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News Round Up 24th January 2025

U13 Hockey

On Monday, the ISHC Plate quarter final was held at KC between our U13 team and Kings School, Warwick. This was a really important match, as a win for Kent College would mean a second consecutive trip to the national finals.

The team played incredibly well and won the match convincingly with a score of 7-0, so will be competing in the national finals later this term. Congratulations and good luck for the finals!

School Officer Brunch

On Saturday, the School Officers met for brunch in Tunbridge Wells. This was an idea they suggested last term to celebrate the past year as part of the School Officer team. It was a lovely but cold morning and really nice to celebrate the end of mocks too after all their hard work.

Year 10 Magistrates' Visit

On Monday 20th January, three local Magistrates came to KC to talk to Year 10 students about their role in the justice system. The magistrates explained how our courts work and what magistrates do before then looking at the impact of having a criminal record.

They acted out a mock retiring room discussion so that the students were able to get a real insight into how magistrates make decisions. Finally, they looked at different scenarios and students had to consider what sentences each case could possibly serve. We were so proud of our students who were engaged, asked really insightful questions and were not scared to challenge the processes either!

Form Time Fun

In form time this week, to reflect on the theme of the week, Reliability, Year 10 teams of students had two mins each to build a bridge which had to withstand the weight of a book placed on top. Everyone had to join in and play their part to stop the whole structure collapsing, demonstrating that Reliability is something we all need to function.

Computer Science

In Computer Science this week, Years 7 - 9 have been introduced to Cyber Explorers in order to help them develop their cyber security skills.

Through a series of challenges and missions, over the next few weeks they will learn the importance of the safe use of technology, how to control access to systems and data, how to secure devices and defend against malware and how to ensure they can stay safe and secure online. These are essential skills for the 21st century as one class proved, when 100% of the students knew of a family member who had fallen victim to a scam or had malware infect a device.

In the final week of term, six students from Year 7 and six from each class in Year 8 and 9 will be offered the opportunity to represent Kent College in the Cyber Explorers Cup 2025, a national competition. Kent College achieved a fantastic 8th place last year and we're looking to improve on that this year.

Artistic Swimming

Over Christmas, Annabelle in Year 7 trialled for the South East Regional Artistic Swimming Squad and this year was invited to join. This is a very exciting opportunity for Annabelle and she will be training with the squad and working towards representing the South East in the regional games at the end of May.

Lower Sixth supporting Year 6 Biology

Lower Sixth A Level Biology students, Elli and Bow, helped our Prep School in a Year 6 Biology lesson last week, demonstrating with Mrs Connolly how to dissect a lamb's heart. It was not for the faint-hearted (no pun intended!)

HALO Lecture

On Monday, Mrs Payne gave our AIM students a wonderful lecture entitled "The Impact of AI – To help, to hinder or to shape the future?" This undoubtedly gave them lots to think about. In the lecture, Mrs Payne gave a brief overview of how AI works, the different categories of AI and asked students to consider how much they had already interacted with AI before getting to school. She then went on to talk about some of the huge benefits of AI, particularly those in the field of medicine, before considering the potential drawbacks. It was certainly surprising to hear that 519ml of water is required for AI to compose a 100 word email!

Mrs Payne ended the lecture by referring to the first children's summit on AI which takes place in February and the ways which students could participate in this, should this be of interest to them.

Thank you to Mrs Payne for such an insightful lecture, but we're not sure how much AI helped her in producing her lecture!

I found the lecture on AI really interesting. I learnt many things. I didn't know how incredibly intelligent AI really is. It's also a bit scary to think that we use AI every day. But I do hope for scientists to be able to improve it so we can use it for good. Thank you for organising this event. Hattie, Year 7.
It was very interesting. I didn't realise how much we used AI Rosie, Year 7.
It was so fun and I learnt things I had never known before. It was fascinating but a bit scary. Annie, Year 7.
I found the lecture very interesting, and I learnt a lot of new things about the different types of AI. Juliet, Year 7.
It was really interesting to hear about the environmental impact of AI and how quickly it is evolving. Even if there are some benefits, the potential drawbacks such as job loss and privacy risks were fascinating to hear about. Grace, Lower Sixth.
I found the lecture very insightful and informative. It was very helpful to learn about AI in this depth. Molly, Year 9

Textiles Club

This week, we've tasked Year 10's, Textiles Club, and Art Scholars with prop making and costume design for the upcoming "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" production at school. The Year 10's have just started creating prototypes of little mouse snouts, firstly creating cardboard bases which will be covered in paper mache and fabric, before finally mounting them onto headpieces for our cast to wear.

It has been good to explore the opportunities in theatre and costume design, prop making and special effects and we're looking forward to seeing lots more prototypes!

Music Trip

On Tuesday, 15 singers and instrumentalists went to see an incredible concert at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Cobham. The school specialises in nurturing the best young talent in piano and string instruments from around the world, meaning the standard of performing was incredibly high. There was a violin solo, a string trio, a solo guitarist and then the junior strings played a fascinating, 20th piece by Swedish composer Dag Wiren. KC students were amazed at what these young people had achieved and commented:

“It was amazing! All the musicians were incredibly talented!” Neve, Year 10
“Absolutely amazing, I've never seen so much talent from people who are so young! I'm glad I don't play a string instrument because I'd feel really jealous after watching that.” Sarah, Year 11
“I had such a wonderful time watching some of the talented pupils at Yehudi Menuhin School! Listening to their performances, you could clearly hear their dedication to their instruments and the hours of practice a day they put into their craft. The emotion they conveyed through their performance was truly inspiring!” Lexi, Year 13

“I thought it was interesting to listen to people our own age perform at a very high standard almost professionally. It was inspiring.” Shona (Year 7)

The Soroptimist Club

We had a fun session at Soroptimist Club hearing about Mrs Schortz and Mrs Rowberry’s Indian trip to visit some Indian Soroptimist projects. One of these was to an artificial limb workshop where they met a young teenager who had lost a leg and was fitted with a prosthetic limb costing only £50. We are hoping to do some fundraising this year to raise money to purchase a prosthetic limb for another amputee. To finish, we decorated our hands with henna tattoos as if we were going to an Indian wedding!

Our Club meets in the Hub every Monday at 4.15 to 5.15 pm. New members are welcome.

Christian Club

The Christian Club did a great job this week decorating the Chaplaincy bulletin board for this term's theme, "You are the light of the world."

Each year group will dive into this theme for their Chapel Service this term. Do visit the Chaplaincy to see their hard work and post a prayer.

Dance Showcase - Tickets on Sale!

This year's Dance Showcase is taking place on Thursday 13th February at 7pm in Kent College's Countess of Wessex Theatre.

The show will be full of GCSE and BTEC exam work, and outstanding pieces from our Scholars, Exhibition and AIM students. To buy your tickets, please click on the link below.

Spring Term Community Communion Service

Everyone is invited to attend the beginning of Spring Term Community Communion Service at St Peter's Old Church, next to Kent College. The service starts at 8:05am and will finish in time for students to arrive at school.

Please have Prep students accompanied by a parent or guardian for the service. Staff, students and their families are all welcome to attend, no religious affiliation is necessary. Come and see what worship is all about at KC.

Second Hand Uniform Shop

Please note the Second Hand Uniform Shop will be open from 3.00pm to 4.15pm on the following days:

  • Friday 24th January
  • Friday 28th February
  • Thursday 27th March

Please sign in at the Senior Reception.

And finally.....

The Little Princess Trust, one of the KC charities, has sent a message with the above certificate to thank our students for the fundraising efforts.

Thank you for your amazing support! We are delighted to attach your certificate in recognition of such fantastic fundraising.
It costs £700 to provide one wig and so the £972.65 you have raised for our charity will make a real difference to a young person who has lost their hair as a result of cancer treatment and other medical conditions.

The Wellbeing Hub

Have a great weekend!

All photographs featured herein are the property of the school and are used in accordance with our photographic permission policy.