Principal's Message

Dear KGV Families,

Happy New Year and I hope 2025 has started well for you. Our students have certainly returned to school in a positive way, and there is a real vibrancy around the school. The Y11 and Y13 students are embracing the challenge of the mock exams, and I wish them every success over the coming days and weeks.

One of our key priorities is always the safety of our students, with campus security being an important part of this. I would like to share a few quick reminders regarding KGV’s campus safety and security guidelines:

• Students should only play sports after school whilst being supervised by a member of staff.

• Students should leave campus by 4.45pm if they are not involved in supervised activities. They are welcome to use the Learning Resource Centre until 4.30pm if they wish to study.

• If students attend planned activities outside of usual school hours (e.g. weekends or term break), they should bring their student ID card with them. This will be needed to access KGV.

• The school gates will be closed from 8.20am to 3pm each day, with our security guards monitoring access to the school. The gates will also be closed once the school buses leave at approximately 3.40pm.

• Please note,if you have an appointment at KGV, you will  need to show your HKID card and register as you enter campus. You will also be given a visitors badge to wear.

Thank you for your support with these approaches, as this helps to ensure the safety of all our community.

On a different note, this is a short half-term and we break for Chinese New Year on Friday 24th January. School will finish at midday, with buses leaving by 12.15pm.

Have a wonderful weekend ahead.

Best regards,

Mark Poulsum

Year 12 & 13 Message

Our students have made a tremendous start this week to their Mock Exams and we want to commend the students on their can-do attitude and positivity throughout the week.

Please see the remaining Mock Schedule below:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SkVknNcD9JA1nr82DmB6BYXuk0CCHTzt/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=109859845404906024290&rtpof=true&sd=true

A reminder of the email below, sent to all students earlier this week regarding our KGV campus security:

Dear Students,

As we start a new term, we wanted to bring to your attention the campus expectations we have once school finishes.

Monday

Students are expected to leave the KGV by 2.30pm unless they

• are participating in a planned CAS activity and are supervised by a member of staff
• are working in the Learning Resources Centre (LRC)

For those students who have CAS activities and those in the LRC, a message will be broadcast across the campus, reminding them to clear the site by 5pm.

Tuesday-Friday

Students are expected to leave the KGV site by 3.45pm unless they

• are participating in a planned CAS activity and are supervised by a member of staff
• are working in the Learning Resources Centre

For those students who have CAS activities and those in the LRC, a message will be broadcast across the campus, reminding them to clear the site by 5pm.

Please speak to your parents/ caregivers about these arrangements.

Wishing you a great weekend.

Year 7 Message

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Happy New Year to you all! Hope you had a great break and were able to spend some quality time as a family.

Our Year 7 students have had a fantastic start to Term 2. They have come back rested, ready and positive to start Term 2.

KGV is School For One where we are constantly monitoring and reviewing student performance and wellbeing to identify what students need to help them be successful, happy and engaged learners. This week over 30 students were selected to embark on a period of personalized feedback from their teachers, looking specifically at their ‘readiness to learn’. These students are using Reward Cards to engage with teachers in each lesson and for teachers to give feedback on

1. has correct books and equipment.

2. Home learning was completed on time.

3. punctual to class

4. can follow classroom instructions independently

5. works constructively with others

6. organises notes with consistency

Thank you for the positive response we have received from parents regarding our approach. Students have certainly embraced this, and we have had other students self-select to take part in these feedback programmes.

With colder weather coming to Hong Kong next week, please make sure students have sufficient layers to wear underneath their uniforms. Only school-sanctioned outer layers will be allowed, and these can be purchased from the ESF uniform shop.

Have a great weekend and keep warm.

The Year 7 Team

Year 8 Message

We welcome the New Year and hope you and your family enjoyed a joyful and restful holiday season. We are excited to embark on another year of learning and growth together. Seeing students and staff back, re-energised and ready to tackle the new term is heartening. 

CAS activities are set to begin next week. Please encourage your child to check if they have been assigned to their selected activities. If your child is not participating in a CAS activity, it's an excellent opportunity to discuss why that might be and explore ways they can engage with the program. Activities are available from Monday to Friday before, during lunchtime, and after school.

As the weather gets cooler and students wear more layers, we kindly ask all families to help take care of their uniforms and personal items. While mornings are chilly, the temperature can rise during the day when students are outside enjoying break times. Labelling all uniform items will assist your child in keeping track of them, increasing the likelihood of promptly returning any lost items. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Punctuality Matters: A friendly reminder that all students must be signed in by 8:10 am. We appreciate your cooperation in promoting timely arrivals.

Have a great weekend.

Year 9 Message

We welcome the New Year and hope you and your family enjoyed a joyful and restful holiday season. We are excited to embark on another year of learning and growth together. Seeing students and staff back, re-energised and ready to tackle the new term is heartening. 

CAS activities are set to begin next week. Please encourage your child to check if they have been assigned to their selected activities. If your child is not participating in a CAS activity, it's an excellent opportunity to discuss why that might be and explore ways they can engage with the program. Activities are available from Monday to Friday before, during lunchtime, and after school.

As the weather gets cooler and students wear more layers, we kindly ask all families to help care for their uniforms and personal items. While mornings are chilly, the temperature can rise during the day when students are outside enjoying break times. Labelling all uniform items will assist your child in keeping track of them, increasing the likelihood of promptly returning any lost items. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Punctuality Matters: A friendly reminder that all students must be signed in by 8:10 am. We appreciate your cooperation in promoting timely arrivals.

The Year 9 MYP Community Project for 2025 began on January 8. This project encourages students to reflect on their learning and outcomes, fostering essential skills for success in further studies, the workplace, and the community. It offers a valuable opportunity for collaboration and service learning. MYP projects are student-centred and age-appropriate, allowing practical exploration through inquiry, action, and reflection. Through the Community Project, students can enhance their project management skills, apply design thinking, embrace responsibility, develop empathy, and improve communication with community members. Staff look forward to guiding the students through their projects through Term 2 and Term 3. 

Have a great weekend!

Year 10 Message

It was great to see our Year 10 students back from the winter break this week. For the next two weeks they will have their tutors to themselves as the Year 11 students are away on study leave.

As all venues are being used for exams at this time we are not able to run any assemblies or whole year level events.

Students have been very good at wearing their uniform and they look smart with their ties. As cold weather continues, please encourage them to wear layers underneath their uniform to stay warm.

Year 11 Message

Year 11 students start their study leave for the mock exams today. They only need to attend school for their exams although they are welcome to use the LRC as a revision and study area at any time.

Please ensure your child is taking the mock exams seriously, but remembers that they are just a practice run and a learning opportunity. If you see signs of undue stress or anxiety, please reach out.

For the exams themselves, please help your child to:

• get organised and be aware of the timing of exams from the exam timetable
• get to school with time to spare before each exam.]
• bring all the correct equipment
• be in full uniform, with layers underneath if it is cold
• balance being prepared with being rested and getting exercise.

Here is the presentation we went over with all students this week outlining all the exam rules and processes.

Careers & Guidance

Year 13
We hope our Y13 students are mastering their IB mock exams and BTEC courseworks, after the term break.

Students applying to the UK for higher education should have completed their UCAS applications by now and informed their HE Counsellors of their applications.  The UCAS external deadline is on 29 Jan 2025, meaning that all necessary documents must be submitted by then.

Students should continue to keep their H.E. Counsellors informed about their applications and regularly check Google Classroom for updates and resources related to higher education.

Year 12
Google Classrooms for Y12s are set up to share H.E.-related information is shared.

The Y12 1-1 H.E. meeting is starting on 4 Feb.  The HE Team will be speaking to Y12 students on 23 Jan about these meetings.  Full information on making appointments and details of the meets are shared to students via Google Classroom.

Y12 Parents Evening - 23 Jan, 6pm.  This session will focus on how we can support our students as they navigate their post-KGV pathways. A Zoom link will be sent to all Y12 parents by 22 Jan. To ensure you receive our communications, please make sure your contact information on Lionel is up-to-date.

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. Due to the short duration, H.E. visits are open to students only.
23 Jan: CUHK Medicine, (LRC2)
12 Feb: UCL+KCL+Imperial (LRC1)

H.K.
16-19 Jan 2025: HKTDC Education & Careers Expo
21 Jan: HKU 2025 Campus Admissions Talk

U.K.
13 Jan: King's College London (online event) - Writing Your Undergraduate Personal Statement
15 Jan: Royal Holloway Online Open Day
22 Jan: University of York: Law Taster & Information Session

Europe
1 Feb: SciencesPo (France) Virtual Open House Day 2025

Singapore
18 Jan: SMU International Student Virtual Day

KGV Careers & H.E. Team

School References & Grade Summary (non-higher education purposes)

The KGV Careers Office coordinates all our student references and grade summaries, including potential exit & summer programmes.

For students’ privacy, parental permission is required before KGV can release student information to external parties. KGV will only proceed with requests once parental permission has been received.

To request a school reference or grade summary, parents are kindly asked to complete this form.  Please allow at least four working weeks for teachers to prepare the references.

School references for higher education applications are managed in a separate process.

If students are pursuing external extension programmes outside of KGV, they should read and follow the information on this website: https://sites.google.com/kgv.hk/kgv-extension-opportunities .

KGV Careers & H.E. Team

RUGBY

We would like to congratulate some KGV students who were involved in the annual Hong Kong China Rugby New Years Day tournament. This tournament has been running for 57 years and showcases the best young talent from Hong Kong.

KGV has a proud history of students participating in this tournament and many go on to have great rugby careers. A current HKCR player and KGV alumni Micayla Baltazar was named player of the tournament in 2022 as was Oliver Pyle in 2019, another KGV alumni who went to play at Loughborough.

This year we had the following players involved;

U16 GIRLS

Bella Wu

Eva Wadsworth

Yasmin Hargrave-Silk

Trinity Ng

Maya Ma

U16 BOYS

Ryan Smith

Kyle Ohya

Theo West

U19 GIRLS

Emily Fisher

Alex Wadsworth

U19 BOYS

Kasra Shroff

Oliver Fisher

Ryan Shroeder

Liam Jordan (Alumni)

Well done to all those selected to play.

GOLF

We would like to extend a big congratulations to Zoie Chan. Over the Christmas break Zoie competed in the Canadian Junior Golf Association World Junior Challenge. Zoie had an outstanding first round finishing 1 under. On her second round she was 1 under through the front 9, but rain forced abandonment of this round. In her third round Zoie performed well and held off a strong finish by her rivals to win the title by 3 shots. This was an amazing achievement against some of the best junior golfers from around the world. Zoie is certainly making her mark on the world golfing circuit, and we will continue to follow her achievements closely.

13 - 17 January 2025