We were delighted to welcome into Kendrick school students from Primary School Years 3 -6 who are participating in our Widening Horizons programme. The students, supported by some of our older Kendrick students, took part in exciting workshops led by our staff.
Years 3 & 4 enjoyed a dance workshop in our dance studio whilst the Year 6 students worked on a maths quiz.
The hard work and dedication of last year's finalists in the Science in Medicine e-poster competition is having a real impact on the Biology Department. Thanks to their success, some of the prize money they won has been invested in brand-new gel electrophoresis kits.
This sophisticated piece of biotechnology equipment is a vital tool in modern biology and these techniques make two appearances in the A-Level science specification. Having this equipment readily available in our school lab truly brings science to life, offering our students invaluable hands-on experience with techniques used by scientists every day.
Our Year 13 biologists embarked on an inspiring journey to the prestigious Oxford University Museum of Natural History on Wednesday, March 26th. There, a select group of 13 students immersed themselves in the cutting-edge world of gene and cell therapy at a special day hosted by The British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy. The event ignited their curiosity through five captivating lectures delivered by leading experts, prompting deep thought about the ethical dimensions and societal impact of this groundbreaking science.
Anya, in Year 11, recently performed exceptionally at the Historical Association's Great Debate finals and was named runner-up in this national competition. The Great Debate is a public speaking competition where students have five minutes to present their speech arguing their answer to a historical question. This year's question was 'How can your local history tell a global story?' Having progressed through a school heat, a round of Reading schools and a national semi-final, Anya impressed the judges and history professors from the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and York, at a final held at Windsor Castle. In their words:
The Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is the UK’s most prestigious scholarship of its kind, designed to inspire and support the next generation of engineering leaders. The scholarship is awarded through a rigorous selection process to Year 11 students.
Administered by the Smallpeice Trust (the UK’s largest STEM educational charity) and supported by external sponsors, the two-year scholarship provides a range of opportunities, including:
On Thursday 3rd April, a journalist from Reading and Wokingham Today newspaper, Andrew Batt, visited Kendrick to give a talk about his first-hand experiences in journalism, the current landscape of local news, and to give advice to Kendrick's aspiring journalists. After reaching out via email, I was so glad when Andrew responded to my request to have a conversation about a career in journalism and his visit this week went above and beyond.
All of Year 11 had the chance to see a live production of their GCSE set text Macbeth, at the Globe Theatre as part of a special 'Playing Shakespeare' production for schools, produced in partnership with Deutsche Bank. Students loved the chance to visit Shakespeare's Globe and enjoyed this fast-paced and engaging production, particularly the modern-day military setting and the witches' acrobatics!
To support Comic Relief, we had our annual Comic Relief week, starting 19th March, packed full of fun activities!
On Tuesday, 18th March, Year 12 students had the privilege of visiting the Hexagon to participate in the 'Maths Inspiration' event. This event featured several talks from professionals in the field. The discussions about maths in our everyday lives were intriguing, and highlighted the versatility of maths. Hosted by Matt Parker who runs a successful maths-related YouTube channel: Stand up Maths, we discovered interesting mathematical concepts. These were introduced with humour and passion, making the experience so much more enjoyable!
The last two terms have been very successful for Chess Club, with attendance frequently reaching 40 students.
Two rooms are needed each week, one for Year 7s, the other for Year 8s upwards. The Year 7s had a series of ‘How to play Chess’ sessions, which gave them a good introduction to the game, so that there are now a lot of players developing a good understanding of the tactics and how to develop their pieces, as well as how to checkmate!
Readathon Club has just completed its latest classic novel, using some of our old copies of English set texts from the Palmer Library. This term we have been working our way through Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations in weekly instalments and meeting to discuss this in the Library each Tuesday breaktime over tea, squash and biscuits. This has been our largest group so far, including students from every single year group from 7-13 as well as quite a few members of staff who have enjoyed reading (or re-reading) along too!
On Thursday 6th March, we held our Design your Future Careers Fair with our partners Learning to Work in the school hall. We had 30 exhibitors, including employers from a range of industries, training providers, voluntary sector organisations, universities and local colleges.
Over 300 students from Year 9 to 12 attended, some with their parents/carers. They were able to ask questions, pick up ideas and hear first-hand about entry-level requirements and career opportunities. The energy at the fair was buzzing with lively conversations and information sharing.
