Newsletter

The mid-point of the second half of term has arrived and we vacate the premises this weekend as the Rural Living Show moves in.  The biblical amounts of rain recently have certainly fed into our British need to discuss the weather and it does feel, sadly, as if this is going to be one of the less good years for the front field. Experience suggests it usually recovers over the winter and we don’t use it much in the months ahead.

I have been back and forth to the College recently and, as ever, it is good to come across children who were at the Prep between five years and five months ago. The other thing growing at the College is the Sixth Form Centre which is entering its final stages and will be in use some time next term. This will not only be an incredible addition to the Sixth Form experience directly but have a huge indirect benefit across the school as other areas are repurposed as appropriate departments move into the new build.

This little break in proceedings includes the First Sunday in Advent so the Christmas clock is well and truly ticking.  We shall be sending you information to help with events ahead, including our Carol Service, which all Prep children are expected to attend, on Sunday 11 December at 5.30pm in the College Chapel.

Have a good weekend.

I am delighted to announce we raised a wonderful £176 for Children in Need last week!  Thank you for your support and donations. 

This week has seen Year 1 and Year 2 venture out of school to Tiverton Museum and Carymoor Environmental Centre respectively to enhance their learning in the classroom.  Children (and staff) returned from both trips with an air of happy exhaustion which is exactly what one hopes to see!  The staff were really proud of how well the children behaved on the trips and impressed the staff at the locations with their courteous manners, super questions and fantastic knowledge.  Nursery are heading out for a special festive trip next week and Reception follow on a week later with a trip to ‘Bethlehem’!  It is truly lovely to be able to provide these wonderful experiences for the children and I must thank the staff for all the ‘behind-the-scenes' work that goes into organising them! 

The standard of performance was very high, and every one of our pupils performed wonderfully and represented the school beautifully.

113 pupils, ranging from Reception to Year 8 performed at the event, getting up on to the stage to present their poem, acting scene, prepared reading, mime or improvisation that has been worked on in Speech & Drama lessons over the course of this term.

50 pupils won first, second and third placings in various classes, which is a fantastic achievement and all of these pupils proudly brought a shiny new medal or cup back to King's Hall.

Huge congratulations to everyone who took part and many thanks to all of the parents for their support in the lead up to the Taunton Drama Festival and their immense and continued support to King's Hall Speech & Drama!

As the set is dismantled and the costumes tidied away, the catchy tune of ’Shiny' and ’You’re Welcome’ continue to be sung by all who watched the senior prep school production.  The younger children pretend to be Maui and Moana sailing their boats across the Rose Garden and others remember with a smile the wonderful show they had the pleasure to see.

At King’s Hall we continually choose productions which encourage our children to take on challenges and really show the best that they can be.  Moana Jr brought together Year 8, and several keen Year 7s, to achieve an amazing musical which definitely had the Wow factor.

From the moment they auditioned in June to the night of the final performance in November, every child grew and developed in so many ways.  For the Year 8s, this was the first time they had properly been on stage since Year 4, having missed out on a Year 6 play due to Covid. The standard of their acting, singing and dancing grew in leaps and bounds along with their creativity and imagination but as the weeks progressed it was evident that the key learning from this production and in fact from participating in any form of drama has been the development of skills that the children most need in the future, in their careers – the transferable life skills such as bravery,  teamwork, collaboration, commitment, resilience, focus, discipline, courage, determination and confidence.

Moana Jr transported us into the rich world of Oceania.  Motunui is a fictional island, but it is inspired by the cultures and peoples of the Pacific Islands.  The audience followed the story of strong-willed Moana as she found the courage and strength to sail across the Pacific to save her village and discover the truth about her heritage.

With respect for the culture of the Pacific Islanders, the costumes were created by a dedicated team of parents using traditional fabrics and designs and the cast looked amazing.  The beautiful backdrop of tropical leaves and flowers painted by Mrs Aladin and several artistic pupils along with the Polynesian boat made by our expert carpenter Mr Short, really set the scene for the cast to tell the beautiful story of Moana.

We pride ourselves on choosing the right pupils for the roles in the productions at King’s Hall and the cast of Moana was excellent. 

Having three Moanas who appeared in sequence throughout the play was a success as each Moana was very talented and played their part to their strengths in singing and acting.  No one can forget the song ’How Far I’ll Go’ sung so beautifully by Annie and accompanied by the wonderful Ocean Ensemble who created visual ocean waves with material fans and material strips. Ffion the second Moana delighted the audience with her humour and natural ability on stage with the fantastic crab Tamatoa played with confidence and flair by Frankie and her claws Thomas and Chris.  Lizzy as the final Moana wowed the audience with her strong acting and determination to fight Te Ka who was portrayed by Isobel along with Roger operating a huge mask to represent the evil creature.  Maui, who was confidently played by James, was instantly liked by all due to his charisma, mannerisms, clear expressive voice and ability to draw the audience into the story and believe in the adventure. 

All the main characters from the loveable caring Gramma played by Kate, the fun pig and chicken friends of Moana, Pua (Natasha) and Hei Hei (Tilly), Chief and Sina (Henry and Tabitha) and the singing, narrating ancestors (Delilah, Grace and Barnie) told the story with vibrancy.  The ensembles were key to the show, dancing and singing.  Several songs were in Oceanic languages - Samoan and Tokelauan.  Choreography was complex and eye catching.  Lighting and special effects made the Gate Monsters look fabulous and Tamotoa’s lair glowed with fluorescent paint and shininess.  One of the most memorable scenes was ’Shiny’ with glow sticks illuminating the stage and the actors having a ball!

Backstage a team of Year 8 worked tirelessly behind the scenes on props, set, lights and sound.  The skills learnt by this hidden team were invaluable and they all loved being part of the overall team, without the pressures of appearing on stage.

The cast, under the skilled direction of Mrs Keirle, musical direction of the very talented Mr Dayus-Jones and the modern technical direction of Mr Eyers certainly achieved a musical production which will go down on the long list of memorable shows at King’s Hall.

If you would, they will be on sale on Monday for 50p each.

Come and get one from Mrs Keirle and sing ‘Shiny’ to your hearts content!

Money raised will be used for future drama props.

Woodlands Adventure is a holiday club with a difference. It takes place in our own woods at King’s Hall, so there are no televisions, computers or iPads, just fresh air, friends and a whole lot of fun!

Find out more about our fantastic camp on offer during December for children aged 3 to 13 by clicking ther link below.