Welcome to 2025, and what we hope will be another fantastic year of reading for everyone at KWS!

We’re delighted to welcome all of our students and staff back into the library for 2025, and we hope everyone has a wonderful year of book-related adventures ahead.

As well as encouraging our students to enjoying reading and to develop a lifelong love of books, the staff team at KWS also like to lead by example. We run a regular staff book club, with many members of the team meeting to discuss the chosen book for that half term.

We recently read Soniah Kamal’s book Unmarriageable, as part of Islamophobia Awareness month. It’s a modern-day retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, with the re-imagined versions of the original characters easy to spot despite the book being set in Pakistan. It’s a colourful and vibrant story, and was well received by many of our book club members.

Next up is Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton. This is described as “a humorous, big-hearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp through the apocalypse and the world that comes after, where even a cowardly crow can become a hero.” It’s clearly a very different genre of book to Unmarriageable, so we shall see what we all make of it at the next book club meeting in February.

On Thursday 12th December some of  our year 12 students put their entrepreneurial skills to the test by running a quiz night to raise money for a charity called  – ‘Thin Blue Paw’ https://www.thinbluepaw.org.uk/

It is a national charity and supports serving and retired police dogs from across the UK.

Dragon’s Apprentice pairs teams of Year 12 students with local business people (a Dragon) and each team is then matched with a local charity or community group.  They are then tasked with developing business strategies and delivering their ideas to turn £100 of seed capital into £1,000 or more, with all profit generated going directly to the team’s charity.

The target to raise £1,000 was exceeded from ticket sales, bar sales and raffle and participants enjoyed a chip supper from Godfrey’s of Harpenden.

The sixth form students were a credit to the school and worked well as a team to put on a great event for the community.

Theatre Study Visits

The last few weeks have been a busy time for Performing Arts, as students on our Level 2 and Level 3 courses in Drama, Performing Arts and Dance have been visiting performances directly linked to their courses of study.

For Performing Arts, students attended a performance of ‘Mean Girls’ the musical, written by Tina Fey, which forms part of the skills development course in both year 10 and year 12.

GCSE Drama students were treated to an incredible stage production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ from the RSC at the Barbican Theatre. With Matthew Baynton (Ghosts / Horrible Histories) as Bottom, this was a superb performance giving the students plenty to write about as part of their ‘Theatre makers in practice’ unit.

Finally, our Dance students in Year 10 and 12 will be visiting Sadler’s Wells to see ‘Swan Lake – The New Generation’. Choreographed by Matthew Bourne, this has become a firm favourite amongst educators and the general public alike!

Christmas Performances

Members of our Senior and Junior Choirs will once again be performing for the residents of Lea Springs as part of their Christmas festivities. What is now an annual event sees over 40 students perform a selection of well-loved Christmas carols and songs at the end of their Christmas meal.

Mayor’s Concert

Our senior choir will also be performing at the annual Mayor’s Christmas Concert at St Nicholas Church this coming Tuesday at 6pm. (Please note the revised time.)

Tickets are available directly from Jayne Juby at Harpenden Council, who can be contacted at jane.juby@harpenden.gov.uk at a cost of £6. Refreshments are available after the concert.

Kickboxing

A huge well done to all girls who successfully passed their latest kickboxing grading last week. Top effort girls!

Badminton

A fantastic achievement by Diya in Year 10 at the recent U15 Hertfordshire Junior Badminton Tournament. She won bronze in the singles, gold in the mixed doubles and silver in the women’s doubles. Very impressive.

Netball

Well done to both the 8B and 9B teams in their league matches vs Townsend. The Year 8 side won 7-0 and the Year 9’s won 9-4. Players of the match were identified as Anna and Josie.

Another good league match for the 9A team against a strong Sandringham side. The girls are improving and learning each match. Player of the match was Scarlett, but also a special shout out to Heidi G for her nonstop running as Centre. 

An improved performance by our U15B V STAGS, but an unfortunate loss 4 v 20. Well done to all that participated in that.

Rugby

Well done to all boys from Year 7-10 who played in the first round of rugby fixtures after half term against Dame Alice Owen’s. Some excellent performances from all year groups. 

This was then followed up with a really successful morning of rugby from all year groups against SJL last Saturday. The boys played superbly, with great running rugby and some ferocious defence, especially from the Year 9/10 combined team and the Year 7s. Well done to all involved. In Year 7, all are improving each game. In Year 10 from both games, Thomas R, Max F and Harry O’B were recognised for their work rate and defensive work

Football

An outstanding performance from our Year 9 boys in the National Cup, with a 3-1 win against Parmiters. Excellent energy in the first half with some superb football and then a brave, resolute second half. We look forward to our 5th round fixture, which is down to the last 64 schools in the country.

Related to this, congratulations to Juan in Year 9 for making the U14 county football squad for this season. Well done on an impressive achievement.

Well done to our sixth form boys football team for their 2-0 win against St Edmund’s College in the County League. Special mention to Patrick B for his 2 goals and also Ben W, Jack D and Matthew J for their strong defensive performances in the second half, keeping a clean sheet in the process. 

Finally, there were some brilliant games of football for both the 7B and 8A girls teams vs STAGS last night! The Year 8’s won 5-1 and the Year 7’s lost 4-5. Players of the match were Martha, with some great saves, and Heather for some brave defending! Thank you to Emily, Ali and Sophie for giving up your time to help!