The 2^nd annual Ready! Steady! Cook!

 Teams of Lower 6^th students (Maria Siniscalchi and Ekaterina Khmaruk- red pepper), staff (Clive Saunders and Phil Humphreys- yellow banana and Nick Emsley and Steven Pentreath – orange orange (!)) and student /chef team (Eugenie Ahenkorah Chris – green pepper) fought in a very close contest for the title of Ready! Steady! Cook ! Champions of 2013.

On 24^th April, members of the Sixth Form attended a Wednesday Post-Prep session in the Dining Hall.

 There, Chef Chris had laid out all the ingredients necessary to make sushi. Students got the chance to make their own Gukanmaki, Temaki sushi, Maki sushi and Nigiri sushi. Many of the students were already experienced sushi eaters and wanted to try their hand at making it themselves, but for some it was a new experience.

After last year’s successful Inter-House Chocolate Cake contest, excitement was building for the 2^nd Inter-House Baking contest, which took place on 23^rd March 2013. As the standard was so high last year, we knew this year had to be more challenging and so the idea was born that the senior Houses would battle against each other in a ‘Monstrous Meringue Mess’. This year it was decided that the competition would take place over one day rather than two, intensifying the challenge – and what a challenge it was! Each House was required to produce a dessert or cake incorporating meringue in any form the House’s creativity could imagine. The scoring criteria were detailed with each House able to score up to 130 points in 4 different areas: Presentation; Creativity; Taste; Overall Impression.

On Saturday the contestants arrived in Food Technology at 9.30am; some more ready to take on their fellow bakers, in what was already proving to be a testing and tricky undertaking. Until 3pm the pupils experienced the highs and lows of quality-food preparations ranging from mixtures dropping out of tins and collapsing cakes to spontaneous ideas and detailed sugar-crafting. At 4.45pm the judging experts met in the Dining Hall fully prepared to examine the delicious-looking array of colourful entries in front of them. This year the panel consisted of Chris Bicknell, the Head Chef, Mrs Tinsley, Head of Food Technology, and the Headmaster, John Attwater, with his wife Victoria. 

The competition was to re-create a famous piece of art, but pupils were encouraged to add their own twist of originality and inventiveness. There were two categories, one for Years 5 & 6 (pupils aged 9 & 10) and one for Years 7 & 8 (pupils aged 11 & 12).

We were delighted that nine local schools participated, submitting 45 pieces between them. The quality of the work was good across the board, but the two winners’ pieces were particularly noteworthy.

The latest Easter newsletter can be found on the website. Go to the Community pages / Parents' Association and click on the link on the right. You will also be able to find other information on KESPA there.

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In the splendid surroundings of St. Bride’s Church on Fleet Street, The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Sheriffs, Aldermen, Governors, staff, pupils, parents and Bridewell Fellows celebrated the 460^th anniversary of the founding of Bridewell Royal Hospital, the school's original home.

An inspiring sermon by The Rt Revd Adrian Newman, The Bishop of Stepney, encouraged pupils to seize the day and make the most of their time at school but also to grab opportunities in life, whichever path they take. The School choir, conducted by the Deputy Director of Music, Ted Moore, excelled in their performance of ‘Te Deum laudamus’ by Stanford.

World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. World Book Day is a partnership of publishers, booksellers and interested parties who work together to promote books and reading for the personal enrichment and enjoyment of all. A main aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own.

This year World Book Day fell on 7^th March and it was only fitting that King Edward’s School Witley participated in one of the most important events in the literary Calendar. Staff were encouraged to bring in their favourite books to discuss with pupils.

This was an outstanding talk from the Professor of Water Engineering and Process Innovation at the University of Surrey. His team has recently won the Queen’s anniversary award for their innovative work on reverse osmosis. Through this process, it is now possible to convert sea water to fresh water, with the aim of providing water for irrigation in the regions of the world that are affected by drought. These technologies are now being applied in the Middle East.

It was inspirational to hear how Professor Sharif firmly believes that there are many technological solutions to the problems caused by climate change. He is also working on osmotic power generation and recently the technologies have been taken up by a Norwegian power company to develop into a realistic power generation option that is sustainable. Professor Sharif pointed out that as we are working in the information age, we have the possibility of working in virtual teams across the globe and as a result there is much greater potential to unlock intellectual energy, find new insights and harness the intelligence of a much larger community to solve the world’s challenges as the population continues to increase and our demands for power follow.

The evening opening with a regal performance of “Zadok the priest”, employing the full force of the orchestra and school choir. The choir and orchestra continued with beautiful renditions of wedding favourites such as “Panis Angelicus” and “Jesu Joy of Man Desiring” and Mozart’s “Ave Verum” and the strings section performed Pachelbel’s “Canon in D”.

One of the highlights of the evening was the performance of music scholar, Keith. He played a dazzling rendition of Bach’s Violin Concerto in E major (1^st movement) accompanied by a professional orchestra, which was met by loud applause.

The pupils were given a guided tour which included sitting in Roy Hodgson's seat in the Press Room, sitting in Wayne Rooney's seat in the England changing room, shouting instructions from the dug-out and lifting the FA Cup.

The tour of Wembley was both educational and inspirational. The group learnt about the history of Wembley Stadium and many of the pupils were suprised to hear about the number and range of events which take place at the Stadium.

A small group of Sixth Formers (and Mrs Saunders) had a great evening  making chocolates for family and friends in the Wednesday post-prep session this week.

Chocolates were designed, made and decorated (and eaten) ; many with a Valentine theme. We were so engrossed in the activity that we forgot the time and were late back to the House. Thankfully, the duty staff were understanding.

Split into two groups initially, one group took part in a data logging workshop guided by the Wisley education team. They investigated light, humidity and temperature changes in a range of habitats within the gardens and greenhouses. While they did this, the other half split into smaller, teacher guided groups.

The root zone exhibition in Wisley's impressive glasshouse was explored. Sketches were made of tropical and desert plants to tie in with geography lessons about climate zones in the next couple of weeks. In pairs, groups were given a camera and then explored, searching out examples of colour and texture within the winter gardens.

Matt Dickinson is best known for his documentary film making for the National Geographic, BBC and Channel 4, specialising in adventure activities. In 1996 he made a successful ascent of the North Face of Everest, and is one of the few film makers to have recorded footage from the summit. He has made over 40 documentaries, which have been shown in more than 35 countries around the world.

More recently Matt has written a series of adventure novels specifically aimed at young people, writing the sort of books he remembers enjoying as a child. He spoke to the 1st to 5th Forms about a recent expedition to the Antarctic where he visited an old naval research base which had been build decades before by a Royal Navy team, of which his father was a member.