At the start of February, St Peter’s Catholic Primary School, Sittingbourne was inspected by Ofsted. Miss Vedamuttu, Headteacher, is delighted that the school received outstanding judgements for Personal Development and Behaviours and Attitudes and was graded as Good overall. The Ofsted Report is overwhelmingly positive and captures the school community well. The Inspectors reported that “St Peter’s is a happy school where pupils are nurtured and achieve well…. and its Catholic ethos continues to shine brightly.”

Mr Michael Hutchinson, Chair of the Local Governing Committee said "I would like to thank Miss Vedamuttu and her wonderful team for their ongoing service and commitment to the children".

The full report can be found on the school website here.

Pupils at St Edward's Primary in Sheerness attended a regional dance competition 'The Great Big Dance Off' at Chatham Central Theatre on Tuesday 5th March, and we are incredibly proud to announce that they won the event! 

This was the second year that St Edward’s attended the event, having performed with a team of 30 students last year. The dance team ‘Inspirational mix-ups' was supported by an ex-pupil, who helped choreograph and develop the dance skills of all 12 children across six weeks. Mrs King and Mrs Heath were also on hand to support after-school practice sessions.

The team had an amazing afternoon at the venue and it was wonderful to, once again, see the talent of other schools around the county. The behaviour and respect demonstrated was impeccable and the support given towards each other, and other teams, was commendable. Families from the school community supported the event, travelling to the venue and cheering the team on. 

The ‘Inspirational mix-ups' won the event with an incredible 271 marks out of a possible 300. The next part of this adventure will now see the team perform at the national competition in Oxford on 19th June 2024. 

Well done to all involved!

To mark the start of a new term, and the beginning of a calendar year, St Gregory’s Secondary in Tunbridge Wells celebrated with Year group Masses on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 January.

Led by the Deanery priests, the Masses were all based on the theme that we are 'known and loved' by God. Students from St Gregory’s assisted with the Masses by performing the readings and taking part in the offertory. 

An audience of parents & carers, students, and staff enjoyed St Edmund’s School’s Prize Giving ceremony this term. This important occasion celebrated the achievements of former students, and forms an important part of the traditions of the school. As Mrs Parsons noted in her welcome, academic achievement for all was at the heart of St Edmund’s vision for the school; however, the prizes awarded also celebrate service to the school community and contribution to school life, as well as honouring the legacy of former pupils and staff.

Students were inspired by our Guest Speaker, Sarah Philpott, Solo Channel Swimmer who talked about teamwork, respect, trust, resilience and overcoming fear and what lies ahead as she continues her journey.

Mrs McAlpine, Subject Leader of MFL & Global Awareness Leader at St Simon Stock Secondary, recently organised educational and cultural exchange trips with two secondary schools in Thailand.

The first cohort from Khon Kaen Wittayayon School, a very large secondary school located in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand visited the school from 02 October to 06 October.

The group consisted of 16 students and three teachers from their English Programme.

The second cohort visited the school from 15 October to 19 October and consisted of 37 students and six teachers.

Both groups were able to visit St Simon Stock daily through a ‘school buddy system’, where the Thai students were paired with a student and their host family.

The students and teachers thoroughly enjoyed their week-long immersion, taking part in all classes, sports and activities. The St Simon Stock ‘buddies’ took their roles very seriously and ensured their new Thai friends settled in quickly and integrated well into all aspects of school life.

The St Simon Stock Secondary Art department is thrilled to announce that seven (!!!) of our GCSE and Sixth Form

students made it to the shortlist for the 2023 John Downton Award.

The John Downton Awards is a highly esteemed exhibition that honours young artists in Kent, showcasing their talents in painting, photography, and drawing.

The works of Elena S, Emilie C, Jamil R, Kyle F, Lauren F, Roisin B, and Will C, some of whose pieces you may recognize from the school's Summer Exhibition, are currently on display at the County Gallery, County Hall in Maidstone.

As always, the standard of the selected works for the John Downton Award is exceptionally high, making it a remarkable achievement to be on the shortlist. We are incredibly proud to share that Emilie Clegg has won the award for "Best Drawing" in the 11-18 category.

This prestigious competition is open to all schools and colleges across Kent, making this accomplishment truly outstanding and well-deserved. During the award acceptance, Emilie delivered a lovely speech in front of local councillors, peers, family, and friends.

Emilie's winning piece will be exhibited at the Turner Contemporary next year, providing a unique opportunity to showcase her talent in an international gallery.

Congratulations to all the St Simon Stock students involved. The John Downton exhibition will remain open until February 2024, from 9 am to 6 pm (excluding weekends) at the County Hall, Maidstone.

St Gregory’s Secondary and the Trust would like to warmly congratulate all our students who received their Summer 2023 exam certificates at last week's Presentation Evening.
 

Our CEO, Annemarie Whittle, and Mike Powis, Chair of the Trust Board of Directors, were in attendance to celebrate our students' hard work and accomplishments.

Special thanks also to the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, Councillor Patterson, and Mayor of Southborough, Councillor Hill, for attending, and to Miss Hollie O’Callaghan (Entrepreneur and owner of local business, The Cake Labs) for her inspirational talk as our Guest Speaker.

It was wonderful night of celebration and we wish all our students every success in the future!

At St Edward’s Primary in Sheerness, pupils are fortunate to have a wonderful woodland on the school site. The school has developed part of the area so that it can support its pupils to develop their emotional resilience through lunchtime activities. Being named ‘Wonder Wood’ by the school council, this area will also be used as an outdoor classroom to teach Science, Geography, and a range of other subjects.

The project was run alongside Stanford Hill Prison who drew upon talented carpenters who designed and created bespoke musical instruments, bird houses, bug hotels and minibeast homes, windchimes, fairy doors, chalkboards, totem poles and wonderful seating areas. Take a look at some of the incredible features below!

With the Israel Gaza War now in its second month, Ursuline College Students in Westgate have taken time to research and remember one of the former Ramsgate School boys from St Augustine’s College, who gave his life in the First Battle of Gaza in March of 1917.

Charles Oscar Wilson (nicknamed “COW”) was a pupil at St Augustine’s College in Ramsgate between 1906 and 1910.  He left school at the age of 16 and at the outbreak of the Great War, joined the Army as a Private.  He later received a Commission as Second Lieutenant.  He lost his life on 30th March 1917 and is buried in the British Commonwealth Cemetery in Gaza City.

https://www.ww1cemeteries.com/isr-gaza-war-cemetery.html

Due to the conflict, the cemetery has been closed so this year, there was no Remembrance Service, laying of wreaths or blessing of the Graves.

At a special Requiem Mass held at St Augustine’s church and organised by the Old Augustinians (The Alumni of St Augustine’s College), Ursuline College Students gave up their time to remember those former pupils of the Ramsgate school who gave their lives in the two World Wars.

The students read the Roll of Honour and recited a prayer for Peace in the Middle East. They then told the story which they had researched, about the life and death of “COW” Wilson, before going on to lay a wreath at the Old Augustinians War Memorial where “COW” Wilson is listed.

Speaking on behalf of the Old Augustinians, their Chairman, Andrew Sharp said “the students were an absolute credit to the Ursuline College.  That today’s generation of students made the effort to reflect upon the sacrifice of those students from the past - and remember them, particularly given the current War in Gaza”

“In the absence of any Remembrance Service in Gaza City, the Ursuline Students made sure that Charles Oscar Wilson was Remembered.”

For further details, please contact the Chairman, Andrew Sharp on 07920 424990 or by email:  oldaugustinians@gmail.com.  For more information about the Old Augustinians, please visit our website www.oldaugustinians.org.uk

Reception class pupils at St Joseph's Primary, Broadstairs have been learning about Remembrance day. Children used clay to make some beautiful poppies and also wrote a special prayer together to say thank you for our beautiful world, and asking for help to bring to peace to all.