News Round Up 14th March 2025

We were thrilled to welcome Alicia Drummond, founder of the Wellbeing Hub on Monday for a series of insightful talks to both students and parents. Alicia is a BACP-accredited therapist, a parenting expert, and a highly regarded keynote speaker. She is also a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for a Fit and Healthy Childhood, an author, and a mother. With over a decade of experience working with schools across the UK, Alicia has delivered impactful webinars, talks, and workshops to parents, carers, staff, and students.

Across three different sessions, Alicia spoke to the students, before giving parents an informative talk about friendships and resilience.

International Women's Day

Last Friday, KC celebrated IWD with an afternoon of inspirational female speakers from our parent and alumnae community, organised by Mrs Oogarah.

We were first joined by Victoria Usher, CEO of Communications and PR agency, Ginger May, to kick off the afternoon with a talk focusing on why girls need to present themselves more confidently and how. She gave great tips on body language and public speaking before the students broke out into a multiple speaker session in the theatre for Years 9 and 10 and a panel discussion session in the Hub for Year 12.

The afternoon was brilliant and our students got a lot of valuable tips and advice. Many thanks to our fantastic speakers:

• Victoria Usher - CEO of Ginger May
• Liz Cohen - Scientist turned Partner at Bristows Law Practice
• Rebecca Smith - Teacher and former rugby referee
• Anna Silva - Former jewellery buyer
• Tamsyn Greig - Chartered Accountant
• Gabi Phala - Principal Investigator for clinical trials
• Sam Bowerman - HR Director
• Lesley Obey - Head of Crisis Management
• Jessica Martin - Director of Communications
• Lily Spencer - Head of Marketing
• Jennifer Low - Nutritionist and business owner

Silver D of E Practice Expedition

Ten students in Year 10 and two students in Year 11 undertook their Duke of Edinburgh Silver Practice Expedition in the glorious weather last weekend. Students walked with a trainer on their first day to practise their navigating skills and covered a vast distance. On the Saturday and Sunday, students walked independently, navigating their way around the Ashdown Forest and surrounding villages. This saw some challenging navigation with lots of twists and turns, and students took to it with resilience and resolve. Across the weekend, students walked around 50km with their rucksacks in tow, and spent two nights camping in different campsites. Despite the challenge, students were bold and determined and were lucky enough to find an ice cream van at the final checkpoint on Sunday!

The group have their assessed expedition in Arundel at the end of this month. We wish them the very best of luck!

Normandy Music Tour

Last week, the Music Department went on tour to Normandy. It was such a fun and exciting trip and we got to see so many fantastic places and meet such wonderful people. Students were impeccably behaved and this was commented on by everyone we met, even going through customs! Here is what our students enjoyed most:

"I liked how close all of us were as a group, even the teachers! I had a lot of fun and laughs." Flo, Year 9

“My favourite part of the tour was the last concert. We had hired the place for the afternoon and we could explore the gigantic grounds before the concert. In the middle of the woods there was a haunted house, though, which was very scary! I also enjoyed walking around and sight-seeing in the pretty villages of Honfleur and Falaise.” Shona, Year 7

“It was an amazing experience. I really enjoyed the concerts and looking around France. I would love to do it again!” Cora, Year 8

“My favourite part of the tour was singing Lully Lullay in the Basilica. The atmosphere and the gorgeous stain glass windows were really beautiful to look at as we sung!” Eloise, Year 10

“I never thought I’d be able to tick off, ‘do a flash mob in a French school’ from my bucket list” Sarah, Year 11

“I really enjoyed the final concert. Playing Mars with the other ensembles really elevated the piece and I loved having the opportunity to play with the other musicians.” Bea, Year 13

“My favourite part of the Music Tour was singing Lully Lulla in the Basilica. The acoustic of the Basilica makes it so magical”. Hailie, Year 10

HALO Lecture

Our HALO lecture this week was entitled "Lift Off to GCSE Astronomy," where Mr Haslewood invited students to consider studying Astronomy as an additional GCSE. This is offered at school in conjunction with The Skinners' School and The Judd School and is an opportunity for students to learn more about the skies.

Mr Haslewood talked about launching into space and conducted some experiments to teach students about how rockets are fuelled and how they can remain in space.

He concluded by pointing out the upcoming lunar eclipse which would potentially be visible in the skies on Thursday and encouraged students to look out for it.

"I found it very fascinating and inspiring. I especially loved the explosions." Hattie, Year 7

"I found the lecture very interesting and the practical elements were exciting. I'm interested in rocket design and enjoyed learning about this." Gabrielle, Upper Sixth

"I enjoyed the stomp rocket!" Jessica, Year 9

"I thought it was very interesting to learn about the different job opportunities you could explore from learning astronomy and how it could contribute to your D of E Award." Shona, Year 7

"We really enjoyed the lecture on space, the explosions and the new facts." Chloe and Rosie, Year 7

"I really liked learning about space, especially the lunar eclipse. I think it was really fun. The explosions were also enjoyable." Ella, Year 7

"Very interactive, really interesting and fun." Jessica and Josie, Year 7

Year 9 Textiles

Over the last month, Year 9 have been finishing off their Vivienne Westwood embroidery project and moving onto their entries for the Young Fashion Designer Competition 2025. Each student has to complete a series of three pages which demonstrate their understanding of sustainable fashion. Currently Year 9 are completing their first Research page, investigating sustainable fabrics or brands before moving onto their second Experiment Page. This project encourages the students to consider the environmental impact of fast fashion and explore more sustainable alternatives.

AIMS STEM Day

To tie in with National Science Week, Years 7 - 10 AIM students enjoyed a fantastic STEM day this week. The day began with guest speaker, Jack Dove, giving a talk entitled “Be your Own Hero”, where he spoke about young people seeing their heroes as ordinary people, to help them achieve their ambitions.

Students were then grouped together to work on projects based on this year’s Science Week theme: Change and Adapt. Projects ranged from classroom ergonomics to waste-free lunches and from growing plants in space to animal conservation. It was a very insightful and thought-provoking session and a great opportunity for our students to explore subjects beyond the curriculum.

"We found it very interesting to find out about different animals and fun making the poster together." Isla Year 10, Erin Year 9, Lily Year 9 and Emilia Year 7

"It was interesting to learn about current global issues we normally wouldn't think about." Diya Year 10, Louise Year 9, Cathy Year 8 and Iris Year 9

"We loved it as it gave us a chance to talk about something we are passionate about." Mabel Year 10, Claudia Year 10, Annabelle Year 7 and Sophie Year 9

"It was unexpected that we were actually capable of working with people we have never interacted with, and on topics we had never thought deeply about." Donna Year 10, Rosa Year 9, Juliet Year 7, Eve Year 8

"It was insightful and entertaining. We found it inspiring and a fun and creative day. Overall it was an extremely Enjoyable experience." Molly Year 9, Poppy Year 10, Salome Year 8 and Caitlin Year 8

Year 7 Art

Our Year 7's have been studying and creating their own unique observational drawings in the form of still life. Creating drawings using soft pastels, oil pastels, and pencils.

They began by practicing how to draw three dimensional objects and then building shadows and light through tonal drawing. It can be quite a challenge but they did a brilliant job drawing them!

Year 7 Textiles

We also have our Year 7 students finishing off their beautiful owl cushions, ready to take home for Easter. As a department we've loved seeing the students' designs come to fruition with each owl having their own little personalities. Well done all Year 7's!

Gymnastics Success

A massive congratulations to our U13 girls' team consisting of Year 8's Zarina, Ava and Emily, who competed at the BSGA Milano Team National Finals this weekend in Stoke.

Competing against 24 other schools, our students came 4th overall in the U13 Girls Trio competition. Additionally as part of the South East region team with The Bishop Wand School in Surrey, they finished 2nd in the U13 age group and as National Champions in first place overall across all ages and categories.

Well done to all of you!

Sixth Form Politics

We were delighted to welcome Mr Mike Martin, Liberal Democrat MP for Tunbridge Wells, to come and speak to our Sixth Form Politics students today. He led a fantastic workshop, focussed on his role as an MP and the workings of Parliament. This provided a fascinating insight into the reality of parliamentary politics as well as a wonderful opportunity for consolidation of knowledge and revision of this topic for the A Level Politics examination.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Tickets are now on sale for the eagerly awaited whole school production, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, please scan the QR below to book your tickets!

Space! A Musical Journey

Join the Music Department on a fun and exhilarating journey through the Solar System with orchestral music, choral pieces, poetry, Art and Dance all performed by our wonderful Senior, Prep and professional musicians at this year's whole school musical production.

We look forward to seeing you at one, or both, performances!

Flexi Boarding