ACADEMICS

Modern families want options, they want choice and this includes a range of secondary schools when the time comes. We continue to offer the widest choice of any prep school in the area with our current Form 7 set to benefit from this once again.

86% of the pupils who sat the Kent Test achieved grammar status and they secured 23 offers from independent secondary schools. Amongst these offers were 5 academic scholarships, and 3 sports scholarships.

Our 19 leaving pupils are heading to 9 different secondary schools, including independent and super-selective grammar schools.

Mathematics

Mathematics has a new lead in the capable form of Mr Shield, but we have still enjoyed old favourites such as the First Maths Challenge and the Primary Maths Challenge. These national competitions require deep mathematical thinking to tackle complex word problems.

In the First challenge, we were delighted to award Gold certificates to Lottie, Zachary and Caitlin in Form 5 and to Jesse in Form 4. This is a fine precursor to the Primary Maths Challenge for our senior pupils, where Anders scored sufficiently well to progress to the second round, earning a National Bronze Level certificate.

In the Summer Term, children in Forms 6 and 7 aimed to qualify for the Mathematics Team, competing in the Quiz Club’s National Maths Championship. The team of four: Anders, Lucy, Mia and Aimee demonstrated excellent knowledge and teamwork to reach the semi-finals.

A new-look, inclusive Inter-House Maths competition placed an emphasis on logic, problem-solving and strategy. Johnson emerged victorious, with children of all age groups competing and enjoying their mathematical puzzles. 

Science and PSHE

In addition to the rigour of academic science in the Science Centre, we recognise that science is everywhere and is a subject that has many curricular crossovers.

 

 

 

 

 

Our facilities allow the children to explore science beyond the classroom. On the Paddock, children are able to observe nature all around them. At The Farm, pupils are able to witness growth and development first hand. For example, the bean sprouts favoured by Form 2 in their pursuit of Jack’s giant, the aphids and ladybirds on said beanstalks or perhaps the toad that has taken up residence by our potatoes. Potatoes that, incidentally, find their way into the salad bar at lunch.

Expressing science through art was required as pupils were asked to envisage a futuristic city that was both sustainable and healthy for its inhabitants. Our Humanities Week activities gave the children in Forms 4 and 5 the opportunity to think like Greek scientists and make their very own thermometers.

Our Languages Day provided an opportunity for the children to conduct flame tests on unidentified compounds, but all in French. And another good example of cross-curricular science was our Form 4 foray into the world of Crime Scene Investigation. It turns out Mrs Curling had no intention of keeping the violin she took after Form 4 assessed the evidence and brought charges of theft. I want to thank Russell House parent and real life CSI, Mrs H-G, for her inspirational time with the children.

 

Humanities and Modern Foreign Languages

In a similar vein, Humanities at Russell House has always been taught in a multidisciplinary fashion, but in addition to fact acquisition, so handy in producing quality general knowledge quiz teams, we seek to develop reasoning and critical thinking skills. History and Religious Studies can only ever present a particular view of events and so it is vital that we ask children to challenge accepted wisdom and critically assess the quality of evidence before them. A good example of this approach is the Form 7 trip to the Royal Courts of Justice in London. There the children were given a real world insight into how our criminal justice system works with the children taking part in a mock trial in an actual British courtroom. The trial tested the children's ability to think under pressure, their ability to reason and to employ critical thinking, which is all linked to that need to embrace complexity.

Understanding that complexity is a global phenomenon, and it is important for our languages department to flourish as much as it does. We continue to deliver engaging lessons and assemblies where music, rhyme and even dance enhance our pupils' learning of French, our curricular language, and German, Spanish and Mandarin which are part of our activities programme.

English and Drama

Of vital importance is a command of our own language and English and Drama continue to thrive right across the school, with the children's creativity and independent thought always at the forefront. From the youngest years, the pupils have engaged in contextualised writing activities, such as Form 2 helping the giant to get his stolen money back from Jack, or creating a backstory for one of Fagin's gang in the upper Main School’s study of Dickens. The environment and our relationship with the world around us are often at the heart of other creative topics and these themes blend with other academic pursuits. Of particular note in this regard, was the high standard of entries for the Independent Schools Association (ISA) poetry competition centred around the topic of Hope.

 The ability to vocalise alignment or dissent with world views is crucial and public speaking as a discrete skill is very important to us. We delight in offering the children as many opportunities to sharpen this skill as possible. Lessons, assemblies, Speech club, Brights and School Council are just a few of those opportunities and our Form 7s have the ability to compete in the annual Public Speaking Competition. With the addition of tough questioning from a panel of judges this year, the finalists were challenged to display just how deeply they understood their chosen subject.

Drama throughout the school underpins confidence building, and in addition to the outstanding drama productions we have all enjoyed, the children have benefited from regular drama and writer workshops. LAMDA provides another confidence building outlet, and we enjoyed a one hundred percent pass rate with two thirds at Distinction level and just over a quarter at Merit level.

 

SPORTS

A Russell House sporting year always begins with football and hockey. The U8A and U9 teams both went through the season undefeated with some resounding wins under their belts. We recognise a lot of potential in this group; consider, the U8A team scored 37 goals and conceded only 6. The U8B team also enjoyed a winning season.

The U10 and 11 boys played their football together and enjoyed a successful term. The A team crafted some wonderful team goals and the B team won seven of ten games with a 16 strong goal difference.

In hockey, our U8s had a very positive first competitive season and we have identified some very promising players in the ranks. The girls scored some impressive goals and offered strong defence throughout, which set up an impressive 8 - nil win to close out their Winter Term.

Our U9A team were a force to be reckoned with, remaining undefeated in all of their regular fixtures and taking top honours in a local hockey tournament. The U9B team also stood out this year, winning all but one of their matches.

The U10 and 11 squad had mixed results, but they saved their best hockey for the ISA National Finals, where they won the group and finished 5th equal.

The Inter-house competitions for the Autumn Term were very closely contested with, Cavell proving worthy champions in football and Johnson winning the hockey for a fourth time.

Come the New Year and the girls swapped their sticks for netball bibs. Our U8As were unbeaten and the U8 and 9B team won all bar one of their matches. Our U9A team continued their success from the hockey season and were also unbeaten. They also performed well in tournament play and ended their season, scoring freely to take an impressive win.

Further up the school, it was a tough netball season for our U10 and 11 teams, but again the girls played impressively at the ISA Regional Championships to qualify for the National Finals. The hockey Inter-House honours went to Johnson.

Meanwhile, the boys looked to get muddy in the rugby season. The U9 boys enjoyed their introduction to tackling and the U10 and 11 A team won all but one of their games, exhibiting courage and determination in the face of stiff opposition. The B team, playing touch rugby, had a fixture list that succumbed to the poor weather, but they were unbeaten thanks to some high-quality support play. The inter-house competition went to Nightingale.

Henry and Isla represented the school admirably following qualification for the ISA National Cross Country Championship running in the U11 category, a year early.

And so to the summer. The weather wreaked havoc with our cricket fixture list, but we still managed to get out and enjoy that most-English of games. An extra pleasure too, because the teams were composed of girls or boys and sometimes mixed. In every case, the standard of play was high, and our presentation, observance of etiquette and our home match teas remain the envy of the Kent prep school scene.

Despite the autumnal conditions, the U8s had an excellent first foray into competitive cricket and the U9A girls won all but one of their matches. Our U10 and 11 A, B & C teams had mixed results but lots of fun.

The inter-house competition provided Nightingale with a fifth win, a record extending number, and Nightingale were also victorious in the swimming gala. Sports Day proved to be a close event with Cavell taking the top honours in our inclusive format.

 

To tennis, and several Russell House pupils played in the County Qualifying events with two pairs making it through to the Finals. The pair playing in the orange event, Georgia and Annabel, were runners-up, whilst the pair playing green ball, Isabelle and Georgie, were crowned county champions.

In athletics, nine pupils were chosen to compete in the Kent Independent Schools competition across a range of track and field events. The standard at this event is always exceptionally high, but not daunted by this, Russell House managed five top-10 finishes in a variety of events.

This year has been a record-breaking one for gymnastics with two regional gold medals, four silver medals and one team bronze medal. The U11 Boys Team and Sports Acrobatics Pair were crowned regional champions. Our Boys’ Team secured our first ever national medal, a bronze, in the Milano Team Trio finals, where they represented the South East. Our Mixed Team finished 5th individually, and were part of the South East Team that won the U11 category, making Russell House National Champions. In the U11 Tumbling event, we placed 8th and our Sports Acrobatics Pair finished 5th nationally.

In the U11 Boys’ Floor and Vault National Finals, the Boys’ Team placed 5th and were part of the South East Team that won their category, making Russell House national Champions for a second time. We thank Form 7s; Anders, who competed in four national finals this year and also Isabella, who can boast being consistently our highest scoring gymnast on floor across all competitions at regional and national level.

ARTS

The art department has been a hive of industry with pupils enjoying a range of exciting projects, including painting, screen printing, clay modelling, sewing tasks, and outdoor sketching.

Pupils enjoyed two specialist-led workshops. The first involved modroc modelling and the second involved pupils working collaboratively to create a large felt-fabric Chinese dragon, to commemorate the Chinese new year.

Art got competitive this year and Russell House pupils enjoyed success in the Otford Village Fete poster competition, with the theme being The French Connection. Sophie was a winner for her design, which was selected to advertise the event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Art adorns many walls around our school, but you will have had the chance to enjoy the culmination of all the effort in our annual art exhibition, showcasing the high quality work our pupils produce over the course of a year.

 

 

 

 

 

In music, 41 instrumental or vocal exams have been taken and of the results returned so far, 85% have been awarded a merit or distinction class. We have entered 7 pupils at Grade 4 and 5 this year and special mention is made of Beatrix and Georgie in Form 6, who have just landed a distinction in their Grade 5 singing exams. As Grade 5 is the recommended performance level to be considered for GCSE music, this is a remarkable achievement.

Inclusivity reigns supreme and throughout the year, we enjoy performances in music assemblies by pupils from across the Main School, showcasing their learning from individual lessons. But the standout word of the year has to be boomwhacker; plastic tubes pitched to particular notes which one whacks to produce a precise boom. Form 7 dazzled us at the Winter Festival with their rendition of Carol of the Bells and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy using said boomwhackers.

 

 

 

 

One of my favourite events, the House Music Competition, was won by Cavell. This proved to be a fun afternoon, celebrating both the achievements of the soloists, as well as the freedom to perform creatively in the inclusive House Song.

Recent highlights include Form 6’s participation in the Independent Association of Prep Schools Celebration of Singing which took place in Rochester Cathedral. This inaugural event gave our pupils an excellent opportunity to sing in a massed choir, with prep schools from all over the county, and to be accompanied by a full orchestra.

RHPA

A group of adults whom I would like to thank is the Parent Association, who have been so instrumental in driving the parent community with outstanding results. The Celestial Ball was a fine example and the extra sense of fun that has been injected into proceedings is very welcome and reflective of the school’s ethos.

CHARITIES

The Russell House community has once again been generous in supporting local and national charities including:

• The Brain Tumour Charity
• The Dogs Trust (School Council’s Choice)
• Read for Good
• Save The Children
• And the Neonatal Unit at Tunbridge Wells Hospital

LEAVERS

Most of you I have known from the age of two and you have navigated successfully through the Main School, and you can all look forward to successful futures. You have all faced up to personal challenges and you have grown to be able to face your futures with optimism. You have surpassed expectations academically, your reward for responding to the demands of your teachers and the ambition levels that we have for you.

Take a moment to feel proud. Proud of all that you have achieved. The music, the art, the drama, the laughs, the friendships and the life lessons learnt, having been taken successfully out of your comfort zones. Pause to remember the teachers who have guided you, been patient with you, comforted you, fought for you and your best interests.

Thank you for your company throughout the last nine years or so, wrapped up so well during our time in France and over the last few weeks of this term. Mission Implausible was a triumph, containing some of the best comedy moments seen on this stage.

Craig McCarthy
HEADMASTER