KC News Round Up Friday 8th December 2023

Last Thursday evening the Drama department took all of Year 7 to a new musical version of Roald Dahl’s The Witches.

Wow! What a show. It’s a colourful, spectacular musical with some amazing new songs and brilliant performances. Many of the performers, including the two leads are played by children but they outshine the adults with their enthusiasm. It's full of energy and pace. At one point one of the boys, Bruno expertly played by William Skinner, consumes so many sweets he breaks into a tap dancing sugar rush which blew us all away.

Here is a link to a video of the cast singing Get Up.

During the show this song is sung by a group of children who have been turned into tins of tomatoes. You have to see it to believe it!

It runs at the National Theatre on London’s Southbank till the end of January and we would all highly recommend seeing this show over Christmas. It’s the next Matilda! If you see it, let us know what you think!

Boarders' Activities

The boarders have had a fantastic week with a lot of very Christmassy activities to get them in the Christmas spirit!

Charity Ball

A highlight of our boarders' year is always the Charity Ball. The theatre was transformed into a magical wonderland of balloons and fairy lights. Students and staff all dressed up in a fabulous array of sequins and sparkle and enjoyed a fabulous meal and plenty of dancing!

Ice Skating

The Christmas period is never complete without a trip to the ice rink in Calverley Park! It was a fantastic afternoon and most students managed to stay upright!

Christmas Quiz

Miss Henry hosted a Christmas Quiz in-house on Sunday, which was great fun. The boarders were placed in small groups and were asked 24 fun questions around Christmas traditions, history and literature. The group captained by Mazvita won the prize.

The Christmas puzzles have also continued this week!

Year 9 Maths

Have you ever noticed a candle or your favourite can of pringles? They have a specific structure where they stand properly upright if you lay them down by their base, but you can roll them anywhere if you lay them down on their side!

Mrs Cox’s Year 9 revisited the topic "surface area of cylinders from a different angle" using tins of fruit, a can opener, bowls and plastic beakers.

The students used the peeled label to calculate the curved surface area (the curved surface area of a cylinder is defined as the area of the rolling part of the cylinder) before measuring the lid and base and applying the formula for the area of a circle. Once completed the students taste tested the fruit with much enjoyment!

I really like these kind of lessons. I like how they are hands on and we can physically measure and move the objects. I understood more today as I could understand what the curved surface area looked like. The peaches and mango’s were nice too! Eloise - Year 9

The lesson was fun today as we worked as a group and then we ate the fruit from the tins. Rose - Year 9

HALO Lecture

This week was the final HALO lecture of 2023. Mrs Fuller gave AIM students a wonderful talk about Supervolcanoes where they learned about what they are and what they look like and indeed how they differ from other volcanoes. They also learned about the Yellowstone Supervolcano and what signs there are that this volcano is active. It was a very informative session and thankfully ended on a positive note! They were joined by several AIM students from the Prep School; it was lovely to have them with us again and we hope to see them again in the new year for the new programme of talks.

I found the comparisons really grounding on just how large a Supervolcano would be. I didn't realise how extremely dangerous they can be. They are also beautiful - I now understand why so many people visit the very active Yellowstone. Poppy - Year 9

I found the Halo lecture this morning really interesting. I had never heard of a Supervolcano before and didn't realise what global impacts they would have if they erupted. Claudia - Year 9

I thought it was really fascinating to learn about a topic that hasn’t really been mentioned within the geography course and it really increased my knowledge surrounding volcanoes! It was also quite terrifying to find out some active Supervolcanoes could potentially erupt at any time. Megan Lower - Sixth

I found the topic about Supervolcanoes very interesting and thought provoking. I think I would like to learn more about it. Nina - Year 8

Lower Sixth Photography

Lower Sixth Photographers have been working on their Album Cover project. This is always one of the most popular units of work for this year. Students are challenged to re-interpret an album cover of their choice using props they find, volunteers and newly acquired photoshop skills. Here they are preparing:

And here are some of the finished pieces of work:

Hockey News

ISHC Match

The U13 hockey squad travelled to Manchester to play in the 3rd round of the ISHC plate. They travelled on Wednesday, stayed over night and then arrived at Withington Girls' School on Thursday. The girls played fantastically, and although they started slowly, a hat trick from both Erin T and Elodie O'D meant they came away with an amazing 8 nil win! The spirits were high for the long journey home!

Additionally...

The U15 cup team had their third round match on Thursday at home against Brighton. The team started the match slowly and were 0-1 down early in the game. Despite some great play from Emily and Neve in Year 9 to equalise at 1-1, Brighton scored two more goals late in the game.

Our U14 hockey team came second in the region, losing only in sudden death shuffles and narrowly missing out on a trip to nationals.

However, our U13 hockey team have qualified for regionals which will take place in the New Year as well.

A huge well done to all of our hockey teams and staff members for their efforts and dedication!

Gymnastics News

The Under 13 team comprising Amelia, Eva, Zarina and Emily have qualified for the Milano National finals to be held in March 2024 in Stoke.

The U16 team of Arabella, Georgie, Darcey and Sofia were placed 4th, narrowly missing out qualifying this year. Both teams did brilliantly though, with a lot of new routines and Mrs Cox is very proud of everyone! Well done to all.

Lower Sixth Physics Trip

Lower Sixth A Level Physics students went up to London to see five sessions of phenomenal physics lectures given by experts in their field. It was a day full of inspiration, challenge, and experimentation across the breadth of physics. One of the highlights was seeing a 'Hoff Crab' named after the film star David Hasselhoff.

Upper Sixth English Trip