Foundation Magazine 2021-2022 | Mount Kelly

ACADEMICS
POETRY RECITAL COMPETITION
Well done to all of the performers in the Prep Poetry Recital evening, which was held on Wednesday 30 March at the
Guildhall in Tavistock. The courtrooms, commanding the hush of a library, were a super setting for the pupils to perform
their poems, and our adjudicator, local poet Oak Ayling was very impressed with the quality and standard of the
performances. Felicity Hookway, Tiggy Hutchins, Lizzy Hookway and Matteo Parry were all commended by the judges.
WORLD BOOK DAY
A
range of exciting activities took
place in the both the lead up to,
and on, World Book Day at Mount
Kelly:
READING RIVERS
Reading Rivers formed a large part of
our celebrations during the week. These
are essentially a visual representation of
our reading habits: what we read, when
we read, why we read, where we enjoy
reading. Pupils were asked to bring
in images of their favourite childhood
books, pictures of them reading, and
resonant quotes and extracts in order to
join in the fun and enter the competition!
POP UP BOOK SHOP
Tavistock’s Book Stop set up a pop up
shop for pupils at the Prep on Thursday
and the College on Friday, where pupils
could purchase from a wide range of
stock or pre-order some exciting new
releases in the pipeline.
BOOK SWAP
During the week, pupils took part in a
book swap, bringing in titles to exchange
with their peers.
THEMED LUNCH
Our wonderful catering team put on
a delicious book-themed lunch with
dishes including Princess Lost Her Pea
soup, Roasted Snozzcumber sausages,
Quidditch Cottage pie and Billionaire
Boy’s shortbread.
ACADEMICS
NATIONAL POETRY DAY
Pupils of all ages have embraced
National Poetry Day. Year 12 pupils
attended a seminar with local poet,
Oak Ayling, discussing favourite poems,
and her recently published first collection.
The motivations, inspirations, and
passion for poetry were clearly evident
and the pupils were left understanding a
love of poetry and why we should choose
it as a form of written expression.
Pupils in Years 9 to 11 also discussed
‘why choose poetry’, the theme of this
year’s Poetry Day, and engaged with
a range of texts linking poetry, choice
and their own choices in academia and
beyond. Some really insightful comments
regarding choice demonstrated the
compassion and consideration our pupils
have for each other and wider societal
concerns.
At the Prep, Form 8PWD had great
fun creating a French poem, Year 3
participated in some found poetry, and
our Kingfishers and Herons tied their
poetry in with Fire Safety week.
FESTIVAL OF
SHAKESPEARE
Summer 2022 saw Shakespeare enter Mount Kelly
English lessons in style. Across all year groups,
pupils engaged with the Bard on some level, from
puppetry to performance, and perhaps unfortunately for
some as part of their GCSE coursework!
Highlights were the epic End of Year 8 play, a three
hour jaunt through most of Shakespeare’s life, and at
least three of his plays, followed by the superb Studio
production of Merchant of Venice at Tavistock Guildhall
and culminating in the wonderful Illyria performing
A Midsummer’s Night Dream on a typically wet
midsummer’s evening in Tavistock.
58 | THE FOUNDATION 21-22 THE FOUNDATION 21-22 | 59