Jazz Night

On Friday 5th May we are delighted to welcome back Frank Walden and his amazing quartet to the school for another evening of jazz. These are always wonderful events and this year promises to be no different. As an added bonus this year, we are going to invite a few of our GCSE Music pupils to come along and play as well, and also a few of our alumni pupils will be coming back to perform. It promises to be an evening of joyful music making from pupils, past and present, along with some of London's top jazz musicians.

The evening is BYOB and tickets are priced at £15 each and will be added to the end of term bill. Email bookings@dokschool.org to reserve your place. 

Mr Rye

'Windows into Learning'

On Friday last week, we held our very first 'Windows into Learning' event, inviting parents of Prep pupils into the department to learn more about how we teach Maths. The session began with an introductory talk from Mr Wright, Mrs Nicholson and Mr Gritton, including information about the curriculum, demonstrations of some of the resources used in lessons and explanations of teaching strategies and mathematical methodologies. Parents even had the chance to be the pupils, first by themselves - which caused quite some anxiety in the room! - and then with the much-needed help of their children, as they joined them in their classrooms. Tasks they tackled ranged from geometrical matching pairs to multiplication Connect4. The pupils absolutely loved sharing their knowledge with their parents, and those of their friends, and we look forward to hosting another 'Windows into Learning' in the Autumn Term.

Mr Wright

Easter Assembly

On Monday the Reverend Rosemary Mason gave an Easter address to the Prep and Senior Schools. Entering to a fanfare from John Williams, familiar to many as the theme from Star Wars, she summarised the Star Wars story with special emphasis on the death of the Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi. In this story Obi-Wan's spirit lived on, inspiring other heroes in the film. She drew a parallel from this tale to that of Jesus Christ who, having been crucified, rose again and whose spirit has of course continued to inspire Christian believers to this day. The story of Christ's death was (and is) a highly poignant one of tragedy but also of bravery and triumph. This was told by Rev'd Rosemary in her quiet yet compelling way. Credit is also due to those Prep and Senior students who were willing to answer her questions in the assembly. Rev'd Rosemary continued the story with the Pre-Prep children who were of course most enthused by the connection to Easter eggs and Hot Cross buns, noting the cross can represent both the Christian symbol and (when turned) a kiss! We thank her again for her time and message.

Mr Lodge

Stretch and Challenge Trip to The Sculpture Garden

On Monday a number of 'Stretch and Challenge' and prospective GCSE Art pupils visited The Sculpture Park in Fareham. This eclectic collection of pupils from Years 6 to 9 were met with an equally eclectic range of artwork and sculptures. These ranged from skeletons flying on a whale’s backbone to giant Cambodian gods,  abstract geometry to kinetic realism. Despite the poor weather there was plenty to wow even the dampest of artists.

Pupils created a continuous scroll of work in response to the collection. They explored the sculptures through a variety of drawing techniques and media, utilising, among others, tonal colour, continuous line and cross hatching - even being so resourceful as to use rainwater to turn their pens into watercolour brushes!

We were joined on the trip by pupils and teachers from Parkmead and Holy Trinity School as part of our Community Links programme. Despite some nerves at working alongside new pupils, everyone was soon sharing ideas, comparing work and offering each other tips.

Well done to all those who attended - an excellent day's artwork!

Mr Watson

Year 7 Charity Stalls

Throughout this term, Year 7 have been looking at how charities use persuasive techniques to encourage us to donate to their causes. This led into the pupils themselves creating their own charities or supporting a cause that they felt strongly about. Working in groups, they created posters, leaflets, TV adverts and pitches, all designed to persuade an audience; culminating in the Charity Stalls afternoon that we held last Friday. This was a chance for the groups to create a stall, using any materials that they had, to create something that was eye-catching and draw in their crowd. From ash on the table to a dog crate housing many a stuffed toy, the Year 6s who visited were enthused by all that they saw.

Next came the pitches. Each group delivered their pitches to a very discerning and tough audience comprising the prep and senior charity committees. It was their task to judge which pitch they believed was the most persuasive and who deserved the much sought after edible prize. The aforementioned prize went to a very deserving group. ‘Paws for Thought’, which was the mastermind of Harvey R, Patrick W and Elliott S impressed both of the committees with their enthusiasm and compassion.

A huge thank you to Mrs Nicholson for helping with the Prep School committee. It was an extremely chaotic, but fun and rewarding afternoon.

Mrs Punter and Mrs Rowley

Pre-prep Spring Concert

The PA Hall was full of dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes for our annual Pre-prep Spring Concert on Monday this week.

The theme was, you guessed it., dinosaurs! Each class sung their own dinosaur based song -  Nursery with 'Dinosaur Squeak', Reception with 'The Dinosaur Stomp', Year 1 with 'I Never Saw A Dinosaur' and Year 2 with 'Everybody walk the Dinosaur'.

Each class performed with joy and energy and all the pupils did so well to remember their words and their moves. There were brilliant solo performances from Willow B, Ottilie H, Rocket M, Daniel L, Obie M and George F and the cellos of Sienna d P, Archie H and Maddie C were in full flow. 

The concert ended with a grand finale of the song 'Roar' and it was certainly true that our Pre-prep pupils made their voices heard and sung their hearts out! Well done to all involved - it was a gorgeous way to end the term.

Click here to watch the show!

Mr Rye

Mother's Day Parties

The Mother's Day parties last week gave us an opportunity to welcome Pre-prep parents into their child's classroom. With tablecloths and doilies, cups and saucers, finger sandwiches and delicious cakes it all felt very civilised (not that it isn't usually so in Pre-prep), and many mums remarked on how well-behaved the children were, sitting sensibly on laps and generally hoovering up any treats on offer! In Reception, the children sang, "We love Mummy", and presented their mums with heart shaped keyrings and wonderful portraits worthy of any exhibition! Year 1 has baked cookies for their mummies, and gifted them candles that they had individually decorated. Year 2 children finally got to read out their Mother's Day poems which they had been working on eagerly for the past few weeks. Whilst listening to these masterpieces, the mums enjoyed home-made heart shaped pizzas and delicious cake. The children were also able to interview their mums, work on some Mother's Day riddles and show off the art and cards they had created for the occasion. They also recited a poem together about how grateful they are for their marvellous mums. Fun was definitely had by all! Nursery children had made tissue paper posies and a beautiful hand-printed canvas bag. There were also cuddles and laughs galore - well done everyone!

Mr Wright

Despite it being the last week of term, there has been little sense of things winding down in Prep and Pre-prep! I regularly marvel at the children's energy and - whilst it is true there are a few more tired limbs in the department - it is remarkable how they motivate and encourage each other to keep up their efforts. In my PSHE lesson with Year 5 yesterday, we made Family Feast pizzas, each pair excitedly creating a recipe for harmonious and loving homelife. Toppings included pineapple of forgiveness, empathetic pepperoni, quorn of honesty and memory-making mushrooms. Most importantly, they all thought love was an essential family requirement, albeit it represented by different ingredients! 

Congratulations this week to Arthur S and Alexander I who gave a talk to one of our Year 8 History classes all about The Great Fire of London; well done, boys! We have been promised a repeat performance in Prep Assembly after the Easter break. Elsewhere, it has been a week of assessments for many, helping teachers - and the pupils themselves - gauge what they have mastered or haven't quite grasped this term. The Attitude to Learning grades and Next Steps you have been sent out this week also help to inform the children, and you, how they are progressing, and in which areas they can improve further. As well as our Final Whole School Assembly, celebrating achievements across the School, the term ended in Pre-prep with a festival of springtime at the Easter Bonnet Parade. What a treat for the eyes it was, and the children (and staff) all looked suitably proud showing off their colourful creations. 

Looking ahead to next term, there is much to anticipate, from numerous class assemblies to the Pre-prep Summer Dance Show, and from trips galore to special events such as our Coronation celebrations. With all of this ahead of them - and far more besides - the children need to have at least some rest if they're going to apply themselves with the same dedication they have shown this term. Well done everyone, and enjoy the holidays!

Mr Wright

Another busy week to take us into the Easter Holidays with many pupils (and staff!) looking in need of some time to recharge the batteries! On Monday, Mr Watson took a Stretch and Challenge Trip to the Sculpture Garden where a select group, combined with pupils from two other local schools, had the opportunity to draw some of the sculptures and see the wonderful array of Art on show. Also on Monday, two teams of pupils went to Charters School to compete in the SATRO finals, doing themselves proud and exhibiting a fantastic array of ideas and proposals. That evening the Sports Department also ran an optional trip to Surrey Sports Park where a number of budding netballers had the opportunity to watch Surrey Storm comprehensively beat the Celtic Dragons in a sold out arena.

On Tuesday we celebrated the International Day Against Racism with informed, mature discussions taking place in Form Time on the reasons behind racism and our personal responsibility in the fight against such prejudice. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons were given over to a huge number of football, hockey and rugby matches taking place, allowing me to witness a comprehensive 9-0 victory in the U16 hockey match against Kingswood House.

As the term comes to a conclusion with our regular Friday end-of-term assembly I am sure many well-earned prizes will be awarded and I hope that all the pupils, prize-winners or otherwise, can reflect on the positive contributions they have made throughout this term. Have a wonderful Easter break.

Mr Wilson

Girls' U14/15 B Belmont Football Tournament

On Tuesday afternoon the U14/15 B girls travelled to Belmont for a football tournament. It was a great afternoon of football with all of the girls putting in a lot of effort to produce some good quality football. The girls made it through to the Plate after competing in the group stage and played in the 3rd and 4th place play offs. This was a great game with Isla B scoring the first goal and Abi W making a great run to score the second. Matty R was great in goal saving some great shots and Eva L and Bella S making tackles in defence. Frankie M, and Saoirse W were unstoppable in the canter field creating opportunities to score. Well done girls in placing third!  

Miss Arnold

Girls' U14/15 A - Belmont Football Tournament 

On Tuesday afternoon, the U14/15 A team made the short trip to Belmont for their annual girls' football tournament. They had a tough first match against Box Hill, the eventual winners of the tournament. The team started well but Box Hill scored some very impressive goals towards the end of the match resulting in a loss for the U14/15 A team. However, they showed great spirit and determination to go into the second match with a positive attitude and consequently come away with a 4-0 win v. King Edward's Panthers! Emily B showed great skill on the wing and set up Jess with a great cross leading to an easy tap in. Alex K also showed her dominance in this game scoring 2 goals for the team and Helena K worked well in goal, keeping a clean sheet. Next up were Belmont Mavericks, this was the closest game of the afternoon so far with the score 0-0 at half time. Sydney R played brilliantly dominating in defence with Ava W and Esme P also making some epic tackles. Belmont managed to create the space to create a break away goal and so they won the game. This meant the Duke of Kent School team went into the plate tournament. They came up against the U14/15 Duke of Kent School B team in the semi-final of the plate and won 3-0. After a short break and time for a quick snack, the girls had their final to play! It was an absolute thriller with the girls coming out victorious with a 3-2 win! They were very pleased with their certificates they were presented with at the end of the tournament. A huge well done to everyone involved in a great afternoon of football! 

Miss Vickers

Girls' U10/11 - Longacre Football Tournament 

On Wednesday afternoon, Duke of Kent School's U10/11 Football team travelled to Longacre for their annual U11 Football Tournament. The girls were super excited and raring to go! We were the first match, so it was straight into focus mode v. Longacre Diamonds! The girls started well with some great play, Lois M scored an early goal to put the U10/11 team ahead. Holly B and Lola C worked well in the midfield to put in strong tackles and pass the ball up the line leading to another goal! The next match was against a different Longacre team, Longacre Emeralds! The U10/11 team continued to play some great football with Jasmine W and Charlotte C playing with confidence in defence. Ruby W worked tirelessly in midfield and won herself a penalty which she scored brilliantly helping Duke of Kent School win their second match in the group stage. The third match was against Pennthorpe, the match was very even and Duke of Kent School did have the better chances but just couldn't quite convert their goal scoring opportunities! The girls topped the group and played Belmont in the final, it was a thriller with end to end play and countless epic saves from Grace M! Belmont scored in the final minute of extra time. meaning we finished second overall. It was a great afternoon enjoyed by all! Well done to all the girls involved. 

Miss Vickers

Girls' U8/9 B - Longacre Football Tournament 

This Thursday, the U8/9 girls travelled to Longacre School for a football tournament against other local schools. During the first game the team started really well, all working hard and showing off their skills throughout. The girls continued to show this hard work and determination throughout to win their group and then play in the final. Mila S made some fantastic saves, Norah S and Rebecca S showed off some great tackling skills, Beth F and Violet W both displayed some great passing and dribbling with the ball and Charlotte P and Evelyn C both contributed to some nice attacking moves leading to a few goals for the team. The final was an evenly contested game with both teams finding it hard to score, until Duke of Kent School made the breakthrough to win the final. Well played to everyone involved and congratulations on winning the tournament.  

Mr Orme 

U13 and U15 ISA Football Festival

On Tuesday saw Duke of Kent School take part in the U13 and U15 ISA football festival at LVS Ascot for the first time. Both teams managed to qualify from their group stage into the cup with the U13s winning all their games to top the group and the U15s winning 1, drawing 1 and losing 1 game coming 2nd. The U15s came up against the hosts and unfortunately lost 2-0. The U13s came up against a strong physical side in their quarter-final narrowly losing 1-0. Well done to all those  boys involved as there was some good football on show. 

Mr Green and Mr Herbert

Boys' Hockey: U13 A-C v. Kingswood House

24 boys from Duke of Kent School travelled to Kingswood House to finish off the hockey season. The B team played first against a strong Kingswood House A team which result in them losing 4-0 despite some fantastic saves from Jasper T. The C team then played against Kingswood House B team and won 4-2 thanks to some excellent defending from Harry L and some great attacking link up play from Ethan K, Humph G and Kit B. The A team then played against Kingswood House A team and were winning 2-1 at half time. Unfortunately, a lapse of concentration allowed the opposition to score 4 quick goals to lead 5-2. However, Duke of Kent School didn’t give up easily and fought back to make the final score 5-4 thanks to Felix C and Sam R showing good attacking skills and accurate passing. 

Mr Herbert and I have both been very pleased with the development by all the boys over the season. Their stick skills and confidence have improved with more players trying to hit reverse or getting their feet around the ball. 

Mr Green

Boys' Hockey: U11 A v. Kingswood House

Duke of Kent School hosted a triangular hockey tournament on Wednesday afternoon, which produced some very entertaining games and an impressive standard of hockey. In our first game, Duke of Kent School played Ripley Court and quickly took the lead with some direct and aggressive play. With a goal under our belts, we rather lost our drive, and some sloppy passing was soon punished by a deserved equaliser. In the second half, the boys responded to my half-time demands for more energy and sharper passing, being rewarded with a further two goals to give us a 3-1 win. The togetherness of the team was increasingly evident as the game wore on, characterised by some lovely movement off the ball and composure when in possession. This continued into our second game, which saw us cut through Kingswood House with almost every attack. With each of our 8 goals, the boys could see the impact of their positive approach, and also the importance of following up into the D. Almost all of our goals were prodded or pushed beyond the goalkeeper, highlighting that placement is often a greater weapon than power. Likewise, the boys really showed, throughout the afternoon, that their tactical understanding of the game has come on enormously this term. They knew that by making wide runs and communicating with each other, it would stretch the opposition, make space, and in turn allow them to play the game more easily. Well done, boys - a great end to the hockey season!

Mr Wright

Cricket Camp

For those thinking of joining a cricket club, there will be a holiday camp and pre-season training sessions at Blackheath CC (www.blackheathcricket.com), over the Easter holidays, where both boys and girls are welcome to try out without committing to membership. There are places available in various squads, especially the girls’ squads.

Holiday Camp Monday 3rd - Thursday 6th April
The holiday cricket camp for children aged 6-13 between Monday 3rd and Thursday 6th April, 9am to 3pm each day.  The camp is run by Matchfit (a coaching academy associated with Blackheath CC) and the cost is £45 per day or £155 for all four days.   For further details and tickets see: Easter Holiday Camp.

Club Pre-Season Junior Training - Tuesday 11th to Friday 14th April
In the week after Easter, there will be pre-season training sessions for different age groups at Blackheath. These are open to non-members who would like to try out with the club.  Further details and tickets for these sessions are on the Blackheath CC website: go to the Boys Cricket and Girls Cricket pages and scroll down to the relevant events. 

In summary, the timetable is as follows:
? Girls U11/10/9/8: Tuesday 11, Wednesday 12 April (11am-12.30pm each day)
? Girls U15/14/13/12: Thursday 13, Friday 14 April (11am-1pm each day)
? Boys U9/8: Tuesday 11 Wednesday 12 April (4-5.30pm each day)
? Boys U11/10: Thursday 13, Friday 14 April (2-4pm each day)
? Boys U13/12: Tuesday 11, Wednesday 12 April (1.30-3.30pm each day)
? Boys U15/14 boys: Thursday 13, Friday 12 April (4.30-6.30pm each day

Top Tips for Adopting Safe and Healthy Online Habits

Every year, Comic Relief goes all out to help people, both in the UK and internationally, who are going through a tough time. In our area of specialism, we at National Online Safety are acutely aware that – for children and young people in particular – many of those difficult moments increasingly originate from and unfold in the digital world.

From inappropriate content to the toxic behaviour of others, online harms can do long-lasting damage. That’s why we’re passionate about helping this new generation to build their digital resilience – equipping them to deal with digital dangers. This week’s guide has a selection of tips for encouraging safe and healthy online habits.

In this guide we’ve compiled a list of useful suggestions which could help you and your family strike the right balance and build digital resilience.

Click on the link to find out more information about "Top Tips for Adopting Safe and Healthy Online Habits".

Mr Boden

As we draw to the end of the Spring term and the clocks going forward at the weekend, we are able to glimpse the promise of brighter days. Tuesday was the Spring equinox and though daylight was equal to the night that day, it was sometimes hard to acknowledge through the cloud and drizzle. As we know, living on this island, the clouds and rain can give way to short bursts of sunshine in (hopefully) ever-increasing duration. Sometimes, we even get a rainbow!

It is this hope that allows us to feel excited for brighter, sunnier and warmer days, even when they might seem hard to picture.

In life, it is holding on to hope that allows us the resilience and strength to get through difficulty, discomfort and tragedy. As human beings, we are tested the most when times are hard; our ability to retain hope and look to the point beyond when things will seem easier, more comfortable and happy again, that keep us going. We must never lose hope but in fact keep it sacred as our comfort and motivation when we are struggling.

For the Year 11’s, who are approaching a possibly stressful point in their school life, looking to where their exams might take them - college, jobs, new friendships, opportunities, a long summer - is a good place to look when revision and study become overwhelming. Remaining hopeful for the positive outcomes helps us endure the difficulties we face in the present.

Easter is a time of rebirth and new beginnings; a celebration of hope. I wish everybody a restful, joyous and hopeful Easter break.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Nigel Grimes from https://thebreathingstudio.com/ for leading some of our parents in a Forest Bathing Meditative Workshop on Tuesday which had been postponed from January. Nigel commented on how all participants joined in with good spirits and I hope you found it suitably therapeutic.

Mrs Douglas

Hopefully by the time you read this we have 34 happy Senior School pupils (and 5 happy staff) out enjoying the snow on the Austrian slopes.  We wish them all a fantastic trip - long awaited for those who were due to ski in December, but only made it as far as Gatwick Airport!  Hopefully the trip will be incident free, but should any injuries by chance occur, please do let Mrs Sarjant know, so she can update school medical records accordingly - csarjant@dokschool.org

Similarly, any other health developments or injuries sustained by any of our pupils during the Easter holidays should be reported to Mrs Sarjant as above, particularly if the illness or injury will impact your child's attendance or performance at school early in the summer term.  Thank you.  

When we return to school after the holidays, please can all parents remember to notify school each day (email their form tutor and/or the office and school nurse) if their child is off sick, in line with our policy to ensure we can safely account for everybody.

A reminder to parents of pupils in Year 9.  Please can you complete your E Consent forms for the DTP and MenACWY immunisations which will be given at school in June... we still have many responses outstanding. (See the email about this dated 17th February, the letter is also available in "The Medical Room" area of the school website within the Parents section).

Have a very Happy Easter everyone.

The School Nurses

PADoK News

Dear Parents

Thank you for supporting out events this term.  A Taste of Burns was such a fun night and definitely one to do another year.

Macmillan Afternoon Tea proved to be one of our best with an amazing £720 raised.  Please see the message below we received from Macmillan after the event.

***Our Summer Event is on Saturday 17^th June – it is going to be a fun night, so please save the date.*** 

PADoK Team

The 100 Club Winners

1st Prize - Daniel S - Year 8

2nd Prize - Siena de P - Year 1

3rd Prize - Grace M - Year 5 

Your prize fund will be taken off you bill. Congratulations.

Macmillan Afternoon Tea - Please see an email we received from Macmillan

“That’s such an amazing amount of money to raise in one afternoon. You must have worked incredibly hard to make your event such a roaring success.

To give you some context; £720 could fund a Macmillan Support Worker for over 42 hours. These Support Workers are often the first point of contact for newly diagnosed cancer patients; coordinate and direct patients, providing information to support their practical, medical and emotional needs so they can feel in control of their own care, we’re so very grateful to you for the difference you’ve made to our crucial services.”

Duke of Kent School Singers

A fun session with Mr Rye this week. Varied vocal warm-ups ranging from ‘She died, She did, She died of a broken rib, She did!’ to ‘Shackles’ by Mary, Mary! 

We had a good go at the soprano, alto and tenor harmonies on Sara Bareilles’ ‘Brave’ and it’s sounding great!  Come and join at any time for an uplifting 40 mins where you’re guaranteed to laugh a lot and sing a bit too.

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.

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! 

PADoK Core Control

Strengthen your body, Improve Your Health with our Physio-Led Stability Group – Friday morning 08.30 at Ness Hall. Note: Name change but runners still welcome!  

We would love to see you on a Friday morning 08:30-09:00 for a quick weekly input, little and often is the key to building long term goals!

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