PADoK News
Dear All Parents
We are thrilled to announce that DOK Singers is starting on Tuesday 23rd September in the Meeting Room with Mr Rye. More details below.
PADoK Halloween Bingo Night Friday 10th October
**Fundraiser for the new teaching kitchen**
Bookings are now open
Get ready for a spooktacular evening of fun and fortune!
Date: Friday, 10th October
Time: 7:15pm
What to Expect:
- Assemble your dream team and bring your competitive spirit
- Prepare your drinks and snacks—creativity counts!
- Put your luck to the test in thrilling rounds of Bingo
- Prize for Best Shared Table Spread—so go all out with your Halloween flair!
- Prizes Galore for winners and standout moments throughout the night
Costumes welcome, laughter guaranteed so don’t miss out! Book at padok@dokschool.org with your child's name and Year group. £12.50 a ticket.
We can’t wait to see you there!
PADoK Second Hand Uniform Shop
Opening dates should have now been uploaded to the calendar.
Wednesday 15th October, Wednesday 5th November & Wednesday 3rd December, 15.00 to 16.00.
We are always looking for donations of good quality second hand uniform and PE kit. This can be put in the box outside the shop at any time. Thank you in advance.
PADoK Clubs:
PADoK Book Club – New Book Title
We are reading Intermezzo by Sally Rooney and we will meet to discuss this soon. A date will be arranged soon.
We meet once a term for a casual chat about the book.
Please do join in with book club if you enjoy reading, everyone is welcome.
Duke of Kent Flyers – Netball training
DOK Flyers training on Monday late afternoons from 17.30 to 18.30 and we are looking for new players to join in this term while the weather allows. Come along for lots of laughter, exercise & fun. No experience necessary, everyone welcome! Please do come along if you would like to play netball.
Duke of Kent School Singers
Tuesday 7th October, 08.20 Meetings Room (off Old Hall)
Come Sing With Us!
It was wonderful to be back singing together after the summer break and great to have a few new joiners. Mr Rye gave us numerical tests, 1,121,12321…..and then a tongue twister about cups of coffee in proper coffee pots! We discussed the song we will be working on this term. Do come along in two weeks, such an uplifting start to the day.
Calling all parents who love to sing, humming along to the radio or singing in the shower! Our Parents’ Choir at Duke of Kent School is open to everyone ~ no auditions, no pressure. A welcoming space to relax, meet other parents, and enjoy making music together. Lots of laughter guaranteed!
When: Every other Tuesday from 08:20 to 09:00
Where: Meetings Room off Old Hall
Come along and discover how much fun singing can be!
Important Note: please always park at the bottom of the site and walk up to Old Hall.
PADoK Core Control
Thursdays – 08.30 from next week.
Strengthen your body, improve your health with our Physio-Led Stability Group. Thursday morning at 08.30 in Ness Hall From this term there will be a £5 fee for each week.
A weekly session focusing on a range of body areas such as back mobility, pelvic strength, hip control, shoulder stability, neck and upper back patterning and ankle balance. All this pulls into CORE activation.
All this with lots of giggles, trying something new and making friendships across the lovely parent year groups.
If you have new fitness goals or want to build on what you are already doing? Why don’t you join in? Julia is a physiotherapist who will help build your core strength and help your fitness training.
Please contact Julia direct to complete a medical form.
PADoK Second Hand Uniform Shop
Opening dates should have now been uploaded to the calendar.
Wednesday 15th October, Wednesday 5th November & Wednesday 3rd December, 15.00 to 16.00.
We are always looking for donations of good quality second hand uniform and PE kit. This can be put in the box outside the shop at any time. Thank you in advance.
Mrs Phillips and Mrs Horsburgh
Four weeks into the term and the school is hitting its stride in the beautiful autumnal sunshine. I take my hat off to the children and staff for creating such a wonderful start to the academic year so far! This week it has been marvellous seeing the school flourish with excellent wins on the football pitch, trips out and celebrating European Day of Languages today. This whole school event, where we all come together in our bright, flag themed clothes and greet each other in other languages, is a prime example of the cohesive and exciting community at Duke of Kent School! We are looking forward to exhibiting this to our visitors at Open Morning tomorrow.
European Day of Languages was a colourful and lively event, starting with pupils and staff wearing mufti to school, dressed in the colours of a country's flag. The corridors were alive with the sound of members of the school community greeting each other in the language spoken in their country of choice. The day's events then kicked off with an assembly during which we learnt how to say, "hello" in many languages, taught by our bilinguals, and discussed the relevance of this year's theme: "Open hearts, open minds". Pupils enjoyed food tastings in their MFL lessons, learning how to fold a croissant correctly and how dulce de leche was accidently invented! Year 11 did a great job of reading some Spanish story books to Pre-prep, who were an enthusiastic and engaged audience. At morning break, we were full of gratitude to Grisha's mum who gave a Ukrainian language workshop; we will now be able to greet and welcome any Ukrainian people we may encounter. Our languages prefect, Iona, led some fun activities for Senior pupils at morning break and we all tucked into a delicious themed lunch. We are already looking forward to European Day of Languages 2026!
In (thankfully) dry conditions Year 10 embarked on their DofE Bronze Qualification Expedition. Travelling in unaccompanied groups they had to navigate themselves from St Martha's Hill (Chilworth) to Shamley Green on the first day, and a circuitous route around Holmbury Hill on the second day.
On Thursday, Year 2 excitedly ran down the hill, ready to hop on the bus to Brighton’s Sea Life Centre. The sun was shining, and the children’s excitement set the tone for a wonderful day ahead.
As we explored the aquarium, the children were full of awe and wonder. They loved spotting the tiniest fish darting through the water and were amazed to see the blacktip reef sharks gliding overhead. The children were especially surprised to learn how much rubbish can harm marine life, and many decided to do their bit to help. In fact, they even collected a few pieces of litter from the beach as part of Beach Clean Week!
After our underwater adventure, we headed to the beach to enjoy lunch in the sunshine. But just as we settled down, a cheeky flock of seagulls decided to join the feast! Sandwiches were snatched, crisps disappeared and in the middle of the excitement, one particularly bold seagull landed right on William’s head. Big thanks to Miss I who was a fabulous ‘seagull scarer’ whilst the children finished their lunches!
This week, Year 2 spent their Science lesson comparing photos of themselves as babies with how they look now, learning about features of human growth and development. They enjoyed trying to identify their classmates, but especially successfully spotting which ones were Miss Munro and Mrs Plumbridge! Reception, also, have been making comparisons - measuring height, length, mass and capacity of various items to further their mathematical skills.
In the Music Room, Year 3 had great fun singing 'reet petite' and playing along on keyboards as a whole ensemble, and in their Topic lessons they used their knowledge of Ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses to write 'Guess Who' clues. In Art, Year 6 finished off their designs for East African masks, ready for working them up in clay next week. They were also creating online profiles in French and learning about rules of divisibility and index notation in Maths. 
This week has been especially busy for the senior school, with lots of activity going on and in particular our celebration of languages today for European Day of languages. Pupils enjoyed an inspiring assembly this morning and a delicious themed lunch.
On Tuesday morning it was wonderful to hold our first student council meeting and hear all of the many suggestions and feedback that the pupils wanted to share. It really is a pleasure to hear them talk about the school and come up with imaginative ways to improve situations.
