Newsletter

So there we go – another term full of energy and endeavour, full of effort and excellence and, at times, full of enervation and exhaustion!

There is a letter from me today that covers a little more fully than usual the general sense of accomplishment this term, so I’ll keep this brief this week.  Suffice to say it has been a busy seven days and House Music was a glorious and appropriate coda to launch us into the holidays.

Enjoy the rest of the Newsletter and I wish you an Easter break full of fun and relaxation from HEADlines.

As we come to the end of the Lent term, it has been a real joy to reflect on all we have accomplished since January, and it is not surprising time seems to have passed at warp speed with all we have managed to fit in!  Highlights must include the class assemblies, STEM week and World Book Day as these always provide something ‘extra’ to the usual rhythms and routines.  However, it is sometimes the usual rhythms and routines in which you find the real highlights and Lent term often sees the children make huge leaps of progress in both their academic studies and personal and social development and they certainly haven’t disappointed this year!  Pre-Prep staff are so proud of how hard the children have worked this term and are already looking forward to continuing their learning journeys with them in the summer (after a very well-deserved rest over the Easter break!)

Thank you to those who have made their regular day prep bookings for next term through the Hobbies form.  Any ad hoc bookings/changes can be made as usual by emailing Schooloffice@kingshalltaunton.co.uk. 

If your child uses School transport and you need to make any changes please email Transport@kingshalltaunton.co.uk to let us know.

The Year 6 production this year demonstrated that King’s Hall pupils always rise to a challenge.  A lively cast of 36 children took on at least two roles each and some had as many as three costume changes.

One can only say ‘words, words, words’ because the cast did an amazing feat of learning so many lines, understanding them and knowing their cues.  This only comes out of dedication and rehearsal and a diligent knowledge of characterisation.  To top that off there was lots of dancing too and pupils obviously took on board all the choreography to make it look creative and fun.

The production started with extracts from three of Dahl’s popular stories and these were conveyed very well from the witches with their bald heads and wigs ably led by Pippa R as the Grand High Witch, to the farmers with their disgusting habits, to the hilarious Twits, Rosie J and Harry G, who were accompanied by clear spoken narrators.

After the interval the energetic, modern story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was performed and certainly delighted audiences.  All of Year 6 demonstrated their enthusiasm as performers – combining their talents for dancing and acting to produce professional performances.

For those who had childhood memories of this enchanting story they were transported into the modern world of Dahl.  Gone were the orange faces and green hair, replaced by energetic dancing, crazy haired Oompa Loompas who worked well as an ensemble group.

The play offered a variety of entertainment, incorporating elements of humour and thoughtfulness.  The audience was transported on a magical adventure.  The use of colour was essential in this production, and the set design threw the audience into the delights of the Chocolate Factory.  Costumes were also vibrant and reflected the cast’s energy.

Crazy Willy Wonka played by Channah M, handled the huge number of lines extremely well and with excellent tone, projection and intonation.  Charlie Bucket, played by Henry D, captured the innocence and love of his family, tugging at the heart strings when he successfully won the Chocolate Factory at the end.  The Golden ticket winners were Veruca Salt played expressively by Maddie H who acted as a most unpleasant spoilt child!  Charlotte S as the fun chewing Violet Beauregarde delighted the audiences when she cleverly blew up as a blueberry – it was an ingenious costume and Charlotte’s facial expressions were so creative and hilarious.  Alexander E was Augustus Gloop and caused lots of laughter as he fell in the chocolate river and was magically squashed up the pipe.  He was funny as he appeared in the slots in the pipe even high up!  Mike TV played by Jinesh A, was cool talking, shocking the audience when he amazingly shrunk and appeared on the TV screen – Mr Eyers’ amazing technical skills allowed the audience to gasp and laugh at poor little Mike TV trapped with Rick Astley singing!  These children were ably supported by children playing their parents.  It was funny to see Mrs Gloop, hit Wonka with her handbag and watch the Salts fall into the garbage shute (where did they magically disappear?) and Mrs TV talk to a miniature Mike and pop him in her handbag.  Narrators in sparkly waistcoats and hats supported Wonka throughout and they moved the play along intertwining with the characters and remembering lots of lines.  Well done to Pippa, Ottolie, Isla and Jessica for speaking so very clearly and with expression. The Bucket family also delighted the audience with their antics, especially the dancing on the bed!

The Oompa Loompas were a constant presence and produced some amazing dances to powerful, fun songs.  One of the children’s favourite was the Mike TV dance as choreographer Laura Walker incorporated some freestyle moves.  Florence T demonstrated the wealth of talent at King’s Hall as her gymnastic ability shone as she backflipped across the stage.  This strong supportive ensemble was essential at linking all the scenes together.

The production also allowed children in Years 7 and 8 to give invaluable contributions behind the scenes, coordinating complex scene changes.  Charlotte, an ex-King’s Hall pupil from King’s College, successfully operated the lights.

This was a production which demonstrates the belief at King’s Hall that high quality modern drama provides children with confidence, determination and a taste for treading the boards of the West End.

Below are just some of the amazing photos taken, here is a link to see the rest - enjoy!

This year’s House Music Competition drew the Lent Term to a fantastic close. The event featured every pupil in the Prep Department and showcased a wealth of talent.

The entries for the Junior groups were varied, exciting and accomplished and received positive comments and constructive criticism from this year’s judge, Alison Powell.

House Music Juniors

Beginning with the foot-stomping, hand-clapping hit We Will Rock You by Queen, the assorted singers and percussionists of Gibbs kicked off the competition with real flair and quite a bit of volume!

They were followed by Bradfield with the lyrical A Million Dreams from the popular musical film The Greatest Showman. The group’s blend of beautiful singing with accompaniment from violin, saxophone, guitar and drums was entrancing.

Whitby performed third and gave a charismatic rendition of Revolting Children from the musical Matilda. The mix of singers, violin, bass guitar and drums was particularly effective.

The final Junior entry was Oldham with the popular Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay, here sung by five soloists (complete with effortlessly soaring top ‘G’s!) and accompanied by violin and glockenspiel.

The Junior class was won by Bradfield.

House Music Seniors

The Senior entries followed with a similarly diverse field of performances, all again receiving informative and positive feedback from the judge.

Bradfield started us off with another hit from Coldplay - Viva La Vida - with a large ensemble of solo/group singers, two violins, ‘cello, three guitars, piano and drums.

Gibbs followed with the more relaxed tempo and contemplative mood of Lost Boy by Ruth B which was performed with solo and group singers along with soulful accompaniment from violin, viola and drums.

Oldham presented the song Riptide by Vance Joy performed by a large cohort of singers (with tambourines!) and featured lovely harmonies and rhythms played on two violas.

The final group in the competition was Whitby with Backstreet Boys’ classic I Want It That Way featuring a group of enthusiastic instrumentalists/singers - each member of the group sang, even including those playing electric guitar, keyboard, drums and ‘cello!

The Senior class was won by Bradfield.

House Songs

The House Songs were all on the upbeat theme of dancing this year:

Oldham impressed with the catchy Better When I’m Dancin’ by Meghan Trainor.

Bradfield danced their way brilliantly through Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon.

The audience couldn’t stop their toes tapping with Whitby’s Can't Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake.

Gibbs finished the morning off with a rousing performance of P!nk’s Never Gonna Not Dance Again.

The House Song was won by Gibbs and the overall winner of the 2023 House Music Competition was Bradfield. Many congratulations and thanks to all the performers and staff involved.

Dear Friends,

What a spectacular end to the term! I don’t know about you, but I’m still buzzing with the beat of those wonderful songs; I’ll be doing a fluffy bottom wiggle for days! 

Other than ending the term on a high note (haha) I’ve been my usual busy self. It’s difficult dividing my time between Prep and Pre-Prep but I think I do a pretty good job at sharing my waggy love. 

It’s not just the children and teachers that enjoy my company, I also have lots of friends in the housekeeping department too.

They are some of the friendliest and most welcoming hoomans on the entire staff. Not only do they take such good care of the school, but they take great care of us too. 

In your homes you only have a few mini-hoomans, and you know how messy some of those can be! Can you imagine keeping on top of the dirt, debris and disorder that 300 of them make? 

So now, I would like to introduce my friend, Michaela. She comes from Lancashire, so she has a warm, homely Northern accent. I can recognise it because my cousin, Noah the Daschund, has a Lancastrian woof and the ducks in the Lake District taunt me with their northern quacks. (I’m going to see both in the Easter Holidays.) 

You can see from my photo that I lavish Michaela with fluffy cuddles and sloppy licks when I see her around school. I do believe that she takes great delight in my greetings because she keeps a secret stash of doggie treats for me, and they’re not just plain old biscuits. Sometimes they’re chewy venison strips and sometimes they are tasty wild boar nibbles. How posh is that? 

Well on that note, have a fantastic break. I know some of you are going skiing next week and the forecast is for lots of snow. I’m still waiting for Mr Chippendale to apply for my canine passport so that I can go on a school ski trip. I think I’d manage very well on a snowboard and I simply love sledging and snowball fights. 

Wherever you are, enjoy some R & R and see you next term. 

Love and Woofs

Snoops X

Phew, what a hectic last few weeks! Alice has been off in Ipswich at the IAPS Netball Nationals, Isabella playing in a sport for All Netball Tournament in Bristol; Wilbur, Teddy and Theo, after winning the West Hockey Championships are off today to the IAPS Hockey Nationals which are fortunately being played locally – at King’s College. Finn and Oliver became National Biathle Champions and Finn was also victorious last weekend at Leweston. House matches have come and gone, and House Music rehearsals are aplenty and there has been a rumble of excitement as Friday approached! Muriel, Zoe, Mason, Oliver and Wilbur enjoyed a superb Book Breakfast, discussing Like a Charm by Elle McNicoll. Oh, and we’ve also been in lots of lessons!

Here is a photo of the tutor group through Muriel's multi-lens glasses! I think it accurately reflects the feeling at the end of term.

In the past few lessons in Geography, 8S have been learning about climate change and sustainability and how we can make our homes and towns more environmentally friendly. We have recently designed and created sustainable homes for the future out of paper and card. Some of us have added things like solar panels, wind turbines and even hydroelectric-dams! It has been a very enjoyable project and we have learnt so much more about sustainability and the pros & cons of new methods of creating electricity.  

Please click below to see this week's sporting updates via our King's Hall Sport Twitter feed.

Following the announcement of Maddie's retirement from international hockey we are delighted to announce that we will be hosting one of her camps on Sunday 30^th July. This camp will involve GKs and outfield players.

King's players have been given priority booking until today for this camp so head over to Maddie's website to book - link below

Matilda for school years Reception to Year 6

Join workshops from the world famous Matilda film and stage show. The programme will include learning songs, dances, staging and acting for castings from Matilda, delivered by the Walker's Performing Arts Academy. Train with working industry professionals from TV, film and theatre, and take part in a fun Acting for Camera and Casting workshop with a professional cameraman from Clockwise Films. Learn new skills in dance, drama and singing whilst growing in confidence, having fun and being creative. No experience necessary, just the passion and focus to embrace Performing Arts.

The workshops will run for three days at £195 per child, or there is the option to book two days or less for £75 per day.

Payments need to be made online via BACS

& Juliet for school years 7 and 8

Come and experience workshops from the new and current '& Juliet' stage show.

Romeo who?! With her bags packed and ready to escape Verona, Juliet recovers from heartbreak in the best way possible… by dancing the night away with her best friends by her side! But when the sparkle fades, the confetti falls and reality catches up, it’s clear that Juliet needs to face her past in order to find her future. Can she reclaim a story that has been written in the stars? Is there really life after Romeo, or could he be worth one more try?

The programme will include learning songs, dances, staging and acting for castings from the stage show, delivered by Walker's Performing Arts Academy.

The workshops will run for two days at £130 per child, or there is the option to book one day for £75. Payment information for this camp will be sent after bookings have been made on the online system.

As part of the King’s Coronation celebrations Bear Grylls has launched The Big Help Out – asking local communities to get together to support local charities with their time and / or donations. 

The families and friends of King’s Hall are hosting a fundraiser on Bank Holiday Monday 8 May 2023. It’s going to help raise funds towards a much needed minibus for Somerset charity The Nelson Trust, in tandem with the Bear Grylls initiative to support local charities. Please come along and join in the fun activities from pony rides to bake offs, food and drink stalls and loads of fun and games for all ages. The address details are included on the save the date. Please RSVP to the contact number on the invitation. We will provide more details on the afternoon activities in due course. All family, friends, staff and alumni of the Kings community welcome. We hope you can join in!