Maidstone Grammar School€¦ · York Public Library, Central Park, the United Nations site, the...

Maidstone Grammar

School

In this Issue

Harvard

News & Achievements

Rugby Tour

Sporting Achievements

CCF

MGSPA.

Term Dates

We have once again reached the end of another busy term, and what a term it has been. This newsletter, which complements my weekly Headmaster’s Blog, will hopefully give you some idea of life at Maidstone Grammar School since Christmas. Despite the term being very busy, it has also been very rewarding, and the many articles in this newsletter celebrate numerous successes. My favourite day of the term, and in fact of the year, is the day I invite the two students to take on the roles of School Captain and School Vice-Captain. It was a delight to offer the roles to Kristian Szwedziuk and Lex Delamere-Ayling, and I look forward to working with them during the next 12 months. Before you read on I would like to quickly update you all with our expansion plans. Back in January we began our three year building plan; a plan that will see a new performing arts building, additional science laboratories and computing classrooms, a new pavilion, and a full size 3G all weather pitch. By now the students will have seen the timber frame being constructed for the Performing Arts building, and this first phase should be completed by August. In addition to these exciting building plans we are working hard behind the scenes to prepare the restructuring of the House and Pastoral systems. The names of the four new houses have been decided: College, Corpus Christie, Tonbridge and Barton. These four names symbolise the four homes the School has had in its life. It was important that the new names reflect the traditions of Maidstone Grammar School, and I believe that they do this perfectly. I look forward to seeing in the coming years Maidstonians building a strong allegiance to their new Houses. Enjoy the rest of the newsletter and have a wonderful Spring break. M Tomkins

MGS April Newsletter 2017


January 2017 brought with it not just a new year, but a new experience for us to embark on. Harvard Model United Nations 2017 was our target, and on Sunday 22nd January, we were off. An early start, we had to be at MGS waiting for the coach at 4am, but we all made it, most of us wearing our HMUN jumpers with our names and nicknames on the back. Although with these, some of us didn't quite get what we bargained for! The coach journey to the airport was oddly quiet, and after a brief stop for breakfast and a minor panic about one of us forgetting their bag, we boarded the plane and we were off to the States! Our first destination was New York. The journey into New York is one of the most amazing things but it gets even more impressive though when you are in the concrete jungle. The giddy attitude we had characterised my time in New York. Time Square that evening was the highlight of the time we spent in New York for me. Having the sun set while we were indoors eating, and coming outside to even brighter lights with a group of my closest friends was something I will never forget. We spent hours taking photos and visiting all the shops, us boys even braving Sephora with the girls, which turns out to be the Mecca of the makeup world. New York was a model challenge of how to cram as much as possible into 4 days. The New York Public Library, Central Park, the United Nations site, the rainy Statue of Liberty, the humbling 9/11 memorial, the hospitable people of CNN and the Thai and Finnish missions to the UN is the list of our adventures. Each experience was unique and amazing, and if you throw in ample time to sleep, shower and eat, this was New York for us. Venturing off in a regular group of 9 or 10 during free time, we found Bubba Gumps, Five Guys and a beautiful little Thai restaurant close to our hotel. After visiting our respective missions, we endured the roughly 5 hour coach transfer to Boston, where the real work would begin. The following day involved some sightseeing, following part of the Freedom Trail (always been on my bucket list) and shopping and eating in Quincy Market. That evening though everything changed. Suited and booted, name tags on and placards in our arms, we hit the opening ceremony and training sessions, making our final preparations for the debates. For the next 4 days we were in and out of our committees, meeting new people from all over the world and putting into practise the skills we had been learning with the previous MGS HMUN team in our Monday training sessions back home. Cont…/d

Harvard 2017


For me, the week ended on a high when, despite facing serious opposition from all the major world powers, the delegation of Uganda and I (representing Thailand) led our block onto victory with our resolution passing on the morning of the final day. After watching our moderators face single ladies for us all and a few number exchanges and group photos, our time in the USA had come to an end. HMUN 2017 was an amazing experience, and despite the flu we were passing around and the bumpy plane journey home, it was one of the best things I've ever done, and I will miss my time there immensely. I would recommend Harvard to anyone, whether you think you have the skills or not. Anyone can succeed there as there is a role in committee for everyone, and it was a pleasure to participate. Allen Wesson, Deputy Head Delegate for MGS’ delegation to HMUN 2017

Business & Accounting Competition Congratulations to the following Year 12 students: Ella Collie, Samuel Jeffery, Charlie Luxton, Matthew Piper, William Terry and Allen Wesson who won the Kent heat of the ICAEW National Business & Accounting Competition and will be representing Kent schools at the National Final in Birmingham on the 30th June, competing against 42 other heat winners from around the UK.

MGS Careers Evening

On Wednesday 15th March MGS held a careers evening for students and parents from Year 9 upwards, which was a new event for the school. Although we have external speakers from industry and education coming into school to talk with students on a fairly regular basis, this was the first time we had brought a group of them together for an evening event such as this.

We were lucky enough to find twelve willing volunteers, including some former students, to come back into school and deliver presentations on a variety of career areas, including accountancy, civil engineering, teaching, law, medicine, surveying, journalism, the armed forces and engineering. The evening gave students and parents the opportunity to find out

more about these career areas and to speak with people directly involved in these fields. The evening was very well supported, with almost 400 students and parents attending, and is definitely something we will look to run again in the future. The photo is the Civil Engineering presentation delivered by former student Bob Tong, a Partner at Buro Happold Engineering. Photo is Civil Engineering presentation delivered by Bob Tong, a Partner at Buro Happold Engineering Photo is Civil Engineering presentation delivered by Bob Tong, a Partner at Buro Happold Engineering. Bob is a former MGS student

Harvard 2017

Student Achievements & News


Following our first MGS science fair, some of our winners Ethan Ellingham, Samuel Fletcher, Edward Flower, Joseph Clapham and Matthew Taylor who attended the regional competition were invited to the national final and took their project “How to improve Wi-Fi signal.” Paras Dixit and Alfred Hodges took their project “Is Biological Plastic a Realistic Alternative?”

Since the regional competition in June last year, both groups have worked hard to develop their projects, continuing to ask scientific questions and investigate these. All the boys presented their projects to a number of judges confidently and enthusiastically. Although we didn’t win any prizes, students had the opportunity to talk to celebrity judges and attend some great shows presented by TV personalities including Greg Foot.

Students have shown an interest in continuing with their projects and improving them further to take to the next regional competition. It has been a pleasure to work with students who have demonstrated such hard work and enthusiasm. Well done to all involved.

Year 10 Geography field Trip by Tom Jackson The day started off with a coach ride to Greenwich Millennium Village. We walked around the village and did three environmental quality surveys at three different locations: the renaissance walk, the school square and West Parkside. With a short walk to the Emirates Airline and despite the windy conditions we made it over, it was a great experience that allowed us to see the City of London from the skies. Next visit was to the crystal building, on the other side of the river, it was a fascinating building in which we learnt a lot on sustainability and what our future cities may look like. We took a short coach journey to Stratford, where we were able to collect a lot of data by doing a number of surveys including an EQS, a QUA and a building survey, as well as interviewing members of the public. More surveys took place at the Westfield centre which gave us the chance to compare the two locations. Our last visit of the day was to the Olympic Stadium, The Velodrome and The Orbit, where we interviewed members of the public asking their opinions of the effects of the regeneration.



Performing Arts Spring Showcase—by Allen Wesson Thursday 23rd March brought to the Big Hall the Performing Arts Spring Showcase where students and staff from all years and areas of MGS, and the musical organisations that support the school, came together to put on a show for everyone. One notable guest was Mr Fuller, the former Head of Music and conductor of many music ensembles within the school, as well as my choir conductor in Year 7. It was great to see him still supporting MGS in his retirement. I was the compere, trying to keep people entertained while everyone was preparing for the next stage of the event. I'd like to think I did a good job. Gaudeamus Brass opened the show with a fantastic interpretation of ‘Mr Jums’; directed as always by Steven Seeds. They were followed by Joel Parfitt, Mackenzie and Harris Skinner, Connor Graham and Jacob Gawel. Between them they made up the first section and boasted a host of piano, singing and guitar skills, and all did immensely well with well-polished performances. Tom Hall took to the stage with his accompanist, Val Jones, to play Scherzo Finale, which was followed by a hilarious and well executed extract from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, performed by our very own Mrs Brooks and Mrs Edwards. The School Choir, James Harris and Ethan Pickard then threw a variety of talents to the audience, with another performance by Harris and Mackenzie. Before the interval we were treated to a performance of ‘The White Feather’ - directed by Josh Barnes. A group of actors (Danny Sharp, Molly Brown, Oscar Waters, Daniel Edwards, Daniel Pugh and Elliot Stedman) used very clever choreography to perform a short, but powerful tale of World War 1. The Concert Wind Band welcomed us back with three great pieces, finishing with the School Song, Gaudeamus. ‘The Un-named’ then made their debut on the stage, performing Counting Stars by One Republic. Finlay Wishart took on the challenge of playing JS Bach’s Toccata in D Minor BWV 565, which was executed incredibly well, and was a great reward for Finlay after taking on such a challenging piece. Harris Skinner and Dan Edwards sung Katy Perry’s Wide Awake. The final section was opened by Joseph Maddison-Roberts, Matthew Hua and William Potter, three amazingly talented senior musicians of the school. Matthew then left Joseph and William to play Standing Next to Me, which marked their final Performing Arts Showcase as MGS students. It is sad to see two incredibly talented musicians and performers leave the school, but we all wish them well in the future, as we do to the other senior performers and technicians who we will be saying goodbye to this summer. Jack Beavington, winning my admiration for his courage at such a young age, took his clarinet to the stage and performed confidently. Matthew Hua shared his GCSE Music composition, a beautiful piano piece called Waltz in E Major, which stunned the audience and showed off the great talent we had on display that evening. Finally, after Daniel Edwards sung a great cover of The Winner Takes It All, Elliot Stedman and Harris Skinner acted out a few scenes from the Woman in Black as part of their GCSE Drama piece. It was a suspenseful, chilling piece, with a spooky appearance by Mrs Edwards as the Woman herself. So that was our show. A great performance by all of us and something I loved being a part of. Seeing what MGS has to offer in Performing Arts is always a treat, and I'm excited to be around for more showcases in the future.



Oxbridge Events This term, students in Year 10, 11 and 12 have been given the opportunity to find out more about studying at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. On 22nd March a minibus of Year 12 students went to the Oxford and Cambridge Regional Student Conference at Epsom Downs, Surrey. Students were able to attend a series of subject based seminars delivered by Oxford and Cambridge lecturers, in addition to getting advice about applying to the universities and how to be a competitive applicant. The following day, a team of current undergraduate students from Queens’ College, Cambridge, visited the school to talk to Year 10 and 11 students about what it is like to study at Cambridge, from a student perspective, and to answer questions posed by our students. Both events were highly informative and hopefully helped to start preparing our students who may be considering applying to these, and other top universities.

Sponsored Degree Event

A group of Year 11 and 12 students visited a Sponsored Degree Event at the Spitfire Cricket Ground in Canterbury. The event was organised by the Kent and Medway Grammar Schools’ Association and was an opportunity for students to find out about sponsored degrees (or degree apprenticeships) as an alternative to the traditional three or four year university degree.

Around 300 grammar school students from across the county attended the event. A degree apprenticeship involves earning and learning at the same time. Students are employed by a company who will arrange and pay for them to complete their degree level studies on a part-time basis. There are currently 48 higher and degree apprenticeships already in place across the UK, with 35 more in development, across a number of occupational sectors, including science, business, finance, IT, engineering, construction and more. Around 200 UK employers are currently offering these schemes, with the figure growing rapidly. It was emphasised that degree apprenticeships are not an easy option, as students need to fit their studies around a full-time job, which, for some, may not offer the traditional “university experience” they were looking for, but the benefits are definitely worthwhile: students will gain their degree, without any debt, in addition to being paid a salary and having a permanent job.



Primary Outreach Programme - March

On the 24th of March Maidstone Grammar School held a public speaking workshop for Year 5 boys from East Borough and Loose Primary Schools. A group of Year 12s along with some excellent Year 7 helpers worked with our Year 5 visitors to develop their confidence and public speaking skills. The morning involved playing a number of confidence building games; analysing some film clips of famous speeches to understand the techniques used to make them effective; writing and presenting speeches on a topic of personal interest. All the boys successfully delivered a speech to the group using a range of the techniques explored. Two speeches were particularly commended on the themes of “Tea” and “British Inventions.” It was a very rewarding and enjoyable day for all involved and it was great to see our school giving back to the local community and receiving some very positive feedback including: “Thank you so much, once again, for providing such a super opportunity for our Year 5 boys to learn about the art of debating. It also gave them the invaluable experience of seeing a grammar school in action. They have come back, with great enthusiasm, telling me all about their morning. We so look forward to working with you again in the future”. (Year 5 Teacher) “Thank you for the hard work that went into organising it and making it happen for us.” (Year 5 student) “The Sixth Formers were really helpful and kind to us.” (Year 5 Student) “It really helped seeing and talking to Year 7s as I will be taking the 11+ and hope to pass.” “They made it fun. My speech was on tea and I won a Rubik's cube.”

Jerome Chappell-Tae 12Cr2

Congratulations to Jabez Cheeseman 7S who has just secured the role of young Harry in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue. This is an amazing opportunity and a great thing for a Maidstonian to have achieved.


In the February half term the MGS Senior Rugby squad departed for a 7 day tour of Paris with three fixtures against Bobigny Rugby Club, Stade Francais Academy and Livry Gargan. This was a much anticipated tour, the first since 2014 which was to Lisbon Portugal. The team left Maidstone at 7.00am on Monday 13th February and judging by the withdrawn and somewhat sombre mood of some players, accompanied by the odd grunt as a means of communication, it was clear from the outset that early morning breakfast of 7.30am was going to be a

challenge for some. The party headed off for Dover for the ferry crossing to Calais and an onward journey to Paris. The team were billeted at The CREPS Accommodation in Chatenay Malabry, a suburb about 9 miles south of Paris. This was a quiet area far from the hubbub and bustling night life that the boys had clearly envisaged when setting off from England, after all this was a Rugby Tour! Rooms were allocated and the players dragged their belongings to the accommodation block. Although basic they fitted the needs of a Rugby tour which was a focus of training, playing and cultural experience. The first cultural experience was the evening meal and once having mastered the somewhat temperamental tray dispensing machine, the boys were able to select from an array of starters, mains of chicken and fish and desserts of yogurts and cheeses, although Archie Danvers did not seem too keen on the set yogurts! Breakfast was a selection of cereals, bread and Melba toasts. The burning question was however, how we were supposed to drink our morning tea or coffee as there were no cups to be found anywhere. We quickly realised on seeing a French volleyball team with tea and coffees that you are supposed to use a cereal bowl, another cultural difference that we needed to overcome! We soon customised ourselves to our surroundings and set about the business of training. Our local training ground was a 20 minute walk from the centre and on Tuesday we had a 2 hour session followed by lunch. We were due to go swimming, but the thought of having to wear speedo swimmers and swimming caps did not appeal to the players (can’t for the life of me understand why!!) so we headed off into the centre of Paris for our first experience of Parisian life. Wednesday saw us travel to Club House of Houilles, the ground of French Club Houilles Carriers sur Seine, known locally as “The Piranhas.” There the team had a coaching session delivered by the club Director of Rugby and Head Coach, both of whom had played and coached a Federal 1 league level. The session challenged the boys skills and developed their understanding of game awareness.

2017 Rugby Tour


The first game was against a highly rated side Bobigny at the Stade Henri Wallon. This was a very physical encounter against a much bigger and very physical team. Both sides played some excellent rugby, with Bobigny making good use of their superior size. MGS played with confidence, pace and width, but were just not able to finish some of the excellent

moves. The final score was 26-19 to Bobigny. The post-match hospitality was superb, which was to prove to be the case with all the teams we played. Thursday saw another light training session to help loosen off the bumps and bruises of the previous game. The original plan was to play Stade Francais Academy in the

evening, but sadly they withdrew due to injury concerns ahead of an important fixture. The disappointed was soon put to one

side as in its place the ground representative organised a training session at the Stade Francais training ground. The session was lead by First team players second row Paul Gabrillagues and scrumhalf Clement Daguin. Friday was a day of culture with a visit to the Louvre Museum. The Museum is reputed to be the largest in the world and it would be fair to say that the sheer size was in itself impressive let alone the significant artefacts such as the Mona Lisa and the Vino de Milo or as she is affectionately known by the local Parisians as “The chic with no arms.”

MGS & Bobigny,Stade Henri

Training

2017 Rugby Tour (Cont…/d)


An early start on Saturday for a 10.30am kick off against Livry Gargan. We arrived at the venue and once again were impressed with the Stadium and playing surface. Mr Tomkins found this of particular interest and took the opportunity to use this as a fact finding mission with the impending plan to build a similar facility at MGS. It was a cold foggy morning, but it was not long before the mist lifted and the pitch was bathed in glorious Sunshine. The Livry team were no less physical than Bobigny and it was not long before the physical nature of the game took its toll, with Captain Jordan Earle having to leave the pitch with a damaged ankle and Jake Davies receiving a cut to his forehead above his eye, clearly the first of his Rugby career!

The first 20 minutes was an even affair, but as the Livry players began to tire, the quick handling and pace of play allowed MGS to control the game. The final score was 40-0 to MGS. The boys played some of the best rugby of their season on this tour and many of the Year 12 players impressed with their ability and commitment. With the majority of the side staying on into Year 13 and a good crop of Year 11 players the future for 2017-18 looks promising.

The post-match hospitality was again excellent and was a feature of the tour. Having left the Livry Clubhouse we made our way back to Chatenay Malabry to change ready for the last evening’s entertainment. The journey back was a quiet affair with the exertions of the week clearly taking its toll.

The end of tour was to be celebrated with a visit to a Top 14 Match Racing 92 verse Brive followed by an end of tour meal in a Paris restaurant. This was an opportunity for the players

to watch a top quality team at close quarters in an intimate stadium, soon to be replaced by

a state of the art facility. It would be fair to say that the players took this opportunity to round off their tour with a good evening at the stadium followed by a great end of tour meal.

I have no reservations in saying that this Tour to Paris was a success with players developing as individuals and as a team. The aim of the tour was to offer the players the opportunity to experience quality rugby, challenging training and cultural diversity. I would like to thank Mr Tomkins for his support on the tour and the boys for their commitment to the rugby, which did much to enhance the reputation of rugby at MGS. I look forward to the next tour in 2019, destination to be announced shortly. Mr P Hathaway - Director of Rugby MGS

2017 Rugby Tour (Cont…/d)

Sport Achievements & News


MGS Sevens Rugby Round Up

MGS teams played 15 tournaments across the age groups, Year 7 to the senior Sevens squad and U18 Curls. There was some notable success at a number of events for the U14, U16 and Senior Sevens teams. The Senior Sevens squad played in the Gravesend RFC Floodlight Sevens and after some very tough games against Sevenoaks School, Chislehurst and Sidcup GS they beat Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School in the final to win the tournament for the first time in the School’s history. This success was followed up at the St Olave’s School Sevens where they were runners up, losing out to The Judd School. The U14 Sevens team had a similar level of success at the St Olave’s School Sevens as they too reached the final only to beaten by The Judd School. The U12 Sevens team played at St Olave’s Grammar School and went unbeaten drawing all their group games against Judd, Langley Park and Colfes School. This was their first experience of the Sevens game and with more experience they are a team that has the potential to do well in this format of the game. The U13 Squad were invited to play at the Judd Sevens where they played some strong opposition but nevertheless gave a good account of themselves. They also attended the Kent Sevens held at Rochester Mathematical School.

Maidstone Senior Sevens, Winners Gravesend RFC Floodlight Sevens 2017

Rugby match of the Year

The scrum of rugby, MGS vs Oakwood Varsity event. MGS did not fail to deliver with all age groups winning their respective rugby matches and the girls drawing their netball fixture. Year 7 A (Bobcats): 15-10 win

Year 7 B (Tigers): 35-0 win Year 8: 45-5 win Year 9: 60-0 win Year 10: 22-7 win Seniors: 54-3 win Netball: 13-13



The U14 squad attended Beths GS Sevens, Kent U14 Sevens and The National Schools Sevens as well as St Olave’s Shool. They had a successful Sevens season reaching one final and two semi-finals. Again, this is a team that has the potential to achieve success in this format of the game, with greater experience and application, I am sure they will overcome teams such as Judd in the future. The U16 Sevens team had mixed success and struggled at the Kent Sevens. However, at The National Schools Sevens, Rosslyn Park they played some exceptional Sevens to win

their group and progress to the knock out stages by beating St Joseph’s School, Ipswich in the deciding group game. They came up against Sedbrugh School, one of the top Rugby schools in England and who have a solid reputation in the Sevens game and they proved to be good all-round and, despite a valiant effort from all the team, they were knocked out of the tournament having reached the last 32 in the competition at this age group.

The U18 Girls played in two tournaments, Reigate Charity Sevens and the National schools Sevens. They played with commitment and clearly enjoyed their experiences, but it would be fair to say that in both tournaments they were out played by more experienced and physical teams. Despite this it did not appear to dent their enthusiasm and they have vowed to return next year.

Maidstone U16 Sevens Team last 32 at Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens 2017

U18 Girls team Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens 2017



Gymnastics: Congratulations to Sam Ghinn 9Cr who has been selected to be a member of the British Gymnastics training squad for boys aged 14-17.

Cold Water Swimming: William Luckhurst 10E competed in the National Cold Water Championships. He was competing in the 15 -18 age range, and so was one of the youngest competitors there, despite this he secured Gold in both the 30m breaststroke and the 90m freestyle, an absolute killer of an event in freezing water. He is now the National Champion in these events and these results have also put him in a good position for the World Championships in 2018. Rowing: 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 7th 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. Table Tennis: Rohan Gurung Year 10 came runner up in the Kent School Games Table Tennis event for his age group after some excellent performances representing MGS. Football: All year groups continue to perform well on the football pitch. Years 9 and 10 are already through to their respective district cup finals, which will be played on our return from the Easter holiday. We are hoping for similar success with our Year 8 boys as well. This is also the first year that we have had the ability to field A and B teams for all junior age group football. Moving into next season we will be looking to improve and increase the number of fixtures we are able to play against other schools outside the district to accommodate these sides.

Kent Schools Cross Country It was worth battling the cold weather for our MGS Students taking part in the Kent Schools Cross country event at The Royal Military School at Dover.

In the Year 8/9 boys race - Hamish Reilly finished 2nd and Bashiri Ryan 4th. Maidstone District were also the team winners, with Matthew Howson Year 8 also part of the scoring team finishing 28th. Simon Coppard, Bashiri and Hamish have automatically been selected to represent Kent Schools at the English Schools Championships in March which takes place in Norwich. Matthew also qualified for the Schools British National Biathlon Championships which was held at Crystal Palace where he came 22nd nationally representing MGS. Well done to all.



Year 7 District on the way to the final Year 7 Maidstone District football players secured a place in the final of the Southern Region trophy after a 2-0 semi-final victory after extra time. This result now sees Richard Munn, Thomas Parris, Jake Squelch, Nicholas Bell and Nathan Hinckley representing Maidstone Schools in the final v Brighton & Hove Albion at the end of April. Each of the boys have performed at an extremely high level all season and particularly in the semi-final victory where they were outstanding in terms of commitment, effort, desire and technical application within their chosen positions. We wish the boys all the luck and we will update you in our next newsletter—hopefully accompanied by the winners trophy.

Winners of the Kent Cup

Congratulations to the MGS students who play for Maidstone Rugby Club - Callum Game, Owen Hughes, Henry Warby, Tom Haywood, Oliver Leyland, Luke Reeves, Louis Skinner, James Hoyte, Dan Thomas and Archie Humphrey who became the winners of the Under 16’s Kent Cup beating a strong Old Elthamians team 22-18.



Grammar Red Nose fun

Annually MGS celebrates Red Nose Day, emphasizing the charity feel of all the students. The first thing organised in aid of this great appeal was members of the student leadership team baking cakes - over 1000 of them!! The main event at lunch was the MGS Countdown which

featured teachers and students alike, as well as featuring Jordan Chambers, the infamous Maidstonian who featured on the Channel 4 programme earlier this year. The School really do their best when it comes to charity, raising an incredible £1416.58

The Year 12 French group travelled to Lycee Francais Charles de Gaulle in London to meet some French students and observe how the French educational system works by becoming a French student for a day. The idea is to build strong friendships amongst students and to encourage our students to speak French.

CCF News


The CCF has been busy during the winter term, training the cadets ready for the numerous activities that are available when the weather improves. The Year 9 cadets have joined their chosen section and undergone section specific training. They have also attended a weekend training camp to learn to use the cadet rifle safely. Senior cadets from all three sections have attended leadership cadres to develop the skills necessary to lead cadets and be promoted up the rank structure.

CCF

Army The Army Section has been busy preparing for two major spring competitions; the Brigade Military Skills Competition and the Cadet Cambrian Patrol.

The Military Skills Competition will challenge the senior cadets to prove their skills against many other schools in a number of field craft stands. The eight man section will be participating in an obstacle course, rifle range, patrolling and a night observation, to name but a few.

At the end of term the Army Section will take part in the arduous Cambrian Patrol for the first time. The exercise format is designed to provide a challenging series of tests that are physically and mentally demanding, confirm knowledge of the army syllabus, and promote teamwork, self-reliance and unit identity. Each patrol will endeavour to achieve a gold, silver, bronze or certificate standard. This year’s competition will rely heavily on navigation and endurance and teams can expect to navigate long distances across the Brecon Beacons.

MGS CCF hold a minutes silence for the victims of the

Westminster attack

CCF News


We are pleased to announce that the MGS CCF RAF Ground Training Team won the National Air Squadron Trophy Drill competition, and placed third in RAF Knowledge at RAF Halton. The team performed well in the seven disciplines, but unfortunately placed in only two of them. The team came 9th out of 200 schools nationally in an annual competition that sees them compete in seven disciplines:

· Drill · RAF Knowledge · First Aid · Fitness · Shooting (replaced this year with manual dexterity test as range not available) · Command (Leadership) tasks · Aircraft Recognition

Although MGS are seven times winners of the competition we have not managed to win the competition overall for several years. We do however continually place highly in drill and this year retook our crown in this discipline. MGS RAF Section Cadets have put in many voluntary hours and attended several training weekends at St Martin’s Plain in Folkestone to hone their skills. They are justifiably proud to have once again recovered the coveted drill champions position, and will go on to represent the whole of the CCF against the Air Training Corps Cadets in November. We’ve ruffled feathers at this competition before by coming third, beating many ATC Squadrons and entire regions, it’s an hard fought competition and the cadets from MGS will need to put in many more hours of practice in order to compete well. It would be a bitter pill for the ATC, to lose their own National Drill competition to a CCF unit!

National Air Squadron Trophy Drill competition Winners

RAF

MGSPA. News Raising Funds, Raising Learning

Traditionally this is a much quieter term for the PA in terms of events but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy planning for future fundraising activities such as the Evening of Snooker with Steve Davis on Thursday 25 th May, and the Abba Tribute Night on Friday June 30th. Our main event this term was the Quiz night held at the beginning of February. This annual, sociable event saw 19 teams compete for top ‘know it all’ spot. There was our usual ploughman’s supper and a licenced bar selling barrelled beer, lager, wine and soft drinks. We are delighted to tell you that the evening raised around £1000. We also held our first Tribute night with Total Jam. A great night was had by all, and the fish and chips went down well too!

We receive regular donations via the easyfundraising site where members have shopped online via this website. We now have 320 registered members and have raised £4300 since launching this initiative. This doesn’t require you to do much apart from visit your online shop via this site and click away! PLEASE, PLEASE JOIN IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY – it’s extremely straightforward and doesn’t cost you a penny to sign up. Please go to http:/ /www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/mgspa , to register and shop. We have launched our new lottery – The 100 Club. Entry is £30 for the year, with monthly draws of £50, and a special Draw in December of £1000! Entry forms can be found here: http://www.mgs.kent.sch.uk/assets/Uploads/PA/mgspa-100-club-application-form.pdf

http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/mgspa

http://www.mgs.kent.sch.uk/assets/Uploads/PA/mgspa-100-club-application-form.pdf

MGSPA. News Raising Funds, Raising Learning

Our Second-hand uniform shop is proving more and more popular. We have a great range of nearly new uniform. Please check the Parents’ Association area of the school website, where you will find a price list of available stock. Any unwanted uniform can be left at the school office. The shop is open once a month, usually on a Saturday morning. Out of these times, then please email [email protected], with your requests, and we can usually sort you out! Our Charity Golf Day is on Saturday 29th April, at Kings Hill Golf Club. 18 holes of golf, in a Stableford competition, plus 3 course meal, for £60 per head. 15 teams of 4 will battle it out in various competitions, with great prizes, and an auction style raffle at the end of what we hope is a very enjoyable day! Matched Giving - please take a look at the list of companies that we know are involved with matched giving, and get in touch with your personnel/HR department to ask about this. It can make quite a difference to our fund raising! Empties Please is a new initiative, whereby the school receives money, in return for recycling used printer cartridges, so please bring in both spent ink cartridges, and also toner cartridges from laserjet printers. Ask at work, if you can have a specially designated bin for MGS. The more we collect, the more we raise. Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mgspanews, and visit the website at www.mgspa.org.uk Finally the Parents' Association would like to thank all of you who have supported us during this term. Please check our pages regularly on the school’s website to see what events are coming up and where the funds are spent. Remember, your PA is only as good as the support it receives from you, the parents! Why not GET INVOLVED? There are many ways that you can help. Please contact the Parents Association via the school website, or talk to us at one of our events

We wish you all a Happy Easter !

Upcoming Events: 29 April 2017 —Charity Golf Day

25 May 2017 —Steve Davies Snooker Night

24 June 2017 —Summer Event

30 June 2017—Abba Tribute Night

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.facebook.com/mgspanews

http://www.mgspa.org.uk

http://www.mgspa.org.uk

Diary Dates

Contact Us

Maidstone Grammar School Barton Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 7BT 01622 752101 [email protected] http://www.mgs.kent.sch.uk


Term 5

18 April 2017 - First Day of Term 5 (Week 1) 18-21 April 2017 - Y12 Geography Dorset Field Trip 19 April 2017 - Y13 Leavers Photograph 19-20 April 2017 - Y9 & Y10 Immunisations 21 & 24 April 2017 - GCSE Art Exam 26-28 April 2017 - A Level Art Exams 26 April 2017 - Y6 Induction Evening 1 May 2017 - Bank Holiday 2 May 2017 - Y7 Parents’ Evening 3 May 2017 - Y7 Study Skills Day 8-12 May 2017 - Y12 Internal Exams 12 May 2017 - Y13 Leavers Day 15 May 2017 - GCE & GCSE Start 26 May 2017 - Last Day of Term 5 5 June 2017 - Inset Day for staff (no students in School)

First day back in Term 6 – Tuesday 6 June 2017 —Week 1

Advanced Notice:

12 June 2017 - UCAS Evening

We wish the MGS Skiers a fun and safe skiing holiday over the Easter Holiday and we look forward to sharing photographs in the next issue.

Kent Schools Finals: Please keep a look out for the dates of our Football finals, we are sure the boys would appreciate lots of support at the Gallagher Stadium.

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