Year 6 Assembly

To launch the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Duke of Kent School, 6GN prepared and delivered a special assembly exploring the school’s rich history. 

After undertaking extensive research and speaking with a number of alumni, the pupils crafted an informative and engaging presentation that took the audience on a journey down memory lane. Their dedication was evident as they committed themselves to learning their lines and rehearsing thoroughly, ensuring a confident and polished performance on the day.

A particular highlight of the assembly was the memorable portrayal of ‘Mrs Knox’ by Charlie Swiffen, which delighted staff and students alike.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported the pupils in piecing together the fascinating tapestry of events that have shaped Duke of Kent School into the community we know and cherish today.

Mrs Nicholson and Mrs Green

National Poetry Day

On Thursday, we celebrated National Poetry Day’s theme of ‘Play’ with a Duke of Kent School twist! We were very grateful to have alumni Imogen, Maddie, Harley and Izzy, come to help Year 5, 6, and 7 write a collaborative poem about the way pupils have played at School in the past, what they enjoy playing with now, and how they envision playing in the future. It was a wonderfully creative morning, which culminated in a unique poem focused on all the things pupils love about our school- ranging from making mudpies in the Pre-Prep mud kitchen, to trading rocks in Junior Jungle, to the future prospect of flying over Front Pitch in rocket boots! The pupils are so proud of their creation, and look forward to seeing the poem buried in the 50th Anniversary Time Capsule!

The English Department

Go Henry G!

Congratulations to Henry, who recently came 1st in his category (Tristar 1 Open, age 9–10 boys) at the Woking Aquathlon. Over the summer, he also achieved 2nd place finishes at both the Guildford Aquathlon and the Phoenix Tri Aquathlon. Combining his love of swimming and running, Henry has shown great determination — and even impressed with his speedy transitions! We are also proud to share that he has been awarded the Ron McCue Cup for Up and Coming Swimmer of the Year by Cranleigh Swimming Club in his very first season with them. Well done, Henry!  

Mrs Tuite

ISA U13 Girls Football Festival

On Tuesday, the U13 girls travelled to LVS Ascot to compete in the ISA Girls Football Festival. It was a beautiful autumn day, and the team began with an excellent warm-up before facing their group stage fixtures.The opening match was against the eventual winners, LVS Ascot. Despite conceding two outstanding goals, Duke of Kent School showed great resilience, with Halle S and Ruby W making determined tackles to limit further chances and keep the score at 2–0.

In their second group game against Shoreham College, the team demonstrated excellent teamwork and passing ability, with strikers Mia P and Bea T-R creating several opportunities. Defenders Charlotte C and Lauren B played with focus and composure, while goalkeeper Jasmine W made several fine saves to secure a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw.

The final group game saw the girls take on North Bridge House School. Building on their earlier performances, the team showed confidence in attack and were rewarded with goals from Violet W and Mia P in a well-deserved 3–1 victory. This result secured second place in the group, an excellent achievement.

Following the group stage, the team progressed to the Cup Quarter Final against New Hall School. It proved to be a highly competitive contest, with Duke of Kent School showing impressive determination and energy throughout, holding the score at 1-0 for much of the match. Despite their best efforts, two well-taken goals from New Hall School were enough to settle the match. 

Overall, the girls represented the school superbly, displaying great teamwork and a positive attitude across all of their matches. Finishing second in their group and competing strongly in the Cup stage, against the eventual finalists, was a fantastic accomplishment, and every member of the team should feel very proud of their efforts.

Mrs Monk

Year 8 Gothic Trip to Strawberry Hill

Trip to Horace Walpole’s House, Strawberry Hill. Friday 26th September, 2025

With trepidation, the Year 8 students crept their way through the dense mass of A3 traffic to arrive at the isolated Gothic castle of Horace Walpole, in Strawberry Hill. Warily, we approached the house. Gargoyles and pictures of saints peered down on us, warning us not to enter. Foolishly we took no heed and crossed the threshold, taking a tour through the labyrinth of rooms and corridors: constantly feeling as if we were being watched…

With thoughts of darkness and ghostly happenings, we created our own Gothic comic strips - dressing up in costumes from long dead ancestors and using dug up skulls, monstrous hands and vials of poison as props.

A ghastly, immersively spooky time was had by all.

We apologise for the nightmares……..

Mrs Punter

Money Matters Workshops

On Monday, we hosted an educational company called Ootiboo, who ran some fantastic workshops all about money. Pupils from Years 3 to 6 were firstly encouraged to consider what they already know on the subject, with several demonstrating sound understanding of taxes, budgeting, savings and investments. Discussions moved on to trade and the idea of things having value - often fixed, but also frequently varying depending on what an item means or represents to people in different circumstances. Everyone agreed a camera is a costly item to buy, but also noted its value will be different to someone who does photography for a hobby, compared with a professional photographer whose livelihood depends upon it. The main activity involved pupils selecting some intriguingly unusual careers, not knowing which are higher or lesser paid.

Our dog surfing instructors, detectives, panda cuddlers, snake milkers, professional sleepers, roller coaster designers and frozen vegetable testers (all genuine jobs!) then went about spending their hard earned wages at various market stalls. These were also manned by pupils, who noted with interest how the consumers chose to spend their money, many prioritising the essentials, such as paying for food, water and energy bills, whilst others were more drawn to the luxury items on offer! There was also some heated debate about the fairness of some shoppers receiving discounts that weren't available to others - excellent real-world experience of money. Staff and pupils were hugely impressed with the workshops and we will certainly be looking to invite Ootiboo back!

Mr Wright

Year 4 Social Event

Last Friday, the year 4's had their much anticipated Social evening. We started with some tag games down by the burrow to work off some pent up energy ! We then moved back inside before it got dark to play" Poisonous Smarties". 

After a delicious tea we returned to the library to play "parcel parcel" with a twist. Each layer unwrapped had a task the children had to perform. We witnessed some spectacular dance moves! We ended with the traditional game of Hide and Seek in the classroom before heading home. Much fun was had by all!

Mrs Rigby

Following some blustery weather, requiring the removal of a few trees, Junior Jungle re-opened this week to the delight of the children. I think staff, too, were quite happy knowing they won't be getting asked "when is JJ open?" for the foreseeable! Dens have already been made and forest civilization begins anew!  Year 3 have been learning how to use bow saws in Forest School, but they're not quite ready for major tree surgery just yet. 

Indoors, Year 3 have carried out a survey to discover whether cats prefer wet food, dry food or a mixture of both, whilst Year 5's Science this week involved VR headsets, taking them on a blood cell's journey around the circulatory system. In ICT, Year 5 were inputting data on Google Sheets and used it to create a bar graph, which they enjoyed customizing with editing tools. In pre-prep, Nursery have had fun with flour and fine-motor activities, Reception designed shoes and gave them some eye-catching patterns, Year 1 created their very own cardboard castle and Year 2 focused on symmetry, right angles and discovering shapes in the playground. We've had two thrilling draws for the Year 5 and 6 netball teams and Year 6 have been using improvisation as a tool to explore characters in different situations in Drama. We even squeezed in workshop fun with the Seniors and alumni on National Poetry Day, and Year 5 created autumn themed poems using kennings. In French, the following pupils were awarded certificates for really pushing themselves this month: Jenson Bo, Henry G, Elsa H and Alaska B. Bravo!

Next week kicks off with House Bake-off, and judging by the number of pupils who put their hands up in assembly when I asked who was entering, I recommend you don't delay stocking up at the supermarket as soon as possible - Cranleigh might be out of flour by Sunday!

Values Certificates: Norah C and Siena N for Kindness; Charlotte L and Alaska B for Effort

Rising Readers: Alex W, Dagny N, Darcie S, Rocket M and Lily C

Stars of the Week

Nursery: Freya C for settling into school so beautifully and for joining in with such enthusiasm.

Max M for his boundless enthusiasm and his positive and friendly attitude 

Reception: George R-K for engaging so well in play with his peers in the classroom and independence when changing for swimming.

Jude H for clearly explaining this thinking in maths when using patterns and sharing his general knowledge in classroom discussions.

Year 1: Dixie J the fantastic progress she has made in both reading and swimming.

Jakey G for being conscientious in everything he does and always having a smile on this face.

Year 2: Oscar B for showing such curiosity in our science theme ‘Living Things.’

Roman N for being everyone’s biggest supporter! Thank you for your kindness and encouragement. 

Mr Wright

Years 10 and 11 House Pickleball Tournament

The first ever Year 10 and 11 House Pickleball Tournament took place on Tuesday this week. There was a lovely relaxed and yet competitive atmosphere with pairs working hard to earn valuable points for their houses. Those who were new to the game picked up the rules quickly; there were some brilliant rallies, great team spirit and plenty of success with bat and ball.

Many of the matches were extremely close but congratulations go to Peregrine, the overall winners, with Hawk finishing a strong second. Kestrel claimed third place, and Buzzard finished fourth. It was a fun afternoon trying a new sport, well done to all who took part.

This week, I was invited by the English Department to speak to year 7 about the mental health condition, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This is linked to their textual study of The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson about 12 year old Matthew who finds himself physically and metaphorically trapped by this condition.

It is really helpful for pupils to really engage with the character and learn a little more about how his condition may be both affecting his feelings and influencing his behaviour. As well as trying to understand the condition a little better, pupils were encouraged to consider and dispel the myths surrounding it, understanding that we may all at times experience feelings that may seem similar, diagnosis is very different and multi -symptomatic. Their understanding of the condition is a good step to understanding and empathising with Matthew and others who may struggle with a condition that is fundamentally an extreme coping strategy for dealing with overwhelming anxiety and fear. Like all mental health conditions it will present differently in each individual. Please see the following link if interested in learning more here

A reminder that next Friday the 10th of October, we will be acknowledging World Mental Health day with Young Minds’ Hello Yellow. There will be a number of activities throughout the day and pupils are invited to accessorise their uniform on that day with a touch of yellow, for example socks, earrings, scarf, ribbon etc.

I look forward to them brightening up school on Friday the 10th of October!

Mrs Douglas

Mr Monk

The School Nurses

PADoK News

Dear All Parents

Sadly, we have had to make the decision to cancel our PADoK Autumn Term event, Halloween Bingo, due to lack of interest.  Thank you to those who booked tickets, we will be in contact with you directly.

PADoK Second Hand Uniform Shop

Opening dates should have now been uploaded to the calendar.

Wednesday 15^th October, Wednesday 5^th November & Wednesday 3^rd 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:

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 7^th October, 08.20 Meeting Room (off Old Hall)

We have a new timetable, one week on Tuesday and the following week on Thursday.  We hope that those who can’t make Tuesdays can catch up on the following week.  This week we met on Thursday morning and Cathy guided us through the warm ups.  It was great to welcome another new parent and start this term's song.  We think Mr Rye will be handing out some merits to us when he hears the progress we made!!   Do come along next week, 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 & every other Thursday from 08.20 to 09.00

Where: Meetings Room off Old Hall

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 with your fitness training.  

Please contact Julia direct to complete a medical form.

Julia Rowe (julia@therunningspecialists.com)

PADoK Book Club

We are reading Intermezzo by Sally Rooney & 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.

Mrs Phillips and Mrs Horsburgh

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.

School social media

At Duke of Kent School we have three social media platforms; Instagram (dukeofkentschool), Facebook (Duke of Kent School) and TikTok (DoKSchool). 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.