Autumn 2015
Outstanding results
King’s tops the league tables again
KING’S
news
Michelle Hughes Our star athlete selected for GB team KCS Theatre Company Perform at the Edinburgh Festival
Results
King’s tops the league tables once again!
The Times online have ranked King’s number one in the country following record-breaking results, which saw 97% of all grades at A*/A for GCSE results (table opposite).
An outstanding upper fifth
Congratulations to all members of the upper fifth on their excellent GCSE results: more than four out of every five entries resulted in an A* grade. 149 upper fifth form boys sat an average of 12 different exams. Only 3% of all GCSEs fell below an A giving the school another record of 97% of all grades at A*/A. Over 84% of all results were at A* alone, beating all previous records. 58 pupils achieved a clean sweep of A*s in every exam, and three pupils achieved 14 top grades. Lower fifth form boys also achieved excellent results in French and short course RS, with 97% A*/A in French, and 99% A*/A in RS. All boys can be very proud of their impressive achievements this summer and throughout the previous year.
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We have seen a really excellent upper fifth gain the results they deserve – and that is always a real pleasure. I congratulate all the boys, their parents and their teachers, on such a splendid outcome: successes like this are invariably a team effort! Andrew Halls, Head Master
GCSE results School
Type
Number of students
Percentage Percentage A* A* + A
1
King’s College School
Independent Boys
Merton
149
84.25
96.95
2
Guildford High School
Independent
Girls
Surrey
100
81.53
96.27
3
North London Collegiate School
Independent
Girls
Harrow
101
82.1
95.27
4
City of London School for Girls
Independent
Girls
City of London
87
79.59
94.72
5
Royal Grammar School Guildford
Independent
Boys
Surrey
138
71.83
94.57
6
Oxford High Schools Gdst
Independent
Girls
Oxfordshire
82
68.1
94.48
7
The Henrietta Barnett School
State
Girls
Barnet
92
69.16
94.14
8
Wimbledon High School
Independent
Girls
Merton
75
72.08
94.03
9
The Perse School
Independent
Mixed
Cambridgeshire 154
70.5
94
Independent
Girls
Southwark
67.12
83.26
10 James Allen Girls’ School The Times online 21st August 2015
Gender Area
120
GCSE results at a glance
78
Pupils achieved 10 or more A* grades
84
%
Of all grades were A* alone: a new school record
97
%
Of all grades were A*/A which is a new record
Sixth form results
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Results
Twins Doody and Fali Shanshal have both gained places at Princeton.
A great sixth form result for all
We were delighted with the success of our first cohort since 2008 to study both A level and the IB. 10 pupils gained four or more A* grades while a record 14 pupils scored 45/45 in the IB. 40% of all A level results were awarded A* grades. When combined, the school achieved an impressive outcome with 82% of grades A* or A in A level or 6 or 7 at IB higher level. Over 90% of pupils have achieved their first choice university in the last three years. This autumn, 52 pupils move to Oxford and Cambridge and 12 pupils head to medical school.
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Seeing Double!
Twin sixth formers Vicky and Thomas Vanderstichele have got a reason to be smiling. Vicky has won a place at Cambridge to study Classics, while Thomas has a place to study Biochemistry at Oxford.
Sixth form results at a glance
40 82 10 14
%
Of A levels were graded A*
%
Of grades A or A* at A level or IB HL
Pupils achieved 4 or more A* grades
Success for Our Medics We are delighted by the success of our medics this summer, whose examination success will enable them to take up their offers for Medical and Veterinary School in September. Thorough preparation and sustained commitment over a two year period, combined with outstanding results in the UKCat, BMAT, and public examinations, resulted in offers being made to 13 King’s applicants in this highly competitive field. We are enormously proud of the achievements of these impressive students and wish them every success in their careers.
The Times ranks King’s number one for IB The Times IB league table, released in July, ranked King’s number one in the country for the International Baccalaureate diploma programme following our record-breaking results, which were the best results the school has seen since it adopted the IB, in parallel with A level, in 2001.
Pupils achieved the maximum score of 45/45 at IB
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Sport
King’s star athlete Michelle Hughes
Michelle was selected to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia over the summer. Michelle competed in the heptathlon event and achieved a PB in the 200 metres and 100m hurdles, winning both her heats. In the final points standing Michelle finished 21st in the world for the Girls Heptathlon – an incredible achievement!
National Schools’ Regatta
King’s came home with two silver medals and a gold as well as a crew in the final of J18 Championship pairs for the first time.
06
Surrey schools Athletics
Four King’s pupils were selected to represent Merton in the Surrey Schools’ Athletics Championships on Saturday 13th June, two of whom came home with medals. New captain of school Nathan Inkester won the senior boys 800m and Stanley Stott-Hall came a very close second in the junior boys high jump.
Robbie is King!
Upper fifth Robbie King scooped a remarkable 11 A*s in his GCSEs, which include phenomenal scores of 98% in both maths and physics. Robbie’s achievements are all the more impressive because of his accomplishments outside the classroom. Training as a sailor, Robbie spends approximately 100 days of the year at sea and alongside his GCSE studies this year, the champion sailor managed to finish second in the Optimist British National and Open Championships and also successfully qualified to represent GB at the European championships, where he came fifth!
Robbie representing the sailing British national squad
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Sport
Cricket tour of Sri Lanka Throughout July, the King’s cricketers enjoyed another successful tour of Sri Lanka. The tour party of 30 boys (upper fifth and upper sixth) and four staff played a total of ten matches across Kandy, Bentota, Galle and Colombo regions.
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The two teams (1st XI and Dev XI) won three of their five matches, each producing plenty of outstanding team and individual performances. Vice captain of the school Freddie Freeman (upper sixth) was awarded 1st XI player of the tour.
Tap trio Finalist
Congratulations to upper sixth former, Thi-An Nguyen, who won a bronze medal with her tap trio when she competed in the All England finals over the summer.
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Drama
Edinburgh Festival: Tales from Ovid KCS Theatre Company
KCS Theatre Company returned to the Edinburgh Festival for their 18th year, where their production of Ted Hughes’ Tales from Ovid won critical and popular acclaim. A vibrant and colourful production... the large ensemble brings a lively playfulness to these classic tales... visually, the imaginative set works exceedingly well, effectively used by the enthusiastic, talented cast. British Theatre Guide
10
KCS Theatre has a history of strong productions at the Edinburgh Fringe and presents a fine showing this year... the young company change beautifully between solemnity, raucous partying and disturbing tragedy... well directed and choreographed‌there are detailed and emotional performances from cast members, as well as there being enjoyment and a great ensemble energy... Tales from Ovid is an accomplished piece of storytelling. Edinburgh Spotlight
Music
Instrumentalists perform at Hampton Court Palace At the very end of the summer term, four of our most talented instrumentalists performed a lunchtime recital in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. The audience of tourists, families and supporters packed into the intimate Chapel for an exquisite set of solos by Kai Konishi-Dukes (bassoon), Susannah Hardwick (singing), Jack Lucas-Clements (cello) and Felix von Spreckelsen (harp).
Love and Change: the raw power of the poet’s translation is given a fresh spin by this young, energetic ensemble... panache and brio seem to be the watchwords for the young cast’s performances. Their exuberance is the key to the high quality of the production. The Public Reviews
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Trips
Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands During the summer, a group of 35 intrepid students and four members of staff took the long flight to Ecuador. This once-in-a-lifetime trip began with four days in the heart of the Ecuadorian rainforest in the Intangible Zone, where highlights included a Harpy Eagle, top predator of the rainforest, and a coral snake, but woolly, spider and capuchin monkeys were also strong favourites.
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The group also flew out to the Galapagos Islands, where they saw sea lions sharing benches with locals, pelicans visiting the local fish market (the very same fish stall seen in David Attenborough’s Galapagos) and salt water iguanas walking along the harbour boardwalks next to locals walking their dogs.
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Trips During the summer a group of 26 pupils and two staff spent two weeks in Zambia visiting our partner school Fiwila. Whilst at the school, the students taught a full timetable from 7.30am–1.00pm every day. They also helped in community projects (building a water tank, making blackboards, and providing solar electricity to many of the buildings) and played sport with the locals. Evenings were spent helping the local pupils with their prep work.
Zambia
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Partnerships
Community Production: Merton Mysteries
King’s Partnership Programme
The King’s partnerships programme has continued to provoke government interest this year. Our first ever community production, Merton Mysteries, took place in March, with over fifty of our pupils joining students from a primary school, two special schools, four secondary schools and two sixth forms on our stage in a spell-binding performance attended by the Bishop of Southwark and the Mayor of Merton.
In July, sixth-formers at St Mark’s Academy, Raynes Park High and the King’s Maths School joined us at a conference designed to enhance their university applications. Our Open Doors project for primary schools was as successful as ever.
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Renewal Programme “ The new design is fantastic and it looks far better than before. I also think the queues around the food counters are moving much quicker.” Lower fifth former
“ Much more space and a more pleasant eating environment.” Upper fifth former
“ Whilst it is a cleverly renovated and expanded space in which to serve over a thousand lunches a day in a light and much quieter environment, it will also be a fantastic space in which to host other events from open days to silver service dinners – a place to be proud of.” Miss Heather McKissack
Refurbishment of the Dining Hall completed 16
The latest phase of our renewal programme has just been completed with a major refurbishment and extension of the dining hall and kitchens which has transformed the ‘dated’ style and more importantly, increased the space available. The project was carried out by Eric Parry Architects.
“ Modern yet classy, just like the school.” Fourth former
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Renewal Programme
Music school granted planning permission We are delighted that the planning committee gave unanimous support for the building to go ahead. The new state-of-the-art music school will include four large teaching rooms, the largest of which will also serve as a rehearsal room, a suite of soundproofed practice rooms and a magnificent concert hall accommodating an audience of over 200 people as well as a 70-piece orchestra. Designed by Hopkins Architects, the music school will be located near the Reeve School of Art and Design.
The new music school is anticipated to start in June 2016 with a completion date of January 2018.
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Transforming our Sports facilities Our plans for a new sports complex include a second multi-function sports hall, a six-lane 25m swimming pool with spectator viewing area, and weights and conditioning facilities. Separately, we will also build six all-weather tennis courts. Our extended sporting facilities will transform the opportunities for all boys and girls at King’s. David Morley Architects have been appointed to work on this project which is due to start in July 2017. The anticipated completion date is Spring 2019.
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King’s College School Southside Wimbledon Common London SW19 4TT +44 (0)20 8255 5300 info@kcs.org.uk More information is available from the admissions registrar: +44 (0)20 8255 5352 admissions@kcs.org.uk For sixth form admissions please contact: +44 (0)20 8255 5320 sixthformadmissions@kcs.org.uk
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