and get

creative. After some thought and planning, I decided to buy materials from Liberty to

accessorise my work. The use of thinking

tools and my creativity helped me to gain the award for best overall folder 2015. I

was elated when I heard my name called to receive the certificate in the celebration

assembly. After looking at everyone else’s project it must have been hard to choose as

everyone’s work was so interesting and

creative. I thoroughly enjoyed POL and it gave me more independence as well as

helping me improve my planning and writing skills. It was a brilliant start to my

time at RGS.

Eleanor Masters, 7 Fz2

PERSPECTIVES OF LONDON

incorporated into the project and also helped when building the

model which included a working roof.

The Populous are currently featuring my project on their website: http://populous.com/posts/modelling-the-wimbledon-roof/

Lucy Morice-Jones, Byron6

THE MAYA ANGELOU THINKING SUITE

The Maya Angelou Thinking Suite opened its doors in September 2014; the suite is home to the Rochester Grammar School Library.

The students have enjoyed using the facilities and a variety of events have been held in the suite, including a well-received visit from children’s author Sita Brahmachari. Regular extracurricular clubs are held, organised and run by the students. The Maya Angelou

Thinking Suite and Library is open Monday to Thursday 1.10pm-1.50pm and 3.20pm-4.30pm and supervised by Mrs Davis and Miss Lee. All students are welcome to visit the suite and make use of the resources to just relax and read a book or work in the quiet

environment on private study.

We look forward to the exciting official opening of the Maya Angelou Thinking Suite in the very near future.

Mrs Davis

Issue 3 2015 Page 3

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE SUCCESS

Many congratulations to the International Baccalaureate students who have achieved top

grades in the this year, meaning that they can take up their places at top universities. The IB is studied in the Sixth Form as an alternative to A Levels and has been offered at the RGS

for the last 8 years.

The average point score for students was 36 which is 6 points above the world average for the IB and equivalent to gaining 2 A*s and 2 As at A level, which enables them to take up

places at Oxford, Durham, UCL, Exeter and Warwick. A quarter of students gained scores

of over 40 points from a maximum of 45, which places them within the top 7% of IB students across the globe.

Julia Selgrad achieved an outstanding 43 points and

will go on to read Economics and Management at Oxford University. Morgan Morris, who takes up a place at Durham reading History, also

obtained 43 points, and Siandeep Bahia gained 42 points and intends to apply for medicine next

year. Our congratulations also go to Molly McDonough, our former Head Girl, who achieved an outstanding 42 points and will read Geography and International Relations at Lancaster. All IB

students holding offers to study Medicine were successful in meeting their offers.

We are immensely proud of the IB students. While the IB can be a challenging curriculum, it has enabled them to flourish and get the recognition from the top universities that they deserve. It is

wonderful to see the hard work of both students and staff rewarded.

Mr Bassan, Principal, commented: “I wish to congratulate our IB cohort for their outstanding

achievement. To perform consistently at this high level across six subjects (including Maths, Science and a Language) is no mean feat. These students now have a global qualification to

provide them with a firm foundation for life beyond school and in the international marketplace.”

This was another excellent year of IB results. 37 students completed the Diploma programme this

year and all successfully achieved their diploma.

Miss Hemming International Baccalaureate Diploma Coordinator Assistant Director of Sixth Form

In September ,we will welcome a number of Swiss students who will be joining our school to complete Year 12 of the IB. They will

complete a full IB curriculum for the year and then will return to Switzerland to complete a bilingual diploma. This is a very exciting opportunity for our students, as it will reinforce the international ethos of the IB, and our status as an IB World School. We look

forward to welcoming these students to the RGS community and embracing the opportunity to establish international links.

This year as part of the Creativity, Activity, Service component of the IB, where students volunteer and engage with their community, Year 12 students will have the opportunity to travel to Prague on a school trip to complete a CAS project. The trip will last for 4 days,

and will be a really wonderful chance to engage with global issues.

This year, as part of a CAS project, Year 12 IB student Hannah Schirrmacher liaised with Shaws Wood Residential Home to hold a

talent show. A number of students and residents took part, and the students were highly praised for their performances and also their efficiency in organising this project. The winner of the talent show was our own Euan Washbourn, whose skills as a pianist dazzled

staff and residents alike. Thanks go to all students involved in this lovely project, which shows real engagement with the community.

Miss Hemming International Baccalaureate Diploma Coordinator Assistant Director of Sixth Form

EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS IN THE IB

RGS Newsletter Page 4

CHOIR TRIP TO TRABEN-TRARBACH

After school on Wednesday 24th June

2015, a group of students and RGS Staff travelled, by coach and plane, to Traben-

Trarbach in Germany. At the airport we were met by our host families who we

were to stay with for the next 4 nights. We were able to enjoy time with them in their

homes, as well as undertaking a great deal

of planned activities such as two fantastic evening concerts involving several choirs

(including NChant and the RGS choir) and instrumental performances (including

RGS musicians in an ensemble). We also played a Mini Golf Tournament with our

German host students and were fortunate

enough to take a cruise on the River Mosel, enjoying the magnificent sunshine

and beautiful countryside.

The Rochester Grammar students

appreciated these fantastic few days in Traben-Trarbach, having opportunities

not only to use their German linguistic skills but also ‘to gain a perspective of

Germany from people who actually live there, rather than as a tourist’ (Katherine

Forbes). Others were grateful that they

had ‘met so many new friends and had the chance to see such picturesque parts of

Germany’ (Amelia Sterling-Stead). ‘Thanks so much to all the staff ( Miss

Batey, Mr Hayden (accompanist), Mr Millest and Mrs Woodman) who made it

possible for us to visit Traben

Trarbach’ (Priyanka Amlani).

Students of Gymnasium Traben-Trarbach

enjoyed the trip equally, with one saying ‘It was great having you with us and we’re

looking forward to hopefully seeing you again in the near future’ (Miriam

Beuscher). Suffice to say that every student was sad to leave their German host

families on returning to England on

Sunday 28th June 2015. Tears were shed!

Perhaps the entire visit can be described simply in one word as summarised by

Heidi Pentecost; ‘unforgettable’.

By Rosalynn Whiteley 12Tm6

In February, I was lucky enough to take part in the Berlin exchange trip. The school we were to visit was called Leibniz Gymnasium, meaning it's the equivalent to a grammar school in England. Before the trip I was both excited and scared to go. I've always been quite comfortable with travelling, but the prospect of an exchange made me feel quite hesitant. Despite my initial concern I signed up to go on the trip, I'm so glad I did! It was the first time I'd flown without my family and it was a new experience in terms of staying with a people I didn't know. To make me more comfortable, I emailed my student in advance, she was, like all of the other students, lovely. Whilst staying in Berlin I was offered so much food I must have come back a stone heavier; I was able to practice my German- both speaking and listening; and I made lots of new German and English friends. I noticed that I'd began to naturally think in German which I never expected would happen when learning a language. I think that the time spent listening to others speak fluently, means you have to listen to keep up - this lead to me taking in new words and phrases.

BERLIN EXCHANGE TRIP

Aside from the language, I also got to experience some German life. The school was different to what I was expecting, despite being a grammar school it was a lot more relaxed than RGS and other local schools over here. I didn't really like the working environment but it was very interesting to experience it and appreciate the way we are taught. Also, a lot of the students live close to each other and met up outside of school to go shopping, play sports or even visit a famous food stall outside a nearby underground station. The day trips were all a lot of fun and it

was amazing to see landmarks like the Reichstag and Brandenburg gate. As well as German, I love learning history so

combining both subjects on some trips was really exciting. I took so many photos of everything we saw which took up all of my remaining camera space! Since the trip, I've been on another German exchange and I've developed a

real love for the country. I've kept in contact with my student and my family are all planning to go back and visit Berlin again. Learning the language has been more interesting since the trip and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone studying German. Alice Humphrys Sv3

Issue 3 2015 Page 5

L IÈGE EXCHANGE TRIP

Liège is a town located in France. We went on an

exchange trip there during January.

We went to school in Liège and although it was

very difficult for me to understand, it did help im-prove my speaking and listening of the French lan-

guage.

The family I stayed with were very welcoming and I

made sure to bring back loads of Belgian chocolate

for my family.

Aside from going to school, we visited many places

and tourist attractions including the Manneken Pis statue and the Atomium building, which are located

in the capital city - Brussels. We also visited muse-ums and had free time to go off shopping in the city

of Brussels.

I really enjoyed the trip and it gave me an insight

into the lifestyle of the people living in Belgium, as

well as improving my French.

Kimberley Wisbey, 8 Sv5

Liège

Comic Museum

Atomium

Manneken Pis

I was lucky to have a really nice family who welcomed me, and an exchange

partner that had likes and dislikes similar to mine, making it easier for me to interact with them. She knew how to speak English very well so if I got stuck

speaking to her mother (who didn’t know English) she would help me. Also whenever I did not know a word in French she would tell me the word and

how to pronounce it. All throughout the week my exchange partner and their family and friends had a lot of patience and they made my experience

memorable.

As for Liege, it is a beautiful town with very

authentic shops and a sweet setting. There is also the commercial part, with shops and

supermarkets and there is a market in Liege along the river . They sold traditional food (as

seen in the picture) such as; poulet roti,

speculoos, macaroons and the famous Liege waffles.

Miguela Giron, 9 By3

New friends

I went to Liege as part of an exchange trip with some people from my school and overall I thought it was an amazing experience. This is

mainly because you learn so much when you are with native people who do not know how to speak English, therefore making you try your hardest to make yourself understood.

RGS Newsletter Page 6

YEAR 9 ENTERPRISE WEEK

On Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th

June, Year 9 took part in an enterprise activity called “RGS Apprentice”. This

was a simulation of the BBC television series of ‘The Apprentice’. The students’

task was to use their innovation and creativity skills to come up with an idea

for a product for the travel market. The

students then had to prepare a pitch to try to convince a panel of teachers acting as

retailers to bulk purchase their product to stock in their stores. The students

demonstrated outstanding presentation skills and there were some fantastic ideas

ranging from ice-cream holders that

prevent the ice-cream from melting and

travel cases for kids with built in games.

Judging the final was a difficult task but the panel eventually decided on Hildegard

as the winners of the RGS Apprentice 2015. The winning team’s idea was a

travel app which gave users information

about the country they were visiting, such as climate, hotels, cultural events and

other useful information.

The judges were extremely impressed with the team’s idea and their ability to

answer the panel’s questions under

THE NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CHALLENGE

On Wednesday 8th July, two teams of students from The Rochester

Grammar school joined over a thousand students hoping to impress former Dragons Den Star Theo Paphitis at the finals of a

national enterprise competition. Magician and star of ITV2's ‘Tricked’, Ben Hanlin, presented the finals which were held at The

Alton Towers Resort.

This year The Ryman National Enterprise Challenge has been

delivered to over 30,000 young people nationwide. The ‘not for

profit’ challenge was set up by Stoke-On-Trent cousins and young entrepreneurs Ben and Michael Dyer in 2013 and it has gone on to

become the largest enterprise challenge in the UK.

Lord Sugar and more recently Theo Paphitis have been the main

ambassadors of the challenge in recent years with the latter adding, “I am thrilled for Ryman to be once again involved in such an

exciting initiative. Last year I was in awe of the children’s

enthusiasm and ability to turn an idea into a working concept. These young entrepreneurs are our future and we need to educate

them about business skills from an early age. Business success is very much about common sense and knowledge, not just a lucky

break.”

YEAR 5 TASTER EVENING 2015

On Wednesday 24th June RGS hosted 250 Year 5 students from Kent and

Medway primary schools to give them a little taste of what RGS has to offer.

During the evening the girls attended four different sessions which included subjects such as English, Science, Modern Foreign Languages, Technology,

Art and many more. In one of the Dance sessions, even the Executive Officer team joined in and had great fun!

After a nervous beginning, everyone had soon made new friends and thor-oughly enjoyed all the activities on offer.

We look forward to seeing everyone again at Open Day on Saturday

10th October.

The challenge aims to improve the enterprise and employability

skills of young people from across the UK. The two teams had designed a new attraction for Alton Towers and had to consider

all aspects of this from marketing, finances and who their perfect customer would be.

Despite the fact the students did not win this event they all had a fantastic day and it was an experience they will never forget.

pressure. They had clearly designed a

product to suit the needs of this market and had excellent presentation skills.

Well done to all the teams for their hard work and enthusiasm over the course of

the two days.

Mrs Harvey

Curriculum Leader of Business

Issue 3 2015 Page 7

POST- IT - KS5 ART EXHIBITION

Parents, students, staff and governors were

invited to the ‘Post-It’ private viewing to celebrate the work of A level Fine Art and IB

Visual Arts students.

The event took place on Friday 19th June and the art students were on hand to explain and

discuss their work with the guests.

Traditional painting, sculpture, mixed media,

soft pastel, film, photography (even in 3D!), print, textiles were explored.

Everyone agreed that the standard and quality

of art was outstanding. Many congratulations

to all the Art students.

RGS Newsletter Page 8

Many thanks to Vanessa Phan for coming in to talk to some of Sixth Form and Year 10 students. Vanessa has just finished her first

year studying at Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States. In her talk she explained the process of applying to American

Universities and how rewarding she has found studying in America. As part of her studies she is studying Spanish and will be going to

Hong Kong during the summer to improve her Cantonese dialect. Throughout her time in the Sixth Form, Vanessa always aspired to

study abroad and her excellent results enabled her to take her place at an Ivy League university.

ALUMNI

Many congratulations to Jaime Milligan, who studied the International Baccalaureate at RGS and has just received a first class

honours degree in History from University College London. (UCL) .

When her parents came to the school’s Open Day, they were inspired by Ms Shepherd talk where she stated that she wanted all students at RGS to have the pick of the best universities in the country. This made her parents choose RGS. Jaime’s hard work

continued into university where she worked all night in the library and was often asked by security to leave so that they could lock up.

Jaime now hopes to study law but for the moment is researching internships…watch this space.

A true example of transforming life chances and a reminder of what is possible with hard work.

Sarina Sethi, who also attended UCL, has graduated with a First class degree with Honours in Psychology. She said “I would

like to thank you for everything that RGS did for me and how it brilliantly prepares you for university life. The skills I learnt

during my time at RGS, especially through studying the IB, definitely helped me to achieve the best degree, and for that I cannot

thank you all enough.” Serina is now looking at pursing a career in Media.

Alex Hall who achieved a Double First from Cambridge in Philosophy and Economics

Louise Blair, former Head Girl who achieved a First in Biochemistry at University College London. She has now been funded

to study for her PhD to look into motor neuron disease.

We would also like to congratulate the following students on their exam success:

SIXTH FORM

We would also like to thank Jessica Agboola who came in to talk to Year 10 students at the IB evening on 29th June 2015. Jessica was

an Executive Officer who only joined us in Year 12. She proved to be a conscientious and ambitious student who now has an excellent

future ahead of her after her excellent results in the IB.

She is currently studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Warwick University.

Trampoline— Baku European Games 2015

Many congratulations to Katherine Driscoll, an alumni student, who has won a Silver medal at the

2015 Baku European Games in the Women’s Individual Trampoline event.

Katherine was a student at The Rochester Grammar School from 1997-2003. Since making her British debut at the 2004 European Championships, she has won seven World Championship medals

including individual Silver and successive team Golds. She was chosen for the British team for the 2012 Summer Olympics and helped the Great Britain team earn a spot in the Women's

Trampolining following her performance at the 2011 Trampoline World Championship.

Issue 3 2015 Page 9

Work experience this year took place on Monday 29th June to Friday 3rd July. This involved the students organising the placements for

themselves in areas such as law, business, medicine and many others. These work placements were designed to help the students gain an insight into the area of work they wanted to study and to help them write their personal statements. One student went to a social

care charity to learn more about how psychologists treat and deal with vulnerable children. This then helped the student write their personal statement and work out what they wanted to study at university and do in later life. Work shadowing proved to be a huge

success this year with many students commenting on how it has helped them decide on university subject choices and personal statement writing.

John Adams, 12 By1

WORK EXPERIENCE

V IRTUALLY UNIVERSITY

Monday and Tuesday of the penultimate week of term for Year 12 was spent attending lectures and seminars – to give us a taste of

university. The lectures on Monday ranged from medical ethics to the new economics of Japan under Prime Minister Abe. Tuesday was focused around debating and finding out more about the topics of Monday’s lectures in the form of seminars. The two days gave

us an invaluable insight into the style of university teaching that we can expect in just over a year’s time. As well as an introduction to theUCAS process and advice on writing personal statements, the week also included a ‘Higher Education Evening’, with external

speakers who usefully advised on student finance and personal statements from an admission tutor’s perspective.

Oliver Wheeler, 12 By6

From 29th June to 1st July, Year 11 students came together to experience life in the Sixth Form at RGS. This was a fantastic opportunity

for current RGS students to meet the new students joining us in September. There were lots of team building activities, fun and games as well as taster lessons in their chosen Sixth Form subjects.

The fun continued with a trip to Thorpe Park on 2nd July where students and staff alike spent the day on exhilarating rides and getting

to know each other.

We look forward to seeing the new Year 12 students in September.

S IXTH FORM INDUCTION

ROCHESTER GRAMMAR OLYMPIAD

The grizzly English weather failed to put

dampener on this years’ Rochester Grammar Olympiad day, as students from all year

groups competed in various tasks throughout the day to earn points for their houses. The

annual school event, which aims to stretch the minds of the students and promote

innovative thinking, involved activities

within the realms of memory, mathematics, science and debate skills, and concluded

with a heated debate final, ‘mathletics’ final and Spelling Bee. Throughout out the day,

students were awarded stars for special effort and achievement within the events.

The students competed within their form groups, assisted by sixth form student, in

different zones around the school. In the memory zones they were challenged with

recall tasks (including the recollection of up

to two hundred decimals of Pi and the

London tube map), and a variety of computer challenges. There were some

particularly impressive performances in this area, earning many of the students

stars for their efforts.

Within the debate areas, students were

challenged to debate in teams in front of an audience and panel of judges, sparking

interesting discussions surrounding topics including the merits of public libraries

and personal privacy.

In the hall and the gym, the science tasks

promoted the use of skills of problem solving and flexible thinking, as the

students worked hard in groups to engineer structures to support eggs, roll

down ramps or drop out of the upper

sixth form block window, with only

newspaper and other basic materials at their disposal.

In the ‘mathletics’ zone, further

competition between the houses was sparked, as the depth and breadth of the

student’s maths knowledge was plumbed,

making for a heated final full of students vying to win points for their houses.

The results will be revealed at the end of

the week, and it can be said that the day was made much more worthwhile and

entertaining by the enthusiasm and house

spirit of the students and teachers, and Mrs Brinklow’s bouts of motivational

movie music over the tannoy.

Freya Norman, 12 Tm1

RGS Newsletter Page 10

FOUNDERS’ DAY

Founders’ Day Ball 2015 was a massive

success! This years’ theme was The Great Gatsby; a fabulous event organised by the

Executive Officer team – Bethan Firmin, John Adams, Rijuta Pattnayak, Oliver

Wheeler and Lilibet Dibben. Alongside the RGSA, the whole team had created a

lovely night to remember. A huge thank

you to the art team this year that made beautiful designs, created a wonderful

collection of backdrops, centre pieces and much more! The entertainment this year was brilliant: Last Minute Lobster, our

very own Maria Dorey who sang beautifully and finally world class DJ Lucy Stone (Hed Kandi and Ministry of Sound). All

these musical acts kept everyone on the dance floor! On top of

this amazing entertainment was a casino where many students and staff participated in the variety of games on offer!

FOUNDERS’ DAY BALL

DJ Lucy Stone (Hed Kandi and Ministry of Sound

Once again this year’s Founders’ Day was another happy celebration that portrayed the school at its very best.

The guests at this year’s Founders’ Day service at Rochester Cathedral was Mr Taylor, Miss R Taylor, Miss Jessica Taylor, Mr and Mrs Orange and Oakley Orange from the Share A Star charity.

The charity was set up by Jessica Taylor. During her talk she explained that when she was in hospital she noticed a star on the ceiling in the corner of her room. This gave her the idea for setting up the charity. The Share a Stars aim is to bring back the sparkle into the lives

of severely unwell children and teenagers. It also supports the family and allows children to be children and teenagers to be teenagers again. Smiles made create priceless moments.

Mrs Orange explained how the charity helped them when Oakley was ill and how it had affected their lives. As part of the Share a Star

charity they have started Oakley’s Outings. The aim is to offer severely ill children the opportunity of a day out to a special place. This

could be a theme park, a sight-seeing tour, lunch at the Savoy or simply a trip to their favourite park. It will always be our aim to try and help these children smile, to forget about hospitals, or doctors or nurses. This day is their day to spend with their families doing what

makes them happy.

The theme for House activities week this year was the Six Nations. This was chosen because the rugby world cup is being held in

England in the autumn. Each Head of House randomly picked a name out of a hat and the results were as follows: Byron - Scotland,

Cassidy - Ireland, Fitzgerald - England, Hildegard - Italy, Somerville - France and Tomlinson – Wales. Each Head of House entered

into the spirit of the day and dressed to represent their country.

In the afternoon, the students set up stalls selling popcorn, various sweets and hotdogs. Some teachers were brave enough to volunteer to take part in the sponge the teacher, there was a game of pin the medal on Bassan and a teacher joust. Everyone had great fun. All

monies raised at the fete went to the Share a Star charity.

The total raised for the whole year for Share a Star/Oakleys Outings was £3504.69.

However this could not have been accomplished without the help

of the site staff so in addition we’d like to thank them! Overall it was a magnificent evening that everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

Rijuta Pattnayak, 12 Hg1

Page 11 Issue 3 2015

HOUSE ARTS DAY

One of the highlights of House Arts Day was the cake competition.

Mr Bassan and Mr Macaulay were the judges for this event and the competition was fierce.

Each House team produced a theme cake based on their country. The Byron team made a map of Scotland, Cassidy an Irish hat,

Fitzgerald, a crown, Somerville a very large French fancy (think giant Mr Kipling cake) and Tomlinson, a Welsh dragon.

The students produced some amazing cakes but it was decided that

the Hildegard team (Reah Basi, Vicky Wynne and Louise Booth) who produced a cake which had modelled pizza and a melting ice

cream cone on the top was the winner. Many congratulations to them.

Cassidy’s Irish hat Tomlinson’s Welsh dragon Hildegard’s Italy themed cake

Beginning with the exciting Whole House Song competition, Wednesday 15th July 2015 became a great day of creativity,

entertainment, team spirit, admiration, and inspiration.

Solo artists and groups

Spoken word and dancing troupes

Old and new styles, stunning timing

Speaking, miming, clever rhyming

Painting, drawing, ‘collaging’, clay-ing

Acting, singing, instrument playing,

Elegance and agility, gymnasts tumbling,

(Witnessing others’ talents can be humbling)

Courage and memory demonstration

Fulfilling audience anticipation.

Such outstanding achievement, thorough preparations

And Thursday’s Finales, communal celebrations.

‘The tip of the RGS talent iceberg’, it’s true

There’s so much that RGS can do!

And the Bake Off – such taste and design rewarded.

Staff judges, student competitors, deserved to be lauded.

Making their mark, achieving high scores,

Everyone played their part – one final applause!

RGS RGS

Ah! Gee! Yes!

HOUSE BAKE OFF

WINNER OF THE HOUSE CUP 2015

—HILDEGARD

RGS Newsletter Page 12

YEAR 7 TRIP TO DOVER CASTLE

The 10th and 11th June saw the now annual Year 7 visit to Dover Castle. This was a chance for our youngest students to explore two

thousand years of British History, from the Roman lighthouse through to the tunnels inside the White Cliffs of Dover from where the evacuation from Dunkirk was planned in World War II, taking in Medieval tunnels, the Great Tower and the dizzying heights of the

battlement walk and Admiralty Lookout in the process. As usual, the weather on the two days was mixed, with a howling gale for Byron, Cassidy and Fitzgerald’s visit on the 10th being replaced by blazing sunshine for Hildegard, Somerville and Tomlinson’s visit on

the 11th. However, the girls showed great enthusiasm and fortitude, trekking up and down spiral staircases, steep slopes and delving into dark tunnels, whilst taking in some truly spectacular views (though not from the tunnels, obviously), all in the name of History.

Mr Edmunds Curriculum Leader of History

V ISIT BY LOCAL MP

Kelly Tolhurst, the MP for the constituency of Rochester and Strood,

kindly came into RGS on Friday 26th June to meet students and answer a range of questions from Citizenship and Politics students. She

answered a range of questions on many local and national issues such as speed cameras on dangerous roads in Medway such as Fort Elms hill, a

proposed airport on Hoo peninsula, school budgets, standard of living during the time of austerity and the recent improvements at Medway

Maritime hospital. Kelly Tolhurst became MP of Rochester and Strood

in the recent General Election on May 7th 2015, with a 7000 majority. Initially she had unsuccessfully stood in the by-election in November

2014 after the then Conservative MP Mark Reckless defected to UKIP. On behalf of the school I would like to thank Kelly for giving up her

time as a busy MP to visit us, I am sure she has inspired the next generation of female Medway MPs!

Connie Davis 10By3

V ISIT TO THE BANK OF ENGLAND

On 19th June, 12 Economics students went to London to visit the

mid cap broker N+1Singer and attend a lecture at the Bank of England. The students had a lively discussion with a Director of

Research and N+1 Singer, who introduced the group to the world of stocks and shares, explained job requirements and commented

on a typical day of a City employee from a salesman to research analyst and corporate financier. The tech analyst Tintin Stormont

shared with the students her passion for research and talked about

pathways into this exciting career. The students also met the Head of HR who provided useful tips on the job application process and

CV writing skills. The visit concluded with visiting the trading floor and having an input from the trading desk on the day-to-day

activity in the financial markets. In the afternoon, the group visited the Bank of England museum and attended a lecture on

the role of the Bank of England, Monetary Policy Committee and

Financial Conduct Authority. On the way back the students tackled a mathematical puzzle to add to the excitement of the day.

Miss Saburova

Curriculum Leader Economics

“The trip to N+1 Singer opened my eyes to the

history of economics and its fundamental importance in everyday large-scale transactions and

the vital importance of energy and charisma you need to work in this field. I learnt how many fields

of career link together. The Bank of England trip tied the webs regards function of money, the

economy and the government and how every actor

in this game of bets has a part to play.”

Charles Phillips

Issue 3 2015 Page 13

My Cornwall Experience

When I first arrived in Cornwall, I have to admit, I did not find it that impressive. It just looked like a largish building and I wondered

where we would do the activities. It was only when we first went outside, round the back of the building that I realised most of the activities were attached to the building in some way which I thought was very cool.

On the first day my group and a few others went on an educational trip to look at lychen, the effect of tourism on a small town and

weathering. We got ice cream from the teachers which we all enjoyed a lot. We were also able to go through the town on our own to

do some research and shopping. On the second day I had to face my personal nightmare, heights, and dark, small spaces. We were doing abseiling and caving. I wasn’t able to actually do the abseiling and I am disappointed that I didn’t. I know in the future that I

look back and regret it but I did lean over the edge twice. I did do the whole caving experiences and even though it felt like torture at the time, I’m really glad I was able to experience it. In the evening there was a fancy dress disco and it was really funny to see all the

teachers dressed up in costumes.

On the third day we did body boarding. I enjoyed it a lot more than the first day of activities. In the evening there was a karaoke night

which was really fun and I did a song with my friends. On the fourth day I did kayaking and the team trail exercise where my friends and I were able to show that we were really flexible. In the evening there was a talent show that I took part in and came second. On the

last day we tidied our rooms and packed away our stuff and spent the day doing activities outside the building with our groups. After lunch we headed back to school. We all thoroughly enjoyed our trip and everyone would love to go again. I recommend this trip to any

of the Year 7s planning to go next year.

Livia Malkin, 8 Tm1

YEAR 8 ACTIVITIES WEEK

On Sunday 31st May, Mrs Britten once

again led the annual Year 8 residential activities week to Bude in Cornwall. 162

slightly nervous but very excited students and 16 members of staff met early on the

Sunday morning, boarded the coaches and made their way to Bude.

During the week the students were in-volved in many activities which included

abseiling down a 6 storey building; squeez-ing themselves into small spaces whilst

caving; walking along a very thin wire whilst being very high up; staying upright

on a mountain board and battling the

waves to stand on a surf board. One major challenge the students learned was how to

keep their room tidy and change the duvet cover.

At the beginning of the trip, students were

given a workbook to complete during the week with questions they have to answer on the

activities they had done. One advantage of taking students out of the classroom to learn

was that they were able to see first hand rock formations and discover the biodiversity in

streams and rock pools. Students also had to

talk to local people about the advantages and disadvantages that tourism brings to the local

area.

The week was amazing and many wonderful memories and friendships were made that will

never be forgotten.

Page 14 RGS Newsletter

SPORTS NEWS

Early in Term 6, we had our inter-House Rounders competition

for Years 7 and 8. Both competitions ran smoothly and the students were keen to win, especially as House points were

available! In the Year 7, competition Tomlinson came 6th, Byron 5th, Hildegard 4th, Fitzgerald and Somerville 2nd and

Cassidy 1st. For the Year 8 competition, the positions swapped around with Somerville coming 6th, Fitzgerald 5th, Byron and

Tomlinson 3rd, Cassidy 2nd and Hildegard 1st. Well done

Cassidy and Hildegard!

The main event for this term is the District Athletics event on Thursday 16th July. For the last four years The Rochester

Grammar School has come first in this event and we hope to keep the winning streak going for another year. Good luck to

all the competitors who have been training hard during

Athletics club!

TERMS 5 & 6 FIXTURE INFORMATION

On Friday we have our Sports Day where the students will compete in their Houses for the Sports Day Cup. The 1500m, Hurdles and

Discus have already taken place during a lunchtime and lessons last week. All events were well attended with the students running and

throwing well. I’m sure that Sports Day will be an exciting event for all involved. The Physical Education Department would like to

take this opportunity to thank all the competitors along with the

staff and sixth form for helping to run the event. Without the support from staff and sixth form the event would not be able to run

and we hope it will be as successful as last year.

Miss Clements PE

Success for The Rochester Grammar School at the Kent Schools Athletics Championships

At the beginning of July, Imogen Munday, 11 By4 and Sian Keegan, 11 Tm1 took part in the Kent Schools Athletic Championships.

Sian won a silver in the 300m to go with the silver she won at the Kent Champs and has been selected to represent Kent in July and

Kent Schools this weekend.

Imogen won the 300m to go with her second place at the Kent Champs and she has also been selected for both meetings. In her Kent

champs run, her third at the distance, she set a personal best of 46.33 which is inside the ESAA qualifying standard of 46.80. She is hoping to go faster on Saturday and we have our fingers crossed re ESSA qualification, although once National Standard places are

removed it looks like 40 others for 17 places.

On Thursday 16th July, over 40 of our students from Years 7-11 attended the District Athletics Championships at Medway Park. RGS

were competing against 12 other schools for the title. After some amazing performances and a few records smashed, we have once again brought the trophy home for a fifth consecutive year.

In the Year 10 and 11 competition, Tia Mak, 10 By4 broke the discus record and threw the discus the furthest distance, giving a completely unrivalled performance. Sian Keegan, 11 Tm1 broke the high jump record by jumping 1.5m. The relay squad ran an

unbelievable 53 seconds which would rival any club relay team. They were 0.2 seconds off county standard.

All the hard work students had put in at lunchtime and afterschool paid off as the District competition was a phenomenal success.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

D ISTRICT ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIP

SPORTS DAY

Sports Day was incredibly successful – having had to be rearranged because of the rain on Monday and that most definitely didn’t

dampen the girls spirits. There were some fantastic performances from all houses and it was lovely to see Sixth Formers and staff participate with enthusiasm and effort!

A huge thank you to Miss Clements for her organisation of the day and to the rest of the PE staff and staff that made it run so smoothly. There were lots of gold, silver and bronze medals awarded and worn with pride!

The winners of Sports Day were Byron. Well done.

Miss Lee

Curriculum Leader PE

Issue 3 2015 Page 15

SOMERVILLE

What a year it has been, with lots to celebrate and enjoy. The first two terms saw us go into the lead as termly winners on the House point’s board which was a great way to start the year. We have had new Prefects and House Officers

take up the roles and doing an excellent job as well as inter-House competitions, debates, Year 8 Cornwall trip and Stem Club winners

The students have been working hard to raise money for our House charity Dementia UK where we raised £249.30. This involved cake sales, a chill-out room, sweets and the students giving up some lunchtimes to run these stalls and events. Well done! The Somerville

form tutors worked hard together to support Byron in their charity week by rehearsing and taking part in a teacher dance off, which I am proud to say we came in 2nd place!

We are all now focused on winning the House Cup for the end of the year. There is a real buzz in the air at the moment around the

forms with students busily practising for events that they are taking part in, whether it be Sports day, Arts day or the Olympiad; writing

speeches for the debate competition, signing themselves up to take part in events and creating banners and signs for the Founders’ day stalls. I love this time of year when the stress and pressure of exams are over and we can enjoy the summer term festivities.

This year I am even more ambitious and competitive as this is going to be my last year as Head of House for Somerville, as from

September I have a new challenge as Assistant Leader for KS4. The last four years of working with your daughters has been a real

pleasure, they are an amazing group of students who are capable of anything they put their mind to. Their enthusiasm, drive and spirit is what makes Somerville the house it is and I am really going to miss being part of that. So I would just like to say a huge thank you to

everyone involved in Somerville, staff, parents and students, you are all amazing! I am also very confident they will be in very capable hands with Miss Clements - good luck for next year in your House events!

I wish you all a lovely summer.

Miss Farrow

RGS CHARITY FUNDRAISING

MONEY RAISED: SEPTEMBER 2014 TO JULY 2015

Date Details of Donation Charity name Funds raised

2/10/14 Maisie Orange organised a cake stall Oakley Orange "Share a Star" £140.77

10/10/14 Whole School Tag Day-school to use funds from voluntary account when required Student Council £1,553.36

15/10/14 Big Band Concert Oakley Orange "Share A Star" £230.76

21/10/14 Maisie Orange organised a cake stall Oakley Orange "Share a Star" £103.09

23/10/14 Sixth Formers’ Football Match Lunchtime British Heart Foundation £21.42

11/11/14 Poppy Tin collection in school-taken by BL for counting The Royal British Legion Appeal £233.32

21/11/14 Maisie Orange organised a cake stall Oakley Orange "Share a Star" £147.29

12/12/14 Fitzgerald house charity week stalls/film shows Friends of the Wisdom Hospice £162.27

17/12/4 Christmas Jumper Day Oakley Orange "Share a Star" £181.02

6/2/15 Demelza House- Share A Christmas Card inc SCP Demelza Hospice Care for Children £206.86

6/2/15 Tomlinson Charity Week 12-16 Janaury 2015 British Heart Foundation £264.06

13/2/15 Cassidy Charity Week 9 - 13 February 2015 The National Austistic Society £236.88

6/3/15 Somerville charity week 2 - 6 March 2015 Lucky Dip, cake stalls,etc. Dementia UK £248.80

Feb/Mar 15 Maisie Orange organised a cake stall Oakley Orange "Share A Star" £258.90

23-27 Mar 15 Hildergard House charity week raised funds by selling cakes,sweets and wristbands BEAT-Charity for eating disorders £402.37

20-24 Apr 15 Byron House Charity Week - raised funds by Food Stall, Sweet and Crisp Stall,Baby Picture Game and Teacher Talent Show Stroke Association £363.61

26/4/15 Marathon Mr S Brown Business Manager Oakley Orange "Share a Star" paid direct £602.00

10/7/15 Founders’ Day House Stalls Oakley Orange "Share a Star" £1,840.86

£7,197.64

Issue 3 2015 Page 16

LOOKING AHEAD—

IMPORTANT DATES FOR TERM 1 & 2 2015

2-4 September Staff Development Days

4 September Year 12 Registration

7 September Start of Term 1

11 September Year 9 Art Trip

15 September Year 11 Tate Modern Art Trip

16 September Year 9 Certificate Afternoon

16 September Year 7 Parents' Forum - Meet your Head of House

21-25 September Year 7 Resilience Week

21-25 September Year 11 Exams

23 September Year 10 Geography Trip

23 September Year 7 Parents' Forum - Thinking and Memory

25 September School Photographs for Years 7, 9 , 11 and new Year 12

28 September Year 8 HPV vaccinations

30 September Year 7 Cheese and Wine and Year 7 Concert

2 October Harvest Festival

7 October Year 8 Spanish Trip - Parents' Meeting

Saturday 10 October Open Day

12-16 October Year 12 Exams

17 October RGS Alumni Lunch

20 October Year 11 Curriculum Evening

23 October Staff Development Day - students not in school

23-27 October History Trip to Berlin

26-30 October Year 8 Spanish Trip

26-30 October Autumn Break

2 November Start of Term 2

2-13 November Year 10 Exams

5 November Senior Prizegiving

9-17 November Year 13IB Exams

9&10 November Year 8 National Portrait Gallery Trip

12 November Year 13IB Theatre Trip

18 November Year 9 Parents' Evening

19 November Year 12 Drama Trip

23 November Mid Term Break - students not in school

24 November Year 10 Imperial War Museum Trip

25&26 November Year 7 Science Trip

25 November Aachen Parents' Evening

26 November Nchant - National Salvation Army Carol Concert

2 December Year 11 Parents' Evening

7 December Year 12 and 13 Economics Conference

7-11 December Year 11 Consultations

9 December Senior Citizens’ Party

12 December Aachen Trip

15 December RGS Carol Services at Rochester Cathedral

18 December Last Day of Term

19 Dec to 1 January Christmas Holiday

4 January 2016 Staff Development Day - students not in school

5 January Start of Term 3