October End of Half Term Newsletter

Dear Families,

Over the Summer, we were delighted to receive our best ever A Level results for our U6th leavers, with 56% gaining A*-B grades and 79% gaining entry to their first choice university (with 34% of them going to Russell Group universities). The strong focus on academia has continued this term in what has been an incredibly busy first half of term. Our First to Third Form pupils have all been involved in Skills Days, designed to foster collaboration, develop resilience and challenge their creativity. We have introduced our 1:1 device scheme throughout Kirby, which means that all pupils in the Senior School are now using devices to access and augment their learning. After a full induction process, our teachers have been impressed with the way in which our pupils are working online and the enthusiasm they have shown for the greater interactivity in their learning. At the same time, we recognise that reading is an essential element of our learning culture at the College and so we have introduced a tutor-led reading programme for all pupils in the First and Second Form (and will be looking to extend this programme in the older year groups in the coming years). Our Fourth Form pupils all enjoyed News Day, as they worked in teams to produce a newspaper by attending news conferences throughout the day. Their collaborative, creative and teamwork skills were honed and they thoroughly enjoyed the process too!

Our CCF pupils all enjoyed a rotation of different activities for Field Day, including building shelters, cooking food, signaling, drill and others. We held a very enjoyable Cabaret Night, in which the quality of the performances continues to impress, and the Houses are all now starting to focus on the House Drama Festival after Half Term. Recently all pupils took part in the House Cross-country competition, and the House spirit and effort by all was genuinely impressive. The Girls Hockey teams have produced some excellent results and placed 2nd in the Kent Indoor Hockey tournament, securing their place in the Regional Finals. They are also through to the 3rd Round of the England Hockey National Cup, beating Kings Canterbury in the last round. The boys rugby teams have also produced some excellent results and the U16 XV are through to th 3rd round of the National Cup. We have also been diversifying our sports and had our first basketball fixture since 2017 and our first golf fixture since 2011! As a consequence of the significant sporting success we have had recently, we were named Finalists in the Independent School of the Year awards for Sporting Achievement and Mr Simmons represented us at the awards ceremony last week. Unfortunately, we didn’t win the category, but to make the final 6 schools in the country is testament to Mr Simmons’ vision and leadership, and to the hard work and dedication of all of the staff who contribute to our sports programme.

I wish all of our pupils and families a restful and enjoyable half term!

Barney Durrant MA

Head of College