Easter Newsletter 2019

Dear Parents/Carers Welcome to this Easter newsletter where once again we wish to share news and the numerous success stories that have occurred this term, and that we are proud of. Since the last news- letter we have been incredibly busy and have much to celebrate. Many congratulations to the 15 air cadets who took part in the RAF Air Squadron Trophy and who won the regional final; to the eight army cadets who won the Military Skills Competition gaining a place at the Cambrian Patrol Competition next year; and to the Senior Rugby Squad who won the 7s Plate beating in the final. Well done to you all – we are very proud of your achievements. As well as these successes we have also now appointed next year’s Senior Prefect Team: 18 prefects, led by Jonah and Jack, the School Captain and School Vice-Captain respectively, who will lead and serve the School over the next 12 months. They officially don’t start until after the Easter holiday but they have already acted as student ambassadors at a couple of school events. At this point I wish say good luck to the new team for the coming year and thank the out-going team for their service and leadership during the last 12 months. Henry and Dan, the out-going School Captain and School Vice-Captain, have been an outstanding pair and a pleasure to work with. Building developments have continued to be at the forefront of our minds this term. Hard work in this area has meant that our redevelopment of the School Library will commence in May with a completion date in early September. The project is being supported by parents, friends of the School and Old Maidstonians and it is them I wish to thank for their kind dona- tions. A quick word about Brexit. With being so close to the M20 we have been advised by the Local Authority to make the necessary plans just in case of a no deal situ- ation. Operation Stack will be in place but will affect much more of the motorway than nor- mal. Much has happened in the last two weeks to require us to adjust our plans already, but if Friday 12th April becomes the new date for a possible no deal we will of course inform you during the holiday if adjustments to the school need to be made when the students return.

MGS Easter Newsletter 2019 School News

Advance notice of a change we are making to the school for September 2019. From September there will be new timings for the school day. After careful consideration with staff, governors and some parents, the Governing Body has agreed that the school day will end at 3.20pm in- stead of 3.30pm. There are two main reasons for doing this. Firstly, we are shortening lunch by 10 minutes as we are managing to accommodate an expanding school very well. Our new catering company, and the introduction of a second food servery, has made significant im- provements into the speed of service we provide. The second reason is we wish to further de- velop the quality of our staff development programme. There are a number of aspects of the school, particularly with teaching and learning, we wish to develop and so the extra 10 minutes a day will create more frequent blocks of time which can be used to deliver good quality staff training. We are currently on an exciting journey seeing many improvements in the school, and good staff training is essential to ensure continuous development. The slightly earlier finish will also provide additional time for extra curricular activities that take place af- ter school, particularly in the winter months when daylight is at a minimum. To reassure you, though, these changes will not impact on the learning hours your child receives in school.

Finally, before you read on, I wish to thank the staff for their on-going support for the stu- dents. The Spring Term can be a challenging one, particularly as a large number of students are completing coursework and preparing for examinations, and the staff’s commitment to MGS adds to an already proud community. Thank you. I wish you all a restful and relaxing holiday.

M Tomkins

So many of these great innovations and successes out- lined in this report are linked to the supportive nature of whole MGS community. Along with the Parents' Associa- tion, the Development Fund have been pushing to sup- port and the latest edition of their new-look newsletter, Bricks and Stones, can be found HERE Please do take a look.

Well Done to Charlie Edwards from House who got a Distinction in his grade 6 piano exam.

MGS Summer Newsletter 2017 MGS Easter Newsletter 2019 MGS First Spelling Bee

On Wednesday 20th April eight savvy spellers took to the stage to battle it out for their House to determine who would be the best speller in MGS and win points for their house. Who rose to the top and claimed victory? Who proved them- selves against the entire school to be crowned the Top Speller?

Before the final round could even commence, every form had to take part in a school wide spelling test on Wednesday 6th March, spelling words like ‘antediluvian’, ‘gnash’ and ‘onomatopoeia’. No year group was left out, and all year groups were in with an equal chance of winning the round.

The winners from each form then progressed to the Inter-house Battles, which took place on the 18th March. Fifty-nine students ranging from year 7 to 13, turned up promptly for their second spelling test, which would separate the good spellers from the excellent ones. Words this time got progressively more difficult, cumulating in high calibre adjectives like ‘eudemonic’ and ‘facetious’.

After a nail biting quick fire spelling test between two students who drew in this round from Tonbridge House, we had our eight superb spellers who would progress to the Big Spelling Battle on the 20th March. These were for Barton: Henry Brown Ba1 and Preksha Rai Ba9. For College: Benjamin Young Cg5 and Jake Johnson Powell Cg9. For Corpus Christi: Phillip Hop- kins Cr1 and Greg Kurzepa Cr 9 and for Tonbridge: Cameron Slaughter To8 and Casey Chap- man To4. All did an amazing job making it to the final battle where nerves of steel and a cool head would be the ingredients needed to take home the ultimate prize and win.

The final battle kick started on Wednesday 20th with Mr Ribban’s leading the crowd, Miss Wil- son organising the event and Mr Highsted as the adjudicator. A large crowd gathered to sup- port their peers and their house, with many members of staff joining to support as well. The ordering for the first three rounds was randomised and each student participated in the first 3 rounds, with the stipulation that they had to get two out of the three words correct to pro- gress to round 4: The Cut.

The six individuals who survived were Casey Chapman, Preksha Rai, Ben Young, Phillip Hop- kins, Jake Johnson Powell, Greg Kurzepa. Sadly, leaving the round at this stage was Henry Brown from Barton, leaving Preksha as the only representative for Barton to fight for her house. Cameron Slaughter of Tonbridge also had to exit the competition here, increasing the pressure on Casey Chapman to succeed.

MGS Easter Newsletter 2019 MGS First Spelling Bee

The fourth round was The Cut. Each remaining student had to get two of their words correct to leave two winners standing. Casey Chapman made it easily through this round spelling both his words, ‘ubiquitous’ and ‘algorithm’ with ease. However, there was a tie breaker be- tween Phillip and Jake, both getting their second word incorrect, but their back up words correct. This lead to a tie breaker where Jake from College House clinched the victory and proceeded to the final round.

The Decider: the Decider kick started with each contestant stepping forward to spell in- creasingly challenging words, such as ‘anthophilous’ and each succeeding in their first words. The pressure rose and Jake took to the stage, failing to spell his next word correctly. This left the way open for Casey to steal the prize stepping forward to spell his word with ease and flair.

Casey Chapman was consequently crowned the winner for Tonbridge House earning 140 points. He also won himself an individual prize and is crowned the first winner of the first MGS Spelling Bee. A massive congratulation is extended to Casey and to the runner up Jake Johnson Powell for their efforts and success.

The Spelling Bee will be returning to MGS next year with an Upper and Lower School compe- tition. Do you think you have what it takes to win next year?

Miss Wilson and Mr Highsted

MGS Summer Newsletter 2017 MGS Easter Newsletter 2019 2019 Rugby Tour

The MGS tour was a brilliant experience for all of us, for many of the year 13s it was our first proper tour and a chance to get away with your mates properly for the first time. The two games that we played were both won comfortably with the second game on Louis skinners 18th birthday resulting in us playing some of the best rugby we have played. The second game led on to be a highlight of the tour as we stayed in the clubhouse and got to know the opposition team, which gave everyone an experience of a proper tour with some very good people. The tour was not only good because of the wins that we got, it also gave year 13s,12s and 11s an opportunity to integrate and socialise together especially when we went on the ex- cursions that had been organised for us. These gave us some of the best moments on tour especially when Owen and Luke, taking no more than one step into the cheese factory be- fore getting straight out as they could not handle the smell and Guy telling you every little detail on every Ferrari that we saw in the museum. To conclude I would like to thank Mr Ferguson and Mr Bing for giving up their half term to come with us, but especially Mr Hathaway who helped organise it, I think going to Italy and getting two convincing wins shows how far he has taken the rugby at MGS since he joined and without him I don’t think that a lot of this would be possible. Oliver Leyland

Kent Sevens Final The U16 Sevens Squad reached the Final of the Kent Sevens held at on Thursday 14th March playing Eltham College. Eltham took a 19-0 lead at half time, but Maidstone never gave up and showed real charac- ter even when Eltham scored again to take a 26-0 lead, tries by George Tuffin and George Halpin meant the score was eventually 26-21. On their way to the final they beat Langley Park, Cranbrook School and The Judd school in the Group stages. In the Quarter Final they beat Dartford con- vincingly without conceding a score. The semi- final against Skinners school went to extra time after 12- 12 and the result was decided by Golden Try.

The students should feel very proud of their perfor- mances and have set their standings in Kent as one of the Sevens sides to watch next year.

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

MGS Careers Fair – March 2019 On Thursday 28th March we held a whole school Careers Fair in the Big Hall, which all students from Yr7-13 attended. Although we run various careers talks and presentations throughout the year, this is the first whole school event we have organised. We were extremely fortunate to have almost 30 exhibitors, rep- resenting a wide range of organisations, who kindly gave up their valuable time to support the event and engage with our students, providing information and advice about their compa- nies and career opportunities. The career sectors represented included: construction, engineering, surveying & civil engineer- ing, business & finance, accountancy, insurance, health & med- ical, local authority careers, food and hospitality industry, mo- tor vehicle industry, uniformed services, animal care, law, sci- ence, charitable organisations, apprenticeship providers and more. With 1300 students attending the fair throughout the morning, it was a busy and lively event, with lots of en- thusiasm and interest being shown by the students, par- ticularly the younger year groups. In addition to being able to talk with employers of their choice, students were also tasked with finding answers to specific questions set by the employers. The two students who completed their questionnaires most accurately and comprehensively were

Feedback from the employers has been very positive, with some useful sugges- tions and ideas for future events. “It was a really great event and we’d defi- We would like to thank the following companies who supported nitely love to come back next year if you decide to re-run it! this event: “We loved the idea of the questions (this is Abbaltis Maidstone Borough the first careers fair we have been to ARC Ratings Council where students had these) as felt this was a great ice breaker and gave them a way to Murphy Group British Army start conversation” Network Rail KATO Training “You had a wide range of stands from the BAE Systems NHS local community and beyond. The diversity was impressive and offered a great oppor- Canterbury Christ Church University Royal Air Force tunity to the students to realise the op- tions are many.” – Health & Social Care Rhokett Ltd “I was particularly impressed by the young- College of Animal Studies Sekesui Diagnostics er age groups. Your students were a credit Cook Food Shipsafe Training Group to themselves and the school. They asked not only the questions they were supposed Cove Insurance Total Control Services Ltd to but also ventured down some of their own avenues” European School of Osteopathy Trussell Trust “We were so impressed by how polite, Ford Motor Company UK Power Networks smart and engaging your students were and Guest Medical Waterman Group thank you again for inviting us to be a part of your careers fair.” Hilton Hotel Whitehead Monckton KCS Professional Services Kent Police

MGS Easter Newsletter 2019 Inter House Competition Term 4

Inter House competition continues to develop at MGS. This term we have introduced two new competitions: Netball and the Spelling Bee. We will continue to find ways to introduce a wider range of competitions that will encourage the whole community to come together and take part, with the chance of earning points for their house. Looking ahead, the Photography competition will be making a return; please look out for de- tails soon. Netball 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Ton- Barton College Corpus bridge

The overall results of the Inter House Rugby were:

Barton College Corpus Tonbridge

Y7 2nd 3rd 1st 4th

Y8 1st 2nd 4th 3rd

Y9 1st 4th 3rd 2nd

Y10 3rd 1st 2nd 4th

Seniors 2nd 1st 4th 3rd st nd rd th Overall 1 2 3 4

Spelling Bee

The Spelling Bee competition was a great suc- st rd cess, with the final being held in the Big Hall in nd 1 3 4th front of an enthusiastic audience. The whole 2 school took part in the first round and a second Col- Cor- Ton- round whittled the field down to a final 8 com- Barton lege pus bridge petitors. Congratulations to the whole school 690 community for getting involved, with particular 710 660 570 congratulations to the final 8 and the eventual points winner Casey Chapman. points points points

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

Term 4 assessment data In addition to these competitions, points continue to be awarded for assessment perfor- mance in the fields of Attitude to Learning (AtL) and progress against targets. The top 10% of students in each year are awarded points for their efforts. The overall results for the whole school are as follows:

4th 2nd 3rd 1st Barton College Corpus Tonbridge 40 points 135 points 110 points 140 points

Overall standings

House Cup points totals - Term 4 6000 5935 5800 5770 5600 5645

5400

5200 5220

5000

4800 Barton College Corpus Tonbridge

MGS Easter Newsletter 2019 StudentStudent Achievements of the Term & News

Subject Student Yr Form

Art Eleanor Jewson 13 Ba8

Biology Jack Rustrick 13 Cg2

Business Luke Reeves 13` Cg3

Chemistry Fabian Trusty 8 Ba4

Classics Heather Bubb 13 Ba5

Computing Joe Crawford 11 Ba3

DT Carter Fridd 7 Ba2

Economics Luke Exall 12 To9

English Caden Fowler 9 To5

Film Tobias Pattison 13 Ba4

French Harvey Coomes 7 Cg2

Geography Rafferty Wilson 13 To11

German Luke McGill 10 Cr8

History Robert Clemons 13 Ba4

Latin Daniel Hepburn 9 Ba7

Maths Oliver Othen 10 Ba6

Media Zarik Cross 12 Cr8

Music Elliot Elks 11 Cg5

PE George Horgan 9 Cr10

Performing Arts Archie Coombe 8 To3

Philosophy Harvey Crease 13 Cg2

Physics Matthew Parkhouse 8 Cr9

Politics William Price 13 Cr2

Psychology Bianka Babrian 13 Cr9

RS Dennis Limbu 10 Cg5

Science Harvey Anderson 8 Cr2

Sociology Amelia Jones 13 Ba8

Spanish Harry Jacques 8 Cg5 Royal Navy

Britannia Royal Naval College Another outstanding weekend in March where at one point a chap on a bike cycled past and stopped and told our cadets that their marching and drill was “top notch.” We later met him again in the College and found out he was the Captain of the entire establishment. We were billeted on board HMS Hindustan, a decommissioned minesweeper, moored in the Dartmouth estuary and we had the ship to ourselves. We climbed the 196 steps up to the College many, many, many, times throughout the weekend, enjoying activities such as Scu- ba Diving, the Low Ropes, the Bridge Trainer, driving the Whalers and Picket boats up and down the estuary. We were also given a guided tour of the College and Royal Naval Museum and visited the Beagles that live there too. The cadets were exemplary; Harvey Crease who will attend BRNC in September 2019 was in his element networking and finding out information about his forthcoming time there and Warrant Officer Nathan Robertshaw was an absolute star gaining many compliments from LT Rennie who was our liaison officer about his leadership and she was surprised to hear he was not aiming to join the Royal Navy. The journey to Dartmouth with a full minibus was a good natured pleasure. Music, singing and fun, the cadet’s behaviour was perfect and on the way home we stopped off at RNAS Fleet Air Arm and I managed to get the cadets (still in uniform) into the museum for the last 15 minutes of opening time for free. I have attached a photo of us standing in front of a Sea King helicopter. LT Pinn

The Royal Navy Section of the CCF returned from an exhilarating weekend of power boat- ing. All cadets now hold the Power Boat Level 2 qualification, which is the International Power Boat Driving Licence. Also a few cadets were given experience in Rigid Inflatable Power Boats and some gained their Planing Endorsement. The cadets also enjoyed time on board HMS Bristol which we used as our accommodation and we had our meals mixing with the Junior rates from the Royal Navy who are stationed on Whale Island. As an extra bonus we took our last meal of the weekend in the Officers Wardroom and we were allowed a quick tour of the building, looking at the art work and memorable arte- facts that adorn the walls and display cabinets.

MGS Easter Newsletter 2019 CCF News

11th Infantry Brigade Annual Military Skills Comp Congratulations to the MGS Army team who won the Military Skills Competition at the weekend. They, along with second place Royal Grammar School High Wycombe, will now represent the Brigade in the Cadet Cambrian Patrol in 2020. The team consisted of RSM Will Hulme, CSM Chris Owen, SSgt Ben Jessel, Sgt Anuj Thapa, Sgt Ben White, Sgt Joe Smith, Cpl Toby Berry-Naisbitt, Cpl Finley Wishart. Well done boys and thank you Maj Highway and WO Rai for accompanying them. The stands consisted of first aid, navigation, shooting and military tactics, the team con- sistently placed highly in all stands putting them 1st place by a significant margin.

MGS Easter Newsletter 2019 News on the MGSPA.

Raising Funds, Raising Learning

Our main event this term was our Spring Fair held on Saturday 30th March. The weather was glorious - we had lots of stalls set up in both the main hall and the quad, and also our BBQ. Thank you to all the boys who helped on the day, and for all the parents, and friends and fam- ily who enjoyed the sunshine. The event proved a great success and raised around £4,000. The Parents’ Association have agreed to match fund the money raised and so £8,000 will be given to the school Library project. Our Spring Draw also took place at the Fair – a list of the winners and prizes is on the school website, under Parents’ Association. Thank you to all of you who took part, and a big thank you to all the local businesses that donated some great prizes.

Our next in-school event is on Friday 17th May, at 7.30pm, and is a tribute night to Bon Jovi. Tickets are available from http://buytickets.at/maidstonegrammarschoolparentsassoc/244199. They are £20 each and include food.

We also have our Annual Charity Golf Day on Saturday 4th May. This is once again at Kings Hill Golf Club. Arrival from 12pm for a welcome coffee and bacon roll. We have some great auction lots too! Tickets can be bought from http://buytickets.at/maidstonegrammarschoolparentsassoc/249739.

This is a new ticketing platform that allows you to purchase online, as cheques become obsolete, and also provides printable tickets, reducing the burden on the Bursary.

We receive regular donations via the easyfundraising site where members shop online via this web- site. We now have 381 registered members and have raised nearly £6,250 since launching this initia- tive. This doesn’t require you to do much apart from visit your online shop via this site and click away! PLEASE, PLEASE JOIN IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY – it’s extremely straightforward and doesn’t cost you a penny to sign up.

Please go to http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/mgspa to register and shop.

MGS Easter Newsletter 2019 News on the MGSPA

Raising Funds, Raising Learning

We have our lottery – The 100 Club. Entry is £30 for the year, with monthly draws of £50, and a spe- cial Draw in December of £1000! Entry forms can be found here: http://www.mgs.kent.sch.uk/assets/Uploads/PA/mgspa-100-club-application-form.pdf

Our Second-hand uniform shop is proving more and more popular. We have a great range of nearly new uniform. Please check the Parents’ Association area of the school website, where you will find a price list of available stock. Any unwanted uniform can be left at the school office. The shop is open once a month, usually on a Saturday morning. Out of these times, then please email [email protected], with your requests, and we can usually sort you out!

If you are having a spring clean, or a wardrobe clearout, then please bring your unwanted clothes and paired shoes to our clothes bank situated next to the sports hall entrance. All the clothes donated are weighed and the money raised is split equally between the Salvation Army and the School.

Matched Giving - please take a look at the list of companies that we know are involved with matched giving, and get in touch with your personnel/HR department to ask about this. It can make quite a dif- ference to our fund raising!

Empties Please is a new initiative, whereby the school receives money, in return for recycling used printer cartridges, so please bring in both spent ink cartridges, and also toner cartridges from laserjet printers. Ask at work if you can have a specially designated bin for MGS. The more we collect, the more we raise. We have raised £700 so far, from things you would just throw out.

Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mgspanews, and visit the website at www.mgspa.org.uk

Finally the Parents' Association would like to thank all of you who have supported us during this term. Please check our pages regularly on the school’s website to see what events are coming up and where the funds are spent. Remember, your PA is only as good as the support it receives from you, the par- ents!

Why not GET INVOLVED? There are many ways that you can help. Please contact the Parents As- sociation via the school website, or talk to us at one of our events

We wish you all a Happy Easter !

MGS Easter Newsletter 2019 Diary Dates

Term 5

23 April 2019 - First Day of Term 5 - Week 2 24 April 2019 - Y6 Welcome Evening 26 April 2019 - College House Charities Day 26 April 2019 - OMs AGM & Supper 27 April 2019 - D of E Scheme Training Walk 29 April 2019 - Y7 Bach to the Future Event 29 April 2019 - Y7 BAE Event 30 April 2019 - Y7 Parents’ Evening (4.30pm-7.30pm) 1 –10 May 2019 - Y12 UCAS Exams 6 May 2019 - Bank Holiday 13 May 2019 - GCE & GCSE Exams Start 17 May 2019 - MGSPA Bon Jovi Tribute Night 18-19 May 2019 - D of E Scheme Practice Expedition 20 May 2019 - Y7 & Y9 School Exams in Classrooms 24 May 2019 - Last Day of Term 5

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 Easter Newsletter 2019