Celebrating the Retirement of Mrs Fleming and Mrs Tipper

It is with mixed emotions that we announce the retirement of two of our most esteemed colleagues Mrs Bronwyn Fleming and Mrs Cate Tipper.  Their combined 53 years of dedication, hard work, and unwavering commitment have been the cornerstone of our success, and their presence will be greatly missed.

A Fond Farewell to Mrs Bronwyn Fleming, Teacher of Design and Technology

Mrs Fleming has been an integral part of our school for 23 years. Throughout her tenure, she has held various roles in several departments including Art and Design Technology and for many years she oversaw our student House programme.  Her expertise in Textiles and her ability to motivate all students to be ambitious, creative and successful have been invaluable. We will always remember Mrs Fleming for her high standards, creativity and her belief in her students’ abilities. She has guided several students into careers in fashion design and textiles, and they remain indebted to her.

Best Wishes to Mrs Cate Tipper, Teacher of Maths and former Assistant Head, Pastoral

Mrs Tipper has brought 19 years of experience and dedication to our school. Over the years, she has served in multiple capacities most recently as Teacher of Maths with a particular ability to guide A level students through their tricky Mechanics modules. Prior to that Mrs Tipper was Assistant Head Pastoral for many years making a genuine difference to our students’ lives when they were at their most vulnerable. Her contributions to the wider life of the school and her talent for listening, empathising and signposting students and parents to support left a lasting impact in her role. Mrs Tipper will be remembered too for her energy and her commitment to the local community.

We wish them both a future filled with happiness, relaxation, and new adventures.

What another amazing year for the Drama Department!

To start off the academic year, Year 13 visited Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London. For the Live Theatre aspect of their written exam, we watched an amazing adaptation of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good. With deportation as punishment more relevant than ever before, Our Country’s Good took on a new meaning in 2024. Our students could relate to, and discussed at length, the transformative power of theatre!

The London Residential took place in December for Year 11 and 6^th Form. It was a brilliant few days in Covent Garden. We watched the immersive and very impressive Guys & Dolls, refuelled at Pizza Hut, watched the stage version of Mrs Doubtfire, participated in two workshops at Pineapple Studios with two West End Performers and even managed to fit in some shopping!

Just before Christmas, the whole of Year 7 visited the Lincoln Arts Centre to watch their interpretation of The Snow Queen. Every year the staging choice of the theatre company exceeds expectations; this year an immersive Traverse stage was sophisticatedly utilized.

6 months of hard work went into the whole school Musical back in February – Mary Poppins Jr. With an amazing team effort from over 70 of our students. Students contributed on stage, backstage, in tech, in design and in pure organisational skills. The student crew executed very smooth and professional transitions, the musical numbers were performed with impressive enthusiasm and standout performances in scenes like Supercalifragilistic and Step in Time left the audience smiling and tapping their feet throughout. Local Primary pupils watched a matinee performance and expressed how they are looking forward to one day, ‘becoming part of the KSHS community,’ and we can’t wait for that to happen too!

In April, Year 8 students showcased their work during the Page to Stage Performance Evening with an array of key extracts from Blood Brothers by Willy Russell. It was a lovely evening and proved a fantastic opportunity for students to demonstrate their hard work and creativity.

Year 10 GCSE students experienced a Drama workshop with Olivier Award nominated Kerry Frampton – Artistic Director of professional theatre company Splendid Productions, the workshop held in June was a full-day delight providing students with additional creative ideas that will bolster their devised pieces. It was amazing to see the students have so much fun.

Following on from their workshop, Year 10 presented their Devised Performances to parents in the penultimate week of the academic year. Parents were so chuffed for the opportunity to see their work in progress – Year 10 have been working incredibly hard on this component and the parental support is very much appreciated. When the students return as Year 11 in September, they have 4 weeks to fine tune their ideas now they have experienced real-life audience reaction. Their performance exam will take place at the beginning of October and final NEA submission at half term.

What will next year have in store? Well, we already have a theatre trip booked for the new Year 7 cohort, the London Residential is in the calendar and we are currently in the middle of discussing next year’s show – oh no we aren’t!

Ms M Padden

Subject Leader - Drama