Co-Curricular Activities

Thursday 13 March 2014

Second Edition

Dear Parent/Guardian,

It has been a busy few weeks since our last report, with various successes on the pitch, and wonderful experiences through the trips which have taken place.

A particular mention should be made of the KESW U16 football team who have made their way through to the ISFA Finals; a real achievement. We have also made history by competing in our very first rugby match, represented by our U12 squad.

We hope you enjoy reading about the busy life of your children whilst here at King Edward’s.

With best wishes, John Attwater Delvin Poulter (Headmaster) (Deputy Head, Co-curricular)

Elite Sports Programme trip, Portsmouth University

Dr Matt Dicks from the University of Portsmouth Sports and Exercise Department

lead a fascinating workshop examining what skills make an elite athlete. Our Elite

Sports Programme pupils were divided into groups and asked to consider how to

study an elite athlete to better understand their abilities. Dr Dicks also discussed the

role of perceptual skills and asked the pupils to come up with ways to coach this. The

pupils even used putters and an artificial putting green to consider the role of visual

awareness in sports. The workshop concluded by discussing the role of visualisation

and imagery in performance. Lastly, we were given a tour of the department which

included an altitude chamber, currently being used to study the effect of altitude on

performance; the results of which will be used to help the England football team at

next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

Lower School ‘Grease’ trip

On 12 Feb, the Lower School ventured off to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in

Guildford to see a production of Grease, performed by the Guildford School of

Acting. A firm favourite since the 1970s so what better way to spend a

Wednesday evening!

Sophie Cummings, 1st Form, reports;

“Grease the production was amazing! Everyone was cheering along and singing

to the songs, and we all got the ‘Grease Lightening’ song in our heads!! There

were happy faces all around and great amusement to everyone in the audience.

When we had to go out after school, we were all really tired… but it was

100,000% worth it!!

Sixth Form Post Prep - Russian Evening

Anton Sharapov, U6th, reports;

The Russian Evening, which took place on 26 Feb, was an outstanding event that

gave students from different countries an opportunity to get a flavour of Russian

culture. Throughout the evening people experienced the tradition of Russian tea

drinking, at which tea is served with lemon instead of milk, and it is accompanied

by traditional Russian bakery and biscuits called “Pryaniki” and “Sushki”. After

that in the relaxing atmosphere, which was created by some traditional Russian

music being played in the background, people learnt about numerous Russian

traditions, superstitions, beliefs and even poetry.

All of this happened in an entertaining manner by playing Russian dares, where

each dare consisted of some historical or cultural fact, but also involved some

funny action from participants to be performed, such as reading Russian poetry

(in Russian obviously), uncovering personal dancing skills and playing charades.

We hope that this event gave everyone some good, fun time, knowledge of

some amusing facts and great memories to carry away after IB.

Valentine’s Concert

Mr Moore reports;

The eve of the Feast of St Valentine saw the culmination of half a term’s hard

work for the Music Department, as a packed Chapel was treated to a veritable

smorgasbord of musical delights. We were privileged to welcome a professional

brass ensemble who opened the concert. The ensemble was soon enlarged by

the School’s many brass players, all of whom enjoyed the opportunity to play

with musicians of such quality. Not to be outdone, the Beginner’s Wind Band,

conducted by Mr Edney, Head of Brass, turned out a highly polished

performance of ‘If I Were a Rich Man’ from ‘Fiddler on the Roof’.

A change of instrumental family ensued, with an excellent performance by the

String Ensemble, led by the Head of Strings, Mrs Lett. 1st Former Emily

Trappen, by now accustomed to giving solo performances following her debut

during the Carol Service, gave a flawless performance of Mendelssohn’s ‘Hear

My Prayer’. The Chapel Choir performed two choral classics: Mozart’s ‘Ave

Verum’, accompanied by Mr Venables, and Bruckner’s ‘Locus Iste’ for which Mr

Edney arranged a highly effective brass accompaniment.

Determined to end the concert with a bang, the Brass Ensemble joined forces

with the Chapel Choir to perform the epic ‘Gloria’. Conducted by yours truly,

the combined forces of professional brass, the Chapel’s sizeable organ, and the

Chapel Choir negotiated their way through a fiendishly difficult but undeniably

impressive work. The performance met with great acclaim from the audience.

Profuse thanks to all the staff, visiting musicians and, above all, pupils who

played their part in producing such an excellent celebration of the School’s

significant musical talent.

Hockey, 1 March 2014

Sat 1 March saw an abundance of hockey matches, both home and away, with 3

teams playing against St. John’s Southsea, as well as the U15 team playing

Frensham. KESW did well by winning 2, drawing 1 and losing 1. The highlight of

the day was the 1st XI win against St. John’s scoring 5 - 2! All teams played really

well and we are very proud.

With thanks to Fraser Pitkethly, for the use of this brilliant photography!

L6th Business & Economics trip

On 26 Feb, 6 of some of our brightest stars in the Economics and Business

Department attended the BASE (Business, Accounting and Skills Education)

competition in Southampton University; the regional event of a national event

run by the ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales).

The School went up against around 6 other teams. They were given a lot of

information and had a mentor working with them. The competition was based

on a complex case study which was actually taken from past papers for ICAEW

exams, so not an easy feat. They worked for several hours with their mentor,

and gave a presentation to a board of judges, as well as the rest of the teams

and teachers from other schools. Our team, Carolin Hunkemoeller, Giovanna Yu,

Comfort-Diane Owusu, Tony Wong, Ana Maria Alferaru and Angeline Tan, did a

very confident presentation which was also noted as such by the judges, but

unfortunately did not win and so will not proceed to the next round of the

competition. However, this was our first attempt as a School and we hope to

take part in future years.

It gave the pupils a great insight into the world of Business and Finance and

while it was essentially an accounting competition, it made the pupils see and

understand that accounting is about much more than figures. It helped them

develop their skills of analysing lots of different types of information and how to

present information to the client, who ultimately wants solutions to their

problems. The pupils also got to meet representatives from large accounting

firms including KPMY, PCW, BDO and EY and find out about post school,

university and career opportunities.

eSafety Presentations, Karl Hopwood

On Mon 24 Feb, King Edward’s was visited by Karl Hopwood,

an independent eSafety expert, to provide a series of talks to

pupils, staff and parents, to help raise awareness of eSafety

issues. Each talk was tailored to its particular audience, and

left all concerned with a few action points to take away with

them.

Karl is a member of UKCCIS (UK Council for Child Internet Safety) and sits on the

advisory board for the UK Safer Internet Centre and the education advisory

board for CEOP. He has also worked for a number of key players in the UK and

abroad. As an ex head teacher, he continues to work closely with children, young

people, parents and teachers to develop safer online behaviours and the

promotion of digital literacy. Karl’s experience and knowledge left audiences

impressed and we look forward to welcoming him back in the future.

Sixth Form Art trip

3rd Form RS trip, Hindu Temple

“When we got through the entrance, we were in a big space, like the garden of a palace. As we studied, there was a big entrance to the temple, with massive

doors and only very important people are allowed to go through them.”

Tomas Marin Herrero

“We got to walk around the outside of the shrine room and saw statues of all the gods. They were spectacular!” Tom Goddard

“On Wed 26 Feb, the 3rd Form travelled up to Wembley to a Hindu Mandir. At first we saw the magnificent Mandir out of the coach window, its stone was glistening in the sun, yet it was hard to believe that such a building was in such a busy place like Wembley.

It was strange when we went in, as we walked into the side entrance (the main entrance is for special occasions only). We found ourselves going through an airport security procedure and had to put all metal objects onto a conveyer belt. As we came out of security, we entered the main hall, where there was a shop and large space with nothing in it. We were told to sit and look around at all the majestic carvings and paintings of elephants (a sacred animal) and peacocks (a sacred bird). We were asked to remove our shoes so we could carry on our tour to the room where we were shown a movie about the origins of the Mandir.

The temple took over 3 years to build and construct, the wood, carpet and stone came from all around the world. Some of the carpet came from Ireland and also from India. Three types of stone were used in the temple including marble.

After the movie we moved on to the prayer room. We were lucky enough to catch the afternoon service. In the sermon we were all told to be silent whilst the Pandits (Hindu priests) waved flames around and around the Deity (different forms of the God Braham). After they had waved flames they lay down on the floor and prayed.

We were then instructed to go around in a circle to see each of the deities and say a prayer. This is when a man came with a flaming dish and offered it to us. You are meant to put your hands over the flame (not in it) and then put your hands over your head and shoulders. Then we left the prayer hall and went onto the balcony where you could see what a busy place the Mandir was situated in, however when you were inside you had no idea.

The question room was last, and our tour guide was happy to answer any questions that we had such as “what is the dietary requirement for a Hindu?” We then went outside and were able to go to the supermarket and eat our lunches in the sun, then return home.

The trip to the Mandir was a fun and educational trip, which I thoroughly enjoyed and learned a lot from.” Tom Harmsworth

Ashleigh Turner, U6th, reports;

On the 25 Feb we, the Sixth Form Art students, were very lucky to go to Chelsea

College of Art, and to see Richard Deacon's show at the Tate Britain. After a tour

around the studios and workshops of the university, and a look at some

contemporary conceptual sculptures, we were able to see a talk between the artist

himself and Nicholas Logsdail, during which time they discussed the history of

particular art forms, Lisson Gallery and their working relationship and how it turned

to a friendship.

Deacon's exhibition moved us away from the scale of art we are most used to in the

Art Department and it was fascinating to see the scale of the pieces. Most pieces are

made from wood and metal and were shown with some of the drawings that started

the pieces off. These also allowed us to see more into the process of this artist.

We were also lucky see the Turner collection, some of Francis Bacon's work and a

number of 17th - 18th century works, one of which depicted an area not so far from

us - Box Hill. Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and allowed us to see

into the life of working artists, studying as an artist and some fantastic art. We hope

to have more opportunities like this and are very grateful to Chelsea College of Art,

and Artist in Residence at KESW, Miss KB, for organising such a trip.

U16s into National Football Final!

The School's U16 squad earned a place in the Independent Schools FA National U16 Final with a thrilling 3-1 semi final victory over Harrodian. This is the first time in the School's history that a team has reached a National Cup Final.

In a tight match the KESW players showed a great team ethic. Watched by a considerable crowd, the KESW team took an early lead and were deservedly 1-0 up at half time having created several excellent goal scoring opportunities. But Harrodian were not giving in and equalised with a well taken free kick early in the second half. KESW immediately replied with a goal from a well worked corner to regain the advantage, although Harrodian continued to pile on the pressure. KESW had to show outstanding discipline, organisation and determination to keep their lead. In the final few minutes a counter attack from KESW lead to a penalty which was coolly converted by Team Captain, Churchill Onumonu, to secure a place in the final.

The team had beaten Portland Place (4-0), Sackville (10-1), Chilton Cantilo (7-0) in the previous rounds. They will

play Moorland School in the final at Quorn Football Club, nr Loughborough on Thu 24 April (6pm kick off).

Prefect Dinner at the City of London Freeman’s School

Michael Orr reports;

On Fri 28 Feb the Prefects were invited to a dinner hosted by nearby school City

of London Freeman’s. This was a relaxed social event strengthening the links we

as Prefects have in our duty to our schools as role models and leaders. The

atmosphere at the dinner was friendly and welcoming, which was a huge relief

as this is the first dinner that the Prefects have attended; another is scheduled at

Reeds’ School in the coming weeks.

The drive from KESW to City of London Freeman’s was less than an hour. On

arrival Mr Pugh demonstrated his superior parking skills only to discover that a

barrier had been set up! Undeterred he simply repositioned the minibus and the

enjoyable evening began.

In the room next to the dining room a glass of wine and chat broke the ice

accordingly and various topics such a university, schools and sports teams were

mixed in the exchanges. With a tap of a glass dinner began promptly at 7.30pm.

The seating arrangement was cleverly done so a variety of people were sitting at

each table. There was a quiz which was a great way of testing our knowledge but

also finding out about the people around us. For the main course we had

chicken, mash potato and carrots; it was delicious. Dessert was of a similar

quality and consisted of a chocolate slice with cream and raspberries. We were

surely stuffed after that!

As all was cleared away the chat resumed and by this stage it was time to leave.

Our hosts thanked us for our attendance and wished us well.

Lower School Bush Craft

Mr Pentreath reports;

On a sunny winter’s day 34 brave souls from the Lower School ventured out into

the School marshlands for a touch of bush craft. Getting the mandatory fires

going proved a little challenging with everything being soaked but Copeland’s

Matron and Nick, our Australian gap student, excelled themselves and soon

hotdogs ranging from ‘al dente’ to carbonised according to personal preference

were being enjoyed by all. Manhunt was as popular as ever with some time

being spent on the Seven S’s of concealment (shadow, shape, shine, silhouette,

sound, speed, surroundings). We finished off with well deserved marshmallows,

toasted of course, and then waded our way back out to civilisation.

KESW First Ever Rugby Match!

Spring… a time of year synonymous with new beginnings… which was fitting, as on Wed 5 Mar, KESW participated in their first ever rugby fixture. The sun was shining, the freshly painted touch lines still wet, and a group of young men were eager to make history… the stage was set.

With the likes of Alex Harper in charge of marshaling, the intimidating scrum consisting of Tyrese and Tyler Inneh as the props, Luke Harmsworth and the Fagbemi twins who made up a very pacey second row, the team was set for action. Combined with the leadership of Harrison Martin sorting out his backline and ensuring the structures practised over the pre-season were maintained, meant KESW were fielding a team determined to set the tone for rugby at the School for years to come.

Box Hill were an impressive looking outfit with size being their strong suit and it didn’t take long before the KESW boys realised this was going to be a hard fought game. Despite many of the KESW boys’ never having played a game of rugby, the big hits and tackling required to succeed seemed like second nature to them, with El’Noam Afe-Aidelojie and Tosin Sofoluwe leading the way.

Boris Lee was on the attack with his fearless running with ball in hand, supported by Aidan Agar who looked at home at Fly Half. The general of the side, Kris Lujans, at scrum half was exemplary in both facets of the game; defensive work and ability to continually propel KESW attacks. Kris took the award for most yards gained. The first half scores saw KESW down 2 tries to nil and the second half would prove to be just as challenging, with the loss of Harrison Martin due to friendly fire. A five minute barrage of brute force from Box Hill saw 3 tries scored and put the game out of reach. Despite this the KESW boys, after a few substitutions that saw individuals such as Solomon Thomas, Tom Lewis and Kemal Kenton grace the field for their first appearances on a rugby pitch, stepped up their intensity and aggression, with notable improvements at break-downs and monumental improvement from scrum to scrum. Cameron Hashemi, although small in size was a real presence in these scrums, helping drive Box Hill back on more than one occasion.

The pressure that KESW placed began to show as Box Hill began to give away penalties. Although the final result was not flattering - defeated six tries to nil - the future of KESW rugby is looking very promising. The ethos of good sportsmanship, controlled aggression and never say die attitude were all displayed by this U12 rugby team, who made all those supporting them proud with their attitude and efforts.

3rd Annual Inter-House Bake Off

After two years of sweet and sugary baking, the 3rd Annual Inter-House Baking contest on Sun 2

Mar took a rather more salty turn as houses competed in a ‘Savoury Pie Pageant’, increasing

the difficulty and ramping up what is becoming a hotly-contested trophy.

Each house was given 9hrs in Food Technology to produce, what they hoped, would see them into 1st place. The scoring criteria were detailed, with each house able to score up to 130 points in

4 different areas; Presentation; Creativity; Taste; Overall Impression.

At 9.30am sharp the boys’ houses were first to arrive, determined to get a head start on their

pastry which had to be made from scratch, encasing what should be a two-crust (full case)

pie. The pupils ensured their points for originality would be high by taking what is a well-loved

English dish and combining it with ingredients and techniques from their home countries.

At 4.45pm the pies were presented to a panel of passionate pie pundits ready to be sliced and

served. What they saw and tasted was a fantastic variety of flavours from all over the

world. This year the panel consisted of Mr Chris Bicknell, the Head Chef, Mrs Alison Tinsley,

Head of Food Technology, and Mr Keith Forster, our Pie Connoisseur.

In 1st place came the boys from Wakefield who gained 114/130 for their South African themed

‘Springbok for spring’ port soaked pie. In 2nd place the boys from Grafton with 106/130 for

their fancy bitter sweet Ukrainian flaky fish pie. In joint 3rd place the boys from Ridley and the

girls from Tudor with 99/130 for their down-to-earth, breakfast-based pie and their rose-topped

Aztec chicken pie respectively.

Congratulations and thanks to all those involved who worked hard to make this another excellent and exquisite event,

kick-starting a yummy ‘British Pie Week’ put on by our catering staff.

World Book Day King Edward’s continued its reading culture on World Book Day. In assembly the School

community watched a video podcast of members of staff reading in their weirdest,

funniest, and most interesting places. This was followed by a stop and read session in

tutor groups, where tutors read their chosen short stories to their tutees. In Lower

School they had fun and games consisting of a rock war guitar workshop in celebration

of Robert Muchamore’s recent book, along with a literary quiz and prize giving.