NEWSLETTER MICHAELMAS 2019

Richard Biggs – King’s College, Taunton

KING’S COLLEGE – Pringle Trophy Competition Winners 2019

Justin Chippendale – King’s Hall SchoolAs we head into the Christmas holidays, I reflect on a jam-packed term at King’s Hall full of achievement, endeavour, happiness and a huge dollop of collective pride. Browsing this excellent new publication collating some of the events across both King’s Hall and King’s College, I am reminded of quite how jam-packed it has been and of the remarkable engagement from the children. A large number of new children settled in swiftly way back in September and here we are, all of a sudden, lighting advent candles and retelling the

familiar Nativity tale. The months in between have asked much of the children to draw out their best whether it be in the classroom extending their intellectual curiosity or exploring their talents on the games field, in dramatic circles, as part of a musical ensemble, on a residential trip or even in our brand new cookery school! I am sure you will enjoy dipping into these pages as much as I did as you relax over the Christmas break and I offer the warmest of season’s greetings to you.

The long Michaelmas Term started in a blaze of sunshine and rock-hard rugby pitches, and ends with Storm Atiyah rattling our windows, and the beautiful music of our carol services echoing down the corridors. In between we have enjoyed a hugely successful three months.

This newsletter is just a sample of the extraordinary things our pupils have been getting up to in a wide range of activities, from setting the highest standards in

their academic work to putting on brilliant plays and concerts, to conquering the world in sport (including a new one for the College: American football!).

I am delighted that our news has been blended with that of King’s Hall, underlining our shared purpose and the sense of pride we feel in the achievements of pupils from Nursery to the Upper Sixth. Enjoy the newsletter, and my best wishes to all readers for a very happy Christmas.

A FEW WORDS FROM OUR HEADMASTERS ...

KING’S HALL – New Cookery School Opening

Nine cadets from our CCF Royal Marines Section won the annual military skills and leadership national competition, The Sir Steuart Pringle Trophy, for the SIXTH time in ten years, at the Commando Training Centre in Devon. This was the culmination of five weeks of intense training that included 6am starts, late evenings and long Sundays.

Recording the fastest Endurance Course time in the school’s history (19 minutes 27 seconds), the team won this event, as well as Map Reading, Observation, Modern Urban Combat, and Camouflage and Concealment individual trophies, making this year the best result to date.

A year on, and our King’s Schools Equestrian Centre is going strong.

We have some new horses, and are now accommodating over 40 pupils from both schools, seven days a week, with riding lessons and our full livery and King’s Horse packages.

Pupils are benefiting from working with experienced King’s staff, as well as visiting instructors.

This year we will be facilitating pupils taking British Horse Society (BHS) exams to enhance their knowledge and skills with nationally recognised qualifications.

Our equestrian team also continues to go from strength to strength. You can read more in the Sport section of this newsletter.

KING’S SCHOOLS – Equestrian Centre

To mark the official opening of our cookery school, former MasterChef quarter-finalist, Hope Pointing joined us for a day of culinary celebrations.

Over the course of the morning, sixteen pupils, a junior and senior pair from each house, took part in the ultimate cooking contest – the ‘Master-Pizza’ competition.

Hope then spoke to pupils and staff in a Q&A style interview about her time on Masterchef. She gave a fascinating insight

into the world of professional cooking, sharing top tips for budding chefs and advising pupils how to cope with pressures both inside and outside the kitchen.

The children are enjoying making the most of this fantastic new facility with regular cookery sessions now on the menu in DT.

Our boarders have also been cooking up a storm in their Saturday morning activities.

COLERIDGE AND POETRY IN THE QUANTOCKS

ELEANOR IS ONE OF TOP FIVE YOUNG WRITERS IN BBC COMPETITION

As part of their English scholarship studies, 8S were taken on a trip to Coleridge Cottage and the Quantocks to experience life as a Romantic poet.

After an interesting tour of the National Trust cottage, in which the children learned about the ideas behind this important poetic movement, the group collaborated in a dramatic rendition of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Former King’s pupil Eleanor C was shortlisted as one of just five writers in this year’s BBC Young Writers’ Competition, run in conjunction with the University of Cambridge and First Story.

Now in its fifth year, the competition invites entries from writers aged 14-18 from across the UK.

Eleanor’s work Insula is an evocative coming of age story about a young woman who is making a journey away from the safety of the island community where she grew up.

ACADEMIC NEWS

Our Year 7 pupils took a step back in time to learn more about the 16th century as part of an English and history cross-curricular project. During their lessons, the children had been exploring what life was like for the Tudors and Stuarts. The trip to Montacute House brought their learning to life.

The aim of the project was to plan and write a historically accurate story reflecting the period, taking inspiration from further studies on the most famous Renaissance of them all, William Shakespeare. To fully understand the voices of the period, the children have been reading one of his most inventive plays, The Tempest.

TRIP TO HISTORIC MONTECUTE

THIRD FORMER TED TAKES RECITATION TITLE

Following on from National Poetry Day, pupils from across King’s College recited poems in their English lessons in preparation for this year’s Poetry Recitation Competition.

Third Form pupil Ted P recited his own poem Storm Break, and was the unanimous winner for his ability to convey understanding, his choice of language carefully considered, delivered and emphasised.

MATHEMATICS SUCCESSESOur maths department has enjoyed some successes this term, with a number of pupils entering and suceeding in maths competitions.

Lottie K was awarded a distinction for competing in the Mathematical Olympiad for Girls, placing her in the top 25% of those who took part.

In the team events, Lottie, along with Will S, Chris G and Victoria Z, have all been invited to the second round of the Senior Maths Challenge. In the Senior Team Maths Challenge, Tommy R-J joined Lottie, Chris and Victoria, and the team was placed seventh overall.

To celebrate National Poetry Day, a number of our Lower Sixth pupils headed out into our local community, delivering specially created flyers to the residents of the streets named after famous poets: Keats, Byron, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Shelley, Ruskin, Blake, Milton, Burns, Coleridge, and Brooke.

We received many messages of thanks, including a call from a 92 year-old-resident of Shakespeare Avenue, saying that, as she is housebound, this was a well-received gesture. Our pupils were delighted to have made a difference to people’s lives that day.

NATIONAL POETRY DAY

TEAMBUILDING AT KILVE

Another annual residential trip saw our Year 5 pupils pay a visit to Kilve Court – the perfect place to enjoy activities such as climbing, sculpting and pond dipping. It was safe to say the pupils had been itching for two days of outdoor exploration.

The children also enjoyed grass sledging and low ropes and had fun working through various puzzles that included using crates to travel across an imaginary river of lava!

This is always a popular and enjoyable trip.

A GREAT EXMOOR ADVENTURE

Just before half term, our Year 6 pupils departed for a three-day getaway to Exmoor.

With water-based activities at Wimbleball Lake, crackling camp fires by cosy camping barns, and rambles across the moorland, the pupils enjoyed getting fully immersed in nature in this beautiful location right on our doorstep!

THE GREAT

OUTDOORS

PUPILS GAIN SAILING QUALIFICATIONS

Over the half term holiday, pupils Kaspar L and Edward S both obtained their RYA essential navigation (theory) and helmsman (practical) qualifications.

Freya J obtained her RYA day skipper power qualification on what was only her second week.

Our CCF cadets have the opportunity to undertake qualifications and training in a range of activities. We are delighted for these three pupils.

BE PART OF THE TRIBENew to Hobbies at King’s Hall is The Tribe. It’s about doing things that, perhaps, some children might not have done before.

Centred around outdoor adventure, the children have ‘cross-decked’ between trees, played spot-light, failed to build fires and gone hungry, succeeded in building fires and had marshmallows, played prison break, built dens and got wet and muddy on every occasion.

Extending learning outside the classroom in this way has enabled the children to play, and learn to work as a team in the sun, rain, hail and darkness, challenging them in a fun and active environment.

This half of term our Field Day saw all CCF sections scattered across the South West of England.

The Royal Navy Section visited HMS Raleigh and participated in an overnight sailing exercise, while the Army and Royal Marines Sections conducted an overnight exercise at Yoxter, near Cheddar in order to gain valuable field craft skills.

Our Third Form ‘Chindits’ visited Cobbs Cross Farm on the edge of the Quantocks to undertake a high ropes course and raft building challenges.

CCF FIELD DAY

INSPIRATIONAL TRIP TO ST IVES

SPECIALIST ART GROUP VISIT BROOMHILL SCULPTURE GARDENS

Our Lower Sixth art and photography pupils had a fantastic day in St Ives in October. Visiting the Tate and smaller commercial galleries, our pupils learned about the history of the art in St Ives and the development of abstract painting by seeing the work of artists such as Ben Nicholson, Peter Lanyon and Patrick Heron.

Armed with sketchbooks and cameras, under dark, ominous skies, the pupils were able to take inspiration from their geographical surroundings – land, sea and sky – which are always perfect for studying en plein air. The result was some great preparatory studies for use back in the classroom.

The annual trip to Broomhill Sculpture Gardens provided a magical experience for Year 7 and 8 pupils as they excitedly made their way around the grounds and exhibits.

Working in a range of pens, pencils and crayons, as well as utilising different paper qualities, pupils captured observational drawings in a manner suited to the environment. They took great inspiration at every turn, sketching the works they admired the most.

ACADEMIC

DT MEET HENRY HOOVERAT NUMATIC INTERNATIONAL

All our Prep school pupils have been enjoying art this term, exploring a range of different concepts and techniques.

Our Year 4 pupils learned about Japanese artist, Hokusai, and created their own version of the great wave with a range of differing skylines. Some pupils even designed their own seascapes from scratch, taking inspiration from the iconic image.

Nine of our Lower Sixth Form DT pupils visited Numatic International based in Chard, the home of the Henry vacuum cleaner, as well as some of the latest examples of cutting-edge engineering technology.

The aim of the visit was to see, first-hand, some of the manufacturing processes and development tools employed by this world-leading manufacturer of vacuum cleaners.

Not only have the numbers of employees changed over the years, but so have the technologies used.The pupils were able to witness injection moulding, production and assembly lines, automated testing, rotational moulding and even the most up-to-date rapid prototyping technologies as used by Formula 1 racing teams.

Interestingly, nearly 90% of all the components manufactured, are produced on site, supporting the local economy and limiting the company’s carbon footprint.

CREATIVITY

THE GREAT WAVE

Abigail H and Jamie G have each been awarded a sought-after Arkwright Engineering Scholarship that identifies them as some of the country’s future leaders in engineering and technical design.

The renowned scholarships provide pupils with a £600 award to enhance their A level studies and a range of activities to develop their understanding and experience of engineering.

ARKWRIGHT SCHOLARS

SPECIALIST PREP ART TRIP TO BROOMHILL

NEW TO KING’S?YOU WON’T FEEL NEW FOR LONG!

PUPILS AND OAS PAY RESPECTS IN YPRES

SNOOPS JOINS BOOKWORMS IN OUR COSY READING CABINS

Superheroes united! Our boarders at King’s Hall enjoyed hosting their very own movie night earlier in the term.

Over 70 of their day pupil friends joined them for an epic night of all things superhero. With so many in attendance, it was one of the most popular events this year.

In fact, it was such a great night that Mrs Masters is already planning for the next one!

Christmas festivities at both schools always generate excitement in the final week of term. At King’s Hall this culminates in a visit from a certain person ... Father Christmas always manages to pop by to see the children, and the delight on their faces is an absolute picture. The staff flash mob at King’s College also brought surprise and cheer to our pupils’ faces on the final day of term. Our usual House celebrations, carol services, Christmas parties, concerts, plays and nativities all combined to create the perfect festive spirit as our community prepared to take a well-earned rest and enjoy some family time after another productive Michaelmas Term.

At the start of every Michaelmas Term we welcome new pupils across all ages.

As part of our welcome, we arrange a number of activities and events across all the boarding houses. This year pupils went to the beach, to Flip Out indoor trampoline park, ten-pin bowling, and enjoyed BBQs a-plenty in the warm late summer sunshine.

Everyone came together, new and old, to make friendships that will inevitably last a life time.

Thanks to the generosity of a number of King’s Hall parents, we have installed a delightful outdoor reading area adjacent to the school library. This is the third phase of our adventure playground development.The two wooden huts and accompanying hammocks point readers to a spectacular view of the front lawn and to the glorious Blackdown Hills beyond. Each hut is embellished with a sign created by the pupils, “Hogwarts” and “Narnia” being the names of choice, as well as a handful of colourful cushions – perfect for our canine friend to take his afternoon naps!

Both schools enjoyed bountiful harvest festivals this year.

Not so plentiful in terms of fresh produce as in times past, but nevertheless the King’s community demonstrated its generosity in tins, packets and bottles, all destined for local charities, Taunton Foodbank and Open Door.

At King’s Hall, the children have welcomed new additions Pitch and Patch, the two scarecrows who have been accompanying Mrs Colbourne’s talks on their origins and how our food is produced.

HARVEST FESTIVALS

SCHOOL LIFE

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAYEvery year, to honour and respect those who have suffered or died in war, the King’s community unites for a special remembrance service led by our School Chaplain, Father Mark.

It was a pleasure to welcome back former pupil S/Lt Alice Smith RNR , who laid one of the wreaths this year. Alice was in Taylor House at King’s College between 2001 and 2006, and before this was at King’s Hall.

Following the service, the congregation moved to the Memorial Quadrangle, where the names of all former pupils lost in the First and Second World Wars were recited by the Headmaster.

OUR BOARDERS HOST MOVIE NIGHT

A group of CCF cadets, accompanied by staff and a number of former pupils (OAs) visited Ypres over the October half term holiday. Their busy itinerary included a wreath laying service at the Menin Gate and a plaque dedication service for our Old Aluredians (OAs) at Saint George’s Memorial Church. Very excitingly, the group met Mr Fred Miller, a D-Day veteran, who was visiting Flanders, accompanied by his wife Joan, for the first time since 1945. Mr Miller recently celebrated his 98th birthday.

FESTIVE CHEER

THE WIZ YEAR 7 & 8 SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

CHRISTMAS CAROLS AT KING’S

LIVE LOUNGE FRIDAYS

PREP SCHOOLS’ STRINGS DAY

A CHRISTMAS CAROLDIRECTLY FROM THE RSA TO THE KING’S COLLEGE STAGE

As the London smog lifted, and the Christmas carols faded, Ebenezer Scrooge took centre stage in this year’s whole-school play.

Capturing Dickens’ classic tale to perfection, the traditional combined with the modern to create an evocative, thought-provoking and brilliantly performed version of this Christmas favourite.

Staff and pupils should be commended for their hard work and dedication, as well as their commitment and creativity. We have a talented bunch of performers and we look forward to seeing more from them next year.

This year’s Year 7 and 8 school performance at King’s Hall was the soulful adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz.

Audiences were treated to what can only be described as an exceptional performance. Solos, ensembles, vibrant choreography and toe-tapping numbers made up the majority of the show, meaning there was no time for our backstage crew to sit back and relax. The ‘behind the scenes’ pupils must be commended for working so tirelessly to create such eye-catching costumes, and for ensuring the stage changes were done seamlessly, quickly and with great care and attention.

Our Friday Live Lounge sessions have proved popular this term. Held in our reception area at King’s College once a month, musicians entertain audiences with short sets that have varied from singing, to pieces played on the piano, guitar, flute, clarinet and harp.

The idea was to bring music into the school for everyone to enjoy, and to broadcast the performances live via Facebook Live. During one session, Taylor House also held a bake sale in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness, giving the audience some homemade treats as they listened to the sounds of our many talented musicians.

Both King’s Hall and King’s College hold their own Christmas Carol Services in the King’s College Chapel. Both occasions offer the chance for whole-school gatherings in celebration of the festive season.

Led by our Chaplain Father Mark, and the school choirs, the sights and sounds of these services set the scene for the final week of the Michaelmas Term.

Prior to leading the congregations at our Carol Services, our Choir and Brass Group entertained race-goers at Taunton Racecourse, creating a festive feel to the pre-Christmas meeting.

At the end of November, King’s College hosted an annual Prep Schools’ Strings Day, with what must have been record-breaking numbers. Nine King’s Hall pupils attended the day, alongside many children from Exeter Cathedral School, The Downs, and Perrott Hill School – bringing the total number of string players to around 40.

Mr Albery led the day assisted by instrumental teachers from King’s College (and a number of former King’s Hall pupils were also on hand to help out). A short concert at the end of the day, to a very appreciative audience, demonstrated what a fun and rewarding time was had by all.

MUSIC & DRAMA

NEXT TERM ...

Our teams have played some excellent matches this season and as always, they continue to learn and develop their game.

Our U16A side had a fantastic match against Blundell’s, winning 60 v 17, our U15As had a thrilling 31 v 29 away win against Dean Close, and our 1st XV took a tenacious 12 v 7 win over Kingswood.

We look forward to the West of England 7s next term.

As well as competing in school sports, a number of our pupils at both King’s Hall and King’s College take part in representative sports for their county and indeed their country.

Our young cricketers have got off to a good start, with a number of boys and girls selected into the Somerset Cricket Pathways.

We’re also really proud of a number of our hockey players who played for Somerset against Devon this term. It was great to see such a strong representation from King’s Hall.

SPORTFOURTH FOR OUR U12A HOCKEY TEAM

Our U12A girls’ hockey team recently came fourth in the IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools) National Finals.

Playing excellent hockey, the girls battled on in some very close matches, and nail-biting penalty strokes.

Despite losing out to a strong Cranleigh side in the final game for third and fouth places, the team showed great teamwork and determination, gaining plenty of experience from the many games that were won and lost on small margins.

REPRESENTATIVE SPORTS

The King’s Schools Equestrian Team have had a strong start to the season. Our junior riders took the 60cm, 70cm and 80cm team titles in the Grassroots Showjumping Event at KSEC in Somerset.

Our older riders are also riding high. Ellie C won the Novice Calmsden Horse Trials, Lara C won the BE Open Novice U18 at West Wilts and Lizzie C won the 1m10 at KSEC.

The combined team of Tilly F, Dandi P, Jamie P and Cordy A won the 80-85cm NSEA Showjumping Championship Plate. Qualifying as Somerset Champions at KSEC in various height classes are Dandi, Lara and Lizzie, along with Matti M and Josh C.

Brothers Sam and Josh C returned from the World Triathle and Biathle Championships in Florida with more medals to add to their growing collection.

Sam finished eighth in the U17 biathle, battling high temperatures and humidity. In the triathle he brought home silver and helped the U17 GB team to gold. Josh was placed eighth in the U15 biathle and helped his U15 GB team to silver.

Both brothers have also enjoyed equestrian success this term with wins and placings in national showjumping finals and eventing competitions.

MULTI-SPORT DUO

U18 SOMERSET INDOOR HOCKEY CHAMPIONS

ABBY WALKS TO SILVER

STRONG SEASON FOR GRACE

RUGBY ROUND-UP

KING’S SCHOOLS RIDING HIGH

Our U18 indoor hockey team were crowned the new Somerset Under 18 County Indoor Hockey Champions after they beat Millfield School in the final of the competition at the end of November.

Thanks to some excellent individual play from Caspar S, Joss C and Matt O, the team fought their way through the penalty strokes to victory.

They now go through to the South West regionals in December.

Earlier in the term, Abby H walked into second place to take the silver in the 3km race-walk at the English Schools National Combined Event Championships.

Determined to challenge for the title, after six laps Abby was 20m behind the leader. Despite a blistering walk on the last lap, she just missed out on the gold by 0.5 seconds, but set a 9 second personal best to achieve her second national medal of the season in her fourth ever walk-race event.Picking up speed, Abby also took bronze at the Somerset Cross-Country Championships in Bath.

Having recently moved up to King’s College from King’s Hall, all-rounder Grace F continues to demonstrate her sporting prowess.

Continuing her success indoors, Grace will head to Lee Valley for the South of England Combined Events Championships after taking the silver in the high jump and the bronze in the long jump at the South West Indoor Championships.

Grace was also awarded the runner-up prize in the SASP Somerset Young Performer of the Year category for her athletics, biathlon, football, netball and hockey.

Talented all-rounder Cameron Wallace competed in the Tri County XC Championships, held at Bath University.

Placing 5th overall and 2nd for the county, he has now qualified to represent Somerset at the South West Inter-Counties and the UK Inter-Counties competitions next year.

Our Under 14 netball team won their way through to the regional finals after finishing runners-up in the National Schools Somerset County Tournament.

The girls played three matches in the knockout stage of the tournament, beating Wellington and Haygrove before losing out narrowly to local rivals Taunton School.

Team coach Rebecca Stone said: “They worked hard, acted on every coaching point, and deserve their success. We look forward now to the regionals in January!”

CROSS COUNTRY QUALIFICATION

COUNTY NETBALL CHAMPIONS

Sisters Darcey and Nyah T are the ones to watch when it comes to water polo.

Having attended gruelling training sessions ahead of selection, Nyah will now represent England at U17 level. She has also picked up gold and silver medals playing in inter-county tournaments (for Devon).

Darcey, who is regularly one of the youngest players in the South West team, recently played against teams from across Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the North East.

WATER POLO POWER

Fourth Former Ben C was selected for the GB Lions American Football U17 Development Squad.

With a solid background in rugby, Ben had looked into the sport over the summer to help maintain his fitness for the rugby season ahead.

After attending trials, he was selected from 380 aspiring young players, and is one of the youngest in the team.

Quite the all-rounder, Ben also excels in field events: he is the Somerset county U15 champion in discus and hammer, and the South West U15 discus champion, achieving the National Standard.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL POTENTIAL

King’s Hall pupils Kendra D, Katie R and Cameron W took part in the Tri County Cross-Country Championships at Bath University, each running almost 3km against the best cross-country runners from Somerset, Avon and Wiltshire.Katie and Kendra ran up a year in the U13 girls’ race and came 9th and 11th respectively (placing 4th and 5th as Somerset runners). Cameron ran in the U13 boys’ race and came 6th (placing 2nd in Somerset).

All three have been asked to compete in the South West Inter County Championships in January and have a chance of being invited to represent Somerset in the UK Inter County Championships. They had better keep doing the King’s Loop as practice!