RyeVita Student Magazine

Issue 2

December 21

In this issue:

T'RYE THESE AT HOME! Christmas Recipes to add to your family traditions.

HE'S BEHIND YOU! Cindershrek...the Year 12 pantomime that has us rolling with laughter.

OUR T'RYE' DITIONS After all these years, the Tangerine party is still going strong!

PARLIAMENT WEEK The parties campaigning for your votes this year

CELEBRATING 91 YEARS OF EXCELLENT EDUCATION, RICH HISTORY AND OUTSTANDING PASTORAL CARE...RYE ST ANTONY SCHOOL GIVES EVERY CHILD EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO BE AMBITIOUS, BE CURIOUS AND TO BE THEMSELVES.

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Nov/ Dec Issue Nov/ Dec Issue

CONTACT US RYE VITA MAGAZINE Rye St Antony School Pullens Lane Oxford magazine@ryestantony.co,uk www.ryestantony.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS

WELCOME We love that you're here!

Welcome to the second issue of Rye Vita magazine.

This magazine shares the latest thought provoking essays, explorations, educational insights and school life highlights from students at Rye St Antony School.

In this edition, we dive into Rye Christmas traditions, Parliament Week, Christmas around the world and so much more...

We hope you enjoy this edition.

Olivia / Josie / Megan / Jess / Marina / Irene / Claudia / Solveig / Claire / Tizia / Tabea / Athena / Lois / Dana / Georgie / Emma / Elena / Olive / Martha / Amicia / Cora / Daisy

GUEST CONTRIBUTORS: Dr Willis / Ms Matarazzo / Miss Pujos / Mrs Ganley / Father Christmas

WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE? Contact us: magazine@ryestantony.co.uk

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Photo and graphic design: Dr Sean Willis

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CONTENTS 6 A SERVICE OF NINE LESSONS AND CAROLS

7 OUR T'RYE'DITIONS CHRISTMAS AT RYE

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T'RYE THIS AT HOME! Christmas recipes to get you through this holiday season...

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PARLIAMENT MOCK ELECTIONS The Athena Party, Silver Star Party and Evolve Party campaign for your votes!

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LEST WE FORGET: Was the alliance system the main cause of World War 1?

10 A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT!

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH Announcing the winners of this year's competition!

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COUNTY HOCKEY

Rye's Under 16s place third in all of Oxfordshire!

38 ISOLATED: A SHORT STORY Do you dare to read?

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BOOK REVIEW: FROSTBITE 24 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION 46

REVIEW: DEATH ON PLANET EARTH 26

COP26 AND GLOBOLISATION

48 LIFE DRAWING

28 IS 1.5C STILL ALIVE? A Fragile hope or an attainable goal?

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AN OPEN LETTER TO BORIS JOHNSON

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CHRISTMAS FEATURE

A SERVICE OF NINE LESSONS AND CAROLS THE HALLS RESOUND WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC Words: Daisy, Year 12

A crucial part of Christmas at Rye is the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, which signifies the start of Advent.

It normally takes place in St Anthony of Padua Church in Headington, our local parish church- and it is a lovely church that has great acoustics as the congregation and choir sing together.

The descants and harmonies for carols, such as ‘O little Town of Bethlehem’, and the triumphant finale ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ produce the most beautiful sound, and really puts you into the Christmas spirit.

The service tells the story of the promise and birth of Christ, in the form of nine readings and Gospels, each spoken by a pupil from each year. In between there are carols sung by either the Choir (for the pieces that are more harmonically challenging), the Prep School or the congregation.

The congregation join in the more well-known carols- such as ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ and ‘Once in Royal David’s City’. Traditionally the first verse for ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ (the opening carol of the Service) is sung as an acapella solo from a Year 13- a very special and beautiful moment in the service.

Due to the Pandemic last year (2020), we had to pre-record all the Christmas traditions, including the Carol Service, as we could not all be together and sing.

Whilst it did not take place in the Church, like it usually is, the Service was broadcasted and livestreamed into the form rooms.

It was still very effective, and really did signify what Christmas is all about: bringing the Rye community together, (either online or in person) to spread the joy of Christmas.

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OUR T'RYE'DITIONS: CHRISTMAS AT RYE

Left: Tangerine Party, Top Right: Father Christmas visits Prep School Pupils, Bottom right: Puss in Boots and Donkey on a quest to rescue Fiona

Contributors: Daisy Year 12, Tabby Year 13, Dr Willis, Father Christmas.

Christmas is such an important part of the incredible life at Rye- it brings so much excitement and joy. It also features many different traditions- which we will attempt to explain in this collaborative piece! We hope you enjoy this peek into our preparations: Merry Christmas!

CINDERSHREK: A RYE PANTO! WORDS: DAISY, YEAR 12

The Panto is for many, their favourite tradition, as it is a moment in what is a very busy term, to relax, to have a laugh at teachers’ acting skills and most importantly, eat lots of sweets that are thrown into the audience.

From the end of November, there is a great anticipation through the corridors: pupils wonder what the story is going to be, and, which part is going to be going to which teacher (a crucial element- a favourite for so many was Dr Willis and Mr Spanjers playing Joris Bonson and Ceremy Jorbyn- an incredibly comedic, villainous duo).

This year, ‘Cindershrek’ combines the muchloved Shrek film (a tale of an ogre who, having lost his swamp because of the evil Lord Farquaad, must go on a mission to rescue Princess Fiona from a tower), with the classic Cinderella story.

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Year 12 wanted to make this year’s panto unforgettable, even with it being livestreamed to some years.

In this year’s panto a ball is taking place in the Kingdom of ‘Far, far away’ -although Lord Farquaad and Prince Charming (the princes of the Kingdom) don’t have anyone to take. Shrek, under orders to rescue a princess for them, meets many beloved fairy tale creatures.

This has always been a very loud sing-along with each of the days divided between the year groups. Even the teachers are involved, with the male members of staff taking the ’11 Lords aleaping’ day.

Each year group tries to be the loudest, but although the reason has long been forgotten, the most prestigious day of Christmas is the day where the recipient is given ‘5 Gold Rings’.

When he accidentally asks both Cinderella and Fiona to the ball, he causes a dilemma. When Cinderella and Fiona do eventually find out, they decide that they are not going to go with Shrek, Lord Farquaad or Prince Charmingthey'll go together instead.

Of course, this has never been a simple task for those musicians, aspiring actors and artists who wanted to use this opportunity to share the talents and creativity with the school, both in the canteen over Christmas lunch and then again at the Tangerine Party.

We hope that everyone enjoyed the panto as much as we did putting it together; a big thanks to all those behind the scenes and all the staff. Merry Christmas!

There have been increasingly elaborate performances that have stunned and delighted.

This year, year 13 were inspired by, the steering wheels of a car: students holding on for dear life as a newly qualified driver drives past Rendall hall.

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS: 'FIVE GOLD RINGS!'

Over the years, year 13s have traditionally been given the privilege of celebrating their final year of Rye singing ‘5 Gold Rings’ in the song the 12 days of Christmas.

We can't wait for you to watch ours and no doubt start thinking about your own ideas for this chance to honour your amazing years at Rye. Merry Christmas everyone!

WORDS: TABBY, YEAR 13

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THE TANGERINE PARTY

Tradition is important in all institutions. It holds us together, gives us a commonality that threads through the generations. Here at Rye one such thread is the annual Tangerine Party. A combination of singing, bad jokes and fruit-based treats, the Tangerine Party has seen out the Michaelmas term for nearly as long as the school has been open, over 90 years!

For the past decade I have had the honour of preparing and hosting the Tangerine Party.

The shape of the party has settled in recent years: staff ruin a favourite with some tangerine based rewrites, then we break into the classics: Mariah, Shaking Stevens and 12 Days are the big hitters, and the joy of that final Partridge in a Pear Tree sung by everybody to close the show gives me goosebumps each time I hear it. Other traditions: the eating of tangerines, the oldest and youngest in the school cutting the massive Christmas cake, the bad joke competition, all contribute to the sense of chaos and happiness that pervades the entire event.

We are so lucky as a school to have this on our list of traditions. I am so lucky to be a part of it every year. I love all parts of Christmas, but the Tangerine Party remains one of the highlights of my year.

A visitor from the North Pole to the Prep School Father Christmas (Guest contributor)

I was delighted to take a break from my hectic December schedule to come and visit the wonderful pupils at Rye. I spent a lovely morning delivering presents, singing songs, and discussing what presents the children wanted (and what tasty treats they would leave for my reindeers and me!) I think I managed to convince everyone that there are alternatives to mince pies- I do enjoy a bit of Christmas cake!

WORDS: DR. WILLIS, M.C.

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Spain: Claudia (Year 10) and Irene (Year 9) In Spain we do not really celebrate Santa Claus, we celebrate the three kings, because as a Catholic Country, we remember that the three kings came to offer Jesus gifts. We celebrate this by giving presents to the different members of the family and going to a parade with the young children.

There they get sweets some toys, and depending on the area, some dates and dried fruit. Later, we go to our houses and share a "Roscón de Reyes" with some hot chocolate.

One Spanish tradition is to write a card to the three wise telling them before Christmas Eve, telling them what we would like then we go to the parade in which they are throwing sweets. When they arrive at the stand where they have their thrones, they sit down and the children go to talk with them and give them their cards. On the morning of the 6th of January, we wake up and we have gifts under the Christmas tree from the Three wise men.

Another Spanish tradition just celebrated in Catalunya is the "Caga Tio": a trunk which we hit with sticks! The children then leave the room, and when we come back trunk opens to reveal sweets and chocolates. Before that day we keep giving the trunk food because that way he is going to get "fat" and he will give us more sweets and chocolates.

Poland, Mrs Ganley Traditionally, the celebration in Poland begins on the evening of December 24th. Christmas Eve Supper, known as wigilia, is one of the most longstanding and widely cherished of Polish rituals.

There should be twelve dishes, just like the Twelve Apostles, and that the celebration should start when the first star appears. I remember when I was little, a wonderful smell would fill the

A MER'RYE' CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A ‘GOODNIGHT’! house as my Dad would make his traditional Barszcz (beetroot soup)for the first course. Now I am the one who carries the tradition on and even my children love it!

Germany: Tabea and Tizia (Year 9) On 11th November we celebrate St Martin. Young children make their own lanterns at school and you sing songs about him. Everyone walks through the parks in the dark with your families and schools towards a big bonfire with hot drinks.

The Feast of St Nicolas is on the 6th December you clean your boots and then leave them outside the door for the night. If you’ve been good you will get your shoes filled with treats and small presents delivered by St Nicolas. If you are bad, originally you were whipped by the Krampus!

In Germany we celebrate Christmas on the 24th, not the 25th. You begin with a long walk, then you go to church, then you have Christmas dinner. If there’s a bell ringing in the living room then you can enter and open your presents. In some families, there are blonde curls left behind by the Christkind who brought you the presents, and you sing carols to him.

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The day after everything is closed and it is a rest day! Months in advance (around October) you can make Vanillekipferl which are delicious biscuits in the form of a sausage and covered in vanilla sugar. Once they have rested for a few months they taste better- but it’s hard to wait!

France: Miss Pujos and Claire (Year 12) In France, family and friends gather in the evening on Christmas Eve and, similarly to in England, often go to midnight mass. Many French people have nativity scenes in their houses, called ‘la crèche’, and the baby Jesus is only put in the manger of the scene after they have come back from midnight mass.

Afterwards, we have Le Réveillon de Noël.

Unlike in England, French Christmas normally begin with seafood, such as smoked salmon, or delicacies like snails or fois gras, which are then followed by roast turkey served with chestnuts.

For pudding, we have La Bûche de Noël.

It is a really long dinner, staying up late. Shoes or slippers go under the Christmas tree. Le Père Noël comes at midnight and the children will try to stay up but will be sent to bed- even if they’ve heard the sleigh bells. He traditionally put clementine and chocolates or nuts in the shoes!

In Provence, they have 13 desserts on the table on Christmas Day to symbolise the 12 disciples and Jesus. Additionally, children traditionally wrap wheat or lentils in a damp cloth, which is placed in a box by a sunny window to grow, symbolising prosperity for the coming year On the 25th, Christmas Day, there is another big family meal, and on Epiphany we eat La Galette des Rois which is made with marzipan or almonds and inside is a hidden piece of china – la fève- whoever finds it becomes the King or Queen for the day and they wear a crown!

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Italy: Ms Matarrazzo In Italy, La Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5th) to fill their socks with candy and presents if they are good, or a lump of coal or dark candy if they are bad!

The legend says that Befana was approached by the Three Wise Men a few days before the birth of the Jesus. They asked for directions to where Jesus was, as they were trying to follow the star in the sky. The Three Wise Men invited her to join them on the journey to find the baby Jesus, but she declined, stating she was too busy with her housework. Later, La Befana had a change of heart, but could not find them. Up to today, La Befana is still searching for the little baby Jesus and decided to leave all the children a gift, as all children have Jesus in their hearts.

Russia: Lara (Year 12) Christmas is celebrated in Russia according to the Gregorian calendar, so on January 8th.

Mainly we congratulate everyone; those of us who are religious might go to special church events. We feast all day especially at dinner with a table full of food and of course give gifts.

My personal favourite thing about Russian Christmas is that I get 2 Christmases' and watching Soviet era Christmas movies with my family.

Pakistan – Amna (year 8) Whilst Pakistan is a Muslim country and has a population over 163 million people, there are more than 5 million Christians who celebrate Christmas.

And for all the 5 million plus Christians who are celebrating Christmas, the government decided to make it a public holiday- not just for Christmas also but- because Pakistan celebrates something else on that day too, called ‘Bara Din’ (Big Day) in the memory of Jinnah, the founder of the country.

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Photo Credit: Tory McTernan

Nadia Hussain’s Chocolate salami: https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/r ecipes/chocolate-salami/

This recipe is great for kids to make mince pies as you don’t roll out the pastry, you just squish the pastry balls into the tray!

This is brilliant as a Christmas dessert alongside some fruit salad. We make two salamis, 1 orange ginger and 1 dried cherry and then pass them around on a plate for people to chop slices for themselves.

To make it even easier we sometimes do them without lids and bake them for 15 minutes.

Orlando Murrin’s Unbelievably Easy Mince Pies: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com /recipes/unbelievably-easymince-pies

Mary Cadogan’s Christmas biscuits: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/r ecipes/christmas-cinnamonbiscuits You can make these and give them as gifts in pretty boxes lined with tissue. They also look great if you poke a hole in the top and hang them from your Christmas tree!

T’Rye’ this at Home: A delicious Christmas!

Marina (Year 12) shares her favourite, tried and tested, festive recipes with you- enjoy!

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RYE'S MOCK ELECTIONS Parliament Week, November 2021 To celebrate Parliament week, Rye held its annual mock election. Three candidates each created a party and a manifesto, and campaigned, culminating in a fascinating hustings debate, before a school vote.

Candidates Olive (Year 12) -Evolve Party, Martha (Year 11)- The Athena Party, and Amicia (Year 11)- The Silver Star party share their policies below.

THE SILVER STAR PARTY'S SPEECH Diversity. Inclusivity. Charity.

Nearly 1.5 million young people in the UK have registered to vote in the next election, but there are many more who have not. We believe it is so important to use the democracy that England has fought to have.

Overall, The Silver Star Party aims to be as inclusive and equal as possible to ensure everyone will get the most out of our policies.

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"To become less hostile and aggravated towards differing views... can only improve our country."

Our first policy is to mandate an inclusive uniform in all schools across the UK. This will include trousers available for girls and skirts available for boys. Our aim is to degenderize school uniform, so it is focused on how the student feels in the uniform rather than how they look, while still being smart enough for school.

We want to bring more diversity into lessons. This would include increased time learning about African, Asian, Hispanic, and other cultures throughout history, their role today in the world, culturally important artwork, and more. The list can, and will, go on and on, meaning there is room in every subject to develop this.

We understand the frustration of feeling uncomfortable of students who feel unable to be themselves. Although uniform is a part of school that will not be changed there will always be ways to accommodate the students’ needs. We also appreciate the many thriving cultures here in the UK today and we want to give them the opportunities to express their culture safely in school with the allowance of culturally significant jewellery and accessories that make people who they are.

The Silver Star Party are keen to expand Black History Month in the UK to become more embedded in schools to increase awareness of struggles from the past. As a young child, I felt I did not receive enough education on other cultures and countries, so I taught myself. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence throughout the UK, and one that we want to change. To become less hostile and more tolerant of differing views can only improve our country and others.

In the past, schools' uniforms policies have restricted creativity, but we aim to give students the chance to express themselves in their uniform while simultaneously looking smart and put together.

Including everyone in this matter is the most important policy for us, as a government party speaks for, and helps the people. Without this only certain people would thrive, leaving behind the rest.

It is also important to improve in other areas. The Silver Star Party propose student gardens in schools, for all ages, and universities to help look after our environment: we only have one earth. That is a phrase we hear often, but the urgency is not. These gardens would be funded by the government along with extra resources, if needed, as we see the significant need to become a greener society.

Our next policy is still school-focused: increasing the diversity seen and experienced daily. From a survey done in 2020 the government found that over 180 nationalities were living as residents in the UK. It is, therefore, hugely important to appreciate and understand the wide variety of cultures we live alongside.

These could be any size, and open to all kinds of uses, such as habitat gardens to let nature thrive, flowerbeds or vegetable patches.

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"With the help of our country we can aim to improve ourselves... and our earth."

We would encourage them to be used productively and not sit passively, for example younger children could learn about the habitats they are helping, and the food grow used in cooking lessons. We would aim for these gardens to be a haven for important parts of the earth's biodiversity, like bees and vegetation.

You can see that our main themes include inclusivity, diversity, and charity. With the help of our country, we can aim to improve ourselves, the UK, other countries, and the Earth.

Vote Silver Star!

Cop 26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, is currently underway from the 31st October to the 12th November. Although they are deciding how to help on a larger scale, the smaller scale projects are just as meaningful in continuing our plan to be more eco-friendly: as the youth it is our future, and it is time to take it into our own hands.

Our final policy is something completely different, but with the similar theme of aiding others. We aim to increase funding to war affected areas because this has been sorely neglected in the past. Some of the worst people affected are elderly and wanting to appreciate their family in safety, others are students trying to be educated to lead to a better life, and others are young children and babies who do not understand their circumstances.

Recent statistics say that over 30% of war immigrants are children. Our party hopes to increase refugee funding by 10%, other initiatives we would support are schools making care packages with essentials, and charity funding of all types, to raise awareness and money.

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"...Ending racical bias and creating a fairer and more equal world."

THE ATHENA PARTY'S SPEECH Wisdom. Equality. Diversity.

My name is Martha, and I am representing the Athena party along with Grace, April, Ella, and Carmen who did our posters for us.

I am going to be talking you through our three main policies: ending violence against women and girls, ending stop and search powers for all police and lowering the voting age. Our values are based on equality and diversity, and we really hope that we can show this to you through our actions.

Our first policy I am going to talk about today is lowering the voting age to 16 years old. Lowering the voting age is something we really want to do because taking part in politics is something that is extremely important for young people. We want to make our voices heard and to be given the chance to express our opinions on issues the country faces. If we are expected to follow the law, we want to be able to have a say in making it, so by lowering the voting age, more young people will be able to get politically involved in their own country and have a say in their future.

Our second policy is ending violence against women and girls. This is something that I am very passionate about: no one should be made to feel unsafe in their home or when out in public.

I have a question for you-how many of you in this room today have felt uncomfortable or unsafe when you get off the bus or are walking alone in town? I can tell you that I have.

What we aim to do is to put in place actions that will end violence and make women feel safe. One thing we would do is make misogyny a hate crime, something which our Prime Minster has recently said he would not support.

If we made misogyny a hate crime this means hate crime sentencing laws will be applied towards it, and consequently, people will see the seriousness of sexism, misogyny and hate towards women. We believe this would lead to decreasing violence towards women because perpetrators would be more aware of the damage it can cause to women’s lives, as well as the threat of jail-time.

Another thing we are going to do is change the PSHEE curriculum to educate children about issues such as consent, sexism, and gender roles. If we introduce this to children at an earlier age, we will be starting open conversations about what women face daily, so empowering youth with this information and making the next generation more aware of the issue’s women face and how to fight them.

Our final policy is ending stop and search powers for police. We want to end this because it is heavily linked to racism and stereotypes about minority groups. For example, people of colour are 8.5 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people. This old-fashioned method has no proven effectiveness and can not only be extremely harmful to people of colour’s mental and physical health, due to stop and search being carried out because of racial profiling, but can also reinforce negative stereotypes.

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"Look to the future, learn from the past, improve the present."

By ending stop and search, this is a start to ending racial bias and creating a fairer and more equal world.

To end, I would like to explain about our party name.

Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and intelligence, so by using her name for our party, we hope to reflect her strength in our policies and actions.

If you agree with any of the policies, I have just talked about then please vote for us!

THE EVOLVE PARTY'S SPEECH Committed To a Fairer Tomorrow.

Evolve is a party that looks to the future, learns from the past and aims to improve the present.

Workers’ rights, education, climate action and equality for marginalised groups.

Our key policy areas are based on key values – justice, diversity and above all equality. The past few years have seen great political change, as Britain has moved towards the destination of equality. But we are not there yet. We have not reached that destination. There is still a long way to go. And a vote for Evolve is a vote in favour of reaching that destination.

Evolve believe that no one should be discriminated against. The last year has seen a global conversation emerge about race and the racism which exists today. The UK is not innocent. We would commission independent reviews into racial inequalities in policing, education, and government.

Our focus is on dismantling and rebuilding the systems which reinforce racial inequality. We are committed to systemic change. We would make amendments to the national curriculum, with a focus on decolonisation and increasing education on racism in an effort to reduce its prevalence in Britain.

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"We are not scared to stand up for a better Britain."

Evolve is determined to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people in Britain today. We would place genuine investment in trans healthcare, protecting trans youth.

We would ban conversion therapy, and we would introduce a greater focus on LGBTQ+ rights in the National Curriculum.

We believe that women should not live in fear and want better for the next generation. 97% of women aged 18-24 are victims of PSH (public sexual harassment), according to one study by UN Women UK. 97% is 97% too many. We want to end the silence on the issue because that silence has shown to be dangerous. We want to end victim blaming, rape culture and its manifestations of violence. We would criminalise public sexual harassment, make misogyny a hate crime and take measures to increase the conviction rate for rape. We would conduct a review into treatment of women in healthcare, focusing on the intersection between race and gender and how this affects healthcare provision. But perhaps one of the issues society remains most silent on is disability rights.

Disabled people are consistently mocked, silenced, ignored, and put aside. Evolve would pursue change.

We would amend disability benefits to make them more inclusive and introduce more education on disability rights in schools. We stand up for workers’ rights because we stand up for the rights of ordinary people. We stand up for the rights of those who keep Britain moving.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw public recognition of key workers, the workers who stock our shelves, produce our food, treat our families, teach our children, respond to emergencies, drive our buses, maintain our gas supplies, sort our post, empty our bins… the list goes on. Workers are not being paid adequately and their rights are not protected sufficiently. That is why we promise a £15 minimum wage.

That is why we promise an end to zero-hour contracts, protection from unfair dismissal and a strengthening of trade unions. Because we should protect those who keep the nation running. We would change the education system so that it suits modern Britain. We would increase equality in education by scrapping tuition fees for university places and by investing in state education, providing more resources to schools in Britain as well as by commissioning a review into inequality in education, with a particular focus on postpandemic recovery.

We would increase funding for apprenticeships and practical courses and remodel GCSE and A-Level examinations, with a focus on the interests of the pupil, generating passion and interest among students in education. Evolve would invest in the future. That means investment in renewable energy, subsidies for electric cars and solar panels, the criminalisation of ecocide, a trailblazing 'Climate Care Plan' to protect our futures and aid packages for countries suffering the consequences of the climate crisis. The climate crisis is not an issue to be ignored. The trend of inaction must end, and a vote for Evolve is a vote for action. So that we protect the most affected people and areas, so that we protect our beautiful planet, so that we protect our futures. This not an issue that can be stalled on, which is why we are focussed on solutions and investment, because the clock is ticking.

Our work would not end there. We are also committed to changing the electoral system is Britain, granting votes to 16-year-olds, giving more funding to our health service, increasing international aid spending, solving the housing crisis, increasing funding for the arts to aid post-pandemic recovery, and much, much more. We are not a party which shies away from change. We are not scared to stand up for a better Britain. We are committed to a fairer tomorrow. And that is why you should vote Evolve.

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LEST WE FORGET THEY SHALL GROW NOT OLD, AS WE THAT ARE LEFT GROW OLD: AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM, NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN. AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

L a u r e n c e

b i n y o n

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REMEMBRANCE Year 9 have been learning about First World War, and their end of topic extended answer answered the question 'How far do you agree that the main cause of World War One was the alliance system?' Josie further developed her response building on her feedback, as well as helping Rye hold its Armistice Day Remembrance.

Josie, Year 9

World War One (1914 and 1918) was triggered when a Bosnian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, acting on behalf of the Serbian government, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir the AustriaHungarian Empire. As a result, both the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy), and the Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia) became involved on opposing sides.

Other crucial factors were nationalism, imperialism and militarism. Personally, I agree with the statement and believe it was the formation of the sides that divided Europe in half causing lots of rivalry, and World War One to begin.

Some may argue that imperialism was the most important reason for the war breaking out. This is because, as the British Empire included other countries from around the world, once Britain was involved, so the whole empire became involved. A clear example of this is that when Britain took over New Zealand in 1840. 100,000 New Zealand soldiers had to fight for Britain in the war because they were part of the British empire.

The main empires divided up the world and the drive for supremacy led to rivalries between them: competition of whose empire could get the biggest.

In this way imperialism also links to nationalism, as the spreading of the ideas and values of each country around the globe, let to increased pride in that country, leading people to be more willing and more motivated to defend it and, if necessary, give up their lives defending it. Germany’s expansion was particularly suspicious to Britain and France, and vice versa.

I believe, however, alliances were the main cause of the war. With the war breaking out between six different countries in Europe (including Russia), lots of weapons were needed to fight and defend. By forming alliances, countries could share weapons technology between themselves, and develop new ones to help win the war.

An example would be Britain, France and Russia, who were all in the Triple Entente, exchanging weapons to fight side by side against the Germans. This links to militarism. Each country’s military needed weapons to help defend their country in case of invasion, and before the war an intense arms race began.

An example would be the development of the Dreadnought in 1906 (a very powerful battleship) by the British, and the quick succession of rival German battleships. Without the large number of new weapons, like Dreadnoughts, the allies may well not have won the war, but equally, without the weapons driving the arms race the war may not have been so long and deadly.

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WHEN I FIRST

LOOKED BACK

AT THE EARTH,

STANDING ON

THE MOON, I CRIED. Alan Shepard talking about his time on the lunar surface

during the Apollo 14 mission in February 1971.

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THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION A N I N T R O D U C T I O N The International Space Station’s first modules were launched in November and December 1998.

Since then over 16 modules have been added, including the recently launched Prichal docking module. Four modules have come from the Russian space agency Roscosmos, nine from NASA, two from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA, and one from the ESA (European Space Agency).

The ISS orbits the earth, every 90 minutes from low earth orbit, meaning it circles the globe 16 times a day and astronauts aboard experience 16 sunrises and sunsets. To prevent its orbit decaying the ISS has on board thrusters that maintain the orbit, to prevent the station burning up. It can be seen all over the world with the naked eye, you can track and find possible sighting opportunities at http://www.isstracker.com.

Whilst on board, astronauts complete a number of experiments in microgravity and biological tests on themselves - a number of outreach projects are also completed every day. With the recent launch of the Prichal docking node, more space craft can dock to the space station, enabling varying cargo, crew and experimental craft to visit and connect with the ISS. You can find more information on Wikipedia and on participating space agency websites, track it online, or follow the station on Twitter (via various accounts).

Individual astronauts can also be followed on social media.

Words: Megan, Year 8

Today over 200 astronauts have visited the station, from numerous nations, representing many cultures and nationalities, including astronauts from the founding agencies - CSA ASC, NASA, ESA, JAXA and Roscosmos - as well as the 16 cooperating countries - they have helped complete over 3,000 scientific experiments, influencing research in 108 countries.

At any one time, there can be up to 9 astronauts on board, with a regular number at 6 or 7. Currently aboard are NASA’s SpaceX Commercial Crew 3 (featuring 3 NASA and 1 ESA astronaut) and 3 more astronauts, flying with Russian – the current active mission is Expedition 65.

Missions have a regular duration of 6 months, varying slightly as to launch and splashdown opportunities. The mission record currently stands with Gennady Padalka for the greatest number of days in space (at 878), the longest single stay aboard the ISS was 340 days, it is held by Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly.

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COP26 CLIMATE CHANGE FEATURE

COP 26 AND GLOBALISATION Words: Iris, Year 12

Our Year 12 Geography class was assigned to find an article that linked to globalisation, and then present it to the class. At a time where COP-26 filled news pages, I decided to link this with our A Level study of climate change and the history of climate change conferences and agreements. I was very interested to read this angle on how LIC's were going to be able to meet the 5 billion dollar pledge, without help from HIC's.

Outline of the article: This article discusses how poor countries will struggle to commit to the 100 billion dollar climate pledge which needs to be reached by 2025, but UK believes it can be reached by 2023. The pledge has already failed once, and countries worry we will fail the

pledge again globally.

It is going to be hard enough for rich countries to adjust to the need to remove fossil fuels and carbon from their own economies. But it is going to be far harder in developing countries, where there is less money to pay for new infrastructure and technology.

Therefore, developing countries are therefore demanding grants, loans and private investment to support efforts to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects.

Countries would like to focus the money particularly on building coastal defences to protect communities against flood surges and create agricultural systems that are less vulnerable to drought,

and poorer countries need financial help to adapt to changing conditions with these methods involved. And for these countries to be part of efforts to mitigate against the effects of climate change, support is needed for a switch to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro power.

Between 2016 and 2018, 43% of the funding went to Asia, 25% to Africa and 17% to the Americas - a lot of it spent on green energy or transport infrastructure. Within the rich nations, the three countries that have been the leaders are Germany, Japan and France. The UK and Canada are slightly behind them but the 2 not paying enough have been the United States and, in particular, Italy.

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FEATURE

"By 2018, about 3/4 of the government’s money made available for climate action in developing countries was in the form of loans that need to be paid back, rather than grants that do not..."

In April, President Biden had already announced the United States would double its 2016 climate-finance contributions to $5.7bn by 2024. Critics point out that even if another $5.7bn does get approved, it is still a relatively modest amount given the size of the US economy. And experts say rich countries which have been responsible for huge amounts of carbon emissions need to go further.

By 2018, about 3/4 of the government’s money made available for climate action in developing countries was in the form of loans that need to be paid back, rather than grants that do not.

This is particularly a problem where countries are already suffering under the pressure that Covid has put on their finances. So it is the quality as well as the quantity of funding that matters.

And the message from the world's poorer countries is pretty simple - if you want ambitious climate targets, you are going to have to pay for them.

Types of globalisation: Political (world leaders involved) and Economical (issue with money)

How does it link to globalisation?

Globalisation is vital in order for COP-26 to occur and for agreements to be made between the different countries. Without it, the decisions would be made separately and plans would never align, and the countries would be counteracting each other’s efforts, making it futile.

All countries gathered, with leaders flying by plane or travelling far to meet at one location; Glasgow.

Here they discussed the united methods of how to address climate change and heard from different people from different countries and cultures and sides of the story to get the full picture of both sides.

However, this article outlines of the economic issues due to the divide between the HIC’s and NEE’s & LIC’s where different countries would struggle to commit economically to the crisis due to money needed for development, repair from natural disasters & Covid-19 etc. and that the expected amount of money needed to be given from them would put them in serious financial instability, in comparison to the richer countries, which could commit much more.

Using economic globalisation, HIC’s should be able to provide aid to the poorer countries to help them meet their goals and pitch in more of their own money to support the pledge where other countries cannot meet it.

Political globalisation plays a large role in how the decisions are made as different countries will have different views on the topic based on if they get their income from fossil fuels and deforestation (e.g. Brazil, India, Australia) and if their industry provides economically for their country. Or, in contrast, if climate change is not benefiting the country but is worsening its status (e.g. extreme weather events).

This will cause political debate on the agreements being made and research has shown a leak that certain countries wanted to sabotage COP-26 as the goals outlined there might put them in trouble. However, listening to different opinions at the party may sway or convince other parties to change their opinion, do more or understand the true extent of the problem. Making deals with other countries to help each other, will be a large benefit of globalisation.

Is it good globalisation: Yes.

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COP26 CLIMATE CHANGE FEATURE

IS 1.5C STILL ALIVE? Words: Olive, Year 12

COP26 was the 26th annual Conference of the Parties, the signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The conference ran from the 31st of October to the 12th of November, although negotiations ran into the evening of the 13th.

It is hard to evaluate the success of the conference, as there is a significant difference between the pledges made by the parties involved, and what they are legally required to do.

The conference saw many landmark successes, but also some disappointing failures. It ended with Alok Sharma, the summit president, stating that he was 'deeply sorry'

about the conclusion of the negotiations and the changes which were made regarding coal. But, despite the disappointments, is 1.5 still alive?

The aim of the conference was for parties to make amendments to their NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) that were more ambitious, so as to ensure that we do not surpass 1.5 degrees of global temperature rise.

The agreements made in Glasgow were certainly progress and the summit was undoubtedly historic.

COP26 was the biggest political gathering ever held in the UK, with 38,000 delegates in attendance.

The 196 nations which are signatories of the UNFCCC are now in agreement that the target that should be aimed for is limiting warming to 1.5°C. In Paris in 2015, the aim was below 2°C and ideally below 1.5°C. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) released a special report in 2018 on global warming of 1.5°C; the report explained the key differences that half a degree would make and made it clear that 2°C is not an option.

Coal was mentioned for the first time in any COP text, with promises to ‘phase [it] down.’ It was agreed that subsidies that lower the price of coal, oil or natural gas will be phased out, and leaders promised to stop deforestation by 2030.

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FEATURE

"Landmark agreements and somewhat ambitious targets will not be enough."

Methane is currently responsible for a third of global warming caused by humans, more than 100 countries agreed to a scheme to cut 30% of emissions by 2030. There were even agreements made by financial organisations which control $130 trillion.

They agreed to back ‘clean’ technology like renewable energy.

A particularly momentous agreement was between China and the USA, who agreed to cooperate more over the next decade. Given China’s past reluctance to take action to cut their emissions, the significance of this agreement must not be diminished.

Finally, the agreement pledged to increase the financial aid for lower income countries to cope with the impact of the climate crisis and to allow them to invest in renewable energy. There is also the possibility that a trillion dollar a year fund will be introduced from 2025 to aid lower income countries, though many are sceptical as to whether this will materialise.

These pledges seem like, and in many cases are, great successes.

But landmark agreements and somewhat ambitious targets will not be enough.

The Climate Action Tracker, considered by many to be the world’s most respected climate analysis coalition, released a report based on the short-term goals set out by the parties in Glasgow. The report found that temperature rises would top 2.4°C, 0.9°C more than the ‘safe’ threshold of 1.5°C. Before the conference, pledges to cut emissions by 2030 would have resulted in 2.7°C of warming.

Optimistic forecasts released during the conference suggested that the pledges could limit warming to 2°C or less, but many pledges fell short of their requirements.

It is clear that COP26 has not secured our futures. There were particular disappointments during the conference, with which one couldn’t help but feel disheartened.

India, the world’s third biggest emitter, announced it was aiming for net zero by 2070.

This was disappointing both because it is not nearly ambitious enough, but also because it speaks to the support available for lower income countries in their effort to reach net zero.

It is unsurprising that a country already having to pour money into tackling the effects of the climate crisis, and which has an emerging economy, did not feel able to make a target as ambitious as other nations.

The pledge was disappointing, nonetheless. The pledge for richer countries to provide $100 billion a year by 2020 for lower income countries to help tackle the climate crisis and invest in renewables was missed. This makes it harder for lower income countries, many of whom are least responsible, to invest in climate solutions and prevent suffering as a result of the crisis.

The mention of coal in the draft agreement was initially very promising, but the commitment was weakened from ‘phase out’ to ‘phase down’ after a late intervention by China and India.

Many are suspicious of the proposed funds for lower income countries, after previous pledges have been missed.

As Vanessa Nakate said, ‘while we are all facing the same storm when it comes to climate change, we are not all in the same boat.’ Unfortunately, the pledges made at COP did not recognise this. There is widespread fear that developing countries are being left behind as we work to net zero.

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FEATURE

"It is vital that we do not consider the conference to have been the solution... keep pushing for change."

Many promises are seen to be weak. No dates have been set for the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies, there is no clear plan for the policing of the pledge to end fossil fuels and most commitments made at COP will have to be selfpoliced, with only a few countries making their pledges legally binding.

There have been many promises made, and some represent progress. But there is valid fear that these promises will never be met, that they are empty promises made to inspire hope and discourage pressure for genuine action. Vanessa Nakate spoke at the conference of how we are ‘drowning in promises.’ COP26 left many wanting more rigid promises, that countries have to adhere to.

With a crisis like the climate crisis, there is no time for empty promises. In the UK, some criticised the government for their empty words. Whilst promising statements were made at the conference and Johnson played an active role in encouraging action, some felt that his words were empty, after it failed to join an alliance to phase out oil and gas and refused to abandon plans for a new North Sea oil field.

1.5°C is still alive. It has not been abandoned, but it has not been secured. The progress made at the conference should not be underestimated, with many pledges marking a genuine shift in attitudes towards the climate crisis in the global conversation. But it is vital that we do not consider the conference to have been the solution. We must keep pushing for change.

2.4°C would be a catastrophe. We must pressure our government to adhere to their promises and continue to push for the climate crisis to maintain a topic of global conversation. What was perhaps most inspiring about the summit, was the involvement of people.

"We are listening.

We are watching, and we are waiting.

But we cannot wait passively. " Words: Olive, Year 12

The crowds of protesters in Glasgow, and the gathering of 3,000 people in Oxford city centre inspired hope.

We are listening, we are watching, and we are waiting. But we cannot wait passively. We must continue to push for action, because the progress made at the summit is evidence of what happens when people push for change, and the gaps that remain is evidence that our work is not done. 1.5°C is still alive but it is a fragile goal, and we must protect it.

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ON EQUALITY

A LETTER TO BORIS JOHNSON MP Words: Olivia, Year 6

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Dear Prime Minister, It has come to my attention that, even as of my young age of eleven that there is a severe unbalance in our society. This does not just apply for the United Kingdom, but for the rest of the world as well. As of July 2021, there are 222 women in the House of Commons, which is a low number compared to the 428 men but is shockingly the highest it has ever been. The House of Lords is worse, with the same number of women (222), but with an incredible number of men, a total of around 800!

The vote is not enough. We supposedly gained ‘rights’, but how have we gained equality when we can rarely vote for a female MP successfully? How have we gained equality when America has never seen a female president ever across a span of about 250 years? How have we gained equality when all over the world girls and women are still battling a battle they should not have to fight for their own education?

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YOU MIGHT NOT LISTEN, YOU MIGHT THINK THAT YOU HAVE BIGGER PROBLEMS, BUT TRUTHFULLY, DO YOU REALLY? WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IS NOT ENOUGH.

You and other world leaders should be ashamed that children are taking notice of this unfairness and feel like they have to say something because who else will?

You talk of climate change and issue after issue but where are women’s rights? These issues are just as important and indeed often connected to issues like sexism. To fix one you must fix them all. Women are just as capable, just as strong, just as intelligent as any man, but our chance of success is far slimmer. How is it we are still fighting? We deserve rights. Without women, where would you be? Without girls, where would our world stand?

Dr Alice Ball discovered the cure for leprosy at the University of Hawaii, yet when she died, she was not given credit for her life-changing discovery. Instead, a male colleague took the credit, and Dr Ball was not given recognition until years later. Dr Ball’s discovery would save countless lives, and yet I would say for certain, if a man discovered this, he would have received an award and would be valued among all doctors and scientists across the world.

You might not listen, you might think that you have bigger problems, but truthfully, do you really? What you have done is not enough. Over thousands upon thousands of years women have never been considered as equals.

You, among others, will probably claim that this is incorrect, that I am being dramatic, that I am exaggerating, that this isn’t really a big problem, but look at the facts. Can’t you see how you have neglected to help? To do something. If you care about the future of the world, listen to women and men. Like you must listen to young people about the climate crisis, you must also listen to the girls of our world and hear our plea. You, like us children, must clean up your mess too.

Please understand that we cannot do this, we cannot make a change without the help of world leaders like you. We can protest, argue, and fight all we want, but only you can make the change. I am only young, but I notice how boys are treated differently in classrooms to girls, how gender stereotypes effects women’s careers and how there is no woman in the world that will not face battles because they are female to achieve careers.

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I WILL WRITE TO EVERY LEADER OF EVERY COUNTRY IN EVERY LANGUAGE IF I MUST, BUT I WILL NOT GIVE UP WITHOUT A FIGHT. THINGS MUST CHANGE NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

This includes monarchs too. Elizabeth I’s reign would have been a hundred percent easier if she was an unmarried man. But it is because women have continued fighting, although tuned out by many men, that women have any careers, any futures, at all.

I will write to every leader of every country in every language if I must, but I will never give up without a fight. Things must change NOW before it is too late. So, for once, listen to women.

What we have to say is just as valuable as anyone else’s point of view. If I believe in you, please Sir, believe in me too and listen.

Yours sincerely, Olivia Age 11 Feminist and activist

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2021 History Department To celebrate Black History Month, the History department launched a half term competition to run alongside the students’ learning. The objective was to create an informative poster about a person or group and their contribution to British History.

The pupils responded wonderfully, and the entries were displayed in the Rendall Hall for all our visitors to see.

In third place, was Georgie’s (Year 9) poster on Walter Tull. We really liked how this piece focused on the many challenges Walter overcame and the different fields in which Walter excelled. It was really well researched, developed and presented.

Dana (Year 7) produced a fantastic poster covering both historical context, individuals and a group of people. This piece demonstrated a huge amount of effort and was beautifully presented.

We were blown away by the scale of Emma’s (Year 9) research booklet that showed the contribution of many individuals: activists, healthcare and sporting heroes, politics, the armed forces and entertainment.

It was a fantastic project and really well deserving of our top prize.

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COUNTY HOCKEY Words: Elena, Year 11

We started this season with a match against Cranford House and we stepped up to the pitch very confidently. It was a hard first match under the pouring rain. We played our hardest and beat them 9-2. We all were so proud of our first game.

In the same week we played against Our Ladies, Abingdon (OLA). It was also a hard match but working as a team we managed to beat them 2-1.

A few weeks later during our half term we had a very intense day where we went to the County Hockey Tournament.

We started off by playing Tudor Hall, which was a good start to the tournament, drawing 0-0.

Building on this, we kept our head up and played two other very hard games. We went back into the pitch to play Oxford High, who had some amazing players and great skills. They took a lot of good shots but were not able to get any in, as our goalkeeper managed to stop some amazing goals.

We played an awesome match and again drew. There was a lot of pressure on our last match as it would determine whether or not we would get into the final. It was a very good game against Bloxham.

They had a very good shoot at goal, which meant we lost to them 1-0, but we were all still so proud to come third in all Oxfordshire!

This was a huge achievement for our team as last year we didn’t have any Covid-19 restrictions.

We came back from half term ready to win many more games. We played another match against OLA, we had our U15 and U16 playing all together. It was a very fun and competitive game, we managed to get the ball up and score an amazing goal, eventually drawing 1-1.

We’ve now started training for the indoor hockey county trials. We have two more hockey matches coming up, and the County Tournament soon! We are so proud and excited: we will give it our all and have fun. We are soon going to compete in a netball league that we are all so happy to be doing.

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Isolated A short story

Words: Jess, Year 9

Mary sat hunched at her desk under a pale lamp light. A case file lay sprawled over her matte white desk, and a once full cup of coffee sat forgotten and cold beside her elbow. If you asked her if she was ok, she would reply with yes, but the tired bags under her eyes could speak the truth without fault.

Despite her obvious exhaustion, Mary continued to work on the case she was given, trying to crack it, trying to see the truth that lay within the sea of text and photos.

She stared down at the file; John Birch, 21, Caucasian male with brown hair and green eyes, found dead in his home. Cause of death was obvious; the picture taken at the scene depicted the young man in the foetal position under his kitchen table, with a gunshot wound on the left side of his head. Most evidence painted the case as a suicide, but there was something nagging Mary at the corner of her mind.

Something didn’t feel right about the case. According to close friends and relatives, John had no mental issues and was overall a healthy man.

She clawed at her hair, desperate to force an answer, or a theory to link the events and evidence together, but nothing would surface but the overwhelming craving for more caffeine. Mary sighed, before rising out of her seat, retrieving her mug and exiting her windowless office. She checked the clock, 3pm; “one more hour of overtime, and then I can go home and rest,” she thought to herself. With mug in hand, she walked briskly down the hallway. She passed empty offices and empty conference rooms and she walked to the coffee machi- wait, empty?

She stopped in her tracks and recounted her footsteps. She peeked in her colleague’s offices and the conference rooms. All rooms were isolated. All the work in the rooms were filed neatly away; it was as if everyone had simply packed up their things and left. On the way to the machine, she noted that she had not seen any janitors at all.

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She pushed her confusion away and tried to brainstorm a logical explanation, perhaps they were told to leave early? Maybe they gathered on the first floor for a meeting or a presentation?

She sighed and approached the coffee machine. The machine itself was a tall, thin and red machine, with a small touchscreen surface to choose the drink to dispense. It had everything, from hot chocolate to green tea. Mary seemed to note that there were a lot more options then when she came to get another cup a few hours ago. She once again shrugged off feelings of confusion, placed her mug under the dispenser and pressed the clip-art icon of a cup containing a black liquid labelled “coffee.”

The machine growled as it processed the order. Mechanical whirs poured out of the machine; it never made these sounds before. It was normally a calm buzzing noise. Mary stepped back, slightly shocked at the new behaviour of the machine. The growling went on and on and oPing! With an audible dinging sound, the machine came to a halt. A dark liquid poured out of the dispenser into the mug; and with that, silence enveloped Mary once again. Mary stepped forward and picked up the mug – the mug was warm, and the smell of coffee drifted around her. The familiar smell immediately brought comfort to her, and she lifted the mug to her lips. The bitter but comforting taste of coffee flooded her tastebuds. As soon as the liquid hit her tongue, she felt herself awaken and it was as if she was never exhausted in the first place. A grin spread across her face, and she carried the mug back to her office.

She looked up at a clock that was above the first conference room. 4pm… or at least that’s what she hoped to see.

She stared up at the clock, becoming fully aware that there were no hands on the clock. Confused, she grabbed a stepladder, climbed it, and gently took the clock off the wall. As she stared at the device, she noticed that the hands hadn’t been torn off, but instead it was as if the clock had been constructed without hands. Mary frowned; she always checked this clock when getting coffee, and it was probably the most accurate clock in the building.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned it on, expecting to see the time; instead, where the time would be, there was nothing – just a blank empty space. Her eyebrows furrowed – what was going on?

She tucked her phone back into her pocket and walked back to her office, mug still in hand. Whilst walking back, she once again checked the offices of her co-workers, only to find them empty. She unlocked the door to her office shut the door behind her. She pushed the case file to the side and rested her elbows on the desk; with her head in her palms, she desperately tried to think of a possible answer for the disappearance of her co-workers and the time.

An idea forced its way into her mind – the window! Perhaps if she peered out of the window in her office, she could see her co-workers below her? Or by judging by the position of the sun, she could find out the time.

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She opened the beige curtains and gazed inside. Inside, because, what was outside was not outside, but appeared to be an exact copy of the office she was in. She could not see herself in the copy nor her own reflection. But Mary’s blood ran cold when she noticed one significant detail about the copy.

Inside the copy of her office, there was a message written in crimson above her desk, on the wall where a picture of her family and herself should’ve been.

“I know what you fear.”

Mary didn’t even realise she was screaming until it rang in her ears like an alarm. I know what you fear She aggressively shut the curtains with shaking hands slick with sweat. She stumbled back and slammed herself against her door. Her breathing was rapid. Shallow and fast. Her heart thumped in her chest. It beat as if it wanted to escape her chest. The rhythmic beating danced inside her head over and over.

Mary squeezed her eyes shut, desperate to wake up. To wake up from this nightmare. Nothing happened of course, and in the panic and fear that drowned her, she had to accept that this was reality.

Whatever or whoever torturing her, it was right, it did know her fear. Her worst fear.

Being trapped. Alone. With someone- no, someone couldn’t write that message, it had too many smears, and as far as she was concerned, humans don’t have 10 fingers on each hand. Something.

Something was here with her. It knew what she feared. It was altering reality to break her down. Her worst fear, along with being trapped in a non-Euclidean office, caused all the blood to drain from her face.

She didn’t think it could get any worse until she heard it.

It was subtle at first, so subtle that Mary didn’t even register it as a threat at first. It sounded like - no, it was a dragging sound. It was if someone was dragging a sack of wheat on carpet. On carpet. The hallway flooring was carpet.

Someone was outside. something...

Mary’s eyes widened – someone was here for her! She was safe and someone had come to rescue her from this nightmare! She clambered onto her feet and reached for the door handle.

That’s when she heard something that made her stomach drop.

A low, husky breathing. Like a metal pipe being dragged across steel. The breathing of a cancerous smoker. The huffing and puffing of a predator. A predator. A hunter. The thing that was toying with her reality to kill her no one will ever know that you’re gone.

The dragging stopped outside the door. She could hear the raspy breathing outside the door. She felt all the hair on the back of her neck stand up. The mastermind behind this nightmare was behind the door.

It found her. It found her. She stumbled back in panic, and found herself pressed against the window that never existed. Her sweat trickled down her neck and soaked her clothes. Tears flowed down her face and she could begin to feel her knees become weak with fear.

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Her mind was completely shut down with fear. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t act. She pressed herself against the window of her office which never existed.

She clawed at her face which never existed desperate to think of an answer. Nothing would surface, no escape from the hell that she lay helpless in. Nothing could save her and nothing will save her because Mary never existed. Only I did.

My name is Mary. I’m not really Mary, or John, or Jessica. I deleted the real Mary from our reality and placed her in my dimension of lies and suffering, I wore her identity and stole her real world from her whilst she broke down in my little play area.

To exist is to be. I have no physical form. I can only live through others who have once been. Those who have once been do not exist anymore, because I live through their identity. All my victims cry and scream for help in their little domain of fear, desperate for help, but help doesn’t come. No one even knows that I have replaced them. No one knows that I wear their identity to search for more victims, to search for their fear. I want to know what they fear; to exist to cause fear is what defines me.

On the rare occasion my act is found out, I end my host’s life in both dimensions by a quick death, one of my favourites being a shot to the head. The police claim it to be a suicide, but no. Suicide is a beautiful mercy in my world, to those who suffer and scream in fear, and it doesn’t exist.

Oh, I’ll stop with the monologue. It’s not very pleasing for you, is it?

Yes, I know you’re reading this story, reader.

Did you really think this was a fictional story? A little suspense story written by a young girl called Jessica? No, this was merely a stepping-stone for me, to enter the world again through you.

Jess was a very detailed writer, wasn’t she? She loved writing horror stories and using detail to create fear in her readers. The more detailed the story, the better. The better for me to enter your world. To enter you. To replace you.

You’re next, reader.

I’m going to wear you.

AND IT WILL HURT.

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BOOK REVIEW:

FROSTHEART: JAMIE LITTLER Words: Athena, Year 6

Illustration: Jamie Littler

I have just read the most amazing fantasy novel! The first book of the Frostheart trilogy is called Frostheart. It has a very strong story line, and I could not stop reading it.

In the book, an adventurous group of children set out onto some dangerous lands, they must beat the shadows that lurk up and down, day and night, to find the missing heart of the nearest Frost village.

The main character is called Ash. He is an orphan who has magical powers. He was kidnapped by a grumpy yeti and is trained for the adventure that lies ahead of him. His main quest is to find his parents who set out when Ash was a baby. They said that they would come back but they never did.

I would rate Frostheart 5 out of 5. So far it is my favourite book.

The pictures in this book set the scene so much that you have a whole world in your head. The magical story will probably become your favourite. I hope that you enjoy the book.

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BOOK REVIEW:

DEATH ON EARTH BY JULES HOWARD Words: Lois, Year 11

Recently, I read a book titled ‘Death on Earth’. The title obviously caught my eye and I was intrigued by the cover with drawings of jellyfish, birds and insects. Going into it, I had an idea of what it might be lifelooking at the consequences and intricacies of the death of organisms on the planet- and while it wasn’t completely different, my expectations were subverted.

Early on, the author established a key point- without life, death is nothing. He talked about all living things having a ‘contract with death’ that influenced how they lived.

I was interested to learn how dependent the mating hating of animals are with their contract with death. Many animals, like salmon and mayflies, only breed once in their lifetime, dying immediately after. This may seem unfair, but, this evolutionary trade off means that they produce hundreds of young at a time. Some species even take this to the extreme, mating until they die of lack of food, exhaustion, or disease. Animals that live longer lives tend to mate more often but with less offspring, choosing a safer contract with death.

Learning about the trade between life and death in animals all in the

name of continuing their species, completely changed my outlook on the natural world. Unlike humans, it is written into the instincts of living things to continue their legacy with young, even if this trumps selfpreservation. An area where this book could have improved could be looking deeper into comparing this with the human psyche. How did we evolve to be so different?

The human relationship with death is a complex one where its inevitability fights with our emotions and attachments, like a war between our animalistic nature and decent, and our emotions.

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"This book about death has taught me the true extent, and the triumph, of life."

Aside from these questions about death for humans, this book gave me a new fascination of the beauty of death: just as life leads to death, death breathes life.

One chapter follows the author to a body farm. To be specific, a pig body farm, where hundreds of dead pigs are studied as they decompose under various conditions.

Where there was a dead mouse, I now see a new generation of shield beetles ready to grow and thrive. This book about death has taught me the true extent, and the triumph ,of life.

Words: Lois, Year 11

There the author struggled with opposing reactions of wanting to admire the new life created in the decomposing bodies and wanting to gag. Which he did. Whilst definitely not a sight for the squeamish, he noticed there was true beauty in the thousands of beetles, worms, flies, slugs and writhing balls of maggots making homes under the flaps of pig skin. A whole new ecosystem that brings new life and supports this world around us in ways some may never even see.

In conclusion Death on Earth has taught me the true complexity of death and its relationship with the living, as well as asked thought-provoking questions about human nature. Looking outside now where I once saw withering plants, I see nutrients that will break down creating rich soil or supplying birds with nests to support their young.

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LIFE DRAWING Words and illustrations by Cora, Year 13

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LIFE DRRAWING

For the past half term Years 11 to 13 have participated in 5 weeks of life drawing. As it is darker outside, we have better light contrast and this great experience has stretched all of us and our skills. It meant we could explore shadows and shape on the body.

Each week we have explored a different viewpoint and set media, for example, the first week was pencil and how to measure proportions accurately. Since then we have explored colour, pattern, mixed media, challenging angles and light and dark.

Through our course, teaching and perseverance everyone's skills have improved increasingly, and we have all had a go at many different and challenging approaches. This has been an amazing experience, useful for coursework and our portfolios for Art school.

It is lovely to see everyone's improvements from the first week to now and we have really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, hot chocolate and biscuits. We will miss the Thursday evening sessions, and want to say a big thank you to all those involved in the sessions.

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