MVS Summer 2023 Newsletter

Summer Term Issue | July 2023
MAIDA VALE
NEWS
The newsletter of Maida Vale School
Science Museum…03 War Poetry…05 Street Art…08 Sports Day…11
Joseph - Mr Mushnik
Tobias and Edoardo - Orin Scrivello and Seymour
Izzy, Libby and Peggy - Narrators
Scarlett and Edoardo - Audrey and Seymour
‘Little Shop of Horrors’
This year’s musical theatre performance was Little Shop of Horrors, a
comedy horror set in 1960s New York. It was a fun and exciting performance
including a 6ft tall man-eating plant and 45 pupils across Years 7, 8, 9 and
10. Pupils demonstrated outstanding confidence, creativity, compassion and
collaboration skills and the live band, backstage crew, costume, props and
lighting made for a breath-taking atmosphere.
A special mention to Edoardo for his professionalism and conscientious
attitude, Joseph who never failed to make us laugh, and Scarlett who
challenged herself to take the lead female role despite only being in Year 8
and new to musical theatre. The narrators Libby, Izzy and Peggy, puppeteer
Alix, voice of Audrey II Lyndon and our wonderful Stage Manager Zebedee
deserve a mention for their outstanding performances and organisation. Our
Maida Vale School is part of the set and puppets were used in the professional
UK tour and the trap door was even tested by
the teachers when Ms Cattrall and Ms Argyrou
jumped in at the end.
Alix - Puppeteer

JULY 2023
WELCOME TO
OUR SUMMER
NEWSLETTER
This eventful summer term at Maida Vale School has passed with unusual pace.
The Easter Bank Holiday was barely over before we were into the school’s first
full cycle of GCSE public exams with Art GCSE beginning in the very first week of
the term. Results’ Day on 24th of August will see me and the school’s Academic
Management Team back onsite eagerly awaiting the results of the school’s pioneer
cohort.
The term has been bookended by an amazing performance of Little Shop of
Horrors with no cast member older than Year 10. For a new school with potentially
a smaller pool of performers from which to draw than more established schools
the cast, crew and band presented a really impressive show with exceptional
production values.
We also were able to celebrate sporting success at our first Sports’ Awards
evening, celebrating the pupils’ team and individual successes over the entire
academic year. Again, for a new school that’s growing we have been able to recall
some really impressive achievements in national competitions as well as in our
frequent local derbies against Kew House School.
We say farewell to two teachers who have been with us since the school opened.
Ms Trafford our Head of Languages is moving to an exciting role at a school in
Madrid, and Mr Finnerty is moving to Sweden to get married. We wish both of them
well in their new adventures. But as our school grows we have been busy this term
appointing ten new teachers in total. So we’re really excited about opening the new
school year in September with more pupils and more impressively qualified staff,
all keen to join us on our Maida Vale School journey.
Mr Magnus Bashaarat
Headmaster, Maida Vale School

SCIENCE MUSEUM
Words by Mr Forman, Head of Science
All Year 7 and 8 pupils went on a great trip to the Science Museum. We saw an eye opening and spectacular 3D film about life
in the Antarctic at the IMAX Ronson Theatre and spent an hour in the fully interactive Wonderlab exploring quirks about how the
scientific principles interact and can be seen in real life in a very fun way.
Plus, we learnt about Engineering, saw some genuine space rockets, historical medical equipment and engaged in lots of the
science we’ve learned across the whole year.
Outstanding Achievement
A huge congratulations to Year 8 pupil Emilia, who came 3rd in an international competition
following Year 8’s study of war poetry. The Never Such Innocence organisation asked,
‘What does war mean to you?’, with responses ranging from poetry, to art, to songs. Out
of thousands of entries across over 70 countries, Emilia’s piece came 3rd, which is a huge
achievement. Her piece was hailed as ‘striking’ and ‘skilful’ by judges and she received a
congratulatory letter from the Prime Minister along with a certificate.
Puppets by Emilia
Judges Feedback:
“This striking drawing makes a powerful
political statement about the relative
power of different actors in war. When we
visualise war, we often centre soldiers as
the key perpetrators of conflict, but this
picture reminds us that their movements
and decision-making are controlled by
higher powers. The presence of only
a pair of large, controlling hands, not
a face or body, underlines that higher
power’s lack of accountability; they are
able to remain anonymous, invisible,
while soldiers do their work. The sight of
soldiers on puppet strings helps us to see
them as victims, not just agents of war.
The skilful drawing captures a sense of
movement, the power of those hands,
and the powerlessness of the soldiers
suspended on the end of their strings.”
Dr. Alice König – Senior Lecturer in Classics
at the University of St Andrews
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COMPUTING
National Museum of Computing
Words by Ms Mahdi, Head of Computing
Year 8 pupils had the opportunity to visit the National Museum of Computing on the 10th of June; it was a very entertaining and
interesting visit. Pupils looked at the world’s largest collection of functional historic computers and WW2 machines, including
Enigma, the Bombe, and the Colossus, the history behind it to decipher messages and whole code-breaking operations. Pupils
had the opportunity to play with the computers of the 1980s and 90s and experienced virtual reality.
Scratch & Spreadsheets
Year 7 pupils had a great time learning how to make
animations and games in Scratch; some pupils managed to
add scores and levels to their games. Pupils learned about
spreadsheets, which they found very interesting and fun.
Pupils demonstrated their dedication, creativity, teamwork,
and resilience in their projects.
Problem Solving & Programming
GCSE pupils have worked hard and used their computational
thinking skills on the topics learned this summer; flow charts,
logic gates, truth tables, sorting, and searching algorithms,
writing algorithms, how to define Python variables, data types,
and the three main programming techniques: sequence,
selection, and iteration.
Carnegie Shadowing Award
Words by Ms Pask, Head of English
A team of Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils joined a group of staff in being official
‘Shadowers’ of the Yoto Carnegie book award which seeks to recognise
outstanding reading experiences created through writing and illustration
in books for children and young people. Past winners include C.S. Lewis,
Terry Pratchett and Philip Pullman.
Our shadowing group, the MVS Maestros, was not only able to vote
on the final winner, but also watch exclusive clips from the short-listed
authors and partake in online challenges, such as writing reviews or
submitting artwork to complement the different stories.
Pupils met over a number of weeks, and made their way through as
many books on the list as possible. We then discussed the books in our
meetings and debated – what makes a book successful? How does the
form or style of narration affect our enjoyment? Are there any genres we
would usually avoid that we have found ourselves enjoying?
‘I Must Betray You’ by Ruta Sepetys was the Group’s overall favourite,
with ‘The Eternal Return of Clara Hart’ by Louise Finch being a close
second.
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“I enjoyed discussing and hearing other people’s
thoughts, and it felt good to talk through the books in
a group setting.
Jasper (Year 8)
“Being part of the Carnegie award shadowing group
helped widen my choice of books as I wouldn’t
normally choose those books that were selected for
the awards.”
Ariella (Year 7)

War Poetry
Words by Ms Begum, Head of Humanities
Adam in Year 7 and Jaydn in Year 8 are just
two of our talented pupils who applied their
creative writing skills to produce original
poems.
HISTORY
Adam’s poem about child labour during the
Industrial Revolution in Britain demonstrates
great empathy. Jaydn’s powerful poem about
the sacrifices made by soldiers during WWI
interpret resilience using a range of literary
techniques.
Extended Learning Projects
Adam - Year 7 Jaydn - Year 8
Pupils across Years 7, 8 and 9 have thrived in completing Extended Learning Projects on a range of key issues relating to WWI,
WWII, the Holocaust, and Weimar and Nazi Germany. All pupils produced projects of a very high standard because of the depth
of independent research, explanation, and analysis they included in their work. Please see some highlights below:
Alix - Year 9
Delivering his presentation on the impact of
Nazi Party policies on workers.
Ellie - Year 9
An informative and creative artwork comparing women in
Weimar to those in Nazi Germany.
Carlotta - Year 8
A postcard promoting the importance of
resilience that was evident in WWII.
5

CLASSICS
Local Latin
Words by Mrs Christou, Latin Teacher
We have continued our visits to local Primary and Preparatory Schools this term to
deliver outreach sessions on Ancient Languages, giving pupils a taste of Egyptian
Hieroglyphics, the Greek Alphabet and Roman Numerals. This term, we visited Princess
Frederica Primary School. We received very positive feedback from the school:
The pupils were all engaged and enjoyed the session greatly. Ms Christou allowed lots of
opportunities to practise, gave context and allowed lots of opportunities for the children
to share their ideas. The children definitely took lots away from the session. In fact, one
pupil said: “I loved exploring different languages and completing the worksheet. This
was a brilliant chance to experience learning new languages and I have benefited from
it greatly.”
Classics Club
This term, Year 7 and 8 Classics
Clubbers have been busy learning
about a variety of classical topics such
as The Odyssey, Roman Religion and
Ancient Egypt.
The Summer Term Classics
Competition attracted many entries,
with the pictured pupils being chosen
as the Winners and Runner-Up for
their Cambridge Latin Course Fan
Artwork entries.
Winners: Joseph and Will - Year 8 Runner Up: Dylan - Year 7
Supporting our Community
Words by Ms Pocock, English Teacher
This year, Maida Vale School has partnered with a new local charity, the Learning Disability Network (LDN), who support adults
and children with learning disabilities and their families across London. We kick-started our partnership by holding a non-uniform
day which raised over £700.
In June, Year 9 put on a mini sports day for some of the adults supported by LDN. Held on our MUGA, we ran events such as the
egg and spoon race, bean bag toss and skittles. Each event was lead by a pair of Year 9s, with the remainder of the pupils split
into teams alongside the supported adults, each putting in maximum effort to score points for their teams.
6

Words by Ms Stott, Director of Music
Parents and friends were treated to a fantastic concert
in March, which showcased the work of pupils in the
Music Department. The evening was started by the
20-piece orchestra, playing All That Jazz and Jupiter
from The Planets by Holst, with Tobias as a soloist.
Other large groups included the choir, who sang
Titanium accompanied by a rock band, and the Jazz
Ensemble, who played Mr PC by John Coltrane.
The audience were treated to some very high quality
solos and duets by all pupils studying for their GCSE
Music, including an outstanding performance of
Nessun Dorma sung in Italian by Edoardo. It was a
magical evening and the pupils were dedicated and
professional in their preparation and approach.
EASTER CONCERT
Lilla and Mary - Year 11 Wenbo - Year 9
Maida Vale School Choir
Louis - Year 8
Summer Term Drama
Words by Ms Cattrall, Head of Drama
This term Year 9 and 10 Drama pupils have worked hard on their
Devised performances, demonstrating outstanding acting skills and
a conscientious attitude. They devised pieces about mental health,
relationship difficulties, illness, bereavement, the refugee crisis
and feminism. Pupils used a range of styles, genres and theatrical
devices to tell these important stories as a group taking on the roles
of Actors, Directors, Set, Costume, Lighting and Sound Designers and
Playwrights. The devised pieces were performed to Parents and friends
and we were extremely impressed by the inventiveness of their work.
Year 9 devised piece on Mental Health
For their Texts in Practice module, pupils have taken extracts from a
range of plays to perform with specific artistic intentions for the audience.
The plays they have chosen include ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’,
‘Grenfell System Failure’, ‘Antigone’, ‘DNA’, ‘BU21’, ‘Little Revolution’,
‘Chatroom’, ‘Dammed United’, ‘I Am A Camera’ and ‘Girls Like That’.
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KS3 Art
Words by Mrs Jimenez, Head of Art
Year 7 have been learning about the ‘Basic
Elements’ of art. Gargoyles and Grotesque
masks were made from Modroc and were
designed on the pupils pulling faces. They
also created movement drawings from
observing their peers on a table. Pupils have
understood Surrealism through their projects
made at home and through their surreal
photo montages and illustrations.
LOWER SCHOOL ART
Sam - Gargoyle Inspiration!
Tate Modern
Year 8 pupils went to see ‘Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life’ exhibition at Tate
Modern. They took photos and made sketches in A6 sketchbooks. They learnt further how
abstract art is created from nature and spiritual realms, then they made mix-media abstract
pieces back in school.
By Vlad - Year 8
Eloise - Abstract Mix-Media
Olive - Abstract Mix-Media
Street Art
The Year 9 Art pupils went to see the amazing
graffiti and street art show, ‘Beyond the Streets’ at
the Saatchi Gallery. The pupils learned how to use
a DSLR camera and got to experiment with them.
8

GCSE ART
By Henrietta - Year 10
Mock Exams
Words by Mrs Jimenez, Head of Art
Year 10 Art pupils spent 6 hours making a final piece for their Art GCSE Mock Exam. The exam themes were ‘Texture’,’ Messages’,
‘Spaces’, ‘The Elements’, ‘Habitats’, ‘Working’ and ‘Abstract’. The pupils had been working on their preparatory sketchbook work
for 9 weeks prior to the exam. Pupils made a variety of final pieces from sculpture, fashion, painting, film making, mixed-media,
printmaking, and illustration. (Pieces below by Maria - middle and Coca - right).
Atty - Texture
Maria - Messages
Coca - The Elements
Final Pieces
Year 11 GCSE Art exams took place over two days in April, totalling 10 hours of work. The pupils spent 10 weeks preparing for
their chosen exam question. We went to the Tate Modern main exhibition, in preparation for the artist research section.
We celebrated the work of our first Year 11 GCSE
Art cohort. The Private Viewing of their work from the
past few years took place on Wednesday 21st June
and was well attended by the pupils, family, and staff.
Everyone commented on the high quality of the work.
Lilla - Shadow Puppets
May - Aged Gia - Layers
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SUMMER SPORT
Tennis
Words by Ms Yeomans, Director of Sport and Enrichment
The tennis squad have been taking on advice from the Queen’s Park tennis coach and honing their skills with Mr Benjamin
during enrichment. The U14 squad remained unbeaten throughout the season, beating Portland Place and Kew House School. I
commend Dylan N, Dylan B, Isla, Rixt, Edward and Molly for their enthusiasm and commitment to tennis enrichment.
Athletics
Mr Ricks has enthused pupils with athletics this
term. A real highlight was taking 33 pupils to the
ISA Athletics Competition. All pupils represented
the school in a great light and showed support for
each other.
A massive congratulations to Max R for making it
to the ISA National finals for javelin and went onto
come 3rd. Considering he has only started the
event this year, this makes this achievement even
more impressive.
Max (Year 10) - 3rd in javelin at ISA Nationals
Ellie (Year 9) at London
Schools Athletics
Cricket
All pupils have shown progress in their skills and
their knowledge of the game. The U12 team have
consistently worked hard during games with many
now playing leather ball cricket for the first time.
Year 8 and 9 cricketers representing MVS
I would like to mention Abby M, Libby L, Cecily H,
Emma B and Sarah W from Year 10 for regularly
playing in the U15A leather ball games, often against
all male teams.
10

SPORTS DAY
House Results
Hyde Holland Queen’s Regent’s
195 points 192 points 179 points 167 points
Sports Day was hotly contested throughout the day, with Holland leading at the lunchtime
break, but Hyde coming out as the overall victors. The house spirit was felt all day, every 800m
runner was cheered over the line, no matter what their position. Pupils put their all into every
event, with some outstanding competitions. Anthony (Year 9) showed his class in the 200m
race, as did Max R (Year 10) and Willow A (Year 8) in the Javelin. The final race of the day went
right to the finish line with an inter year group relay, with Josh (Year 10) narrowly taking the win.
Our pupils should be commended on their positive attitude and supportive manner throughout
the day. Thank you to all the teaching and support staff for making it run smoothly and for all
the parents and family members for their support.
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