Tuesday 28 March 2017

Thank you to everyone who supported and got involved with last Friday's Comic Relief charity day.  A number of students helped make cakes earlier in the week to sell on the day, students were on the school gates collecting donations, and many attended the 'MGS does Countdown' event in the Big Hall at lunch.  Thank you.
Last Thursday the SLT spent a day away from school planning for next year.  We were joined by Mr Ferguson and Mr Martin who will be joining the team from September, and together we talked about next year and how the school continues to evolve.  It was a very helpful day and much was accomplished.
Over the weekend the CCF Army section entered an eight man team into the 11 Infantry Brigade Military Skills Competition.  They competed against 16 teams from CCF and ACF from all over the South East of England.  They took part in 16 stands to test their knowledge and skills in a whole variety of military disciplines, including map reading, fire control orders, reconnaissance patrolling and shooting.  The team finished in the top three in half of the stands and won 4, however it was not sufficient to take top spot, finishing in a very worthy second place.  Well done to the cadets and thank you to Major Highway and Mr Rai who accompanied them.
Matthew Howson of Year 8 competed in the Schools Inter Counties Cross Country on Saturday representing Kent and MGS.  He also qualified for the Schools British National Biathlon Championships on Sunday at Crystal Palace where he came 22nd nationally in the U14 age group.  Well done Matthew.  Hamish Reilly, Bashri Ryan and Simon Coppard all took part in the English Schools Cross-Country Championships in Norwich at the weekend representing Kent. The Kent intermediate squad performed very well and as a result received a cup for the first team of 8 members out of every County in England. Overall Kent finished in second place behind their rivals Essex and only lost out by 1 point.  Well done boys and thank you for representing MGS in the Kent team.
This week there are a number of events where we welcome Old Maidstonians back to school.  Tonight a number of last year's leavers are coming in to attend the A Level Presentation Evening where they get presented with their A Level certificates. On Wednesday the annual Old Boys’ rugby and football matches take place against the current school teams.  Both matches kick off at 2.30pm on the school field.  And on Friday the annual Old Maidstonian Society Supper takes place.  Nearly 100 former students of the school enjoy an evening meal in the Big Hall, catch up with each other and hear from me and a number of other speakers about the school.  We welcome them all.  Friday is the end of term and then we all enjoy a couple of weeks off.  I hope you and your families have a wonderful Spring break.

 

21 March 2017

Thank you to everyone who came along to support their school at Friday's annual rugby and netball fixtures against Oakwood Park at Aylesford Rugby Club.  Once again the camaraderie and allegiance you all had for each other was overwhelming.  Well done to all the squads who played, bringing home five victories and a draw.  Results were as follows:  U12A won 15 – 10, U12B won 35 – 0, U13 won 45 – 5, U14 won 60 – 0, U15 won 22 – 7, U18 Girls Netball drew 13 – 13 and the 1^st XV won 54 – 3.  Well done everyone.  A big thank you also to the staff who accompanied the players and who have supported them during the season.  A great day for MGS.  As well as the rugby last week we also played Oakwood at football in the Maidstone District League.  The U15 and both the U14 A and B teams played on Wednesday bringing home three wins out of three.  The U15s won 4 – 2, and the U14 A and B teams won 8 – 3 and 9 – 0 respectively.  Well done boys.

Congratulations to Ella Collie, Samuel Jeffery, Charlie Luxton, Matthew Piper, William Terry and Allen Wesson all from Year 12.  They won the Kent heat of the ICAEW National Business & Accounting Competition last week and will now be representing Kent schools at the National Final in Birmingham on the 30^th June, competing against 42 other heat winners from around the UK.  Well done all and thank you to Mrs Acaster and Mr Seymour for supporting them.  Well done to Joseph Clapham, Paras Dixit, Ethan Ellingham, Samuel Fletcher, Edward Flower, Alfred Hodges and Matthew Taylor of Year 8 and 9 who spent two days in Birmingham last week taking part in the Big Bang Science Final.  We were one of over 400 schools taking part and these seven boys were a credit to MGS.  Thank you to them and to Ms Jefferson who has supported them for the last few months.

Tonight we welcome parents of Year 11 students into the school to attend the Year 11 Parents' Evening.  There are now only a few school weeks to go before the students begin their study leave and start their examinations, so this parents' evening comes at a good time.  On Thursday members of staff from the Senior Leadership Team are having a day away from school to discuss how the school is continuing to develop and how we can best support it.  We will be joined by two new faces who will be joining the SLT from September.  Days such as these are incredibly important and provide an opportunity for discussion and action away from the daily hustle and bustle of school.

On Friday MGS acknowledges Comic Relief.  There will be a number of events taking place during the day, including the selling of hundreds of cakes and the traditional Big Hall event.  This year the 6th Form students are putting on a Countdown themed event which will hopefully provide a few laughs.  Students, as normal, will be permitted to come into school in non-uniform, contributing £1 to do so.  Please do support the day.

14 March 2017

Firstly I wish to acknowledge the effort and commitment of the Girls Rugby Squad last weekend that took part in the Reigate 7s tournament.  Although they lost their matches, their valiant effort on the pitch should be commended.  MGS has had very good success with girls’ rugby in recent years, winning the Kent 7s tournament on two consecutive occasions in 2014 and 2015.  Thank you to all the girls who took part, we look forward to what the rest of the Sevens season brings, and thank you to Mr Hathaway for supporting the squad.  I am pleased to announce that the MGS CCF RAF Ground Training Team won the National Air Squadron Trophy Drill competition at the weekend at RAF Halton.  The team performed well in the seven disciplines that make up the overall Air Squadron Trophy coming 11^th out of 200 schools nationally.  MGS is a seven times winner of the Trophy, but sadly we have not managed to win the competition for several years.  We always place highly in the drill element of the Trophy and so this year retaking the crown was incredibly rewarding.  Well done to all the cadets and thank you to Mr Moores and Mr Parish for accompanying them and supporting them over the last few weeks and months. Last night I attended the Kent Public Speaking Competition watching Leo Hodges and Allen Wesson of Year 12 represent MGS.  We have had some good success in this competition in the past, but sadly on this occasion we did not bring home any silverware.  Well done boys and thank you to Mrs Brooks and Ms Lewis who supported the boys at the event and who helped prepare them both over the last few weeks and months.
After school yesterday I was joined by the rest of the SLT and both the current and new School Captains and School Vice-Captains to select the students who will become the next Student Leadership Team.  It is always a pleasure being involved in such tasks, reading the students’ application letters, and seeing how they all wish to continue to give leadership and service to their school.  The final outcome will be announced shortly.  Tonight after school many members of staff are completing some training in preparation for the new Pastoral and House structures from September.  You will all know by now that we are creating a more vertical structure and so this year one member of staff and 21 students have been doing that very thing and have taken part in the pilot vertical form.  A number of these students will be involved in tonight’s training as they can give a first-hand impression of what it is like being in a mixed aged form. 
Tomorrow night is a new event in the School’s calendar: The MGS Careers Evening.  Aimed at students in Year 9 to Year 13, a number of external speakers and presenters will be outlining what is required and what it is like working in a variety of fields.  Many students and parents have booked to come along, so we look forward to a very busy and positive evening.
And finally this Friday a number of boys are taking part in the annual rugby fixture against Oakwood Park Grammar School.  Held at Aylesford Rugby Club, the U12s, U13s, U14s, U15s and senior squad are all playing with different kick off times starting from 5.30pm.  Let’s hope we can bring home five victories.  Do come along and support.

7 March 2017

The Senior Rugby Squad took part in the Gravesend Sevens Competition last Monday at Gravesend Rugby Club. The team beat a number of good sides including Sevenoaks School, Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School to get to the final where they played Rochester Mathematical School, who had secured their place in the final with wins against Eltham College and The Duke of York School. With some outstanding rugby and commitment we won the trophy for the first time in the history of the competition. Notable past winners have been The Judd School, The Skinners’ School, The Duke of York School and Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School.  Well done boys and thank you to Mr Hathaway who accompanied them.

Thank you to those who came along to Friday’s Jam Tribute Night organised by the Parents’ Association.  It was a very successful night which raised a healthy sum of money.  Thank you to the Parents’ Association and do look out for other PA events later in the year.

At the weekend a number of MGS students took part in the Maidstone Invicta Rowing Club Spring Head Race.  Many students were rowing for the club, but two students, Daniel Jones and Stephen Mackie of Year 13 competed as MGS.  Conditions were terrible, but Dan and Stephen had a really good row and ended up coming 7^th out of over 50 boats in their division.  This is a remarkable achievement when you consider that 18 of the boats in their division had more rowers in the boat than in Dan and Stephen’s boat.  Well done boys.

Tomorrow we welcome parents of Year 13 students who will be attending the Year 13 Parents’ Evening.  This is the last chance these parents will formally meet the teachers of their children, and with examinations being just round the corner, many students will be knuckling down for the last push.  We look forward to seeing parents tomorrow.

This Friday is the deadline for students of Year 12 to hand in their application to be considered for a position on the Student Leadership Team for next year.  There will be many more applicants than positions, so the following couple of weeks will be used to whittle them down to the best 12.  Good luck to everyone who applies.