Staff have been really pleased to start welcoming back students to school from Monday 8 March. The week started with Year 11 who spent their first day back on-site with their tutor group and were the first full year group to be offered asymptomatic Covid-19 testing, set up in the sports hall. The testing process ran extremely well and all students can be really proud of the way they conducted themselves. Well Done.

Many exciting activities have been taking place for students in celebration of World Book Day this year. A dedicated page has been created on Kingsmead’s Firefly site – found on the ‘World Book Day’ page (via ‘Resources’, ‘Extra Curricular’)

Year 11 boys had the opportunity to take part in an inter-tutor group futsal tournament during their lunchtimes in the week of 16-20 November. It culminated in the finals on Friday 20 November with 11Se winning the week. Futsal tournaments for other year groups are being held in the coming weeks, and Kingsmead PE Department are planning on running girls and boys inter-tutor group games every half term, each term focussing on a different sport.

Anti-Bullying Week 2020 took place during 16-20 November and to mark the week Kingsmead students were shown a virtual assembly on this important topic during their form tutor time with the opportunity for class discussion. In addition, and to help raise the profile of the anti-bullying message, both students and staff were invited to wear odd socks to school on Friday 20 November, as promoted by the Anti-Bullying Alliance.

A group of Year 7 students with an interest in ICT had the opportunity to take part in lunchtime workshops offered by Youth Workers from the ‘In the Mix Project’ during the first week in November. Over the four sessions students were able to develop and enhance their digital, coding and computer skills and learn more about internet safety and tech in general.

Year 7 students, with the help of spades, gardening gloves and a team of volunteers, took part in a mass tree planting exercise on school grounds on Monday 9 November. Approximately 400 tree saplings were provided by the Woodland Trust, as part of their mission to support schools and communities in getting millions of trees planted across the country.

A new single and music video has been launched by the charity ‘Wouldn’t Change a Thing’ to link in with October Down Syndrome Awareness Month. The charity works to raise positive awareness of Down Syndrome, to break down stereotypes and help raise the value of people with DS in society, and their song’s lyrics help reflect this message.

The results of the Senior Student elections were announced in school on Thursday 17 September. This year, each candidate delivered their campaign speech through a pre-recorded video presentation to tutor groups whilst in their PSHCE lessons.

Today is one of those days that students should always remember - the anticipation of collecting GCSE results. Due to the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in, today is different to the normal results collection experience. However, achievements are no less than those of previous year groups. The class of 2020 have shown determination and resilience throughout the pandemic.

Kingsmead student Mia Homer completed Work Experience during February half term with SC Group. It was clearly an exceptional experience!