School News

Sixth Form Performing Arts pupils perform their adaptation of An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley.

As 2nd Form begin their studies on Twelfth Night, they've been immersing themselves in all things Shakespeare.

We marked the end of the academic year at our annual Speech Day – a joyous occasion, providing an opportunity for us to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our pupils, as well as a reflection on the school year as a whole.

A group of pupils in 4th-Sixth Form recently returned from a Geography Department trip to Iceland. It was a truly immersive experience which took in the breath-taking landscapes and unique terrain of the Nordic island nation.

An annual highlight of the academic year here on the Hill is our American Program Graduation Ceremony, where we celebrate our graduating US pupils as they receive their high school diplomas.

As election fever grips the nation ahead of the General Election on 4th July, we held our mock election on Kingham Hill.

We are delighted to announce that Kingham Hill has been awarded The Wellbeing Award for Schools – a national standard for positive mental health and emotional wellbeing.

In the latest of our KHS Lecture series events we were thrilled to welcome GB Olympian Kriss Akabusi MBE to the Hill.

There was great excitement on Friday as we held our annual Sports Day. On what was a gloriously sunny day there was plenty of House Spirit on show as pupils from across the year groups took part in a number of events to earn points for their Houses.

Last Thursday evening we were treated to a showcase from our talented speech and drama pupils, as they presented the pieces they have been working on this term, under the guidance and support of our LAMDA teacher, Mrs Phillips.

On Monday, our Lower Sixth Geographers visited the river Evenlode where they participated in a range of hands-on practical activities designed to deepen their understanding of hydrology and environmental management techniques.

Over 400 alumni and friends joined us for the sixth annual Chill on the Hill reunion at the beginning of half term break.
 

The Kingham Hill Mass is an annual cross country event with a rich history of tradition behind it, having been contested for over 100 years. The route is run entirely within the school’s grounds as pupils strive to earn points for their respective Houses.

This week we welcomed guest speaker, and e-safety expert Karl Hopwood, to Kingham to deliver a series of presentations to pupils and staff providing valuable insights into the ever-expanding digital world, and guidance on how to reap its benefits, whilst minimising potential risks.

In our latest MedSoc event, Hillian, Stacie Adjetey (leaver in 2020) delivered a talk to our current pupils about her life as a medical student and the process of gaining admission onto her university course.

Congratulations to all those who received an award. It was wonderful to hear about the dedication and commitment shown by so many of our pupils, and to see just how much it meant to them to be able to represent Kingham Hill in their chosen sports. 

There were some spooky goings on here on the Hill last weekend when we staged our production of The Addams Family musical.

This week, we were absolutely delighted to welcome author, Radhika Sanghani, to speak to our First  and Second Form pupils. Radhika is an award-winning journalist, influential body positivity campaigner and a 2020 BBC Writers Room graduate.

During the Easter holidays a new stained glass window was installed in Top School Hall.

During the Easter holidays our School Catering Team took part in a challenge in support of the 'Feeding Communities Initiative'.

On the last day of the Lent Term we held our 3rd Form CCF Passing Out Parade where we celebrated the completion of the first stage of training for our CCF Army and RAF Recruits.

KHS pupils delivered some excellent performances at this year’s Chipping Norton Music Festival.

We were delighted to welcome Assistant Chief Officer of Hertfordshire Constabulary, Cat Hemmings, to deliver the latest talk in our Kingham Hill Lecture Series. Cat has enjoyed a varied career holding positions in several different Police Forces throughout the country. Today, she oversees custody, criminal justice, strategy, and transformation, and holds a prominent role as the national policing lead for women offenders.

Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences. In recognition of this event, here at Kingham Hill we held a number of activities to raise awareness of neurodiversity in school and the ways in which it affects our community.

This year we were honoured to be joined by our Guest of Honour, Professor Kamal Mahtani from the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Services at the University of Oxford.  A well-respected practitioner, Professor Mahtani effortlessly explained to us the importance of evidence in making decisions.  His speech was something of an eye-opener to the uninitiated: one would assume that all medical decisions are taken on the basis of evidence!  What he showed us was the benefit of taking a holistic view of all the research available on a given subject, assessing the evidence in each study against the potential for bias and ulterior motive, in order to come to the best, most informed conclusions possible.  He engaged us all thoroughly and gave us much food for thought.

Our Sixth Form Charity Committee put on an excellent evening's entertainment in the form of a quiz night, in support of local charity, The Branch.

We were delighted to welcome Hillian, Dr Oskar Mahony, along with his partner, Dr Vaishali Vyas, to present to pupils from all year groups at the inaugural meeting of Kingham Hill's Medical Society (MedSoc).

English author and black belt martial artist Chris Bradford paid us a visit on Monday. Best known for his children's fictional series, 'Young Samurai' and ‘ BODYGUARD’, Chris’ books are published in 22 languages and have garnered more than 34 children’s book award nominations around the world.

Sean Woodcock, Labour candidate for the Banbury constituency, along with Charlie Maynard, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Witney constituency, joined us for a lively half an hour of political debate and conversation.

In celebration of International Women’s Day we recorded a special edition of our ETF Podcast Series.

Our Third Form pupils visited the First World War Battlefields of France and Belgium.

Tuesday night marked a momentous moment in KHS Sport when the first ever girls contact rugby match was played against Stow-on-the-Wold RFC.

This week, our Lower Sixth pupils were looking to the future as they participated in a whole day Careers Workshop, delivered by CWR Consultancy Ltd.

Our talented pupils delivered some amazing performances at our annual Kingham's Got Talent Show.

This week, a number of our Upper Sixth students showcased their EPQs, with presentations on a range of topics including Coronary Heart Disease, Conspiracy Theories, and Charities in Malawi. It was hugely interesting to listen to them talk with passion about their chosen areas and clear to see that they had each put in a huge amount of work preparing their presentations.

In their art lesson this week, 2nd Form pupils were tasked with looking at key artworks throughout history where artists have used a range of different mark making techniques.

Over the weekend, our 4th Form boarders enjoyed a trip to Padel Shift at Daylesford where they had a go at the sport. Under the guidance of experienced instructors, our pupils not only learned the basic rules and techniques of the game, but also had the opportunity to actively participate in friendly matches.

We are fortunate, here on the Hill, to have an outstanding set of sports coaches who have played to national level. They work closely with our pupils to help them hone their technical skills, whilst developing a positive mindset. 

We had the opportunity to celebrate the many achievements of our sportswomen this week at our annual Hockey Awards evening.

Performers from Academy staged their first performance of the academic year last week, with their production of “The Phone Box on Holloway Road”. Written especially for the group by our very own Mr Jones, the one-act piece of theatre was inspired by the 2002 film, “Phone Booth”.

We kick-started our Hive events once more at Kingham Hill with a lunch-time seminar on Tuesday focussed on the importance of inclusion and diversity.

Kingham Hill have competed in the first matches of this year’s national Schools Challenge quiz competition.The tournament works very much like University Challenge, with teams answering “Starters for ten” and bonus questions. We have four teams in the competition this year: 1st IV, 2nd IV, U15 IV and U13 IV. So far, we have played two matches with two more to come next week.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ”

We were thrilled to welcome intrepid explorer Tom Avery to deliver the latest talk in our Kingham Hill Lecture Series this week. Tom began his talk by explaining that for him, the most exciting part of his experiences has been the exploration of new places and taking on challenges that push him to achieve more than he might initially have thought possible.

4th Form GCSE Art students travelled to Oxford on Tuesday to visit The Ashmolean Museum, The Pitt Rivers Museum and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

This week, we were hugely excited to welcome parents, all to a special preview of an exhibition of artwork by Kingham Hill pupils, which is now on display in the gallery space at Chipping Norton Theatre.

We were delighted to welcome local Conservative MP, Robert Courts, to Kingham Hill today. On arrival, Robert was given a tour of the school, following which he took part in a Question and Answer session with some of our pupils, including Sixth Form Politics students and members of our Octagon Academic Society. 

As well as teaching Art and Photography here at Kingham Hill, Mr Field is also a landscape painter who has exhibited his work with some of the UK’s leading art societies including The Royal Society of British Artists (RSBA). Working part-time at Kingham Hill, Mr Field dedicates his Fridays to working in his studio so as to continue his practice and develop his career as a professional artist. Leading by example, he encourages his pupils to enter competitions, to develop their confidence and raise their profile.

At Kingham Hill, we are very proud of our commitment to the Performing Arts and the opportunities that we are able to provide to our pupils. As well as opportunities within school, we are also keen to support our local community and are a proud sponsor of the annual Chipping Norton Theatre Pantomime. This year the Theatre is staging a production of Cinderella – with a Latin American twist!

On Thursday this week, it was the 70th anniversary of an RAF Meteor plane crash in the wooded area down the hill by our Sports Centre. On that day, 9th November 1953, two pilots - Sqn Ldr Richard Anthony Fox Linton and Flt Lt Raymond Geoffrey Mead - lost their lives. We paid tribute to them with a small service at the location of the crash, which was attended by the son of one of the pilots, Dr Geoff Mead.

On Friday 3rd November, the school hosted the CCF Regimental Dinner in the magnificent setting of the Top School Hall. The Hall bustled with the 140 guests, made up of the Cadets, staff, guests and VIPs, alongside five of our previous Cadet Heads of Corps coming back for the evening from far and wide.

Today we held our traditional drumhead service to mark the 105th anniversary of the Armistice. The CCF were on parade, surrounded by pupils, staff and Hillians to commemorate this special occasion in the School calendar. 

This weekend, the Kingham Hill Racing team raced at Whilton Mill Kart Circuit. It was a cold, early start, but everyone kitted up, got their karts ready and at 9:30am the practice races started with the first race of the day starting an hour later.

World Mental Health Day