Page 28
Tom Greig, our Theatre technician, is delighted that the
Old Totnesians have bought five new LED spotlights for the
Theatre, and was able to use them almost immediately for
the SWIMBY Early Materials Show in November.
What is SWIMBY?
Chloë Uden, the producer, says:
think of a musical and
you might imagine the romance of West Side Story or the
glamour of Chicago. But this new musical (currently being
written) has a different setting and tackles a very different
subject .. how do amotley group of ordinary, argumentative
people persuade their make-do-and-mend, muddle-
through market town to embrace community food and
energy schemes and become more resilient?
Together with our Performing Arts group KPAC and singers
from year 9, on stage at the show last month were singers
from years 5 and 6 of The Grove Primary School; Billy Bottle
and Martine Waltier; Sue Spencer; Kate Van Dike and Hannah
Waterfield. The show included the eleven songs written so far
by lyricist Matt Harvey and composer Thomas Hewitt-Jones,
all of which will be published in the SWIMBY Songbook early
next year.
Old Totnesians
On Saturday the 24th October 2015,
24 members and guests met at the
Royal Seven Stars Hotel, Totnes for
their reunion lunch and Annual
General Meeting. Two members
had travelled from Canada and
France respectively. Regrettably the
Principal of the College
and Chair of Governors
were unable to accept our
invitation to attend. A number of members had
also tendered their apologies – a few affected by
various concerning health issues.
Members received reports on the current
membership and held a short period of
remembrance for seven members who had died
during the previous year. The relocation of the First
World War Honours Board from the old Grammar School to
now rest by the History Department was noted with pleasure.
Members were also delighted to note that money from the
Society had been used by the Special Educational Needs
Department to purchase equipment and materials for the
Thrive Room and further monies to support the work of that
Department. They also agreed to provide a sizeable sum of
money for use in the Ariel Theatre to purchase a number
of more energy efficient lanterns, which will not only save
on energy use and bills for the College, but will also mean
an on-going saving as less lighting will need to be hired for
future shows and events.
All officers were returned to post unopposed, with Niall
Whitehouse remaining as President for another year. Niall
is a serving Naval Officer currently based at Portsmouth.
The Secretary and Treasurer advised members that
the forthcoming year would be their last in their
respective offices. Sheila Sharp also advised that
she was seeking someone to take over from her
to run the County High School for Girls Reunion
Association. It is hoped that discussions will take
place with the Principal and Governors to find a way
of perhaps developing an Alumni Association under
the umbrella of the College
to maximise websites, social
media, archive retention and using the
financial and experience pool available
for the benefit of current staff and
students.
For further information about your
Alumni, please contact Barry Warren,
Honorary Secretary on 01884 34670 or
Niall Whitehouse
Barry Warren
SWIMBY
This project is part of Regen SW's arts and energy programme
and it aims to win hearts and minds in the bid to transition
to a low carbon economy. It is designed to support transition
and community energy groups in their work, and the hope
is that this heart-warming musical will give audiences and
participants the energy and inspiration to make something
wonderful in their own back yards.
Free resources will be produced for school, community and
amateur dramatics groups who want to use the musical,
including song sheets, backing tracks and activity packs.
Please visit
to read more; to see
photos of the project, and to learn about the Kickstarter
funding campaign . The musical will première at Glastonbury
next June, and then be staged at KEVICC in late June / early
July 2016.
The SWIMBY logo was designed by year 13 KEVICC Design
student Kal Lawrence.
Page 29
Sixth Formers rose to the challenge of
supporting 'Kos Kindness Torbay' by
organising a myriad of events for the
whole College and staff. This Greek
charity originally supported destitute
Greek families on the island of Kos. The
founder decided to use her organisation
and existing support systems to
respond to the humanitarian issues of
the refugee crisis.
As the crisis escalated over the summer
months, she asked people to form
small local groups across the world to
fund raise and ship priority items such
as shoes, toiletries, waterproofs and
tents. The Torbay group was founded
by Gem Sardari and Emma Stone at the
end of August. Gem, a former pupil of
Kennicott, asked for support to raise
money and I am very proud of the
compassion shown by Sixth Formers,
Fund raising
John Bruun, KEVICC PA Chairman, writes:
A big thank you to all the community:
after the usual November blustery chill
and drizzle, we had a dry and partly
starry evening of fireworks with bonfire,
warm coffee, burgers, soup and toffee
apples and fire juggling and the little
bit of music that the weather allowed.
Planning an outdoor event meant we
had a worrying week of wind, rain and
storms to with contend with, and it was
with some trepidation that the team
made the go/nogo decision with the
team for the evening.
Over 1,000people turnedout for theevent
and together we raised, as it stands, just
over £1,000: a real achievement – thanks
– it would only happen with everyone
helping and supporting!!
Student Layan Haman (
see Art page
18
) welcomed another opportunity to
experiment with his pit-firing ceramics
techniques in the bonfire, uncovering
them next day from the ashes.
Parents Association
Fireworks Night
There are many people to thank:
Ben Piper and the team from Skyburst for the
brilliant firework display / Terry Wilson from
Travis Perkins (Totnes) and another College,
who kindly donated and arranged for the
transportationof timber for thefire / Luscombe’s
Butchers for their excellent burgers and rolls
/ Everyone who assisted in the sale of soup,
toffee apples, glow-sticks etc. / Elfic the fire
juggler for his amazing performance / Richard
from Bean Bug for his excellent Coffee / All the
stewards for the thankless task of turning out
on a rainy night to help ensure the safety of the
event / Alan Hocking and the KEVICC ground
staff for assisting in the setting up and tidying
away / Mediwest for ensuring safety / TomGreig
for providing an acoustic stage / Jamming
station performers for preparing music (that
unfortunately we had to cancel due to the
poor weather, but thanks for preparing!) / Alan
Salt for permitting the event / and, of course,
our PA members and core helping team: Mike
Smith for creating and minding the fire; Hillary
Williams for organising the stewards with
Sarah Sutton and Zoe Ellis for co-ordinating
the catering; plus the many other organising
aspects we did
- thanks!
Fundraising and charity events in the Sixth Form
Chris Box and
Derek Davies are
treated to some
hair-shaving
to
raise money for
Kos Kindness!
who readily gave up time after College
and over their weekends to help unload,
sort, pack and reload donations. In
October 48 boxes of priority items left
from Kennicott to travel to Kos.
Students also raised over £340 for the
fund. This money is being spent on
buying priority items such as tents
and foil blankets. As I am sure people
are aware, the situation in Europe is
worsening due to weather conditions,
increasing numbers of refugees and
general lack of infrastructure to cope –
and so the need for items and money
continues to grow. If any students
or parents wish to support refugees
internationally, or within our own
county, a networking hub, 'Beyond
Borders Totnes', has been established
which will guide you to local groups.
Kos Kindness Torbay continues to raise
money in order to buy key items via
the internet. The numbers of refugees
crossing by sea has now doubled in
Kos and so this is a more efficient and
flexible to work.
Again, thank you to all students,
parents and staff who supported the
Sixth Form.
Kindness knows no boundaries
Philippa Hurst Teacher of Psychology
