Summer term highlights: Wrapping up the year at King’s InterHigh

As we reach the final chapter of another incredible school year at King’s InterHigh, let’s reflect on all the great moments that shaped our summer term — from exciting academic milestones to fun social gatherings.

Taking on exams with confidence

Summer term exams are a major academic milestone, and we’ve been so proud to watch our learners take on their IGCSEs, A Levels, and IB Diploma examinations over the past few months. From revising with their lesson recordings to taking advantage of personalised support, our young people have impressed us with their dedication, resilience, and confidence.

While they’ve been working on similar goals, every student has their own pathway, which is why we’ve been delighted to support them with various ways to sit their exams this year: remote invigilation from home, international exam centres, our own King’s InterHigh centre, and fellow Inspired schools around the world.

ART INSPIRED 2025

This year, we were delighted to once again run our annual ART INSPIRED competition, which brings together creative talent from across the Inspired Education community. So many of our King’s InterHigh students submitted incredible pieces, culminating in an immersive virtual reality exhibition for our wider school community and families.

A spotlight on performing arts

At King’s InterHigh, studying online is no barrier to being creative thanks to our broad range of arts subjects, from drama to film studies to music. This summer term was also a jam-packed time for our performing arts department.

Our annual Key Stage 3 Film Awards Evening, for example, was a great chance to celebrate the outstanding work of our middle school learners this year. Students voted for their favourites while a panel of our film and media teachers judged their technical excellence in editing, cinematography, and narrative storytelling. We then saw extraordinary talent at our Drama and Music Showcase, which featured everything from an energetic Lion King dance routine with our Year 6 students to moving performances by our student and staff choirs. The Film and Media Showcase followed, presenting animations, music videos, and more from our middle school, IGCSE, and sixth form learners.

To round out the year, our A Night at the Musicals celebration brought our school community together for an evening of joy and performance. One of the biggest highlights was our primary and middle school production of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse — a heartwarming tale about friendship and courage that suits our school’s spirit perfectly.

New VR experiences

VR is one of the many tools we use at King’s InterHigh to bring learning to life, and the summer term was filled with lots of new and exciting experiences. One popular activity transported our middle school students to Ancient Egypt to uncover a mysterious amulet, where our teachers noted the remarkable confidence boost VR can bring to students with social anxiety. Over 100 of our Year 9 students also got the chance to investigate the benefits of VR for themselves as part of a STEM project, empowering them to shape the future of their own learning.

Meanwhile, our younger students have been enjoying their VR playgrounds, with one of our most popular experiences taking primary school learners to a virtual theme park for new ways to interact and play. Plus, our innovative FutureTech Rockstars in primary school have been designing their very own virtual reality world based on our school mascot: Hooty Land.

Our Year 10 Geography trip

The power of virtual reality gives our community the opportunity to “meet” each other no matter where they are in the world, but students aren’t limited to virtual get-togethers. This term was filled with lots of exciting academic trips and social meetups, including our Year 10 IGCSE Geography trip to Pembrokeshire in Wales. Based at a historic fort, this unforgettable fieldwork expedition saw students apply their academic understanding while taking on new adventures. Together, they conducted quality surveys, analysed coastal defences, and even witnessed a spectacular display of thousands of seabirds. Of course, more than just academic work, trips like these are also about getting to meet your classmates face-to-face, building collaboration skills, and solidifying friendships for years to come.

A magical ‘Harry Potter’ trip

In April, dozens of students and parents also came together for a fun-filled day exploring the wizarding world. On a trip to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, our learners took on a “From Script to Screen” workshop, which opened their eyes to amazing careers they’d never considered before. As with any trip or meetup at King’s InterHigh, what made the day truly special was seeing students transform their confidence as they shared their passions together. Their excitement was contagious, and opportunities like these create connections that help our students continue blossoming even once the day is over.

Bowling across the UK

Later, throughout May and June, families joined our new King’s InterHigh bowling evenings across different cities in the UK. As opposed to our more structured trips, events like these are designed to give our students a comfortable, low-pressure environment where they can come out of their shell on their own terms. Each night, our teachers spotted initially reserved students quickly opening up over strikes and misses. Plus, informal trips also give our parents and caregivers a chance to chat in a relaxed atmosphere and get to know more families like theirs.

Meeting up in Dubai

Our King’s InterHigh community spans more than 100 countries worldwide, so our meetups go beyond the United Kingdom! This term, for example, families gathered at the Dubai Mall Aquarium and Arte Museum for a marvellous day of activities. Inspired by the underwater creatures at the aquarium, they got to showcase their artistic skills and watch their creations come to life on big digital screens.

Annual House Dance Competition

Students continued to get creative outside their lessons this term with our annual House Dance Competition taking place for the third time. We had 91 amazing entries across multiple categories — from classical ballet to figure skating to TikTok dances — celebrating every form of movement and self-expression. Whether students were dancing in their bedrooms, across their gardens, or on professional stages, what struck everyone was how well the performances captured the core of our diverse, inclusive, and talented school community.

Bittersweet ends and new beginnings

And, as the academic year drew to a close, we also held our leaving celebrations for this year’s graduating students. It’s always sad to say goodbye, but our whole education team is equally proud to see the knowledge, skills, and deep bonds our alumni will take with them as they head into their dream futures.

Our IB Diploma students gathered together in virtual reality for their leavers’ event. As part of the experience, they shared memories on a digital wall, pinned their future university destinations on a world map, and even posed for photos in a virtual photo booth.

Our A Level farewell assemblies across each time zone were just as moving, with teachers and students sharing heartfelt speeches that didn’t just celebrate academic achievements, but also lauded the personal growth each young person has shown during their journey with us.

Uplifting our students’ successes

Alongside everything we’ve achieved together as a community this year, we’ve had so many individual achievements to celebrate. On the academic side, numerous King’s InterHigh sixth form students go on to top universities around the world each year. This term, our UCAS applicants were busy accepting offers to their dream universities across the UK.

Plus, our younger students continue to wow us with their accomplishments — like 12-year-old Sara, who placed second in the prestigious Book Creator ‘Tell Your Story’ writing competition out of hundreds of entries.

With the unwavering flexibility and support of online school, our students are also able to achieve incredible successes outside of academics too. In particular, we’ve had lots of sporting wins to celebrate this term, including:

• Ski racer Alex, who placed in the top 10 in two cup competitions and earned selection for his national junior team.
• Year 10 students Theo and Mario training in the Czech Republic, who were selected for Great Britain’s junior ice hockey team.
• One of our star gymnasts in Year 10, who represented Uzbekistan in rhythmic gymnastics at the Asian Championships in Singapore.

A great term for our staff

King’s InterHigh’s school community also includes the teachers and staff who work tirelessly to support our students and families, and we’re delighted to say they’ve had a wonderful summer term too. One of the highlights was our first ever Staff Wellbeing Walk in May, which brought colleagues together in the beautiful Malvern Hills. Combining gentle exercise with local history, our team visited popular sights like St. Anne’s Well and finished the day with well-earned refreshments.