Principal's Message

Dear KGV Families,

The opportunity for our students to demonstrate their creativity is an integral part of education at KGV, and we are always so proud of how we nurture and foster their talent. The IBDP and BTEC Art Exhibition has been a truly world class event where their passion and dedication has shone through. InterHouse Music again provided a wonderful platform for our musicians, and was a truly magical occasion.

We also enjoyed our second annual TEDX talk. A student led event that provided the opportunity to showcase public speaking skills, whilst also reflecting the strong values that run through our student community.

These opportunities within and beyond the curriculum make KGV a truly remarkable school, and it could not happen without the extraordinary skill and dedication of our staff. I would like to thank each member of the KGV staff  as they continue to provide so many opportunities for our students, your children.

As we move towards the end of this term, the Y13 students enjoy reflecting on their time at KGV and finalise their preparations for their upcoming examinations. We wish them well for the coming weeks, and I know our staff will continue to support them throughout the exam season.

Thank you for your ongoing support and have an enjoyable weekend ahead.

Best regards,

Mark Poulsum

Year 8 and Year 9

Dear Parents and Guardians,

At our school, we embrace the vision of creating a “School for One”—a place where each student feels that the school was designed specifically for them. We believe that through a lived experience, our students can cultivate a deep sense of belonging, identity, and purpose. This vision is not just a concept; it is a commitment to ensuring that every student is valued and recognised for their unique contributions.

To achieve this, we focus on personalising learning to support and encourage each individual to reach their highest potential. Our goal is to foster holistic development, enabling students to become the best versions of themselves. We are proud of our vibrant school culture, where a diversity of ideas, beliefs, and values is not only cherished but actively celebrated. As we continue to grow and innovate, we recognise the increasing need for open conversations about our students’ experiences and challenges. We urge you to keep talking to your children about their school life and engage with us in this journey. Your support is vital in helping us realise our vision of a truly inclusive and supportive educational environment.

Together, let’s ensure that every student feels valued, heard, and empowered to thrive in our “School for One.” Thank you for your ongoing partnership as we work to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our students and the broader community.

Does your child play video games ?

As technology becomes increasingly integral to our children's lives, staying informed about the content they engage with—especially video games—is essential for parents of Year 8 and Year 9 students. One excellent resource to assist you is Common Sense Media, a trusted website that provides comprehensive game reviews tailored for parents. This platform offers valuable insights into gameplay, storylines, and themes, helping you understand the nature of the games your child may be playing. It also assesses suitability by highlighting any violence, inappropriate language, or mature themes, while providing information on microtransactions, such as in-game purchases. Additionally, the site features feedback from other parents and children, offering a well-rounded perspective on each game’s impact.

Common Sense Media includes PEGI (Pan European Game Information) ratings, which serve as an official guide to age-appropriate content, aiding you in determining whether a game is suitable for your child's age and maturity level. To utilise this resource, simply visit the site ( https://www.commonsensemedia.org/) search for a game your child is interested in, and read the detailed reviews available. By leveraging Common Sense Media, you can make informed decisions about the video games your child plays, ensuring that their screen time remains fun, educational, and appropriate. Thank you for taking an active role in your child's digital experiences!

Wishing you alll a lovely weekend.

Year 12 & 13 Message

Please see below a letter issued to all of our Year 13 students today:

Hi Everyone,

We hope everyone is well and excited about your last few days of normal lessons here at KGV.

I am writing to let you know about our arrangements for next week. We are very much looking forward to sharing and making lasting memories of your time here. I would ask that you please remember the below to help things run smoothly for everyone:

1. Monday is a normal school day for everyone - school uniform is required and lessons continue as normal.
2. Tuesday and Wednesday are dress-up days but lessons still continue as normal.

I do need to remind everyone to please dress appropriately on Tuesday and not to wear or bring anything that may cause offence. If students dress inappropriately on Tuesday and / or issues arise, then Wednesday and Thursday will revert back to full school uniform.

Leaving Arrangements for Y13

• Tue Apr 1 Anything but a bag day + Crazy hair day + Pyjamas/Dress Casual
• Wed Apr 2 Normal lessons: Non-uniform theme Future Careers
• Thu Apr 3 No lessons: Optional early arrival (am earliest), breakfast with SLT, walk of honour, dismissed 12 noon.
• Wed May 28 Grad Ceremony KGV Hall 6.00 – 7.30 pm
• Fri May 30 Grad Dinner Kowloon Shangri-La: Drinks reception for students/parents 5.30 pm, meal for students 7 pm

Wishing you a great weekend.

Year 7 Message

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This week our Leadership Team has been engaged with conversations around our current Disconnect to Reconnect Policy and our stance on the use of mobile phones on the KGV Campus.

We are looking at the latest thinking and science around the impact of mobile phones on learning and personal skill development.

One of the resources we are looking at is Why Cell Phone Bans in Schools Work. In this video, Jared Horvath looks at the impact of School Policy v Mobile Phone Ban. Jared is a neuroscientist and educator who is well-known for his work on human learning, memory and brain stimulation. This video is worth a watch and gives plenty of food for thought.

What is clear is that Schools alone cannot be responsible for supporting students who are growing up often having their lives constantly scrutinised online. This takes a strong home-school partnership. Two areas of consideration for us at KGV are

1. Is our current policy of “Off and Out of Sight” (mobiles in bags from 7.45 am- 3.20 pm) enough or do we need a pivot in our thinking?
2. How do we support all learners in lessons where some of the mobile phone functions (cameras, videos, editing) have become an effective part of their learning process when all students do not have a mobile phone?

We are also interested in what mobile phone use (and restrictions) looks like in your home outside school hours. Do our rules and expectations conflict with you and families use of mobile phones?

We would love to hear from you. If you would be interested in talking to us and helping us work in this space, please complete this Google form, and we will hold an initial discussion forum after the break.

With less than a week to go, our Year 7s are starting to show tired behaviours. Keep a close eye on them over the next few days, and together, we can help them end Term 2 strong. Next week, we will finish on Thursday at 3.20 pm, for Spring Break. Thursday is a dress casual day, with student giving HK$20 to our school charities.

Have a good weekend.

The Year 7 Team

Year 10 & 11 Message

Last Friday we enjoyed a series of TEDx talks from our talented students. Highlights for me were Valerie Wong who spoke about finding your passion and talked about her journey with public speaking and Harry Li who talked about why and when we should work hard, questioning our notions of a meritocracy.

We have four more days until the Spring break and we return to school on Tuesday 22nd April.

Year 11

The Year 11 final exam timetable is available here.

Students have been issued individual printed timetables. Please encourage them to enter the times and dates for each exam in their calendar to get as organised as possible.
An overview is still available here so you can see at a glance the distribution of exams.

All exam rules and regulations are accessible here

Following the Spring break. students will return for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with study leave starting at 3.20pm on Thursday.

Students who have First Language Chinese or Foreign Language Chinese have an exam on Friday 25th April, and can choose to work from home on Thursday 24th, to prepare. If you and your child decide to do this, please complete the absence notification through the app as usual stating they are studying from home.

Some students will have an Art practical exam on Wednesday 23rd.

The global response to the Netflix miniseries ‘Adolescence’ has had teachers and parents talking even more about the issue of child safety online, the role of mobile phones in schools and parenting of a child around the use of mobile phones. This YouTube video Why Cell Phone Bans in Schools Work looks at the effectiveness of School Policy V School Bans. It is produced by Jared Horvath who, as a neuroscientist and educator, is well-known for his work on human learning, memory and brain stimulation. Give it a watch and email lewis.glover@kgv.edu.hk or carole.beer@kgv.edu.hk if you have any questions, or topics you would like to discuss with us, as we continue to use our Home-School Partnership to ensure your child, our student as they navigate smart phone use and online safety.

Dear Parents,

The KGV PTSA committee would like to invite you to join us for our KGV 130th Anniversary Gala Dinner!

Please check out the poster and sign up using the link below. We look forward to celebrating this special occasion with you!

Sign Up Here

See you there!

On behalf of KGV PTSA committee

Careers & Guidance

Year 13

Links of the week:

• UCAS: Student Visa & Immigration
• EducationUSA: Student Visa Information
• EduCanada: Study permits & visas

Applications & Decisions. 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 13 Exit Preparation – Parent: 1pm on Tuesday, 29 Apr, via Zoom. to go through the Y13 exit procedures, including how we support our students, final school transcript arrangements, student actions for H.E. and post-result actions. Zoom link will be emailed to all Y13 parents by 28 Apr morning.

IBO Result Service. The H.E. Team will speak to all IB students on Mon, 31 Mar, on getting this done. Students should also check the exam pack sent by our Exam Office who looks after all matters related to IBO Result Service. This service allows IBO to send students’ final IB exam results directly to specified universities right after result release. This is crucial to confirm offers.

Year 12
Link of the week: 22 Ways Parents Can Help (and Hurt) The College Application Process

Google Classrooms for Y12s, set up to share H.E.-related information.

The Y12 1-1 H.E. meetings. All appointments are now scheduled. Students should refer to the schedules posted on Google Classroom for their appointments.

Y12 H.E. Presentation Series.  The HE Team started presenting to Y12 students on various topics related to higher education.  Topics covered so far: Personal Statement – Part A&B (IB students),  H.E. Refresher+Unifrog & Advanced Unifrog.  Coming up in w/o 31 Mar: Personal Statement – Part B (BTEC+IBCP students)  & U.K. Applications (all Y12s).

Visit to HKUST's Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies is rescheduled.  New date is to be confirmed.

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.

U.K.
16 Apr: Falmouth University Online Event: Budgeting for International Students Advice Session 2025
17 Apr: Falmouth University Online Event: Student Visa Information Session
2 May: University of Bath: Supporting your child: Accommodation & student support panel 2025 entry
29 May: University of Bath: Supporting your child’s UCAS application for courses starting in 2026

U.S.A.
23 Apr: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Webinar: Designing a Next-Generation Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle

The Netherlands
8 Apr: Dutch University College Webinar

Japan
12 Apr: Ritsumeikan University Webinar: Why choose RU + What English-medium undergraduate programs are offered

KGV Careers & H.E. Team

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

To protect our students’ privacy, parental permission is required before KGV can release any student information to external parties. KGV will only fulfil requests once we have received this permission.

To request a school reference or grade summary, parents are kindly asked to complete this form.

Students should not use their KGV account to log in to this form. This is to ensure that parental consent is obtained before we release any student information.

Students should reach out to teachers to invite them to be recommenders. It is beneficial for students to provide teachers with information about the programme for which they are applying, as this helps in preparing meaningful recommendations.  Please be mindful of additional workloads on teachers when making these requests.

Typical lead time for teachers to prepare references is four working weeks.

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

B and C Grade Rugby Finals

On Thursday 20th March the B and C grade boys and girls rugby teams took part in the finals day at Kings Park. The weather was great and there was excellent rugby played with over 30 teams involved in the day.

B Grade Boys

The B grade boys team had strong performances in their pool matches and went into the semi finals having played some great rugby. In the semi final they came up against a good South Island team. SIS scored a couple of quick tries early in the match then it became an arm wrestle and both teams tried to take control of the game. Unfortunately the boys never managed to crack SIS and the score remained 14-0. The boys were visibly gutted to miss the opportunity for the final, but they put that aside showing good resilience and bounced back to win the playoff match against Harrow claiming 3rd overall.

B Grade Girls

The B Grade girls had a tough pool coming up against a strong HKIS side and eventual winners WIS. The girls played some really good rugby but unfortunately had two losses in pool play. This put them into the pool play offs. They came up against Kellett in their playoff match and started the match well getting up 14-0. But Kellett worked their way back into the game and tied the game close to full time. The game then went to extra time where Kellett managed to score to end the girls day. Although the results didn’t go our way, this team showed a lot of promise considering most members are year 10 and will get another go at B grade next year.

31 March - 3 April