What a week! We were delighted to welcome our Year 5 pupils back from their residential trip, windswept, tired but full of stories from Norfolk. 'Under the Sea' was a brilliant celebration of music, poetry and dance on Thursday afternoon and a tremendous collaboration of talent from Nursery to Year 13. Our Key Stage 2 choir, orchestra, dancers and gymnasts continued to shine in the Senior School production of Voices of the Deep on Thursday evening. A whole-school production like this takes many hours of rehearsal, planning and talent, and we could not be more proud of our school community. We are also incredibly proud of how confidently our pupils represented Kent College during the ISI inspection this week, sharing their experiences of school life. Well done everyone! To all our Year 6 children leaving for their PGL Residential trip next week, have a wonderful time and make lots of memories. We wish you all a enjoyable bank holiday weekend!
Head Girl Team
Congratulations to Emmi, our new Head Girl for the Summer Term, and Gwen and Nuran, our Deputy Head Girls.
They are supported by a wonderful team of pupil leaders:
- Arts Captains - Frida and Olivia
- STEM Captains - Pippa and Grace
- Humanities Captains - Hana
- Wellbeing Captains - Minnie and Saribel
- Librarian - Frances
- Charity Prefects - Penelope and Adeline
Our House Captains and Vice Captains, voted for by the pupils, are as follows:
- CELTS - Alivia and Penelope
- DANES - Frida and Emmi
- SAXONS - Gwen and Rahel
Under the Sea Art Competition
We are delighted to celebrate the winners of our Under the Sea Art Competition, which has showcased a wonderful wave of creativity across the school. In Early Years, Emerald impressed with a wonderful entry full of imagination and colour. In Key Stage 1, congratulations to runners up Deia and Maxi, and to Aurora for a stunning first-place piece. In Key Stage 2, well done to runners up Frida and Saribel , and to Maia, whose outstanding, thoughtful and creative artwork secured first place. A special mention also goes to Esther for her beautiful and noteworthy diorama.
We are so proud of all our young artists—what a fantastic display of talent and creativity! Mr Dixon Head of Art and Photography and competition judge.
Under the Sea
On Thursday afternoon, we enjoyed a magical celebration of music at our Under the Sea Concert, held in the Theatre in front of a packed audience. Each year group in the Prep School performed a poem and song with beautifully choreographed movement, all inspired by the ‘Under the Sea’ theme. From our wonderful Nursery children performing ‘Baby Shark’ and ‘Deep Blue Sea’, to Year 6’s moving interpretation of The Fate of Ophelia and a scene from Finding Nemo, every performance was a delight. The Senior School and Prep Orchestra also treated us to some exciting pieces, joined by members of the Prep School, and our whole-school performances of ‘Riptide’ and ‘Under the Sea’ were highlights of the event.
A huge congratulations to all our Prep School children, who performed with boundless energy, resilience and enthusiasm—well done to you all. Our sincere thanks also go to Mrs Lawson-Wood and Ms Rivett for their dedication and hard work in bringing these special performances to life. Ms Bruce, Director of Performing Arts
Finding Nemo JR
We are delighted to invite you to a very special performance of Disney’s Finding Nemo JR on Wednesday 20th May and Thursday 21st May. This year, our talented Year 6 pupils will take the lead, supported by the rest of Key Stage 2—because, as we all know, it’s a big ocean out there, and every creature plays an important part. Join us as we follow the journey of Marlin, an anxious but devoted clownfish, who sets off across the ocean to find his son, Nemo, after he is unexpectedly captured by a diver. Along the way, Marlin meets a host of unforgettable characters, including Dory, sharks, sea turtles and jellyfish. Together, they take us on a story filled with humour, heart, and a reminder that even the smallest fish can make a big splash.
- Dates: Wednesday 20th May and Thursday 21st May
- Doors open: 5:00pm, please join us for refreshments in the Theatre foyer before the performance.
- Performance starts: 5:30pm
Our production sets, puppets and costumes are already taking shape. To complete each child’s costume, we kindly ask parents to provide a simple base layer. Costume base layers: Year 3 – White/flesh-coloured vest, blue leggings/trousers, blue T-shirt Year 4 – White/flesh-coloured vest, blue and orange leggings/trousers, plain blue T-shirt Year 5 – White/flesh-coloured vest, blue and green leggings/trousers, plain blue and plain green T-shirts Year 6 – White/flesh-coloured vest, blue leggings/trousers, plain blue T-shirt Please ensure these items are clearly named and brought into school in a named bag by Monday 11th May. These will remain in school until after the performance.
What happened in School this week?
Caterpillars
This week, the children have been busy making seed feeders for our feathery friends to enjoy in the woods, showing great care and enthusiasm as they worked. They also became bug detectives, searching high and low for minibeasts in their natural habitats. The children were excited to find worms, woodlice, beetles and spiders, and were delighted to see a couple of butterflies fluttering by. They showed wonderful curiosity and teamwork throughout, taking time to observe, ask questions and share their discoveries with one another. It has been a lovely week of hands-on learning, helping the children to develop a deeper appreciation for the natural world around them.
Butterflies
The Butterflies have thoroughly enjoyed exploring our ‘Space’ topic this week. They were excited to learn about planets, rockets and stars, sharing thoughtful ideas and asking wonderful questions. The children particularly loved making their own rockets and adding their pictures to them. A truly super class of astronauts!
Reception
In Reception, we have started learning about plants and living things this week. As a class, we discussed what plants need to help them grow. Then the children drew pictures and labelled them. Each of the children planted a bean after reading the sequencing the story, Jack and the Beanstalk, and we are hoping they are magic and a giant beanstalk will grow (though nothing has grown yet!). To our surprise, magic beans arrived in school on Wednesday!! The children all imagined where their bean would take them: the Land of Sweets, Teddy Land and the end of the rainbow are just a few of the places the magic bean took the children to.
Year 1
In art this week, Year 1 took inspiration from the work of Mark Rothko, exploring his iconic colour field paintings. The children experimented with mixing primary colours to create a range of beautiful secondary colours, developing both their creativity and understanding of colour theory. They have produced their own vibrant ‘Colour Fields’, which will soon be proudly displayed in the classroom—do look out for this wonderful showcase of their work!
Year 1 and 2 enjoyed a delightful outdoor learning session in the woods this week, where they spent time sketching the beautiful bluebells in bloom. The children were full of excitement as they explored their surroundings, carefully observing the shapes, colours and details of the flowers. Their enthusiasm and creativity shone through, resulting in some lovely sketches and a wonderful opportunity to learn while enjoying the natural environment.
Year 2
This week in Year 2 art, we explored sketching shells. We carefully observed their shapes, patterns, and textures, noticing details like curves, lines, and ridges. Using pencils, we practised drawing light outlines first and then adding shading to create depth and make our shells look more realistic. We talked about how every shell is unique, and we enjoyed sharing our drawings and describing what we notice.
Year 3
This week in art Year 3 enjoyed making moving fish ready for the Finding Nemo production. Using A3 coloured card, they had to fold the card into a kite shape, then carefully cut strips to allow the fish to move. Once glued together, they made fins and finished with googly eyes. We are really looking forward to seeing these bright, colourful fish swimming across the stage!
Esma and Rosie, make a winning team!
Esma and her dog, Rosie the Maltipoo, recently took part in the Horsmonden Dog Show, competing in the 7–11 age category for Best Dog Handler. We are delighted to share that they won a special award—an achievement that left Esma absolutely thrilled.
Year 4
The whole school has enjoyed an exciting and busy week. 4S were proud to be chosen to speak to the inspectors and share their books, and they did a fantastic job representing the school. In computing, the class had great fun using live loops in GarageBand to create their own songs, while in maths they finished their work on fractions and confidently began a new unit on decimals through matching games. The week also saw lots of hard work and commitment as the children rehearsed for the Under the Sea concert; they should be incredibly proud of their performance. What a brilliant and energetic first full week back!
Year 5
Our recent residential trip to Norfolk was packed with adventure, teamwork and unforgettable learning experiences. The excitement began as pupils set off bright and early, diving straight into woodland challenges and hide‑building before enjoying an evening meal followed by a magical Twilight Safari. The following day was all about collaboration and confidence, with team‑building activities leading into a lively ‘Monster Trail’ orienteering course – and a bowling night that had everyone cheering each other on. Exploration continued at the coast, where pupils investigated marsh, shingle and dune habitats at Blakeney, picnicked in the dunes and were thrilled to observe a seal colony along the sand spit. Our final day at West Runton saw budding geographers examining coastal erosion, fossils, glaciation and rock pools, bringing classroom learning vividly to life before we headed home tired, happy and full of stories.
Year 5 Taster Afternoon
On Tuesday 5th May, Year 5 pupils will take part in a special taster afternoon designed to give them a glimpse of senior school learning. During the session, pupils will explore The Hidden Microscopic World of Water in Science. They will collect water samples from the pond, which will be teeming with new spring life, and use microscopes to magnify the samples up to 100x, allowing them to observe the microscopic organisms living within the water. This will be followed by an interactive Latin session with Mr Mossman titled “How to Survive a Day in Ancient Pompeii,” offering pupils an engaging introduction to Latin. The afternoon provides a fantastic opportunity for pupils to experience what senior school lessons are like in practice. Please note that, as pupils will be following the senior school timetable on this day, the school day will finish at 4:15pm.
Year 6
What a busy week for Year 6! Alongside working on algebra, continuing their rivers topic, thinking about how to create atmospheric sentences in English and beginning their light topic, the children have enjoyed a sunny session with Chaplain Katie in the confidence course (yes, the monkey bars WERE hard work!) Lots of energy went into our rehearsals and incredible production on Thursday afternoon alongside an exciting opening to our cricket season. Next stop: PGL!
From Slopes to Hot Chocolate
Our Prep pupils enjoyed a fantastic ski trip to Gressoney over the Easter holidays, filled with fresh alpine air, exciting runs down the slopes and plenty of laughter along the way. From first turns to confident skiing, there were a few tumbles in the snow, lots of smiles, and some well-earned hot chocolate pit stops.
Come visit us!
In the Summer Term, we are hosting our Taster Day on Saturday 13th June which is for Year 5 students. They will have the chance to challenge themselves on our outdoor assault course and tackle stimulating STEM tasks as they work to break out of our Escape Room. Parents are warmly invited to stay for a short presentation from our Senior Leadership Team. This session provides a fascinating insight into how pupils learn at Kent College and how we nurture confident, bold learners who are ready to embrace future challenges. Parents and siblings are also welcome to join us for a BBQ lunch, celebrating the day’s achievements and activities together.
Lunch Menu W/C 5 May
Have a wonderful weekend!
This newsletter is exclusively intended for the Kent College Community. All photographs featured herein are the property of the school and are used in accordance with our photographic permission policy.