Tag: Activities

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CELEBRATING CULTURES

Last Friday, Wilson’s School hosted its second Cultural Dress Day, a day dedicated to celebrating cultural attire, jewellery and headwear from across the globe. Students and staff were encouraged to represent their respective cultures by wearing traditional clothing or sporting shirts or colours which represent the flags that are identified with ...

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THE HARMONY OF THE SPHERES?

Our popular Maths Circle lectures have been well attended this year! Students, staff and guests have listened avidly to experts in the field. Akshay and Uthman, both in Year Twelve, share their experiences below.


Synths, the Universe and Doodling

Last week’s lecture, the second in the series, presented by Dr. Phil Ramsden ...

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MATHS CIRCLE LECTURES

Our popular Maths Circle Lectures continued last week. We were honoured to welcome Dr James Munro, Admissions and Outreach Coordinator, Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford and Stipendiary Lecturer at New College, Oxford. Dr Munro entertained and challenged his audience with an introduction to Évariste Galois and the field that is now ...

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PUBLIC SPEAKING

Year Ten pupils have, over the past month, enjoyed a feast of public speaking as part of our annual workshops through the Speakers’ Trust. This year we also hosted the Sutton Regional Final for Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge at Wilson’s on Monday, 4 March.

Year Ten students all enjoyed an intensive training day focused on building their ...

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AIMING FOR THE NATIONAL FINAL

The Junior Team Chess Challenge, organised by the English Chess Foundation, gives talented players in the early years of secondary school the opportunity to compete in a national tournament. From a series of regional heats, winning teams proceed to the National Final, which this year will be held in Birmingham. Wilson’s entered two teams—U13 A and ...

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SENIOR DRAMA

Our Senior Production this year was performed to a packed John Jenkins Hall over three nights just before half term. The exciting publicity for “Little Shop of Horrors”, a rock-horror spectacular, including the buzz generated by the props of the man-eating plant, meant that tickets were quickly snapped up for this ambitious and fun show. Directed ...

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MUSICAL TREATS

The members of the Music Department at Wilson’s are feeling very lucky. In the last year, not only did they move into their brand new, purpose-built home, the Britton Centre, but they also became the proud owners of myriad new instruments. From a four-strong set of timpani and a professional standard bass drum to a pair of grand pianos ripe for virtuosic ...

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ARMY AND RAF CAMPS

For the first time in recent history, the Army and RAF sections of the CCF ran independent Recruits’ Camps over the half term break, with the RAF section spending two days at school and two at RAF Halton, and the Army section attending a four day camp in Beckingham.

Army Section Recruits’ Camp Report

February half ...

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RIFLES CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD

We were very pleased to learn of the significant success achieved by Taran (Year Ten), who recently represented Wilson’s School in in the Intermediate 10m category in the British Shooting National Schools Rifle Championship and won the gold medal!

This is an annual national competition and the finalists represented schools across Great Britain ...

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AS SEEN BY YEAR THIRTEEN

On Tuesday the 16th of January, our Year Thirteen Spanish class took a short trip to the Cervantes Theatre, a charming gem hidden behind a row of quaint café shops near Southwark. Quite different in size from the John Jenkins Hall, this small, homely theatre has a lovely, welcoming atmosphere that makes it stand out.

We were there to see a ...

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WINS UNDER PRESSURE

On Sunday, the Wilson’s Chess A Team made its way to Harrow School for the first ECF Schools Blitz tournament. In a field of around fifteen schools with Wilson’s as the favourite, we knew our biggest rivals would be St Paul’s. The format was twelve rounds of three minutes plus two seconds increment: a very fast time control that led to some incredibly ...

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MATHS COMPETITION 2023–24

The Hans Woyda Competition has been running in the local area for the past 44 years. It started off with only 8 schools in Sutton and has now expanded to 64 schools from across North and South London and was named after one of the founders. It is a team competition formed of 7 rounds, all timed. Mental arithmetic skills need to be strong as well ...

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SWEET CHARITY

Last Friday saw the first charity event of the new year—a doughnut sale! First thing in the morning and Mr Stobie-Jones was on his way to collect the 300 freshly baked doughnuts from Krispy Kreme in Croydon. Students in classes became distracted as the 25 boxes of doughnuts made their way through the entrance of the school. The committee was soon ...

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YEAR 9 VISIT

As part of our Elizabethan programme, all Year Nine students have the opportunity to engage in stimulating and enriching cultural experiences, which we believe is particularly important for leaders of the future. So, this week, every student in Year Nine visited the Tate Modern gallery on the South Bank in London.

We travelled from school ...

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THE WINTER CONCERT

On Wednesday night in the penultimate week of term, over 200 students participated in the Winter Concert, a musical extravaganza raising money in aid of this year’s chosen charities, Lives Not Knives and Mind. A jam-packed programme was performed to a packed-out hall, and the delight of students, teachers, family and friends was palpable throughout ...

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NON SIBI SED OMNIBUS

Classics club has always been an incredible place—where we have lots of fun—whilst also learning something interesting. Sometimes we have a presentation delivered by our Prefect or an entertaining video to watch. These never fail to impress, and everyone leaves with more knowledge than before while enjoying it with friends!

A major part of ...

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OUT OF THE SMOKE

This term Mrs Webber led the History book club for Key Stage Three students, which discussed Out of the Smoke by Matthew Wainwright. This helped the pupils build their historical imagination and context for their study of Industrial Britain, as well as helping to support their wider reading. The pupils who attended read the text enthusiastically ...

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THE COMPETITIVE EDGE

The Autumn term has been a busy time for the House and Co-Curricular Team at Wilson’s. House Captains and their Deputies have been getting to know their form groups in the youngest three years of the school and planning a wide variety of events. Duty Prefects have been instrumental in the provision of nearly 100 lunchtime co-curricular clubs and ...

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MFL: PEN PALS

Pen pal season for Year Ten French students has officially kicked off!

With replies from our French counterparts being delivered to classes in the past week, classes were in fits of excitement as they eagerly read their letters. We didn’t know much about our pen pals before the letters arrived; only a lucky few pupils were able to find the ...

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THE KINGDOM OF BENIN

We are proud of the many opportunities students at Wilson’s have to explore their interests and passions in co-curricular activities. One such opportunity is History Club, where students can speak to their peers about a historical subject of interest to them. Myles in Year Thirteen recently presented on the Kingdom of Benin:

During this ...

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STUDENT BOARD AT WILSON'S

We are proud at Wilson’s of our determination to hear the voices of our students about their experiences in school and are always keen to hear good ideas about how to make school life better for everyone. Our termly Student Board meeting is a great opportunity for students across the school to have their voices heard.

Each form group will ...

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DEPARTMENTAL UPDATE

There is never a dull moment in the Music Department’s calendar.

Our first big event of the year was the second annual Battle of the Bands, the brainchild of Mr Kramer. Bands of all styles and sizes took to the stage of the John Jenkins Hall to do battle and rock the crowd! The panel of judges, comprised of both teachers and students, were ...

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CCF UPDATE

Some of the newest members of the school CCF enjoyed the final element of their Basic Fieldcraft Training last weekend. The mild October weather only added to their enjoyment of the training!

Cadets attended the one day Exercise Alexander at Mereworth Woods Training Area, where they were trained in and practised section and platoon level ambushes. ...

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CLUBS FOR CREATIVITY

Creative writing clubs for all Key Stages have been established at Wilson’s this term, championed by English teachers, who have been ably assisted by a team of enthusiastic sixth formers. We are so pleased to see Wilson’s students harnessing the power of the written word and taking the opportunity to express themselves in writing.

Key Stage ...

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MODERN LANGUAGES ACTIVITY

Year 9 enjoyed a sunny, warm and “Francophone” week abroad in July, seizing the opportunity to practise their French, experience the best of French culture and enjoy the company of their friends in our first languages residential trip since 2019.

Pupils met their teachers bright and early at school and journeyed to France using the ferry crossing. ...

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CCF TRAINING

Having originally intended to attend London District cadet training team’s at Longmoor, we were very grateful that 4X North East Brigade were able to offer us 70 places on their camp based at Driffield in the East Ridings of Yorkshire.

Although the first day consisted mainly of travelling, we arrived at the North Yorkshire Water Park campsite ...

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NATIONAL FINALS

Last Friday, the Wilson’s chess team travelled up to Nottingham for a two-day event: the National Schools’ Chess Finals. The team comprised Rahul, Shivam, Shlok, Denis, Raghav, Balahari and me. This was by far the most prestigious competition we would take part in all year, as only the top 26 schools across England were able to qualify. However, ...

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OPEN AIR CONCERT

Last Thursday, the entire Wind Band and Odyssey Big Band made their way to the Horniman Bandstand. In the morning, it had just rained, and this created a cool and calm atmosphere, setting us up for our annual performance. We knew that no matter what, we would play our hearts out!

At 9.20am, we assembled in the Britton Centre, all lined up, ...

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FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS

Imagine flying in a Chinook helicopter at the age of 15 or 16. That is the awe-inspiring exploit some cadets from our CCF RAF section were able to experience last month. After an early start, we arrived at RAF Benson on schedule for a literal flying start to the day and were fortunate enough to see some Chinooks taxing and flying a circuit before ...

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WIMBLEDON

We began as a group of around 40-50 boys from Years 9 and 10, all doing their best to achieve a place in the BBG programme. After two months of training in school with ex-ball boy sixth formers, and the number of potential ball boys decreasing every week, ten applicants were chosen to go to the selection trial. Training then began at Raynes Park ...

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CLASSICAL VOTING

In some recent lessons, Miss Cohen introduced taught us how Pompeiians campaigned for leading positions in government. To our great joy, we were told that we would have an election campaign based on a Roman one, as would all the other Year 8 classes. As a class, we would be split up into groups to campaign for a particular candidate and then vote ...

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ECONOMICS TALK

On Tuesday, 27 June we welcomed Mat Hughes, professional anti-trust economist at AlixPartners, to the economics department at Wilson’s. His work has covered cases related to competition practises in the truck and car, telecoms plus pharmaceutical markets mergers. He discussed the close links between what students are taught at A level and the real ...

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BARTS AND QUEEN MARY

Sixteen students from Year 10 attended the annual Barts and Queen Mary Science Festival, where they had the opportunity to listen to talks, speak to researchers and undergraduate students, and engage in interactive activities. The programme of talks included:

  • Dr Filip Zemrak (Consultant Cardiologist) - Resuscitation talk
  • Clinical ...
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UCL INSTITUTE OPEN DAY

On Thursday, 22 June, fifteen students from Years 10 and 12 had the opportunity to visit a world class research institute for an open day with the theme, “Lessons about the Immune System, COVID and Health”.

The programmes of talks included three given by UCL Professors, as well two post-doctoral scientists undertaking cutting edge research ...

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RAF SECTION CLASS OF 2023

This has been a very successful year for the RAF section, which triumphed in the regional round of the annual RAST competition during the autumn term, coming first in drill followed by another first place in military knowledge and second place in aircraft recognition. Updates in the next few weeks will report on this year’s CCF camp and other achievements ...

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YEAR 7 SINGERS PERFORM

We were delighted that some of our Year 7 singers were invited to join Kensington Symphony Orchestra in a triumphant performance of Mahler’s Symphony No.3 at Fairfield Halls last weekend. Conductor Russell Keable remarked on the boys’ focus and work ethic during rehearsals and in performance, where they did an excellent job!

Thanks also to ...

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Last Sunday, a team from Wilson’s covered 15 miles alongside thousands of other enthusiastic walkers, all participating in the Marsden March. Clad in our T-shirts and caps, we assembled at the starting location of The Royal Marsden in Chelsea. Supplying us with refreshments and maps, supportive volunteers welcomed us to the start line. All that was ...

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PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS
DofE Gold Award Presentations

To have seven students in Year 13 complete their Award soon enough in the academic year to be invited to Buckingham Palace in May is an astonishing achievement on their part.

Participants technically have until their 25th birthday to finish their 6 months of Skill, 12 months of Physical and 18 months ...

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THE FINAL

The Young Musician of the Year Final took place on Tuesday evening in the presence of our adjudicator for the evening: Sam Jackson, Controller of BBC Radio 3. The Junior Young Musician of the year was awarded to Joshua (Year 9), who played Grovlez’s Sarabande et Allegro on saxophone, and the Senior Musician of the Year was Han (Year 11) who played ...

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ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR

The Inspiring Engineers Scheme is now in its fifth year at Wilson’s and this year saw a record 30 Lower Sixth Wilson’s students take part. The scheme, run by engineering consultancy firm Mott MacDonald, is aimed at students interested in engineering and involves a six-month long project, working with professional engineering mentors on a hypothetical ...

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THE COMPETITION IS BACK!

Wildlife club is thrilled to launch the Nature Photography Competition 2023, and we invite you to enter with any photo you have taken of nature (animals, plants, landscapes etc.).

  • £10 Amazon voucher for overall winner and other prizes to be won
  • House points for every entry
  • Only one entry per student / teacher
  • Parents ...
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INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR

A number of Year 11 and Year 12 Physicists took part in the British Physics Olympiad Intermediate and Senior Challenges.

Nineteen of the Year 11s achieved Gold certificates, placing them in the top 9.8% of participants. 17 achieved Silver and the other 22 who sat the paper all earned a Bronze. Given that the paper is sat only by the strongest ...

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SOCIETY REPORT

On Wednesday, 3 May, the Philosophy Ethics and Religion society discussed Utilitarianism and the Repugnant Conclusion. This enabled further discussions on moral intuitions and the role they play in making moral decisions. On the one hand, moral intuitions (especially utilitarianism) are arguably the cornerstone of a society of law and order, yet ...

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KEEN COMPETITIONS
Old Wilsonian Chess Match Report

Earlier this month, we once again enjoyed the annual Old Wilsonian’s (OW) Chess Match in the John Jenkins Hall. On paper it is a two-round match-up between the past and present chess players of Wilson’s, but it also serves as a reunion for OWs to reconnect with former classmates and teachers, and share where ...

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ART PRIZES

Congratulations to the Wilson’s Art Department for collecting four prizes at the Sutton Youth Exhibition last Thursday!

The following students were awarded:

Jack Godwin (OW) – Runner up, Prize for Painting
Jerome (Year 12) – Winner, Prize for Painting
Anish (Year 12) – Runner up, Prize for 3D work
Aryan (Year 9) – ...


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REVIEW

Throughout March, we were treated to the annual series of maths lectures given by talented mathematicians from highly varied backgrounds in the world of maths, joined by students from other schools across Sutton.

The first lecture was delivered by Simon Singh, a name familiar to anyone with a serious interest in mathematics! He delivered a ...

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YEAR 10 CHALLENGE

Earlier this month, Year 10 pupils enjoyed Jack Petchey's "Speak Out" workshop, with each of us participating in a range of speaking activities, from telling stories with captivating and interesting hooks, to being put on the spot and answering confusing and odd questions on the fly—all led by the bubbly and kind people from Speaker's Trust, ...

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YEAR 12 TRIP

A group of ten Year 12 students recently took part in a trip to the Institute of Cancer Research in Fulham for an interactive careers open evening.

The ICR is one of the world’s most influential cancer research organisations. They are world leaders in identifying cancer genes, discovering cancer drugs, and developing precision radiotherapy. ...

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NATIONAL FINALS

On Saturday, 25 March, Wilson’s U13 chess team played in the national finals of Junior Team Chess Challenge at RGS Newcastle. There was some tough opposition, but as the defending champions we knew we were in with a chance of winning and retaining the trophy.

In round 1 we had an emphatic victory over Five Ways, a team from Birmingham, followed ...

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S AWARD

Last summer, 35 Year 12 students embarked on a gruelling test of endurance in the Brecon Beacons. Four days and three nights of intrepid expeditioning later, and they had finally completed the last part of their Gold DofE journey, which is organised by the school.

However, this does not automatically mean that the students had finished their ...

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WICKED!
Wicked visit

Forty-two pupils and four members of staff enjoyed a night in the West End last Wednesday, at a performance of Wicked. The show has been running at the Apollo Victoria Theatre for nearly 20 years but with a brand new cast (featuring the amazing Alexia Khadime as Elphaba), staff and pupils remarked on the particularly ...

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SENIOR DRAMA PRODUCTION

Since the school’s relocation to Wallington in 1975, there can be few school activities that have sustained such momentum as Drama. Three decades of memorable productions directed by Jeff Shaw are carved into school legend and this era has been followed, since 2011, by the inspirational direction of Ben Kavanagh. Mr Kavanagh’s plays and musicals ...

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TEAM CHESS CHALLENGE PROGRESS

Wilson's first team convincingly won the regional final of Team Chess Challenge with an impressive 15/16. This included a 4-0 victory over Sutton Grammar and 3.5–0.5 wins over Eltham College and Tiffin School. The team has therefore qualified for the national finals, where players will defend the title they won last year.

The winning team ...

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AT OLD PALACE SCHOOL

Last Thursday, a group of eleven Year 9 boys eagerly attended the annual Classics quiz at Old Palace school. Before it was time to go, we relaxed in the Latin room and watched the film Spartacus.

Wilson’s was one of four schools, joined by Whitgift, Queen’s College and, of course, Old Palace. We split into pairs or threes and joined ...

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GET INVOLVED

Classics Club is one of the many lunchtime opportunities at Wilson’s, open for all students every Friday in Room 5. This is a student-run club where students have the opportunity to talk about topics pertaining to the Ancient World whilst expanding their wider co-curricular experience at the school.

The topics discussed can be about a wide ...

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BLITZ AND RAPIDPLAY COMPETITIONS

Saturday 22nd and Monday 24th October 2022

  • Entry open to all Wilson’s pupils and siblings (aged under 18)
  • Players must be ECF members (membership is free for new members or £6 otherwise for juniors)
    Join here.

You ...

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YEAR 7

As older students celebrated at the Founder’s Service in Southwark Cathedral, Year 7 pupils enjoyed the annual Enterprise event. Run by the Inspirational Learning group team, the pupils were set the task of designing a campaign that would promote the benefits of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles over those of conventional diesel or petrol equivalents to ...

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NEW YEAR'S PROGRAMME

Now that the new term is fully under way, our programme of activities, clubs and societies for 2022–23 has been published (see What's New on the home page). The document provides details of the member of staff who runs the activity, as well as the time and venue.

Mr Elwood, the coordinator of co-curricular provision, is very keen that there ...

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NATIONAL FINAL SUCCESS

Last Thursday, the Wilson’s Chess team made their way to Imperial College to participate in the National Final of the ECF Team Chess Challenge, playing five rounds of chess with 13 other schools across the country, coming from as far as Bolton and Bristol, Newcastle and Torquay. Whilst we were the likely favourites (being top seed), it turned out ...

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A NEW YEAR GETS UNDER WAY

Students in Years 10 and above have been working hard over recent months on the Volunteering, Physical and Skills sections of their Awards, demonstrating dedication to a range of activities. We look forward to marking their achievements as a new year gets underway!

It must be said, however, that for most students it is the expedition section ...


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A boys’ grammar school in the London Borough of Sutton (UK), Wilson’s School is:

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