15 March 2016

This week we have three main events that are all contributing to the School's support of Sport Relief.  On Wednesday a group of about 100 students and staff begin a 24 hour Football-athon.  From break time on Wednesday to break time on Thursday, a non-stop football match will be taking place in the Sports Hall.  On Friday, the start of the Sport Relief weekend, I begin my Three Marathon Challenge in which I cycle, row and walk a marathon on each of the three days.  Your support has been incredible, so much so that a total of over £2000 has been raised so far.  Thank you ever so much, and if you would like make a donation please click on the following http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MGSThreeMarathonChallenge . Also on Friday many students and staff join together to complete the MGS Sport Relief Mile.  Good luck to everyone involved and thank you in advance for your support.
 

On Friday MGS also play Oakwood Park in the annual rugby fixture at Aylesford Rugby Club.  This annual fixture is now a key date in both schools’ calendars; many students from both schools come along and enjoy not only the rugby, but also the opportunity to share some healthy banter! 

At the weekend a number of cadets from the CCF RAF Section competed in the prestigious RAF Air Squadron Trophy.  Maidstone Grammar School has had an excellent record in this competition winning the trophy 9 times and winning it over three consecutive years; the only school to achieve this.  This year we came 6th out of 17 schools; Dulwich College being the winners.  Well done to the cadets and thank you to the staff who have supported them throughout the year.

Also last Friday a number of students took to the stage and performed in one of the School's Band Evenings.  These evenings have become very popular over recent years, not only for the musicians amongst the student body, but also for their friends who see this as an opportunity to support their fellow Maidstonians and enjoy an evening out.  Thank you to the staff and students who performed and organised the event. 

Yesterday I chaired a meeting with the Parent Forum: a group of parents who act as my and the School's sounding board.  A number of matters were discussed: the new assessment arrangements, reports, the new building and pavilion projects and the House system.  Much of what we discussed will be shared in next week's end of term newsletter and in future parental evenings.  Thank you again to the parents who sit on this forum; giving up their time for the benefit of the School.

 

8 March 2016

Firstly I wish to thank Ms Alloy and all the staff who organised a very successful Hurricane House Extravaganza last Friday.  This was a new event and one that we hope to see across all Houses in the near future.  Many thanks also to the students who performed at the event and to the parents who came along to support.  We raised over £500 for Demelza House.

This week is yet another busy one.  I continue to meet a number of Year 11 students and discuss with them their choices for A-Level next year.  I thoroughly enjoy this aspect of my job as, even though it is only about 10 minutes, it is nice to give my undivided attention to one student and hear about them.  I will finish my meetings by the end of the week.

Also this week I have a number of other commitments including governor meetings, a meeting with Mr Patrick Leeson, the Corporate Director for Education in Kent, and spending time in the D & T and Business Studies departments.  This latter commitment is something I also enjoy doing; visiting lessons and talking with students about what they are learning.  This year I am visiting each department and spending a couple of hours in each one getting a flavour of what the students experience.  What I have seen so far has been excellent.

On Thursday the Year 7 students complete Day 2 of the BBC Schools Report.  I popped in to see Year 7 during Day 1 and they were all enjoying the experience and discussing a number of topical news issues that matter to them.  This week each group presents their news broadcast, and I get a chance to watch a select few perform in front of the rest of the year group. 

I wish to congratulate both the U18 and U15 rugby squads that took part in last week’s Kent Sevens Tournament.  The U18 squad reached the semi-final beating schools including Skinners’ and Chis & Sid, but then sadly lost to our old adversary, Judd!  The U15 squad went one better and reached the final of their tournament, but sadly came runners-up, an achievement not seen for over 10 years.  Well done to both squads, thank you to the staff that supported the boys, and good luck to all rugby squads next Friday when they play Oakwood Park!

 

1 March 2016

This week is an extremely busy one for me and the School.  Starting yesterday and for the next two weeks the Senior Leadership Team and pastoral leaders in the Upper School interview each and every Year 11 student about their thoughts and aspirations for the 6^th Form.  It is vital that we understand their choices and how best to support them during the last few months before the GCSE examinations in the summer.  I hope the boys find the interviews helpful.

Parents of Year 8 this week receive their son’s GCSE recommendations: the subjects that both the boys wish to study and what we consider to be suitable for them.  This then forms the basis of the Academic Interview Day on Friday when all Year 8 parents are invited to come in to school and meet with a member of staff to discuss progress and GCSE choices.

On Wednesday we welcome Year 13 parents to attend their child’s parents’ evening; their last ever one.  There are only about 8 school weeks left before Year 13 leave us and begin their A2 examinations.  Keep working hard everyone. On Thursday this week is the Spring Concert.  Once again students from all year groups will be involved in performing a number of pieces from a variety of musical genres.  The concert begins at 7pm, so please do come along.

On Friday students and staff from Hurricane House launch a new event that hopefully will be part of the School calendar each year and be enjoyed by all Houses.  Hurricane House parents have been invited in to witness some of the talent that the House can offer, and I know that many of the students are excited about this opportunity.  Many thanks to the students and staff who are involved, and particularly thanks must go to Ms Alloy who has led the organisation from start to finish.  Sadly I will not be able to attend this Hurricane House event as I am travelling up to Oldham to visit a school to look at how they have been developing concepts of mental toughness and resilience amongst their student body.  Developing mental resilience is being talked about a lot within the education sector and many schools are now beginning to look at how they can develop such skills amongst their students.  It is important that every school addresses the need to prepare young people for their future; not just in terms of examination success and providing an all-round balanced curriculum, but also in terms of characteristics and skills that young people can draw upon in their lives.  The intention is to build a positive relationship with key staff at the Oldham School to share their knowledge and experience with MGS staff.    

 Finally I wish to congratulate Tom Lindsey and Joshua Gray both of Year 12 who have been appointed as School Captain and School Vice-Captain respectively for the following academic year.  Well done to them both.

23 February 2016

Welcome to the start of Term 4.  I hope you all had a good half term break and are well rested for the next few weeks.  Firstly I wish to welcome back the students and staff who have just returned from the MGS Ski Trip.  It was the first school ski trip for a few years and it is pleasing to hear that a good time was had by all.  I have already been told that the students were a credit to the School and thoroughly enjoyed being on the slopes for the week.  A big thank you to the staff members: Mr Martin, Mr Kincaid, Mr Williams, Mr Jones and Mr Terrell who accompanied the boys for the duration of the trip.

Just before half term a group of CCF RAF cadets took part in the South East Area Air Squadron Trophy Competition.  The Air Squadron Trophy is one of the most prestigious cadet competitions within the Combined Cadet Force and Maidstone Grammar School has won it on numerous occasions.  This year we have once again achieved a place in the National Final by coming second in the SE Regional Final.  We were also the highest scoring state school out of 13 competitors.  Well done to the cadets, thank you to the staff who accompanied the students, and good luck to the team who compete in the Final on Sunday 13 March.

This week we will know who next year’s School Captain and School Vice-Captain are.  Seven candidates, shortlisted from 16 applicants, took part in a rigorous interview process which involved two interviews, an assembly, two presentations, a group task and a lunch with key staff and members of the wider school community.  The outcome of the process will be announced very soon.

Finally’ on Friday all of the Year 7 boys take part in the annual BBC School Report.  This is an opportunity to illustrate how the BBC works and provide an insight in the field of journalism.  Every year the boys enjoy the experience, and it is one activity they fondly look back on when they get older.

9 February 2016

I cannot believe we have reached the end of Term 3 and that today is Shrove Tuesday.  It only feels a few days ago that we were taking down our Christmas decorations.  Last Friday saw the last House Charity Day of the year.  Challenger and Churchill students took over the School for the day to raise money and awareness for Sarcoma UK and The ABF Soldiers’ Charity.  The highlight of the day was the showing of The Great MGS Bake Off on the big screen in the Hall which was filmed the week before.  Thank you to the staff and students who took part in the Bake Off and well done to those who won Star Baker.  Friday was also the day 22 teams competed at the annual Parents' Association Quiz Night.  Over 150 people took part in what was an enjoyable evening and congratulations to Fifty Shades of Grey Matter who won scoring 222 points out of a possible 300.  Thank you to the Parents' Association, the student helpers, Mrs Lois Birrell and everyone who took part.  The quiz illustrated one thing though, the need to brush up on our spelling as the spelling round saw some very low scores!
In all my recent Blogs I have never mentioned school assemblies, but the last five weeks’ assemblies have been particularly appropriate.  The members of staff who give the assemblies have always spoken about something specific to them or on a matter that is significant for the time of year.  Since returning to school in January, everyone, without being asked to, has spoken about resilience.  Mental resilience and mental toughness amongst young people is something I am particularly keen to see develop at MGS and so spoke about it during the first week of term.  Following this, Ms Lang, Ms Johnson and Dr Everett all then continued the theme and spoke about something specific to them, from the strength of character Shackleton had when he endeavoured to cross Antarctica 100 years ago, to Dr Everett who shared with everyone the need to find peace and time to reflect quietly.  All of the assemblies certainly made me think, and I am sure many of the students did the same.
Congratulations to Rebecca Stone of Year 12 who has been selected to represent England at the U19 Korfball World Cup taking place in March in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. She will be part of a squad of 7 boys and 7 girls and will play teams from 15 other countries. Well done and good luck Rebecca. Finally I wish to thank the 18 students who have applied to be School Captain for the 2016-17 academic year.  Reading application letters from students who wish to be considered for the role and how they feel about their school is always incredibly rewarding.  The shortlisting now begins with the interviews taking place after Half Term.  Best of luck to them all.

2 February 2016

Today we welcome back to school the Year 12 students who spent last week attending the Harvard United Nations Conference.  I am sure they had a wonderful experience and were given the opportunity to achieve something that they thought they would never feel possible.  I expect they also enjoyed the snow.  Welcome back everyone.

This Thursday is the opportunity for parents of Year 8 students to come into school and meet their sons’ teachers.  It also provides an opportunity for the boys to find out more about the new subjects that we offer at MGS during the GCSE years and so give greater understanding to help in the up-and-coming decision making process.  We look forward to welcoming you all on Thursday.

This Wednesday we welcome a group of French students and their teachers who are spending the day in Maidstone.  They will be joining a number of lessons during the day and helping our own students in their French lessons.  We hope they enjoy the day.

There are two events taking place on Friday: the Challenger and Churchill Charity Day and the Parents’ Association Quiz Night.  The Charity Day is the final House Charity Day of the year and is the chance for the students from those two Houses to raise money and awareness for their charities, which this year are ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and Sarcoma UK.  I hope everyone is able to support the two Houses and so collectively raise a substantial sum of money for two important charities. 

Also on Friday is the annual Parent’s Association Quiz Night.  It takes place in the School Hall and starts at 7.30.  This year I am in the Quiz Master’s chair once more, so there’ll be no running in the aisles!  If you are able to come along and enjoy what proves each year to be an entertaining evening then please do make contact with the School Office to book your team a table.  We look forward to seeing you there.

26 January 2016

At the weekend the Year 12 students attending the Harvard Model United Nations Conference jetted off and hopefully have not been affected by the heavy snow too much.  We should feel reassured though that the Americans can deal with heavy snow much better than we can!  We look forward to hearing about their experiences when they return.

This week the Senior Leadership Team is spending some time popping into a selection of Science lessons to experience what the students experience each day.  This is simply routine and nothing to worry about.  Part of the Senior Leadership Team’s responsibility is to monitor teaching and learning across the School and part of that process is occasionally spending some time visiting lessons.  The main aim is to share the very good practice that is currently going on in Science and to celebrate its success.  It also can provide opportunities for members of staff to reflect on their own teaching style and develop further as a professional.  I am sure that everyone involved will learn a lot.

Before I arrived at Maidstone Grammar School many of you will know I spent six years at The Judd School as Deputy Head.  During those six years I undertook a one-year secondment at The Coopers School in Bromley, and this week I am returning to Coopers to meet up with the Headteacher.   I have not been back to Coopers for nearly five years and so returning there this week will certainly bring back some memories.  The Headteacher of Coopers is an extremely experienced Head and so I will use the opportunity to share with her the developments that we are seeing at MGS and how we are continuing to evolve.

Every two weeks I spend some time meeting with Harry Webster and Alex Harward, the School Captain and School Vice-Captain, and this Thursday is that opportunity.  The meetings are not only used to discuss operational matters within the School and how the prefect body can support them, but also provide me with a sounding board to share with the two of them a number of developments  I have in mind for the future.  It is incredibly valuable hearing a student perspective, and both Harry and Alex have provided me with that during their time in office. 

Congratulations to Ryan Ambanpola of 7Cl who has been selected to represent West Kent District U12s Cricket team for the 2016 season.  Well done Ryan.

A final reminder that the Parents’ Association annual Quiz night takes place next Friday 5 February starting at 7.30 - please contact the School Office if you would like to book a table and come along for an enjoyable evening.

 

 

19 January 2016

Last Tuesday the teaching staff took part in an activity where they all became learners again.  Four different activities were on offer: Bridge, Yoga, Samba Drumming and Russian, and each member of staff chose one of them which they had never done before.  I chose Bridge.  The idea was to put ourselves back into the mindset of a learner and consider what it is like learning something we know nothing about; something our students go through probably every day.  Not only was it incredibly informative and created much conversation over the following few days, but it also was an opportunity for staff to work with others that they would not normally do so.  It was a brilliant experience.

On Monday this week Dr Everett, the Assistant Headteacher in charge of the Upper School, and myself launched the application process for next year’s School Captain and School Vice-Captain positions.  I particularly like this time of year as I get to read about, meet and interview a number of students who really do value what it means to be a Maidstonian, have huge amounts of pride for their school, and who wish to give something back to a school to which they hold close to their hearts.  We will know who the successful candidates are by the end of February.  Good luck to everyone who applies.

At the weekend a group of Year 12 students leave us for a week and fly to the USA to attend the Harvard Model United Nations Conference.  This trip takes place each year and is a fantastic opportunity for those who are able to go to join young people from all across the World and debate a number of global issues that matter to us all.  Enjoy the experience.

On Friday I am attending the termly Kent and Medway Grammar Schools’ Association meeting.  Three or four times a year all of the Kent and Medway Grammar School Heads meet up and share good practice and advice about a number of matters that affect us all.  The meetings also provide excellent opportunities to network with like-minded colleagues and ensure that we continue to support the many thousands of young people in Kent and Medway in our care.

 

12 January 2016

The first week of the New Year where we all reflect on the Christmas holiday is now over and we can get on with the everyday business.  At this point I wish to thank all the students for a really good start to the term; please may it continue. 

Last week Year 8 took part in a Careers Day – a day off timetable in order to take part in a number of activities that help young people think about their futures.  One parent emailed into school on Friday saying, “my son came home yesterday absolutely enthused by the careers day that you held at MGS.”  It is pleasing to hear such encouraging feedback, and well done boys for approaching the day’s opportunities with positivity and enthusiasm.

This week Year 8 also begin their process of thinking about what subjects they would like to study at GCSE.  On Wednesday evening Year 8 students and their parents are invited to attend the Year 8 Options Information Evening to hear from key staff about the next few months and what to expect when making these important decisions.  We look forward to seeing you all there.

Tonight after school all teaching staff will remind themselves what it is like to be a learner again.  As part of our year-long work on learning at MGS, staff will be learning something that they currently know very little about: Bridge, Samba Drumming, Yoga or Russian.  The aim is to get teaching staff to imagine what it is like learning something new again, and so evoke thoughts on how they teach in their classrooms.  The session will be both informative and reflective but hopefully fun too.

I received a letter from The Salvation Army yesterday thanking us for the toys and gifts generously donated by our parent body.  As a result of this generosity, Christmas presents were given to 340 children who would have otherwise received very little if anything at all.  In addition, mums and carers were also given a small present and 210 food parcels were distributed to families.  I would like to thank you for the support you give to this worthy cause, it was overwhelming to see the gifts around the Christmas tree at the end of term.

Finally, an advanced notice of Friday 5 February which is the Parents’ Association annual Quiz Night.  Please look out for flyers giving details of the event, and come along to enjoy an evening’s entertainment.  

 

5 January 2016

Happy New Year to you all.  I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas and not regretting eating that last mince pie! 

Just at the end of last term we held once again the Great MGS Christmas Quiz: a tradition that Mrs Anderson, former Deputy Head, left with us.  The main aim of the Quiz is to build greater allegiance and community spirit within each House and be one of few opportunities where students of different ages work together to win points for their House.  It is in its third year, and this year proved to be stressful for the ICT Technicians.  The Quiz relies on running the questions through our ICT infrastructure to ensure that all students see each question simultaneously.  The 2013 and 2014 were a great success, but this year proved somewhat challenging.  We got there in the end thanks to some quick reactions by the ICT Technicians, and thank you to all the students and staff that waited patiently in what must have been a frustrating and anxious time.  Results will be announced in the assemblies this week.

This week is a quiet one; the aim of it is simply to get everyone back into the swing of things.  This term, I find, is the hardest.  Despite the Autumn Term being the longest, the Spring Term sees the beginnings of the build up to the summer examinations.  Many students are completing essential pieces of coursework, they need to be marked and moderated by staff, and additional revision sessions and one-to -one offers of help are put on to support a number of individuals.  In addition Year 8 students make their choices for which GCSE subject they wish to study next year and all Year 11 students meet with a senior member of staff to discuss their A-Level thoughts and future plans.  Alongside all of this a number of initiatives that are being worked on in preparation for next year come to a head: how we will assess students, what the House structure will look like and how teaching and learning will continue to evolve all need to be answered.  A busy term.