Headmaster's Report

Headmaster’s Report he past year has been a troubled provision is described as excellent Ring Round the Moon; the Spring Term one for schools. We have been which, again, is a tribute to the dedica- production was the musical The Bak- Thorrified by massacre and mur- tion of the staff. And, in the responses er’s Wife at Cumberland Street; whilst der and we have read and heard much to the statement in the questionnaire the Summer Term saw Our Day Out at of the breakdown of discipline and the sent by the inspectors to the parents, Fence Avenue. All these plays were enforced closure of schools by disrup- “My child is happy at school”, 97% fully co-educational and it is clear that tive pupils. answered positively. That, of course, is this is an area where the full Founda- We have seen also, sadly, a series of not good enough, but it is heartening. tion comes together most successfully. “knee-jerk” responses which offer, at This year also saw the first class of The structure for music in the school best, palliatives but certainly not solu- girls, who entered the school when the now also provides for boys and girls to tions to complex and deep-rooted prob- Girls’ Division opened in 1993, take develop their talents in separate groups lems in society. Beneath all this, their first public examinations. They and to come together when they reach however, we have sensed a yearning had been a credit to the school in so a higher standard. With over 400 pupils for established values and moral stand- many ways and duly completed their now taking music lessons, the range ards. time in the Girls’ Division with distinc- and quality of our concerts and musi- How uplifting, therefore, has been tion, every one of them passing at least cal events provide a rich programme the response of Frances Lawrence to five GCSEs at A-C. over the year. The basis of much of this the murder of her husband: not a call The results at GCSE in the Boys’ is established in the excellent and for revenge but a dignified plea for Division were in line with previous wonderfully diverse programme of positive and constructive outlets for years, with a 95% pass rate and all but music in our Junior Division. The Foun- young people’s energy. Instant solu- six pupils achieving at least five passes. dation Choir performed stunningly in tions are not offered but the tenor of The average number of GCSE passes the Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year com- her appeal has found an overwhelm- per pupil in the Foundation was 7.9. petition. Equally impressive is the de- ing response from the public. At A Level, every one of the 134 velopment of composition among our It is easy, in an age of immediate pupils attained an entry qualification young musicians, whose works fre- communication, to allow the negative to Higher Education and 23 pupils quently form a part of our concerts. elements to distort the true picture. attained straight As. Ten pupils se- It has also been a purposeful year Shocking though the violence and dis- cured places at Oxford or Cambridge. for sport. Our 1st XV enjoyed one of respect for authority are, the fact is that Statistics, however, only tell us a the best seasons ever, losing only in the majority of schools are civilised limited amount. At King’s, it is our aim the final match. In it, we produced two places, where young people work hard that every pupil should fulfil his/her under-19 internationals, one for Eng- and show, besides courtesy and re- potential, and it is our policy to admit land and one for Scotland - surely a spect, deep compassion and an aware- to the Sixth Form as many pupils as we unique achievement! The hockey teams ness of the needs of others. Where the think have a reasonable chance of enjoyed successful seasons; the 1st X1 security of a good home and a good some success at A Level, not only those cricket team, after a shaky start, devel- school exists, the drive for high stand- pupils who are sure to succeed with oped into one of the most successful ards in all one undertakes, far from flying colours. It is very pleasing, there- sides for years; our tennis teams per- distracting pupils from a sense of re- fore, to stress that every one of the 134 formed well and the sport of orienteer- sponsibility for others, can and does candidates at A Level qualified for ing has established a national reputation raise a strong awareness that such Higher Education, over twenty of them for the school. Outward Bound activi- privileges also carry such responsibili- from a very modest GCSE base. These ties remain as popular as ever, and in ties. Acts which exemplify this aware- are real and valued achievements by the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme ness occur daily in schools up and individuals, which raw statistics do not we now have a steady stream of Gold down the country. Rarely, however, identify. awards. are they broadcast. In addition, it is pleasing to note I mentioned the many complex prob- I hope the pages which follow will that, once again, we had a good entry lems which confront society now. This testify to a year of purposeful activity for our Lower Sixth extended essay year we have established throughout and high standards in all the King's scheme and were able to make over the school a programme of personal School undertakes. We always strive twenty awards, which are detailed in and social education (PSE) which ad- for this and at the start of the academic Appendix 5. Not all of these pupils will dresses some of these problems and year our efforts were judged by a team necessarily gain top grades in all their encourages our pupils to make in- of outside observers - an OFSTED A Levels but they have completed, on formed choices. It is a positive pro- inspection team. We had only six weeks’ their own, an extensive piece of re- gramme and one which was highly notice, so the school really was in- search, submitted to a deadline, and commended by the inspectors. spected in its everyday state. the skills acquired remain with them. Nothing is possible in a school, Though an inspection is always a We do aim, however, to develop however, without dedicated and able stressful experience, much of value rounded individuals with diverse inter- staff. In this we are well blessed at came from it. We received an encour- ests. It will be apparent how diverse King’s. All the staff, both teaching and aging and very pleasing report and it the activities in the school are from this non-teaching, give unstintingly of their was heartening that so much of what report, but I would like to highlight a time and, for them, the pupils’ interests we do was commended. Three as- number of striking achievements over always come first. I am happy to pay pects, in particular, gave us pleasure. the year. tribute to their high standards and The school is described as “very car- The school’s reputation for drama is commitment. ing” and, since this is one of our top established and we were treated to priorities, we felt that the unstinting three very different, but all highly suc- efforts of the staff in this area had been cessful, productions over the year. In A G Silcock duly recognised. The extra-curricular the Autumn the Sixth Form gave us November 1996 2 Hail & Farewell ing the Ben Nevis Fell Race, the Snow- spare time, Anne enjoys walking, swim- Hail... donia Marathon and the London Mara- ming and being with her family on Welcome to those members of staff thon. She has also enjoyed several holiday in Cornwall. She still gives in- who joined King’s in September 1995. mountain marathons, including service training courses for teachers The following have kindly provided Karrimors, Rock & Run and the who need to teach astronomy and she brief histories: Saunders. She plays netball weekly is currently the president of the Asso- and tries to attend aerobic sessions ciation for Astronomy Education in the Lisa Booker regularly. UK. (Girls’ PE & Games) In April she married an Outdoor Lisa was born and brought up in Ches- Pursuits Instructor, who works for an Sandy Gibson terfield. Throughout school, she was LEA Outdoor Centre in Derbyshire. (Drama) active in all sports, representing the They look forward to pursuing their Born in Durham, Sandy lived in both school in hockey, netball and cross- shared interests of mountaineering, the North East and East Yorkshire be- country, and representing her county, running and outdoor activities together fore moving to Cheshire in her early Derbyshire, at English Schools cross- in the future. teens. She attended Oriel Bank High country and athletics competitions. School in Davenport and trained as a From an early age she was interested in Judith Brown teacher at Mather College, Manchester, horse-riding and still has two horses at (Junior Science) specialising in Drama and Music. Mar- her parents’ but rarely finds time to ride Judith was born in Belfast, Northern ried, with two children, she went on to them any more. Ireland, and lived there until she was study and obtain the Guildhall Teach- Lisa studied in Liverpool for her eighteen. She then went to Leeds Uni- ers’ Diploma in Speech & Drama while degree in Physical Education & Sport versity, where she gained a BSc (Hons) her children were still small.

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