Principal's message

Dear Parents,

Seeing our students back at school for another year of learning and opportunity was wonderful. Welcoming our new Year 7 students is always a highlight, and we all can feel their energy, enthusiasm and excitement as they take their next big step in their ESF learning journey.

For the first time in about four years, we were also able to get year levels together in the Hall for welcome-back assemblies. I took this opportunity to talk about what we plan to achieve this year and remind students of our high standards and expectations. It was also an opportunity to share the outstanding 2023 Year 13 exam results. 

Firstly, our Year 13 BTEC pathway students achieve excellent results with:

• 30% of students achieving the highest possible grades of triple Distinction*

• 74% of students achieving at least one distinction grade

• 100% pass rate

• These students are accepted into universities such as the University of Arts London, the University of York, the University of Surrey, and HK Metropolitan University, to name a few. 

Our IB Diploma results were also outstanding for this cohort. A few highlights are:

• Just over 33% of our students achieved an IB score of between 40 and the maximum score of 45 (compared to the world average of 8.5%)

• 70% of students achieved above a 35 IB score (compared to the world average of 28%)

• 99% of our students passed the Diploma (compared to the world average of 55%)

• Two of our students received a top score of 45, and 9 students received 44 points score.

Considering this cohort’s challenges since 2019, these results are incredible and a testament to every student's hard work, dedication and talent. A huge shout out to all our staff who were unrelenting and unwavering in their support and belief in our students. The results strongly validate our school mission to ‘be your own remarkable’ as we do all we can to motivate, support and enable our students to be the best they can be.

Kind Regards,

Mark Blackshaw

Principal, KGV School

Year 12 Message

It has been a pleasure to welcome our Year 12 students back to school this week. Our students displayed great enthusiasm and were fully engaged with their Induction Day on Wednesday. We hope that they gained some valuable information and ideas after working with our visiting NGOs throughout the day. We are very much looking forward to working with our Year 12 students and supporting them in the year ahead.

Wishing you a great weekend.

Year 8 & 9 Message

The start of the 2023/2024 school year has been fantastic! 

We warmly welcomed our new KGV Year 8 and 9 students on Wednesday, followed by all our Year 8 and 9 students on Thursday. It has been a joy to witness them familiarising themselves with their new teachers, exploring their classrooms, and adjusting to their new timetables. We take immense pride in their resilience and unwavering enthusiasm. As our students continue their educational journey through the IB MYP programme, we are confident that this academic year will overflow with personal growth, valuable learning experiences, and cherished memories. We anticipate their academic and social success as they thrive in this enriching environment. 

In our Year 8 and 9 Assembly today, our Principal, Mr Blackshaw, spoke about the opportunities our KGV students have to build their competencies, often described as skills and attributes. The need for these competencies is growing globally; we continue to recognise the importance of our distinct human qualities. At this time of year, remind your child that attending school is not just about acquiring knowledge; it is a place where we cultivate a wide range of skills and attributes that shape us. It is a space where we develop our social skills, learn to think critically, collaborate with others, understand the importance of being a responsible citizen, build our character, and unleash our creative potential. At this time of year, encourage your child to sign up for some of the 150 KGV CAS activities and start thinking about what Challenge Week activity they would like to do when the website goes live on Monday. 

The transition from the summer break to the school routine has been smooth, thanks to the support and encouragement provided by you, our dedicated parents. The Year 8 and 9 Teams value your partnership and appreciate your efforts in preparing your children for their return to school. We look forward to working with you this academic year.

Year 8 and 9 Student Development Team

It was a pleasure to welcome our Year 13 students back to school this week. Our Year 13 team are very much looking forward to working with our students and supporting them as much as we can during this vitally important last year with us at KGV.

Wishing you a great weekend.

Year 10 Message

We welcomed the Year 10 cohort on Wednesday with some team-building activities, time with their tutor and 3 sessions on study skills that will be essential for success over the next two years.

Please take a minute to talk to your child about what they learned that day. We covered:

• Organisation of time
• Procrastination
• Importance of sleep
• The Pomodoro technique
• Use of Syllabus statements
• Effective note taking
• Use of AI to assist revision

We've now had our first two days of classes and I hope all Year 10 students are starting to settle into a routine where they are doing some revision and consolidation work every day.

Year 7 Message

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The Year 7s have made a very impressive start to their KGV journey. They have made us proud this week with their 'can do' approach to Year 7. They are likely to be exceptionally tired this weekend - one student told me they walked 17000 steps yesterday!

As Year 7s settle into new routines, there are bound to be some speed bumps along the way.  Students are familiarising themselves with changes in uniforms, books and resources for lessons. There is a lot to remember. Tutors worked with students today to remind them of the importance of naming all their equipment, to enable lost property to be returned effectively. Students also know to tell their tutor and report lost items to the Year 7 office. Whilst it is easy for students to jump to 'my pencil case/ water bottle etc' has been stolen', we know from experience that they are more likely to have left an item in a different location around the school. 

Next week we will be issuing laptops! Another item for students to remember! Details were emailed to you yesterday about Thursday's online Parent Session. We hope you are able to join us. We will record the session for Parents who cannot attend. There is also an opportunity for  Parents to let us have your questions before the event.

School photographs have been scheduled for the week beginning 28th August. The specific times for your child (and their tutor group) are included in this newsletter.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Year 11 Message

It was really good to welcome our students back on Thursday as the new Year 11 cohort. I had many conversations about holiday experiences and was impressed by how focussed and determined they seemed heading into this final year of GCSEs.

Careers & H.E. Guidance

Our email address: careers.office@kgv.edu.hk.

Year 13
Welcome back! We hope everyone managed to have some time to relax, rejuvenate & recharge over Summer. The Careers & H.E. Team is ready to support our Y13’s higher education applications in the coming months. Students should look out for notices and reminders communicated via their H.E. Counsellor’s Google Classrooms and emails from the Careers Office.

• Y13 1-1 HE Session, starting week of 28 August. Students will be receiving emails giving them their allocated appointment dates & times.

Year 12
Welcome back to our returning students and their families. A warm welcome to those new to KGV!

We understand that start of IB/BTEC/IBCP is challenging, especially in Term 1. If students need any help from the Careers & H.E. Team, they can find us in the Year 12-13 Office.

• PSAT 2023 @ KGV. Invitations to sign up went out to all Y11 & Y12 students & parents.  Since there is a fee involved, we only accept registration by parents. Any registration using student’s KGV login will be automatically rejected.

Mark your calendar
KGV Careers Fair, 4 Sep (12.30-14.30). Although the Careers Fair is mainly for Year 9 students to prepare them for option choices, this doesn’t mean that our senior students cannot join! The Fair is open to all students during lunch time.  Students are welcome to check out the booths and ask industry experts about their work and experiences. List of participants are being finalised. More details will be available soon.

KGV University Fair, 18 Sep (12.30-15.30). We are very excited about having the first physical university fair on site since 2020. Over 110 institutions from around the world have already signed up to the Fair. All Y12 & Y13 students will be allocated Period 5 to attend the Fair. Parents are invited to come starting 14.30. More information to follow in the next couple of weeks.

Our KGV Careers Calendar lists known H.E. events.
KGV is not responsible for the quality of any external events. All information is subject to change by event organisers.

H.E. Visits @ KGV School (13.30-14.15 @ SSC1-2). Due to the short duration, H.E. visits are open to students only.
21 Aug: UAL Admission Process for 2024/25 Entry + Portfolio Advisory
6 Sep: University of Cambridge
13 Sep: Bentley University, Clark University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute & Emerson College
26 Sep: London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)

H.K.
19 Aug: Aspiring Medics 2023 Webinar by HKMSUK

U.K.
21 Aug: UAL 2024-25 Admission Event (physical event in HK, hosted by UAL’s HK representative)

U.S.
29 Aug, 9 Sep & 20 Sep: Session with Brown, Columbia, Penn & Princeton (Virtual)
7 Sep: Discover USC Info Session (physical event in HK)
28 Sep: NYU/Northeastern Infor Session for ESF Students

KGV Careers & H.E. Team

Dear Parents & Students,

It’s great to see the amount of interest in the CAS program. In just the first few days, there have been over 1000 active sign-ups.

CAS Activities will remain open for sign-up beyond next week, closing Tuesday 29th of August. New activities are still being added every day so please continue to check the KGV CAS Activities website (https://www.kgvcasactivities.com/), but for the full details, please look at the activities page on LIONEL.

A reminder that registration is NOT on a first-come-first-served basis. All students registered will be placed on the waiting list until the end of the registration period. If the number of enrolments exceeds the maximum number of participants, names will be drawn randomly by Lionel to only allocate those that have been pre-approved by parents to join the activity.

Useful links to help with the process:

• CAS Activity website             
• How to sign up – Student instructions
• How to sign up – Walkthrough video
• Parent Instructions (Pre-approving)
• Parent view (ESF App video)  

For more information about signing up, withdrawal, allocation and parental approval click here

Dean Beard

CAS, Service-Learning and Activities Coordinator

School Photo Week 2023

The School Photo Week this year will be 28 August to 1 September. Please see the attached pdf for the exact date and time of each tutor groups. 

All students are required to wear the appropriate school summer uniform for their school photos.

Check out what's for lunch!

21- 25 August