Headteacher's Newsletter April 2026

Respect, Excellence, Determination

Positive Pathways

It has been an excellent term for house points, and we are delighted to see so many of our students progressing through the positive pathway by demonstrating our school values in their daily lives. Every display of kindness, respect, responsibility, determination, effort and achievement truly makes a difference. So far this academic year, an impressive 164,006 positive house points have been awarded! To celebrate this milestone, all students who reached 150 points or more were invited to a special breakfast at their campus on Tuesday.

We are incredibly proud of everything you have accomplished – please continue to uphold and embody our school values!

Mr Lewis, Assistant Headteacher

Well-being

Online

There has been a lot of discussion in the press and in schools recently about the access that young people have to their smart phones. If you are concerned about how often your child is using their phone or how much time they are spending online, take a look at the excellent website Internet Matters: Keep Children Safe Online: Information, advice, support - Internet Matters. Internet Matters have created a template that you can adapt to make an agreement as a family around the use of the phone and the internet. It might be a good starting point for your discussion around this subject and setting boundaries for the use of devices: IM-Family-Agreement.pdf

Exam support

Many of our young people are preparing for their external exams in May/June and this can be a stressful time for them. Please encourage your son/daughter to follow this link for advice on how to cope with the stresses of exams: Exam Support Guide.

Mrs Rose, Assistant Headteacher

Whole School News

School Council

The student council met this term at both the Tunbridge Wells and the Sevenoaks campus. They discussed well-being, school meals and how we can become a more eco-friendly school. The students at Tunbridge Wells also met with Laurence the head chef at the site to discuss the catering. A survey has been sent to all students to ask them about the food, and we will discuss this next term. At Sevenoaks the school council will meet with head chef Dawn next term. 

Mrs Rose, Assistant Headteacher

Alumnus Dr Derek Woodgate at the 70th celebration dinner 

As you will be aware, this year marks 70 years of TWGSB at its current location on St John's Road in Tunbridge Wells and we are hosting a special evening on Friday 24th April to celebrate. 

We are proud to welcome alumnus Dr Derek Woodgate as after-dinner speaker at the event. A multi-degreed scholar (Dr Philos in Engineering and Sciences), former UK diplomat, futurist, author, academic and global consultant, Dr Woodgate (British citizen now resident of Croatia, USA and UAE) is renowned for creating future learning systems and scenarios from his Atlanta-based company, The Futures Lab, Inc, with which he consults and advises worldwide governments and corporations.

At our dinner Dr Woodgate will share on the topic of 'What if your future self is watching!' What do 'Could do better' and 'future success' really mean? He will also reflect upon the growth and intrinsic values of TWGSB and the importance of future readiness in a fast-changing world, weaving a narrative of seemingly disconnected happenings born out of his formative years at our school.

For details and tickets for this grand celebration event, click HERE.

Mrs Roberts, Development Manager

Falconry

With the better weather the seagulls are out in force again at the Tunbridge Wells campus. Trained birds of prey visit regularly to help keep the seagulls at bay. Their presence gently encourages the gulls to move on and prevents them from nesting on site. This term we've had visits from Alfie and his peregrine-lugger falcon, Cory, along with Rio the Harris hawk, handled by Sharyn.

TWGSB fashion show

If you are planning on using the school holidays to have a clear out please remember that we would very much appreciate donations of good-quality pre-loved women's clothing, shoes and bags for our upcoming fashion show in aid of the School Fund. Donations can be dropped off at either campus reception during school hours until Friday 1st May.

Thank you for your support – and do join us for this exciting event on Thursday 7th May at the Sevenoaks campus. Tickets available via IrisParentmail.

Sixth Form

Year 12 UCAS trip

Not long after their mock exams Year 12 went to the UCAS Discovery event at the ExCel centre in London. It was an exciting opportunity to explore and talk to a wide range of over 100 universities, colleges and employers. We hope that the trip inspired the students and helped them to think about the next stage in their lives as the time for completing UCAS forms will come sooner rather than later. As always, the students enjoyed collecting the freebies that the universities were offering!

Mr Hammond, Head of Year 12

Sixth Form fundraising

This term the Head Students have been fundraising for their charities – Hospices of Hope and Sands – with a Sixth Form football tournament and a bake sale for all students. The Head Students' final fundraising event for the whole school is the non-uniform day on the last day of term before Easter. 

Football tournament: The tournament took place on the 3G over two sessions, with the Year 12 matches held on 25th February and the Year 13 matches on 4th March. Across both year groups, the charity event was a tremendous success, with strong participation from players and excellent support from students who came to watch during enrichment.

Despite challenging weather conditions on the day, including freezing temperatures and heavy rain, the final was completed on Wednesday 25th March, with the Year 12 team securing an impressive 5–0 victory over the Year 13s.

In total, the tournament raised £150 for the Head Student charities. We are extremely grateful to everyone who took part or came along to support; the earlier rounds were especially enjoyable, blessed by bright sunshine and plenty of good humour.

Thank you to Ollie H for organising such a successful tournament, and we are especially grateful to Mr Sugden from KM-Services for generously donating prizes for the winning team.

Bake sale: Thanks to some wonderful donations of baked goodies, the senior prefect team were able to run very successful bake sales at both campuses at the beginning of March and raised over £400 for the Head Student charities. Thank you very much to all who contributed!

Sixth Form Team

Co-Curricular

Muddy Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition!

The weather is a big factor on a DofE expedition. This time last year, the Silver practice expedition participants were experiencing a freak heatwave; in true British style this year was back to type, with rain, fog and mist! Fifty-eight courageous Year 10 students embarked on their practice expedition across the British countryside. Starting out near Hartfield in East Sussex, nine groups traversed the muddy terrain to reach their first camp for the night at Hammerwood. Despite it raining all day, the students were still in high spirits when cooking on the Trangia and setting up their tents.

Continuing westward on Day 2, the uplift of the weather did not come to fruition, and students used more of their navigation skills as they encountered woodland, closed paths and a golf course, before setting down for the night at Broadstone Warren.

The final day of expedition started out as a foggy affair, which took most of the morning to lift. Our budding participants were up at the crack of dawn, tents taken down and breakfast cooked on the Trangia, ready to embark on their final walk towards Horsted Keynes. The students were grateful for the dry weather and their spirits were kept high by the thoughts of the finish line. Due to their early morning departure, most teams were able to finish by 14:00 with all participants collected by 16:00 – something I was very grateful for!

The participants have learned a lot from this expedition, which will shape their preparation for their assessed expedition in May! Although it seems like a long time away, participants have already started planning their routes for the assessment and will be hoping for warmer (and drier) weather!

Mr Hamilton, Assistant Headteacher

Gardening Club plant sale

The Gardening Club  has enjoyed a highly successful term, during which students have cultivated an impressive range of plants in the greenhouse at the Tunbridge Wells campus, including spider plants, tradescantia zebrina, aloe vera, garlic and broad beans. The students have also chitted and planted potato seedlings, and learned how to take cuttings from house plants, which they can then propagate and grow. We also recently harvested some radishes, which the students split up and took home. 

At the end of term, the club ran a plant sale, sold 35 plants in total and raised a total of £138.65. All proceeds contribute directly to the club’s budget, helping to fund the purchase of seeds, compost and other essential resources for future projects.

Miss Robinson and Mrs Chick, Science

The Library

National Year of Reading – discover the benefit of books!

The library has been buzzing with lots of students taking part in the two challenges that we have devised as TWGSB’s participation in the National Year of Reading:

• Read Up is a reading-and-review challenge with rewards and prizes based on our reading lists, which can be found in the library and downloaded from Oliver, our Library Management System.

• Be a shelf talker is a competition for the recommendation of books by students to students. Winning entries will be displayed on the library shelves and participants will receive rewards and prizes.

The focus of the National Year of Reading is to encourage reading both for pleasure and as a means of improving learning, achievement and individual prospects. Reading isn’t just for fun; it helps improve our focus, boosts imagination and opens the mind to new ideas. While there is an argument that all reading is reading, be it advertising or road signs, we are taking the opportunity to underline the importance of building 'reading stamina' and reading a book from cover to cover. There is a worrying trend that young people are starting university or work without the ability to read a whole book or report from beginning to end.

In library lessons we have discussed the upsides and downsides of smart phones and also the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) on our lives. The students are very vocal about an AI-dependent future, which may impact our ability to read and understand long texts. We have also had library lessons in which you could hear a pin drop, with the whole class fully immersed in a book.

At TWGSB we encourage everyone to pick up a book and enjoy the benefits that reading brings. Parents play an important role and we encourage you to promote and demonstrate reading at home to help us engender lifelong reading habits.

Mrs Musselwhite Steel, Library Manager

Students at both campuses are storming ahead with the reading challenge and filling up their loyalty cards.

Art

Trip to the Tate Britain

At the very end of last term, in February, the art department at TWGSB took both GCSE and A Level students to see an eye-opening exhibition at the Tate Britain. This was to give students a wide range of references and inspirations to use when doing art in school. Whilst there we were able to enjoy discovering the permanent collections as well as visiting an exhibition dedicated to the great 19th-century landscape artists and rivals, J M W Turner and John Constable, whose works in landscape painting cemented them as some of the best artists of their time. We saw monumental paintings like Turner’s ‘The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons’ as well as ‘The White Horse’ painted masterfully by Constable. The trip was incredibly worthwhile, as it not only showed us the techniques and styles that artists used and how we could use them in our own work, but also shone a light on the history of the two artists, what they were inspired by, and how we too could see inspiration in everyday things like nature, as Turner and Constable did before us. 

Tom M (Year 10)

Maximillian at Maidstone

In the last newsletter we featured Maximillian in Year 7, whose painting of his sister wearing her VR headset while holding a soft toy was shortlisted for the prestigious 2025 John Downton Awards. Maximillian is pictured here next to his painting, which was displayed alongside other shortlisted artwork in a public exhibition at County Hall, Maidstone. Sadly, Maximillian did not win an award but according to his Dad he enjoyed the whole experience: 

'The standard of the artwork on display was absolutely incredible, and it was a real pleasure to be part of the exhibition. The pupils who were awarded prizes thoroughly deserved their recognition – the quality of work across the exhibition was genuinely inspiring.
Although Maximillian’s piece was not selected this time, he took it in good spirits and still very much enjoyed the experience. On a positive note, he was particularly pleased with the complimentary chocolate cake and apple juice!'

The Art Department is extremely proud of Maximillian – an amazing achievement!

Mrs O'Driscoll, Art

Classical Civilisation

Our Classics A Level students encountered another violent but thought-provoking ancient Greek drama in February when we went to London to see Euripides’ ‘Iphigenia in Aulis’ at the stylish Bloomsbury Theatre in Euston.

The legendary Greek commander Agamemnon is poised to invade Troy but there is no wind. Only a sacrifice of his daughter will change this. What should he do? You might think there is no dilemma here, but you’d be wrong.

As so often with these UCL productions, the lead female characters were played with power and subtlety. They also seemed very well cast with Olivia Ng as the delicate and almost fragile daughter, Iphigenia and Davy Tennyson as the intimidating yet helpless wife and mother, Clytemnestra. Tennyson opened the play in a strobe-lit blood-covered freeze frame and continued to dominate the stage whenever she entered it.

Director Simon Dormandy comments on how great tragedies can ‘lead us to the precipice of an agonising riddle, and leave us there, wondering’. Certainly, the production brought out some key themes in the episodes – state brutality versus individual autonomy and innocence versus the murky world of ambition and politics.

The story is not for the faint-hearted and this production of ‘Iphigenia’ certainly stimulated discussion amongst us all on the way home.

Mrs Henshall, Classical Civilisation

Design and Technology

V&A Innovate is an annual national competition, which challenges teams of students to design a solution to a real-world problem. The three themes for the Innovate 2025/26 competition were ‘Rest’, ‘Join’ and ‘Reimagine’. TWGSB submitted four entries. Below is the ‘Reimagine’ entry from the DE Zeens team, comprising Fin, Zach, Albie and Max, each of whom had a specific role in the project: team leader, designer, researcher and editor. Shortlisted winners will be advised in June – good luck to all our teams!

Miss Hannah, Design and Technology

Drama and Theatre Studies

Newsies Jr!

Our school production of the musical Newsies Jr is fast approaching! Students have been working with tremendous dedication, both on stage and behind the scenes, to bring this energetic, heart-warming musical to life. We are incredibly proud of their creativity, teamwork and commitment.

Tickets are now on sale via Iris Parentmail or available on the door with cash or card payment. Performances are Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th April in the Main Hall, Tunbridge Wells campus; doors open 6pm. We hope you will join us to celebrate their achievements and enjoy an all-singing, all-dancing performance that promises to entertain audiences of all ages!

Year 8 trestle masks

This term Year 8 have been exploring the art of trestle masks in Drama, developing their physical theatre skills and learning how to communicate character and emotion without relying on spoken words. Through fun practical workshops, students experimented with movement, posture and ensemble work to bring their masked characters to life. The unit has encouraged creativity, confidence and teamwork, and the Year 8s created engaging final performances to the Pink Panther theme!

Miss Turner, Head of Drama and Theatre Studies

English

Following World Poetry Day on 21st March, a celebration of the enduring power and impact of poetry, the English department is proud to share the work of Charlie A (Year 9). He chose to write a deeply moving poem in order to raise awareness of the mental health challenges faced by many young people today. An incredible piece of writing, Charlie's poem is about the impact of mental health and suicide. Please scroll past if this subject is difficult for you. 

The Space You Leave

Miss Steane, Head of English

MFL

On Friday 6th March, two Spanish-speaking actors from the Onatti Theatre Company visited both the Tunbridge Wells and the Sevenoaks campus to perform ‘Un Ensayo Desastroso’, a rehearsal in Spanish where actors audition for roles in a Spanish version of Romeo and Juliet. A unique feature of the production was that it was not pre-rehearsed, which brought a lively, spontaneous and highly entertaining element to the performance.

Ms Blenkin, MFL Lead for Spanish

Congratulations to Year 10 GCSE Spanish students Bruce S, David E, Lenny F, Charlie A, David M, Dylan D, Thomas G, Edward O, Samuel S and Elliot V for volunteering to take part and delivering excellent performances in the roles of Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Paris and the father.

Music

Mass singing at the Assembly Hall

On Tuesday 3rd March, a small group of enthusiastic students from both campuses joined forces to perform at the Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells. Upon arriving at the 1000-seat venue, students met up with Mr Thompson in the foyer, where the atmosphere was electric with excitement. They were whisked away to their own backstage room for last-minute preparations and a final briefing. Having rehearsed on the stage earlier in the day, students were familiar with the impressive auditorium, but coming out to an audience of hundreds was a completely different experience!

Each school was announced by the presenter, Elisa Harrod, and met with thunderous applause from family and friends. An extensive programme of varied songs ensued and the students acquitted themselves with aplomb as they sang with great enthusiasm. Songs included 'Wake Me Up' (Avicii) and 'The Circle of Life' (The Lion King) – please contact the school if you would like an audio copy of the latter. The event was concluded by a few words from the Mayor of Royal Tunbridge Wells, who praised the children’s bravery and the staff involved in making it possible. 

Our first foray into the world of mass singing at the Assembly Hall was a great success and we hope we will be invited back again in the future!

Broadway workshop

On Thursday 12th March, a group of Year 7 and 8 students took part in a singing workshop with focus on songs from Broadway to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. The workshop leader, Aga, was highly enthusiastic and experienced, building the students’ trust and confidence quickly so they could express themselves fully. The boys really enjoyed the event, which will have added to their personal cultural capital, confidence and enjoyment of music. 

Battle of the Bands

On Thursday 26th March, the Music Department hosted Breaking The Mould, the theme for this year's Battle of the Bands. Fifteen bands took part, made up of students from a number of other schools, including TWGGS, The BRIT School, Skinners', Colfe's, Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar, Hillview and The Judd. 

It was a great opportunity for students to test their mettle, develop stage confidence and enjoy performing in public. The hall was packed with an enthusiastic and supportive audience, with a café-style layout and relaxed atmosphere. Three excellent judges gave feedback after the performances, which were wide-ranging in style with both classic hits and original songs. At the end of the event, all the students gathered in front of the stage for the judges' final deliberation. They named their favourites within categories such as 'best guitarist', 'best frontman' and 'best singer', then announced the runners-up and winning band – Wall Art with '21st Century Schizoid Man' by King Crimson – much to the delight of a dedicated gaggle of supporters in the audience, who jumped up with rapturous applause. Two students had the following to say about the event:

'Battle of the Bands was a great experience for our band. It was our first one and it was cool to play on a stage with an audience and judges. Playing against more experienced bands gave us an idea of what our band can be like when we are older. We all enjoyed it and can’t wait for the next one.' Ben

'My favourite part was being able to play at the last minute with Year 8. I like them very much because they were kind to me, and I did my best to play the piano well for them. I also liked the song because it is very famous. I really liked the goodie bag with the music notes pen as well.
Being fully part of the event made me feel very happy. It was a very strong experience to be on stage with all the lights, the instruments, and the cables, and to see all the people watching us from below. It gave me a lot of emotions all at once. The Year 13 students were very good.
The whole show was  fun, and thank you to all the teachers.' Jesse (Year 7)

Click HERE for more photos from the event.

Mr Joris, Head of Music

Physical Education

Year 7 visit to Twickenham

Year 7 students recently had the exciting opportunity to take part in a rugby-focused trip to Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. The day began with a training session at Roslyn Park, delivered by qualified RFU coaches. This provided a fantastic opportunity for the boys to develop their core skills, while also gaining an insight into specialised coaching methods.

Following the training session, students visited the World Rugby Museum, where they engaged with a wide range of historic memorabilia, including shirts, trophies and interactive exhibits. The students particularly enjoyed the interactive elements, recording some impressive scores on the scrum simulator and fully embracing the opportunity to take part in a Haka reenactment, which added to the energy and enjoyment of the experience.

The day concluded with a guided tour of Allianz Stadium, offering students the opportunity to explore behind-the-scenes areas usually reserved for players and officials. Highlights included visiting the changing rooms, walking through the players’ tunnel and sitting in the royal box. The tour guide shared fascinating insights into the history of the stadium, the England rugby team and the preparation required to perform at the highest level.

The students also impressed the tour guide with their strong prior knowledge of England rugby, confidently answering questions and engaging throughout – so much so that it was surprising a few of them were not offered a job on the spot!

It was particularly pleasing to see the level of enthusiasm and engagement from the group throughout the day. There was a real sense of enjoyment and excitement surrounding England rugby, something that has not been as evident since the opening round of this year’s Six Nations. Overall, the trip was a great success and provided a valuable opportunity for the students to further develop their understanding and appreciation of the game. A big thank you to all the staff and coaches at Roslyn Park RFC who made the day possible.

Mr Stevens, PE

Rugby round-up

Year 7: The Year 7 rugby teams have enjoyed a highly positive and competitive season, with both A and B teams taking part in fixtures across Kent as part of a developing schools’ league. Throughout the year, the boys have produced some impressive team performances, showcasing excellent teamwork and a growing understanding of the game. There have been some outstanding tries scored along the way, reflecting the progress made in both training and match situations. As the season has developed, squads have become more settled and this has allowed players to build strong connections on the field. This puts the group in an exciting position heading into next season, where we look forward to more fixtures and opportunities for the boys to continue their development.

One of the most pleasing aspects of this group has been their attitude. The players have consistently responded positively to setbacks, whether a narrow loss or a postponed fixture. Their resilience and willingness to move forward is second to none and they deserve a great deal of credit for this.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all students who have regularly attended training and represented the school with pride throughout the season. Their commitment, effort and enthusiasm have been excellent and it has been a pleasure to see them develop over this season. We look forward to picking up where we left off next season and continuing to build on the progress made this year. 

Mr Stevens, PE

Years 8 and 9: It has been a very successful season for the Year 8 and 9 rugby teams. The Year 9 team has played five games, winning four, and scoring a total of 166 points throughout the season with a game against St Gregorys Catholic School still to play. They also competed in the Kent Schools sevens competition doing extremely well against tough opposition.

The Year 8 team had four games this year as opposition struggled to field a team against them, which was frustrating for the squad. However, the students showed great heart and skill regardless of the statistics. The last fixture for the Year 8 team was the Kent Schools sevens tournament, which they won. Winning four out of five games and conceding only three tries in the process, they did themselves and the school proud to round off a great season.

Everyone who represented the school has done themselves proud and in preparation for next year, the future is looking good for TWGSB rugby. 

Mr Wagstaff, PE

Year 10: Congratulations to our Year 10 rugby sevens team, who were crowned U15 Kent Schools’ RFU Sevens champions after an outstanding day of competition at Eltham College.

The team produced a series of superb performances on their way to the title, showing pace, skill, resilience and excellent teamwork throughout the tournament. In the group stages, they recorded impressive victories over Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys (38–0), Langley Park School for Boys (21–0) and The King’s School, Canterbury (21–5).

They carried that momentum into the knockout rounds, defeating Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School 38–19 in the quarter-final and The Judd School 42–0 in the semi-final. In a tense and dramatic final, the team held their nerve to beat Skinners’ School 20–19 and secure the county title.

This was a fantastic achievement against a very strong field of established rugby schools, and the squad represented the school with tremendous pride, commitment and character. Well done to all involved in a memorable and richly deserved success. 

Mr Woods, Head of PE

U18: The U18 side delivered a strong and determined performance in the Kent Sevens held at Gravesend Rugby Club, competing in a hotly contested group stage against high-quality opposition. Narrow defeats to Hayes, Chislehurst & Sidcup and The Judd – by a single try – reflected just how competitive the group was, with fine margins proving decisive. The squad responded well to these setbacks, producing an impressive and well-earned victory over St Lawrence.

Finishing third in the group, the team progressed to the semi-finals where they faced a strong Sir Joseph Williamson’s side. Despite the challenge, the squad produced a superb effort, demonstrating resilience, teamwork and commitment throughout. A fantastic showing from all players involved, with plenty of positives to take forward. 

Mr Millar, PE

Football focus

U19 2nd XI: Following a fine 1–0 victory against Maidstone GS in the Kent Cup semi-final the team had the Kent Cup Final to look forward to. This was played against The Judd School on the evening of Friday 27th March at Maidstone United FC's Gallagher Stadium. TWGSB took the lead in the first half through a goal scored by Joe F (Year 12). TWGSB led 1–0 at half-time. Judd equalised in the second half with a very good goal scored by a former student. It was a very tense and exciting match. Judd scored the winning goal to make it 2–1 midway through the second half with a headed goal from a corner. Our TWGSB 2nd XI is a young team, comprising mainly Year 12 students. The team has done very well to reach the Kent Cup Final, a match that could have gone either way with TWGSB leading for most of it.

Year 8 U13 B team: The team has had another outstanding season winning all ten games from the first ten fixtures played. On Thursday 26th March the team played in the ESFA National Cup semi-final, away at Richard Hale School in Hertford. TWGSB raced into an early lead with a goal scored by Jack G. Richard Hale School responded well to take a 3–1 lead at half-time. TWGSB played much better in the second half. The second goal was an excellent long range strike by Noah C. TWGSB pushed for an equaliser, which arrived with two minutes remaining when Blake H scored from close range.

Extra time was very evenly contested. In the final minute TWGSB hit the crossbar when Noah J’s shot was superbly tipped on to the crossbar by the opposition’s goalkeeper. The match finished 3–3 after extra time. The penalty shoot-out did not go well for TWGSB with Richard Hale School the ultimate winners. This is the second consecutive year that this TWGSB team has reached the ESFA National Cup semi-final. The team are now looking forward to playing the Kent Cup final against Ravenswood from Bromley at the Tonbridge Angels FC stadium in May.

Year 7 inter-form football: This competition will start in Term 5. All ten form teams need to have a squad organised. The matches will be 11 a-side with three subs per team and two student managers. This means 160 students will take part in this competition, which will also help the students prepare for the shift from 9-a-side to 11-a-side football.

Football practices for most year groups will continue at both campuses in Term 5 with sessions led by an external provider. Very well done to all involved.

Mr Menzies, Head of Football and Head of Co-Curricular Sport

Physics

On Friday 6th March several of our Year 12 Physicists took part in the Physics Olympiad Senior Challenge. This problem-solving paper is set to be a real challenge to students and tests not only their knowledge of Physics they have been taught, but also their wider understanding. This year, 13 of our students were awarded Bronze certificates, which puts them in the top 50% of students nationally, four students achieved Silver certificates which is around the top 20% of results, and two achieved Gold, placing them in the top 6% of entries. Well done to all who took part.

Mr Brady, Head of Science

PSHE

Drugs and the law

Andy from the Kenward Trust visited both campuses recently to talk to students about the law, drugs and alcohol and the impact they can have on people's lives. He spoke to the students about the impact of 'wrong choices' and what the short-term and long-term consequences could be physically and legally. This is part of the school's PSHE programme to educate students on drugs and the law. 

Mrs Rose, Assistant Headteacher

VAWG Support Champions

The first meeting of the VAWG Support Champions took place at the Sevenoaks campus this week with TWGSB students from Years 7 to 12 in attendance. The students met with PC Stanley (TW) and PC Darling (Sevenoaks) to find out more about the purpose of the White Ribbon initiative and what their role will be.

Although Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks are two of the safest places to live, there are still areas where our young people feel unsafe. This project aims to get the opinions and experiences of young people around the issue of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). The project is not saying that men do not experience violence but statistically women still experience more. We will encourage our students to share their own experiences as well as give feedback from talking to friends, family and others.

This is a Kent-wide initiative and three schools in each area have been selected to take part – a total of 39 schools and 41,000 students. The scheme has funding for three years and is school focused: led by young people and police supported. Why our school? Boys are allies and can be key in preventing violence against women and girls. Male bystanders can support victims when they witness VAWG, such as sexual harassment in public places.

A student ambassador's role is to be the in-between person who has conversations in their form groups or year groups to find out where students feel unsafe and what can be done to improve public spaces, situations and awareness. The benefits for school and the students involved are:

• Empowerment, to give young people the tools to do the right thing
• Improved safety for young people
• Stronger relationships between the school and the community
• Student leadership opportunities
• Collaboration

We are looking forward to working in collaboration with Kent police and the other local schools to improve safety and awareness for our young people. Look out for future notices about the campaign.

Mrs Rose and Mr Lewis, Assistant Headteachers

The child-centred policing team have been visiting both sites every month to inform students about a range of topics relevant to young people and to establish good relationships between the police and the young community. These photos are from the team's recent visit to Sevenoaks to educate the students about Child Exploitation.

Religion and Philosophy

As part of our KS4 and KS5 'Path to Eudaimonia' programme: 'The Human Quest for Meaning', Year 13 students attended a talk entitled 'More than meat – why belief in the human soul actually matters' on Tuesday 17th March delivered by Father Ed Tomlinson. This was a fascinating exploration into religious and philosophical anthropology, tied to the concept of the soul from a Catholic perspective. Father Ed encouraged debate after his talk and welcomed questions and comments. As the comments below show, our Year 13 students relished the opportunity to ask thought-provoking and insightful questions to challenge some of the statements and views that were raised, creating an academic intellectual forum of debate:

'It was interesting to hear someone else’s point of view; even if it may have been controversial I think it’s good to keep an open mind and listen to what others may think on things.' Conall

'I found Father Ed’s viewpoints on modern democracies, and the advancement of atheism as a problem was incredibly interesting.' Edward

'I enjoyed learning about other perspectives of religion and how it can help the human soul and I liked that he willingly answered many questions.' Nathan

Mrs Hawkes, Head of RE, Philosophy and Ethics

Other News

Marketing, Development & Alumni Relations

Dear Supporters of TWGSB

This year, we celebrate 70 years of our remarkable school and really want you to be part of it. Join us for a special 70th celebration at our Tunbridge Wells campus on the weekend of Friday 24th and Saturday 25th April:

Friday 24th April

• Pre-dinner drinks reception with music and complimentary fizz
• Three-course fine dining menu by renowned Thackeray’s
• Our own students doing front-of-house service
• Alumni involvement across the board
• Guest speaker, Dr Derek Woodgate
• Music and dancing afterwards

Saturday 25th April

• 10.30am Alumni football match at the school’s 3G pitch – all spectators welcome (no charge), food van available all morning.

For this one-off celebration weekend, we’ve done our very BEST to put together a fabulous Friday evening’s entertainment plus the Saturday morning football match:

Dinner details HERE (graphic design sponsored by arcade78.com). Book tickets HERE.

Your kind support will turn our 70th into a true community celebration! Our thanks and appreciation, as always.

Mrs Ingrid Roberts, Development Manager

iroberts@twgsboys.kent.sch.uk

connect@twgsboys.kent.sch.uk

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