This term we have been using PSHE time to focus on giving students the facts about Vaping (Year 9) and Drugs (Year 10 and 12). Please click here to see a recent letter sent out to parents/carers.
A review of The King Edward VI School’s performance of ‘Annie’ 2022, by Mr P Cusworth
Little orphan Annie exploded onto the stage last night in a glorious riot of singing, dancing, music and joy which lit up the night sky to the moon and beyond. After a three year enforced absence musical theatre returned to King Edward’s with a stellar cast and the coolest hottest band this side of Pasadena driving this foot stomping, breathtaking spectacular.
Annie and the orphans opened the first half with “Maybe”, a touching, poignant ballad, leading into “Hard Knock”, with razor sharp choreography interrupted by deranged, dragon-hearted Miss Hannigan terrorising the orphans. From the heart melting chemistry between Annie and her stray dog Sandy in “Tomorrow” to the blind optimism of the Hoover-ites in “Hooverville” if ever we needed sheer escapism from a world teetering on the brink, it’s got to be now.
“Hot cocoa and ginger snaps waiting for you down by the recreation room” – who cares we don’t got no recreation room we can all dream Mr Warbucks is going to whisk us away and make everything alright. “NYC” featuring Warbucks himself along with Grace and Annie charmed and enchanted in an almost unbearably cute song and dance number. But in a stratospheric first half packed wall to wall with highlights it was Rooster, Lily and Miss Hannigan who stole the show with “Easy Street”. Precision timing oozing charisma and comic characterisation. “Next thing they’ll make a musical out of her” declares Miss Hannigan. Maybe they will Miss Hannigan but on tonight’s showing they’ll surely be making a musical about you!
Bert Healy continued the second half with the close harmonies of the Boylan sisters advertising “Oxydent toothpaste” in “You’re never fully dressed without a smile”, reprised by the orphans. For sheer glamour and sparkle and showbiz razzmatazz it doesn’t get any better than this. But something above all else was the sheer heart warming beauty of this story brought to life by this young, very talented and unbelievably hard working company. “Just thinking about tomorrow blows away the cobwebs and the sorrow”. As someone once said, “Tomorrow will be a good day”.
Congratulations to Alice Randall who represented Morpeth Hunt Pony Club at the weekend to trial for the Pony Club England Windsor mounted games team.
There were 25 riders and a very tough three hour trial in front of selectors.
Alice rode brilliantly and amazingly she and her wonderful pony Beauty have been selected to represent England to ride at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May in front of the Queen!
Alice has trained so hard for this, we wish her lots of luck in the future!
KEVI student Amy Stokoe has been racing in Spain over the weekend and has had some great results.
Only two British girls racing, others from Spain, France, Andorra, Belgium and Australia.
Super-G – 10th place
Giant Slalom – 15th place
Slalom – 8th place
The races on Friday and Saturday were World Cup Junior Races.
This was her first time racing Super-G as the Super-G races in February at the English Alpine Championships were cancelled.
Well done Amy, keep up the great work.
Last week we held assemblies focused on the concerning events in Ukraine. We know many of our students have been following events closely and are concerned about how the situation is unfolding. In response to this, the assembly focused on the following
- The facts that have led to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The response from NATO and the UK government
- The humanitarian crisis as over a million Ukrainians flee their country and the positive response from neighbouring countries
- The need to find credible and reliable sources that report developments
- Suggested strategies for managing our own mental health
- Signposting sources of support
- The importance of kindness in the way we lead our own lives
We are aware that donation centres are an alternative method of support and are happy to act as a donation centre. We will then liaise with a local charity to ensure that goods are transported to areas where there is need. Any donations from this list can be dropped by students at Student Support before school by Friday 11 March.
The letter issued to all Parents/Carers can be read in full here
The King Edward VI School Under 18’s visited Newcastle School for boys yesterday for a 7 a side rugby tournament. They overcame NSB, Dame Allan’s and Bede Academy to win the tournament.
Well done to all involved and thank you to Mr Short and Mr Rhodes for their support!
There are lots of activities going on in school this week to celebrate World Book Day. Students will receive a Book Token in their English lessons and they can trade these in at school for a free book (or use them at a participating book shop).
Our staff are sharing their favourite reads with students in assembly, to show that reading is a life-long passion and is central to our learning and development.
Students and staff are battling it out in our annual ‘Shelfie’ Competition. Take part here – all you need to do is try to name the member of staff who might own that bookshelf. Prizes on offer for our winners.
Our Book Quiz also returns for students – do you really think you know your stuff when it comes to books? Take the quiz here. More prizes to be won.
Self Isolation: Staff and students are still required to self isolate for 5+ days following a positive LFT. The advice from the UK Health Security Agency outlines this position:
- “Children and young people with COVID-19 should not attend their education setting while they are infectious. They should take an LFD test from 5 days after their symptoms started (or the day their test was taken if they did not have symptoms) followed by another one the next day. If both these tests results are negative, they should return to their educational setting if they normally attend one, as long as they feel well enough to do so and do not have a temperature. They should follow the guidance for their educational setting.”
- “Children and young people who usually attend an education or childcare setting and who live with someone who has COVID-19 should continue to attend the setting as normal.”
This guidance is unchanged from the end of the last half term, and we will continue to follow these measures until the Easter holiday, unless the national picture changes.
The letter from Mr Simon Taylor CEO can be read in full here
Lauren Gilhom, A-level Art & Design/Photography class of 2020, has been awarded the prestigious Michael Ormerod Photography Travel Award. Lauren is currently studying Photography at Newcastle University and is the first ever Level 4 student to win the award. Lauren pitched her photo-shoot proposal to the panel of judges, including all the financial and logistics involved, and created the artwork during Summer 2021 in Scotland. We are all very proud of Lauren on her achievement and look forward to seeing the work in person in her exhibition at Mandela Gallery, Newcastle University, 21 February to 7 March.
Since October half term students have been permitted, as a result of Covid measures, to wear outdoor coats inside the building. We are now in a position where guidance states all windows no longer have to be open all of the time and the temperature in school is such that outdoor coats are no longer required.
Therefore following the half term break we will be returning to our usual uniform policy as outlined below. Overall we are extremely pleased with the standard of uniform worn by our students and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support. Full uniform information can be found on page 16 of our Parent Handbook, however, we would like to clarify our policy regarding a number of persistent issues.
