A Message from Mrs Knox

Thank you to our Board of Governors who joined us today to participate in a Learning Walk around the School. Right from Nursery to GCSE classes, the Governors were engaged in all lessons, learning, for example, how a microprocessor works in Year 10, how animals stay warm in winter with Nursery children, how to calculate fractions with Year 3 and learning the past tense in French and all about the Parisian Catacombs with Year 6. The Governors commented how engaged the pupils were in the lessons, persevering really well in their learning and giving things a go when asked to tackle challenging work. They were also highly complimentary about our brilliant teaching staff who go that extra mile every single day not only setting high expectations but also focusing on forging positive relationships with all children. A really valuable day for all. 

I thoroughly enjoyed having Afternoon Tea this week with Year 7 and hearing all about what they have enjoyed, what they found tricky when joining or making the transition from Prep School to Senior School and what they are looking forward to over their time at Duke of Kent School. Thank you for joining me Year 7.

Mrs Knox

The French Exchange

Last week saw our GCSE French pupils finally rekindle the exchange programme with the Lycée Bossuet that we started before Covid. They spent a week living with French families, attending French school and exploring Meaux (a town about half an hour from Paris, most famous for its Brie and cathedral) and the delights of Paris. The host families offered our students extraordinarily warm hospitality: weekend excursions included a trip to Rouen Cathedral, visiting the Eiffel Tour by night, Disneyland and even a ride in a Ferrari... (not on the risk assessment...)! As well as playing a key role in English lessons, our pupils participated in French science, history and Latin lessons, to name but a few, and we were all treated to a special lunch at the school for everyone involved in the exchange programme. As a group, we enjoyed an historical tour of Meaux and a visit to the world-renowned War Museum there and trips to Paris to soak up the incredible artwork and architecture at the Musée d'Orsay and the Opéra Garnier, as well as a bike tour of the city. The pupils took every experience in their stride and have returned to Duke of Kent School with revitalised enthusiasm for the French language, as well as confidence in their understanding. We are very proud of them. Huge thanks to Mr Rye for accompanying the trip and to the Lycée Bossuet for the warm welcome. We look forward to returning their hospitality in March! 

Miss Francis

Year 8 Trip to the National Army Museum

On the anniversary of King Charles I's trial in 1649 Year 8 explored the National Army Museum to reinforce our learning about the English Civil War in the 1640s. As told by some of the pupils, this is what happened.....

My group got the musket men and we explained to the rest of the year how hard it was to reload the guns and how it would take at least 30 seconds to reload. Also, that the guns took so long to reload the musket men would just hit each other with the other side of the gun (Sam R). My favourite room was probably where a soldier on virtual reality taught us how to march, walk and act like a soldier also known as drill soldier (Ethan K). My group explored the museum and Mr Lodge explained about each army hat and showed us his own one (Edie H). I learnt about nuclear explosions and the clothes scientists used to wear when they were testing nuclear bombs to protect themselves. I also went into the area called “the road to recovery”. I learnt about loads of people who struggled with their disabilities and how they did amazing things like compete at the paralympics (Tildy C). Thank you to Mr Lodge, Mr Southee, Mr Monk, Mr Boden and Mr Garrood for coming with us. We had a fantastic time! (Iona H).

GCSE Drama Trips

It's been a creative few days for the GCSE Drama pupils! On Thursday Year 10 and 11 saw The Crucible and on Tuesday Year 10 visited The Yvonne Arnaud in Guildford to see John Godbers ‘Teechers’.

The story takes place at Whitewall, a struggling comprehensive school that’s failed its inspection! The school bells’ been stolen and they can’t afford a new one. The football A team has lost 67-0 and the teachers are all suffering from post traumatic stress! Enter Miss Nixon, a new drama teacher with fire in her belly, a lesson for the elite and a well ‘sick’ Tik Tok! ‘Teechers’ is a comedy about education for the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots” 

‘Teachers Leavers ‘22’ brought to life an array of terrifying teachers and hopeless pupils all performed by just three actors. Hilarious and high energy and featuring an up-to-date music soundtrack, the three-person cast were wonderful, as they played every character, swapping and changing seemingly effortlessly. The energy never slipped, the characterisation was wonderful and our Year 10’s could not help but be inspired by the commitment and focus of the cast. We have no doubt that this performance will positively influence their upcoming GCSE devising component.     

Mrs Honey and Mrs Punter

Year 5 have followed up last week's WWII themed visit to 'Milestones' with further study of the period, specifically The Blitz; they even practised an air raid drill! Their reading of 'Goodnight, Mr Tom' continues to inspire, and this week they embraced their inner journalists, writing a newspaper article about Chamberlain's declaration of war. Year 2 have completed their letters to pen pals in Malawi and also learnt how exercise and a balanced diet helps keep us healthy. Over the past few weeks, Year 4 have been playing detective in English lessons and finally solved the mysterious case of the missing Koh-i-Poor diamond, with the help of super sleuth, Feargal Fly. They created detailed evidence folders and were thrilled to hunt down the mastermind - it's safe to say we have some future detectives in our midst! 

In Reception, Maths has focused on measurement this week and the children headed outside to use trundle wheels to see just how tall and long the dinosaurs really were! Inspired and suitably awestruck, they returned to class to paint their prehistoric junk model creations - there is some truly remarkable creativity on show! Not to be outdone, Nursery have also been scaling up their learning, making life size penguins, as well as showing keen scientific curiosity in their blubber experiment that helped them discover how animals keep warm in the Arctic. Lastly, in less freezing, but no less choppy waters, our crew of 'Plastic Pirates' have been working very hard learning new songs and dance routines for next month's Prep Production. Excitement is starting to build as the play takes shape and there is much talk of costumes and unusual props. Sincere thanks to parents for any assistance you can give with costumes at home! 

Aloud and Proud Readers: Halle S and Ivy B

Mr Wright

Stars of the Week

Nursery - Jacob G for settling happily into Nursery life and demonstrating greater independence in class.

Emilia V D B for settling into Nursery happily, and with such enthusiasm throughout the day.

Reception - Theodora J for lovely imaginative play and a fantastic junk model of a Triceratops!

Year 1 - Maddie C for her magnificent English work, specifically using commas in her work without any adult help.

Year 2 - Jack M for excellent focus and efforts in English writing 

Mrs Henry

The Year 10 Drama pupils went to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford on Tuesday to watch a performance of 'Teechers', a parody of school life highlighting some appalling pupil behaviour and questionable staff conduct to boot! A thoroughly entertaining evening and joyous throughout. This morning (Friday) the four houses have been busily working on their House Song, organising solos, instrumentals and musical arrangements to ensure theirs stands out when performed during House Music in the second half of term. I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us this year and have no doubt the final performances will be spectacular. We are also looking forward to welcoming GB Hockey player Lucy Wood to Duke of Kent School this afternoon and anticipate her sharing some enlightening insights into the sport with a number of pupils later today.

The following have all been invited to attend Celebration Snack Break this morning having accrued 25 merits so far this academic year. They will receive a fastpass to skip the lunch queue as well as an item of Duke of Kent School stationery as a prize. Well done to you all; Patrick W (Year 7), Monty L, Chris M, Jobe M, Henry R (Year 8), Phoebe A, Oscar H, Jake L (Year 9), Josh E, Ozzie H, Ava W and Freddie W (Year 10).

Mr Wilson

Netball: U15/16 v. Farlington

On Tuesday our U15/16 Netball team faced a strong team from Farlington. Macy B, Tilly C and Frankie M and our shooters, Maddie I and Alex K, worked rally well together creating lots of opportunities and their accuracy on target was exceptional. Farlington kept the pace of the game high with strong and accurate passes but our defenders; Abi W, Ava W, Jas K and Imogen C made great interceptions and were working hard to close down open space and keep players working hard. The final score was a nail-biting 17-16 to Farlington. Well played girls, it was a brilliant match, and you all played really well.

Mrs Woolgar

Netball: U14/15 v. Moon Hall School

On Tuesday afternoon, nine girls in Years 9 & 10 made the journey to Moon Hall School to play netball in the quite glorious, but rather chilly, sunshine! The team were in great spirits on the bus and enjoyed singing, loudly, to the songs on the radio! Once we arrived, the girls quickly got warmed up and were ready to go. The team got off to a great start with Rose S and Daisy R working brilliantly together to score goals for the team. It was important to keep the momentum going as we went into the next few quarters. Annabelle R took control in C, with a variety of players being involved as wings, including Sophie R who made countless interceptions at WD! Towards the end of the match, the team managed to string together some beautiful passes down the court and the goals just kept on coming! It was great to see the whole team enjoy their netball and play so well as a group. Well done on a very well deserved, 15-5, win!! 

Miss Vickers

Netball: U13 A v. Dorset House

On Wednesday the girls travelled to Dorset House for their netball match. It was an incredibly even match with both teams making fantastic interceptions and keeping the goal scoring low. In the second quarter, Dorset House made up for this with a great run of goals, and we just couldn't quite stop them. In the final two quarter, Duke of Kent School had a reshuffle of positions and really focused on making accurate passes and using every opportunity to score when the ball made it into the circle. The final score was 10-8 to Dorset House. It was a fantastic game, and although we lost, the girls all worked especially hard to narrow the ga in the score line and in the final quarter stopped Dorset House from scoring at all. Well played girls.

Mrs Woolgar

Netball: U12/13 B v. Dorset House

On Wednesday afternoon, the U12/13 B team travelled to Dorset House for their third netball match of the season. After a good warm up and quick team talk, the match got underway. It was a very close game with end to end play, after 2 quarters the U12/13B team were just 1 goal ahead. It was all to play for and the girls continued to work tirelessly to intercept and move the ball at speed, particularly Lucy P and Esme P. Iona H, later voted for the girl of the game, worked well with Isabella N as shooters with the support of Poppy F and Molly F in C and WA. The girls had a particularly strong third quarter and went 6-3 up. In the final quarter, the defenders in the team, Isla W, Erin C and Rose S, managed to maintain the pressure on Dorset House. A huge well done to the whole team and in particular the girls who kindly volunteered to play for Dorset House as they were a few players short. Well done on a 7-4 victory girls! 

Miss Vickers

Tuesday saw the U14s have their first rugby match of the year. We were hosting Belmont and Kingswood House in a triangular tournment. First up, Duke of Kent School played Belmont and started brightly scoring the first try of the match. Duke of Kent School were able to keep their strong tackling and good passing going throughout the game to keep the pressure on Belmont. This resulted in us winning the first game 5 tries to 3 with a fantastic team performace with everyone contributing with some great tackling and try scoring. Next up Duke of Kent School played Kingswood House with us starting on the back foot but we soon managed to control the game. This ended with Duke of Kent School winning 6 tries to 1. Well done to all of the boys involved as it was a brilliant afternoon with them all showing speed and control running with the ball and confidence when going in contact situations.  

Mr Green

Mr Green

Rugby: U10 v. Cottesmore

On Wednesday, the U10 boys rugby team travelled to Cottesmore. The game was evenly matched with both teams working hard throughout. Duke of Kent School had some fantastic attacking play with some great tries being scored, particularly one from Hubert S where he was running down the side line and dived into score while being tackled, he touched the ball down to score while the rest of his body was in mid air, an amazing bit of athleticism on display. Alfie H, Arthur S and Freddie G also made some great plays in both attack and defence. Well played to everyone involved and keep building on the teamwork on display. 

Mr Orme 

House Music

The House Music competition is in full swing and plenty of pupils have done their first round audition. HOWEVER, there are still plenty of pupils who have signed up but are yet to audition, and the cut off date is next Wednesday! So please get those auditions done with Mr Rye ASAP! Remember, 5 House points are awarded to everyone who auditions in the first round.  Also, we have nearly confirmed the House Music judge so watch this space!

G Live

Our annual combined schools concert at G Live is fast approaching, on Wednesday 8th March at 7pm. As usual we are taking a large number of pupils from the Prep and Senior Schools to participate and it promises to be the entertaining evening it always is. Tickets are now available through the school, priced at £12.50 each. Please email bookings@dokschool.org to reserve your seats. There is no limit so bring the whole family if you like!

Song Academy Young Songwriter Competition

The Young Songwriter 2023 competition is now OPEN for entries.

Calling all young people aged 8-18 who love songwriting, singing, music, composing and creative writing to enter their original songs by 31st March 2023.  It’s an inspiring goal for all musical and creative pupils.

In its 13th year The Young Songwriter 2023 (SAYS23) competition is the world’s leading songwriting competition for young aspiring songwriters, aged 8-18 (under 19 years), to get their songs heard by leaders in the industry & connect to a talented community of young songwriters aged 8-18 across the world – both aspiring young songwriters who already have some experience, and those writing their first song!

If any of the pupils are interested then please get in touch with Mr Rye. nrye@dokschool.org

Mr Rye

12 Top Tips for Building Cyber Resilience at Home

In the last couple of decades, the volume of online traffic has increased exponentially – but, by and large, people’s awareness of the accompanying risks hasn’t grown along with it. To illustrate the scale of the issue, consider this: a report by the Internet Crime Complaint Centre found that, in the US during 2020, there was a successful cyber-attack every second. Yes: every second.

Criminals continue to find new and devious ways to attempt to hijack our online transactions and harvest our private information. To them, the smart devices that many of us now use as standard at home are simply a convenient back door into our lives – and our networks. Check out our guide for advice on beefing up your household’s cyber resilience. In the guide you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as how to use a password manager, how to back up your data and how to check for breaches.

Click on the link to find out more information about "12 Top Tips for Building Cyber Resilience at Home".

Mr Boden

February marks LGBT+ History Month and so this week (and for the rest of the month) the Link at school has been decorated to remind pupils of this. It is an opportunity to reflect on the contributions of LGBT+ artists, scientists, inventors, musicians, mathematicians and more who have made incredible and valuable contributions to our society. As well as recognising that these contributions have not always been fully embraced. Ensuring that future generations continue moving toward a period of love and acceptance of all, is vital for the peace of our world.

For our pupils, an appreciation of the diverse and multi-layered nature of society and our own community is an important part of their education as citizens of the world. Citizens who are able to appreciate different views, tastes and lifestyles to their own and respecting others’ freedom of choice.

It is also an opportunity for every member of our school community to feel represented.  We want every pupil to be seen as valued, included and visible, simply part of the rich diversity of our community. 

In recognition of this, Tuesday the 7th of February marks the first meeting of our LGBT+ Forum at Duke of Kent School. This will be a half-termly meeting in the Wellbeing Room for any pupils interested in discussing issues relating to the LGBT+ community or simply an opportunity to chat in a ‘safe’ space. I look forward to seeing some of our pupils there with a view to how they would like to steer this group moving forward.

I hope it will be another step towards all pupils feeling represented and important at Duke of Kent School.

Mrs Douglas

We are experiencing increased levels of illness at school as we head towards half term, which is entirely normal.  Some of the bugs doing the rounds are taking a while for pupils to recover from, and can result in lengthy episodes of fatigue or recurrent episodes of fever or headache.  Please continue to communicate with your child's Form Tutor via email each day (preferably by 08.20am), if your child is not fit for school for whatever reason - e.g. fever of 37.8+ or general ill health.  It's also very helpful if you cc the office office@dokschool.org and the school nurses at nurse@dokschool.org so that we know how your child is doing, monitor infections across the school population, and can manage expectations regarding their return to school.  Pupils who are off sick are encouraged to rest and recover at home and not attempt to catch up on school work until they are fit to return.

If you are unsure on our infection control policy regarding how long children should stay off school for various illnesses, it's easy to find the relevant information on the NHS website - just google the relevant infection. For example, search "NHS Conjunctivitis".  Scroll down, and it will tell you if a child should stay at home from school, and how long for (pupils with conjunctivitis for example have no requirement to stay at home).  A reminder that cases of vomiting and/or diarrhoea are required to stay away from school for 48 hours after the last episode.  

We are aware that some of our community have recently tested positive for Covid-19.  It continues to not be a government requirement to test for Covid.  However, do be aware that if someone chooses to take a test and the result is positive, that we should be informed in the Medical Room at school, and the government advice should be followed.  Children should stay at home for three days (starting from the day after the positive test) and adults for five days.  It is therefore advisable to test as early on into the illness as possible if you really feel a test is necessary, in order to facilitate a return to school or work as soon as possible.

Finally, a gentle reminder to please provide your child with their own supply of throat lozenges (and tissues) if they feel the need for them, and not rely on medical room emergency supplies, which are dwindling rapidly!  All pupils should be carrying a full water bottle to school so that they can lubricate their throats regularly with sips of water.

Thank you all, and we hope that all pupils who are at home poorly, rest up and make a swift recovery.

The School Nurses

PADoK News

A Taste of Burns 

What a fabulous night we had on Friday at “A Taste of Burns”.  Guests (in their “touch of tartan”) were greeted by our brilliant piper at the entrance to Old Hall, where they had a complimentary glass of fizz and some delicious canapés.  We were then led by the piper over to the PA Hall where Mrs Hamer-Hodges welcomed us and gave a speech about Robert Burns.  The Haggis then arrived and the ceremonies began.  The piper, Mrs Hamer-Hodges and Mr Hanvey (our school Head Chef) paraded the Haggis around the hall for all to see.  Mr Hamer-Hodges gave the Address to the Haggis, and we all toasted it with a wee dram. 

Mr Hanvey and his great catering team fed us very well with Haggis, neeps and tatties before the dancing began.  The Ceilidh band were great and put us through our paces as we attempted to Scottish Reel!   We all got there in the end and danced and laughed all evening. Thank you to those who came and we hope you had a great night.

Huge thanks must go to Mr and Mrs Hamer-Hodges for putting together such a fun night and guiding the PADoK team.  Thanks also to the rest of the committee, Mrs Cocking and Mrs Williams for all their hard work.  To all those who worked bar shifts and helped with the set up and clear up, a big thank you, your efforts were much appreciated.  To Mr Hanvey and team for providing us with such delicious food.  To the school for all their help and for accommodating us so patiently. 

PADoK Book Club

We would love you to join the PADoK Book Club next month.  We are currently reading “Snow Country” the new novel from the bestselling author Sebastian Faulks.  “Snow Country” moves from doomed love to post-war Vienna, and The Times described the book as 'Fascinating... A rich, dark story'.  It has also been described as “a superb novel, a love story of enormous emotional weight and a portrait of Europe torn apart”.  If you are not fee to join us but want to be part of the Book Club, we would love for you to read the book and send in your comments to us to share on the night.

Duke of Kent School Singers

A fab session this week with lots of enthusiasm within the group talking about the songs we love to sing. A fantastic mix of genres. Mr Rye is kindly guiding us towards what is a good blend for our voices and of course what is achievable in our half an hour, once a week! 

As always please do remember that there is never any pressure to perform, no set plan to unless we want to. Our focus is always on enjoying singing and getting the most out of our time together.

This week we had a go at a version of John Legend’s,  ‘All of Me’ in a two part harmony. We have great backing tracks and music we can learn from. We also talked about Sara Bareilles, ‘Brave’ and touched on the idea of ‘Africa’ by Toto which we started before lockdown a few years ago and sadly never finished. Also, a mention of ‘It must be Love’ by Madness and the Beatles, ‘All you Need is Love’. A lot was covered! 

Huge thanks to all who come along and make the sessions so much fun. The group is a very fluid mix of past and present parents. Everyone is welcome to join at any time and we have a WhatsApp group you can dip in and out of as you’d like to. Please feel free to contact me directly if you are interested or have any queries rhodricathy@sky.com / 07813 282910. 

We would absolutely love to have some male voices coming more regularly. If you’re out there even slightly thinking about it, please come along and give it a go! 

Already looking forward to next week and then a great term of singing together after the half-term break! 

PADoK Running Technique

Running Technique Club: Week three of our technique focused on mat work (inside the warm Sports Hall!) and we took five key running core exercises : side-plank, single leg bridge, plank, mountain climbers, and skipping for one minute.  Each of these seemingly basic exercises targets key running muscle groups and benefits from repetition. 

Do join us for more running technique exercises and core work. Please email julia@therunningspecialists.com if you wish to attend. If you have a Pilates mat or thick towel to lie on please bring this for the next couple of weeks sessions, happy running.

Mrs Phillips

Senior School Optional Hoodie

The Senior School hoodies have redesigned by members of the School Council and the finished product can be seen above.  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 to see me and have a look at the new hoodie.

Mrs Woolgar

School Social Media

At Duke of Kent School we have three social media platforms; Instagram (dukeofkentschool), Twitter (@DoKSchool) and Facebook (Duke of Kent School). All of our social media accounts are public.

We recommend following all three accounts to receive push notifications with news, updates, educational articles, interactions with other schools, communities and public figures.

Mrs Woolgar