King's Schools International Magazine
A word from our International Tutor
This term we have enjoyed three key events: Indian Republic Day on Saturday 26 January. Our amazing catering team provided a delicious array of curry dishes – much needed at such a chilly and dark time of the year here in the UK!
On Tuesday 5 February, we celebrated our annual Chinese New Year supper and welcomed in the Year of the Pig. The event was very well attended as ever, with over 100 guests, including several of our international pupils who had been invited by their Chinese friends. We also welcomed King’s Hall pupils, who were delighted to sample the tasty Chinese dishes and enjoy all the sweets and treats on the table.
On Sunday 10 February, a number of our international pupils enjoyed a trip to Exeter to spend a few relaxing hours with their friends away from Taunton. We visited the beautiful cathedral and spent time touring the city. After half term, we look forward to another international pupils’ forum – a relatively new initiative – which provides our international pupils with the opportunity to voice their thoughts and ideas about their time at King’s. This is led by our very reliable international prefects, members of the Sixth Form who act as extra support in each of our boarding houses for our international pupils.
In the Summer Term, we are looking forward to our trip to the beautiful Lyme Bay in Dorset, another opportunity for the pupils to take some time out and explore the beautiful coastline that this area of the UK has to offer.
Lisa Wrobel
International Tutor
Master Chefs
International Fifth Form pupils, Helena Kraft and Julia Walter, cooked up a storm at this year’s Rotary Young Chef competition, which took place at The Quantock Restaurant in Taunton.
After surviving the local heats, Helena and Julia entered the district finals, where as individuals, they produced two delicious meals.
For her starter, Helena produced a roasted vegetable roulade, with her main course comprising of oven-baked salmon with a light herb sauce, roasted new potatoes, and fresh seasonal vegetables. This was rounded off with a delightful quark and raspberry fool.
Ati Lewis, visiting cookery and skills tutor at King’s College, commented: “I really wanted them to have fun on this day, especially as they had not cooked much before. I was hugely impressed by what they achieved. The competition was certainly fierce and our girls proudly demonstrated their skills and expertise.”
King's Hall Boarding
Over 50 boarders are currently in the boarding community at King's Hall School.
Sunday trips out are a regular part of the calendar, whether this is off to Clip and Climb in Exeter, a trip into Taunton, or on occasion, to the beach at nearby Minehead.
This local beach is fun, whatever the weather. On a recent trip, the children made the most of the mild conditions we had been experiencing, and spent a morning paddling in the sea, rock climbing, wave dodging and engaging in various sports. They even had time for a picnic, which our Spanish pupils and GAP students thought somewhat crazy – considering the climate here in winter!
All wrapped up, the boarders had a great day out in the windy weather to blow away those winter blues.
Chinese New Year
A highlight of the King’s College International Calendar was celebrated on Tuesday 5 February. Chinese New Year is marked each year with a dinner organised by pupils, catering staff and International Tutor Mrs Lisa Wrobel. Fourth Form pupils, Samantha Cheng, James Zhou and Will Guo read speeches to over a hundred attending pupils and staff from both King’s Hall and King’s College in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
The dining hall looked very festive with all the beautiful decorations and colourful table settings, which are hand-made by our staff, and the array of food was superb, thanks to a great effort from our Catering Team. The spare ribs proved to be a particular favourite!
We said farewell to the Year of the Dog and welcomed in the Year of the Pig. The Pig symbolises good fortune and happiness, which bodes well for the year ahead.
Chinese New Year Take Two!
King's Hall boarders where treated to yet another Chinese New Year Celebration. The Li family, who have children boarding at King's, put on a full Chinese menu of spring rolls, spare ribs,black bean noodles and fortune cookies to finish for all the pupils to enjoy.
King's Hall Houseparent, Mrs Clare Masters commented: "We had a great night last night. It was a resounding success and will be the first of many international celebrations to come at King's Hall".
Girls' Football
King’s celebrated a recent girls' football success with three of our international German pupils playing key roles in the game. Victoria Neuefeind, a Fifth Form pupil, Henriette Querner, a Sixth Former, Chiara Zieger, also in the Sixth Form, all contributed to the win.
Our Director of Football, Chris Heayns, commented on their performances: "Bradfield contested and pressed in all areas of the pitch, but a long-range pass from King's opened up opportunities for Victoria Neuefeind (Vicki). One particular move saw some excellent work in the midfield to put Vicki into the dead-ball line and ultimately resulted in a goal."
"The defensive pairing of Henriette Querner and debutante Chiara Zieger stood firm to repel the repeated attacks and released the ball well to allow King's to spring the counter-attack."
Girls' football is a popular sport at King's and we look forward to seeing it progress.
Admissions International Travel
This term the Admissions team have been travelling to meet with families and prospective pupils in Kenya, Dubai, Thailand and Russia.
Our Head of Art, Clare Schmidt, and our International Admissions Manager Lizzy Barnes headed to Kenya to deliver a series of art workshops. During their visit, they met some extremely capable and creative Year 7 pupils!
In Dubai we caught up with Laure who will be joining King’s in September. We met Laure and her family in February at the Anderson Education exhibition and are delighted that she will be starting in the Third Form in 2019.
Our Director of Admissions, Mrs Kate Rippin, attended the Mentor exhibition in Thailand over half term. We send a big thank you to Pippa and her team for welcoming us on our first trip.
Mr Neil Pockett has been working hard on behalf of King’s Schools in Russia over the last term, and attended the British Council exhibition to talk about our successful Oxbridge pupils.
