A packed four-day GCSE History trip recently took students in years 9, 10 and 12 across France and Belgium, offering them an invaluable opportunity to deepen their understanding of the First World War and bring their classroom learning to life.

The  journey began on the historic battlefields of the Somme. Visits to Thiepval and the Sunken Lane immediately introduced students to the sheer scale and tragedy of the conflict. This was followed by a stop at the Canadian Newfoundland Memorial Park, where the group learned about the vital, wider Commonwealth contribution to the war effort.

Day two shifted focus toward the themes of sacrifice and remembrance, starting with a sombre and reflective visit to the French national memorial at Notre Dame de Lorette. Later in the day, the students travelled to Vimy Ridge. Here, key historical themes were reinforced through guided discussions about the young, under-age boys who volunteered for service.

The second half of the itinerary saw the group move into Belgium. A major highlight was the Hooge Crater Museum, where students engaged with history first hand by interacting with First World War rifles and other equipment, and even participating in a safe, fully equipped bayonet fencing activity. The museum’s dedicated GCSE trail and educational videos perfectly aligned with their exam syllabus. That evening, the group attended the poignant Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate, where three KWS students had the distinct honour of laying a wreath in memory of their own lost relatives.

The trip concluded at Pond Farm, where students explored a replica tank and handled original roof tiles given to the farm as German reparations under the Treaty of Versailles. This provided tangible historical evidence that perfectly reinforced their studies, equipping them with unique insights for their upcoming exams.

A fantastic trip all round and a massive thank you to all the students who participated and contributed so positively to making it an unforgettable experience.

The whole of Year 9 were lucky to have several representatives from Tesco visit us for the day to explore the ‘Property’ aspect of the company.  Students participated in a variety of tasks led by the Tesco team, that opened their eyes to the thinking behind the location, size, concessions and layout of Tesco stores. This helped them in their ultimate task; to create and present their ‘Store of the Future’.

The students worked hard in their groups to create their stores and the presentations were fantastic, especially as the students were presenting to their whole year group! Students were able to justify why they had made certain decisions and the winning teams were awarded prizes at the end of the day. Not only was there lots of chocolate given out across the course of the day, but this activity was beneficial as it broadened the students’ understanding of the variety of jobs / careers within a large company such as Tesco. During the day, students also developed their employability skills and worked as a team throughout.

On Wednesday 6th December, we were joined for the day by Lauren from Sky Studios. Lauren led Creative Careers workshops throughout the day with all students in Year 9. Students were given an insight into the vast array of roles available in film, television and gaming, while also being made aware of the potential routes that people wishing to embark on such careers could take to get there. All students engaged magnificently and had some extremely insightful questions for Lauren, which she was happy to answer. Students learnt a lot from the workshop and enjoyed broadening their knowledge of the sector. Tom D even exclaimed at the end of the session, “I think I want to do this now! It sounds like a great career!”

Year 9 have been busy making slime as part of their ‘Making Materials’ topic: demonstrating the process of vulcanisation – whereby crosslinks form between polymer chains (in this case in Polyvinyl Acetate- a.k.a. PVA glue!)

The Science Department