Mr Pavis' Video Newsletter: Friday 20th March

This week at Kingsley has felt especially special — the Spring Equinox is always one of my favourite moments of the year, marked beautifully by the magnolia tree in bloom. A small practical reminder as well: if possible, please do use Belvoir Drive to enter school in the mornings and exit via North Down Road in the afternoons to help ease congestion.

As ever, stretch and challenge has been at the heart of the week. We entered students into the Rotary Club South West Art Competition, and I’m delighted to announce that Ryan and Olivia have made it through to the national finals. Congratulations as well to Becca and Edie for representing Kingsley so brilliantly.

In the theatre, students from Year 7 to Year 13 performed in the Inter-House Drama Competition, with some writing and directing their own pieces. It was an evening full of creativity and confidence, and we now await the final house results. Our Year 12 and 13 economists took part in an A-level booster day earlier this week, while our Year 12 and 13 physicists travelled to St Luke’s School to complete radiation experiments as part of their coursework.

Our Year 12 students officially began their UCAS journey with a visit to Westpoint for UCAS Day, and our Year 7 students competed in a robotics competition at Petroc — with a special mention to Charlie, who picked up an individual award. Meanwhile, our Year 9 geographers visited the Eden Project as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations — some even appearing on the BBC News — and our Year 11 students watched a National Theatre production of Macbeth in the theatre as part of their GCSE English preparation.

The Prep School also shone this week, delivering a magnificent musical performance in the theatre on Wednesday afternoon. The talent and dedication on show were truly inspiring, and it gives me enormous confidence about the future of music here at Kingsley. We also welcomed parents for lunch as part of our parent lunch programme and hosted a wonderfully successful Prep School Open Day in glorious sunshine.

In sport, our gymnasts had an exceptional weekend. At the North Devon Schools Competition, we secured five golds, nine silvers and five bronze medals, and at the South West Schools Competition, we followed that with four golds, two silvers and two bronzes. A remarkable achievement.

Netballers have been busy too. Our U12s won one and lost one, with Sophie and Elizabeth earning Player of the Match in their respective games. The U13s faced a tough fixture, with Sophie named Player of the Match, while our U16s secured a strong win against Blundell’s, with Annabel recognised for her performance.

In football, our U15s celebrated a win against Pilton, while our U18s narrowly lost to Truro and Penwith College. Our U14 rugby sevens team continued their phenomenal season. They were crowned North Devon Sevens Champions after beating GTS, Pilton, West Buckland, Braunton and South Molton. Building on their recent national title in London, they then finished second overall in the Devon County Sevens Finals, narrowly losing to Ivybridge in a tight final. An outstanding run.

Looking ahead, our U13s compete in the North Devon Indoor Athletics competition today. This weekend, our Swell Chasers head to the coast, Ten Tors teams are training on Dartmoor, and we have Round Three of the Young Chef of the Year competition. Our boarders are off to football fixtures and enjoying a beach day in this glorious weather.

Another incredibly full and inspiring week at Kingsley. I look forward to speaking to you all again next week.