Inter-School Debating Competition

February 7, 2025/in Whole School/by Keris McCormick

This week, KWS hosted the Inter-School Debating Competition, where we were joined by teams from St George’s, SJL and Roundwood. Students from Years 7-12 then engaged in debates about a range of motions (from the length of school days to the morality of zoos).

KWS won three out of four debates and came joint first! Sophie H and Flo C (both in Year 10) won the prize for best team, with Sophie then going on to impressively win the prize for best individual speaker!

Well done and thank you to all who contributed towards the event.

Mr Houghton

BFI Southbank and Chinatown trip on Chinese New Year

February 7, 2025/in Year 8/by Chrissy Dicks

On 29th January,the first day of Chinese New Year, 82 students from Year 8 and Year 9 embarked on an exciting trip to the British Film Institute (BFI) for the Family, Culture, and Modernity in Chinese Cinema event. This immersive experience offered students a fascinating insight into the evolution of Chinese cinema and how it reflects the country’s traditions, family values, and societal changes. Through engaging discussions and carefully selected film clips, students explored key themes such as generational conflict, modernisation, and cultural heritage, deepening their understanding of Chinese culture beyond the classroom.

Following the BFI event, we took a walk to Chinatown, where students had the opportunity to soak in the vibrant atmosphere and sample a variety of authentic Chinese snacks and drinks. From freshly made bubble tea to traditional pastries, the visit allowed students to experience a taste of Chinese culinary culture firsthand. As they explored the bustling streets adorned with red lanterns and shopfronts filled with delicacies, they had the chance to practise their Mandarin skills in a real-world setting.

Miss Hu

Library displays

February 7, 2025/in Whole School/by Chrissy Dicks

This week was Children’s Mental Health week and to support our students to maintain a healthy mind we displayed lots of self-help books that give advice on how to boost confidence and resilience, and nurture a sense of inner wellbeing. Here in the library we have books promoting healthy lifestyle choices and lots of literature outlining options for support for anyone feeling overwhelmed by circumstances or struggling with unhelpful thought patterns.

We’ve also displayed works of fiction that deal with the often complex themes around mental health. We believe this encourages our students to connect to fictional characters and allows them to see how problems can arise, and how they can be resolved. We hope that this will help them to reflect on their own mental health, and that of friends and family members, and to understand that asking for help and support is encouraged, and can really make a difference.

There are posters throughout the school with contact information for anyone who’d like to chat about any issues that are causing concern or worry.

We also marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day, with a wide-ranging choice of fiction and non-fiction books for those interested to learn more about the Holocaust and its impacts on both the individuals involved and society as a whole. And we even squeezed in a display to mark the Lunar New Year, the Chinese Year of the Snake.

We’re happy to announce that Olivia T in year 8 was the lucky winner of the “Where’s Winnie?” challenge, which was run in conjunction with the English department, to celebrate National Winnie the Pooh Day. Along with many others, Olivia enjoyed hunting out Winnie each day, and her name was drawn out of the correct answers, winning her a jar of runny honey and a Winnie the Pooh bookmark. Congratulations Olivia, and well done to everyone who took part.