10 October 2017

Firstly I would like to thank everyone in Tonbridge House who helped organise last Friday's Charity Day.  The atmosphere around the school was very pleasant indeed with many students taking responsibility for the numerous events that were put on to raise money.  The highlight of the day was the Karaoke performances from staff and students in the big hall at lunch!  Congratulations to Tonbridge House and thank you everyone for supporting.  Last Thursday the MGS Cross Country squad competed in the English Schools Championships First Round at Sevenoaks School.  Both the junior and intermediate squads competed at an extremely high level against schools such as Skinners', Dartford Grammar, The Judd, Chis & Sid, and a number of local independent schools.  Sadly the junior boys missed out on qualification for the next round but Alastair Shelley of Tonbridge House won the overall race by a comfortable distance.  Well done Alastair.  The intermediate boys, however, did qualify for the next round joining The Judd School and Sevenoaks School at the regional event.  If they get through that round then they will be back at Sevenoaks School for the English Schools Final.  Hamish Reilly of Corpus Christie House did extremely well taking first place in this race winning by an even more comfortable distance.  Congratulations to Hamish and to the other boys: Bashiri Ryan, Ewan Christmas, Mark Bloomfield, George Dadd and Shaun Berry.  This week is the start of a very busy four week period for the school.  Tonight we welcome parents of Year 7 boys to attend our Year 7 Welcome Evening.  It is an evening for our new Maidstonians and their parents to see how the first few weeks of school have gone, meet key staff who are responsible for Year 7 and enjoy some refreshments together provided by the Parents' Association.  We hope the event is an enjoyable one.  Tomorrow is the Performing Arts Autumn Showcase.  It is the first showcase of the year and will be held in our new Performing Arts Centre.  Do come along.  It starts at 6.30pm. And on Friday is the first of our two open mornings for parents and boys who are considering a place at MGS next year.  It is now that time of year when we open our doors and invite perspective students to tour the school and see for themselves what MGS is all about.  Guiding them around will be current year 7 students who, I think, are the best people to show the school off.  We look forward to welcoming everyone on Friday.  The second of our open mornings is taking place next Tuesday.   As well as a busy week for the school, it is also a busy week for me.  Last night I attended a MGS Development Fund Trustee meeting, today I am attending a Kent Schools Funding Forum meeting, Thursday after school I am attending a governors meeting, and on Friday I am attending a Kent and Medway Grammar Schools' Association meeting.  All of these meetings are examples of how my role requires me to look out as well as in when deciding what is best for MGS.