(A*) and 88% of all grades at 9-4 (A*-C), pupils have continued to flourish after the shift away from coursework-based qualifications to the new linear exams and numbered grading system.

28% of pupils outperformed their predicted grades with an average increase of 1 to 3 grades.  This means, pupils have achieved higher grades at King’s that they might have done had they gone to School elsewhere. The top 40% of the year (comparable to a grammar school cohort), achieved 54% of their grades at 9-8 (A*) with 93% at 9-6 (A*-B).

With top performers all gaining a clean sweep of grades 9-7 (A*-A) there were many stories of individual success.

Leading grades were attained by Pedro Moniz Gomes with 9 x 9-8’s (A*), Adam Snelling with 9 x 9-7’s (A*-A) and after a busy year of concerts and fixtures, Music and Sport Scholar, Maili Cumming achieved a wonderful 10 x 9-7s (A*-A).

As the world’s oldest Cathedral Choir School, we are delighted with the success of our former Cathedral Choristers, all achieving A*/A in their music examinations. The Music department achieved 100% of all grades at A*-B. (Please note that currently the Music examination is still graded rather than numbered).

Keen athlete Xavier Smitherman-Cairns who celebrates all grades at 9-7’s (A*-A) overcame injury this past year, to excel in both his sporting and academic commitments. He recently joined the Saracens Under 16 Elite Rugby Player Development Group, a testament to his resilience, performance, and ambition.

With excellent results across all subjects, this has been another outstanding year for a range of departments. Art achieved nearly 30% of grades at 9 and core subjects English Literature, English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology and Physics this year achieved 25% or more of all grades at 9-8’s (A*).

Mr Ben Charles, Principal of King’s Rochester said, “I am absolutely delighted for the pupils who receive their GCSE results today. Their achievements are testament to their hard work and dedication and I am enormously grateful to the staff for guiding them through these last two years of study. We celebrate their success together with their families as the pupils move through to the next phase of their King’s careers in the Sixth Form.”

set of excellent A Level results, published today.

Grades were significantly higher than in 2018 with 11% at A*, 31% at A*/A and 57% of grades at A* to B, showing an improvement in performance from pupils after the shift away from modular qualifications to the new linear grading system.

The top 40% of the year (comparable to a grammar school cohort), achieved 61% of their grades at  A*/A  with  100%  at A* to B.

With such pleasing results it is no surprise that our pupils are off to a range of exciting and prestigious destinations including Oxbridge, Durham, Exeter, Nottingham, Manchester, Brunel, Goldsmiths and ACM London.

Giselle Harris and Isobel Gilbert deserve particular congratulations on their grades. Giselle takes up her place at Magdalen College, Oxford to read English Language and Literature having achieved three A* grades; Isobel, a ‘lifer’ who has been at King’s since Nursery, will study Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey after achieving 3 A grades. After sitting his Further Mathematics examination a year early, Erez Li achieved an outstanding 4 A* grades and will study Engineering at Robinson College, Cambridge.

Vibrant travel experiences await Head Boy, Leon Neubauer, (A*, 2 As) who will be reading Japanese at Durham and for Lewis Bentley, (A*, A, B) who goes on to study The Ancient World at University College London as both courses include a year abroad.

Chris Walji is looking forward to starting his time with the Royal Navy in September and Leon Kennedy will be heading to Tanzania to support an entrepreneurial charity, showing that studying at King’s opens up a world of opportunities in the future.2161

Mr Ben Charles, Principal of King’s Rochester said, “Set against a background of A Level reform where exams are now linear, these results are particularly pleasing and reflect the hard work of pupils and staff alike. Particularly pleasing is the broad range of courses pupils will pursue including Music Production, Architecture, Law, Languages, Zoology, Psychology, Economics, Accounting and Mathematics. But, behind all these statistics lie some compelling and exceptional personal triumphs for our pupils and we celebrate their success with them and their families today”.

King’s Rochester will commence her studies in September, taking a two year Saturday class programme alongside her A level studies at School.

At the audition, Laura sang ‘Das Verlassene Mägdelein’ by Wolf and ‘L’ho Perduta’ by Mozart. Her first professional audition, Laura prepared for the opportunity extensively, researching the panel of judges which included Miranda Francis and Ross Graham, “I was so over prepared, I had everything and anything they could ask me ready in my head, and I knew the songs backwards”

The panel commented on her excellent musicianship, including diction, phrasing and communication, and offered her a place ‘on the spot’, which is a very rare occurrence. They questioned her about her ‘dream roles’ to which Laura was eloquently able to describe the roles of Mimi from La Boheme and Adele from Die Fledermaus and the requirements needed to perform such iconic characters.

She was so astounded by her successful audition she double and triple checked she had understood by calling the office and emailing them three times that afternoon.

Laura, 17, studies music at A Level and also plays the oboe, had a slight misfortune during the run up to her audition as the family piano developed a loose pedal. Luckily Director of Music, John Mountford and the King’s music department sprung in to action and offered Laura the use of St Ronan’s, the school music rooms, to practice for her audition. “I was panicking and winding up my family, who were relieved to get a few days peace as I moved rehearsing to St Ronan’s” 

The music department at King’s have been a massive help and support, they put on after School lessons for me to learn to site read music and have always been there for me during my free lessons to advice and help.

Laura became fascinated by Opera music after watching the school’s production of Dido and Aeneas in Rochester Cathedral in 2012, a show starring King’s alumni and professional Mezzo-Soprano, Tabitha Reynolds. Tabitha is Laura’s singing coach and is full of advice and praise for all Laura has achieved. Tabitha said “I was over the moon when I heard Laura’s good news. I was very proud of her, and all the hard work she had put in, a well-deserved success”.

Laura joined King’s Rochester Preparatory School in Year 4 and eagerly joined the school choir. She has been performing across the School ever since, from Open Mic Nights to the recent Baroque Concert held in Rochester Cathedral Crypt. “I have always been into singing, even before I started King’s, I would be singing around home and at relatives houses”

Laura’s course runs for two years during which she will be involved with the college’s collaboration with the Royal Opera House and amongst her a level studies she will be developing, directing and performing in a version of Humperdinck and Wette’s Hansel and Gretel at King’s.

She is also currently rehearsing in preparation to audition for the Kath Topping Award with the Kent Choir Chamber in which she would be on the youngest entrants.

It is these experiences, Laura hopes will give her a strong foundation to build from at the Royal College of Music. In the future, Laura wishes to be an Opera and is keen to continue at the Royal College of Music

Photo: Laura West outside Royal College of Music after her successful audition

challenges, one based on analytical chemistry (The Salter’s Challenge)  the other (The University Challenge) on accuracy and reliability (The Iodine Clock).

Although there was a team of 4, the pupils worked in pairs, to ensure they all had as much hands-on experience as they could, and so they could verify their results.  The practicals were assessed not just on results, but on their methodology, organisation and safety.

Whilst the pupils were carrying out the practical challenges the teachers had a talk from the Royal Society of Chemists on careers in Chemistry and were shown around some of the Micro Biology research labs.

The pupil’s dedication and teamwork earned them 3rd place in the Salters Competition in which they were competing against a very strong field.

Mrs Openshaw explains how beneficial School Dogs can be.

Children can benefit educationally and emotionally, increase their understanding of responsibility and develop empathy and nurturing skills through contact with a dog. In addition to these benefits, children take great enjoyment from interaction with a dog. At King’s Rochester, we value the development of the children’s wellbeing along with their spiritual, moral and social education in conjunction with their academic progress. We believe that having a school dog is a unique way to enrich all areas of the children’s wider education, skills and mental health.

The dog is a Sprocker Spaniel, called Mitzi, chosen after a lot of research. It is an intelligent breed that will respond very well to training and which is known to be an excellent family dog and, therefore good with children, sociable and friendly. They are also a breed that requires a good deal of exercise and mental stimulation and will enjoy being part of a busy, social environment. This particular dog was chosen as both parents and grandmother were viewed and discussed with the breeder, and noted to be calm around strangers yet playful and friendly.

Is there a risk in bringing a dog into a school environment? Yes, there is, but we have carefully considered school life with a dog and how the risks need to be assessed and managed. A thorough risk assessment has been carried out which has shown that there is very low risk to having a school dog.

We have thought long and hard about the reasons for having a school dog, too, and I wanted to share with you some of the factors that have led to us to having a dog at School.

As recently as March 2019, Sir Anthony Seldon speaking at a ‘Wellbeing in Education Conference’ stated: “Every school should have a dog or another pet to reduce stress in the classroom”. To which Education Secretary Damian Hinds said more schools seem to have ‘wellbeing dogs’ and ‘the pets can really help’. He went on to say that it is a ‘powerful, cost-effective way of helping children’ and that ‘the evidence is very clear that it works, and every single school should have a dog’

It is no longer possible for schools to focus solely on academic achievement without thinking about the emotional wellbeing of pupils. King’s Nursery and Pre-Preparatory School takes this responsibility very seriously and sees the introduction of a school dog as a further measure to enable pupils to engage with their mental health.

A school dog will also offer children boundless opportunities to practise our school values amongst which are kindness, respect and love.

In summary, academic research has shown that dogs working and helping in the school environment can achieve the following:

•  Improve academic achievement
•  Increase literacy skills
•  Calming behaviours
•  Increase social skills and self-esteem
•  Increase confidence
•  Teach responsibility and respect
•  Motivate children who are less attentive
•  Increase confidence around dogs in general
•  Increase and encourage participation in regular exercise
•  Provide a willing listener

Pupils and staff across the School cannot wait to see Mitzi enjoying the School grounds.

students from King’s Rochester gave an intimate performance to a VIP audience on Tuesday 4th December. Attendees included Nathan Tough, Marketing Officer at Porchlight and Mr Jeremy Walker, Principal of King’s Rochester.

Drawing inspiration from the Porchlight documentary ‘Flying the Nest’, a film which includes interviews with former rough sleepers. The pupils worked on bringing these stories and characters to life on stage in a thought provoking half hour performance.

The piece, commissioned by Porchlight was devised and written by the students who are also using it as coursework for their A Level studies. Incorporating ideas and techniques of several theatre companies and practitioners they have studied this term. Several stories interweave as the characters face redundancy, divorce and worse, all winding up sleeping rough before finding support and assistance from local homeless charities.

Head of Drama at King’s Rochester, Mr Steve Mount says “December is an appropriate time to perform the piece given that it focuses on homelessness. Money raised at the performance will help vulnerable people in the local towns, who will need extra support and help as the winter cold sets in”.

Porchlight also invited media students from the local university to film the performance for use in their promotional material in the future.

School, Rochester.

On Thursday 6th December 2018, Martin will take to the stage as part of the inaugural concert celebrating the arrival of King’s new Bechstein Grand Piano. The programme features performances from current and past pupils of King’s including Sam Hall (OR) and Anna Crawford (OR). Audiences will be treated to Mozart, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and Gershwin alongside a few festive numbers too, the concert will culminate in grand finale with Martin joined by international pianist Dina Duisen.

Director of Music, Mr John Mountford said:  “The opportunity to hear a renowned musician such as Martin is not to be missed.  He is fast becoming an internationally renowned concert pianist, so to have him performing here at King’s on our new piano is very special indeed. The programme promises to dazzle and inspire and I would be thrilled if the community could join us at this evening of musical celebration”.

Martin and Dina join an impressive roster of musicians to play at King’s in recent years including Dame Felicity Lott, Susan Waters and Month of Sundays.

The Piano Extravaganza concert is on Thursday 6th December 2018 at 7.30 in School Hall, The Precinct, Rochester. Tickets are £6 each and can be purchased through the King’s Rochester website www.kings-rochester.co.uk

service at Rochester Cathedral.

On Thursday 5^th October 2018, the Senior School charities committee at King’s Rochester celebrated the end of a successful School year, fundraising for the local charity Porchlight. To raise money they had held quiz nights, ran classroom competitions, competed in sponsored sport events and hosted open mic nights including a spectacular jazz night with Austrian band ‘Month of Sundays’.

Their hard work and commitment resulted in an outstanding total of £2,600 being raised. Charity Co-ordinator for King’s, Mrs Fran Lowe invited Celia Glynn-Williams from Porchlight to come and collect the donation during a special Chapel service in Rochester Cathedral, which highlighted the plight of vulnerable people in Medway and what we, as a community can do to help.

Celia Glynn-Williams said “I was honoured to collect a fantastic cheque on behalf of Porchlight from the students of King’s Rochester. Their Funding will help the homeless develop those important skills for employment. Huge thank you to you all”.

The donation of £2,600 is in addition to the £585 which was raised by the Senior School Drama Company with a special performance of Dennis Kelly’s DNA in March 2018. The cast presented Nathan Tough, Community and Corporate Fundraising Officer at Porchlight with their donation at the end of the performance. The total amount raised by pupils at King’s is £3,185.

Mr Jeremy Walker, Principal of King’s Rochester said “This is a fantastic charity making a massive difference across Kent and I am glad that King’s could help. Thank you to all at Porchlight for your amazing work”.

September. Edward Hyde was invited by the prestigious Welsh National Opera to sing as the treble soloist in an outstanding performance.

Working alongside Welsh National Opera soloists and the NEW Sinfonia, the premiere of the piece, a beautifully moving and uplifting tribute to her late mother, who died in 2010 was a great success receiving a standing ovation from the sold out venue.

Representatives from Decca Classics and the composer Rebecca Dale were thrilled with Edward’s performance commenting on his voice and professionalism. Producers from the Welsh National Opera said: “We cannot thank Edward enough for his incredible contribution in the Requiem Reflections concert at the weekend. It was truly an unforgettable evening and we are so grateful for all his hard work and talent!  We are still receiving wonderful feedback from the audience and participants.”

Edward, a Music Scholar at King’s Rochester, was approached by British composer Rebecca Dale at the start of the year to attend a recording session for her new release ‘Materna Requiem’. He is one of four vocal soloists featured on this piece in a number of movements, all being accompanied by The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

Edward said “To be involved with this Requiem right from the very start with the technical recording through to recording with the Liverpool Philharmonic and finally performing it live for Welsh National Opera has been an amazing journey. I feel so very honoured indeed”.

Neubauer, visited the orphanage with her family in 2008. She said, “We were so touched by the children who have nothing but are so happy”.

The pupils at King’s couldn’t wait to start supporting the children and they adopted ‘Little Lights’ Orphanage’ as their charity right at the start of the year. Over the course of the year, they raised funds through a variety of activities including a

sponsored walk holding a book, a cake sale, home clothes days, a Jazz Night and even a pyjama day!

Reverend Samuel Motupalli, Head Pastor and Founder of the Little Lights’ Orphanage, invested the donation in a range of new school books for the children. In his thank you letter he wrote, ‘We thank all the donors and those who contributed to the fund raised by King’s Rochester. It is a great blessing for Little Lights’ Orphanage and the children are sending their grateful thanks and love to all who participated in fund raising’.

Headmistress of King’s Rochester Pre-Preparatory & Nursery School, Mrs Catherine Openshaw, said, “We are so proud of all the children, and the way that they think of others who have less than themselves. The children at School particularly liked the fact that we were raising money for the children in the orphanage to buy books as we all love books here so much… Our sponsored walk around the Paddock carrying a book, was a real highlight of our fundraising activities! We are so pleased that we were able to help the children in India in some small way.”

Also, Josephine a pupil in Year 3, chose to ask her friends to donate to Little Lights’ Orphanage instead of bringing presents to her birthday party this year. Josephine’s selflessness has allowed the charity to purchase two goats. As a thank you for her generosity, they asked Josephine to name them – she chose Winona and Luna!

Rev. Samuel said, ‘Children love their goats and thank their friend for her birthday gift. Josephine, we are proud of you for being so kind and generous and thinking of others so readily.

Poly Birds as the pupils all dressed as their favourite characters. Not missing out on the fun was their teachers including new Headmaster Mr Morgan who donned his finest tweed as Bean fromFantastic Mr Fox and Deputy Headmaster Mr Medhurst who greeted parents and pupils in full character as the Grand High Witch from The Witches.

Mrs Jeannie Nicoll, Head of English at King’s Preparatory School said “Well done to all pupils and staff who participated in the marvellously magical Roald Dahl Day!  It was fantastic to see just how popular this author still is today and the impact he has on our creative writing. We have all had a wonderful day. As Willy Wonka says ‘a little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men”

of Rochester.

Following the re-foundation of the King’s School and Rochester Cathedral by King Henry VIII in 1542, scholarships have been awarded in his name to pupils following exceptional academic achievement in school or public

examinations. King’s Scholars wear their white gowns for processing in School services and also join the Foundation of Rochester Cathedral.

This year Thomas Allsworth, Nathaniel Rushton, Oliver Davis, Oliver Lister, Todd Revell and Erez Li were admitted following achieving all A*/A grades in their entrance examinations, GCSEs and School examinations respectively. They join the other 15 current King’s Scholars and the long list of previous scholars whose names can be found in the Foundation book.

grading system. A record 26% of all grades are at A* /9-8, a figure which has doubled since 2012. With 46% of grades at A*-A / 9-7 (only 2% behind last year’s record haul) it is no surprise that many pupils have been rewarded with excellent grades.

The top five performers all gained a clean sweep of A*-A / 9-7 grades and with over 40% of the cohort gaining at least half of their grades at A*-A / 9-7 there were many stories of individual success. Leading grades were attained by Elizaveta Shulgina (11 A*s /9-7), Patrick McCarthy (9 A* / 9-8 and 1 A / 7), Samuel Mutton (9 A* / 9-8 and 1 A / 7), Jadesola Ojedokun (8 A* / 9-8 and 1 A / 7, and Todd Revell (6 A* / 9-8 and 5 A / 7).

Under the new grading system a 7 is equivalent to an A grade with an 8 being the threshold for an A* and a very limited number of top scores being given a 9. A 6 is equivalent to a B grade and the C grade is spread between 4 and 5.

Such successful grades were achieved across all subjects with notable performances coming from English Language where an astonishing 41% of grades were at 9, 65% at 9-8 and 82% at 9-7. The Sciences all performed well with 96% of grades in Chemistry and Physics at A*-B and 64% at A*-A in Biology. Given national concerns over the decline of Modern Foreign Languages, results in German were excellent with 77% A*-A and 93% A*-B. Design Technology scored 55% A*-A and 90% A*-B while in Music 63% of grades were at A*-A and 88% at A*-B including pupils who took their exams a year early. Art also saw fantastic results with 27% at 9, 46% at 9-8 and 91% at 9-6.

Jeremy Walker, Principal of King’s Rochester, commented, “These fantastic results represent an enormous amount of hard work and dedication by pupils and their teachers with great support from their families. I am particularly pleased to see such excellent results in a year of change in education and to see consistent improvements in our academic results in recent years. King’s thrives on the rapport between staff and pupils both in and out of the classroom and we pride ourselves on knowing pupils and their families as individuals. I am particularly pleased that these results have been achieved across all subjects and that they have come alongside the benefits of the much wider education at King’s. Our pupils excel in sport, drama and music among many other enterprises and it is the personal qualities they develop alongside their academic performance which makes them such engaging young men and women with bright futures ahead. Coming on the back of last week’s excellent A Level results it has been a hugely pleasing year and I congratulate all of my colleagues and pupils on their success.”

of all grades were at A* and 25% were at A*/A with more than half of all grades being at A*-B. The top 40% of the year (comparable to a grammar school cohort), achieved 49% of their grades at A* / A with 84% A*-B. The overall average UCAS points were equivalent to three B grades per student.

With such great results it is no surprise that our students are off to a number of exciting and prestigious destinations including Durham, UCL, Leeds, Reading and Southampton. Lead Scholar, Cameron Watson, deserves particular congratulations as he takes up his place at Cambridge to read Geography with A*A*AB and an A in his Extended Project Qualification.  Equally pleasing is the range of courses they will pursue including Dentistry, Architecture, Law, Computer Science, Politics, Digital Media, Aeronautics, Economics, Estate Management, Accounting, Civil Engineering and Mathematics showing that studying at King’s opens up a world of opportunities in the future.

Music is a particular strength at King’s where students sit the Cambridge Pre-U as a more rigorous alternative to A Level and this year’s cohort saw 80% of all grades at the equivalent of A*-A. Such outstanding results enabled Anna Crawford to secure a scholarship at The Royal College of Music and Owen Luckhurst a place at Durham University to read Music. Other outstanding results came from the Art Department with 90% A* grades and 100% A*/A grades. Students in Mathematics achieved 79% A*-B and in both Chemistry and Design Technology 67% of all grades were at A*-B.

Mr Jeremy Walker, Principal of this popular independent school said,

“It has been incredibly pleasing to see this excellent set of results especially against a backdrop of increasingly rigorous A Levels. We are extremely proud of all our students who each have their own success stories and I thank our inspirational teachers who support and guide the pupils so well. More than that though, I am proud of the broad range of interests and exceptional personal qualities they have developed during their time at King’s. Their exam results are very important but it is the excellent young men and women they have become that will make the greatest difference as they embark on their adult lives.”

Photo: King’s Rochester Upper Sixth with Principal Mr J Walker

to be Head Master of St Peter’s School, York.  The position attracted an extremely strong field of applicants reflecting the strength of the school and regard in which it is held nationally.

Mr Charles is currently the Second Master (Senior Deputy Head) of The Portsmouth Grammar School (PGS), a large independent all-through school from 2½ to 18 with very close ties to Portsmouth Cathedral.  He completed his degree at the University of Exeter before gaining his Post Graduate Certificate of Education from Durham University. He began his teaching career at another King’s School, this time in Peterborough, where he was Assistant Director of Music and a Lay Clerk in the Cathedral. He went on to become Director of Music at two HMC schools – the first at Chigwell School in Essex and later at Millfield School in Somerset. In 2009 he was appointed Deputy Head (Co-Curriculum and Communications) at PGS and was promoted to the Second Master role in January 2016. He is currently a Governor at Amesbury School and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Ben is married to Helen, also a teacher and Deputy Head of Sixth Form at PGS, and between them they have three young children with another on the way. Ben is an experienced choral conductor and singer, but is also a huge sports fan, particularly offering support to teams from his native city of Leicester.

Jeremy Walker leaves King’s in December at the end of the Michaelmas Term and Mr Charles will commence as Principal in April 2019 at the start of the Midsummer Term due to his contractual notice period.  Mr Roger Overend, who retired as Headmaster of King’s Preparatory School in July 2018, has been appointed Acting Principal for the Lent Term.

Miss Jacqueline Shicluna, Chair of Governors said, “Governors were highly impressed with Mr Charles’ experience, his affinity for King’s and vision for the future building on strong foundations.  We all look forward to welcoming him and his family to Rochester and are confident that King’s will continue to thrive and develop under his leadership.  In the meantime, I am delighted that Mr Roger Overend will be Acting Principal for the Lent Term.  His long experience and knowledge of King’s will ensure stability and successful transition to Mr Charles.”

Of his appointment Ben said, “I am thrilled and honoured to have been appointed as Principal of King’s School, Rochester and to be joining such a welcoming and happy community. I look forward to building on the outstanding leadership of Jeremy Walker. 

King’s is renowned for its exceptional pastoral care, the breadth of opportunities it provides across the full age range and its commitment to a Christian ethos, all in an incredible and unique setting. I am excited to lead a school with such a rich heritage, but which also has significant aspirations for the future. My family and I very much look forward to joining the King’s community and to meeting pupils, parents, staff and alumni in the months and years ahead.”

Jeremy Walker said, “I am delighted with Ben’s appointment and couldn’t be happier with the Governors’ decision.  Much as I am excited to be moving to St Peter’s, leaving King’s has been a difficult decision to make and I know that Ben will be an outstanding Principal and that he and his family will be welcomed as warmly as mine.”