Tuesday 28 January 2025

Hello there, Mr Hanratty here in the absence of the Headteacher who is currently in New York supporting our annual Year 12 trip to the Model United Nations Conference. The company of students and staff are spending the first half of the trip in the Big Apple, taking in all the city has to offer, before traveling to Boston for the weekend and the business end of the trip. We wish all involved the very best and a massive thanks to all the staff and students who helped prepare the students in the build-up to this demanding event. A special thanks to Isaac M, School Captain (Year 13, Corpus Christi House), and Mr Andrews (OM 2021), who contributed to the trip during their respective years and have shared invaluable expertise on how to best prepare.

        On the debating front, we’re delighted that our Senior Debating Team has made it to the Schools’ Mace Regional Finals on Tuesday 11 February thanks to the debating prowess of Isaac M (Year 13 Corpus Christi House), Kiran S-L (Year 13, Barton House), Henry A (Year 13, Tonbridge House) and Benjamin B (Year 13, College House). Thank you also to Mrs Coveney who supported the team through the event. The team was one of 360 schools competing in Round One back in November, and has made it to the final 72 schools – this is a significant milestone which we are certainly proud of them achieving.

        Whilst on the topic of national competitions, our 1st XI senior squad will take on Hampton School, at home this Friday in the quarter-final of the ESFA National Cup. Making it this far in the tournament is an incredible achievement in itself, and our school community is right behind the lads as they build up in their final preparations for the match. Kick-off is at 2pm and the match is billed to be a spectacular game of football considering the level of competition and determination demonstrated in the previous matches. A massive thank you must also go to Mr Hughes who has coached and led the team to this position. We’re behind you all, you’ve got this!

        This week in school, we see horizontal year group assemblies for Year 11 and Year 10, following the House assemblies I delivered last week and yesterday. Last night we had an information evening for parents/carers of the students going on the History Trip to Vienna at half term. On Wednesday, many of our gifted mathematicians will compete in the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge. This 60-minute, 25 multiple-choice challenge encourages mathematical reasoning and will take place here at the school. Thank you Mr Calvert for organising and overseeing the challenge. Also this week, we see formal GCSE exams take place for Food Preparation and Nutrition, with the practical exams beginning today and running until Friday. Good luck to all the Year 11 boys sitting these exams, and if the aromas I’ve been taking in whilst walking past your lesson are anything to go by, then I’m sure you’re all in for a set of great results. Finally, on Friday whilst all our eyes are on the 2pm kick off, our CCF cadets and staff will slip away for their CCF Recruit Camp which will take place across the weekend. Thank you to the staff giving up their weekend to give our cadets this great experience.

        Best wishes to you all and follow our social media channels for updates on these events this week.

Mr H

HT Blog – Tuesday 21 January 2025

 

HT Blog – Tuesday 21 January 2025

I start this week’s blog by congratulating Mr Hughes and the Senior Football Squad for successfully progressing to the quarter-finals in the English Schools’ Football Association U18 Schools Cup.  Last week they all travelled up to Southend to play Southend High School Boys in the last 16 of the competition.  I was fortunate to watch them secure the win, but it certainly did not come without a fight.  The final score was 5 – 3 to MGS, but on three occasions Southend High School led, and on two occasions when we scored to equalise, Southend took the lead within a minute.  It was a very tense match.  Well done to everyone involved, and we now look forward to the next round against Hampton School.

Continuing the congratulations, well done to Patrick of Year 9 and Corpus House who, after a successful 2024, has just been selected to represent Kent within the Kent County U14 Golf Squad.  Well done, Patrick.

More sport news, good luck to the U14 rugby squad who play in the last 16 of the National Cup against Whitgift School on Wednesday and thank you to Mr Cooper for supporting the players all season.

The time has come to search for the next school captain and school vice-captain.  On Friday last week I spoke to the entire Year 12 to launch the application process and encourage those students who are interested to apply.  This is the best time of year for me as I get to work with, and learn more about, some of our outstanding Maidstonians who wish to aspire for the two roles.  Good luck to everyone who applies.

This week we invite parents and carers of Year 11 to attend the Year 11 Consultation Evening: an evening for the students and their families to hear how they are getting on and how they can utilise the next few months before the GCSE examinations in the summer.  I am sure it will be a positive evening for many.

On Sunday the 24 year 12 students travel to New York and then onto Boston to attend the Harvard Model United Nations Conference.  The students have been preparing for this trip for the last four months, and so are very much prepared for what they will be experiencing.  A huge thank you to Isaac of Year 13 and Mr Andrews for supporting them over those last four months. 

Finally, despite it being the third week of the new term, this week Mr Hanratty, one of the deputy heads, will be saying Happy New Year to MGS as he leads the New Year assemblies to each house.  We look forward to hearing what he has to say.

HT Blog – Tuesday 14 January 2025

 

HT Blog – Tuesday 14 January 2025

Last week six sixth form students who study languages at A level enjoyed a day at Kent University, Canterbury at the annual Sixth Form Language Conference. Throughout the day the students attended a variety of different seminars and met a number of other students across Kent who also study languages. Thank you to the staff who accompanied them.

On Wednesday, a number of year 12 students travel to St Hughes College, Oxford to spend the day at the university and taking part in a variety of activities to expose them to what life is like at the university. I am sure they will have a good time and have an opportunity to meet some undergraduates.

 Also, on Wednesday the Senior Football Squad travel to Southend to play Southend High School for Boys in the last 16 of the National Cup. Just before Christmas the Squad beat The Judd School 3 - 0 in the last 32 of the competition, and now they drive to Essex to play in the next round. Best wishes to the players and thank you to Mr Hughes for coaching them throughout the entire season. Come back with a win!

HT Blog – Tuesday 7 January 2025

 

HT Blog – Tuesday 7 January 2025

 

Happy New Year to you all; welcome back to school, and welcome to my first blog of 2025.  Here we are one-third the way through the academic year and at the start of a new calendar year.  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break and a peaceful New Year.

We start the new year with Year 13 sitting important mock examinations.  These examinations will illustrate how the students have progressed though their A-level studies and indicate what needs to be done over the next few months.  Good luck to them all.

We also start the new year with the completion of the building work phase of our new fitness gym project.  Drakemoor has been working on the project since the summer, but now the time has come to take back the building from them and look to kit it out with state-of-the-art equipment.  Just before Christmas we sent out a flyer promoting our fundraising campaign to support this project, and so, if you are interested in supporting us then please complete the online donation form via this link.

Finally, congratulations to Anthony of Year 11 and College House who has been asked to interview for the prestigious Arkwright Scholarship.  This year we had six students apply for the Scholarship, however five missed out after a valiant effort in their exam. The six should be very proud though, getting through this year’s strong 1500 applications.