Congratulations to our girls on their 2013 results BEST GCSE A*- B GRADES IN WARWICKSHIRE LANDOR BORN 1775 BEST A LEVEL RESULTS IN WARWICKSHIRE GCSE 97.3% A Level 87.6% A Level Results 87.6% of girls achieved all A*- B grades KING S GCSE HIGH RESULTS SCHOOL FOR GIRLS 97.3% of all grades recorded at A* - B King s High News Autumn 2013
A Few Words from Our Headmistress This time last year I was writing about one of the wettest summers on record; how nice, this year, to be writing about one of the sunniest. Everyone came back to school in extra good spirits, and term opened in a final burst of summer sunshine before the more autumnal weather set in. On the first day of term I was delighted to especially welcome our new girls and staff and to tell the school about the excellent exam results and university places the older girls had achieved. We enjoyed looking at photos of the foreign holiday expeditions to India (sightseeing and teaching in an Indian school), France (water sports) and Turkey (swimming with turtles). We ve held introductory evenings for parents of every year group to explain to them what is in store for their daughters during the year ahead and a staff governor dinner to welcome the new staff and celebrate the new school year. In opening prayers I told the girls about a survey of teenagers which has been conducted since the 1950s and asks their views on the statement: I am a very important person. In the 1950s 12% agreed; by the 1980s that had grown to an astonishing 80%. I showed, again, my Speech Day pictures of Emily Davison and then her modern day female equivalents: the six young women who were arrested last July for climbing the Shard the tallest building in Western Europe in protest against exploitation of the Arctic. I also showed them pictures of the three women, Professor Mary Beard, Ms Stella Creasy MP and Ms Caroline Criado-Perez, who have been subjected over the summer to particularly virulent tweeting campaigns comprising rape and death threats. All these women put their personal comfort and safety at risk for the sake of causes greater than themselves. So our particular focus in school this year is going to be altruism, the crux of which is surely simple human kindness. We re going to try our hardest to follow the advice of the novelist George Saunders who made a speech to recent graduating students at Syracuse University about kindness, beginning with, What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness and ending with, As a goal in life, you could do worse than try to be kinder. Observing the Sixth Form mothers interacting with the new Year 7 daughters, I think we have made an excellent start. I hope the year ahead will be an exceptionally satisfying, happy and altruistic one for all members of King s High. Salvete BBC Songs of Praise The choristers of King s High participated in two days of filming for two BBC Songs of Praise programmes: one to be aired on Remembrance Sunday and the second on Sunday 26 January 2014. Our girls sang as part of the congregation made up of local choirs, parishioners and St Mary s Collegiate Church s choirs. The girls sang beautifully and showed great patience and professionalism as many of the hymns had to be recorded up to 10 times to accommodate different camera angles and sound requirements.
Salvete, et cetera Welcome to our New Year 7s and Year 12s We opened our blue door to our new pupils in Years 7 and 12 on 3 September, the day before the start of term. Our Year 7 girls had a busy day, meeting with their new form tutors and our Heads of Year 7 and Key Stage 3, having a welcome Assembly with Mrs Surber, and being given the opportunity to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings. Over the next few weeks, the girls enjoyed two of King s High s best-loved traditions: meetings with their new Sixth Form mothers and with their Year 8 sisters. These new family relationships are a part of our programme to ease the Year 7s into their new life here and to provide support for them throughout the coming year. World Wide Walk The Second Annual International Day of the Girl on 11 October was celebrated this year by King s High, the Girls Schools Association and Plan UK with a World Wide Walk in support of the 66 million girls worldwide who are deprived of an education. Plan UK s World Wide Walk engaged girls across the globe to walk around the world, a distance of 40,075 km. Our girls supported the campaign by walking everywhere possible that week, including circuits around the playground and around Priory Park to raise urgently needed funds for female education in the developing world. Our girls walked a total of 611 km which is equal to the distance from Warwick to Cologne in Germany. Our new Year 12s gathered in the Sixth Form Common Room for an assembly with Head Girl, Georgina Box, Head of Sixth Form, Mr Wood, and Mrs Surber. There was much excitement after the summer holidays in greeting old friends and meeting new ones. We look forward to working with the girls, as they build on the excellent foundation they have put in place with their outstanding GCSE results. Harvest Festival and Macmillan Coffee Morning Friday 27 September was a busy morning filled with harvest celebrations and the spirit of charity. Our Harvest Festival Assembly was led by The Reverend Peter Burns amidst our girls generous contributions of food and flowers. Cadet Leeann Wallace of the Salvation Army gratefully accepted our gifts. Following the Assembly, piping hot coffee and our own catering staff s scrumptious cupcakes welcomed parents, Old Girls and friends to our annual Macmillan Coffee Morning which raised 500 this year. Donations from our visitors for the tasty treats, the flowers that graced the stage and the Tombola all benefited Macmillan. Bonding Weekend Our enthusiastic Year 7s had an unforgettable outdoor adventure experience. Under the skilled and inspirational guidance of the Bushcraft instructors, the girls were taught basic survival skills and soon had the confidence to fend for themselves in a new environment. They learned to build fires and cook their own food before sleeping outside, under the stars, in shelters they had built themselves. Far from the corridors of school, the pupils were divided into tribes and had to create their own tribal story and dance, which they performed to the whole group around a camp fire. Team-building exercises strengthened the blossoming friendships amongst the girls. National Poetry Day King s High is located in the former home of poet Walter Savage Landor. Fittingly, therefore, the school celebrated National Poetry Day on 3 October when our brand new Year 7 girls welcomed their parents to a special Poetry Assembly in the School Hall. Our girls showed true King s High dedication throughout their preparation and made us all proud of the excellence which resonated in their performances. The girls represented both LAMDA and the English Department in their solo and group recitations of works by poets ranging from Robert Louis Stevenson to Wes Magee and David Harmer. We were delighted that so many parents joined us for coffee and croissants prior to the performance. Flourishing Artists Sue Lewis-Blake SGFA Exhibition We congratulate Sue Lewis-Blake, our Head of Art and Design Technology, who was selected to exhibit for DRAW 13, the 92nd Annual Open Exhibition of the Society of Graphic Fine Art (SGFA) which ran from 30 September to 12 October at the Menier Gallery in London. David Paul Gleeson Artist Our Year 13 Art pupils were fortunate to have the celebrated and award-winning artist David Paul Gleeson conduct two weeks of practical workshops at the start of the term. Mr Gleeson s still life work and portraits also graced the walls of Landor House and the Creative Arts Building for the duration of his visit.
Valete Business Day Year 11 pupils were challenged with an interesting Business Studies management task at the end of last term. Their teams prepared a tender to deliver a new one day festival, appealing to all ages, to celebrate the town of Warwick, and each gave an original three minute presentation before a panel of judges. Our thanks go to Massey Associates for sharing their expertise with us. Speech Day The school was delighted to welcome Dame Monica Mason, DBE as our Speech Day guest on 10 July. We were all inspired by Dame Monica s account of her adventures across the globe as a dancer with the Royal Ballet and by her career with the company which spanned over 50 years. She joined the Royal Ballet aged 16 and ascended the ranks to become a principal dancer and, ultimately, its Artistic Director. Dame Monica ended her remarks with her motivational advice that no matter what we might be facing, we should always get up in the morning ready to take on the day. Fund Raising Round-Up 2012-2013 Fundraising for those in need of our support is at the heart of our school life. We are extremely proud that, last year, our girls raised over 8,500 in aid of charities at home and abroad. Alongside the traditional support given to local churches during Harvest Week and the annual campaigns for Macmillan Cancer, the British Legion and UNICEF, pupils supported Children in Need, Lepra, Eyes Alight, Crisis at Christmas, Kissing it Better, patient care at Warwick Hospital, Guide Dogs, Great Ormond Street, CLAPA (Cleft Lip and Palate Association), Birmingham Children s Hospital Cancer Care unit and Myton Hospice. Our girls organised a bonfire fête, bench ball match and mini-pops talent show, RAG week collections, hosted Valentine s Day and Easter themed events, produced a charity CD, modelled their own designs in our third Year 9 Fashion Show and, boosted by the enthusiasm of the school s catering team and FT department, sold everything from cupcakes to milkshakes and cookies to cream teas. Sporting Success Round-Up 2013 King s High s sports teams didn t disappoint in 2012-2013. The U14 Netball team were Midlands Netball Finalists, the U12 & U13 Hockey teams also reached the Midlands Finals and the U12s finished as runners-up. The U18 Water polo team was runner-up at the National Water Polo Championship, and our team s Captain was selected to represent Great Britain U20s at the World Championships. Two pupils were selected to represent Warwickshire at the English Schools Athletics Championships and three girls at the English Schools Cross Country Championships. One student became U14 Sabre Gold Medallist at the British Youth Championships, and the U18 Freestyle and Medley Relay teams reached the ESSA National Finals. These were just the highlights of another exceptional year. Our Summer Travels India Touring and Teaching Turkey Swimming with Turtles Gold D of E Expedition Water Sports in France Twenty-three Year 12 girls and three teachers experienced the delights of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur and teaching in Dundlod, Rajasthan. The girls braved intense heat and basic accommodation to bring their enthusiasm and talents to teaching classes of up to 55 children. The girls were an absolute credit to themselves and to the school and they should be proud of the difference they made for the children throughout the week. King s High Sixth Form biologists travelled to Turkey for the first time to see and swim with turtles and to analyse the location of their nesting sites. The girls identified 50 types of marine life and undertook fish and beach surveys. They had lessons on issues such as invasive species, sustainable management and threats to the Lycian coastline ecosystem and found time to enjoy the beautiful weather, crystal clear waters and delicious local cuisine. Thirty intrepid Year 12 Duke of Edinburgh s Gold Award participants went to the North Yorkshire Moors over the summer holidays on a qualifying expedition. The girls exhibited valiant spirit, teamwork and endurance over the four days and three nights, walking a distance of 80 kilometres. Forty-one girls and five staff went to Valras Plage on the Languedoc Coast to enjoy a week of sailing, windsurfing and snorkelling, alongside many other water-based and beach activities. They enjoyed a day at the local water park, as well as evening shopping for gifts and ice cream in the nearby resort of Cap d Agde and were blessed with lovely weather throughout.
Our Girls Achievements Our Congratulations: Lydia Cooper Regional Netball Player of the Year Lydia Cooper has been named Regional Netball Player of the Year for the Midlands. This honour is all the more meaningful as it was bestowed upon Lydia as a result of the voting by the opposing netball teams and coaches from the Midlands region. Emma Southall The Times Su Doku Championship Youngest Finalist We were delighted to see the photograph of Emma Southall, Year 13, featured prominently in The Times as the youngest and only female competitor to reach the final eight in their Su Doku Championship held in London in September. Martha Parsons Archery Gold Medallist Martha Parsons, Year 12, won a gold medal while competing in the oldest recorded archery competition in the world. During the event held in Kilwinning, Scotland, she triumphed by shooting an arrow 100 feet upwards to knock a wooden bird off the top of an abbey tower, whilst keeping one foot, precariously poised, on the abbey step. Rhianne Oscroft Under 20 Water Polo World Championships Competitor Rhianne Oscroft was selected to compete for Britain in the Under 20s Water Polo World Championships in Greece. The team finished eighth, their best-ever position, in the contest. Daniella Cugini and Molly Hope British Red Cross Writing Stars Each year, the Red Cross commemorates The International Day of the Disappeared as a reminder that a great number of people are missing as a result of conflicts around the world. Daniella Cugini and Molly Hope entered the associated writing competition and were the two joint runners-up in the Under 16s category. Ella Guthrie, Martha Allen-Smith, Alex Twemlow and Isobel Webb Goethe Institut Recognition Twelve Year 10 students took part in a German creative writing project to find a credible solution to a murder mystery. As a result of the quality of their written submissions, four of our girls, Ella Guthrie, Martha Allen-Smith, Alex Twemlow and Isobel Webb, have been highlighted on the Goethe Institut s website for good practice in learning German. Jenny Chapman, Lizzie Morton and Sophia Foroughi Hadrian s Wall Walkers Jenny Chapman, Lizzie Morton and Sophia Foroughi, Year 13, completed their five day attempt to walk the length of Hadrian s Wall, a distance of 84 miles from Wallsend to the salt marsh of the Solway Estuary. The intrepid walkers raised over 2000 in support of charities close to their own hearts - Epilepsy Action and Young Epilepsy. Lucy Abell and Camilla Dent Charity Cyclists Lucy Abell and Camilla Dent completed a taxing 130 mile coast-to-coast cycle ride from Whitehaven to Sunderland to raise funds for Leamington-based charity British Blind Sport. They raised over 1,000 for the charity in a splendid effort that had them traversing a very hilly landscape over three days. King s High and Warwick School Teams First Prize Winners at Bletchley Park On 5 July, three Year 10 girls, Emily Beevers, Emma Loveridge and Sally Rankin, and three Warwick School boys competed in the Radio Society of Great Britain Centenary Celebrations held at Bletchley Park. Our students were complimented on their attitude, approach and focus and, in addition to being superb ambassadors for their school, were the only set of students to find all four radio transmitter beacons during the competition. They received all three of the first place event medals presented by the chairman of the RSGB. Our brother participants secured two medals in this event. Autumn Sport News Congratulations to both our U14 Hockey and U16 Netball teams for going through to the next rounds in the National Qualifying Competitions as runners-up in county competitions. Our girls had a great afternoon playing Bablake in Hockey and Netball. Our winning teams were: U13 Hockey, U14 a and b Netball and U12 a and b Netball. Our U18 girls drew against Bablake 15-15. Well done to all of our teams. Congratulations to King s High and Warwick School. In a joint gala with Warwick School against Repton, our girls won convincingly and our combined foundation schools score was 123 to Repton s 83. Old Girls Achievements Sarah Fitzmaurice Ogden Trust Award Winner It has just been announced that The Ogden Trust has awarded an Undergraduate Science Scholarship, worth 1,500 per year, to Sarah Fitzmaurice to support her university course. We congratulate Sarah who is studying Physics at York. Bethan Irving Gertrude Bark Trust Award Winner Bethan Irving returned to King s a few days before she began her studies at The Guildhall School of Music in London to receive the Gertrude Bark Trust Bursary Award in recognition of her musical ability. John Brassington and Rosemary Toms, from the Trust, made the presentation. Helen Lawson Film Preview Director Helen Lawson s film for The Globe, A Summer Hamlet, is showing at Stratford Picture House as part of the Shakespeare Film Festival. It is being screened on Thursday 24 October at 5.20pm. The film was very well-received during its preview at the Isle of Wight Film Festival and was described, during the Hay Festival, as life-affirming. Helen was a first team hockey player, a keen singer, and went on to Oxford after King s. Tickets are available from the cinema.
Our Stellar 2013 Results A Level We are delighted to announce that our girls achieved an outstanding 87.6% A*-B grades at A Level this year. Twentysix girls attained one or more A*s which equates to 17.3% of our total grades. This is very impressive, as the national average for girls was only 7.4% in this category. Eighty-five candidates received A*-A, and the school achieved a 100% pass rate. Mrs Surber commented: We are very proud of our girls and their teachers for the hard work and diligence which are reflected in these excellent results. 11.4% 7.6% 7.6% 10.1% 22.8% 40.5% University Courses Arts and Humanities Engineering, Science and Technology Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science Media Communications and Business Law Languages Sciences and Engineering are thriving at King s with over 50% of our pupils going to read Aero Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Natural Sciences and Psychology, Medicine and Veterinary Sciences. Humanities and Creative Arts continue to flourish with girls reading subjects such as Music, History of Art, English Literature, History, Classics and Modern Languages. Eight school departments succeeded in achieving 100% grades A*-B for ALL their students; these were Art, Drama, Economics, English Literature, Further Maths, History, Music and Religious Studies. GCSE Our girls celebrated, with their teachers, a galaxy of A* and A grades again this year. 2013 marked a banner year with results topping even those of 2012. An outstanding 80.2% of grades attained were A*-A, with 87 of our 103 candidates having achieved five or more A*- A grades. An impressive 97.3% of all grades recorded were A*-B. The girls achieved 99.9% for A*-C grades. Mrs Surber remarked: We are delighted with our exceptional GCSE results which confirm the talent, commitment and focus of our girls and their teachers. These results complement our stellar A Level results, with even stronger results achieved across the board over last year. Academic achievement is flourishing at King s High. Seven students also achieved the top A grade in the Free Standing Mathematics Qualification which is set at a higher level than GCSE. Additionally, our girls attained 98% A*-B in IGCSE Double Award in Science. Nine of our departments achieved 100% A*-B grades; we congratulate Drama, English Literature, French, Geography, Food Technology, IT, Maths, Music and Religious Studies. We are immensely proud of our girls.