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A Message from Mr Southee

The Summer Term hit its stride this week with various residentials, cricket fixtures in the sun and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions all happening. I was lucky enough to attend the Cornwall Choir Trip Showcase on Wednesday evening and witnessed some incredible music as well as some brilliant anecdotes from the trip. It was so exciting to see the fun times everyone had and to wonder at the memories being made on the other residentials this week. I am proud of the way the children conduct themselves outside of the school setting, representing the school with respect and most of all personality. We are proud of every individual that comes through Duke of Kent School, ensuring they keep the essence of who they are and enhancing it to become stand up members of the community. I cannot wait to hear more stories next week from those away this week!

Mr Southee

Year 9 WW1 Battlefields Trip 

On Sunday, Year 9 travelled to Belgium and France to explore the battlefields of the First World War, building on their classroom studies. In Ypres, they visited the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, Tyne Cot Cemetery, and attended the moving Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate. At Tyne Cot, two pupils located the name of their ancestor, Private Thomas Crow, among the 35,000 missing soldiers commemorated there.

After a night in northern France, the group visited the Somme battlefields. At Serre, pupils reenacted the experiences of the ‘Pals’ battalions, and many discovered original wartime remains. They paid tribute at a cemetery, including the grave of 16-year-old Horace Iles, before visiting Newfoundland Park and the Thiepval Memorial. The evening featured a hands-on artefacts session, including a uniform demonstration and discussion of women’s roles in the war.

On Tuesday, pupils returned to Ypres to explore Sanctuary Wood’s preserved trenches. They also examined gas warfare and reenacted scenes from Gassed by John Singer Sargent, alongside readings of war poetry such as Dulce et Decorum Est.

Alongside the learning, pupils enjoyed downtime and activities such as football, the odd cafe and motorbike (game) racing on the ferry. The trip was a very memorable and meaningful experience and I hope the pupils perhaps reflect on this visit for many years to come.

Mr Lodge
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PA News

ISA Musical Theatre National Finals

Huge congratulations to Ethan N and Harvey R in Year 10, who competed yesterday at Gosfield School in Essex in the National Finals of the ISA Musical Theatre Competition. Competing against 14 other finalists from across the country, most of whom were 6th form pupils, the boys performed superbly. They presented a highly amusing and characterful rendition of 'Agony' from 'Into The Woods' by Stephen Sondheim and were without question the audience's favourite! Despite not placing in the medals they did us proud and won an army of fans from the other competitors. A big thank you to Miss Barnes for coaching and preparing them for the competition.

Choir Trip Showcase

It was lovely to share the Senior Choir's Cornwall performance with parents and friends this week at the Showcase Evening on Wednesday. The audience witnessed the choir in full flow, and then we all sat back and enjoyed the slideshow of photos and videos from the trip. Only a few of the pulls (and staff) were embarrassed! But overall it was a lovely revisit of a wonderful trip. Please click the link below to watch highlights video put together by Mr Rye.

https://youtu.be/7Tl51TzL5f0

House Music Finalists Concert

Next Friday is a chance for parents to come and watch what their children performed at the House Music finals  last term. The event starts at 7pm in the PA Hall and there will be refreshments available in Old Hall from 6.30pm. An email will go out to those involved.

Mr Rye

Girls Year 10 and 11 House Cricket Matches

On a bright, sunny Tuesday, Year 10 and 11 Girls took part in their House Cricket competition. Matches were played in a positive spirit, with some strong batting and bowling on display in this first fixture of the season, along with exciting run-outs and impressive catches.

There were some very close matches, Peregrine and Hawk scored equal runs but Peregrine clinched the win after taking more wickets. Overall, Buzzard were crowned winners, finishing four points ahead of Kestrel in second place, with Peregrine third and Hawk fourth.

It was a happy and memorable afternoon, made even more significant for the Year 11s as it was their final house match. 

Mrs Dann

Speeding in Local Villages

Unfortunately we have seen an increase in traffic speeds through the local villages around pick up and drop off times. It is so important that speed limits are adhered to, ensuring that we play a part in our community in keeping everyone safe. The 20mph in Peaslake is in place to ensure stopping distances are reduced in an area where many children from our community live and play. We kindly request that all drivers respect the speed limits and drive with care on our local roads. Please look out for some resources created by our pupils on this important topic.

Mr Southee

This week has been full of exciting learning across Pre-prep and the Prep School! Reception has been exploring both 2D and 3D shapes, alongside learning about the fascinating life cycle of frogs. Year 2 have continued their creative work on the Great Fire of London, experimenting with marbling and silhouettes to produce some very effective finished pieces.

It has been noticeably quieter in the Prep corridor without Year 4, but we are delighted to hear that they are having a fantastic time on their trip to the New Forest and the Isle of Wight.

In Year 3, pupils have been investigating how plant stems work. As part of their experiment, they added blue dye to water and placed white flowers into it. After just 30 minutes, they observed that the flowers had turned blue—an exciting demonstration of how water travels through plants.

Year 5 pupils have begun their local history study of Guildford and have also begun their new RS unit of work with some independent research on Judaism, while Year 6 has been exploring mathematical equivalence by using different types of leaves to create number lines showing fractions, decimals, and percentages. In Design and Technology, Year 6 has also been busy constructing cardboard clock models inspired by different art movements. Their next step will be to use design software on their Chromebooks to create clock designs that can be cut out using a laser cutter.

We have also enjoyed two excellent pupil talks this week - one from Willow B, Georgia C and Izzy W about Katy Perry and another from Lily C and Logan H about our school equestrian team. We look forward to hearing how the team performs at their upcoming show in Wisborough Green.

Well done to everyone for another productive and engaging week! Wishing you all a good rest and lots of fun over the bank holiday weekend.

Stars of the Week

Nursery: Max M for showing such kindness and empathy to his peers and for trying really hard with his counting.

Frankie G for working with greater independence and making super progress with maths.

Reception: Imogen W for great independent writing and continuing to inspire others with your artwork!

Ollie S for your knowledge of shape names and the relationship between 2-d and 3-d shapes.

Year 1: Ellie F for becoming more independent in your work and your sentence writing is improving. I would love to see this continue to grow.

Oscar P for putting in a fantastic effort in class and making excellent progress, especially in Maths, so keep up your strong perseverance. 

Year 2: Millie M for being super positive and enthusiastic towards every area of school life! You’ve been on a roll with Maths this week - reasoning with great confidence and independence! 

Hector E For demonstrating wonderful independence in school life and maturity when navigating friendships.

Swimmer of the Week

Imogen W for super listening, you are now making progress putting your face in the water and keeping a streamlined position.

Mrs Nicholson 

What a fantastic spell of sunny weather we’ve had, with the summer term now well underway!

Year 9 enjoyed an incredibly meaningful Battlefields trip. The places they explored, the acts of remembrance, and the powerful insights gained made for a deeply impactful experience.

On Monday afternoon, our Year 10 students participated in mock interviews led by members of the school community, who kindly volunteered their time to guide and support them. This was an excellent opportunity for pupils to develop their communication skills and benefit from individualised feedback. The interviewers were full of praise, highlighting the students’ strong eye contact, well-considered answers, and confident handshakes.

Year 10 also attended an assembly led by our Year 11 student leaders, who shared their thoughts on what makes an effective leader, why these qualities are important, and who inspires them personally. We look forward to seeing members of Year 10 step into these roles, as the application process for next year’s leadership positions begins shortly.

At the same time, several Year 10 pupils are currently undertaking their Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition in the South Downs. With just one day to go, they have already demonstrated excellent navigation skills, along with some surprisingly impressive cooking abilities!

Mr Wyllie

What Parents & Educators need to know about Image-Altering Filters

Image-altering filters are now embedded in everyday online interactions, from playful effects to more subtle appearance-enhancing tools. This guide examines how these features can influence perceptions of beauty and reality, particularly for children and young people navigating social media. It highlights how filtered content can quietly shape expectations and online behaviours.

Focusing on risks such as low self-esteem, social pressure and hidden advertising, the guide also addresses more serious concerns like blurred boundaries between real and altered images. It provides supportive, practical advice to help parents and educators build media literacy, encourage confidence and promote healthier relationships with online content

Click the link to learn more about "Image-Altering Filters".

Mr Monk

The observant amongst you may have seen colourful rocks appearing around the site this week. The rocks were designed and painted by pupils from across the school during our Wellbeing day in February last term. They have ventured outside now the weather is less torrential!

The positive messages and colourful images have been designed to bring a smile or brighten someone’s day. A reminder that there is light even when things feel heavy or dark.

Hopefully, they will serve to bring some positivity to pupils, parents, staff and visitors, when they are not expecting it. It is worth remembering that we are all capable of bringing that positivity for somebody else even though we may not know they need it.

A small gesture of kindness, like a smile, opening the door or helping someone pick up a dropped item, can be enough for someone to remember the kindness that exists in the world. Similarly, a compliment, ‘hello’ or ‘how are you?’, lets people know that they are seen and relevant to somebody else.

Kindness costs us nothing but it can bring us untold rewards in the sense of having taken action to support someone else and having made a difference to them. It can also help us to feel more positive about our own situations.

Continue to spread kindness in little ways and I hope you enjoy discovering the rocks and taking something from the messages they display.

Mrs Douglas

We are three residential trips into the summer term; six to go!  A couple of reminders for pupils yet to attend their residential trip:

1) Please deliver all your medications/vitamins/creams etc to Mrs Sarjant in the medical room on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays at least a week prior to departure (Years 3, 7 & 8, please deliver medications to school before the half term break, starting next week. Year 11 medications for staff administration should be delivered before study leave starts next Friday).  Medication should be in the original packaging with pharmacy label showing and within the expiry date.  We will pack any pupil medications that we already hold at school in the relevant first aid bag (for example travel nausea medications, spare inhalers).

2) If a pupil is feeling physically unwell on the morning of departure, please do not be tempted to dose them up with calpol and send them on the trip regardless. Not only will they really not enjoy the experience of being unwell away from home, but they may also pose an infection control risk to the rest of pupils and staff in attendance.  Any illness that arises during the trip will be managed by trip staff as best possible (there is a plentiful supply of over the counter "if needed" remedies such as paracetamol, ibuprofen and cetirizine packed for each residential trip).

3) Please notify Mrs Sarjant (csarjant@dokschool.org) of any health developments/medication changes/additions with plenty of notice before your child's trip departs so that paperwork and resources can be updated accordingly.

Any questions or concerns, please contact Chloe Sarjant (csarjant@dokschool.org)

Have a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend!

The School Nurses

PADoK News

Summer Ball – Friday 12th June – Tickets selling fast

Why: We’re marking 50 years of Duke of Kent School with a spectacular Summer Ball!

Where: Join us at Hurtwood Polo Club for a night filled with great food, live music, and plenty of celebration.

Tickets: £35.  Your ticket includes:

  • Welcome drink
  • Entertainment
  • Wonderful food
  • Live music from Mr Rye’s band

Book your tickets at padok@dokschool.org with your child’s name and year group. 

PADoK Second Hand Uniform Shop

Due to Stevenson’s currently undergoing a refurbishment, we have decided to open the shop a few times over the coming weeks.

Wednesday 6th May from 3 – 4pm

Friday 15th May from 8 – 9am

Please note that we do sell school shoes, trainers, football boots and astroturf trainers, which are boxed in sizes.

PADoK Clubs:

Duke of Kent School Flyers – Netball training 

A link to the WhatsApp group should have been sent out by your Class Rep.  Please join if you are interested in starting to play netball, we are looking for new players so please do come along.  The WhatsApp group will publish when and where they are training as it varies.  Come along for lots of laughter, exercise & fun.  Everyone welcome!   Contact Tara at padok@dokschool.org.

Duke of Kent School Singers

Tuesday 5th May 08.20 – 09.00.

🎤 Come sing with us! The Duke of Kent Singers are looking for new voices, male & female. Whether you’re a seasoned singer or just curious, you’ll fit right in. ✨ Friendly group ✨ No pressure ✨ Tuesday mornings with Mr Rye & Cathy Come along, have fun, and make music with us.

Please do come along, it is a very relaxed and welcoming choir.

📅 When: Every Tuesday from 08:20 to 09.00

📍 Where: Meetings Room off Old Hall.  Contact Cathy Williams -padok@dokschool.org

Important Note: please always park at the bottom of the site and walk up to Old Hall.

PADoK Book Club

We are reading The Names by Florence Knapp, and we will meet later in the term to discuss the book.  Here is a summary of the story:

It is 1987, and in the wake of a great storm, Cora sets out with her young daughter to register the birth of her son. Her husband expects her to follow tradition and call the baby after him - but is it right for her child to inherit his name from generations of domineering men? Her choice will shape the course of their lives.

Seven years later, her son is Bear, a name chosen by his sister, hoping he will grow up to be brave and big-hearted. Or he is Julian, the name his mother set her heart on, keen for him to become his own person. Or he is Gordon, named after his father and raised in his cruel image - but is there still a chance to break the mould?

Powerfully moving and full of hope, this is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark.

A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, INDEPENDENT, IRISH MAIL ON SUNDAY, COSMOPOLITAN AND MANY MORE | A READ WITH JENNA AND HAPPY PLACE BOOKCLUB PICK

Senior School optional hoodie

The Senior School hoodies have been redesigned by members of the School Council and the finished product can be seen below. They have done a fantastic job at putting this design together and now finally getting to see the finished product.

This new hoodie is available from Stevenson's on their website: https://www.stevensons.co.uk/.  There is also the option to have your child's initials printed onto the front of the hoodie for a slight additional cost, something we would advise, to avoid mixing up tops with other pupils. This hoodie is not an essential item of School uniform, so there is no expectation for pupils to have it.

If you wish to see the sample, please pop into the Main Office and have a look.

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