Kent College, Canterbury already has an extremely active Charities Committee. Over 30 pupils gather together each week to select charities to be supported and to dream up exciting ways of raising money. In the past five months the school has raised over £10,000 for its chosen causes (including local, national and international charities - Porchight, MRDF, Pilgrims Hospice, Action for Children and Smile UK). Members of the group have now also taken the exciting step of being inducted as the newest branch of Interact - the schools arm of Rotary International. The school Interact Club is sponsored by Chestfield Rotary who recently invited all the members of the group to a special inaugural dinner at Chestfield Golf Club. The new President of the Kent College Interact group, Carmen Arquero (a 6th form boarding student from Madrid) gave a speech which was warmly received by both fellow students and the large number of Rotarians from a number of local clubs who had gathered for the celebration.

We are delighted to report that Sedecim are through to the Final of the Top Choir Kent Competition. This will take place on 31st March in the Shirley Hall at The King's School, Canterbury. To obtain tickets go to the website at www.topchoirkent.org.

Please see the attached programme for Arts Week 2012

Press Release
Local School wins major national award.
Kent College, Canterbury has just been announced as winner of the London and South East region of the Church School Awards 2012.
The awards, which celebrate the role and work of Church Schools are open to all schools with a Christian foundation and are backed by all major Churches and a number of large charities.
The judges were impressed by the wide range of work that Kent College does in the community. From music outreach concerts to a British Council partnership with a school in Tanzania, from open days on the school farm to celebrating the cultures of all the pupils in the school the judges found the school to be outstanding.
Winning the award means that the school will be invited to attend a gala event in London where they will be joined by the media and Government ministers and presentations will be made.
'When you think of how many Church senior schools there are in the whole of London and the South East this is a huge honour' said School Chaplain, Revd. Dr. Paul Glass, 'and it's a testament to our fantastic pupils and staff.'

Kent Schools' Cross Country
On a perfect crisp cold morning the Kent Schools Cross Country was hosted by Kent College for the first time last weekend. 16 Kent College athletes took part representing the Canterbury and St. Augustine district and there were some excellent results:
Year 7 Girls ( 94 runners)
Holly Fielder 15
Hannah Griggs 18
Emilie Knights Toomer 21
Emma Newson 49
Harriet Addley 57
Harriet Hyett 84
Year 7 Boys (106 runners)
Jonas Zahn 48
Oliver Sigurdsson 65
Junior Girls (85 runners)
Anna Weston 2
Lizzi Neal 17
Eloise Gauzan 45
Hannah Watton 48
Georgie Townsend 53
Sophie Wilson 58
Pippa Griffiths 71
Junior Boys ( 79 runners)
Suresh Pun 51
Luke Vincent 59
Tom Ashdown 63
Intermediate Girls (41 runners)
Amy Old 9
Intermediate Boys (71 runners)
Adam McKenna 23
Nolan Stuart 34
Shusan Chantyal 58
Senior Girls (12 runners)
Rebecca Weston 1
Senior Boys (18 runners)
Ali Noel 18
Well done to all our Kent College runners.
Some of our athletes will now go on to represent kent in the English Schools race in March.
Photos of the event can be found by following this link: http://www.dephoto.biz/ksaa

During the week before Christmas, members of the Senior Choir travelled to Venice to give musical performances in several splendid venues. The choir began their tour with a lively Christmas concert for the pupils at the Alghieri Middle School. This was followed with singing Masses in the wonderful acoustic of the Gesuati Church and the architectural splendor of St Mark's Basilica. Further performances took place in the 'Museo Della Musica' and in several of the city's busy squares. Over the weekend, the choir led the service of Nine Lessons and Carols at St George' Anglican Church where they also sang during the Sunday morning Eucharist before returning home. The very high standard of singing was warmly appreciated by large numbers of residents and visitors in Venice at this festive time, and as well as the busy and most rewarding musical programme, the trip also provided a wonderful cultural and social experience for all the pupils involved.

The Choristers were on top form as they performed to a packed audience in St Mary & St Eanswythe Church in Folkestone last Sunday. The programme consisted of a selection of Christmas Carols, with 19 Choristers singing solos. Members of the Kent College Community Children's Choir also took part. David Cutting's Brass Band provided accompaniment and a performance of The Three Kings with Dan Wright as soloist was a real treat.
This concert was recorded for broadcast on Academy FM Folkestone on the afternoon 24th December and on Christmas morning. It can be accessed via the internet.

A number of Kent College students art work has been entered as part of
an International competition organised by The Saatchi Gallery and
Sunday Telegraph. Please log on to the link to see the work. Winners
will be announced in January, so fingers crossed!
 
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/

Kent College has been long listed as a finalist in the 2011/12 Church School Awards.

On Monday evening of Half Term, seven extremely talented musicians from local secondary schools each presented a short recital in the final for the Canterbury Festival Foundation Bursary Award. The competition took place in the Shirley Hall and three of those finalists were pupils from Kent College. Danni and Kirsty O'Neill both gave stunning performances and were highly praised by the judges not only on their beautiful tone quality and musicianship but also on their engaging presentation. Caitlin Shaughnessy was commended for her excellent technique and virtuoso performance of De Falla's Spanish Dance. Chairman of the adjudication panel, David Burridge, stated that the overall winner was a unanimous decision by all three judges and the 2000 pound award was presented to Caitlin Shaughnessy. The other competitors each received a cheque for 100 pounds. Well done to all three of our pupils for their outstanding performances and congratulations to Caitlin for winning this most prestigious award.