On April 20th, we represented Kendrick School in the 2024 National Schools Badminton Championships. Our team triumphed in both age categories, with all eight of us securing gold medals.

Returning after a five-year hiatus, the National Schools Championships saw a massive participation of 700 teams from 38 counties across the four events. Sponsored by Babolat, the final took place at the National Badminton Centre from April 20th to 21st, with 32 teams fighting for gold.

On 18th April, I, along with 30 other students at Kendrick, took part in the Garsington Opera Workshop. At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew we would be learning about the opera ‘Marriage of Figaro’ that we would be seeing in July.

It started off fun and engaging; the people running the workshop were very friendly and made everyone feel included and involved. We did a few warm-up exercises which helped us get to know each other.  We were encouraged to interact and stand next to people in different Year groups. Throughout the workshop, we listened to songs from the opera being played on piano and translated into English in order to help us understand the opera in more detail, which was very helpful. We also heard sections of the opera being performed by the workers, who were also opera singers, and it was fascinating to watch and learn more.

Earlier this year, the Curriculum and Current Affairs Committee launched the Kendrick Young Reporter Competition, an opportunity for students from all year groups to report their views/experiences regarding an issue, allowing them to learn and share topics they are passionate about. The entries varied in formats of audio, video and written text.

On Saturday, 16th March, our school participated in the Magistrates' Mock Trial Competition held at the Crown Court in Reading. We came in first place after competing against 8 schools from all over Berkshire. A team of 18 Year 9 students, including 4 students participating in a separate but related competition, attended.

The Magistrates' Mock Trial competition aims at giving students an insight into how the legal justice system works. The teams have to prepare legal arguments for both prosecution and defence for a case given to them and then participate in heats against other schools. Their performance during both defence and prosecution is evaluated and marked. To prepare for this event, our team worked extremely hard and practised both during and after school with the support and guidance of Ms. Heath and Ms. Mayers.

Last week we were delighted to welcome Year 4 students and staff from Katesgrove Primary School, Christ the King Primary School and Redlands Primary School to Kendrick School.

The students, along with many of our Year 10 students, took part in a wonderful kindness activity from 52Lives, a local charity that aims to change someone's life every week of the year.

Chess Club has had a busy term with two main strands of activity:

The first was the Delancey ‘UK Chess Challenge for Schools’, which ran as a seven-week tournament, with students from Years 7 – 11 taking part. The final was an exciting game between Saswathi (Year 10) and Nivi (Year 9), and this was eventually a draw, so the tournament had two winners! It was harder on the younger students, frequently meeting more experienced players, but special credit goes to Riya and Sanvi (Year 7), who both played particularly well. It is hoped that some of the participants will go on to represent the school in area Megafinals, taking place in April and May.