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king’s high
news
Winter 09
www.kingshighwarwick.co.uk

Opening of the Creative Arts Centre
Mrs Jane Marshall, Chairman of
King’s High Governors, Miss
Catherine Bott and Mrs Surber,
Headmistress
Mrs Bennett, Mayor of Warwick is welcomed
by Mrs Surber
Gaudete! Phoebe and Amy delight their special
audience
Welcome to the business, girls.
The Opening of the St Nicholas’s Creative Arts centre by Miss Catherine Bott.
Internationally acclaimed soprano Catherine Bott,
a pupil at King’s High between 1964 and 1971,
opened the St Nicholas Creative Arts Centre on
9th December. She formally realised a dream
conceived when all things artistic and creative
became an integral part of the KHS curriculum.
Miss Bott inspired and amused the 150 strong
audience of patrons, parents, staff, girls and
guests with tales of her own school days at King’s
and how she had listened to Faure’s Requiem while
working in the art room on Friday afternoons. It
was vital, she said, that each girl was alert to
every opportunity as she enjoyed the wonderful
education on offer at King’s High. She wants the
school community to be unafraid of asking
intelligent questions – a skill which furnishes her
well-known role as a key presenter
with Radio 3.
Harriet Wells, Phoebe Jeanes and Amy
Walsh played and sang beautifully
during the course of the simple but
impressive opening ceremony. Mrs
Jane Marshall spoke of the ‘fizz and
sparkle’ that emanate from the art,
drama, music and design technology
departments at King’s and Mrs Surber
of the personal importance of dance
and creativity to her.
The project has cost £3.7 million and has
transformed our fondly named ‘St Nic’s’ into a stunning suite of performance and
rehearsal rooms for music, dance and drama; classrooms, storerooms and offices; and
enhanced art and design and technology facilities. Miss Bott
applauded a space that encourages every kind of “hands on, ears
on experience”. “Welcome to the business girls!” she concluded as
she cut the ribbon and invited sixth formers to talk to her about
their own aspirations.
As the guests left, Year 7
girls were waiting to come
into their space to get
down to work, already
following the example of
our guest of honour: an
inspiration, as Rosie Seal
said in her Vote of Thanks,
to us all.
The girls of King’s welcome Miss Bott
Miss Bott recounts her days at King’s High
Miss Bott with members of the music department,
Mr Smallwood, Phoebe, Amy, Harriet, Mrs Jones and
Miss Catherine Bott enjoy a moment together

Collaboration
The Big Draw
The Big Draw is a national event aimed to get everyone of all ages and
abilities drawing.
King’s High, Warwick School and Warwick Preparatory School joined
forces to create a giant map of the Warwick area made up of
individually drawn designs at the Guy Nelson Hall on October 8th.
Year 4 Food Critics!
Year 4 girls at Warwick Preparatory school got a taste of Year 11
Food Technology coursework with the King’s High Food Technology
group. Their brief is to develop products for children, so they
brought in items, like Hannah’s snack bar, for the Year 4s to eat and
give feedback using sensory analysis charts. The elderly, those with
nut and gluten allergies or the need for a low fat diet could be the
next to benefit!
Getting down to the Big Draw
Feeding back!
Drama Workshops for the Community
Warwick Preparatory and Westgate Schools came to our new
Creative Arts Centre in November to take part in some interactive
and informative drama workshops centred around the production of
“Tales from the Hidden Annexe: The Story of Anne Frank.”
They learned the importance of drama in context, exploring key
events in Holland during World War II. Through improvisation and
exploration the pupils really came to understand the importance of
freedom. The impact of Crystal Nacht hit home when they became
eye-witness reporters. Our visitors also gained an insight into the
Frank family history and life, exploring extracts of the actual diary
and the stage version as well as putting together their own diary
entries.
Members of the cast from King’s High and Warwick School helped to
facilitate the sessions with our Head of Drama, Mrs Barker-Doherty
in the lead. Everyone understood the play so much better as a result
of their own experience. The two schools, and Coten End Primary
School, saw a special matinee performance on the 20th November
at the Bridge House Theatre.
Starcrossed
lovers:
Ellise
Chappell
(Juliet)
and
Charlie
Hamblett
(Romeo)
Civil strife in the 1960s: a ‘Romeo and
Juliet’ to challenge our preconceptions
Mods and Rockers sparring on the streets of beach-town Verona
intensified the tragedy before our eyes. The well known lines of the
play took on a new resonance, delivered with clarity and as if for the
first time so all could appreciate their impact.
Ellise Chappell’s lovely Juliet and Charlie Hamblett’s dynamic Romeo
emphasised the destruction of innocence by the bitterness of a
family feud. Hamish Riddle rose splendidly to the challenge of
portraying the volatile Mercutio, while Edward Skudra was an
authoritative, mature Friar. Patricia Fox did an excellent job bringing
the Nurse’s lively character to life and James Parris as Benvolio was
equally convincing. Maria Tadros was particularly good as the
distraught, grieving Lady Capulet, married to a tyrannical Lord
Capulet played by Izzy Scrimshire
Congratulations to the cast in general and the back stage crew
responsible for a simple but effective set, 60s tracks and seamless
scene changes.
Active understanding in our new studio

Trips over Autumn Half Term
Events
Arizona here we came!
The expedition to Nervada, California and Arizona –
bookended by the Las Vegas Strip at the start and the
theme parks of Los Angeles at the end – was focussed
upon a very full riding programme at the White Stallion
Ranch near Tucson. The 64 girls (many of them new to
riding) learnt western style techniques varying from simple
rides to team penning and barrel racing. A sense of the
stunning landscapes of this area of North America was
provided by day visits to the Grand Canyon, the Sonora
Desert Museum and on horse-back through the iconic
cactus of the Saguaro National Park.
Open Morning
“There was so much to see and do” was the
comment we heard repeatedly from visitors
leaving our Open Morning on Saturday 7th
November. On a crisp, sunny autumnal
morning many families visited our school for
the first time where they were welcomed by
sixth formers before being given a tour guide
for the morning.
As well as hearing from our Headmistress,
Head Girl and a number of new Year 7
students, families were able to tour the
Hands on at Open Morning
school and enjoy a number of interactive activities
in each classroom. From making Christmas decorations in DT, exploring body
parts in Biology, understanding French words for rooms in a house, to making
cakes in Food Technology – our visitors were certainly kept busy. Thank you to
everyone involved on Open Day for making it such a success and for showing
all our visitors what King’s High has to offer.
Year 7 Concert
New skills in riding – Arizona style
Paris in the Autumn
The Château de Grande Romaine was the ideal base from
which to explore Paris for the King’s High group of 73 girls
(accompanied by 10 members of staff and eight sixth
formers). They participated in lots of excursions including
a visit to the Eiffel Tower, a boat trip on the river Seine,
shopping at a superb local market where they practised
their French and an afternoon at Parc Astérix enjoying the
thrills of the rollercoasters and soaking up the French
atmosphere. On the final day they visited the Château de
Fontainebleau and took part in some PGL activities such as
the trapeze and abseiling. The activities did not stop with
dinner: a ‘bin-bag fashion parade’, camp fire and talent
show were just three evening events! Staff and sixth
formers were as keen to compete as the Year 8s. The trip
was wonderful, as the excellent diaries written in French
testify.
The much loved tradition of the annual Year 7 Concert continued in October
when all Year 7 pupils worked together to prepare and perform musical
pieces. From Lloyd Webber to Chopin, the programme contained a wide
variety of music and gave girls the opportunity for solo and ensemble
performances. All who attended thoroughly enjoyed the evening’s
entertainment.
Anne Frank – The Hidden Annexe
Year 7 Musicians
A brilliant and highly professional production.
The Bridge House Theatre was ingeniously adapted to accommodate both the
family’s cramped living quarters and the horrific events occurring in the world
outside.
Clever ensemble parts linked the dramatisation of the lives of the Franks and
Van Daans with a depiction of the tragedy happening outside on the streets
of Amsterdam. The cast was superb with outstanding performances by KHS
girls. Mrs Barker-Doherty again directed a production of which the school can
be very proud.
Year 8 in France
Tensions and triumphs in the attic

Success for King’s girls
International
Sporting Stars
at King’s
Daisy Hughes wins Gold for
England
Daisy (Year 10) was victorious
for England against Ireland,
Scotland and Wales on her pony
CJ’s Kemosabi in the 148 HPI
Equestrian Event. Daisy explains:
‘I was the only double clear for
England and the fastest double
clear in the competition. The
fences I had to jump were
1.25cm – 1.35cm, so quite big!’
Daisy rides to Gold
County and Midlands champions and selected to play for England
Both King’s High Under 18 (U18) and Under 16 (U16) Hockey Teams have become County Champions. In
the U16 and U18 County Tournaments, neither King’s High team conceded a single match and they
defeated Rugby School in the finals 5-1 (U16) and 3-0 (U18). Their tremendous performance confirmed
their status as County Champions and both will go on to represent Warwickshire in the Midlands Round.
Caroline Gilbert, Head of PE, commented, “At the two County Tournaments the King’s High hockey teams
were exciting to watch, showed great enthusiam, determination and flair: a winning combination!”
Four play for the Region:
Melanie, Olivia, Emily and
Emily (l to r)
In addition, for the first time, four King’s High players (Melanie Wilkinson,
Olivia Matthews, Emily Prpa and Emily Court) were selected for the Mercia
Lynx Regional Hockey Teams to play in the Futures Cup at half term against
the three other regional teams in England and won! After her superb play,
Melanie Wilkinson was selected for the U16 England squad. Jane Wackett,
King’s High U15 who took part in the high performance centre, was selected
for an U16 England trial. To have four players selected for the Mercia Lynx
tournament was an amazing achievement and this places our players among
the top 50 in their age group in the country.
STOP PRESS: The U14s are now Midlands Champions and are
through to the national finals: another first for King’s High.
The U16 team reached the semi finals of both the indoor and
outdoor Midlands events and were only narrowly defeated.
Our sports correspondent is exhausted just writing about this
fabulous season!
Midland Champions – The U14 Squad
Watersports
Emma Loveridge
(Year 7) has just
been offered a
place in the Junior
National Sailing
Squad – she sails
in a feva , which is a 2-person
dinghy, with her brother. The
squad is run by the RYA and
entails seven weekend training
sessions to help prepare for key
events next year, including the
Worlds in France.
Rhianne Oscroft
(Year 10) has been
invited to attend
the very first
England Waterpolo
Talent
Development Training Camp for
female players born in
1995/1996 at the end of
December. For Rhianne it will be
the first step to international
competition.
Felicity Whiston: footlights
beckon
Felicity Whiston (new sixth former) has won the
National Finals of the Festival4Stars singing
competition in the 15 – adult category.
Felicity’s prize is two days in a recording studio
to produce a digitally mastered CD, photographic
sessions and the opportunity to sing with Barry
Gibb, Lulu and Gladys Knight in a charity concert
in spring 2010. She was also talent-spotted by a
West End theatre producer who has offered her
an all expenses paid eight weeks of mentoring
with vocal and drama coaches from RADA and a
series of auditions with UK and US theatre
casting directors, agents and managers including
the casting director of the new Lloyd Webber
musical, ‘Love Never Dies’.
Treading the boards for the West End
Arkwright Scholarship: a
national award based in
Leamington
After a highly competitive selection procedure
culminating in a tough interview, Serena de
Nahlik (Year 12) has been awarded an Arkwright
Scholarship which was presented to her on
Friday 30th October at the Institute of
Engineering and Technology in Savoy Place,
London. This is a prestigious award for students
of Design and Technology and Maths who want
to pursue an interest in engineering.
Serena de Nahlik at the Institute of Engineering
and Technology
???

Community
Voluntary Service
Pictured below are India Dhadra and Trudy
Brookes, two voluntary service students, at
the Community Cafe in Warwick.
£900 for Children in Need
Our own Pudsey took donations and fun events around the
school on the day itself meant that we raised an impressive
£900 for Children in Need 2009.
Giving their time
Christmas Boxes
72 King’s High boxes (made up by all years)
will add to the national effort in support of
Operation Christmas Child. The charity was
the Samaritan’s Purse – Operation Christmas
Child and the boxes mean that children in 13
countries in Eastern Europe, Africa and
Central Asia will receive a gift this Christmas.
Benchball Challenge
Pudsey leads the appeal
Girls from 10H challenged teachers to a
game of benchball and succeeded in
raising over £100 for two charities,
Help the Heroes and Thromely Hall. The
money was raised by charging entry and
selling cups of sweets during the match.
The game ended in a genuinely unfixed
draw 1-1 and was greatly enjoyed by all
who took part.
Every box helps
Benchball fun
Important Dates for your Diary:
January 5th
Spring Term begins
January 23rd Entrance Examination for Year 7
entry/Sixth Form Scholarship
Examination
January 30th
Entrance Interviews for Year 7 entry
February 4th
Year 11 Parents’ Evening
February 15th – 19th Half Term
March 4th
Year 7 Parents’ Evening
March 6th
Old Girls’ Association Annual Lunch
March 25th
Spring Term Ends
Welcoming the Troops Home
All of Year 9 and sixth form
members of the Combined
Cadet Force represented
King’s High in welcoming
home the 2nd Battalion of
the Royal Regiment of
Fusiliers on Friday 27th
November from their tour
of duty in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
King’s honours the returning troops