Grammar School Newsletter

Well here we are, we reached the end of the academic year, and I have reached the end of my first seven-year cycle as Headmaster. The outgoing Year 13 cohort, who left back in May, was the year group that started with me back in 2012. We have watched each other grow, and they now leave to begin their lives beyond the MGS gates; I now begin my second seven-year cycle, still feeling incredibly honoured to be the Headmaster of MGS. Like every year, it has been a busy one. Our continued drive for academic excellence, the greater demands we have placed on ourselves, the end of the implementation of the new A -Level and GCSE courses, the continued developments we have made with the library and all-weather pitch projects, the further embedding and strengthening of the pastoral and vertical house structures, the on-going training the staff have been through, the welcoming of our new caterers, and of course the inspection back in January, have all been on our minds and essential requirements of the job. I am sure my colleagues would agree with me that we have all looked forward to this summer break and a well-deserved rest. Like every year though we say goodbye to those members of staff who are leaving the MGS community. Mr Ball, Ms Corby, Mr Ramic, Mr Truabe, Mr Ribbans, Ms Lonsdale and Mr Clarke all leave to continue their careers elsewhere. Ms Kruppa is leaving after five years to return to Germany. In her time, she has had responsibility within the sixth form and up- per school, been Head of German, and, in her last two years, been head of College House. She certainly has made an impact most of all leading her House to win the House Cup last year. Mrs Sewell, who has been Deputy Head here, having responsibility of pastoral care right across the school, retires after five years’ service to MGS and over 30 years’ service to the teaching profession. It has been a pleasure working alongside her during that time and seeing the success and growth of the new vertical house structure. This will be her legacy. Mr Wilmott leaves after giving the school 17 years’ service as Head of the Design Technolo- gy Department. He moves to a school near the Sussex coast, and we thank him for how the DT department has developed in his time. And finally we say goodbye to Mr Renshaw who retires after 27 years’ service as a teacher of mathematics. He has taught mathematics to thousands upon thousands of Maidstonians, and for those students who have been taught by him, they have also been taught the famous Ren Commandments – a set of life lessons that have a slight mathematical twist. We wish him well in his retirement. Best wishes to them all. Best wishes for a peaceful summer holiday and we’ll see you in September. Mr M Tomkins

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 School News & Achievements

Update on the War Memorial Library Once again, we want to thank you all for your support of this invigorating project. The library will be ready for when the students return, and we are currently working with a number of au- thors to start the term with our own festival of literature at MGS. We are so excited about the impact this space will have on all students here. You can see the new feature staircase in the photos and the students will notice that all the walls have been knocked down, expanding the space by 40%. This is going to become the academic heart of MGS and students will be flocking to it for decades to come. The work we are doing here to provide the best possible learning experience for the boys is really gathering pace. I am embarking on a project next year to find 100 new donors to sup- port our projects. I can’t wait to share our plans with you and hope as many of you as possible want to get involved! Mr Ferguson

Examinations

GCSE Exam Results Day - Thursday 22nd August 2019

GCSE results will be available for collection from the school at 0900 hours.

Results not collected on the day will be posted home at the end of the day. If your son/ daughter has asked someone else to collect their results they must notify the School Office in writing. If they are unable to do this before results' day the person collecting the results must have written permission from the candidate. The letter must be signed by the candidate.

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 MGS House Cup Summary

School Colours School colours have been awarded to well over 100 students across the school. Overall College students achieved the most number of points from colour awards this year with 1190. 2nd Barton 1050 3rd Corpus Christi 1005 4th Tonbridge 880 Student of the term This was awarded by each department at the end of terms 1-5. The house with the most number of stu- dents nominated for student of the term, and achieving the highest number of points was Tonbridge (38 students) 2nd Barton (35 students) 3rd Corpus Christi (33 students) 4th College (29 students) Assessments The assessment points at terms 2, 4 and 6 provide further opportunity for points to be won by students for their house. Each student in the top 10% of the year for AtL and progress (residual) was awarded 10 points. The total points awarded to the 4 houses across the year was: Barton – 1940 College – 1810 Corpus Christi – 1930 Tonbridge – 1490 Speech day prizes Prizes, commendations and special awards are all given a points value. The recipients of the prizes are earning points for their house. The total points awarded to each house from Senior and Junior speech days are as follows: Barton – 4320 College – 4780 Corpus Christi – 4370 Tonbridge – 4360 OTHER COMPETITIONS There were a range of other activities and competitions throughout the year that students engaged with and excelled in. There will be a greater range of competitions next year with the aim also being that nearly everything students do in school can have an impact on their house progress in the House Cup. Photography This is the 2nd time this competition has run. A big thank you to all those who entered and for everyone who took the time in form groups to vote. Each entrant receives 5 points for their house. The staff win- ner was Mr George (Harbour panorama) – he won 50 points for College House. The overall student re- sults were: 1st – Ben Hayhoe, Corpus Christi (100 points) 2nd – Chris Haywood, College (75 points) 3rd – Oli Myburgh, College (50 points) In terms of House Points, the overall winners of the Photography competition were College with 205 points. Spelling Bee The Spelling Bee was a new competition this year, organised by Miss Wilson. The competition saw the whole school involved in the first round. Finalists from each house were eventually selected through a very rigorous process. The final was held in the Big Hall in front of over 100 people. The winning student was Casey Chapman, representing Tonbridge. 2nd Jake Johnson Powell – College 3rd Phillip Hopkins – Tonbridge. Overall, Tonbridge won the most points (140), closely followed by Col- lege (135). Corpus Christi came third (110), with Barton 4th (40).

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 MGS House Cup Summary

Chess A number of students in year 7 and 8 set up and ran the chess competition. The aim is to widen this next year. The winners of the inaugural chess competition was Corpus Christi. 2nd College 3rd Barton 4th Tonbridge

Maths Challenge Mr Parish takes students annually to compete in this; the boys as always were a credit to the school and all houses were well represented in this. All students were awarded points for their participation; the highest achievers were given bonus points, with Barton scoring the most overall points for their contribution.

Conduct Cards 5 points were awarded to all students who submitted a clean conduct card at the end of Term 6. The total points accumulated by each house was: Barton 605 College 485 Corpus Christi 690 Tonbridge 800 MGS SPORTS CUP

Inter-House Rugby The PE department ran inter house rugby for all year groups for the second year running, and the competition was fierce throughout. The Upper School competition was outstanding and was the epito- me of what school competition should be Barton won the Y8 and Y9 competitions, College won the Y10 and Senior competitions, Corpus Christi won the Y7 competitions, Tonbridge were runners up in the Y10 competition and gallant competitors throughout The overall rugby competition winners were Barton, with College 2nd, Corpus Christi 3rd and Ton- bridge 4th.

Senior Girls’ Netball The 6th form girls competed in a netball competition; it was keenly competed as is reflective of the growing stature of girls’ sport in the MGS 6th form. 1st – Tonbridge 2nd – Barton 3rd – College 4th - Corpus Christi

Cross-Country This was a great opportunity for all students to influence the outcome of the Inter House Cross Coun- try challenge. Points were awarded to finishers within the top 100, with more points given to those finishing within the top 10. Barton won the Y7 and Y8 events, College were 4th place in all events, except for Y11 where they placed 3rd, Corpus Christi won the Y9 and Y11 events, Tonbridge won just the Y10 events, but placed 2nd in all others. The overall Cross country winners were Tonbridge.

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 MGS House Cup Summary

Sports Day A well-attended and supported event. Great competition throughout the day. Sports Day had the po- tential to change the course of the entire competition. Year group winners were: Year 7 – Barton Year 8 – Tonbridge Year 9 – Tonbridge Year 10 – Tonbridge Year 12 – Barton Ben Hughes won the Ron McCormick trophy for best sporting performance, and received 100 points for Tonbridge. Sports Day Overall standings: 4th – College 3rd – Corpus 2nd – Tonbridge 1st – Barton

MGS SPORTS CUP FINAL STANDINGS 1st Barton 775, 2ND Tonbridge 550, 3rd Corpus Christi 425, 4th College 400. (Rugby, Netball, Cross Country, Sports Day)

Charities Cup Each house ran their charity day; the total monies raised have been given to the respective charities. 4th – College £1627.93 - Dandelion Trust (200 points) 3rd – Tonbridge £2198.96 - Maidstone Young Minds (300 points) 2nd – Barton £2375.06 – NSPCC (400 points) 1st Corpus Christi £2791.35 – Motor Neurone Disease Association (500 points)

Corpus Christi won the Charities Cup by a margin of £416.29 – a fine effort. The overall points total for the MGS House Cup for 2018-19 are as follows: 4th – COLLEGE 11080 3rd – CORPUS CHRISTI 11155 2nd – TONBRIDGE 11195 The winners, with 11540 points - BARTON

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 Extended Learning Week

MGS Summer Newsletter 2017 MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 Big Bang STEM Competition Southeast

Name Title Description Charlie Hilder An investigation into the design and build of a whip- Yr8 Designing a trebuchet per trebuchet Alistair Emergency service accesi- Designing a mechanism to allow emergency services Shelley Yr8 ble speed bumps to travel safely in areas with speed bumps Charles Stanley Yr8 Turning poo into power! How can we use manure to create electricity William Fletcher and Fraser Pass- A sonar collar for blind more Yr8 dogs How to improve the quality of life of blind dogs

Lektier - The modern Day Development of an app that can be used to organise Daniel Gray Yr10 Planner homework and day to day tasks

Archie Coombe and David Ringel- What would a mercury rover need? Design and re- mann Yr8 Mercury Rover search for a mercury rover.

Both Alistair Shelley and Daniel Gray won a sponsor’s prize, each being awarded a £50 ama- zon gift voucher, cup and certificate. All students performed very well after months of hard work during lunch time STEM club and some after school sessions. Their projects made impressive displays and presentations.

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 School News & Achievements

12 Year 8 students (two teams of six) took part in the National Institute of Engineering and Technology Competition. Congratulations to the team consisting of William Fletcher, David Ringelmann, Charles Stanley, Archie Coombe, Marc Venegas-Grau and Fraser Pass- more who successfully won the competition. Runners up were Mahrus Syed, Charlie Hil- der, Sam French, Sonny Henley, Jack Creasy and Alistair Shelley. Well done boys.

Congratulations to Sam Ghinn of Barton House who, as well as revising hard for his GCSEs, competed at the South East Regional Gymnastics Championships and won. He is now the U18 Regional Champion winning gold on high bar, vault and parallel bars and silver on pommel, rings and floor. Fantastic news. Well done Sam.

Gold For Merrick Congratulation to Merrick Scott in Corpus Christi house who attended the Karate world champion- ships in Japan. He passed his black belt grading and won gold for England, a fantastic achieve- ment. Well done Merrick.

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 School News & Achievements

MGS v St Simon Stock It was a very competitive and close match in which both teams played some excellent foot- ball. The game began with both teams displaying a little nervousness. It became a mid- field battle for possession and control. MGS took the lead in the first half with a lovely fin- ish from Nathan Jeche (College) following a defence splitting pass from captain Richard Munn (Corpus Christi). MGS were able to navigate a fretful end to the first half in which St Simon Stock created three clear-cut opportunities. St Simon Stock cranked up the pressure during the second half and were able to get an equaliser with twenty minutes to play. It became a cagey affair with both teams keen to avoid mistakes or take unnecessary risks. The depth of squad MGS were able to field was a key factor in avoiding fatigue and allowing students the opportunity to recover. There were chances for both teams towards the end of the match with St Simon Stock hitting the post and crossbar respectively in a matter of moments. With time expiring, it was clear that both teams were happy to play for extra-time. After more refreshments, tactical changes, substitutions and vital contributions from Mr Terrell, MGS took to the field for the first period of extra time. Within two minutes, Na- than Jeche had his second goal after a strong run and tidy finish into the bottom cor- ner. MGS were leading with 17 minutes of time remaining. The pressure increased further, tired legs and tired minds led to some mistakes and an inability to clear our lines. St Simon Stock sensed an opportunity and began to press in attack. The pressure led to chances and again St Simon Stock hit the woodwork - the third time in the last twenty minutes of the game. Fortunately MGS were able to maintain their resolute defence and held on to seal an infamous victory.

A huge congratulations to all players involved.

MGS Summer Newsletter 2017 MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 School News & Achievements

Well done to Hamish Reilly Cr8 who took part in the ETU European Youth Triathlon Championships in June. The event took place over 3 days, Hamish came through his event in 3rd place with the first 9 from each wave moving into the Final – even recording the fastest bike split of all 90 competitors. On finals day Hamish performed brilliantly to come home in 7th place overall, and just 10 seconds off the podium positions. The standard was incredibly high, with most competi- tors already having many European race experiences, whereas for the GB team this was their first experience at this level. The 3rd day was mixed team relay, a fast and furious event. 25 teams par- ticipated it was very exciting as places kept changing. Hamish was on the final leg, and successfully brought the team home in 6th place.

Congratulations to Matt Burrows from Tonbridge House who competed in the South East Regional Swim- ming Championships where he came first in both the 100m and 200m Breaststroke events. Following this success Matt was invited to compete at the British Tollcross International Swimming in July. We look for- ward to hearing how he has done in our next newslet- ter.

Congratulations to Frank Chadwick from College House who has been on the winning podium twice. He gained a selection of medals in his first swimming gala, winning silver for 50m but- terfly and 50m backstroke and a bronze for 100m freestyle. In the following gala he won two gold medals for 100m back- stroke and 50m breaststroke, a silver for 50m backstroke and a bronze for 50m freestyle. Well done Frank.

Congratulations to Tobey Smith of Corpus Christi house for receiving Player of the sea- son at Gillingham FC, where he is the goal keeper for the under 13’s team. Keep up the good work Tobey.

MGS Summer Newsletter 2017 MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 School News & Achievements

Sagunto/Sagunto Castle - ELW Valencia Trip

On Tuesday morning, we set out to Sagunto after our buffet breakfast at the hotel, we were lucky to be able to travel in the Levante football clubs coach which was equipped with great aircon, reclining seats and lots of leg room, it was a luxurious coach which was very pleasant to travel in.

Once we got to Sagunto, we took a short walk through the town stopping at a small market to get water before we went up the Sagunto castle. After we got through the busier part of Sa- gunto, we walked up a traditional road which had very traditional Spanish houses. When we reached the end of the road which was going uphill, we saw the rebuilt amphitheatre which was where shows would have been performed.

We then started to walk up the slope to the Castle, this took around 20 minutes but by the time we had finished, the views were amazing, the castle was on a hill 565ft high. The incredi- ble views overlooked all the houses, farms and even work sites. We walked around in small groups for a little while looking at the ruins and the left-over buildings. In the walls were gaps where boiling water would have been poured onto people trying to get up. After exploring all of the castle, we started to head back down to go and look around the rebuilt amphitheatre. After looking around and sitting down in the amphitheatre we started to walk back the way we came through the traditional streets and past the market back to the Levante coach where we went to the beach to have a late lunch and ice cream/slushies.

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 School News & Achievements

We are very proud of Kamren Mendis from Tonbridge House, who has been raising money by playing the saxophone at Charity Events. Kamren was a guest invitee and accom- panied the Boughton Monchelsea Com- munity Choir. This event raised £1800 to Youth Cancer Support (You Can- Charity). This is an amazing local chari- ty who provide well-being support to young people up to the age of 35 im- pacted by cancer. Kamren’s next event was a solo event at the Vinters football Club Annual Award Ceremony where he raised funds for the MIND charity. He has also played at the MIND Charity's 50th Anni- versary Celebrations at the Town Hall in July.

Congratulation to William Watson from Tonbridge House who took park in Italia Conti School of Performing Arts bi-annual show at the Assembly Hall Theatre. He was awarded the Italia Conti Prize for Upper Junior Acting

MGS Summer Newsletter 2017 MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 StudentSchool News Achievements & Achievements & News

Year 10 Geography trip to Stratford High Street and the Westfield Shopping Complex On 13th & 14th June year 10 Geography students visited various sites in London to conduct fieldwork and learn about sustainable cities of the future. This is a summary of our day: The class met up at mote park to leave for London via coach at around 8:15am. We left on time and had relatively good traffic allowing for a relatively swift trip to London. We arrived outside the emirates cable car station on the south side of the Thames. We then took the cable cars across the Thames. Once the group had gathered back together by the cable car station on the north side of the river, we walked over to the crystal build- ing and waited to enter the building and start our tour. We were split into three groups and took a tour around the building, showing us how cities are able to be made more sustainable as well as how to make houses and cities more energy efficient and have as little of a carbon footprint as possible. Once the tour was over, we were given about 15-20 minutes to have a look around the building and take a more detailed look around and study of the exhibitions. We then re- convened outside the building and got on the coach that took us to Stratford high street. The group was then split into the two sets. 10p went to the Westfield centre first and 10k stayed on the high street. Our group (10k) conducted an EQS (environmental quality survey) and a perception sur- vey of the Stratford high street by 12:15, when we would go to a position given to us in the lesson beforehand and do a 5-minute pedestrian count. Once we had done this, we regrouped and walked to the Westfield centre. We were meant to have a 50-minute lunch break however, because we finished early, our lunch break was extended to roughly an hour and five minutes. In this lunch break, we were allowed to go anywhere in the Westfield centre. Me and my friend shopped a little then went to KFC. Once this was over, we did the same as we did at the Stratford high street but at the Westford centre, with the pedestrian count at 2:00. Once we were done, the groups walked back to the coach which took us back to mote park. Just like the trip down, we had good traffic, allowing for an easy journey that got us back to school for about 3:40pm. Tom Reeves Tonbridge

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 Student AchievementsCanada 2019 & News

At 5.30am on 28 June we departed for the School trip of a lifetime. The coach drive took about 1 hour, the shortest part of the Journey to Canada. Most of us were only being kept awake by the anticipation and occa- sional nudges from our friends.

Customs was clearer than expected and we were through within half an hour: too bad the plane wasn’t making as good a time as us, delayed by 3 hours. After just 6 hours of painful waiting we were in the air for the next 9 hours.

A few movies, some TV and 2 quick meals later, we touched down in Vancouver. Another short coach trip later and we arrived at where we were staying for the next 3 nights.

The next day we were up early to go to the Cappillano suspension bridge. Even though the bridge was safe and secure many people felt particularly precarious. There were many towering totem poles, the treetop walk was awesome and the gift-shop was great, maple syrup and tiny totem poles galore.

The second day was full of killer whales, seals and sea lions. We got onto the boat in the afternoon and head- ed straight for the killer whales, stunning!!! We saw a few heads, some tails and lots of dorsal fins. A remark- able experience.

The next day we headed to Cultis Lake water park, we spent an entire day there, well worth it and one of the most exciting days of them all. One full day of water rides, my personal favourite was colossal canyon, but zero-60 raceway was a close second. Great fun but the sunburn wasn’t.

Tuesday was a full day of travel- 8 hours. Its one saving grace the scenery, it gradually got more and more mountainous which was stunning. The hotel we stayed at was great, it was a heritage ghost town, there was also a lake next to it and the room were very nice. On one of the mountains next to the hotel we saw a small family of mountain goats. My favourite building was the round house with a turn table in it.

On Wednesday we went to the Glacier National Park. A huge expanse of Forrest and mountains, We went to a waterfall called “Bear Falls” because bears were frequent visitors. Standing on the rocks in front of the falls was extraordinary, you got soaked by the water-filled wind rushing into your face.

One section of the park had huge rocks which we took great delight in clambering over. Around and under one of the large rocks I spotted 2 young pine Marten. A real highlight of the trip for me because we were curious enough to come to within 2 metres of it.

As the last day of doing things in Canada came we headed for a local wildlife park, a zoo for injured and or- phaned animals that can’t be released back into the wild and a rehabilitation centre for those who could. Other than the animals inside the pens there were loads of free roaming chipmunks and other small animals. Canada 2019 was an amazing experience I will never forget.

Ethan Yates Barton CCF News

ARMY SUMMER CAMP 2019

This year the Army section attended its annual summer camp at Wathgill, in Yorkshire organ- ised by 4th Infantry Brigade. 43 cadets took part in a wide range of activities across 5 days run by staff at the camp and officers in the CCF. The week started with a range day where all ca- dets got a chance to fire both the cadet scorpion rifle and the L98 A2 Cadet GP rifle. For many of the younger cadets this was their first time firing live ammunition and the challenging 100- and 200-meter shoots put them to the test. Monday evening saw cadet take on the assault course, even Second Lieutenant Ribbons was successful in completing the course, with some help from the senior cadets.

Tuesday was the adventure training package in which cadets took part in abseil and other high ropes activities. After lunch every cadet and adult took on the tough-mudder style assault course littered with obstacles and plenty of mud. That evening, cadets were allowed some free time whilst the year 12s took part in leadership training, aiming to help better prepare them for their year in charge. Wednesday and Thursday were heavily focused around field training with refresher lessons on the 6 section battle drills. By Wednesday evening cadets had de- ployed on their military exercise in two platoons of 18. Over the following 30 hours these pla- toons carried out reconnaissance patrols and attacked enemy held positions in the area. Cadet RSM William Hulme

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 Royal Navy

Clyde Fleet Tender de brief With obvious misgivings of sharing the tight confines of a Fleet Tender with another school’s cadet section, what actually happened was nothing short of miraculous. Two sections work- ing together (having never met before), to such a degree that it was practically impossible to tell the two schools apart after a day or so. Lots of friends were made and I hope the ca- dets stay in contact. The two Sections were split up and divided into 4 watches where we moved them through; Time on the Bridge, Personal Leadership Tasks, Navigation and Sea- manship and Social time. We even got to have a guided tour on an RNLI life boat. Evenings were spent together on the beach having fun, taking part in Dog Watch sports and on the final evening RGS’s boys and girls joined MGS for their annual fall back into the sea activity. Also on finding out that Reigate Grammar School has a set of Field Guns, their Petty Officer slapped our Chief with the gauntlet of competition and challenged Maidstone to a race. Something that was eagerly accepted; come September we shall be donning our white square neck tops and putting on our gaiters (watch the Field Gun runs on You Tube), and go- ing over to Reigate to beat them at their own game… Thank you also to Ms Adams for coming along and being a Civilian Instructor for our week away, I hope she returns for further adventures with the RN Section.

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 Royal Air Force

Summer Camp 2019

On Saturday the 29th June, 19 RAF cadets travelled to RAF Shawbury to have a week of new and exciting ac- tivities. We all met at school at 8am in the morning, not quite fully awake, to make the five-hour trip up to Shrewsbury. When we arrived, we quickly settled into our tents and waited for the other schools. Soon, Kirk- ham Grammar arrived from Preston and Oundle from Peterborough.

On Sunday, we had an enjoyable day doing high ropes nearby and, in the afternoon, visited a falconry centre. We had an opportunity to meet the birds of prey and everyone had a hawk fly off their arm. On Monday morning, we had a visit from the RAF police who demonstrated some of their equipment and tactics including restraining Mr Parish. The West Midlands armed police also came over and gave us an opportunity to handle their guns and shields. In the afternoon we made our first visit to the helicopter training school, where we were shown the “state of the art” equipment used to train helicopter pilots. Much of Tuesday was spent with the police again, this time at their public order training centre (riot police). All the cadets thoroughly enjoyed finding out more about how the police deal with protests and riots and the day culminated in the cadets tak- ing part in a training exercise, playing the part of protesters.

On Tuesday evening we went bowling with our new found friends. On Wednesday, the camp split in half and half went off to visit the RAF museum at Cosford which holds many interesting aircraft including the only sur- viving Valiant. The other half went off to spend the day shooting and try to gain more qualifications. Thursday was for many the best day of all because we all got to fly in a Juno helicopter which everyone enjoyed as it gave us a very different experience. As the camp began to wind down, on Thursday evening, we went into a nearby town to enjoy a meal together. Friday was the final day of activities with everyone doing the reverse of Wednesday’s activities. There was an added surprise for those doing shooting though, as first an Apache heli- copter and then two Pumas landed. One of the officers thought quickly and managed to get us a tour of the Puma which was amazing opportunity for all the cadets. This was a great way to end the camp and after pack- ing up on Saturday we all returned home, exhausted but happy having had a great week.

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 CCF News

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 News on the MGSPA.

Raising Funds, Raising Learning Ways to help the PA over the Summer.

• If you are having a clear out of old/outgrown clothes and other household textiles, then please consider donating them to the Salvation Army clothes bank, located next to the Refectory. All your good quality adults and children’s clothing, socks, trainers, shoes, underwear, handbags, accessories, towels and bedding textiles can be donat- ed. These are then sold and the money is split equally between the school and the Salvation Army. The school is open throughout the summer, so these can be dropped off to the clothes bank, whenever convenient.

• Sign up to easyfundraising, using this link https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ maidstone-grammar-school-parents-association-/. Whether you are shopping for last minute holiday items from Boots, or clothes from M&S, please use this shopping portal. There are over 3,000 websites such as Amazon, Viking, Booking.com, Asos and Sky. Every time you need to get a quote for house or car insurance, use easyfundraising! Some great donations can be made to the school, without it costing you anything – one family has raised nearly £1000 so far – just think what we could achieve if we all shopped this way. Less than a quarter of parents have signed up so far – don’t leave it to others, join up too please!

• Join our 100 Club – now that the end of term has arrived, and we say goodbye to Year 13, there are lots of numbers available. It costs just £30 for the year, and the De- cember draw of £1000 is very handy for those extras at Christmas. The link is here: https://www.mgs.kent.sch.uk/assets/Uploads/PA/mgspa-100-club-application -form.pdf

• Have you ever fancied doing a charity skydive or abseil? We are now able to receive sponsorship for such events. Let [email protected] know if you are interested in volunteering?

• And finally, if you have any outgrown uniform that you can donate to the second hand uniform shop, it would be gratefully appreciated.

• Our next shop will be open on Saturday 31st August 2019, from 9.30am to 11.30am. Please make a note in your diaries.

Don’t forget to complete the parents’ survey, if you haven’t done so already. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/67QZJQJ

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019 Diary Dates

Term 1

2 September 2019 - INSET DAY—STAFF ONLY 3 September 2019 - First Day of Term 1 (Wk 1) - Years 7,12,13 ONLY 4 September 2019 - First Day of Term 1 (Wk 1) - All year groups 13 September 2019 - Upper School Speech Day 17 September 2019 - Individual/Class Photographs 25 September 2019 - Whole School Photograph 17 October 2019 - Y6 Open Evening 17 October 2019 - Last day of Term 1 18 October 2019 - INSET DAY—STAFF ONLY

28 October 2019 - First Day of Term 2 (Wk 2)

Please remember that the School attendance email address is: [email protected]

See the Headmaster’s weekly blog and regular news updates on the MGS Facebook Page Contact us

Maidstone Grammar School Barton Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 7BT  01622 752101  [email protected]

MGS Summer Newsletter 2019