Spring term highlights

Standing in Brake Hall during Awards Assembly at the end of last term, as it always does, gave us an amazing sense of pride as we see students picking up deserved recognition for all their academic and co-curricular efforts. As part of the boarding community at Ashford School, this is even more special as the students receiving their awards have reached their goals away from home, under their own steam. Congratulations all who were honoured that day!

The Spring Term concentrates such a huge amount of achievements into a small space of time and as usual, our boarders have been at the heart of it. From drama to music, sport to business, they've done it all. Instead of going on about it AIB is going to treat you to a visual Easter basket of highlights from this most jam-packed of terms. Enjoy!

Guys and Dolls:

A tale of love and dice in 1920s New York made famous by Brando and Sinatra. Boarders with English as their second language delivered a slick performance that dazzled audiences over three nights, despite the snow! Oh, and there was a rare appearance of Mr Vafidis and a Soprano sax!

The long arm of the law.

The oldest established...Jana, Johnathan, Bella and Janet 

Keeping eyes on the wise guys...

Young Enterprise:

Every year some of our Year 12 economists start up a company from scratch and try to market, sell and make a profit on a product they have designed and created themselves. This year we had 'Infinity' with their range of highly desirable designer tote bags - you could put your own image on it if you wanted - and as usual, ASIC became the base of operations. This year they even tried their hand at education! Here are some of the group at Goat Lees Primary School teaching younger pupils a little about the world of business. Looks like they had fun. The competition is next week guys, good luck!

(photos by Daniel)
Musical Mastery

This year AIB had the pleasure of attending not one, nor two, but three musical recitals put on by Mr Riley, his team and of course, a fantastically talented group of school musicians. Boarders featured heavily in the guitar and piano recitals as well as the superb Spring Concert, the centerpiece of which was Fauré's Requiem. 

Heedy and Andy strummed beautifully in the guitar recital. Johnathan, Angela, Tony, Julie and Albert all starred in the piano soirée, featuring works from Fauré, Beethoven and Bach as well as Chinese composer Piexun Chen. The evening was concluded by Claire's virtuoso performance of Chopin's Nocturne in Bb minor.

The Spring Concert was a veritable cornucopia of treats. We had hits from Matilda, an oboe solo, AIB's personal favourite 'The Hippopotamus Song' and of course the glorious Requiem, sung by our fantastic chamber choir (and the return of Mr Hall!). There was a brilliant boarding contingent including Jack, Marcella, Miso, Claire, Jonathan, Edwin, Sarah and Joyce on her accordion, not to mention a fair smattering of boarding staff. Brilliant job all!

Nerves of steel

Heavenly voices

Wow! What a term! Thank you everyone who took part and made it all possible. 

Now we must head into the Summer; a time when the tension can rise with the temperature, but as the leaves come out and the trees blossom we're pretty sure that our boarders will do likewise. 

Enjoy the sunshine and see you soon!

Jo's Blog

Hello again from AIB (Adventures in Boarding), your insider guide to what goes on from 7-11 on weekdays and all weekend at Ashford School!

We don't normally devote a whole blog to one person, as we really are a community here, but this time out we had to, as this week we say goodbye to our beloved Lead Nurse, Jo Field. This one is going to be a little emotional folks, so have the handkerchiefs ready!

'Sister Jo', as she is known to one and all, has been looking after boarders at Ashford for almost 9 years: bandaging up everyday wounds; spending long, wet and miserable afternoons at the sports fields; longer, more miserable nights at A&E; consoling the homesick, cheering the lonely and just generally being there when we needed her - even if what was really needed was a strong dose of Kentish wit!

Over the last week, various members of the staff and student body have been saying their goodbyes to Jo (though she was at pains to repeat she wasn't actually going anywhere until this week!) and there were emotional farewells across the boarding community with queues of students lining up for one final hug. We'll hear some of their testimonials later. But, for now, let's hear from Jo herself, who took time away from her handover admin to answer a few questions.

- How long have you’ve been here now Jo?

Now just starting my 9^th year

- What were you first impressions of the school? 

Having come from another large, physically spread out boarding school - more friendly staff and happy kids. School really just getting used to having boys on the roll - as was all girls until 2008 (I think?!).

- What’s changed the most in your time?

The Medical Centre! We were in one room and tucked away like a secret squirrel! It wasn’t really a very welcoming place despite the nurses best efforts and was very cramped .  However, we quickly moved to the current premises [The Med Centre is now a welcoming sanctuary, taking up one side of our central quad], became a more professional, but equally comfortable, place for the pupils and staff to attend. Poor Mandy was working alone when Sarah and I started on the same day in the January and the new crew emerged. Zoe JP was employed as the nurse at Prep in Sept 2012 to complete the team. The MC staff are now an integral and visible part of school and this has been a huge benefit to everyone across both sites.

- What are you going to remember most fondly about boarding? Developing relationships with the boarders and starting the Link nurses for each house.  It’s a massively rewarding and enjoyable part of my week to visit Alfred and ASIC (my 2 houses) and I know Sarah and Mandy feel the same about Brabourne and Brooke and Refuge. Being invited to and included in boarding activities:- ASIC medical resus challenge (when the pupils beat me!!) Chinese New Year meals, Christmas parties, Summer BBQs etc…..

- What one memory sticks in your head? recently asking for feedback from some boarders to provide support for my nursing re-validation - one boy has written ‘like a mummy.  I had to walk away quickly so he couldn’t see my tears….. 

- What are you going to miss?  every single boarder, for their own little idiosyncrasy. Zachary learning the piano…Bruce and his fashion sense (or lack of it, if you ask me!) [did we say something about the wit?!] Jana and her chatter, Emily and her cheekiness (I know you like me a little bit really!) Daniel’s impeccable manners, Garren's constant food supplies, Sen and co. competing for ‘weekly room captain’ title, Peter's attempt at my Kentish accent (keep watching the video I recommended!) John and Ed telling me they are happy, Jack always ‘resting’ on his bed at prep time, Jamie always half asleep……the list is endless!

- If you had a message to leave for boarders as you head off :’(... Be happy with life…..take the failures with the successes and develop your resilience…I’ll miss you all SO much (trying not to cry as I write this!).  Thanks for having me!

Thank you so much Jo,

And now some of us have a few words for you:

"The most memorable thing about you for me was going to the Heart Start training program together.  You are a great driver!  You taught us so much, and I realize that you are very supportive and amazingly kind to me and my friends. Even though you are leaving Ashford School and going to an unfamiliar new place, you can always make things better and people around feel warm.  Hope you have a great time with your new job and the job is just what you have always liked to do."  -  Joyce 

"Thank you so much for looking after me when I was unwell and feeling low. Your smile radiates to everybody around you. You are an awesome super nurse." - Holly 

"Be Happy Everyday, Jo.. You will be hugely missed by us." - Claire

"Thank you very much for always being here for me.  We will remember your funny jokes and sunny smiles." - Renee 

“Thank you so much for looking after us when we are not feeling well. We will miss you a lot.  Good luck! Remember Ashford School and please come back to see us again.” - Tianyu 

“Thank you for taking care of me for more than 3 years! I always received really warm care from you and the medical centre.  We are going to miss you a lot, so you should come and visit us from time to time! Jason also misses you and is really grateful to have met you. Lots of love - Mook”

“Thanks for taking care of me when I’ wasn't feeling well in school, stay happy and healthy. I will miss you.” – Demi 

“ Thank you for helping me when I was sick. And I felt warm every time. I won’t forget  your laughing and smiles.  I hope you will be happy forever and good luck!!!” – Kelly 

"Thanks for keeping me company among all the these Mancs, Gooners and Spurs! Will miss our chats greatly!" - Special K

You've obviously touched a lot of hearts here Jo. We're going to miss you heaps! All our very best wishes for the new job and for the future ahead. We'll try to be good! Take care.

Love and hugs,

Ashford Boarding.

Hello again and welcome!

Happy 2018 everyone! We, from the Ashford School boarding community hope you had a wonderfully restful (and productive) holiday and are looking forward to kicking off the New Year in style.

Wow, where did that year go? Our apologies for being offline for so long. We've a lot to catch up on, so let's get on with it.

Departures and arrivals:

Over the last year, we have seen the departure of the previous Year 13s to their higher education. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them on al they have achieved here. We will miss them greatly, but will look forward to seeing them come back to visit. We also saw the arrival and just recently, bid farewell to, our Gap Students: Miss Watts, Mr McClean and Miss Tindale. We would like to thank them for everything that they did to enhance the lives of the boarders and wish them well for the future. We would now like to welcome our three new Gap Students: Mr Solé, Miss Cutler and Miss Reynolds. We wish you every success here.

One particular arrival of note in the last term, has been our new Chaplain, The Reverend Bellamy. As well as looking after the spiritual development of both pupils and staff at Ashford (including taking our regular church services at St Mary's, Ashford), he is also available to talk to students and staff about anything they wish. He is to be found in his office on the Reading Gallery every Thursday.

Artistic talent on show:

Who will forget the outstanding performances of all in last year's musical production, Chicago? The dance numbers, particularly, involving boarders Caroline, Maria and Yuki were eye-catching to say the least. We look forward to seeing this year's show Guys & Dolls, again featuring many of our boarders. Break a leg to Mr Hall, Miss Banner and cast! We also had the stunning A-level and GCSE Art exhibition with many boarders' work on show. Congratulations to all and Mrs Rayner and the Art Department for all their support. Music featured heavily too, with many many concerts taking place. Recent highlights included the Newcomers Concert (including our own Miss Cleary), the Christmas Concert and Carols by Candlelight with boarders Claire and Jack performing beautifully in the Chamber Choir. Bravo to everyone involved and to Mr Riley and all the music teachers for all their time and work.

Boarders can and do music practice most evenings in the Music rooms and all the above is just testament to all their passion and persistence.

Giving to the community:

With the arrival of Rev. Bellamy there has been a particular focus in the school this year of giving back to the community (local or global) that we live in and giving thanks for the opportunities that it has provided for us. A great chance to do this has been provided through the recent addition of Community Action Projects as a part of the senior (Years 11-13) Co-curricular activity program, where Head of Boarding Mr Liston has set up his Tanzania project. In this activity students meet to come up with ideas to raise funds for a trip to Tanzania in which they will help to improve community facilities for those who need it most. New ASIC boarder Janet took time out of her half term to visit people with mental health issues, while Jana, one of our new HMC scholars read a poem (as a member of our CCF group) in a recent commemoration ceremony in Ashford town centre to mark the centenary of the First World War Battle of Cambrai in which many gave their lives to protect our freedoms. (more information at: http://www.centenarynews.com/article/battle-of-cambrai-centenary-events-get-under-way )

AIB Need to Know:

We are delighted to introduce the first installment of a new Need to Know element of our boarding blog in which we will answer some of the more frequently asked questions surrounding boarding in Ashford School.

Who's Who?

Firstly, as we have had some changes in personnel since last year, we will give you a Who's Who? (and Where?) of the Ashford School boarding community:

Head of Boarding (and Houseparent of Alfred House: Boys Year 10-13): Mr C. Liston

Deputy Head of Boarding (and Houseparent of Brabourne House: Girls Year 8-13): Mrs A. Williams

Boys Boarding Captain: Garron

Girls Boarding Captain: Kristina

Alfred House:
Houseparent: Mr C. Liston (Government + Politics)
Deputy houseparent: Mr R. Cowan (Chemistry)
Assistant Houseparent: Miss H. Maitland
Resident tutors: Mr A. Cook, Mr H. Straw, Mr S. May (all three PE), Ms N Martin-Herbig (German) and Ms P Sagastuy (Head of MFL EAL)
Non resident tutors: Mr S. Burke (SSI CCF), Mr T. Hall (Head of Drama)
Responsible nurse: Ms J. Field
House Captain: Faisal

ASIC House:
Houseparent: Mr L. Kadinopoulos (EAL and Global Perspectives)
Assistant Houseparent: Miss C. Beroule
Resident tutors: Miss J. Spires-Harold (Art) and Miss J. Cleary (Religious Studies)
Non-resident tutors: Mr N. Munteanu (EAL), Ms N Martin-Herbig (German) and Ms P Sagastuy (Head of MFL EAL)
Responsible nurse: Ms J. Field
House Captain: Janet

Brabourne House:
Houseparent: Mrs A. Williams (Business)
Assistant Houseparents: Miss A. Pepper (EAL)
Resident tutors: Miss C. Wellings (History and RS) and Miss H. Jelfs (PE)
Non-resident tutors: Miss N. Rayner (Head of Art) and Miss J. Wilson
Responsible nurse: Mrs S. McCormack
House Captain: Yiyi

Brooke & Refuge House:
Houseparent: Mr A Appleton (Geography)
Assistant Houseparent: Mr W. Willenberg
Resident tutors: Mr T. Vafidis (History and Head of Pilgrims), Mr A. Maskell (English) and Mr O. Bishop (PE)
Non-resident tutor: Mr I. Rayner (Art Technician)
Responsible nurse: Ms M. Hall
House Captain: Adebayo

Floating Assistant Houseparent and I.C. Travel arrangements: Mrs P. Paine

Gap Teachers: Mr Solé, Miss Cutler and Miss Reynolds.

Next time... Who does what?

A busy boarding Christmas

Hello again all. Dare I say, “Happy Christmas.”? No, perhaps not yet. However, ‘tis the season to be merry, or, if you’re an Ashford School boarder, ‘tis the season to be very, very busy. The lead up to Christmas always offers all kinds of chances to become involved with things that otherwise you wouldn’t, but we’d say that this year has been more jam-packed than most.

An enterprising bunch:

During the winter term Mr Kendal brings his Young Enterprise group together. This like-minded collection of entrepreneurs forms a company; allots different roles; designs and markets a product and sells it in the school. This year has seen the emergence of DNA and their range of accessories made entirely from offcuts of wood from the DT department. Their eco-friendly designs included hummingbird pin badges, heart-shaped hair bands and wooden bow-ties with antlers all created using a laser cutter and doing their bit to reduce the millions of tonnes of unused wood produced by UK schools.

Included in the marketing pitch was a presentation to the whole school, never an easy job at the best of times, but what made it more impressive still was that the entire team was made up of boarders with English as a second language. Ably led by Tom, who also produced the stunning film that accompanied the presentation, with strong contributions from Eddie, Michael and Nick (among many others) DNA piqued our interest and that afternoon sure enough there was a queue outside the refectory with pupils and staff eager to get their hands on a sustainable yet stylish Christmas gift. The guys soon ran out of stock and had to take orders. Looking forward to the prize-giving in the Spring!

Hysterical history:

When teachers say “Challenge yourselves”, “Take yourself out of your comfort zone” We’re not sure that even they could have envisaged the scene last Friday in Brake Hall. A group of Brooke and Refuge boarders, co-ordinated with the EAL department’s Mr Munteanu, put on a fantastically funny and fascinating stage show, illustrating the multi-layered story behind the name of our junior boys’ house and its namesake Arthur Brooke. The performers were: Toki (as the cucumber cool narrator), Johnathan, Robert, Victor and a standout performance from William as Queen Elizabeth the First. To learn all those lines, in a foreign language and perform them in front of your peers and teachers with such aplomb, takes some courage. Take a bow, boys!



Will the 1st



 

Winter Wonderland:

It’s one of the highlights of the boarding year, when everyone gets together to celebrate the coming of the Christmas holidays. This year the event was held in the refectory and as usual it began with a wonderful meal put on by Jura and the catering team (thank you all!). It had been weeks in the planning. Mandy and her team of helpers, led by Savio, had the refectory looking beautifully festive and the boarders did the same (the post room had been filling up with parcels from clothing catalogues for at least the month before!). So the crackers cracked, the plates piled high, the paper hats took on jaunty angles and the foreign members of staff tried to find the humour in the cracker jokes (there isn’t any, that’s why they’re funny!) After the meal Savio’s boys cleared the tables like seasoned stevedores in in less than ten minutes and the disco began. There was a slow uptake at first, but Toki soon had people up on the floor following his lead. Many dance offs were had, bow-ties loosened and shoes kicked off. When the lights came on again just after 10 it was the same table operation, but in reverse and faster. It was done in 5 minutes…or was it? Chak spotted the error and the teams moved into action again. It less than 10 minutes it was over and everyone went home to nurse aching feet and stomachs filled to bursting. A great night!

A Cracking Christmas Concert:

Christmas is a time when generally most people around the school will be looking to wind down. However, for those involved in the various singing and instrumental groups, things are heating up. They will have been rehearsing for most of the term to warm up for the two big festive events: the magical Carols by Candlelight at St Mary’s Church and the barnstorming Christmas Concert. As always the boarding community played its part to the full.

The very well-attended evening began with a swing as the Wind Band got into the spirit of the season with the ‘Jingle Jive’ involving Brabourne’s Miso (oboe) and Celini (flute) and Brooke staff member Mr Vafidis on sax. Miso was also involved in the newly formed Baroque Ensemble’s first live outing next before the budding Elastic band took us to the movies with the Transformer’s theme.

This year’s concert included some very strong singing, including the superb emerging a cappella group, ‘The AshTones’ set up by Mrs Hawker and Mr Vafidis and including Alfred boy Zachary, with their moving tribute ‘Alleluia’ to the recently departed Leonard Cohen. It is worth pointing out that Zachary only joined the school last year, in the ASIC programme and was now performing, in English, front of staff, parents and students. Zachary and Mr Vafidis where members of the senior jazz band that brought an end to the first part of proceedings. Just before this new Brooke boys Toki and Lucas joined their Year 7 colleagues in a rousing rendition of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.

Despite a minute’s interruption by a more classically minded insect (very cooly dealt with by Mr Hall) the orchestra, including Celini, Demi, Conan and Mook took us on a Starlight Sleigh ride before Zachary, Maria and the chamber choir took up the Christmas baton with the classic carol ‘Ding, Dong, Merrily on High’. Govind and James performed a virtuoso duet (we’ve run out of adjectives for these boys) and Mr Hall’s Ashford Youth Jazz Orchestra ended the more formal contributions.

What made this year particularly special was the addition of audience carols, sung by all in attendance, backed by the several amazing school choirs. We kicked off with a rousing ‘Good King Wenceslas’ followed by the choirs’ ‘Tomorrow will be my dancing day’. The belting ‘Oh Come all ye faithful’ was the penultimate number. The concert ended with a rousing ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’ from all the choirs.

The Headmaster, Mr Buchanan, described his pride in a later Twitter feed (@AshfordHead if you would like to follow him) and as boarding staff and pupils left the hall that evening, they too felt the same pride for their colleagues and peers, but also a light-heartedness and thankfulness in having shared something special at this joyous time of year.

Congratulations to all those who performed (good luck to choir on Tuesday) and to all the music staff: Mr Hall, Mr Knox and Mr Powell, Mrs Hawker and Mr Vafidis for their time, leadership and encouragement.

A Fond Farewell:

Before we head off on our holidays, we need to say farewell to our gap students: Mr Meinke, Miss Carson, Miss Clozier-Jones and Mr Jarvis, for all their help, support and good humour over the last year. We wish them all the best of luck in their continuing studies back home. Come back soon!

And so, as the last of the suitcases are packed and the taxi drivers fill up their schedules for the end of term, it just remains for us to wish you all a very happy holidays and see you all again in 2017!

 

A Busy Start

Hello again. We hope you had a great summer holiday and start to the new academic year.

2015/16 ends...:

Already the first half term has flown by, but we thought we’d keep you all posted as to what has been going on within the boarding community here at Ashford School.

But before we do, let’s just finish off where we left off last time. Perhaps the biggest story at the end of last year was the success of the 2015/16 ASIC students as they trod the boards at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Playmaking Festival in Stratford upon Avon on July 4^th.

Accompanied by Mrs Dengate and Mr K these budding actors travelled to Shakespeare’s birthplace and overnighted at a youth hostel just outside of town. Bright and early on Monday morning they travelled in to perform their multilingual version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in front of an audience of school children and RSC staff. Judging by the rapturous applause that met the end of the show, they did superbly well and the atmosphere in the dressing room afterward was abuzz with excitement and pride at what they had just achieved. Bravo everyone! If you would like to see a video of their show, then search on YouTube for ‘Students perform Shakespeare’. You will not be disappointed.

August time saw A-Level and GCSE results’ days. Perhaps the most noticeable achievement was that of boarding captain Sam, whose A*- studded certificates saw him gain a place in Cambridge University to study Natural Sciences. Congratulations Sam and good luck!

Also moving on to pastures new was Alfred Housemaster Mr Vaughan, who has decided to head closer to home after seven wonderful years of service. He will be profoundly missed by students and staff alike and all of us at AIB would like to wish him and his family all the best of luck in their new home in Somerset.

Mr Vaughan’s departure meant a few changes in the structure of our boarding community: Head of Boarding Mr Liston took over as Housemaster of Alfred House. Previous Alfred tutor Mr Appleton took his place in Brooke and Refuge. Mr Cook, Mr Bishop, Miss Wellings and Miss Wilson are new boarding tutors in Alfred, Brooke and Brabourne (x2) respectively.

2016/17 begins...:

It’s difficult to think now, as the leaves change and fall and the days grow shorter and darker, that we had a brand new cohort of students just seven weeks ago, bringing our community up to over 180. Each new student will bring their own personality and skills to the boarding group and this has already been seen in the exciting advent of the House Councils.

These are groups of students elected by their peers to help the boarding staff run the houses and to be the voice of the boarding student body. These students will manage some of the house finances, organise house events and represent boarders in whole school committees. We have already had the boarders’ Halloween party, held in Brabourne the Saturday before half term and the second Annual Boarders’ Table Tennis Competition, hosted by ASIC, won by Kenneth, making amends for his second place in the pool championship last year. These events were organised by the students, for the students, with minimal staff support and their success only goes to show the calibre of boarding student we have here in Ashford.

To bring you up to date, this last half term holiday saw three foreign trips: the hockey tour to Holland, the Art trip to Madrid and the Humanities trip to the Bay of Naples allowed our students several great opportunities to experience a different culture and learn many new things. AIB accompanied the trip to Italy where, in the shadow of Vesuvius, many of our boarders took in the amazing historical wonders of Pompeii and Herculaneum; a hair-raising boat ride around the island of Capri and the chance to taste pizza as it should taste! Many thanks to Dr Wood, for leading this brilliant trip and to Mrs Rayner and Mr Wilde for taking the others!

With all that since just September, not forgetting the scholars concert (where Jervis shone) we cannot wait to see what the rest of the year will hold. Including the upcoming choir performance at the Rugby League Four Nations game between England and Australia. Thank you for joining us and see you next time.

Movers and Shakers

 

Hello all and welcome to the first entry of the Summer term. Yes the summer is here, though those (un)fortunate enough to be on the Geography field trip to Fairlight this week would not necessarily have noticed!

Something that most people will certainly have noticed (at least you would have hoped so) is that it's exam season again. Two years (9 months in the case of ASIC students) of hard graft and late nights coming to fruition in less than two hours in an exam hall. This may be a cliché, but doesn't it always seem to be the teachers that are more stressed than the students? Those of us privileged to have access to the boarding houses would say that whatever nerves there are (and we're sure they're there) are being well hidden or expertly dealt with. Good luck to you all in your efforts.

Before I go on, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Holmes and her team of invigilators for expertly setting up and running these examinations every year; it couldn't be done without them!

The Summer Term is always one of big changes and events at school and as usual, our boarders are in the thick of it. One of the most nerve-wracking and eagerly anticipated of these is the appointment of next year's prefect team. During the first weeks of the term the year 12s are invited to apply for a prefect position and their peers and teachers are invited to nominate who they think should have one. Once that is complete a rigorous selection process (somewhat over 2 hrs) takes place that includes many senior teachers and the current senior prefect team. Among criteria considered are: leadership qualities, flexibility, team spirit and the ability to communicate well with all members of the school community. So, without wasting anymore time, congratulations to: Odelia, Chak, Alex, Jonathan, Ochuwa, Amanda, Tini, Caroline and Sascha (if we have missed anyone out we apologise). They have already started their duties and we're sure they'll continue to do a great job.

Here at Ashford School, it is a small matter of pride that not only do we give our students every opportunity to do things that they've never done before, but that they nearly always take that opportunity and succeed. What's more, in many of these cases, they do it mostly by themselves. This was beautifully illustrated in the recent 'Minute to Win it' game show run by our Amnesty students in aid of Cancer research. Tini, Maria, Ochuwa and former boarder Lucas were compares beyond compare as they marshalled a competition of fantastic hilarity between students and teachers, featuring such games as 'Elephant's Trunk' and 'Defying Gravity'. There was some controversy as to the result, but all could agree it was a wonderful lunchtime's entertainment and for a worthy cause.

On a smaller scale Amanda from ASIC has set up and is currently running Ashford School boarding's first pool championship. She has organised the event from the start and will see it through to its culmination this weekend. Here you can see some photos of the action taking place:

However, when we talk about 'adventurous learning' there can surely be no more of an adventure that is currently being undertaken by the Year 11 ASIC students as they prepare for their Shakespearean debut. As you may know, 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death. The Royal Shakespeare Company are running a number of events to mark this and perhaps the most exciting of these is the Dream Team 2016 Playmaking festival. Here schools were invited to apply to rehearse and then perform a part of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. There were roughly 50 places for schools outside of Warwickshire and Ashford IC were lucky enough to be chosen. Their performance 'Lord What Fools...' will take place at The Other Place Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon at 10am on Monday 4th July and will be undertaken in the students' native languages and dialects.

Bearing in mind that these students are currently in the middle of important exams, they will have only two weeks to rehearse before they travel up. This may seem like a daunting task to these young people, many of whom have not acted before, but, under the expert tutelage of Ms Dengate and enthusiastically assisted by Mr K and Mrs Sagastuy, they are enjoying rehearsals and beginning to relish the chance that has been provided them. Here are some shots and video clips from the recent rehearsals:

Demetrius

Hermia

Helena

 

We will follow their progress eagerly as well as the Year 9 drama students, including boarders Tim and Doris, as they go to put on their adaptation at the 'Margate Shakespearean festival'. Break a leg all!

So, wherever they are or whatever challenge they're facing, Ashford Boarders are giving it their best, with the whole community behind them. That's what we do!

See you next time.

Boarders will rock you!

"Anywhere the wind blows..."

With those iconic lines and a dipping of the stage lights, the cast of 'Ashford will Rock You' closed a superb, rock strewn, uproarious opening night's performance of this adaptation of Queen's epic musical. Glow sticks waved, feet stamped, hands clapped until they were sore and, as one, the audience rose to its feet to acclaim another superb night's entertainment put on by students of Ashford School.

The school drama production is always one of the highlights of the Ashford year and there has been a buzz about the place since it was announced that it would be this piece being put on. For some, this wouldn't be the first time.

"It's been on my bucket list to do this musical again." ASIC's Maria told us one afternoon. "This is a dream come true."

As with all dreams though, it came with a lot of hard work. For months and months staff in the Drama and Music departments and students from across the Ashford Community had met and rehearsed songs, dance moves and lines until late in the evening and this was the culmination of all that work.

The aforementioned buzz reached fever pitch when, early in the term the cast received a signed photograph and note of encouragement from the living legend that is Queen lead guitarist Brian May. "Are you ready to rock?" it read. They certainly were!

For those not familiar with the story, the play is set in a fictional future Earth known as Planet More, ruled over by the despotic Globalsoft corporation that - led by it's leader, the scarlet-haired Killer Queen - has removed any trace of individuality from society. Music is sanitised, pumped through the internet, all dance moves are the same, musical instruments banned. Rebelling against this are a group, known as the Bohemians, a rag tag bunch, who cling to an ancient prophecy that 'a dreamer' would some day bring back the spirit of rock.


Killer Queen and the Ga-gas

Rockers: Galileo, Scaramouche and Pop

That dreamer comes in the shape of one Galileo Figaro, who hears snippets of songs in his head without knowing what they mean. Aided by the Bohemians and his 'don't call me' Chick' Scaramouche, they battle to thwart Killer Queen and her maniacal lieutenant - Commander Kashogi - and bring the prophecy to pass.



The Bohemians

Killers: Queen and Kashoggi

The play is littered with razor-sharp one-liners and in-jokes about the banality of reality TV - "We've only got this bit of the video, the rest is an episode of Britain's got Talent." - punctuated by the timeless rock anthems of Queen, including: 'Seven Seas of Rye', 'This crazy little thing called love' and of course 'We will rock you'. These were accompanied brilliantly by Mr Hall and his invitation rock band.

What many would have noticed on the night was that, among standout performances by the main cast: Jess, Jamie, Dexter and others, the majority of the chorus line was made up of members of Ashford School's boarding community. Daria, Tom, Jane, Maria, Kristina, Renata, Caroline, Katya and the irrepressible Timur, who raised smiles aplenty by just being himself in his dungarees and bright yellow socks. Yet another example of what we talked about last time, the whole community coming to together to produce some magic.



 



Behind the scenes the cast were aided by a proficient team of 'techies': lighting, stage hands and sound staff, as well as costume manager, Sister Jo, without whom none of it would have been possible. Others - including Ochuwa, Mo and Tini - helped out front of house, helping people find seats and keeping them refreshed in the interval. A big hand to them, the Drama department of Mrs Dinsdale, Mrs Dengate and Mrs Allum, the Music department: Mr Hall, Mrs Powell and Mrs Brown and above all, to the performers themselves.

To badly misquote another Queen classic: "They are the champions, my friends." Break a leg for the rest of the run and have a great Easter break afterwards, you've all deserved it!

BREAKING DRAMA NEWS: the ASIC Year 11s have been given one of less than 50 places to perform a small part of A Midsummer Night's Dream, in Stratford, as part of the Dream Team 2016 festival to celebrate 400 years since the Bards death in July. Watch this space for updates!