During our Open Morning this week, visitors couldn’t help but remark on how happy and engaged the children looked. As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words, and throughout this Newsletter, you’ll see just that. We were fortunate to enjoy glorious sunshine and clear skies, which made the perfect backdrop for a fantastic World Book Day on Thursday.
Sit back and enjoy some wonderful moments of the week!
Red Nose Day is Coming - 21 March. Get Ready to Dress Up!
This year, we’re making Red Nose Day a whole-school event with the theme Wear What Makes You Smile! Our Senior School House Captains and Prep School Charity Captains, Marcella and Solenne, agree—animals always bring a smile—so each House has been given an animal to dress up as or take inspiration from for our Red Nose Home Clothes Day on Friday 21 March. Chaplain Katie
Join in the fun wearing red, green or yellow home clothes (depending on your House colours) and represent your animal with anything from face paint or mask to a stuffed toy you have on your bed that wants to join you for a day in school, or even a photo on the back of your T-shirt - anything goes! Everyone who takes part earns a House point, so get creative and get involved. Here are your assigned animals:
- Celts (green)– Iguanas
- Danes (red)– Penguins
- Saxons (yellow)– Elephants
World Book Day
The children’s creative outfits were a joy to see, and there was plenty of laughter as we welcomed author Sophy Henn to the school. It has truly been a brilliant week for our Prep School children, and we are so grateful to our parents for their overwhelming generosity in donating pre-loved books. Thank you for your continued support!
Well done on a fantastic World Book Day 2025! Your enthusiasm, brilliantly creative costumes (a special thank you to our parents), and the fantastic energy throughout the day made it truly special. This was one of our best World Book Days yet! Mrs Hall
What happened in School this week?
Forest Explorers
We've had an amazing week exploring the world of firefighters and fire engines! The children created brilliant fire engine paintings and had a fantastic time role-playing as firefighters in the forest, using skipping ropes as hoses.
World Book Day was a delight, with everyone dressing up as their favourite book characters. We were also thrilled to welcome Sophy Henn, who shared her wonderful story Pass It On—a heartwarming tale about spreading kindness and making others happy. What a busy and exciting week it has been, made even better by the sunshine!
Reception
We have enjoyed so many books this week in Reception. Our week started with Anthony Browne's ‘I Like Books’ and we had fun discussing our favourite books and story characters. The children also remembered the different parts of a book, like the front cover, spine and blurb. Each of the children chose a favourite book from our classroom collection, telling their friends why they chose it. Then they completed a book review of their book, focusing on their favourite part of the story or page in the book. Meeting Sophy Henn on Wednesday was very exciting and we loved hearing her read some of her own stories. Our class favourite is ‘Pom Pom is Super’ and we loved pretending to be super heroes.
Year 1
This term in science, Year 1 are exploring the fascinating world of plants. We began our topic last week with a hands-on activity, working in pairs to plant our very own sunflower seeds. Since then, we have been carefully monitoring their progress, keeping a weekly diary to record any changes we observe. This week, we were thrilled to see the first signs of growth and even had the exciting opportunity to measure how much our seedlings have sprouted! We can't wait to see how they continue to grow in the coming weeks.
Year 2
It has been a very busy and fun filled week in Year 2! We ventured out into the sunshine to look for signs of Spring as part of our RE lesson focusing on new beginnings and had a go at creating musical rhythms and patterns in computing. The children immensely enjoyed their talk from Sophie Henn, who talked about her books and gave a drawing workshop and showcased some of the children's favourite characters linked to their World Book Day costumes. Then in science we continued our new topic on plants and the children dissected a seed, discovering the different parts inside that will help the seed to grow.
Year 3
Year 3 have been shining a light on their latest science topic—quite literally! They began by exploring different sources of light before diving into a fascinating investigation on shadows. The class had great fun tracing each other's shadows at different times of the day and observing how they changed. Through their discoveries, they learned that shadows are formed when light is blocked. With even more exciting experiments on the way, their exploration of light is only just beginning!
Year 4
Year 4 embarked on a sound walk around the school to complement their new science topic. We went to 8 locations and immersed ourselves in the sounds we could hear. We found that the Library and Climbing Stack were the quietest areas, at the times we were there. There were lots of sounds at our Entrance Hall – we were welcoming visitors and kept hearing the sound of giggling babies and toddlers as families joined us on Open Morning. Mrs. Crotty was impressed with the listening skills of the whole class – good job!
Year 5
This week kicked off with Year 5 diving into the world of Ancient Greek philosophers. The concept of philosophy sparked curiosity across the class, with many eager to explore further. Socrates, in particular, has found a fan base—Year 5 certainly love to ask, "Why?" In maths, lessons have been packed with ordering, comparing, and rounding decimals, while Thursday was a whirlwind of excitement as World Book Day took centre stage.
Art on Show
The deadline for entries has now passed for the RA Young Artists’ Summer Show. A huge well done to Frida in Year 5 and Margo in Year 3. Frida's wonderful self-portrait, and Margo's delightful impression of her young cousin have been entered in, what is likely to be, a really stiff competition. Good luck, girls! Don’t miss the online exhibition, launching on 15th July, as well as the display at the Royal Academy from 15th July to 10th August 2025. Follow the link for details.
Year 6
The sun emerged, bringing a vibrant sense of spring, and the students embraced the beautiful weather, enjoying plenty of outdoor fun. Class 6S has been hard at work honing their skills in website creation, even developing a remarkable site dedicated to reviewing their favorite books. Watch this space next week for a peek at their creation!
The students thoroughly enjoyed dressing up for World Book Day and were thrilled to have the opportunity to meet author and illustrator Sophy Henn, who taught them how to draw some of her beloved characters. To cap off an incredible week, Dr. Golden visited and delivered an engaging and informative talk about the heart, lungs, digestive system, and other fascinating topics. We sincerely appreciate him taking the time to join us. We would also like to extend an invitation to any parents interested in sharing insights about their careers—please feel free to speak with Mr. Sullivan; we would be delighted to have you visit.
Young Entrepreneurs Sale!
Join us for an exciting showcase of young talent! Come and support our budding entrepreneurs as they present their creative products and ideas! Don't miss out on this fantastic event!
- When: 10th March
- Where: Prep Hall
- Schedule: 3.25pm for Reception and Key Stage 1 pupils and from 3.40pm for Key Stage 2
- Budget: Items are priced between £1 and £4, so no more than £5 required.
Gymnastic News
Gymnastics Success at ISGA National Championships
On Saturday, our U9 gymnastics team—Mabel, Harriet, Hanna, Margot, and Megan—competed at Tormead School in Guildford in the ISGA 5-Piece Premier National Championships, facing strong competition from 11 other independent schools. The team delivered an exceptional performance and were crowned national champions! Individually, out of a field of 60 competitors, Mabel secured an impressive 2nd place, missing out on gold by just 0.10 points. Harriet placed 7th, Margot 9th, Hanna 11th, and Megan 23rd—an outstanding set of results that reflects their dedication and skill.
Their success extends beyond this event, as they are now also the U9 IAPS Group Sequence National Champions, U9 IAPS 4-Piece National Champions, U9 ISGA 2-Piece National Champions, with Harriet taking the IAPS National Champion Individual title and Mabel being crowned ISGA National Champion. Congratulations, I am very proud of you and thank you for your hard work and dedication. Mrs Cox
The Wellbeing Hub Parent Workshop - Resilience
We are pleased to announce that Alicia Drummond will be visiting Kent College to host a parent workshop on Monday 10th March at 16:45.
Alicia is the founder of The Wellbeing Hub, 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 pupils. In 2020, she launched The Wellbeing Hub, an award-winning platform that takes a proactive, whole-school approach to supporting young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
We are incredibly fortunate to have her lead a parent session focusing on resilience, particularly in relation to friendships. The session will last approximately an hour and will be followed by a Q&A opportunity.
Camp Beaumont Easter Holiday Camps
We are excited to announce a special Easter holiday childcare opportunity in collaboration with our partners at Camp Beaumont. From Monday 10th March to Sunday 16th March (11.59pm), they are offering a Spring Sale with great prices for your childcare provision this Easter. Prices are as low as £40 per day when you book for the entire week or £45 for individual days! Please ensure that you quote our host school discount code at checkout (KENT25) and receive a further 10% off these prices!
Have a lovely 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.