Headteacher's Newsletter July 2024

Summer header 24 fin m

Dear Parents and Carers

You may be wondering why you have received the newsletter before we have actually finished term.  As you will be aware ARE Week is packed full of trips, residentials and workshops. Operationally, this means staff are not in their usual places fulfilling their normal roles. Therefore, we are sending the newsletter out early to ensure it arrives! On that note, I would like to thank all the teaching and support staff who are giving their time to ensure trips can run safely. 

This week we have had the absolute honour of hosting two nights of student awards. This is a timely reminder as to why working in education, and particularly with young people, is a real privilege. Our awards are based on the school values of Respect, Excellence and Determination and students are nominated and chosen by their teachers. On behalf of all the staff, congratulations to all our winners. 

Year 6 Transition Day saw 320 students spend the day with us as their first formal introduction to the school. The expressions quickly changed from slightly nervous to beaming smiles. We appreciate it is a tremendous change and are delighted to have them all join us in September. 

There was something quite poignant about Year 6 transition and the Year 13 Prom happening on the same day. Once again, the Prom was held at Salomons Estate, and I have to say our young men and women looked magnificent in their black-tie attire. Thank you to the Sixth Form team for ensuring a lovely evening where great memories were made for all. 

To those of you with young people who have just taken their GCSEs or A Levels, we thank you for supporting them through a very demanding exam season. The students behaved impeccably and approached their exams with real maturity and focus. I am sure their diligence will be rewarded on Results Day and we wish them all the absolute best of luck. 

As we are still waiting for the summer weather to arrive, I am grateful as I write this that today is a blue-sky day. Hopefully we will experience many more of these during the holidays! Once again, a big thank you to all of our students for their hard work this year and for making our community the great place that it is. Thank you to all families for your continued support and, finally, a heartfelt thank you to all the staff at TWGSB. Regardless of your role, nothing works without you and you always go over and above. 

Wishing all of you a safe and restful summer break. 

Yours faithfully 

Amanda Simpson 
Headteacher 

Respect, Excellence, Determination

Positive Pathways

Well done to all our students for the continued hard work and efforts with their house points! The total number of positive house points given out this academic year 2023/2024 is now a huge 223,884! An amazing and record breaking year! Well done everyone for an amazing year of Respect, Excellence and Determination.

We will be offering a reward experience to all those students who have gained over 250 house points during the academic year as at today, 12th July, and will be arranging this for early September. Details to follow in due course.

Mr Lewis, Assistant Headteacher

House point total

RED Awards

We have had a fantastic end to the school year, celebrating achievements from a huge number of students from all year groups.

The school's annual awards evenings took place on Tuesday and Wednesday this week at the Tunbridge Wells campus. Awards are presented for all subjects, in all year groups and showcase the school's values of Respect, Excellence and Determination (RED), with the addition of some cup and trophy awards.

Students were amazing and should be so proud of their achievements. Thank you to all the staff/parents/carers/relatives and friends who attended the evenings to offer their support and congratulations. The students looked great and displayed beautiful smiles for the cameras!! It was a lovely way to end the TWGSB school year. 

Mr Lewis, Assistant Headteacher

Awards 2024

Sixth Form

Year 13 Prom

While the nation was heading to the polls on Thursday 4th July a more significant event was taking place that evening – the Year 13 Prom. In what had been an indifferent week of weather the sun managed to shine on the end-of-the-school careers of the class of 2024. The evening started with welcome drinks on the lawn of Salomons Estate with many members of staff joining to congratulate the year group on the end of their exams and to look forward to the future. The students filled the dance floor until midnight and enjoyed themselves immensely. The Sixth Form team look forward to seeing them again on A Level Results Day and wish them all the best for the future. [More photos from the evening will be available in due course on the school's alumni website: TWGSB Connect.]

Mr Hammond, Head of Year 13

mg 0504 prom july 2024

Prom composite july 2024 final

New Head Students for 2024/25

After a tough and hard-fought process involving a number of Year 12 students, congratulations go to our newly appointed Head Students, Austin and Bekah, and Deputy Head Student Ashleigh. The three of them will be performing student leadership roles across the school community in the coming academic year. On behalf of them all, Ashleigh has written the following:

'We are honoured to have the opportunity to represent the school as Head Students. School is an integral part of life and one that we will always look back on, and we hope to support the students at TWGSB to have a memorable but fulfilling education. The TWGSB community aims to develop students academically and enhance their skills and character outside the classroom, ensuring when we move on, we will positively impact the world around us. Joining Year 12 in September, I have found the support has not only helped me academically but as an individual. I feel welcomed and confident as an integral part of the Sixth Form community. 

'The fantastic community across both Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks sites is created by the students and staff who make up an excellent support network for all. I look forward to the academic year providing more opportunities to interact with this phenomenal community and working alongside Bekah, Austin, and the rest of the senior prefect team. We will be supporting our chosen charities with energy and imagination.' 

Img 0258 2 head students july 2024

Nourish Foodbank campaign

Year 13 organised another successful collection for the Nourish Food Campaign, which was delivered and gratefully received at the warehouse. Thank you to all who donated, it is much appreciated.

Mrs Corp, KS5 Team

Nourish july 2024

Fundraising

PTA Summer Fair

What a fantastic way to celebrate the end of a school year! No amount of rain and stormy weather was going to stop us from having fun! The food trucks served delicious freshly cooked burgers and fries, scrummy ice cream was up for dessert and the sumo suits provided the giggles for the day. The Sixth Formers entertained with Beer-Free Pong and a cross-bar challenge;there were beautiful flowers and plants were on sale and the bric-a-brac stall had a mountain of treasures for all. 

A massive thank you to the organisers, stall holders and volunteers on the day, and thank you to all who attended. It was a great success and we've raised £3,000 for the school.

TWGSB PTA

Pta summer fair 2024

Congratulations and thank you to the PTA for organising a fantastic summer fair. The rain threatened to ruin the afternoon for us, but events went on inside instead and included 'sumo wrestling', chocolate tombola, cross-bar challenge and lots of interesting stalls. Music was provided by Arthur in Year 11 and Paarth in Year 9.

Thank you to all the parent volunteers and the donations which contributed to ensure the success of the fair.

Mrs Rose, Assistant Headteacher

Pride Month cake sale

On the 25th and 28th of June, the school's LGBTQ+ club held a bake sale at each campus to raise money for Porchlight, a charity supporting homeless and vulnerable people in the Kent area, and their BeYou project, which works with the young LGBTQ+ community and their carers. Overall, we raised £158.50!

We would like to thank all students who donated cakes to be sold during the bake sale, and the students and staff who bought cakes from the stand – it all makes a positive difference.

Ms Codlin and Miss Harmsworth

Pride cake sale

Pride cake sale 2

Co-Curricular

TWGSB Mock Elections

Pre-election: The TWGSB mock election campaign reached its conclusion with debate between the three representatives in the Drama Studio during Break 2 the day before the election. It was fantastic to see the enthusiasm for democracy in the school with a packed out venue. Students had been given the opportunity to pose questions to the candidates with the standard of questions being more than equal to the BBC’s Question Time. The candidates were quizzed on issues from the cost of living to the environment and delivered answers that experienced politicians could learn from! The History and Politics department are so proud of the politics students for how they have thrown themselves into the campaign and we wait for the results.

Mr Hammond, Teacher of Politics

The results: TWGSB was enveloped by General Election fever during the summer term as Year 12 Politics students staged a mock election between the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour parties. Students across both sites took part, voting on the same day as the general election (Thursday 4th July). In the end the Labour Party led by Gerran P was victorious, winning 25 seats out of a possible 45. Labour was followed closely by the Lib Dems (led excellently by Charlie B) who won 19 seats. The Conservatives won just one seat despite their leader’s (Luke C) stoic campaign.

Students were treated to a full election campaign including political advertising, hustings and a lively debate between the leaders. It wasn’t just the leaders who played a key role, the campaigns were excellently run due to the hard work of the teams behind the leaders. None of the parties’ success would have been possible without their teams. Everyone who took part in the mock election should be incredibly proud of their efforts. They have played a crucial role in educating all TWGSB students about democracy, our elections and how they work. I hope the TWGSB mock election will serve to ignite the political flame in many students!

Mr J Stuart, Deputy Head of History and Politics

Results 2

Results 4

Beyond Equality workshops

This month Beyond Equality came in to school as part of the PSHE curriculum for this term to work with Year 9 and 10. Beyond Equality aims to get boys talking about masculinity and gender stereotypes, giving them the opportunity to discuss topics including sexuality, violence, emotional well-being, objectification and body image, sex, sexism and consent.

The workshops are designed to encourage the students to question their own views and those of their peers. Different parts of the workshop were loud and high energy, and some quiet and contemplative. I sat in on some of the workshops and listening to our students have an opportunity to express themselves so eloquently was a privilege. Being a young man in society today is incredibly challenging and complex and we hope these workshops have given them an opportunity to discuss some of the issues in a reflective way and feel that they have gained something from the workshops. Judging from their discussions afterwards it certainly got them thinking.

Mrs Rose, Assistant Head and PSHE Lead

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Duke of Edinburgh Award

It has been an exceptional year for DofE, reaching the pinnacle that is the Bronze Expedition this term. Two hundred and nine Year 9 participants are being put through their paces by undertaking training, their practice and finally the assessed expedition. Participants put the training on navigation and campcraft to the test. Thirty-one groups roamed around the countryside over the Father's Day weekend and will once more be roaming the Weald of Kent during ARE Week. The DofE team at school look forward to the participants completing their expedition and getting ready to submit their awards. 

With nearly 300 students signing up to either Bronze, Silver or Gold this year, it has been a great achievement by the school we hope that many students will be able to complete their award shortly so that we can celebrate in the new academic year. We are starting to put plans in place for the new season, which starts in November, so please watch out for correspondence from us when we return after the summer break. 

Mrs Fedrick, DofE Coordinator, and Mr Hamilton, Assistant Headteacher

DofE Term 6 2024

School Fund

Last school year (2022–2023) our School Fund raised an incredible amount of £67,715.76 (including Gift Aid). Donations to the School Fund have made it possible to fund many things that benefit all of our students. A few examples are the funding of our minibuses, new picnic benches for both our Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells sites, school sports competitions and payment of qualified match officials, All Round Excellence (ARE) Week and additional library resources.

Donations from our parents are much appreciated and help fund many activities beyond the classrooms. Please consider donating to our School Fund – more information and details on how to donate can be found on our school website; parents can also donate through the Iris PlusPay/Parentmail platform.

TWGSB Finance Office

Minibus

Art

Year 7 Famous Artworks Recreation

Again this year we had a phenomenal response to our Year 7 Famous Artworks Photography Recreation competition. The brief is for students to find an artwork, preferably related to the theme of animals which is the overarching topic in Year 7 Art lessons, and recreate the image as a photograph. We are always so impressed with the students' creativity and the variety of responses that are submitted, often using props, models and even pets! We found the selection of winners a real challenge this year due to the extremely high quality of entries and the winning students listed below should be congratulated for the work they made.

The task winners were awarded 7 House Points each and the Class winners 5 house points each.

Recreation Task Winners

1st           Elliott B, 7D
2nd          Miles G, 7C
3rd           Dexter J, 7F

Class Winners

7A           Zak H
7B           Cormac M
7C           Louis L
7D           Oliver C
7E           Dhruv N
7F           Henry C-G
7G          Michael W
7H           Kaya J
7I            Clarke H
7J            Luke H

Mrs Spink has put together a fantastic gallery that showcases not only the winners, but also pieces by other students that we felt deserved a special mention – we hope you enjoy the show! Click HERE.

Ms Kublik, Head of ArtYr 7 art recreation july 2024

Biology

Year 12 molecular science

Year 12 Biologists enjoyed their final lesson as molecular scientists making models of DNA from sweets and extracting DNA from kiwi fruit. Applying their theoretical knowledge without any assistance, students competed to make the most accurate DNA model and extract the largest 'lump' of DNA. The lab was buzzing with collaborative discussion, results were ‘interesting’ to say the least and they had fun in the process. After careful judging, prizes were awarded for the best model and extracted DNA.

Dr Brett, Teacher of Biology

Yr 12 science dna

Classical Civilisation

Year 12 theatre trip – review of ‘Lysistrata in the wings’ by Aristophanes

On 19th June we took our Year 12 A Level Classic Civilisation students to London to see 'Lysistrata in the wings’ by Aristophanes. Here is their review:

'The play was beautifully constructed, managing to encapsulate both the ancient Greek play and an enticing, exciting background story involving the actors. The incorporation of feminist themes helped to carry forwards the ideas of Aristophanes into the modern day providing both an enjoyable and unique experience. The comedy of the original text was cleverly and skilfully translated into the context in which the play was set. The framing of the play – a play within a play – was creative and the way in which the play began – as if the actors themselves were studying the text – added to our sense of immersion. Overall it was an thoroughly enjoyable experience.'

Mrs T Panou, Teacher of Classical Civilisation

Image 1 classics theatre trip june 2024 Image 2 classics theatre trip june 2024

Computer Science

The Computer Science department has spent the summer term with KS3 undertaking project work after their end-of-year assessments. Due to new unit additions to the curriculum, students have been able to exercise and develop their teamwork, creative and technical skills with their projects. 

Year 7 has been learning the art of stop-frame animation, famously promoted in the media by Morph, Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. In their groups, students had to plan out their story and then stage it. They quickly learnt how much work and effort goes into making only a few seconds of film. Year 7 teachers have been amazed at how well the students have taken to the project, with some outstanding films being made. We look forward to collating the best films to promote on our school's YouTube channel once we return in the new academic year. 

Continuing with the media strand, Year 8 has been looking at digital video. With our musical link to the Maths department, students had to create a music video to tune of '3 Is The Magic Number'. In their groups, students were able to plan and shoot their music videos, even being able to utilise the field space (when it was not raining!) to bust their moves! Students were then tasked to individually edit their own video that included trimming, splitting, effects and adding the music. Students had lots of fun making their videos as well as learning the technical skills of video shooting and editing. 

Many Year 9 students were excited to utilise a well-known application, Minecraft, in an educational context. Based upon the theme of Sustainable Technologies, students learnt about the need for sustainability in today's society and how this can be focused on a town. Using the example of North West Bicester, students had to work out how the different technologies used to promote the town has made it environmentally sustainable. Students then applied this to their own eco-town, within Minecraft. Students each had several plots to develop their own houses, annotating how their houses have included new sustainable technologies. It has been great to see whole class collaboration on a project, in a style that was adaptable to the environment. Teachers have seen some amazing houses!

The curriculum is based upon the three strands of Computer Science, Digital Literacy, and Information Communication Technology (ICT). 

Mr Humphrey, Head of Computer Science

Design Technology

Chair making

Taking inspiration from the cardboard beds made for the Tokyo/Paris Olympics, Year 7 and10 students took to design a piece of furniture that focused on lean manufacturing and could be constructed without using glue. Several of the chairs were robust enough to withstand the weight of an adult. The designs were created on CAD and cut on the CNC router. Accurate measurements and well thought out design created these successful outcomes on display.

Miss Hannah, Teacher of DT

Dt pic 2 cropped

Dt 1 cropped july 2024

Year 8 lighting project

DT students have been using the latest technology in their classrooms to innovate their design ideas. As part of their lighting project, Year 8 have experimented with 3D, scanning their prototype models using a photogrammetry app and importing their CAD files directly into VR. They can then interact with their design, make modifications and evaluate them digitally in 3D space.

Miss Bramham, Teacher of DT

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Img 2013 dt july 2 24

Drama and Theatre Studies

Lord of the Flies 

On 20th and 21st June students at the Sevenoaks Campus performed a production of Lord of the Flies based on William Golding's famous book of the same name, which our students study in English during Year 8. All lighting and sound effects were created and run by the students Adam and Max in Year 9 and George in Year 8. The cast led by Sam as Ralph, Zeph as Jack and Thomas as Piggy, were energetic and enthusiastic, transforming the main hall into a desert island where the only the fittest survive. 

Well done to all the performers and crew and thank you to all the parents who supported the production. We also sadly say goodbye and good luck to Zeph who leaves us at the end of this term to continue to pursue his acting career at the Brits School in September.

A production of the same play will be performed with Tunbridge Wells students at the TW campus in November. 

Mrs Rose, Assistant Headteacher, Teacher of Drama and Art

Lord of the flies sev june 2024

Food Preparation and Nutrition

Year 10 GCSE students have been practising their skills in food presentation and in reducing portion sizes. 

Mrs Humphrey, Food Technician

Food   nutrition composite june 2024

Geography

Year 8 coastal field trips to Eastbourne and Herne Bay

At the end of June, just after the heat wave (great timing) the Tunbridge Wells Year 8 forms travelled to Eastbourne as part of the Coasts unit to study the effects of beach processes and management.

We compared both ends of the beach at Holywell and Sovereign Harbour to discover the change of the beach as material moves from west to east. The activities that the students carried out were beach profile measurements with tapes and clinometers, pebble size and roundness from three points on each beach. They measured the height of the beach on either side of a groyne at six locations and carried out a wave analysis, coastal management techniques survey and field sketches.

To follow up the data collection in school we present the data and analyse the results to establish whether beach processes were taking place on the beach and establish how effective the coastal management techniques were.

The students were engaged and interested in the activities of the day and were well behaved. They enjoyed some time at lunch in the café at Holywell. As we were leaving we were approached by a couple who had been in the café surrounded by our students who wanted to let us know how well behaved and polite our students had been. They explained that it was nice to see young people eating and chatting without being glued to a phone. A lovely compliment for our students.

Two weeks after the Eastbourne trip (to ensure we had low tide) we took the Year 8 Sevenoaks students to Herne Bay to complete their field work experience. We choose to go in the summer for the good weather but were met by a fairly damp and dismal day. However, the students were stoic in their approach to the day and were enthusiastic about collecting beach data. We had obviously chosen our location well geographically, as there were hoards of other schools doing much the same activities as we were that day. Looking along the beach all that could be seen were young people measuring the beach, the pebbles and the groynes with tapes and clinometers.

Having completed our morning tasks we enjoyed a break for lunch in a gap in the weather before taking them to a café on the promenade with a remarkable selection of Italian ice cream.

We continued on in the afternoon on a beach towards the East with a fine view of Reculver Towers in order to make comparisons on our return. We have since spent time in class presenting the data and interpreting the findings.

The students have demonstrated a deeper understanding of the coastal processes and the impact of coastal management having visited either Eastbourne or Herne Bay in real life and were a credit to themselves and the school.

Mr Ash, Head of Geography

 Img 5108 geography yr 8 field trip june 2024

Library 

Carnegie Shadowing 2024

After ten weekly meetings of biscuits and book discussion we took 46 enthusiastic boys, drawn from across both campuses, to TWGGS for our annual balloon debate with Skinners’ and TWGGS.

Our boys were magnificent! They all played an active part on their mixed teams, sharing ideas and working well with the other participants. We listened to eight very well constructed, eloquent, confident, erudite and insightful presentations on why their book should win the Yoto Carnegie Medal. We were blown away!

The premise of the balloon debate is: if the eight shortlisted books were in a balloon plummeting to earth and all books but one had to be thrown out to stop the descent, which book should be kept in the balloon and win the Carnegie Medal?

Each team of students did a three-minute group presentation and their task was to convince the judges that their book should stay in the balloon. The winning team included for TWGSB: Owen B, Curtis M, Ethan H, Jackson A, Jayden C and Mathew P.

We were delighted but not surprised that TWGSB won the alternative book cover competition. Szymon P’s book cover was a sheer delight and very impressive.The Skinner’s School won the best book review. Jonathan S in Year 7 won the TWGSB Carnegie Cup this year for outstanding all-round participation.

The Yoto Carnegies, the international Reading for Pleasure initiative, awarded the Carnegie Medal to The Boy Lost in the Maze by Joseph Coelho. However, each year young people who take part in the scheme get the chance to vote for who they would like to win. The Shadowers’ Choice Award, is announced alongside the main Medal winner at the official annual winners’ ceremony. This year the vote was for Crossing the Line by Tia Fisher (also overwhelmingly the combined vote of TWGSB, Skinners’ and TWGGS).

The Medals are awarded annually by CILIP, the library and information association and the Youth Libraries Group  who put together the shortlist.

Library carnegie 2024
Staff book review competition

The library recently held a staff book review competition, judged by four discerning pupils – Ethan H (8H), Conrad W (7I), Liam P and Filippos K (7B). The students enjoyed reading and grading the reviews, which were all anonymous. Members of staff were tasked with the goal of producing a book review that would entice the judges to read it.

The worthy winners were:

  • Third place to Miss Bott for her review of The Giver by Lois Lowry
  • Second place to Mrs Stevens for her review of The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
  • First place to Miss Jones for her review of Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan 

Mrs Korvin and Mrs Wright won great participation awards.

Many thanks to all who entered and helped raise awareness of the importance of reading around the school.

Mrs Musselwhite Steel, Library Manager

Library staff book review final july 2024

Modern Foreign Languages

Talk by Steve Eadon from Mingalaba

On Friday 21st June Year 9 students at the Sevenoaks site benefited from a talk given by Steve Eadon from Mingalaba on the context of languages and their importance within the sporting world. Steve worked for 11 years at Arsenal, both coaching and as part of the club's community outreach team. As a result, he has travelled much of the world and was able to talk to students about his experiences meeting some of the biggest football stars and how his knowledge of languages has benefited him in a variety of scenarios working at Arsenal. 

Steve's talk gave the Year 9s much food for thought, helping them to recognise that keeping doors open in life helps them to grasp every opportunity presented, be it choosing languages as an option choice or re-discovering languages later in life!

Miss Long, Teacher of MFL

Img 0005 mfl mingalaba june 2024

Year 10 and 12 trip to Paris, June 2024

The Year 10 and12 students who went to Paris 24–28th June had a fantastic time. On the Tuesday, they visited a local market in Brie-Comte-Robert and had a wander around the town. In the afternoon they went to the Sacré-Coeur and were able to meander the streets of Montmartre. On the Wednesday, they climbed the 600-plus steps to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, which was followed by a relaxing boat trip along the Seine. They showed a considerable amount of resilience as it was 32 degrees in Paris and we walked 8 km that day. On the walk they enjoyed the shade and ice creams of Le Jardin des Tuilleries and saw the spectacular Louvre Pyramid. On the Thursday, their excellent behaviour was rewarded with a trip to Parc Astérix. Finally, they were treated to a practical lesson on how to make crêpes.

In the evenings the students were able to play football, basketball, table tennis, swim in the pool and generally relax. The trip was offered to students studying French for GCSE and A Level and provided them with plenty of opportunities to practise their French speaking skills.

Mrs P Gray, MFL Lead for French

Paris 2024

Pan con tomate

Year 12 Spanish students enjoyed making and trying some 'pan con tomate' in their Spanish lesson this week, following the recipe in Spanish. It is one of the simplest, well-loved, famous dishes from Cataluña. In Catalan, it is called pa amb tomàquet and in Spanish, pan con tomate.

Pan con tomate composite july 2024


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In Spanish Year 7 have been learning about Dali as an end-of-term project. This beautiful piece of artwork by Hugo and Patric in 7G is copied from a Surrealist painting by Dali called 'Sleep', or 'El Sueño'. ​Ms Blenkin, Teacher of MFL


 

Music

'Fresh Air' classical recital

On Wednesday 26th June, TWGSB Music hosted its first classical recital in recent history, entitled 'Fresh Air'. The programme included the Orchestra, The Elites and five soloists. The Orchestra started the proceedings with a number of film classics, such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones. This orchestral performance, the first in many years at TWGSB, was extremely well received by the small, but devoted, crowd and was welcomed with rapturous applause. This was followed up by five brave soloists – Seb, Charlie, Vuk, Alvis and Alfie – playing piano, clarinet and flute. Although the standards of difficulty varied, each musician had done plenty of preparation and pleased the audience with their skills. Finally, The Elites, a quartet consisting of violin, flute, clarinet and keyboard, wowed the guests with their exceptional talent, performing Meditation from Thais and the Finale from Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. Our thanks goes to everyone who supported the event, particularly the Sixth Form volunteers, whose representation of the school’s values was exemplary. As a result, they helped raise over £60 for the Head Students' charity.

Mr Joris, Head of Music

Fresh Air 2024c

TWGSB Battle of the Bands: 'Last Man Standing'

On Wednesday 3rd July, the Music department organised and hosted ‘Last Man Standing’, featuring several groups of extremely talented musicians competing to win both the audience’s and the judges’ hearts. The night started at 18:00 with an interval about halfway through and the final band finished about 20:00. The bands varied in size and genre to bring a diverse and exciting array of music, including some originals, to the evening, with musicians coming from schools all over the area to unite under their mutual love for music and performance. We were particularly excited to bring together students from both TWGSB campuses, along with bands from Weald of Kent, Bennett Memorial School and The Judd School. 

Making his debut as co-host, Oliver Rooke, a Year 10 GCSE Music student, announced the bands and made the audience feel welcome and included.

During the interval, audience members were invited to purchase refreshments from the bar, put together by volunteer teachers and Sixth Formers, with all of the proceeds going to the Head Students' charity.

After all of the performances, the audience were invited to scan a QR code on their tables to vote for the band they thought was the best. This was an incredible success, with most of the audience members voting, and there being only one vote between the first and second place. However, it was the judges who critiqued each band and then decided whose performances were the best. Individuals were given prizes for being best in their field, e.g. ‘best bassist’, before the top three bands were announced and awarded prizes, those winning the event walking away with £50 each!

The evening went amazingly well and everyone had a great time thanks to Mr Brush and Mr Joris who made the whole thing possible. 

Oliver Rooke (Yr 10) and Daniel Ashley (Yr 8)

Battle of the Bands June 2024

Physical Education 

Tennis

The U13 tennis team qualified for the U13 Kent Finals held recently at Sundridge Park Club. The boys played incredibly well, displaying excellent team work, determination and sportsmanship, and finished in third place. The U15 team lost a close game against Skinners' School 8-4.

Pe u13 kent finals tennis sundridge june 2024

Many of the students who represented the school or have participated at PE clubs went on a trip to the Eastbourne Tennis tournament. The students had seats on centre court and, in glorious conditions, watched an exciting men’s singles match, with two Brits playing. We then watched a women’s match, which was an incredible game. After 2.5 hours of play, they had only played two sets and unfortunately we had to leave before watching the final set. The students behaved brilliantly and experienced watching some high- class tennis.

Img 3892 pe eastbourne tennis june 2024

Img 3894 pe eastbourne tennis june 2024
Cricket

After Term 5 was hit heavily with poor weather, we had to cram in a number of cricket matches this term.

Through a bye, Year 10 managed to find their way to the quarter-finals of the Plate competition, where they played a strong Hurstmere side and unfortunately lost by 80 runs.

Year 9 went on an incredible run, beating Norton Knatchbull on a rain-hit pitch. They then beat Harvey Grammar at home by 3 wickets and agonisingly lost to St Lawrence College by 2 runs in the semi-final of the plate. The team got to meet Ashes winner Geraint Jones after the game and were supplied teas on the day – it was a fantastic effort from the team and Oliver A-R and Etienne S have both batted well all season. The team has been incredibly unlucky to lose their last three matches by 2 runs; hopefully they will go further next season.

Year 7 also had a fantastic term of cricket. In the T20 plate they beat Simon Langton by 5 wickets, then Bullers Wood by 140 runs, including a century from Max P, and then beat Wilmington Grammar School by 58 runs. This meant that the team reached the final and played St Olaves, where they fell just 6 runs short, chasing 130. A great first year of cricket for this team and they will look to hopefully win the competition next year!

Well done to all students who have represented the tennis and cricket teams this term. 

Mr Boddy, 2nd i/c PE

Year 7 Inter-Form Football

The Year 7 Inter-Form football tournament has been taking place during Term 6. This has involved all ten Year 7 forms having their own team, with two student managers per team. The matches have been 11-a-side with three subs, preparing the players for next season.The ten forms have done really well with organising their teams and it has been great to see 160 students enjoying football.

There have been three groups. 7B, 7C, 7E and 7I have qualified for the semi-finals, and these matches will take place in the final week of term. Very well done to all the students who have participated. 

Mr Menzies, Teacher of PE and Head of Co-Curricular Sport


Other News

Black belt Luca

Luca S (Year 8) started ITF Taekwondo with Oaks Martial Arts in 2014 when he was aged three. Luca enjoyed his weekly class and was delighted to receive his yellow tag 9th Kup in May 2016. That was the moment he decided that he wanted to stick with it, work hard and his end goal was to earn a black belt. After years of grading, competitions and an enormous amount of work he put in to his practical and theory assessments, Luca achieved his goal. On Sunday 24th March 2024, just four days after his 13th birthday, Luca was awarded with his black belt. Well done Luca!

Luca smith 8j taekwondo


Mr Jackson's summer challenge

On 31st August Deputy Head Mr Jackson will attempt to complete the ‘Tour Des Stations’ cycling event in Switzerland to raise money for the MSA Trust, a charity that supports those affected by Multiple System Atrophy, a rare neurological disorder. The event, considered to be one of the hardest one-day races in the world, will see him tackle 242km up, down and around the Swiss Alps, cycling up the equivalent of Mount Everest in one day.

We wish him the best of luck in completing the challenge and raising as much money as possible for this great cause. Anyone who would like to donate can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/page/ollyandbencycleeverest

Oj

 

 


Marketing, Development & Alumni Relations

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TWGSB Alumni Connect News 

Some inspiring news stories have been submitted on our Alumni Portal, TWGSB Connect, from former students who tell us what they’ve been up to since leaving TWGSB, and inspiring our students and recent leavers as to what options could be available to them after leaving school. 

Alumni and former staff, please click on the stories below to explore TWGSB Connect News and join our rapidly growing community of if you haven't already done so: Join | TWGSB Connect

Thank you so much for the story contributions and please keep them coming in.


Alumni, please follow our TWGBS Alumni CONNECT socials to hear when new alumni news is published: 

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Send all your alumni news, recent releases, career updates and achievements to: connect@twgsboys.kent.sch.uk