School Visits

Highlights of the day were the judges’ own presentations, on various geological themed topics, close to their hearts, from preserving and presenting geological samples, to civil engineering, with a particularly engaging favourite of ours, by Mr Timothy Gregory, from Bristol University, focusing on his work on meteorites.

These professional presentations also highlighted the skills that are needed to deliver truly engaging talks; by conveying the speakers’ utter enthusiasm for their subjects, we were equally enthused, whilst being thoroughly entertained.

An enjoyable lunch, in historic surroundings, gave the judges the opportunity to deliberate on the eight finalists’ poster submissions before there was one last chance to maximise points in the intense and quick fire Quiz Round; our geological knowledge pitted against that of all the other teams. Our team managed to capitalise on the ‘faults’ made by the other teams in the Quiz Round, leading to overall success for Aylesbury Grammar School, who were declared champions.

AGS were presented with the National Schools’ Geology Challenge Trophy 2018 and each winning team member was awarded a Junior Candidate Fellowship of The Geological Society.

It was especially pleasing to have won the competition for Mrs Jiggins in her final year at AGS and we cannot thank her enough for not only enabling us to take part in the competition but also for all her years of dedication, hard work and fantastic teaching, on behalf of all her students.

She will be greatly missed!

George Ramsey – Phillips 11

Art - Year 10 & 12 visit the Tate Modern Gallery, London

This year once again, the AGS Art Department organised a trip to London to visit the Tate Modern Art Gallery on the

20th September 2017. Students travelled by coach into London and walked a short distance to the gallery. Once inside the gallery students had the opportunity to tour the permanent displays of art work in the main gallery until midday, taking in some of Britain’s most diverse and contemporary works of Art.

After taking lunch the group then headed to the gallery’s new extension, the Switch House. Here there were opportunities to experience installations made of many different materials; as well as more traditional paintings. This educational visit proved very successful and was invaluable to the development of the Year 10s Art project based on the theme ‘Close Up’.

Thank you to all the GCSE and A level students who attended for their positive contribution on the day.

Mrs L Tangi

Art - Year 12 visit the Royal Academy of Art, London

A Sixth Form trip was organised to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition on the 20th June

2018. This year Grayson Perry RA was commissioned to coordinate the gallery’s 250th annual celebration. Students travelled by train and were accompanied to the gallery by staff from the Art department. The art extravaganza extended to the streets of London’s West End, with an installation of over 200 flags designed by Royal Academicians. Galleries were jam-packed with contemporary art made by internationally renowned artists and exciting new talent. Highlights of this trip are summarised by the students that joined us as follows…

Mrs L Tangi

Our visit to the Royal Academy’s summer exhibition was a great opportunity to find inspiration for future work and projects. It was a great occasion for us to take a look at some of the best contemporary work on display in one of London’s finest galleries. I took a lot away from the experience in terms of ideas and artists to study in the coming year and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Tommy Williams - Lee 12

The Art trip to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition was inspiring, particularly due to the huge variety of work and the skill shown in making the pieces, such as the enormous fabric ‘octopus’. It was great in a way which was both abstract yet very meticulous with its ornate frills and seams. My A-level is primarily focused on portraiture and visiting the exhibition opened my eyes to all of the different ways in which the human form can be depicted thus providing new angles to my project.

William Irons - Ridley 12

The Royal Academy of Arts Exhibition held both traditional and contemporary paintings, giving the opportunity to explore a variety of different artists. The piece ‘La Loggia, Udine’ by artist Ken Howard was one of my favourites and depicts a scene at Doge’s Palace, Venice using the illusion of detail to draw the viewer in. There was certainly something for everyone with its 1,300 artworks in an array of mediums.

The visit not only complemented my educational studies but gave me an holistic view on art as an expression. I would highly recommend this visit to any year 11s who have decided to study Art at A-level.

Tim Wheeler - Lee 12

English - Year 12

Shakespeare Study Day

Stratford-upon-Avon; birthplace and home of Shakespeare, bustling market town with over 800 years of preserved history, proud holder of an average resident age significantly greater than the UK average.

Having studied Shakespeare’s gripping yet often overlooked tragedy Othello over the course of the Autumn term, the prospect of a study day on the text at the great man’s birthplace was welcomed by Year 12 English Literature students. We kicked off the day by finding the nearest coffee shop to facilitate pre-10:00am thinking (and happily live up to the artsy literature student cliché), followed by a talk on the text from Lisa Peter, a senior lecturer and researcher at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Beyond just consolidating what we had learnt in the classroom, we were presented with new source materials that placed the text firmly within its historical context.

Othello is known, probably above all else, for its presentations of race and racism, often leading to it being dubbed a ‘racist play’. Whilst some scenes may play uncomfortably for a modern audience, fully appreciating the context in which it was written in 1603 is critical due to some fundamental

differences in perceptions of race. To view the play entirely through this lens is to completely overlook the remainder of the complex social web constructed by Shakespeare, however. It was remarkably ahead of its time in challenging conventional gender roles, it tackles class issues and has great scope to be played psychoanalytically or homo-erotically.

As a fairly small group, this talk was very interactive and offered the perfect opportunity to develop and challenge ideas in 1.5 hours of undiluted Shakespeare appreciation. This was followed by lunch, with the teachers taking advantage of Stratford’s hipster, avocado-rich offerings, and students swiftly tracking towards McDonalds.

Our second main activity was a look around Shakespeare’s childhood home, a half-timbered, late 16th century house including the very room in which the oft-cited ‘greatest of all English writers’ was born. Whilst not strictly relevant to our studies of Othello, the experience proved fascinating and highly informative, and we seized the opportunity to enact Pyramus and Thisbe (the play performed within A Midsummer Night’s Dream) at a drama workshop afterwards. As heart-shatteringly convincing as James Storey (D12) was in portraying the passionate death of Thisbe, the results were undeniably more comic than tragic.

The day was fantastically interesting and proved extremely useful in extending our studies of Shakespeare in relation to Othello and beyond. To Mrs Beckley and Mrs Sampson, we “can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks and ever thanks” for organising and accompanying!

Sam Carter – L12

German - Year 13 visit to Berlin

Eight Year 13s from AGS and AHS took part in a trip to Berlin at the start of the October half

term holiday. The 4 day trip took us through 250 years of Berlin’s history. The main focuses were the cultural boom under the reign of ‘Friedrich the Great’, the atrocities and guilt of the holocaust and life under the communist regime from the 1960s until the fall of the Berlin Wall.

We were on our feet for between 10 and 12 hours a day and saw most of the city’s famous sights. Among the more significant were the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the TV tower and both holocaust and soviet war memorials. Our fair share of museums were on the agenda too, namely the GDR museum and Jewish museum. They enhanced our knowledge, as we were given the chance to learn through museum exhibitions and our surroundings alike. In addition, every student had

prepared a presentation in German on a chosen landmark to be given on a site.

Because the trip was so intensive, some downtime was essential to keep our brains from frying; a journey to the Turkish market brought us back from the mid-20th century to experience, first hand, the cultural impacts of immigration and more contemporary European politics. One donner kebab and some Turkish bread later, I know that I’d definitely understood the city’s great diversity and its cultural differences, from the ethnic communities and sub-divisions to Charlottenplatz and KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens, the capital’s most prestigious shop).

It’s safe to say not a moment was wasted, re-enforcing experiences that will prove to be vital in exam season. On behalf of the whole group, we all had a great time and I would recommend the city to all those with the opportunity to go in the future.

Tristan Coe – Lee 13

French - Year 10 Exchange to Bourg en Bresse

You’ve probably read lots of reports on exchanges and visits so I’m going to keep this short and sweet in the hope that you will make it to the end!!

We travelled to Bourg-en-Bresse, which is situated 70km north of Lyon. I enjoyed lots whilst on the visit, firstly the food. Eating delicious traditional French food such as onion soup and “baby sheep” which, later, I learned to be lamb. Also eating traditional French bread instead of a “rip off” version that we Brits make, made me realise that the French know their food.

On the visit I also really enjoyed all the excursions we went on. My favourite had to be when we went to a kebab shop for food and then straight on to the cinema to watch Pacific Rim, in French. I was a bit sceptical about going into the cinema as I was wondering how much I would be able to understand. My expectations were correct and within the adverts before the film I was already very lost. Although I managed to soldier on through the film, unlike my two English colleagues who fell asleep for the entire film. This made a great story and provided me with some amusement whilst in the cinema.

I also really enjoyed our Art workshop where we learnt how to draw a face. Although I gave it a good go, the one thing I took away from this activity, is that I was right not to pick Art for GCSE. Also, for Easter I predominantly stayed with the family. We went to a church service then went to my exchange partner’s grandparents’ house for the rest of the day. After the end of the visit I was quite glad to be heading home, but at the same time I was quite sad about leaving as I had come to enjoy being in France and I am sure my colleagues did as well.

Many thanks to the French department staff for organising.

Josh Alexander – Lee 10

English - Year 13

visit Paris

Every second became a minute and thus, as you would expect, the minutes morphed into hours.

The cold, mechanical beeps signalling the end of fifth period suddenly seemed unusually full of life and a desire to live it, each coinciding with further realisation of the actuality of the circumstances we had occurred upon. We – that is to say the tutti-frutti gang of eight, comprising an octet of English Literature/Language Students of all flavours in our final year of secondary schooling (none of whom could believe their luck) – would soon find ourselves in the city of love, light and lacklustre driving. ‘PARIS’ – even to say the word felt immediately natural: its soft vowels and gentle consonants glide off the tongue as if my breath was made to carry it and my soul to know it - this home I loved only from afar.

The seven-hour train journey, which involved more transfers than a restless mercenary, slipped by surprisingly quickly for the overly vocal half of the group, high on expectations and E numbers, who may have slightly annoyed the more passenger-minded amongst the ebullient globetrotters. This led to one of the tranquilites becoming somewhat irate with the clamorous exuberance of his peers, eventually sternly demanding they quieten. Talk about snakes on a train.

This conflict soon dissipated as we arrived in the Paris Gare Du Nord, followed by the joys of hotel check-in.

The only place to start our visit would be the Eiffel tower, which gave us the qualifications necessary to justify purchasing any item from the array of meaningless, Eiffel-towerthemed, overpriced tourist tat that is sold on every street corner, as if the country as a whole were clearing out stock. The overcast skies made the famous pylon strikingly menacing, its gunmetal grey frame piercing the heavens in a challenge facilitated by the kind of self-confidence only possessed by Parisian buildings. The ascent triggered certain primal fears in oneself that can only be described as ‘cowardice’, clinging desperately to the centre whilst my peers made full use of photo opportunities of the magnificent view of the city, and contemplated whether they’d make it across the Seine dry if the tower fell.

A brisk wander through Paris certainly built up our appetite and what better place to be hungry than the Rue Mouffetard Market? With all manner of cuisines on offer from all over the world, there was plenty of scope for the inquisitive students to meander into virgin culinary boundaries for their limited English palette of Nandos and Haribo. Having carefully examined the aliment on offer, the students took the risk of purchasing pizzas, kebabs and burgers, going straight into the outer atmosphere of French cookery like the intrepid ‘gastronauts’ we always knew they were.

Having saturated ourselves with delicious grease, it was time for death. More specifically, it was time to explore the wonders of the famed Père Lachaise Cemetery, a morbid home to the great and good of Parisian history. The largest cemetery in Paris was constructed by Napoleon and had previously been social housing, making the rows of mausoleums seem eerily like streets of terraced houses. It was easy to imagine the unfortunate souls, housed as they were in their elaborate shrines, waking up and popping to the shops down the road. An uncomfortable juxtaposition between the living and the dead flavoured the crisp, urban air, particularly in the case of the more famous yet equally permanent inhabitants of the estate.

The Notre Dame, that cathedral of hyperkyphotic Disney (/Victor Hugo, depending on your cultural references) fame, was our next destination touristique. Far from a gothic nightmare, the chance to admire one of the best-known religious structures in the world was one taken with glee by many of the students. We slowly weaved through the packed ambulatory to gaze at the various stained glass attractions and holy statues.

En route to our tea, we had a whistle stop tour of other checklist items of the tourist capital of mainland

Europe. Brief stops at the Bastille (personally bitterly disappointed to find a building and not 2014’s British Breakthrough Act winners) and the Places des Vosges buoyed interest as we meandered through the city towards the La Marais District after a packed day. The restaurant district provided the problem of too much choice but I finally settled for seemingly the most French restaurant in the whole of Paris.

The last activity for the day was visiting the Pompadou centre. The prominent pop art exoskeleton of brilliant primary coloured tubing cascades down the sides of the building, making the museum impossible to miss. Difficulty in finding the entrance to the impressive yet bizarre building was more of an obstacle than the short queue we found at the door, possibly caused by less hardy tourists giving up after a few attempts at locating the entry point. Once inside, we were free to walk amongst the Picassos, Pollocks, Rothkos and Warhols and attempt to salvage some meaning from a few of the more ‘abstract’ pieces. Mr Skinner had plenty to say about the presence of three blank canvasses which took up a good 3m across the main wall. Unfortunately, few of these words are likely to make it through editing. Much of the art on display was very impressive but plenty of it did seem peculiarly not, which turned us onto the game of pretending to be pompous know-it-all art critics. Already dressed appropriately in a leather jacket and black turtleneck with some degree of irony and satire (specifically how much, I am still unclear), I went around piece to piece whilst talking to my peers as if each brush stroke (or, in some cases, lack thereof) was of genuine significance to my life. This was a great deal of fun and climaxed in a small crowd of French strangers gathering around and listening intently, presumably affecting some level of interest in the drivel I am predisposed to unload on occasion. We eventually tired of toying with the vulnerable gallery-goers and strode back to the designated meeting point, incredibly proud of our little prank.

We arrived later than expected to our hotel rooms and collapsed into an immediate slumber due to exhaustion after having absorbed an undiluted twelve hours of the capital. What. A. Day.

We said farewell to our hotel. The Arc de Triomphe was a brisk walk away and enclosed by a moat of Mario Kart-esque driving, reminiscent of the centripetal experiment of keeping a bucket full of water spinning fast enough to prevent any liquid from falling out – the cars always looked inches from a disastrous crash worthy of international news, but kept moving like supersonic clockwork following abstract copper grooves which are beyond (non-Parisian) human comprehension. Surrounded by the incredulous flouting of traffic laws and common sense, the class rested for a moment, possibly the first moment since we had lightened our hands of pens used to write essay analysis on a Friday afternoon, unbelievably, only two days ago. And certainly the last time before we left for home. The to-scale-Scalextric track around us preceded the view of the laser-straight streets framing a beautifully hazy urban sunset as a backdrop for contemplation on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. As my eyes followed the soft curves of the famous arc, my mind raced through a montage of images, so imbued with intense emotion that had been created during this weekend. I had tried new and adventurous foods, and seen old and famous artwork, and all the time I was accompanied by the same English class with whom I had struggled through pages of Lovely Bones analysis on grey Tuesday mornings for nearly two years. Above all, we had a great time. It is difficult to find trips for an English class beyond going to the theatre, but these two days had given us all an invaluable insight into Paris, its culture and its people that have certainly furthered our understanding of the Paris Anthology, ready for the summer exams. For this, we can only thank Mr Skinner and Mrs Harris who I know worked tirelessly to organise the trip and then had to make sure we didn’t decapitate one another/a member of the public/ourselves for a whole two days which is a remarkable achievement in itself.

French - Year 13 visit Paris

Over a warm weekend in October, Year 13 French students from AGS and AHS embarked on the capital city of France for a cultural

enrichment visit. With the help of Mr. Crapper and Miss Billon, we navigated our way across Paris in the brutal but efficient metro system to various sites of interest. After a quick stop at the youth hostel upon arriving, we made our way over to the Assemblée National (one of the two parliamentary buildings in the city) and were led around by an enthusiastic and very French tour guide.

Sadly no sight of President Macron but we carried on in high spirits towards the Latin Quarter where we took in a rather bizarre but enjoyable play, Eugène Ionesco’s “La Cantatrice Chauve” in a quaint, little theatre, le Théâtre de la Huchette, where the play has been performed every night since 1957. That was followed by a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral and then back to the youth hostel to celebrate Max Hutt’s (Pa13) birthday.

The morning after, we were unleashed into the Musée d’Orsay (one of the most famous art collections in the world) for two hours before heading to the Panthéon to read out our pre-planned speeches. These informed the group of who was buried inside the mausoleum and why they are so well-known in France. Up next was a visit to the Musée de l’Armée to learn about former French president, Charles de Gaulle. After around a day and a half on our feet, the seats in the exhibition’s cinema proved a bit too comfortable for most of the group.

After dinner at the hostel, we returned to the centre of Paris to take in the sites by night. The Arc de Triomphe was magnificent but the Eiffel Tower was the main attraction. The excellent viewpoint combined with the flash on our camera-phones led to many a profile picture being updated to include the glowing tower against the Paris skyline. After a morning roaming around the Marais quarter, it was time to head home via the Eurostar. Special thanks to Mr. Crapper, Miss Billon and Mrs. Coakely for organising and carrying out such an informative and memorable visit.

Billy Munday – Ridley 13

German - Year 8

visit to Cologne

We had all been anticipating this trip for weeks and it definitely exceeded

expectations. We had an early start with a packed breakfast on the coach, we arrived at Heathrow without too much traffic, we went through security arguably quickly before being given free time to have a browse around the airport and buy any snacks for later that day.

We landed at Dusseldorf airport and the heat was close to unbearable, so an air-conditioned coach was greatly appreciated. We arrived at the hostel where we were given our first task; making our beds. Unsurprisingly, most people didn’t get very far into the process and decided to use the sheet as it comes (me included).

After the bed making, we headed through Cologne and along the river to get to our restaurant where the traditional German food was amazing; the starters were beef soup with marrow dumplings, the main course was bratwurst or chicken salad and the pudding was a wonderful portion of apple strudel. We got back to the hostel, were given keys to our rooms before free time and our heads inevitably hitting the pillows.

On the second day, we visited the chocolate museum where a lot of souvenirs were purchased and later binned due to them melting! We then

went back into Cologne to climb the cathedral with a very rewarding view. We also competed against other teams on a town quiz. We had our dinner at the hostel, before getting the tram to the bowling alley which was one of the highlights on the trip.

The last day was when we had to pack our bags before getting a coach to Phantasia Land which everyone thoroughly enjoyed, after 6 hours of food and rollercoasters, we drove back to Dusseldorf airport for the flight home. Lots of tired faces but it was all worth it. All in all, it was an unmissable experience and a great way to practise the German language!

Alex Hodson - Hampden 8

History - Year 7

visit Warwick Castle

We went to Warwick castle on the 17th of May 2018 as part of our History studies, a topic based on the Norman Conquest so we went to see the Norman Conquest in reality.

I personally enjoyed this visit and found it very educational and fun at the same time. It took us around one and a half hours to get there and, upon arrival, we were given an optional task to plan a successful invasion of Warwick castle which I eagerly signed up for.

We first went inside the castle and I saw many cool things from the middle ages for example; children’s toys, knights’ armour and various paintings of important medieval figures.

After visiting the inside of the castle, we went to the “trebuchet” show, where we were also encouraged to tuck into our not so medieval lunch. The trebuchet was a deadly medieval war machine that could hurl massive stones, often which had been set on fire, at enemies. The staff gave us interesting trebuchet facts, for example that it was also used to hurl dead cows and pigs, riddled with disease over castle walls so their enemies would get infected and die!

We then saw the trebuchet throw a flaming rock at a few pots and BOOM! They were destroyed, I really liked the trebuchet show!

We then went to the boathouse where we saw medieval technologies in action such as the “water wheel”, and then went up the towers which was a really enjoyable experience despite the claustrophobia in the really tight stairway and the dizziness when you actually reached the top! I probably did scream the whole way up but we all got there in the end.

Back on ground level we had the chance to experience the falconry show where we saw birds showing us some cool tricks like catching a rat and then on to the archery show where we got to see an English longbowman who got paid 6p every day to show us his precision archery skills.

Then we went to the kingmaker where we saw medieval swords, workshops and learnt more about medieval life. Last but not least the gift-shop beckoned, to stock up on medieval souvenirs, conveniently at modern day prices and we then piled onto the coaches and headed home.

I would like to thank the History department for organising such an enjoyable experience.

French - Year 8

visit to Avallon

On 24th May at exactly 7.00am an atmopshere of anticipation and eagerness fell over forty Aylesbury Grammar School pupils yearning to climb onto the bus and begin the long journey to Avallon (France).

Finally, the ardous journey started, but before we knew it we were in Dover waiting to cross the English channel and the anticipation of seeing the white cliffs disappear behind us.

After wandering around the ship and buying a delicous mocha and slice of Carrot cake, we ventured back to the bus waiting to officially set foot on fresh French soil; but to be peadantic it wasn’t soil at all but a hard stone pavement. Suprisingly, most of us were beginnng to get tired but little did we know that we had a six hour bus ride ahead of us. A few sleeps later… we arrived in a beautiful little village near Avallon and met the gregarious and energetic Maison Claire Fortaine members. We went through all the usual procedures and then got given our rooms to unpack. After that we had our first meal in MCF which was très délicieux and then we were let loose for free time to unleash the immense energy that had built up inside of us. Then it was bedtime. One of the most talkative bedtimes full of intent to start the next day.

Day two began with many tired faces and a classic breakfast before swiftly diving into a nice calm and relaxed French lesson preparing us for our visit to Vézelay in the afternoon and Avallon the next day. When our lesson finished we went to the kitchen to make our own tart to have for dessert at dinnertime. After the mess that was left after coordinating eighty year eight students in a kitchen with eggs and flour present was cleared up we had our lunch. Once we had gobbled down our lunch, we were quickly hurried onto a bus to Vézelay for the afternoon. In Vézelay, we got to have a look around the town itself with a small quiz to finish while we were there, its infamous Basilica where it allegedly holds Mary Magdalen’s relic and also being allowed to buy a sweet treat or souvenir. An interesting fact that I learnt while looking around Vézelay was that there were numerous models of shells on the road. The explanation for this is that in the olden days, the shells would be used by pilgrims to eat from as it was cheap and easy to use. Meeting back by the coach, we went back to base to eat our diner and more importantly our tart (that we had made earlier). Our tarts turned out really well and we all ate them with big grins (and food) across our faces. We ended the day with a game of bingo which was a good way to pass the time before it was time for bed

Day three and we made our way to the typical and picturesque town of Avallon to buy our lunch for the day from the market. This involved being thrifty with the money we were given, team discussion, introduction to completely fresh French foods and of course speaking French. Our group bought ourselves a delicious assortment of fruits in a salad, scrumptious platter of dried meats and burgundy’s regional cheeses in a slice of crisp bread and finishing off with mouthwatering strawberries and caramel waffles which we eagerly scoffed down us when we got back.

It was amazing! After our body had digested our hearty food we went on a 7km hike in the French countryside where we learnt about a stone that supposedly sings, the Gauls & the Romans as well as venturing into a deep-dark cave. Once our faces had become so red from the long hike we had our lunch and ended the day with a relaxing game of pétanque (basically bowls) which I enjoyed very much.

Our final full day at MCF and it was not to disappoint. We had our last French lesson to prepare us before we went to a posh French restaurant for dinner and then prepared a little drama sketch in French to re-enact something we had done in our time at MCF which was very intresting to see what other people created. After plenty of laughter, we had our lunch before proceeding to the circus tent to learn some circus tricks. The man who taught us was extremely funny and incredibly flexible. We learnt how to do the trapeze, diablo, varied balancing acts, the chinese plates and many more. For me, this was the highlight of the trip because it was something that was physical and fun. We all then went back to our dormitories to get changed into our smart clothes for dinner. And then the last supper was upon us. Firstly, we got to try syrup which is a bit like really flavoursome squash before getting some salad and waiting for the main meal to arrive. The waiter strolled in with his hands full with steaming hot plates of our chosen meal. The kebab with cream potatoes was what many people had and adored; I personally thought it was heaven on a plate. While we had last course (dessert), various prizes were handed out and shoutouts to the MCF staff and to key member of AGS staff (who had a main role in organising the trip). And with that, our last full day in France was over and we were all shattered.

It was are last day in France and we all awoke when Mr Sloan came in our room and woke us all up at 4 o’clock to get on the bus to Calais. Nine hours later we were back where we started, standing on Turnfurlong with many a story to tell to our parents and siblings. All in all, the French trip was one of brilliance, from education, confidence and experencies that were learnt. I thought that this trip was a success because it got us immersed in the French culture, language and also the qualities listed above. I wonder what future foreign language trips have to behold.

History - Year 8

visit to Bletchley Park

After spending the last few lessons on the enigma code, year 8 were happy to find out that the history trip this year was going to be to Bletchley

Park. If you didn’t know already, Bletchley Park is where the most intelligent people in England went to try and crack the Enigma which was a German wartime code language introduced so that the Allies couldn’t work out what their messages were saying.

Fortunately, in the end the code was broken and this went a long way in ensuring the war was won. Our day started with a guided tour around the park. It was very interesting because we got a chance to see the huts where they decoded the messages in our own time and got a great chance to review what we have learnt previously.

It was also a good chance to see the things they used and we even got to see one of the few enigma machines left in existence. After this, we were given another tour by one of the staff members which we thoroughly enjoyed since we got to find out extra bits of information which we wouldn’t have known at school.

We also learned more about everyday life and we got to see some of the transport methods and clothing worn. After having a light lunch, we went

to a workshop where we learnt how to decode enigma using an app on a tablet. It also lead to us plotting ‘German attacks’ which gave us a greater understanding on how important it was to decode messages quickly and correctly.

One of my favourite things about Bletchley Park is that it is very interactive and modern yet incorporating it with the historic building that is still standing today. Some of the activities included decoding sequences which is another key part of the process.

Overall, the trip to Bletchley was highly enjoyable, educational and was really well organised by the History Department and we would all like to thank them for that.

Finlay Power – Ridley 8

Year 7 Residential

Year 7 has been a hard year

with fun along the way. The transition from primary to secondary, end of year tests and the challenges where we were pushed to our limits. One of these challenges was the residential – a camping trip.

Those who had been to scouts and the like had the superior edge over us; however we were undeterred and constantly tried to help. Although the trip was undoubtedly fun, it was not a trip for you to just lie back and relax whilst everyone else built a shelter for you.

By the time we came home, as I am sure the parents can relate to, our hands were dirty from camouflage, our arms aching after building a shelter and our legs painful after playing endless games of predator. And, just to put the icing on the cake, our clothes were grimy.

Throughout the trip, there were times of tension as the winners of ‘tribes got talent’ were announced and times of panic when we had to rescue the teachers from an SOS scenario plane crash. Whatever happened, we always had a good laugh about it.

A scarier moment was when Michael Adekanye decided to have a raw fish’s eyeball within five seconds! The camp leaders told us they had never met a 12 year old so enthusiastic to eat an eyeball in all their life! One of the biggest learning curves for us was that we needed to respect and appreciate nature and also modern comforts like beds and TVs.

With no music to listen to, a determined Eman set off on a mission - to create a song. The song he ended up with was ‘the mighty pole song’ and it was a big hit all over camp. I would say that song summed up the success of the trip. A huge thank you to Miss Hill and all the other staff for organising such a fun experience.

Aryaman Allam – Ridley 7

Skiing 2018

The ski trip has easily been the best visit I’ve gone on so far. It brought many surprises and was definitely an all-round unforgettable experience.

The long and tiring journey to a hotel in Utah was well worth the wait, especially for all the teachers who once again had the unenviable task of navigating through various airport terminals, baggage claim areas and coaches to get around 80 very excited and sleep deprived children safely across the pond to the USA.

The many outlet stores were a great way to spend all our money on anything and everything upon arrival but luckily most saw sense and saved at least some cash for the rest of the week! The ski resort had amazing facilities and great instructors. We were put into groups that ranged from people who used to race on skis, to people who hadn’t touched a pair of skis in their life. The great thing about skiing is that everyone falls over, your experience just determines how many times and how hard or fast you hit the ground!

Skiing up in the clouds every day made me and everyone else make some new friendships and of course taught me how to ski better. By the end of the week we all knew each other a little bit more which helped when we got back to school.

At the end of every day we would have an activity or event which were always interesting. First it was watching the Utah Jazz basketball team, defeat the Memphis Grizzlies in a close game. Next, we had dinner at Costa Vida, and spent some time sightseeing and shopping (again) at a local mall.

Third was to a local buffet restaurant to have a memorable dinner. The best night was at an arcade with multiple engaging activities. All of these were incredible experiences and always exciting.

The progression of the group’s ability, especially the ones who had never skied was immense by the end of the week because of our instructors’ unwavering support and guidance. Overall the ski trip taught me how to be resilient and take ownership of whatever I was doing. It was an amazing experience and I would thoroughly recommend it to other students considering going.

A huge thank you to Mr Ramsbottom and all the other accompanying staff for organising such a wonderful trip.

Julian Atat – Lee 9

Spanish - Year 9

visit Barcelona

This year’s trip to Barcelona and Salou was faced by the prospect of ongoing disturbance in the capital, however, this didn’t stop 45 enthusiastic boys from AGS departing and on a pleasant sunny morning we were all graced with the fantastic opportunity to visit Camp Nou; the home of Catalan football.

A rather memorable and daring experience was of a boy who had decided to wear a Real Madrid shirt in the stadium. Their impressive display of trophies, trophies and more trophies didn’t fail to amaze us and a stroll outside proved the beauty of the stadium. We ended our tour of this area with a look at the shop and a fantastic go at ice skating, arguably some were better than others.

One of the more subtle yet captivating activities was the tours and visits of different architecture, by renowned Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi. His radical way of turning whole buildings into whole stories stunned us and left us guessing and utilising our imaginations to unlock his message. These buildings included Casa Milà, Casa Batlló and nature inspired Park Guell. However, the grand finale of Gaudi architecture and art was the unbelievably and awe-inspiring Sagrada Familia. Started in 1882, and predicted to finish in 2028, the detail, hugeness and general mystery engulfed most of us, with a little bit of help required from the teachers to find the secret inscriptions on the walls. Las Ramblas. The biggest and most famous street in all of Catalonia, perhaps even Spain. The number of people was just crazy; mainly because it was half term, or perhaps the curiosity of the human brain likes exploring new nooks and crannies, because believe me, there was a lot of exploring to do. Whether it was speed walking to the nearest Nike shop to get some Barcelona merchandise or trying not to get lost in the tiny medieval streets that meandered of La Plaza Real (or in Catalan La Placa Reial) that felt like someone had carved them into a beige coloured rock, there was a huge variety of things to buy, do and eat. There were even shirts being sold saying “Viva la Cataluña” (Long live Catalonia); a protest would take place later that evening. When we first received the itinerary, the standout features were dominated by the worldwide famous theme park of Port Adventura. Boasting the tallest and fastest rollercoaster – Shambhala – the day proved to be massively fun, with fortunately no-one throwing up! For many, this was the standout day for those who wanted some slapdash fun (even if no money was left to buy food). The highlights included shouting our last words on a roller coaster, discovering the trick to surviving the Shambhala (closing your eyes) and getting soaked by the perilous rapids of the Wild West. Overall, it was a great day. To conclude, we’d like to thank all the teachers for putting in all the hard work and effort into providing us with a brilliant trip. All of us really enjoyed it, and it was a fun alternative to the last two days of school before half term, and the start of half term itself. On behalf of everyone who went, we would like to thank all the teachers for organising and producing a magnificent trip. ¡Muchas Gracias!

Ashwin Aggarwal & Andreas Velimachitis - Phillips 9