BULLETIN
Queen ’ s College Whole School Newsletter
14th October 2022
This half term is running away with us!
Parkrun
Mr Julian Noad - Head of College
The term is racing along, with half term now just one week away. I begin with a look back to last weekend, with Queen ’ s College, staff and pupils providing the support team for the ParkRun on Saturday morning. These outings are brilliant community events and I am very proud of our team for taking their turn this week. Tuesday brought more than 50 Year 6s to the senior school for a Discovery Day, the first step in the transition to the senior school. Everyone, staff included, enjoyed a fabulous day. It is clear that next year will be a bumper entry. Later that day, it was a real delight to lead a twilight prefect leadership session, with wide - ranging and passionate discussion about how we could better support pupils at Queen ’ s, concluded with a rewarding and very enjoyable meal out at the Pitcher and Piano. Wednesday ’ s parent forum was an intimate affair but Mr Matthews and I enjoyed the discussion on Queen ’ s ongoing approach to rugby. I made clear, and repeat here, that we are not making any dramatic shift at this stage - but we will continue to review. In line
with many schools, we are taking a pragmatic approach, with non - contact or short - sided matches where needed but with full contact 15s where there is strength. Mr Cooling, Head of Rugby, is doing a magnificent job of liaising with other schools and leading excellent sessions for our pupils. I have been ‘ up country ’ to London for a short conference this week, with a focus on wellbeing and EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion); two important issues, both strengths at Queen ’ s, which we will continue to refine. I have returned to much excitement about the new sports tops - none more excited than Mrs Mockridge herself! She is contactable by pupils or parents in reception for anything uniform or school clothing related. Today has also been an own clothes day in support of French House ’ s chosen charity, Smile Train - a charity supporting children born with cleft lips around the world. With a bake sale and a guess the teacher ’ s smile competition, I hope to hear of a significant donation. If you would like to lend your support, please do take a look at Smile Train. On a busy day, it was terrific to squeeze in moments of
joy with short visits to parents ’ coffee, a lunchtime concert at St John ’ s Church (details in next week ’ s bulletin) and the Prep harvest festival. This weekend, there are no sporting fixtures since this is a dedicated outdoor education weekend, including a Ten Tors selection, Duke of Edinburgh bronze and silver award expeditions, the initial Exmoor Challenge training event, caving in the Mendips, and mountain biking in Wales. Good luck to all. On Sunday, we host a ‘ West End Masterclass ’, with professional actors sharing their experiences and tips. Mr Trafford also reminds us all to book tickets for the many exciting performances this year, including a buy three, get the fourth free option. Details later in this bulletin, but full listings and bookings are here. Next week, we look forward to our Sixth Form open evening upcoming, from 6.30pm on Tuesday 18 October, at the Sixth form centre itself. We hope that this will be a great chance for current Year 11s, at Queen ’ s and pupils from elsewhere, to see the benefits of
This half term is zooming by
Mr Julian Noad - Head of College
the Sixth form at Queen ’ s: the passionate teaching; the strong pastoral care; and the range of opportunities for personal development. As we head to the half term break, we offer the opportunity for all Year 7 parents to come together for a natter and some refreshment, to share experiences and to make connections.
Thursday 20 October, 7 - 9pm, at a venue yet to be confirmed - it all depends on numbers, so please reply this weekend if you have not already done so. Invitations to other year groups will follow; watch this space. I end with joyful best wishes to two staff members who will tie the knot of marriage this weekend: Hen Cash and
Sam Chislett will be wed and we wish them every enjoyment on the day as well as every future happiness.
Have a great weekend yourselves also.
Julian
Into the Woods
One of the greatest works by musical theatre Stephen Sondheim, Into The Woods imagines a fairy - tale world where our favourite characters collide; Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Ridinghood, Jack (and his beanstalk) all share an adventure that is both hilarious and heart - rending. Along the way, they learn that maybe it's better if our wishes don't always come true.
Book your tickets here.
Prep School Mr Henry Matthews - Head of Prep
Rugby Union: Queen ’ s v Wellington School
if this is stuck in your head for the next few days! We have received a huge amount of donations and we are very grateful for all who sent in contributions. ARC inspire, our chosen charity, will collect the items later today and they have already sent their thanks ahead of collection. A few reminders before the final week of half term, firstly, if you have not yet booked your parents ’ evening meeting then please do this via your MSP login. If you are unable to make the allotted times then do get in touch with your child ’ s teacher, they will be happy to arrange an alternative time to talk. Please also remember that buses will leave at the earlier time of 4:35pm next Friday. CC1 clubs will still run, however there will be no CC2 on this day. Late care is still available for those that require it. Finally, I end today with a look ahead to the weekend with exciting news. I am delighted to wish Miss Cash and Mr Chislett all the very best for their wedding tomorrow afternoon. I am sure you will join me in sending best wishes from the whole school community. We can ’ t wait to hear all about it next week!
The start of this week saw a very exciting end to Monday afternoon, especially for our Year 3 and 4 children when they took part in home fixtures against Wellington. It was fantastic to see so many spectators turn out in the sunshine to watch a host of fun and competitive games. I have to say, I have been hugely impressed with the attitude of our Year 3 and 4 children in their approach to sport. Whether on the rugby or hockey field, all are showing great determination, skill and consistently demonstrate teamwork, respect and enjoyment. This was a super start to the week and well done to all involved. I will continue on a sporting theme for a moment and also congratulate our Year 5 and 6 pupils for their Wednesday fixtures. These games were also played in the sunshine in a highly competitive manner. A special mention must also go to the U11 girls who were selected to play in the IAPS regional tournament. The girls performed brilliantly, progressing through the group stages and into the plate competition. Unfortunately we were knocked out following a thrilling penalty shootout vs Monkton. This was the girls ’ first experience of penalties and they rose to the challenge brilliantly. I am sure they will remember this match for years to come and they should all be extremely proud of themselves.
This week, we have also enjoyed our first transition event of the year, with our Year 6 children stepping up to become senior school pupils for a day on Tuesday. They were joined by 19 children from other schools and I certainly would urge anyone with Places for next year are already very limited. The children had a fantastic day and took part in a variety of activities and lessons including art workshops, drama sessions and even philosophical discussions. I know that many are already looking forward to next year. As always, our Pre - Prep and Nursery children have been having lots of fun in their learning. It has been fantastic to see the progress the children have made in class since the start of the term and I know that teachers will be pleased to talk about this next week at parents ’ evening. In the meantime, there are plenty of pictures of this week ’ s activities for you to enjoy in the following pages . Thank you to all of those who joined us for our Harvest Festival this afternoon, another opportunity to watch our children perform on the big stage of the Queen's Hall. We were treated to hymns, readings, poetry, prayers and well done to all who joined us so heartily at the end with ‘ Big Red Combine Harvester ’. My apologies
I wish you all a pleasant weekend.
Henry
Nursery Round - up Highgrove Nursery News From Mrs Donna Kershaw - Highgrove Nursery Manager Puddleducks were pleased to have a surprise visitor this week. PCSO Joe dropped in to speak to the children and show them the mobile Police station van. PSCO Joe spoke to the children about his stab vest, showed them his police badge and talked about all the different things he needs to carry on him each day. Puddleducks topic this week is people who help us and as well as talking about the many ‘ superheroes ’ that we have around us to help, there have been some lovely discussions and questions asked whilst the children have enjoyed their Police station role play this week. Tiggywinkles book this week is ‘ Spot the Dog ’ . The children have had fun playing hide and seek in the garden as well as creating their own spotty pictures. Many of the children ’ s interests are the dolls currently and lots of time has been spent dressing the dolls, changing their nappies, wiping their noses and feeding them!
Cottontails have enjoyed further exploring autumn this week, with their sensory tray full of conkers and their arts and crafts activities with the many leaves and sticks they collected on their autumn walk down to the field.
Nursery School News From Miss Lizzie Hayes - Head of Nursery School
This week the Nursery School children have been discussing the concept of emotions in their circle times. The circle time bear was passed around the group and everyone waited for their turn to share thoughts and ideas about what makes them sad and happy with their friends. This week's P.E. skills session gave the children the opportunity to practise their throwing and catching skills with woolly balls as well as football skills. As we prepare for Harvest festival celebrations at the end of the week the adult led activities have been focusing on healthy eating where the children were encouraged to create a plate of healthy food out of collage materials from magazines and have participated in a shopping basket activity to sort and
think about which foods are healthy and which foods should be eaten as occasional treats.
Prep School Prep Sports Round - up
A huge thank you to all those who have supported the children this week. We had some amazing matches against Wellington on Monday with the Years 3 and 4. It was great to hear such positive comments from the supporters about the improvement of play by the children in just a couple of weeks since their last run out. Certainly, the Year 4 girls' understanding of passing and protecting the ball by use of a spin was clear to see as the game went on today. The Year 3 boys displayed some great running with the ball in hand and defended equally well. Wednesday, saw the U11 boys off to Sherborne and the U10s to the King ’ s Bruton tournament. The U11s played some great attacking rugby with seven of the team involved in the last try! Great team work resulting in a
win. The U10 boys are certainly enthusiastic and played very well in patches. Hopefully as their understanding of the game improves then they will continue their progress. The girls hosted Millfield Prep, in some spirited matches. The U10 girls ’ played their best hockey of the season so far, passing well and playing with confidence. The U11B were slow to start and Millfield were quick to capitalise, but in the second half they were engaged and scored three goals. Finally, the U11A team played some confident hockey in their match, and were unlucky to score on numerous occasions but managed to get one in to take the win.
New Sports Jacket We are pleased to announce we have introduced a new fleece lined tracksuit top with concealed hood. It has an outer shell, and an inner microfleece lining. We are sure the students will be warm, with a base layer, PE / hockey / rugby top, a mid layer and then this tracksuit top if they wish. The jacket is £40.50 for sizes up to and including 38" chest. For 40" chest upwards the price is £48.60 including VAT. This can be put on the school bill. The sizes are be: 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46
If you would like one, please do go to the Prep reception, and see Mrs Amanda Brown where your child will be able to try one on for the correct size. Alternatively they will be available this Saturday 10 - 2 in the Senior School reception, or from Prep Monday - Thursday next week from 4.15 pm, and also Thursday parents evening 4.30 - 6.30 pm. Any queries regarding the top please contact Mrs Rebecca Mockridge, our uniform facilitator in Senior Reception or email ram@queenscollege.org.uk .
Prep School
Year 7 Discovery Day On Tuesday current Prep and potential new Year 7 pupils joined Queen ’ s College Senior School for a Discovery Day. The pupils met Mrs Bloxham who is the Year 7 Lead and oversees pupils' academic and pastoral care during this first year. Mrs Bloxham particularly enjoyed getting to know the pupils and linking pupils with their parents. Best quote of the day: ‘ Can I come now and forget Year 6?’. Pupils then experienced a variety of lessons: Science, PSHME/Drama, PE, Art and Humanties. Within the PSHME/ Drama session pupils explored what friendship means and acted out different scenarios demonstrating and discussing the wrong response to a friendship issue. In Science the pupils journeyed in space and time to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away to explore the misconceptions in how light travels by studying a Star Wars blaster fight before arming themselves with their own lasers to investigate how light really travel and reflects off objects, discovering the law of reflection. In art, amazing charcoal drawings of animal friends were created; cats and dogs featuring heavily. Pupils then had a tour of co - curricular options that the senior school offers.
Parents arrived for tea and cake and were welcomed by Mr Noad and met key senior staff (including Percy - the dog). The day was very busy and positive!
Prep School
Meet the Team: Mrs Penny and Mr Chislett
Assistant Head, Early Years
Assistant Head , Upper Prep
We thought it would be nice for our pupils and parents to get to know our senior team in the prep school a little better, this week we had a chat with Mrs Penny and Mr Chislett: First we spoke to Mrs Penny: How long have you worked at Queen ’ s? I have worked at Queens since September - so for just over 6 weeks. What ’ s the most exciting part of your job? That no day is the same! I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the wonderful children across the Prep School. Teaching the children in year one, running cookery and catchball clubs also leading Pre - Prep assemblies are certainly highlights of my week. What ’ s the best place you ’ ve travelled to? I love to travel and have visited some beautiful countries. New Zealand is certainly one of my favourites as the picturesque landscape is breathtaking and I was able to partake in some extreme sports like skydiving. What kind of music do you like? Pop music is my guilty pleasure! What is your favourite animal? Elephants are my favourite animal. I was lucky enough to see a number of herds when on safari in Sri Lanka. Do you have any pets? Sadly, I don't. Although I regularly dog sit for my dad who has a beautiful Weimeraner named Purdy. Are you a coffee or tea person? Coffee is my drink of preference. What ’ s your favourite food? I love eggs, particularly poached ones!
Then we spoke to Mr Chislett : How long have you worked at Queen ’ s? I started at Queen's as an NQT and this is now my 7th year here. Time has flown by! What ’ s the most exciting part of your job? I really enjoy getting to work with all the children across the Upper Prep school and hearing all about their interests What ’ s the best place you ’ ve travelled to? I have been lucky enough to travel to some rather exotic places, my favourite being Thailand and Vietnam What kind of music do you like? As for music I am happy listening to a wide variety of genres What is your favourite animal? My favourite animal would have to be an elephant. I was lucky enough to spend some time working with them on one of my holidays which was a great experience Do you have any pets? I have a dog whose name is Nala. Some of you may well have met her as she ran her own co - curricular session last year! Are you a coffee or tea person? Definitely coffee for me! What ’ s your favourite food? If I had to choose a favourite meal it would definitely be a nice medium rare steak.
Senior School Sports Report
It has been another busy week of fixtures this week with Saturday fixtures against Clayesmore for Hockey, Leweston for Rugby, and two age groups battled it out in the Netball County tournaments. Mid week fixtures saw Rugby played against Sexey ’ s and Sherborne Prep, and Hockey against Millfield Prep. In the calendar we ’ ve also had another basketball league match, a 1st team Hockey cup match vs Taunton School, and our first senior 1st XI football match vs Exeter School. Highlights of the week include another two rugby triumphs for the U15 boys against Leweston (53 - 10) and Sexey ’ s. The latter was a scrappy match, but they showed strength of character and skill to come out winners. The 1st XI hockey team had a fantastic win against Clayesmore with some brave deflections from the back post and great coaching again by Pippa and Melissa. In their cup match vs Taunton School the girls played impressively, initially going 1 - 0 up and making Taunton work for the ball. Lower down the school the U13A hockey girls also showed that they aren ’ t ones to be missed either, with an outstanding 5 - 1 win over Millfield prep in their best game of the year so far. Goals were scored by Maryam Alsaidi and Eliza Hooper. Other performances of note from this week saw the 2nd XI hockey girls defend well with some great turnovers from which they could attack up the wings. The U12/13D team made huge improvements in applying pressure and moving the ball out wide to the space. The U13A rugby boys scored three awesome tries against Sherborne Prep with some well worked play, moving the ball around, to finish on a draw.
Senior School Sports Report
Queen ’ s Boys U18 Basketball By Alec Enkhsaikhan
Queen ’ s Boys U18 Football By Alec Enkhsaikhan
The effort put into the match against Exeter School on Wednesday, was immense. The team put in a tremendous effort and showed an abundance of potential.
County Netball Tournament U16 Team - The U16 squad did exceptionally well at the tournament against strong opposition. As a team we displayed great resilience throughout the court. When opportunities arose in attack we converted a high percentage of goals. The defence took lots of timely interceptions. We need to work on out decision making & cutting our errors. Well played by all. U14 Team - A young U14 Team were incredibly resilient and hard working against some tough competition in this County tournament. A little rusty to begin with, the girls found their flow and worked well on court as a team to maintain possession and move the ball through the centre court. Captain Evvie kept spirit up as we battled through 6 games with little time to reset between matches. A huge well done to all the girls.
The Queen ’ s Men ’ s Basketball Team had a match with King ’ s College, Taunton this Wednesday which was held in King ’ s. As the team arrived, they started with a series of warm ups followed by the match itself. With King ’ s scoring the first two points, Queen ’ s was able to equate with their own 2 points by Bobby. This cycle seemed never ending as King ’ s scored another 2 points followed by the same exact process from Queen ’ s, making the score 4 - 4. A reflection of each other ’ s actions seemed present as the first half remained a close call yet Queen ’ s made a steady incline towards victory, finalizing the score, 19 - 20 in the first half. The players who weren ’ t on the court showed their support for the team with immense cheering. The second half contrasted as King ’ s started to overpass Queen ’ s with a score of 25 - 21. With both schools putting in more effort as the teams kept scoring with a result of 34 - 35 with 2 points being made by Jackie. In the last minute of the game, the last point concluded the score at 40 - 46 with the victory going to Queen ’ s. Both teams put in a great effort towards a competitive match with King ’ s and the school looks forward towards viewing the basketball team ’ s journey in the future. Good job to everyone who played!
Senior School Science and Psychology Faculty Update
We have had a very busy and exciting week in the Science and Psychology Faculty with the Year 6s coming to see what a senior science lesson is like (see prep section for more details), and not one but two scholar sessions and to top the week we were joined by three engineers from the Hinkley C project who gave some talks on the project and routes into STEM careers to our older scientists. The Year 8 scholars explored the chemistry topic of acids and bases, using the Royal society of chemistry work for “ Talented and gifted teaching ”. The pupils investigated how many different indicators are extracted from plants and used in a variety of combinations to give the familiar laboratory Universal indicator.
In 1950 Enrico Fermi the great Italian American physicist took his lunch partners at Los Alamos by surprise by suddenly blurting out “ Where is everybody? ”. This was the start of the Fermi paradox which, put simply, is if life is releatvly easy to start (it only took 100 - 200 million years to start once Earth was cool enough for liquid water to form) and there are so many planets out there (the milky way is estimated to have between 1 and 10 trillion planets) why have we not been contacted by an intelligent alien civilisation (or even have any evidence for any alien life forms). Our Year 10 scholars spent an hour exploring why this might be, looking at possible great barriers to life and sentience, models of how we might explore the galaxy,
reasons why an advanced civilisation might not want to get in touch and the Anthropic principle. My highlight of the year so far has to be Monday ’ s visit by three engineers from the Hinkley C build who came and
gave two very insightful talks about Europe ’ s biggest civil engineering project building the biggest nuclear reactor in the World connecting to the biggest steam turbine in the World using the biggest crane in the World, it really was superlativetatstic, and what it was like to work in a STEM career. The Year 13s, who are in the process of filling out the UCAS applications, had their eyes opened to apprenticeship degrees where you could earn money and pay no university fees, food for thought.
Blue Cake for Barnicott
Harriet in Year 8 made this beautiful blue cake today for tutor time to share with the tutor group and even dressed up in blue for our house Barnicott. It was a delicious vanilla sponge!
Art Update Senior School
Ms Cade is so proud of her year 10 pupils ’ landscape panting, from their lesson this week. The pupils have chosen the artist they have focused on and really embraced painting in an experimental way. We are excited to see what do next!
Year 10 pupils have been working on their GCSE art work and painting and experimenting using a mixture of coffee, tea, beetroot, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, turmeric, chilli powder and lots of other interesting things!
'They are looking at the artist Carne Griffiths' artwork. I am very proud of how the pupils went for the challenge and embraced using the different powders and liquids to paint with, some very exciting art work in progress.
Year 9 Scholars Event
Monday saw Year 9 scholars learning about the importance of encryption and how it has evolved over the years. They started looking at a simple encryption using a Caesar cipher wheel to break an encrypted message, then discussing ways that it could easily be broken and looking at how it could be improved by using differing shifts for alternate letters. They then had to solve how a message could be sent using two key encryption.
Senior School Performing Arts Update Under 14 Food Styling Award
The return to school in September set the wheels in motion for many of the Performing Arts projects in the "World of Wonders" season.
Rehearsals for 'Into the Woods' are progressing fantastically, with an incredibly strong ensemble tackling the music of theatre legend Stephen Sondheim with
great skill. The set is taking shape, too, as it continues to be constructed in the school workshops under the keen eye of Mr Dudman. 'Into the Woods' is one of Sondheim's most
Following
last
year ’ s Queen ’ s College Festival of Arts Food Styling Award, Mr Mann, Head of Faculty of Art, Design, and Food, entered the top four pupils into the National Tunnock ’ s Food
popular musicals and we are doing our best to ensure that it is a perfect Christmas treat for all the family - it will almost certainly be Taunton's most spectacular show this festive season!
Styling Award. Freya Mills now in Year 8 won the Under 14 category out of over 700 schools that took part. She has won a bundle of Tunnock ’ s prizes for her winning piece titled, ‘ Metaphor for Metamorphosis ’ showing ladybirds going through metamorphosis through food. Freya said, "ladybirds are an example of an insect that goes through a complete metamorphosis in the natural world, going through distinct stages as they transform biologically into a new shape from an egg, larva, and emerging from a pupa. Everyone thinks of a butterfly when they think of metamorphosis in the natural world and I wanted to show that ladybirds also go through natural metamorphosis and showcase the Tunnock's teacake at the same time". Year 10 pupils have been working on their GCSE art work and painting and experimenting using a mixture of Coffee, tea, beetroot, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, turmeric, chilli powder and lots of other interesting things! 'They are looking at the artist Carne Griffiths' artwork. I am very proud of how the pupils went for the challenge and embraced using the different powders and liquids to paint with, some very exciting art work in progress.
Meanwhile, several other projects are just preparing for auditions. In the Prep School, Year 4 to 6 will be giving their singing and acting auditions next Tuesday for the stage premiere of 'Moana' with Mrs Elliott, Miss Scutt and Mr Trafford, whilst two drama projects, 'The Crucible' for Year 10 to 13 and 'Mother Courage' for Year 7 to 9 will be casting just afterwards. It certainly is a diverse programme, designed to give each age range the opportunity to develop skills in different styles of performance. At the same time, it will offer an amazing and varied season of entertainment for audiences over the coming months - tickets are on sale for all these shows. We even have a season ticket deal via our events staff, offering 4 shows for the price of 3 (email tickets@queenscollege.org.uk and the events team will facilitate the booking.). We will keep you updated as each of the projects develops over the coming weeks!
Senior School Higher Project Qualification (HPQ)
Academic scholars in Year 10 are being invited to complete a Higher Project Qualification (HPQ) over the next year. The qualification, that is equivalent to half a GCSE, is similar in format to the Extended Project Qualification that many of our Sixth Form pupils complete in Years 12 and 13. Pupils can choose to write an extended essay on a subject of their choice or produce an ‘ artefact ’ that is accompanied by a shorter essay. The subject of the HPQ can be almost anything, as long as it does not overlap with the content of their GCSE courses. These projects require pupils to reference their work correctly,
create a production log that details their workflow and, at the end, present their work to a group of their peers and teachers. It will be fascinating to see the range of subjects that our Year 10 pupils select and we look forward to reporting on their successes in the year to come.
Sixth Form Evening
Sixth Form Psychology Authors By Hazel Dovey
This week there has been exciting news from the Psychology department …
After several months of waiting, the October edition of the ATP Today Journal finally arrived in the post, complete with an article written by two of our Year 13 students, Hazel Dovey and Ruby Chapman.
ATP Today is a national psychological journal published quarterly, written for teachers of psychology. Not only is it an achievement to have their work approved for publication by this respected journal but also both students each now have their own ISBN numbers, recognising their writing.
The article, written following extensive research into teen phone usage, discussed the phenomena of 'phone withdrawal', a topic that is highly relevant in today's society. The students collaborated on this article and submitted it to the journal with the hopes of seeing it published. After the long wait they were both very excited to see their work in print. We are proud of this achievement and of the effort that undoubtedly went into the article. Congratulations to both Hazel and Ruby and we look forward to seeing more writing successes from them!
Greenpower: Our Race To Win - by Sevin Fernando
As a novel STEM opportunity, encouraging sustainability by building a race - worthy electric car from the wheels up, we ’ re very excited to embark on this adventure. It began as a simple frame – nothing more – wheels unattached, loose tools scattered sparsely within an unopened box. When we laid eyes on it … well you can imagine the scene. Disappointment perhaps, anxious moans, maybe even a foot out of the door? Believe me, it was nothing close. That initial moment was our first display of true excitement, determination, and
hope, and that ’ s super - powered our efforts ever since.
You see, what began as a simple frame has turned into genuine teamwork, and we ’ re already dreaming of the podiums to come. With that said, this project extends far beyond a few people in a room. Sure, Greenpower ’ s a chance to engineer – a glimpse into the adrenaline of racing – a masterclass in efficiency and planning – but that just slights the surface. To be our best, to be faithful members of this competition, we must cross the finish line together as a community. After all, it is our race to win. The opportunity to grow as innovators and learn from real, hands - on experience is a gift for us, and for the future competitors of Queen ’ s, and that ’ s something we ’ re not willing to waste. We hope you share in our excitement. At the end of the day, that ’ s the best we could ask for. For further support, consider our GoFundMe and spread the word!
Sixth Form
Historical Association Lecture After a no - holds - barred account of the destruction of great libraries, temples and persecution of mathematicians by early Christian zealots, delivered by journalist and classicist Catherine Nixey, Elizabeth Wrayford Y12 was thrilled to chat with the author of a key text for her proposed EPQ on the Roman persecution of early Christians.
Charity Own Clothes Day—by Edie Hepburn
This Friday was French House ’ s own clothes day in support of the charity Smile Train. Smile Train is an international children ’ s charity empowering local medical professionals with training, funding and resources to provide free surgery and comprehensive care to children with cleft lip or palate globally. Donations to Smile Train help immediately transform the lives of these children.
At Queen ’ s we had a bake sale, with all proceeds going to the charity. There is an additional competition where students (or staff) can try to guess the teacher based on a close up picture of their smile - entries are £1 each! French will continue to support Smile Train throughout the year - I look forward to seeing how much we can raise!
If you wish to donate online, follow this link here.
Army Scholarship
British Film Institute course The Art
Department is so very proud of Lucy Wilcox who has won a place on the British Film Institute course. Only 10 candidates were selected
amongst 16 - 19 year olds in the South West. This gives Lucy an opportunity to make a film with nine others over 9 days and it is fully funded by the British Film Institute. Lucy is studying Art, Textiles and Photography A Level and a very dedicated and creative pupil. We are so delighted for Lucy and excited about what she returns with after half term.
Louis Reynolds has been awarded a prestigious Army Scholarship securing a place to train as an army officer at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, and also benefiting from financial support for the final year at school and all through university.
Boarders Corner Cotlake—Frisbee Golf Cotlake House has been busy last weekend! They turned their hand to frisbee golf at Mendip Activity Centre. It was Tee - rific fun!
Senior Boarders On Friday evening Hutton & Highgrove girls in years 11, 12 and 13 spent a lovely evening at The Cleve Spa. It started off with an afternoon tea and then a couple of hours spent in the spa enjoying the pool, jacuzzis and steam room. After a busy week it was a welcome retreat for all of the pupils and staff.
Whilst the older girls were off at the spa the younger Hutton boarders enjoyed an evening of Fimo clay modelling with Miss Pettinau and Miss Williams.
On Saturday, Mrs Mockridge and Mrs Bloxham along with 22 Hutton girls went and watched the amazing show Beauty and the Beast at the Bristol Hippodrome. All experienced the Disney magic of adventure, love, magic and a happy ever after!
On Sunday 65 of our senior boarders had an early start to visit Thorpe Park. The trip was worth it and the pupils enjoyed the rides and spending time with friends.
Boarding Staff Photo
After a busy few weeks back at school it seemed a good time to celebrate our lovely Boarding team here at Queen's. We are fortunate to have a strong, experienced and committed team who live and work with our boarders to ensure they are well cared for and have a really positive experience during their time at Queen's.
Park Run Report by Georgie Bell
A rather crisp autumn morning at Longrun Meadow Parkrun 397 . Everyone was smiling and laughing despite the rather chilly weather, as new faces were welcomed and old faces returned. A magnificent 313 people ran, of those 27 where first timers, and 46 received a personal best. Well done to everyone who participated in completing this whether running, jogging or walking.
Last weekend Parkrun was assisted by 21 staff plus at least 25 students from Queens College led by the Headmaster and his wife (Julian and Jane Noad), Robert and Jennie Cooling and many other staff from the College. Without these students and adults helping out, last weekend ’ s parkrun would have been impossible so a huge thank you to them.
Congratulations to Carol Foster for completing her 25th volunteering today. Thank you so much for all your hard work and effort. The first male was Mawgan James Andrew with a fantastic time of 17:04 his new PB, closely behind him was Tom Guppy with another brilliant time of 17:09 and yet another PB and third position went to an unknown member but well done to you all. First female was Kate Drew with a stunning time of 19:42. Coming in second was Isabel Nixon with a brilliant PB of 22:05 filled closely by Katrin Higginson with a formidable time of 22:16 well done!
Well done to everyone who participated this week and thank you again to all the volunteers from Queen ’ s!
QC Connected Created to engage our alumni and others previously involved with the school
Queen's College Connected has been created to engage our alumni and others previously involved with the school to connect with each other and ensure they remain connected to the Queen's College community. The site enables members of our community to connect with old friends, share news, volunteer, network, reminisce and find out about our upcoming events. Join today!
Additionally, to utilise our large OQ network, the website includes mentoring features and will enable OQs to share career experience and advice with younger OQs.
News and Announcements
Upcoming Parents Evenings The appointment booking system (on the parent portal) will open approximately 1 - 2 weeks before the parents ’ evenings. Parents will be notified when booking is open.
Senior School Year 11 Sixth Form Open Evening - Tuesday 18th October 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Year 12 and 13 - Tuesday 8th November 4:30 - 6pm (in person) and Thursday 10th November 5:30 - 7pm (remote) Year 11 - Tuesday 6th December 4:30 - 6pm (in person) and Thursday 8th December 5:30 - 7pm (remote) Year 7 - Tuesday 17th January 4:30 - 6pm (in person) and Thursday 19th January 5:30 - 7pm (remote) Year 10 - Tuesday 24th January 4:30 - 6pm (in person) and Thursday 26th January 5:30 - 7pm (remote) Year 9 (including GCSE options discussions) - Tuesday 21st February 4:30 - 6pm (in person) and Thursday 23rd February 5:30 - 7pm (remote) Year 8 - Tuesday 28th February 4:30 - 6pm (in person) and Thursday 2nd March 5:30 - 7pm (remote) Pre - Prep and Prep School All Year groups - Tuesday 18th October 4:30 - 6:00pm (remote) and Thursday 20th October 4:30 - 6:00pm (in person) All Year groups - Tuesday 7th February 4:30 - 6:00pm (remote) and Thursday 9th February 4:30 - 6:00pm (in person)
Ad from INVESTIN: How to coach teenagers towards a successful career
We are delighted to announce the first events in our Success Beyond School series for this academic year. These are live online seminars featuring career experts, designed to help parents amplify their children ’ s career potential. The events are for parents of students aged 12 - 18 and are free to attend.
Explore our life - changing, immersive career opportunities for ages 12 - 18, which take place at UCL and live online.
Weekend programmes are available throughout November and December.
Our flagship Summer Experiences take place in July and August, and there is currently a 15% discount available for those.
16th November: Future - Proofing Students Preparing students for the jobs of the future
Use the QC code QUEENSTAUNTON10 for a 10% discount. Find out more here.
30th November: Finding a Future in Finance Gaining the skills for a career in Finance
News and Announcements
Upcoming Parent Social Events Coffee Mornings
Last year we organised some parents ’ coffees after morning drop off from 8.00 - 9.30am. These proved popular and a super way for parents to meet and catch up with each other across the College. Please find below the dates we have planned to hold these this term. We very much hope you will be able to join us even if it is for a quick hello. Please come to the main Senior School Reception in School House and we will guide you to the Dining Hall from there.
Q Friday 25 November
Q Friday 9 December (tbc)
Other Social Dates:
Q Year 7 Parents Drinks - Thursday 20 October, 7.00 - 9.00pm (other year group dates will follow)
Christian Union
A Christian Union will be starting on Friday break times in EAL, room 1. It will be a similar format to 'A bit of cake, bit of God' that ran for many years. There will be discussion / reflection, a short video clip and, of course, cake!
News and Announcements
Upcoming Dates
Bronze D of E - Local Walk 1
15th October
Silver D of E Initial Expedition Training
16th October
West End Workshop
16th October
Nursery School Grandparents Week
W/c 17th October
Sixth Form Open Evening
18th October 6:30pm
Year 11 - Geography Fieldwork Day
19th October
Nursery School Forest School trip
19th October
Tea Time Concert
19th October 4:30pm
Sports Team Photos
20th October
House Music Festival
21st October
Lunchtime Concert
21st October 12:30pm
Half Term
22nd October - 6th November
Our online whole school calendar can be found here.
Our sports portal can be accessed here.
Buses - Save your time, fuel and the planet
Did you know that you can book the QC buses for just mornings, or just afternoons?
A flexible pass option is available for up to five trips per week (any combination) for a termly commitment of approx. £20 per week. Please contact Mrs Mockridge for details ram@queenscollege.org.uk or call 01823 272559. All our drivers provide a wonderful service - they are contactable, DBS cleared and all vehicles have CCTV and tracking fitted.
News and Announcements
Wedding Bells: Miss Cash and Mr Chislett
We were very pleased to share the happy news that Mr Chislett and Miss Cash will be tying the knot this weekend!
We send them the biggest congratulations and all our best wishes.
West End Singing Dancing and Acting Masterclass
Three top West End performers will be visiting Queen's College for a fantastic one - day intensive of practical masterclasses in singing, dancing and acting!
Daniele Coombe, Fletcher Dobinson and Rose Reynolds have starred in top West End shows, TV and Hollywood movies and they will offer unique insight into professional technique and style. Daniele will focus on the modern musical theatre voice, Fletcher brings the hottest new choreography and Rose offers insight into audition technique and stage acting. You will have the opportunity to chat, learn about their incredible experiences and even take a cheeky selfie! £24 for Queen's Students £36 for all others Book the masterclass here.
We were kindly sent a video message from Actress, Vocal, Singing, Performance Coach and West End Star Daniele Coombe to promote the West End workshop.
Click here to watch the video.
News and Announcements
Christmas Sparkle
Christmas Sparkle was founded in 2015 with the aim of giving a Christmas present to every child and young person aged 0 - 18 years living in difficult circumstances in the SWT/Taunton and Wellington community. Last year, thanks to the generosity of local people, we were able to provide gifts for over 1,484 children and young people. We are aware that there is going to be even greater need this year. We work with local charities and agencies e.g. The Foodbank, Women ’ s Refuge, PFSAs. We were proud winners of the 2019 Mayor ’ s Citizenship award. We work in partnership with My Day who kindly collect gifts from donation points and deliver to agencies. We give only brand - new age appropriate gifts which are donated by local businesses, schools and members of the public. Wrapping events are held in Santa ’ s workshop, aka our base, throughout November and December, generously provided by Summerfield Developments. Members of the public are invited to these events and schools and local groups help for an hour or two which makes it a real community event. Cheesy Christmas music and festive refreshments help to make the day fun for everyone! All financial donations go straight back into the project. They are used for wrapping paper, gift tags and gifts for shortage age groups; typically 8 - 18 year old boys and babies. Please help us to make Christmas special for hundreds of children living in difficult circumstances in our community, suggestions of donations can be found here. We need your help to support families in need this Christmas by donating gifts. We just ask that all gifts are new and are not wrapped. There will be collection points in Senior Reception, Birtchall Hall and Pre - Prep Foyer.
News and Announcements
We love to hear and share your news
Has your son and daughter done something in their spare time that they are proud of? We would love to hear and share your children ’ s news. Please feel free to share your children ’ s achievements with us at marketing@queenscollege.org.uk
Food For Thought: Food Teachers Centre
Food teachers, food authors and other food education professionals from across the UK joined in a programme of engaging speakers including Roy Ballam, Managing Director and Head of Education for the British Nutrition Foundation for over five years and Louise Davies of the United Nations School Food and Nutrition Education programme, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulations (Ofqual) Subject Adviser for Food Exams and Food Teachers Centre when Queen's College hosted talks, discussions and panels about teaching and learning this weekend.
The full two - day education event live streamed across the UK was organised by the Food Teachers Centre a professional network of over
8.4k teachers of which our Head of Faculty of Art, Design, and Food, Mr Mann, is Senior Associate. The association boasts 98% of the country's entire food teachers and on Saturday and Sunday Queen's College was at the forefront of how best to disseminate extensive subject and deep curriculum knowledge in Food and Nutrition and the related pedagogy to promote good progress and outcomes by pupils nationwide. Mr Mann said, "from after school on Friday to late Sunday we were proud to host such a wonderfully rich opportunity for teachers to be reflective practitioners as we discussed a wide range of current food education priorities within the teaching profession", Roy said, "I have been delighted to be working with the Food Teachers Centre this past weekend at Queen's College in Taunton. A terrific bunch of enthusiastic secondary school Food and Nutrition teachers, and Louise added, "we had a very productive weekend together at Queen's College".
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