Twins rule at Kensington Intermediate: Five sets in Grade 9

Kensington Intermediate Senior High, orKISH, is a small P.E.I. school with a unique sibling situation.

There are 50 students in Grade 9, including five sets of twins.

Even some of the twins' families are surprised at the plethora of twins.

"I know when I first told my family there are five sets of twins, my mother looked pretty shocked," said QuintonSchurman, a twin with brother Ben.

Two sets identical

In fact, most of the twins have been together since Grade 1. The Schurmans moved to Nova Scotia for a couple of years, where they were the only twins.

The number at KISH jumped to five when the Praught twins arrived for French Immersion in Grade 7.

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Of the five sets of twins, two sets are in French Immersion, one set is in the English stream and the other two have one sibling in each.

"Over time you almost tend to forget that we have five sets of twins because they're not all in the same classroom," explained principal Donald Mulligan.

Two set of twins, the Praughts and the Champions, are identical.

Brothers first

"We say, 'This is my brother,' we wouldn't really say we're twins," said QuintonSchurman. "We have gone a long time without people knowing we're twins. I think the longest I've gone is a year with one of our teachers not knowing we're twins."

"If they haven't met us before they can mix us up by accident, but most of the time we don't look the same," added brother Ben.

"We're similar but different at the same time," explained Quinton. "I know when you look at us I enjoy wearing a baseball cap, Ben wears his hair long. There are subtle differences and the subtle similarities."

"There's a lot of good things about being twins but I think one of the best things is that you can always count on him to be there for you," said Quenton, and his brother adds that they can share clothing.

Similar but different

Principal Mulligan observes that the five sets of students share some characteristics: they are quiet and unassuming, and like to fly under the radar.

"They're just ten great students that go about their work quietly, they do their own thing and they're just good solid students."

But again, they are also different.

"Within the twins, they also go their own way," added Mulligan.

"The Lauwerijssentwins are both tremendous athletes but one's a figure skater and one's a hockey player. They both play soccer but one's a keeper and the other plays out."

"So it is interesting. They're not identical in every manner for sure."

The twins expect to be together for a while, as they will continue into senior high at KISH in 2017.

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