An Academic Roundup of the Christmas Term

December 9th 2025

As we come to the close of the Christmas term, it has been brilliant to welcome everyone back into the vibrant and supportive King’s community for what has been a very successful term. The energy with which pupils returned in September set a tone of ambition and purpose, and it has been fantastic to see this sustained throughout the last thirteen weeks. We began the academic year celebrating a strong set of public examination results, with A Level, GCSE, BTEC, EAL and EPQ success. These strong performances were complemented further by very strong value-added scores across a wide range of subjects. It is always particularly rewarding to see pupils exceed expectations and demonstrate such clear academic progress throughout their time at King’s. The widespread success seen at A Level/ BTEC allowed for fantastic Higher Education and UCAS outcomes, with a significant proportion of last year’s U6^th Form securing their first-choice university destinations, including many highly competitive universities. However, a number of pupils also pursued alternative HE routes, and it was great to see success with apprenticeships, employment opportunities, and a number of exciting and rewarding gap year opportunities.

The Christmas term has been outstanding academically, with pupils settling rapidly into the school routine and demonstrating excellent levels of commitment. Assessment grades across the year groups have been the strongest on record, indicating both excellent effort and attainment across the school. Further to this, it has been very encouraging to see many pupils in both the 3^rd and L6^th Form perform strongly in their internal assessments/ examinations. Success has been evident in all areas of the school, and it is only right we recognise and celebrate this. A notable highlight of the term has been awarding Academic Colours for the first time in recognition of exceptional GCSE success.

I always enjoy visiting departments and touring the school. Whether it is seeing the fantastic work in Art listening to compositions in Music or sampling some of the delicacies in Food Preparation and Nutrition I always value the opportunity to see all that our pupils are achieving. I particularly enjoy seeing our pupils being challenged, whether that is in the classroom, as part of our activities programme or in academic groups such as the Academic Forum, Fitzjames Forum or the Headmaster’s Essay Society.

Beyond the classroom, it has been brilliant to see the depth of our academic enrichment and the enthusiasm with which pupils have embraced these opportunities. Whether participating in debating, academic societies, CCF DofE drama, music, or the many clubs that bring our community together, pupils have broadened their understanding and achieved notable success. I am always amazed by the amount that pupils manage to ‘pack in’ during the term, and it has been brilliant so see so many pupils making the most of all available to them.

There has been considerable success on the sports pitches with teams across the school performing incredibly well. Having coached rugby this term, it has been brilliant to see pupils at King’s embrace a new rugby programme, work together as a team and put in very strong performances against other schools. The teamwork, friendships and support I have seen develop on the rugby pitches has also been evident not just in other sports, but in all areas of the school.

As always, the Winter Concert and the School Play provided a fitting and uplifting conclusion to the term. These events showcased exceptional talent, and I always find myself reflecting on the journeys that many pupils have taken to get into the position of performing at such a high level in front of an audience. My congratulations to all involved in both the Winter Concert and ‘A Christmas Carol’.

As I reflect on an extremely successful Christmas term, my thanks go to all pupils for their hard work, determination and commitment to all aspects of life at King’s. I am also incredibly grateful to all staff for the fantastic support that they give to our pupils. The foundations for a very strong year have been firmly established, and I look forward with great excitement to see what can be achieved over the coming months. I wish everyone a restful and thoroughly enjoyable Christmas break.

Dan Cupit - Deputy Head, Academic

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