The Wheatleyan 2019-20

BABLAKE SCHOOL

Wheatleyan The

2020, A VERY DIFFERENT YEAR

CONTENTS Your Editors

3

A New Look at History

45

Headmaster's Review

4

House Activities

46

S EP T 2 019 – MAR C H 2020: BA BL AKE B EFORE T HE PA NDEMI C

6

Charity Activities

50

L ITER ATUR E IN LO C KD O W N

52

School Trips 2019-20

8

Essay: ‘We should not judge past literature by the standards of the present’

53

The Extended Project Qualification

10

School Lockdown Book Report

54

Drama Production – Fame!

12

LO C KD O W N C R EATIV ITY

58

Bablake's New Library

14

Design Technology

58

Charity Activities

15

Art

60

House Activities

16

Performing Arts

64

MARCH 2020 – JU LY 2020: S CHO OL LI FE I N LOC KDOW N

18

S P O R T

68

Bablake’s Mass Observation

20

Bablake Sport from Home

69

Bablake from Home

26

Pupils in School

30

The Class of 2013

32

How Yale Reshaped My Perspective

36

STEM at Home

The Impact of Coronavirus on Professional Sport 70

FO R M ER P UP IL S

74

Interview with BBC News Presenter Martine Croxall

76

38

Coronavirus: A Perspective from Across the Pond

78

CREST Award Essay

40

S TA FF N EW S

82

Black Lives Matter and Diversity Week

42

Valete

82

LGBT Society

44

Salvete

85

ACK NOWL EDGEMENTS A special mention and huge thank you to Mrs Alison Tumber, Mrs Sarah Harris and Mrs Kiley Brown for their photos, ideas and support. Thank you must also go to Mrs Sylvia O’Sullivan, Mrs Erica Challis, Mrs Cathy Renkin, Mrs Julie Needham, Mr Inderpal Kalsi, Mrs Hayley Bamforth, Mrs Ceri Rees, Mrs Helen Skilton, Mr Andrew Wright and the Art Department for their contributions and support.

PRO DUCTION Design: The Jade Studio www.thejadestudio.co.uk Print: Prontaprint www.coventry.prontaprint.com

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Bablake School Coundon Road Coventry CV1 4AU T 024 7637 1200 E info@bablake.coventry.sch.uk

www.bablake.com

YOUR

EDITORS Displaying all the outstanding achievements of Bablake in yet another edition of The Wheatleyan has been an enlightening experience and fills me with pride to have been a part of the process. It is evident that Bablake’s essence and sense of community has shone through, irrespective of this rather unusual year.

A special thanks to Talvin, Mrs Hargreaves and the editorial team, who have conveyed immense dedication towards making this edition a success! I hope you travel through each page experiencing the spirit of Bablake in the same way that we did whilst creating it.

Giselle Pinto, Editor This year has been strange for Bablake, so this year’s edition of The Wheatleyan is equally unconventional! As we move into the future, I feel it's so important to document our community’s achievements so that we can continue to contribute to Bablake’s rich heritage.

ED ITO R IA L TEA M Staff Editor: Mrs Alexandria Hargreaves Editors: Giselle Pinto and Talvin Bath Creative Arts: Charlotte Bull Former Pupils: Giselle Pinto, Dominic Reeves, Ali Chaudry House Competitions: Dominic Reeves Literature: Taryn Wilson and Livia Turnock LGBT: Zara Richards Sport: Emma Allroggen and Bryony Camwell STEM: Kira Mistry "It has been a privilege to work with such a talented team of Sixth Form students, especially on such a unique edition of The Wheatleyan.

Thank you to Giselle and Talvin and all the students, staff and former pupils who contributed to this year's magazine, I hope you enjoy the finished product."

Mrs Alexandria Hargreaves, Staff Editor

Thank you to Giselle and Mrs Hargreaves, who have been a constant creative force, and the rest of the team who have been especially collaborative in making this issue.

I hope when reading this you can feel Bablake’s spirit, which has proven its presence throughout such a trying year.

P HO T O : E D I TO RS G IS E LL E P I NT O A ND TA LVI N B ATH

Talvin Bath, Editor

Your Editors

3

HEADMASTER'S

REVIEW EDITED BY TALVIN BATH

Wednesday 8 July 2020 marked the end of an unprecedented school year.

Watching from their screens at home, pupils attended a virtual assembly that celebrated the Bablake community’s unity and care during these uncertain times.

As the Coronavirus confined us to our homes, we learnt to appreciate and value the joys of ‘ordinary’ life; preceding the Headmaster’s end of term speech, transcribed below, was a poem voicing this sentiment.

“Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives.

Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness.

Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life.

Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears.

Show them how to cry when pets and people die.

Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand.

And make the ordinary come alive for them.

The extraordinary will take care of itself.”

William Martin

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“There certainly have been plenty of challenges this year, but you have risen to them. I am sure there will have been times when you have felt alone without the reassurance of your teachers and your classmates – I certainly have, but hopefully, like me, it hasn’t been long before something has reminded you that we have a supportive community all trying to do the right thing. It has been amazing how an email from someone, even when it referred to another Villa loss(!), or watching Rev Slavic’s morning blessing has made such a difference. As Sadie in the Fourth Year wrote, “… this has led us to enjoy each other’s company even more than usual, and really value this time we have together. I have come to notice the joy in the smaller things in life.”

Throughout the country, some young people have had little interaction with school, yet you have been in live lessons, completing work and having it marked and have taken part in many House competitions. On 20 March I stood at the school gate and wished you all the best, I’ll level with you, I was almost in tears. Nobody wants to shut a school during term time, I knew how much we all had to face and it felt like we wouldn’t be there

for each other. I shouldn’t have worried. On that day, as the last of you left, a rainbow appeared over the school. A sign of hope and one that appeared on pavements, in windows and on badges as the lockdown continued. I certainly had no idea that our buildings would be shut for so long but as Mr Spencer said in one of our lockdown assemblies, “we are in smaller pieces, further apart than normal, but that shouldn’t limit how much we can be together and united in supporting and caring for each other”. It hasn’t.

We are now going to hear a reading from Tasha Bvunzawabaya. As I hope you read in the weekly bulletin, Tasha and her brothers set up AfroFeed during lockdown, cooking food and distributing it to vulnerable people in Coventry.

Tasha is going to read part of a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt, former President of the United States, which he gave in Paris, in 1910. Nelson Mandela gave a copy of this speech to François Pienaar, captain of the South African rugby team, before the start of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, in which the South African side eventually defeated the heavily favoured All Blacks of New Zealand.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,

W H AT A N I N C R E D I B L E G R O U P O F P E O P L E YO U A R E . T H I S H A S B E E N A YEAR UNLIKE ANY OTHER.

or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

In writing this assembly, I looked back at my Twitter feed and was reminded of all the amazing things that have happened in the last few months. The people who were in that arena, whose faces marred by dust and sweat and blood (as well as the occasional smile). From Tasha and Tanaka, to Sadie and to Theo who contributed accounts of their lockdown in my blog. To staff who balanced difficulties at home with coming online to teach you, to those who have been helping their parents or other people, to those doing an adapted CREST award, to those applying for bursaries, the endless cake baking, to those completing competitions and challenges inside our community and beyond, to those raising money for charity, to those doing Strava art, to those building the tallest tower, to those running up and down their stairs for the stair climb, to those accepting with good grace that the GCSE and A level exams were cancelled, to those singing in the virtual choir or contributing to a Coventry Cathedral online service and to those who helped with our VE Day tea party for local senior citizens. To anyone who reached

out to others in need. These are the people in the arena. Our school was not empty, it was filled with love.

One of the disappointing things about lockdown was that we were unable to say goodbye to the Upper Sixth. Yet they have continued to be involved throughout this term, contributing to many parts of lockdown life, not least helping us reflect on our response to the issues raised by Black Lives Matter. The accounts from Upper Sixth students about their experiences were powerful and challenged us to do more, this is something that we will pick up again in September. We must be actively anti-racist, rather than just non-racist.

We have a collective duty to work together to create a better, more inclusive atmosphere for everyone. As Desmond Tutu, who was Archbishop of Cape Town under apartheid, said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” We must work hard to create an equal and just community, so that no matter our differences, whether they be skin colour, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ability, or any other difference, everyone feels accepted, equal and comfortable to be themselves without fear of judgement or discrimination.

On the day we went into lockdown, I quoted Tom Paine, when he said, “These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” Saf, Kookie, and all the rest of the Upper Sixth, you’ll be back. You have been immense. When it is safe to do so, we look forward to celebrating your time at Bablake together.

OK, that’s enough of that! The King is Dead long live the Queen! During lockdown we had a difficult task to pick next year’s school captains, senior prefects and prefects. In a very close and rigorous process, Emma Allroggen and Harry White were appointed School Captains and they will be well supported

by Charlotte Bull, Matthew Floyd and Freya Bennett as Vice-Captains along with a strong team of prefects and senior prefects.

We will be back in September. School might feel a bit different and we will be working hard over the summer to make sure we can operate safely, towards the end of the holiday we will share with you what changes have been made. Much of what we do will stay the same, and it will be great to have you back! Really it will.

We miss you. Now, however, is time to rest, to enjoy the summer and regain our energy for next term. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do some work but take time to enjoy the small things, to marvel at the ordinary and maybe even go on holiday.

Together we will succeed and remember, it is not the critic who counts; not the person who points out how the strong stumble, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood. These times give us the opportunity to show how our values translate into actions. We are all writing an important chapter in our story. Have a wonderful summer and we will see you in September. Thank you. What a term!

What a year! What an incredible group of people you are. This has been a year unlike any other.”

Headmaster's Review

5

BABLAKE BEFORE

THE PANDEMIC 6

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When we went to St Petersburg at February half term, we were upset because Angel was not allowed to travel because she had a Chinese passport. At the time we were just upset about Angel; we had no idea what was coming next.

Mrs Skilton

Bablake Before the Pandemic

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BABLAKE SCHOOL TRIPS

2019 -20

B EFOR E T HE W O R L D LO C KED D O W N

HAMMER SMI T H TR IP “Durban allowed us to see a different part of South Africa as it is one of the most largely populated cities in the country with a large tourist industry. We all became a lot closer on this day, especially with our friends from Harrismith, as we were able to be silly playing on the beach together, sharing many laughs and appreciating the beauty of this incredible city.”

Mya, Sixth Form Student

SUMMER 2019

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CANADA

SOUTH AFRICA

As we look back on some of the incredible trips from 2019-20 it really does seem a lifetime ago that pupils and staff were flying off around the world.

SUMMER 2019

R UGBY TO UR M O N TR EA L , O T TAWA A N D TO R O N TO “The first fixture pitted us against Montreal Wanderers; it took a while to establish exactly where we were playing (the pitch being located in the grounds of the local psychiatric hospital), and the opposition looked both more physical and older than our squad. However, it seemed that youth and skill were more than a match for age and treachery, and we recorded our first of four victories.

All members of the touring squad were a credit to both themselves and to Bablake Rugby and they richly deserved the four wins they achieved, playing some truly inspiring rugby.”

Mr Simon Enstone

RUSSIA

“46 pupils set off on a cold October morning to tour Greece and just a few hours later arrived in hot, sunny Athens, with cloudless skies that followed us all week.

After visits to the Acropolis in Athens, the 1986 Olympic track, the National Archaeological Museum and Olympia (to name just a few!) we returned to the UK having fully immersed ourselves in Greek culture. The pupils were brilliant company and tremendous ambassadors for the school and the various year groups gelled superbly.”

FEBRUARY 2020

USA

GREECE OCTOBER 2019

GR EEC E T R I P

Mr Dan Menashe

FEBRUARY 2020

R US S IA TR IP TO S T P ETER S BUR G “I liked the communist tour because it helped me put the events of the revolution into perspective. I could see where all the key sites were – it really brought history to life.”

Fiona Chung, Sixth Form Student

S KI TR IP TO N EW YO R K, C A N N O N , LO O N A N D BO S T ON "During the February half term break 70 students and eight staff embarked on a week of sightseeing and skiing. After a few exciting days exploring New York we had some fantastic skiing in both Cannon and Loon. It was great to see our beginners making rapid progress each day and our more experienced skiers taking on the challenges of the most difficult runs on offer.”

Mr Andrew Phillips

Bablake Before the Pandemic

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T H E E X T E N D E D P R O J E C T Q UA L I F I C AT I O N:

F O S T E R I N G I N T E L L E C T UA L C U R I O S I T Y

IN THE SIXTH FORM EDI T ED BY TA LV IN BATH

The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is the most popular Bablake Advantage option in the Sixth Form; the extended piece of accredited research is designed to foster student’s intellectual curiosity and develop key academic skills, all whilst exploring topics outside of the classroom syllabus.

Last year, students chose to research topics ranging from racism in football to the science of acupuncture. We hear from two students about their research and what it taught them…

Going into the EPQ, I knew I wanted to use the freedom of choosing a topic to tie my interests together. My research tracked the philosophical development of the US and China, seeing how their contrasting philosophies manifest in how they regulate financial markets. I study economics at A level and enjoy philosophy, so my research became really fulfilling as I realised how the two could overlap.

I chose to use the US and China as subjects specifically because the ‘trade war’ in 2019 was at its height when we were brainstorming ideas. Being able to engage and reference something that

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was so relevant at the time really added stake to the experience for me; I’d advise students to choose a topic that feels important and weighty to them. I think this kept the purpose of the project at the centre of my mind, I was looking for a conclusion that could change or inform something real in the world.

Since finishing my EPQ, I’ve completed undergraduate level research in Behavioural Economics with Swarthmore University; I found the process so much easier having already learnt the fundamental skills and techniques needed through my EPQ. Sixth Form Student, Talvin Bath

Zara Richards, whose project was centred on linguistics, said:

The EPQ helped my time management and ability to prioritise tasks, as I was forced to rethink how long I was spending on research compared to actually writing my essay. I have also used the EPQ process to work on my goal setting and organisation: two things I have struggled with since starting secondary school. I wouldn’t say I’m perfect yet, but I do know that I don’t immediately panic when faced with a blank page and a deadline.

Zara shares with us the introduction to her EPQ essay: “The current state of the UK within the EU has left many questioning whether we are doing enough to ensure today’s children will stand out in a highly competitive job market tomorrow. According to research

by Cardiff University Business School, our economy loses £48bn each year due to a lack of language skills in the workplace. We have to ask ourselves why?

The benefits of learning another language are well documented among various sources, such as in a 2015 TED talk by Mia Nacamulli, “The heightened workout a bilingual brain receives throughout its life can also help delay the onset of diseases, like Alzheimer's and dementia by as much as five years”; “the effort and

attention needed to switch between languages strengthens the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex the part of the brain that plays a large role in executive function, problem solving, switching between tasks and focusing while filtering out relevant information.” The latter benefits, particularly problem solving and executive functioning, are incredibly helpful throughout someone’s academic and professional career, yet the majority of Britons do not speak another language.

This could be due to STEM subjects moving into the spotlight recently, which has seemingly left languages behind. It is also a struggle to provide effective language teaching, especially in schools with higher levels of free school meals eligibility, as a TDA study showed in schools with over 20% eligibility for the scheme, teachers are more likely to be rated worse. Compared to other European countries, British students are not performing well in the foreign languages they study. With French, Spanish, and German all identified as among the ten most important languages for the UK from 2017 onwards, it’s difficult to rationalise the lack of uptake. I believe we are fortunate at Bablake (even if some students don’t think so!) that these languages are offered up to A level, since this isn’t the case at a lot of schools. There seems to be a struggle in encouraging students to continue with languages, whether because they find them difficult or because their interests lie elsewhere.

As Suzanne Talhouk stated in a talk she gave in 2012, “Language isn't one, two or three words or letters put together. It's an idea inside that relates to how we think, and how we see each other and how others see us.”

As citizens in a rapidly globalising world, it would be incredibly difficult to find a negative of learning another language. It is also easier now more than ever with apps like Duolingo and Memrise. So…what are you waiting for?”

Bablake Before the Pandemic

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FAME! EDITED BY CHARLOTTE BULL

Just before February half term, many Bablake pupils were lucky enough to experience the hard work and effort that went into the production of ‘Fame!’ - a high energy performance based on the goings on of a Performing Arts school. Members of the cast and crew, as well as a theatre professional, give their run down on the process and outcome of the production…

One if the most complex stage transition needed the entire backstage team on stage to complete the transition in a ten second window. The first time we successfully completed this transition it gave us an incredible sense of satisfaction. The excitement amongst us was contagious but backstage, the only way we could celebrate was silently!

Backstage Crew

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I WA S B L O W N AWAY B Y T H E ENTIRE SHOW! L IN D S AY H U N TER ( WA R TS A N D A L L TH EATR E COMPANY)

T H E E N E RGY A N D E NJOYM E NT O F T H E C A ST S H O N E T H R O U G H , W I T H S O M E L O V E LY M O M E N T S O F H U M O U R , B E L I E VA B L E R E L AT I O N S H I P S A N D , O F C O U R S E , I N C R E D I B LE S I N GI N G A N D DA N C I N G. LIND S AY H UNT E R ( WAR T S AND AL L TH EATR E C O M PA N Y )

Fame was a completely different experience to anything I have ever done before. It was more than a play or a musical; it was a huge team effort where we all displayed our skills of acting, dancing and music.

Kiran Bharaj, Actor

Fame was my first school production and I never thought it would be so much fun. Although rehearsals were hard, the outcome was amazing as everyone worked together to create a successful production.

Luke Cave, Actor

Bablake Before the Pandemic

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BABLAKE'S

NEW LIBRARY

Bablake’s Librarian, Mrs Julie Needham, reflects on the opening of the new Bablake library.

The Library has always been a busy part of school, popular with students and staff alike. Space was becoming a real issue and that, together with the realisation the library needed a refurbishment, led to the decision to look at a new design for the library. TaskSpace, who took this on, have achieved everything we hoped they could achieve and more. The library is now a crisp, clear space with light and airy hues, touches of vibrant, coordinating colours accentuating the

modern feel. Although retaining the beautiful, antique architecture, it now has modern fixtures and furniture with designated zones to work and relax in. I am delighted that our vast array of books can now be seen and accessed easily a library to be proud of. I hope that pupils will enjoy their ‘new’ library. They are certainly taken with the new pods and indications are, so far, that the library is going to be very popular indeed!

LI B RA R I E S STO R E T H E E N E RGY T H AT F U E L S T H E I M A G I N AT I O N .

THEY OPEN UP WIND OWS TO T H E WO R LD A N D I NS P I R E US TO EXPLORE AND ACHIEVE, AND C O NT R I BU T E TO I M P ROV I N G O U R Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E . L I B R A R I E S CHANGE LIVES FOR THE BETTER. SID NEY S H ELD O N

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CHARITY ACTIVITIES

The Charity Committee, alongside Bablake staff and pupils, were extremely busy during autumn term with charity events taking place almost every week.

BY LIBBY STINTON AND RHEA CHERRINGTON C HI LDR EN I N N EED During the autumn term Shell pupils were hard at work planning and running an impressive range of fundraisers and stalls for Children in Need. Events included bake sales, selling merchandise and scavenger hunts which raised an impressive total of £1,202.11.

MACM I LLAN COFFEE MO R NI NG One of the most eagerly anticipated charity events of the year, the Macmillan Coffee Morning 2019 was another resounding success, enjoyed by staff and pupils alike it raised almost £600 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

R A C E FO R L IFE Fifth Year pupils spent their lunch break on Thursday 12 December taking part in the Cancer Research Race for Life. They had a ‘fast’ race where four of the fastest students took on Mr Wright, Mr Tyas, Mr Roberts and Mr Hazel with all competitors required to wear something pink whilst completing the two-lap spinney race. The crowds came out in force to cheer them on, Matthew Hart was declared overall winner with Mr Tyas leading the way in the veteran category. Pupils put on a fabulous effort raising £1,060.53 for Cancer Research UK.

SI X TH FOR M SLEEP O UT Members of 6PC braved the elements in November to do a sponsored sleepout at school. They raised over £1,000 to fund breakfast and evening meals for the homeless, those in financial hardship or for anyone who would like some company over a warm meal, at St Columba’s Church in Radford.

Bablake Before the Pandemic

15

HOUSE ACTIVITIES 2019-20

EDI TED BY D O M IN IC R EEV ES

Before Christmas our four houses, Bayley, Crow, Fairfax and Wheatley took part in a range of House competitions, including House Badminton, House Chess, House Dodgeball and of course the annual spectacular that is, the Shell Olympics.

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AND THE WINNERS ARE...

GIRLS' HOUSE BADMINTON

B AYL EY HOUSE CHES S

CROW HOUSE DODGEBALL

CROW SHELL OLYMPIC S 2019

WHEATL EY B OYS A ND FAIRFAX GIRL S HOUSE QUIZ

WHEATL EY

Bablake Before the Pandemic

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WHEN EVERYTHING

CHANGED SCHOOL LIFE IN LOCKDOWN

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PHOTO TAKEN DURING THE AUGUST 2019 TRIP TO SNOWDONIA. UNFORTUNATELY, ALL SCHOOL TRIPS WERE REQUIRED TO BE CANCELLED FROM 20 MARCH 2020.

PA N D EM O S ( C O V ID - 19)

BY GEO R GE W IC KS

Breaking news, 104 dead.

Pandemic.

Now it’s spread.

Emergency!

Ventilators needed urgently.

“Stay at home” Boris sends text to phone, “gov.uk/coronavirus, Protect the National Health Service, Save Lives” Rainbows drawn on drives.

Social Distancing.

Some people still aren’t listening.

6 foot or 2 metres.

Now screens, no teachers.

Fortnite, WhatsApp, FaceTime.

Non-essential journey fines.

Cycling, running, walking.

Thursdays, 8pm, applauding.

Some struggling for a meal.

Nothing seems real.

Parks, hotels and pubs closed.

Deserted streets and roads.

Lockdown extending.

When is this ending?

School Life in Lockdown

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BABLAKE'S MASS O B S E R VAT I O N

COVID-19 In 1937 the New Statesman launched Mass Observation to ‘create an anthology of ourselves’.

The project aimed to study and record the ordinary lives of British people.

Researchers interviewed people at work and play and wrote down what people said in as much detail as possible. The project continued during the Second World War and was an important resource for the government, as it helped them to understand the public mood and monitor peoples’ morale.

Mass Observation continues to this day. People have recorded their thoughts about all sorts of things, submitting letters, diary entries, newspaper cuttings, photographs, poems and drawings.

During the national lockdown Mrs Skilton set up Bablake’s very own Mass Observation to record the Bablake community’s experiences of the Covid-19 crisis.

IN TIMES LIKE THESE WE SEE B OT H T H E B E ST A N D WO RST O F H U M A N I T Y. Anonymous

THE EXP ER IEN C E O F S HO P P IN G, AP RIL 2 0 2 0 It is still surreal to see policies like social distancing in place. People herded like sheep one way around a Tesco store, people wearing masks and gloves out of fear of Covid-19. Limits on items and lack of stock on the shelves, it makes you question how a virus can cause all this. Saying that, I found today that the scenes of mass panic buying in the first few weeks of the UK's outbreak seem to have calmed down.

There seems to be more availability in terms of produce, however it is evident that Covid-19 has had a drastic effect. Shopping no longer seems an experience, but a time to 'get what you need and get out'. To be honest, it feels quite intimidating. However, it is good to see these measures in place and knowing that these will help in the long term is comforting.

Jamie

THE L IT TL E THIN GS , APRIL 2 0 2 0 I saw a story on Twitter titled "Budding arborist brightens up her neighbourhood by labelling different trees with pavement chalk".

I thought it was a really simple way to learn something new and put a smile on people's faces (we have our own "budding arborist" in the form of Mr Wright sharing photos of his garden on Twitter too!). The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern reassured children this week that they considered "both the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny to be essential workers" and suggested that children could put eggs in their front windows so that other children can have an Easter egg hunt on their walk around the neighbourhood. It's nice thinking about the little things we can do to brighten up someone's day.

Anonymous

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A TIME TO BE GRAT EFU L... APR IL 2 0 2 0 donating millions of dollars to combat this epidemic and aid the vulnerable.

Oppositely as Ricky Gervais once eloquently said, “There are people doing 14-hour shifts and not complaining… risking their health but then I see someone complaining about being in a mansion with a swimming pool.

And, you know, honestly, I just don't want to hear it." It still doesn’t feel real, sometimes I just stop and think is this really happening? But to cut all of the waffle, this virus has broken many yet simultaneously tied many (two metres apart of course). Had you have told me two months ago that I was going to be in lockdown I would’ve laughed at you.

Many need to understand this virus can kill anyone and I think we all need to be grateful for the little luxuries we do have.

Many during this outbreak have been proactive, taking up hobbies such as sewing and cooking and becoming fitter than they previously were – thanks to Joe Wicks. I, however, have not, I am bored out of my mind and honestly wonder why the time flies because I’m not having fun. I waste quite a lot of time every day waking up at around midday day, trudging into the kitchen and fumbling around for the nearest packet of Maryland cookies to eat for breakfast. But … I’m not necessarily complaining – I just miss my friends and wasting five minutes at the start of Maths saying you had to go to the toilet. I’ve figured out that there is only a certain number of the “Regular Show” episodes and YouTube that you can binge before you suddenly snap out of it.

Pondering how you went from watching “One question go” to a documentary on

“The Fall of the King of Hollywood” (p.s that’s a really good documentary and you should watch it.) I don’t mind being able to play on my Xbox for a solid eight hours and going to bed at midnight- allegedly.

It’s nights I can’t fall asleep that my mind begins to wander. I wonder about those in the fray and those still silenced and those forgotten about – children on free school meals, domestic abuse victims and people in epicenters that till this date very much underplayed this silent killer.

What about them? The homeless, I bet they haven’t crossed your mind. Where do they go? Who protects them? Will they have food this week considering the lack of resources in food banks?

PANIC! A PR IL 2020

SPRI N G C L EA N IN G, AP RIL 2 0 2 0

I had a major panic yesterday when it was announced on the news that people should keep their cats indoors.

Told the cat - he legged if for the cat flap. Considered moving out, but, phew! Royal Veterinary Society confirm you only need to lock them down if you have the virus. Happily, we are all OK.

Never has the house been so clean; never have I seen someone so excited over the arrival of a new vacuum cleaner (our old one seems to be beyond repair). It's strange how your world shrinks so quickly. On the plus side, for the first time, after years of trying to persuade her, my mother has finally agreed to try Skype - and - she likes it!

Anonymous

In times like these we see both the best and worst of humanity, the likes of Rihanna and Angelina Jolie

Anonymous

Mrs Skilton

TODAY’S EVENTS ARE TOMORROW’S HISTORY School Life in Lockdown

21

TH E BENEFI T S OF T EC HNOLOGY, AP RIL 2 0 2 0 Last night, I was on a call with some of my friends and we played a game. We were able to catch up (even though not much has happened in our lives), "hang out" from home and have a laugh despite lockdown. I'm glad that most of my friendship group have been ok but some people have had Covid-19 symptoms or have been affected by the loss of a family member who had. I remember in the last week in school we were thinking that most of us didn't know anyone who had it but I think it's getting to the point that most of us now at least know someone who knows someone who has/had the

virus. While there have definitely been people that I haven't talked to since school closed who I would have seen in school, I have managed to have a few calls a week with friends which are probably the highlight of my day. Although it can be argued that technology has made the spread of the outbreak worse (particularly air travel), we are lucky we have so much technology available to us to stay connected. Unfortunately, this has also led to a shocking increase in my screentime these last three weeks.

After a recent call, I was reading about the plague of 1592 in England, one cure

that was suggested to the poor was to eat bread and butter because "butter is not only a preservative against the plague, but against all manner of poisons." While we don't have a vaccine yet, I trust that when we get it, it'll be more effective than bread and butter. I have even seen things online that use technology the public have access to that can help find a vaccine like a protein folding game and a program that can share the computing power to process data on your phone while you sleep!

Charlotte Bull

TEN TH INGS I HAVE LEARNT, EAS T E R H O LIDAYS 2 0 2 0 As the Easter holiday draws to a close I’ve decided to document my reflections of what its been like for me. Some, I’m sure, are things that everybody will be able to relate to, but the rest are possibly more personal to me and others reading this may not have experienced the same thing. Here it goes: 1. There still doesn’t seem to be a lot of time! I, like many others, had visions of using all this supposed new free time at home to ambitiously take up new from-home hobbies, cook new meals and write a series of 12 books! However, it seems that now even more than before the time seems to fly by whether you’re doing everything or nothing and the days begin to feed into the next and become one - I really cannot understand where all the time has gone.

2. I (surprisingly) haven’t yet been faced with boredom! Although I expected to become bored very quickly whilst being stuck at home, I have managed to find lots of things to do

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T H E W H E AT L E YA N 2 0 1 9 - 2 0

to keep busy and prevent this from happening (so far anyway!).

3. How to relax properly! I would personally say that I’m a pretty selfmotivated person; my parents very rarely have to tell me to go and get on with my homework and I like to feel as though I have achieved something at the end of each day. There are days when I set my alarm for 8:00am, make a to-do list and cross off every piece of holiday homework set, do a workout, bake a cake, ‘zoom’ my grandparents and clear out my whole wardrobe by dinner and that’s amazing. But equally there are days where I roll out of bed at 10:30am (which is late for me!), casually eat breakfast (by then it’s time for lunch), watch as many episodes of ‘Friends’ as I can cram into three hours, maybe sit in the garden for a bit, have dinner, watch a film and then go to bed. Although the latter scenario is a lot less productive than the former and I may regret the fact that I haven’t achieved a lot in one day, I have come to realise that this is okay

too. Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to fully relax and switch off from the chaos of the outside world by simply telling ourselves “today I am going to do absolutely nothing”.

Especially in these uncertain times that we are in, we start to feel pressurised by the media to be extremely productive all the time and meet these expectations we have set up for ourselves – but maybe we were all being too unrealistic with our original ambitions? After all, holidays are for chilling out!

4. I can survive without a phone!

Unfortunately (for me anyway) my phone storage completely filled up, causing it to crash and now it won’t turn on. However, I managed to surprise myself by managing to go for five days without a phone, even when stuck at home all day (which I guess is a small win!). The downside of this is that I couldn’t easily contact my friends until I re-set up an old phone and saw the 200+ messages that I had missed from our group chat!

5. Patience is a virtue! Being stuck at home with your family all-dayevery-day can be very testing for relationships. However, by dealing with tensions and stress the right way it can lead to you building up important and extremely necessary life skills that can be put to good use when we come out the other side of this - for example: the skills of patience, compassion and self-control.

6. I am incredibly privileged! A few weeks ago, when things were slightly more “normal” than they are now, it was easy to take even the most simple and obvious things in our lives for granted. But in the “notso-normal” present times, the news, media and the time we have to reflect has really opened my eyes to the people in our area, country and worldwide who are less fortunate than ourselves. Those single parents with three children living in a small flat who do not have enough room or the right resources to confidently home-school their children. Those who live in the city and are finding it hard to get to the fresher air of their nearest park due to the restrictions put in place by the government.

Although we are all currently facing difficulties in one way or another, it’s always good to remember that there is always someone who is worse off than you and to spare a thought for them from time-to-time. For everything I have, I am grateful; I hope to remember to acknowledge this not just now, but for forever onwards.

7. Walking isn’t really that bad (I guess)! Before the lockdown, I would have frustratedly sighed at the first mention of having to go for a walk.

But now, I try to get out as often as allowed by the restrictions in place to go out and get fresh air, exercise and to spend quality time with my family.

8. ‘ Zoom’ is a great thing! Honestly, why hadn’t I heard of this incredible app before?! It’s allowed me to re-create lunchtimes at school with my friends and play a family game of bingo for my birthday - which has now turned into our weekly Sunday quiz hosted by a different member of the family each week to ensure that we all keep in touch as often as we can and check in on each other.

9. I have re-found my love for reading!

At primary school I loved getting into a good book, but as I got older I have grown out of the habit (due to schoolwork and other commitments) and probably only read about three or four books a year on average.

One of my goals for the lockdown period was to get back into reading just a little bit each day, which is so far going to plan! I have just finished reading the incredible ‘Noughts and Crosses’ by Malorie Blackman (which I would highly recommend to anyone looking for something to read next) so that I can begin watching the recent BBC series based on it.

I H AV E R E - F O U N D MY LOV E F O R READING! Lara Pennell

10. Maybe English weather isn’t quite as bad as we think! S­ o, this one may not be as relevant, but I thought I should point out that we have been very lucky with the spring weather so far this year. Maybe it’s always this nice and we simply don’t notice but being able to eat lunch in the garden whilst being stuck at home really can make your day!

Lara Pennell

School Life in Lockdown

23

TH E IMPA C T ON OU R MENTAL H EA LTH, E AS T E R HO LIDAYS 2 0 2 0 During term, we usually have so much work to do that we don’t have time to do much else. One thing I was looking forward to being able to do again in the summer holidays was to read for leisure.

With no formal exams to revise for now, I’ve just finished reading two books in the Easter holidays and I’m glad I was able to because I learnt a lot from both. However, there were moments in lockdown where I felt too heavy and unmotivated to do anything. I know that my friends have felt this too.

I felt guilty that despite all this time I now had, I hadn’t achieved anything

with it. It may feel like a lack of productivity despite all this time is demonstrative of a lack of self-discipline but it’s ok if you haven’t been able to do all the things you wanted to do. "We are going through a collective traumatic experience" according to a post I was sent by a friend.

There has never been a better time to try a new hobby or learn a new skill so it’s brilliant if you’ve been able to do this but if you haven’t, the most important thing is to look after yourself. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health.

FA MILY L IF E I N LOC KDOW N, MAY 2 0 2 0 Before we were plunged into this strange, locked-down world, I had a preconception that after around three days of being trapped in the house with my family, I would be driven mad by their constant unavoidable company. However, it has been quite the opposite. Even though we are all in the same building, during the week especially, we find ourselves doing completely separate things: my sister and I busy with school work, and my Dad either attempting to home school my eight year old sister or doing some unnecessary job in the garden. My Mum is further separated, being a key worker, her life has hardly changed.

All of this has led us to enjoy each other’s company even more than usual, and really value this time we have together. In lockdown I have also come to notice the joy in the smaller things in life, for example, nature. If I were at school I would too easily dismiss and not even notice the sound of birdsong.

Now, even just taking five minutes to sit in the garden and listen to the birds in the trees is so relaxing.

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T H E W H E AT L E YA N 2 0 1 9 - 2 0

Last year, my family and I helped with the planting of a community garden rockery, at the time it seemed as if the bulbs would never grow. However, my Mum, who walks to work every day, informed us that it was now in full bloom. The next day, during my walk, I decided to stroll past the rockery, and it was beautiful. For some strange reason, the garden really reminded me of the current situation. At the beginning, when we were picking up the litter and digging in the mud, it seemed a difficult, pointless job, but now, people are able to enjoy the garden on their daily walks.

During the height of the outbreak, it seemed as if we would never be able to meet with our friends again, but now, after 11 weeks of lockdown, we are able to, even if we have to stay socially distanced from others and the social aspect is not the same. It seemed as if there was no hope the garden would ever blossom, but it has. Even though it seemed that there was no hope that this pandemic will end, it will.

Sadie

I read that some sufferers of anxiety and depression felt that lockdown made them feel more at ease because there was now a reason to be worried rather than to be worrying about nothing. The opposite is true for many others who are anxious about the huge uncertainty we now face.

This has been a time of reflection for many so it can be used as an opportunity to understand your limits and think about what can be done differently when things go back to ‘normal’.

Anonymous

W HEN W IL L S P O R T R ETUR N ? M AY 2 0 2 0 We are quite a way through lockdown now and Boris Johnson spoke again last night. My whole family had been discussing what we thought he might say the whole week and were eagerly anticipating his speech. I don't think it was what any of us were expecting as only small changes were being made. It doesn't look like I will be back at school until September but I may be able to see my friends throughout the holidays.

I have definitely missed the social interaction that school brings and the change of scenery. I love spending time with my family but spending all day everyday with them is quite a lot! Sport has always been a big part of our lives from watching it on TV to our weekends full of fixtures. We now have none and we have realised how boring daytime television is. We can't wait for sport to return to our screens and I can't wait to be representing school again! Hopefully we can get through this quickly and safely.

LS

THEO’S EXPERIENCE

WORKING IN A CARE HOME D U R I N G LO C K D O W N

"Working at the care home has been a beneficial experience for me, while being stuck in lockdown. I get to leave the house and socialise with people other than my immediate family, which is definitely refreshing!"

Lower Sixth student, Theo, spent time during lockdown working in a local nursing home and shares an account of his experience.

“People have decided to spend the Covid-19 lockdown doing many different activities to keep them going.

I have chosen to spend my time, while not doing schoolwork, in a temporary job in a local nursing home. Given the setting, it is vital to follow the Government’s rules, especially to self-isolate if you have any symptoms. This has resulted in over 70% of the permanent staff needing to stay at home for at least two weeks at various times and therefore the home has often been very understaffed. The remaining staff have a task even harder than usual, with PPE and social distancing regulations coming into effect, even while care is being provided. So, after sending out a plea over social media, the home recruited some new temporary workers for care work and to help in the kitchen.

I was one of the first of the new workers and they were so desperate for employees, that I ended up working an eight-hour shift on the day of my interview! The home is around five miles from my house, and the cycle there and back has certainly kept me fit without sport at school. Over the Easter holiday, I was working six or eight-hour shifts most days, but now that lessons

have recommenced, I am working most evenings 6pm – 10pm and long days over weekends. The work there is difficult, with only four or five carers on duty trying to look after more than 20 residents, each with their own pills, creams and dietary requirements. Many are not able to get dressed or even eat without one to one assistance. The home has not been left unaffected by the virus either, with eight empty rooms in a once full home, which is very upsetting for both carers and residents. Out of the 11 residents who were in selfisolation in their rooms due to confirmed Covid-19, only three made a full recovery.

Working at the care home has been a beneficial experience for me while being stuck in lockdown. I get to leave the house and socialise with people other than my immediate family, which is definitely refreshing!

Also, to know that you are helping the community in a time of global need is an amazing feeling, with many of the residents expressing heartfelt gratitude to us coming to their aid. Overall, being a temporary worker in a care home is an incredible experience, which I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who can.”

School Life in Lockdown

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26

6 APRIL

23 MARCH

HOME

After the announcement that schools in England were to close on Friday 20 March, Bablake staff and pupils prepared for a new way of teaching and learning... from home. We are extremely proud of the way staff and pupils alike adapted to the new way of life so quickly in very uncertain times.

Here we look back on some of the things we got up to during the 13 weeks of Bablake from Home...

30 MARCH

BABLAKE FROM

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

Pupils start lessons from home – even their pets got involved!

Pupils enjoy experimenting at home in their Food Tech lessons and Mrs Skilton live streams her Yoga class.

Pupils take part in the Crazy Golf Challenge and Doris the Dachshund enjoys a nibble on Charlie’s homework!

T H E W H E AT L E YA N 2 0 1 9 - 2 0

11 MAY

4 MAY

27 APRIL WEEK 4

WEEK 5

WEEK 6

We welcome pupils back for the summer term and celebrate British Science Week.

Bablake gets busy baking to provide a VE Day afternoon tea for local senior citizens.

School Captain’s takeover the school Instagram account and Second Year pupils share their lockdown art.

School Life in Lockdown

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8 JUNE

1 JUNE

18 MAY 28

WEEK 7

WEEK 8

WEEK 9

House Origami competition and pupils keep in touch via post.

Third Year pupils get creative in Spanish lessons and the Second Year recreate Shakespeare’s Puck!

Shells study The Tempest and the Art Department send a message to their A level students.

T H E W H E AT L E YA N 2 0 1 9 - 2 0

22 JUNE

29 JUNE 6 JULY

15 JUNE WEEK 10

WEEK 11

WEEK 12 AND 13

Pupils focus on the Black Lives Matter movement and George completes the volunteering section of his silver Duke of Edinburgh Award whilst raising money for The British Heart Foundation.

Bablake celebrates School Diversity Week, which culminates in Rainbow Friday.

Pupils and staff celebrate the end of term with Bablake’s Virtual Choir and take part in the Great Bablake Summer Quiz.

School Life in Lockdown

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PUPILS IN SCHOOL

DURING LOCKDOWN MY EXPERI EN C E – BY A L IC IA HUN D A L L

I think it is safe to say life during lockdown was strange in itself as everyone had to adapt to a new way of learning remotely from their own homes.

Thankfully, I did not have that problem to the same extent as most people. I had the opportunity to come into school from the very start of the pandemic, sticking to my usual routine and still having to carry the abundance of books I needed into school.

Having to come into school at the height of pandemic meant that strict social distancing and sanitation were put in place.

Staying two metres away from everyone and having anti-bacterial wipes to constantly sanitise the areas I used helped me routinely stick to the rules outside school as well. Everyone had their own designated working spaces, which in my case was the library.

At the start, I was the only Sixth Form student in school, while the rest of the pupils were Shells or Second Years (which unfortunately meant I had to find pleasure in spending more time with my brother). Initially I was jealous of those that were able to stay at home, where my friends were making fried egg and avocado on toast whenever they desired, I was stuck with my packed lunch everyday. But I came to realise that I was luckier than most during this time as I was still able to see and talk to people, and like many others, found joy when more and more people came in to school and talked to me. Being the oldest student in school, at times I felt like an honorary staff member. I had the pleasure of Mrs Skilton getting me a coffee every now and again, each time she placed it on my table she said, “Don’t worry I’ve washed my hands and sanitised a lot”. It was nice to be able to talk to staff in a friendlier way than ordinary school situations would allow. I found myself getting to know some of the staff much better than I had before lockdown.

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T H E W H E AT L E YA N 2 0 1 9 - 2 0

Lockdown gave me the freedom to work in the way I wanted to.

My average day consisted of sitting in the library or Sixth Form Study Centre working, and going outside to eat lunch when the weather was nice. It is easy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my time at school during lockdown. My productivity shot up, and I consistently used my free periods, or private study periods as Mr Wright liked to remind me, to really get on with my homework and notes. If anything, I noticed by being at school my grades were getting better which made me realise I could live up to my true potential as a hardworking student. I am really glad I had the opportunity to be in school as it helped me stay motivated and work effectively.

As restrictions lessened, I was excited to see more people in school.

Especially when a few of my close friends came in, I recall being so excited that I brought in cake and didn’t do any work because I was so absorbed in conversation with them! Let’s just say I don’t think I have ever been more talkative!

Unlike others, coming back to school after the summer holidays was not strange or weird. It was like coming in any other day.

Having to adapt to my normal routine has been rather abnormal in comparison to other people. Where other people might have thrived working at home, and have found it hard to work at school again, I have noticed that trying to work at home has been harder as I have been so used to working at school. I think that lockdown was an asset to some people in terms of learning. For me in particular, it allowed me to discover a better and more effective way of learning.

Although being at school during lockdown was unusual, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

School Life in Lockdown

31

THE

CLASS OF 2013

With exams cancelled, the A level grade U-turn and not being able to take part in the ‘rites of passage’ offered to those leaving Bablake, the Class of 2013, our 2019-20 Upper Sixth, were arguably the school year group most impacted by the pandemic.

We want to thank the Class of 2013 for their contribution to school life at Bablake and echo Mr Wright's words from his end of term assembly; “Saf, Kookie, and all the rest of the Upper Sixth, you’ll be back. You have been immense.

When it is safe to do so, we look forward to celebrating your time at Bablake together.”

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T H E W H E AT L E YA N 2 0 1 9 - 2 0

M I S S I N G A F I N A L FA R E W E L L “In the grand scheme of things, the events we've missed that have been cancelled due to lockdown aren't really that important. Of course, we've been looking forward to our Leavers' day, Leavers'/ Crystal Ball and the post-exam summer (the best summer of our lives or so I am told). It's disappointing that flights have been cancelled as well as frustrating trying to get money back from tickets. As an Upper Sixth student, the thing that makes me most sad is not being able to say a proper goodbye to all the amazing people I have gotten to know at school. It's inevitable that you don't keep in touch with everyone after you leave but it's such a strange feeling realising that nearly two months

ago may have been the last time you see someone in your life. How many people would you have smiled at in the corridor as you walked past them to a lesson?

The same is true for everyone who leaves but I guess the difference for us is that none of it has gone to plan. Some of my friends would have sat their first A level exam today (we would not be ready if they were happening now but we would have been working differently!). I think it demonstrates how fragile the world around us is and that we need to constantly adapt. It also makes me thankful for all the people that have been there for me over the years and are still there to support me now.�

Reflections from one of our Upper Sixth students during lockdown, May 2020

School Life in Lockdown

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SIXTH FORM

SUCCESS

A L E V E L R E S U LT S 2 0 2 0 AN OVERALL PA S S R A T E O F

89% 62% 103

100%

OF ALL GRADES A*, A OR B OF ALL GRADES A* OR A

STUDENTS TOOK T H E E X A M I N AT I O N S

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T H E W H E AT L E YA N 2 0 1 9 - 2 0

I found the pandemic's impact on my A levels very unpredictable because no one knew which way it was going to play out. However, after the U-turn regarding results and teacher assessment grades, I felt a lot happier and more settled. It was an experience in itself and regardless of the unexpected situation overall, I am grateful for the outcome!

Jauvan, Upper Sixth Student

CLASS OF 2013

U N I V E R S I T Y D E S T I N AT I O N S

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM 8 UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM 7 LO U G H B O R O U G H U N I V E R S I T Y 6 NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY 5 LANCASTER UNIVERSITY 4 LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY 4 LEICESTER UNIVERSITY 4 UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 3 MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY 3 LEEDS UNIVERSITY 3 COVENTRY UNIVERSITY 3 SHEFFIELD UNIVERSITY 2 UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS 2 CARDIFF UNIVERSITY 2 U N I V E R S I T Y O F D E R BY 2 UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK 2 UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL 2 I M P E R I A L C O L L E G E LO N D O N 2 SURREY UNIVERSITY 2 U N I V E R S I T Y C O L L E G E LO N D O N 2 SWANSEA UNIVERSITY 1 HARPER AND KEELE VETERINARY SCHOOL 1 KEELE UNIVERSITY 1 ASTON UNIVERSITY 1 UNIVERSITY OF EXETER 1 UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH 1 UNIVERSITY OF YORK 1 DURHAM UNIVERSITY 1 SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY 1 THE NORTHERN SCHOOL OF ART 1 UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE 1 K I N G ’ S C O L L E G E LO N D O N 1 QUEEN MARY’S UNIVERSITY LO N D O N 1 B R U N E L U N I V E R S I T Y LO N D O N 1 U N I V E R S I T Y O F W E S T LO N D O N 1 BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY 1 PORTSMOUTH UNIVERSITY 1 CHARLES UNIVERSITY PRAGUE 1

School Life in Lockdown

35

H O W YA L E R E S H A P E D MY PERSPECTIVE

BY WHEATLEYAN EDITOR, TALVIN BATH

Centuries ago, battles and coronations marked the passing of time into new eras; today, I think of the 2008 housing crisis, the 90’s dot-com bubble, or the current response to the pandemic doing the same.

Economics is much larger than fiscal policies and interest rates; economics is a constant force of change on society.

This summer, I gained a place as a Yale Young Global Scholar studying Economics, Politics, and Law; I wouldn’t label the course with those three subjects though, I would say I spent a fortnight studying society. With Covid-19 stopping me from taking the transatlantic flight to Yale’s campus, the program was slightly less glamorous than planned as I dialled into lectures from my bedroom.

With students from 125 countries joining from their homes, the discussions were surreal. The lecturers equipped us all with the same knowledge, the same facts on welfare policies or Marxist feminism, yet every student responded differently. None of us shared the same perspective because our experiences were worlds apart; all we shared was the same hunger to debate, listen, and learn from one another.

36

looked to America’s colonial past to explain the economic development of different regions, even down to minute details such as the legacy of the crops chosen to be grown in different plantations. It provided another example of how economic decisions catalyse societal changes, good or bad, but also how education should address societal injustices in a factual and transparent way.

2020 has been filled with social unrest: the tension in the Middle East, the call for justice in the Black Lives Matter movement, the build-up to the 2020 US election. As we watch society unravel from our TV screens in quarantined homes, we’ve been forced to evaluate what we want our society to look like moving forward. My experience as a Yale Young Global Scholar, witnessing people’s empathy and willingness to understand other perspectives, makes me hopeful.

Before the experience, I was quite a stubborn debater; I’d always get too heated, unable to understand why the other person couldn’t see from my perspective. As a part of an extremely diverse pool of peers, I quickly realised my mistake; knowledge is flexible, it's our surroundings and experiences that dictate how we’ll apply it.

A few days after the programme, I was watching CNN as the port of Beirut exploded and thought of Sophie.

I’ve never had visceral reactions to news; it used to feel like watching a movie, like Donald Trump’s latest foreign policy mishap could have been made in a Hollywood studio. Something clicked that day though, after spending two weeks with people around the world, who were just normal people like me, my brother, or sister--like Sophie--the news came to life.

I remember sitting in a meeting room with four other students: Me, Sid, Ellen, and Sophie; Coventry, Mumbai, Beijing, and Beirut. We were discussing the most recent lecture, a highlight of the fortnight, delivered by Professor Espin-Sanchez. The lecture

We need to be empathetic of people with experiences foreign to our own, especially as we work to create a more equal society. I urge everybody to find ways to surround themselves with diversity, diversity of experience, thought, background, or race.

T H E W H E AT L E YA N 2 0 1 9 - 2 0

, e l b i x e l f s e s c n i e i r kit' nowledge ings and expe ctate 's our surround ath t di how ew ’ll apply it.

W E N E E D T O B E E M PAT H E T I C

OF PEOPLE WITH EXPERIENCES F O R E I G N T O O U R O W N, E S P E C I A L LY

A S W E W O R K T O C R E AT E A

M O R E E Q UA L S O C I E T Y .

School Life in Lockdown

37

STEM

FROM HOME

SHELL PUPILS GET C R E AT I V E I N S C I E N C E

Pupils in Shells created models of atoms during lockdown.

In the topic, Elements, Compounds and Mixtures they learn about the structure of an atom. An atom is made up of three particles called protons, neutrons and electrons. The protons and neutrons are found in the middle of the atom, this is known as the nucleus. The electrons are found orbiting the nucleus in shells. This can be hard to visualise, so making a model of the atom helps pupils to understand this better.

Pupils used lots of different materials to create the central nucleus, from balloons to sweets. To create the electron they made circular rings from straws, foil and string. They added electrons to these rings to show what an atom would look like. The pupils produced fantastic models and were really creative.

We hope they will continue to use the method of creating models to help them visualise a particular concept they may find difficult.

S C H O O L C A P TA I N S AT H A P P O I N T E D I N T E R N AT I O N A L AMBASSADOR F O R B I O LO GY

Bablake’s School Captain 2019-20, Sathvika Krishnan, was appointed International Ambassador for Biology

by The Young Scientist Journal Outreach Team during lockdown.

In this role, she contributes to the Young Scientist Journal's social media pages through posts and blogs as well as helping to organise annual conferences. Further tasks involve editing and reviewing biological articles and spreading awareness about the journal itself to younger students.

In addition to her role as Ambassador for Biology, Sath has also been appointed a Youth Council member for Reserva: Youth Land Trust. Reserva is the only youth-funded rainforest in the world and is opening a protected cloud forest in Ecuador. Regarding her new roles, Sath said:

I’m really excited to be part of the YSJ Outreach Team and I am looking forward to working with young scientists from around the world. I’m also thrilled to be a member of the Reserva: Youth Land Trust Youth Council.

Both these roles allow me to share my love for the natural world and encourage other young people to take part in science.

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T H E W H E AT L E YA N 2 0 1 9 - 2 0

D O U B L E B I O LO GY S U C C E S S F O R B A B L A K E

In March, 40 of our Fourth Year pupils participated in the Royal Society of Biology's annual Biology Challenge and we had great success overall. Between them pupils achieved an impressive three Gold Awards, nine Silver Awards and eight Bronze Awards, and an additional ten Highly Commended and four Commended.

Erin Keeling, who achieved a Gold Award with the highest score in school, said, “I really enjoyed taking part in the Biology Challenge as it gave me an opportunity to apply what I’d learnt in the classroom to a wider variety of questions. It was both challenging and interesting, and required knowledge both from the classroom and beyond."

I A M V E RY P L E A S E D W I T H M Y R E S U LT, A N D WO U LD E N C O U RAGE A N YO N E T H I N K I N G O F TA K I N G PA RT T O D O S O .

During lockdown all Lower Sixth biology students sat an exam for the Royal Society of Biology’s Intermediate Olympiad competition. In what must be a first, they all took the exam online at home whilst they were invigilated remotely via MS Teams, using cameras and microphones to ensure they were silent and on task. In most instances a family member was also present in the room with them to invigilate by monitoring their screen.

The exam tests their full knowledge of the AS Biology syllabus as well as wider biological knowledge. Bablake’s record breaking students achieved one Gold, five Silver and six Bronze awards in this prestigious competition, with an additional three students receiving Highly Commended and another seven Commended.

Ben Sawyer, was Bablake’s best performing student, scoring an impressive 53 out of 68 earning him a Gold Award and placing him in the top 5% of all participants. Ben shared his thoughts on the competition and format this year, "Taking the course at home added some difficulty to the test, as there was a lot of background noise generated from my family and some noisy neighbours! Although, one benefit was that I certainly felt more comfortable taking the test in a familiar setting which made me a bit more relaxed. I was very pleased with my result and I certainly didn’t anticipate receiving a high Gold and coming first in my year group! The experience has definitely given me a sense of hope for the rest of my Biology A level and raised my ambitions towards achieving a top grade."

E X P LO R I N G T H E SOLAR SYSTEM

Shells started working on Space during lockdown, creating posters to show their knowledge of the Solar System, a great start to the topic.

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CREST AWARD ESSAY CREST is a scheme that inspires young people to think and behave like scientists and engineers. Here we share extracts from Sixth Form students Freya Bennett, Brendan Liu and Harry White’s Gold Crest Award essay*, which they completed during lockdown.

E S S AY T I T L E : WHY CAN OXYGEN BE CONSIDERED CARCINOGENIC? Abstract: Oxygen atoms can be altered to become highly reactive, causing carcinogenic alterations within the body. This reactive nature also provides the potential to treat cancers if developed further.

INTRODUCTION The history of cancer may seem relatively recent, however, the earliest evidence comes from a South African fossil dating from 1.6 – 1.8 million years ago.

The Edwin Smith papyrus, an ancient Egyptian medical text, provides the next description of cancer at around 1600BC, yet there was little understanding of what cancer is and how it is formed until the early 20th century.

The discovery of oncogenes (genes which can transform a cell into a tumour cell)

by Peyton Rous, led to further scientific understanding into the formation of cancer cells. Our story starts in 1966 with the discovery of the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced through the respiratory chain. Whilst critical to life, the very oxygen we breathe initiates the formation of one of mankind’s biggest killers.

T H E F O R M AT I O N O F CANCER CELLS In April 2003, 13 years after its initiation, the Human Genome Project was successfully completed, mapping the entire human genome with 99.99% accuracy; revealing that the human body contains 20,500 genes. Each individual gene is a sequence of nucleotides within the DNA, coding for a specific protein necessary for life. One incorrect

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nucleotide base within the genetic code is known as a mutation; altering the protein produced with potentially catastrophic effects. Mutations within DNA are usually amended at checkpoints within the cell cycle, where errors are either corrected or the cell self-initiates apoptosis (the controlled cell death as part of an organism's growth or development). However, the genetic mutations in DNA that give rise to cancer occur in three main categories: tumour suppressor genes, oncogenes, and DNA repair genes. Tumour suppressor genes play a protective role within the body: monitoring the rate of cell division, repairing DNA and controlling apoptosis.

Their mutation gives rise to uncontrolled cell growth leading to tumour formation.

The use of ROS to attack cancer cells is feasible because the high metabolic and thus respiratory rate of cancer cells, mean they have a higher oxidative stress state than normal cells and therefore produce higher levels of ROS. Therapeutic methods involving the disruption of cellular redox balance can therefore preferentially kill the cancer cells.

In recent years, there has been some progress in the study of different targeted drugs for ROS regulation in tumour cells. Scientists have used a drug targeting the mitochondrial ETC

to fight cancer cells. The combined use of rotenone and shikonin function as a cancer treatment as they inhibit the ETC, therefore preventing the cells respiration process so it is starved of energy. These treatments have been shown to enhance the apoptosis of cancerous brain cells by increasing the O2− level in the mitochondria. Inducing additional oxidative stress through ROS treatments allow doctors to exploit the vulnerability of cancer cells to oxidative damage; therefore destroying the tumour with minimal harm to the patient.

DNA repair genes similarly fix errors following semiconservative replication, and many also function as tumour suppressants. Errors in these genes, can cause other transcription errors within the DNA and remain uncorrected, potentially resulting in cancer.

Under certain conditions, oncogenes can be activated and will transform a healthy cell into a malignant one. Increases in ROS within cells have been linked to the expression of oncogenes and altered cell senescence (ageing and deterioration of cells). Old cells, are usually removed from the cell cycle to be broken down by enzymes, allowing their products to be reused within the cell. Cancerous cells do not die and instead contribute to a growing mass of cells.

ROLE OF ROS IN THE F O R M AT I O N O F C A N C E R CELLS The reasons for the development of cancer are diverse and involve many factors; one of which is oxidative stress, the imbalance between oxidising agents (substances with the ability to oxidize other substances by accepting their electrons) and antioxidants within cells. Excessive production of ROS, beyond the body’s ability to counteract them, can damage biological molecules; in turn resulting in cellular damage. The continuous production of oxidising species from the by-products of cellular respiration means the body is constantly under threat from these highly reactive species and significant proportions of DNA damage is caused by ROS. The mechanism of their production from the mitochondria also creates a positive feedback loop; the increased metabolic activity of tumours (from their rapid growth and replication) results in an increased production of ROS, contributing to the progression of cancer.

Therefore, they can cause cancer or be involved in fighting it, depending on their concentrations as well as other factors within the cell.

Since 1984, following the demonstration of ROS causing a carcinogenic transformation within mouse cells, it has become apparent that reactive species take part in the initiation, promotion and progression of carcinogenesis. The oxidative stress resulting from increased levels of ROS has been shown to increase cancer initiation and progression by multiplying the number of DNA mutations or causing DNA damage. Cells are subjected to an average of 100,000 oxidative hits daily, and the carcinogenic potential is proportional to the number of oxidative DNA changes that are not repaired at cell cycle checkpoints. This is demonstrated by the greater number of cancer cases in the elderly; repair mechanisms become less effective with age and hence the DNA damage within cells accumulates, giving rise to increased cancer development.

The hydroxyl radical (•OH), has the ability to react with both the purine and pyrimidine nucleic acids. Of the four DNA bases Guanine appears the most susceptible to oxidative damage

by ROS, and hence has been studied the most thoroughly. The high oxidation potential of Guanine means that reactions with ROS will result in the addition of an oxygen atom on Carbon-8 on the imidazole (C3H4N2) ring; forming 8-Oxoguanine. In healthy DNA, the nucleic acids follow the Watson-Crick base pairing structure: Adenine (A)--Thymine (T) and Guanine (G)---Cytosine (C), as a result of either two or three hydrogen bonds between corresponding pairs. However, the additional relatively bulky oxygen in 8-Oxoguanine increases the possibility of base mispairing; giving it the potential to form a double hydrogen bond with Adenine. The 8-oxygen atom within the mutated base lies in the position that would correctly be 2-oxygen of a thymine in an A---T pair, hence the O8G---A pairing is not easily recognised by the proof-reading enzymes so the mutation is not corrected.

In addition to causing alterations within the DNA structure, ROS have the ability to activate oncogenes such as C-Raf-1 and K-ras. These genes have a significant role in regulating cell growth and division, being associated with mutagenesis in mice cells as mentioned above. DNA mutations within G---C bases have been found in specific tumour suppressor genes, like that of p53, leading to their inactivation. P53 has been referred to as ‘the guardian of the genome’ and is essential to regulating the cell cycle; allowing cells with mutated DNA to be repaired. Its importance is evident as in half of all human cancers the p53 gene is mutated.

Whilst these are the main mechanisms through which ROS cause cancer, it is a highly individualised and diverse disease, therefore there is great variation in its development. In general, the cumulative effects of ROS and their associated oxidative stress on the body leads to the formation and continuation of cancer.

ROLE OF ROS IN THE T R E AT M E N T O F C A N C E R CELLS Whilst ROS can be considered carcinogenic, their wide-ranging actions allow them to promote cell ageing and death. Ultimately, this gives them the power to kill cancer cells, depending on concentrations and other factors within the cell. The use of ROS to attack cancer cells is feasible because the high metabolic and thus respiratory rate of cancer cells, mean they have a higher oxidative stress state than normal cells and therefore produce higher levels of ROS. Therapeutic methods involving the disruption of cellular redox balance can therefore preferentially kill the cancer cells.

In recent years, there has been some progress in the study of different targeted drugs for ROS regulation in tumour cells.

Scientists have used a drug targeting the mitochondrial ETC to fight cancer cells. The combined use of rotenone and shikonin function as a cancer treatment as they inhibit the ETC, therefore preventing the cells respiration process so it is starved of energy. These treatments have been shown to enhance the apoptosis of cancerous brain cells by increasing the O2− level in the mitochondria. Inducing additional oxidative stress through ROS treatments allow doctors to exploit the vulnerability of cancer cells to oxidative damage; therefore destroying the tumour with minimal harm to the patient.

CONCLUSION Cancer is a complex and hugely variable disease. Whilst it is known that increased levels of ROS cause genetic damage resulting in the progression of cancer, further scientific research is crucial to understand the individual mechanisms by which ROS induce malignant change within the body. Intriguingly, these very same compounds may yet yield an effective weapon in the fight against cancer, taking advantage of redox imbalance to induce cell apoptosis; proving oxygen to be a double-edged sword.

Oxygen is the very breath of life, yet its highly reactive nature damages the very cells depending on it for their survival.

*For a copy of references, figures and the full essay please contact The Wheatleyan editors.

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ONE OF OUR SIXTH FORM STUDENTS REFLECTS ON THE D E AT H O F G E O R G E F LOY D A N D O N T H E B L A C K L I V E S M AT T E R M O V E M E N T. In a time where compassion is so important, the death of George Floyd has shocked the world. It’s incredibly heartbreaking to see how racism and police brutality can lead to the death of an unarmed black man in the 21st century.

This disgusting behaviour has led to outrage over a corrupt system. No matter where you live or what you look like, you should find the current situation appalling. It is an injustice. Unlike the Covid-19 pandemic, racism is not new. Its foundations are in our history. Countries have become rich through the exploitation of slavery and still gain from what slavery built. Racism has benefitted and continues to benefit those who discriminate against others based on their skin colour.

WE NEED TO U N D E R S TA N D T H AT W H E N W E HEAR BLACK LIVES M AT T E R , I T D O E S NOT MEAN WE DO NOT ACKNOWLED GE T H AT T H E L I V E S O F O T H E R S M AT T E R TO O. I T I S A B O U T R E C O G N I S I N G T H AT BLACK PEOPLE CONTINUE TO BE THE VICTIMS O F C RU E L D I S C R I M I N AT I O N .

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Racism is not binary, and we need to acknowledge this fact. Violence and murder are extreme examples of how far it can go but the sideways glance, the rude remark and bias all continue to have a devastating impact on people’s lives.

We cannot distance ourselves from horrific acts without questioning ourselves and our perception of race because racism affects black people in ways we could never understand if we are not black ourselves. We should not be living in a world where people live in fear of those who are meant to protect them. Where children are taught the best way to avoid or de-escalate life-threatening confrontations with police. Where peaceful actions are met with violence. Where those who protest against oppression are met with tear gas and rubber bullets.

If you are in a position where your skin colour does not hold you back, you have white privilege. If you are privileged, you need to try to the best of your ability to use this and help those who aren’t. This does not mean that you do not face difficulty.

We need to understand that when we hear Black Lives Matter, it does not mean we do not acknowledge that the lives of others matter too. It is about recognising that black people continue to be the victims of cruel discrimination. While George Floyd died in America, we need to recognise that this is not an isolated incident.

The UK is not innocent. It’s so encouraging to see over the last few days how we are banding together to show that we do not tolerate this. We need to continue to have conversations about racism, the effects of it and what we can do to help. Listen to what people have to say and engage with the conversation. Sometimes you might get things wrong so acknowledge that. It is far better to have difficult conversations about race, be called out and learn, than to say nothing at all because raising black voices and maintaining dialogue is essential in raising awareness. Many have considered this pandemic to be a chance to reset. A chance to do things differently when things go back to normal. This is not the time to be silent because racism will not magically go away when the lockdown is over. Something must change.

Stand up for what you believe in. We need to be better.

BL M P O EM

BY KEATA N PATEL Black Lives Matter We should respect each other And the religions of colours 8 mins 43 seconds on his neck I say flippin heck I can't breathe I can't breathe Do you not understand me Is it cos I'm black You think I slack I can't breathe I can't breathe Do you not understand me I can't breathe I can't breathe Do you not understand me I can't breathe I can't breathe DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ME BLACK LIVES MATTER And that's all I have to say in this chatter.

DIVERSITY WEEK During School Diversity Week, primary and secondary schools as well as colleges across the UK celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality in education. In 2020, schools and colleges representing 1.8 million pupils signed up to take part, including Bablake pupils who participated from home. Thank you to Just Like Us who lead us through the week.

e s r e iv d e r a e w # estandtogether #w wesareunite #

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LGBTQ+ SOCIETY 2019-20 WRITTEN BY ZARA RICHARDS

As one of the new student leaders of Bablake’s LGBTQ+ Society, it was rather daunting stepping in to fill the shoes of the previous Upper Sixth who’d been so supportive of the group—particularly as we cannot meet in person this year!

The existence of the group has been slightly shaky: it was formed for the first time in 2016, but only open to students in the Sixth Form which was quite the gap at the time. When the Sixth Formers involved went to university, the group dissolved. As I started Year 11, I was very lucky to be able to work with friends and teachers to ‘re-found’ our pride group. Now we are entering the third year of its return and are certain it is here to stay!

Lockdown was a struggle, particularly as a lot of our meetings are harder to run online when they rely on everyone having the same books or movies to discuss. Considering previous activities have included a cake sale for a Coventry-based charity supporting LGBT+ youth and a visit to an LGBT+ themed exhibition at the Tate Modern, it was challenging to try and continue engaging in such a new format. We come from many year groups, as students can join from Second Year, and fortunately we were able to support each other through lockdown, even without meeting in person. However, a lot of the group members have now left Bablake, meaning membership has decreased too.

Throughout this year, we were involved with an organisation called Just Like Us, which works with pride groups in schools and colleges across the UK. They provide training workshops for both students and teachers involved, which were invaluable to our previous student leaders. The workshops last year focussed on increasing awareness of issues and promoting LGBTQ+ societies within school. From September 2020, we will be partnering with Just Like Us again in order to better support pupils in school, with the hope of moving the group online for the academic year! MS Teams meetings and virtual assemblies are looking promising, so we hope to continue our work and support pupils however we can.

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F O RT U N AT E LY W E WERE ABLE TO S U P P O RT E A C H OT H E R T H RO UGH LO C K D OW N, E V E N WITHOUT MEETING IN PERSON.

L O C K D O W N S PA R K S A N E W

ANNUAL HISTORY PUBLICATION

BY M R S C ER I R EES

The History Department decided to take advantage of the lockdown this year and has published the first annual Bablake History Magazine.

When it was announced that schools were to close and work remotely, and GCSE and A level exams were not to be set, as a department we wanted to make sure that we had something positive to take out of the experience. The idea of a magazine was interesting as it would allow pupils to research and pursue an area of history they were interested in that they would not normally have the opportunity to explore. The idea was also to make something that as many people as possible could engage with, which is why the wide variety of topics was so good. We wanted to encourage the Bablake community to engage with history resulting in our ‘Things to Do’ section. A number of pupils were very enthusiastic, and it was great to see so many get involved.

"We have learnt a lot of new skills from this process: researching with resources we could only access from home, adapting to the challenges of working remotely and figuring out how to use a new software to create a design. The Bablake History Magazine is a reminder of what we achieved during this difficult time.

I am proud of the entire team that has put together this publication and I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as we have enjoyed putting it together."

I am incredibly proud of everyone who has been involved in the production of this excellent magazine. The pupils gained so much from the experience that we've decided to continue - lockdown or not. Thank you to everyone for your help and support in getting this first issue out on time.

Fiona Chung, Upper Sixth, took on the role of editor, and was ably supported by several other pupils who met regularly to work on the magazine. Speaking about the whole process, she said, "When the History Department asked us if we would like to produce a history magazine, I was thrilled to have the opportunity! History is something I am incredibly passionate about, so it was great to have the chance to share my love of the subject. We put together a team of pupils in Fifth Year, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth as well as staff to write pieces on topics that they found interesting and wanted to explore further."

"Inspired by existing history magazines like BBC History Magazine, BBC History Revealed and History Today, we decided to include a range of formats. The mix of longer articles, A-Z, short profiles and timelines meant that it was something that would be accessible for everyone. We met weekly via MS Teams on Monday afternoons to discuss ideas and plan what to do for the week ahead. Of course, this did present us with some problems as technology did not always cooperate but on the whole, we were able to work together to ensure that we had a finished magazine by our original deadline."

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BABLAKE FROM HOME

HOUSE ACTIVITIES EDI TED BY D O M IN IC R EEV ES

House activities continued in earnest during lockdown with inventive and interesting challenges being set for pupils to complete from home. Congratulations to Fairfax who were the overall winners for 2019-20 and a huge thank you to House Heads and Deputies for adapting the House activities for this year to ensure that the fierce House competition still continued to thrive.

HOUSE ORIGAMI 1 ST C R O W 2 N D W HEATL EY 3 R D BAY L EY 4 TH FA IR FA X

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I was very impressed with how well pupils coped with lockdown and how engaged they were with the different events that were put on, showing the strength of the Bablake community. This was exemplified by the Upper Sixth who were fully engaged with the lockdown events alongside the numerous twitter comments from Mr Wright.

Mr Sukki Sahota, Bayley Head of House

1 ST

HOUSE OPTICAL ILLUSION

2 ND

1 ST WHEAT LEY - PHOEBE 2 N D CRO W - DAVID 3 R D BAYL EY - MANJOTE 4 T H FAIRFAX - EWAN

4 TH

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HOUSE EASTER EGG DESIGN 1 ST FAIRFAX 2 N D WHEAT LEY 3 R D BAYL EY 4 T H CRO W

HOUSE CAKE COMPETITION 1 ST FAIRFAX 2 N D BAYL EY 3 R D CRO W 4 T H WHEAT LEY

HOUSE TALLEST TOWER 1 ST FAIRFAX (5 5 .6 3 M) 2 N D BAYL EY (1 7 .8 7 M) 3 R D CRO W (1 6 .9 0 M) 4 T H WHEAT LEY (1 2 .6 8 M)

HOUSE STAIR CLIMB 1 ST BAYL EY 2 N D WHEAT LEY 3 R D CRO W 4 T H FAIRFAX

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What surprised me about how the students responded to the House system during lockdown was how quickly they got involved and the time and effort they were willing to put in to send high quality entries.

Mr Inderpal Kalsi, Fairfax Head of House

HOUSE PHOTO COMPETITION JOINT 1 ST F AI RFAX AND C ROW

JOIN T 3 R D W HEATLEY AND B AYLEY

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CHARITY ACTIVITIES D U R I N G LO C K D O W N

BY LIBBY STINTON AND RHEA CHERRINGTON

Being in lockdown didn’t prevent Bablake pupils and staff from raising money for charity, with whole families taking part in charity challenges and pupils coming up with inventive ways to raise money from home.

One of the most successful and widely participated in activity was the 2.6 challenge. The idea was that people choose a challenge that related to the numbers 2.6 or 26 (the number of miles in a marathon) to raise money for charities who have been adversely affected by the cancellation of so many events, including marathons, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Charity Co-ordinator, Mrs Hayley Bamforth, challenged the Bablake community to complete their 2.6 challenges to raise money for The British Heart Foundation.

(Over!) 26 miles on the bike

2. 6 C HA L L EN GE Here's Ed completing 26k in support of the #TwoPointSixChallenge towing his kayak on a trailer he spent three hours building for his DT project. Ed should have gone to Germany for the National Championships during lockdown, so this challenge was a perfect way to not only raise money for charity but to keep up with his training!

One Bablake family had a member that was meant to be running the London Marathon so they wanted to do lots to mark the date. The family's #TwoPointSixChallenge consisted of running 2.6 miles, chopping 26 logs, baking 26 cupcakes and playing 2.6 hours of piano, even Granny did 26 laps of the house on her walking frame!

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VE DAY SENI OR C I TI ZENS AF T ER N O O N TEA Staff and pupils who were in school during lockdown had a busy day baking and putting together over 100 afternoon tea boxes to send out to senior citizens in the local community. A huge thank you to those involved and to Rodda’s Cornish Clotted Cream, The Bag N Box Man, Haddie and Trilby and Coventry Live for their generous donations and support.

D A IS Y ’S GR EAT ID EA Second Year pupil Daisy had a great idea to help exhausted joggers, dog-walkers and peckish neighbours whilst supporting the NHS at the same time. She set up a refreshment stand outside her house and collected almost £200 for the NHS! Well done Daisy.

We would like to thank the pupils, staff and parents who have kindly donated and made our events such a big success, even when times were tough. As a charity committee we love giving to local and national charities and seeing the positive impact of where your money goes. We hope we can have another extremely successful year and raise lots more money for such worthy and inspirational charities.

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LITERATURE IN

LOCKDOWN DREAMS

I stare out of the large window in my kitchen like a character in a movie does when they are sad and pondering their mistakes. “Think, Think, Think! Oh, what can I do for this writing prompt? If only I didn’t miss last Monday’s! I had a brilliant idea about Joan of Arc and...” I stop, realising I have been talking to myself. I look around, hoping no one was noticing my craziness. “What does it matter? I have spoken aloud to myself many times before!” I collapse into my cosy reading chair. “No.” I say, “Don’t force your stories! When have you ever forced your stories? Just let it...come” I rub my temples before staring blankly at nothing for a little while. Just...thinking.

My thoughts get deeper and deeper until I am in a familiar place. The Land of Dreams. Am I asleep? No. This is a daydream. A bird out of the window next to me catches my eye, and my thoughts fly with it. Wait...no...I’m flying with it! Oh yes! I’m in a daydream! I see fluffy clouds reddened by the scarlet and pink sun. I feel the soft teardrops from the clouds above me.

I hear the pretty sound of singing birds. I feel my feet (or were they claws? I couldn’t quite tell what I was) brush against the rustling leaves.

I breathe in the glorious landscape. How beautiful is the landscape!

A shimmering little pond fringed with willows that dangle their leafy arms into the water. The sun, even more fiery than before, reflects on the pond, making the pond seem like a pool of fire. Birds fly across the sun, their outlines looking like black cardboard cut outs against the sun's rays. I am disturbed by a sudden noise and I am awoken from my daydream. I pull a fluffy cushion toward my chest and let out a sigh. Rain begins to patter loudly on the window, and I stand up, readying myself for another day of lonely lockdown.

Shell pupil Sasha’s short story, ‘Dreams’ written during lockdown on the website of Robin Stevens, author of the Murder Most Unladylike Series.

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WE SHOULD NOT JUDGE PAST LITERATURE BY THE STANDARDS OF THE PRESENT Wheatleyan Editor, Giselle Pinto, shares her essay entitled, ‘We should not judge past literature by the standards of the present’, which was shortlisted for a New Colleges of the Humanities essay competition during lockdown.

For centuries, literature has played an integral role in the shaping of our society as a whole. However, our moral and societal views have evolved greatly and thus the debate arises regarding whether or not we should judge past literature by the standards of the present.

On one hand, judging past literature by our current standards could be seen as beneficial to contemporary audiences as it enables comparisons to be made between two separate points of history. Literature isn’t meant to be fluid nor dynamic so therefore once a text is written, it is not going to evolve alongside our society. Accordingly, this creates an advantage for contemporary readers as it enables them to learn more about the ideologies of a period through the literature of its time. A significant, highly regarded example of this is ‘Twelve Years a Slave’ by Solomon Northup - an autobiography written in 1853 that utilises the first person narrative of a slave to encapsulate the horrors of the slave trade as well as to convey the inhumane treatment of black people during this period in history. Throughout the book, readers are met with racial slurs and the profound use of derogatory terms towards black people. In this case, judging the book to our standards of the present enables us to comprehend just how far our society has evolved regarding prevalent issues such as racism. It enables contemporary audiences to be cognisant of the plight of significant events and transgressions, as well as enabling readers to empathise and make efforts for these atrocities to never occur again.

However, it could be argued that texts were considered moral in relation to the social understandings of the periods that they were written in. The text reflects the thought process and mindset of the time; therefore judging them by our standards at present would prevent readers from inherently capturing the essence of these specific durations in history. Since texts are all products of their time, they only allude to what was considered principled at that point of time in history. Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and Mark Twain’s ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ are both examples of texts that were highly praised when they were published in 1884 and 1960 even though both include racial epithets. The slurs are embedded throughout both texts; it exhibits that whilst there was progression in equality regarding race during the long duration between 1884 and 1960, it was still not as rapid as

expected. If we were to judge these texts by our standards at present, a very divergent picture would be painted considering that our society today would not be tolerant of the use of slurs throughout the text.

Despite that, the precepts of morality standardly remain consistent and have been around for centuries. Ergo, when judging past literature with present standards a sense of equity could potentially still be brought forth as it could be argued that our morals do not waver as such. This is conveyed through the ten commandments, for example: 'thou shalt not kill’. Whilst extreme, to this day it is still perceived as morally erroneous. Similarly, this is alluded to in past literary text ‘The Awakening’ by Kate Chopin.

Although written in 1899, it depicts an autonomous female protagonist with many homogenous values and notions as many feminists in our present society today. This greatly contrasts F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ for which he himself stated that ‘the book contains no important woman characters’. Comparing both texts, ‘The Great Gatsby’ was written much later than ‘The Awakening’; it was at a time after women were given the right to vote. Yet, it doesn’t shy away from presenting women as merely a means of acting as an implementation to move the story along, and their empowerment is greatly stunted.

However, morals are subjective - just like societal standards.

There are no definitive boundaries regarding how our society evolves over centuries and therefore, by placing the constraints of our present standards on a literary text based prior to us, we are hindering the authors’ message as well as the historical elements and attitudes we can infer from the texts.

To conclude, I believe that whilst judging past literature by standards of the present provides a sense of perspective, we should instead look towards learning something from past literature in order to take away lessons rather than comparing past texts alongside our own standards. Past literature enables us to recognise how times have evolved alongside society as well as expressing a myriad of messages interlaced throughout that may enable us to perceive our past societal standards more accurately, straight from the source.

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BABLAKE BOOK REVIEWS

THE LOCKDOWN EDITION EDI TED BY TARYN W IL S O N A N D L IV IA TUR N O C K

Our Literature editors Taryn Wilson and Livia Turnock’s lockdown book reviews feature a wonderful array of books for every Bablake pupil to enjoy.

P E R CY JA CK S O N A ND T H E O LY M P IA NS : T H E L IGH T NING T H IE F BY R IC K R IO R D A N The first in a series of five books ‘The Lightning Thief’ follows a young Percy Jackson on his quest to return Zeus’ famous lightning bolt back to Mount Olympus before the summer solstice. Joined by his friends Annabeth and Grover they travel from the safety of their home at Camp Half-Blood across America and even to the depths of the Underworld itself, fighting mythical creatures as they go.

Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series was, and remains, one of the best series of books that I have read. The books perfectly combine nail biting action and the power of true friendship all while diving into the incredible world of Greek Gods and Heroes.

RED QUE EN BY VICTORIA AVEYAR D Young Mare lives in a world separated by blood, Red or Silver. One belonging to the powerless commoners, the other belonging to beings with superhuman powers. For her whole life Mare believes herself to be a nobody, that is until an accident in the centre of the Silver world changes her life forever and threatens the lives of those she loves.

While it may still be an up and coming young adult series, the Red Queen novels make up a thrilling series that you can barely put down. It’s fast paced, action filled pages pulled me into the story and never let me go. I quickly began to admire the fierce nature of Mare, the book’s lead protagonist, and her iron will that helps her to continue to for fight for what she believes in. A trait that myself and others can take learnings from.

AFTER READING THIS BOOK I AM UNSURE HOW TO D E S C R I B E T H E I M PA C T O F I T TO OT H E RS E XC E P T T H AT L E E S E E M E D T O E F F O RT L E S S LY T E L L A T I M E L E S S S T O RY W I T H O U T L O S I N G T H E I M P O RTA N C E OF ITS DEEPER MEANING. TAR YN W IL S O N

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S WA L LO W S A ND A M A Z O NS

BY A R THUR R A N S O M E During a family trip to the Lake District the four Walker children sail to the supposedly inhabited ‘Wild Cat Island’ on their trusty boat ‘The Swallow’. On the island they encounter a pair of Amazon Pirates, more commonly known as the Blackett sisters, beginning a summer of exciting adventures and mystery. Will it end with life long friends or a rivalry to last the ages?

TO KI L L A MOCKINGBIR D

BY H A RP ER LEE When siblings Scout and Jem Finch spot the infamous Boo Radley, their lives are spun around as their father stars as his lawyer for the most conflicting case that the town has ever seen.

The book unapologetically divides into the reality of a world fuelled by race and discrimination.

After reading this book I am unsure how to describe the impact of it to others except that Lee seemed to effortlessly tell a timeless story without losing the importance of its deeper meaning. While it isn’t the easiest read it is one that I certainly think everyone should try at some point in their life.

Swallows and Amazons may not be filled with monsters or supernatural beings, but it does not fail to tell a beautiful story of friendship and the magic of childhood adventures. I loved reading about the fun experiences that could be had outdoors, free from the worries of the outside world, perfect for an escape of my own.

NO U GH T S A ND CR O S S E S BY M A LO R IE BL A C KM A N

THE COLOUR P URP LE

BY A L ICE WALKER What may at first glance be critiqued to be pages of poor grammar, actually unveils a story of prejudice told through the unedited voice of Celie, a young black girl, forced to navigate the harsh world of poverty and segregation. After a chance meeting with the independent Shug Avery, Celie begins to learn to find and follow her own path and surround herself with people she loves as she goes.

Sephy and Callum, two childhood best friends split by one defining factor, she is a cross and he is a nought.

Born into an unforgiving society filled with deception, discrimination and disdain, they forge a romance that will lead them to the heart of it all. The dark and modern take on the infamous tale of Romeo and Juliet, opens readers eyes onto the true power of prejudice.

At a first glance of this books themes it may seem that Blackman is trying to address too complex and difficult of a topic of racial discrimination, making it potentially unsuitable for a younger audience. However, she does the complete opposite and articulates these issues in an accessible and universal way, perfect for a younger reader.

One of the reasons this book has such an impact on the reader is how Walker chooses to not just tell a story, but to do it through the eyes and voice of one of her characters.

The power of Celie’s voice is what made this book stand out because of the undeniable authenticity, and the emotions that it subsequently brings to the whole novel.

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SI M ON VER S US THE HOMO SA P IENS AGENDA

BY BE CKY ALB ER TALLI The origin story behind the hit film ‘Love Simon’, this book follows the journey of 17-year-old Simon as he tries to work his way through high school while trying to protect his most precious secret and growing feelings for his mysterious online friend ‘Blue’. When he is blackmailed by the resident class clown Simon must make a decision as to whether he’s ready to finally live his truth.

IN THE LIGHT OF

I don’t just love this book for it’s base storyline but the meaning of the tale that Albertalli tells. I admire her skill at taking what is generally viewed as the stereotypical high school experience and building on it with a new and necessary perspective. The way in which she weaves the storyline together creates the initial image that this will be a typical coming of age story, but goes on to reveal that it is so much more.

EXPOSE OUR PEERS

THE BLACK LIVES M AT T E R M O V E M E N T W E F E LT I T WA S I M P O RTA N T T O T O T E X T S T H AT C A N E D U C AT E T H E M O N S U C H M AT T E R S .

L IVIA T U R N O C K

A COL L A R IN M Y P O CK E T

BY JA N E EL L IO T T In the light of the Black Lives Matter movement we felt it was important to expose our peers to texts that can educate them on such matters. Elliott’s ‘A Collar in My Pocket’ is a personal and moving account of her time as a teacher in Riceville, Iowa and her divisive exercise ‘Brown Eyes Vs Blue Eyes’, motivated by the death of the activist Martin Luther King, as a way to educate the impressionable young minds of her students against the ignorance of racism.

Based on the logic that the same chemical that controls the pigment of our skin colour, controls our eye colour, individuals, who would not have experienced the same extremes of discrimination otherwise, lived for a day in someone else’s shoes. It showed her readers, her pupils, the thousands of people she performed this experiment on, that the stereotypes placed on people of colour merely and ironically prove they are human, that we are all equals. It is a human reaction to react when treated unfairly, as they themselves did when discriminated against according to something they had no control over. And it worked: a large majority who had taken part in this exercise never mistreated someone again or vowed to never start.

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C E L E B R AT I N G PUFFIN BOOKS 8 0 TH A N N I V E R S A R Y E DITED BY TARYN W I LSON

Puffin Books celebrated their 80th Anniversary during the worldwide lockdown. First founded back in 1940 by Allen Lane, Puffin Books is renowned for its publishing of thousands of children’s books, both fiction and non-fiction alike.

They began to truly make their mark on the world of literature when they successfully gained the rites to publish the paperback versions of books such as C.S Lewis’ ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ and E.B White’s ‘Charlotte’s Web’.

One of the key parts of the Puffin Books 80th anniversary celebrations was the release of ‘The Puffin Book of Big Dreams’, a collation of tales from a variety of different authors, both old and new.

They also relaunched the Puffin ‘World of Stories’ scheme for schools in conjunction with the National Literary Trust. The aim of the scheme is to give primary schools the tools to help

renovate their libraries, giving children the best possible access to a range of literature while they’re young, in the hope that it will spark an interest in reading that will last a lifetime. At present they currently have around 50 schools involved from the previous scheme and hope to have an additional 80 schools with the new scheme.

Puffin Books have also collaborated with the European Union of the Deaf, the British Deaf Association, Aardman Animations and the phone company Huawei to create the StorySign app for deaf children. The aim being to provide deaf children with the access to classic children’s books with the help of the animated character ‘Star’ who signs the story for them. Not only can the children enjoy the stories, but it also helps to further develop their signing skills. This is a small step in the direction of increasing the accessibility of the literary world for people of all walks of life.

Puffin’s anniversary celebrations took place around the world, from the UK to New Zealand, through a variety of different events. One major event was ‘The Festival of Big Dreams’ which gave children access to a variety of different activities that relate to literature in a unique way, in most cases exposing them

to the possibility of these topics for the very first time. The wide choice of activities allowed children to discover new ways of learning through drawing cover art, exploring the night skies and writing stories themselves. This unique experience helped Puffin Books to influence and inspire a new generation in ever-changing times, all while never losing sight of the power of storytelling.

While the publishing company have made many plans for the future, they have also looked back to the past with the release of adaptations of classic tales such as Noel Streatfeild’s ‘Ballet Shoes’.

‘Ballet Shoes’ has been re-imagined by Carrie Hope Fletcher, author and theatre actress, as the novel ‘Into the Spotlight’ with the hope of bringing to life beloved books for a new generation.

Taking Noel Streatfeild’s classic children’s novel Ballet Shoes as its jumping off point, Fletcher’s beguiling tale of stage school kids with big dreams brings the magic of the theatre vibrantly to life.

Waterstones

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LOCKDOWN

CREATIVITY DES IG N TEC HNOLOGY

The Design Technology Department was quick to set challenges and assignments for pupils to complete from home during lockdown, from creating toilet paper vehicles to Easter baking competitions and making bird feeders - they kept pupils very busy with creative and innovative work.

The Easter Baking Competition showcased the amazing culinary and artistic talents of many of our pupils, who blew us away with their creations (1).

Having mastered cooking at the beginning of lockdown Shell pupils turned their hands to some fabulous textiles work (2).

Third Year DT pupils worked on designing a small toy for a child made from items around the house. Aryan showed his creativity and inventive skills in making this launcher (3).

GCSE DT pupils were tasked with redesigning a children's playground. Ewan offers his solution, called ‘Slidus’, prior to model making (4). They have also been busy modelling a garden swing/seat and coming up with some great concepts.

Ben, one of our A level DT students, has a passion for cars and used his time in lockdown to develop his engineering skills and understanding (5).

Second Year pupil Rishi was introduced to the Solid Works CAD programme just before school closed and produced some amazing designs in the first few weeks of lockdown – fantastic productivity (6).

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3

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A rt

A LEVEL ARTWORK

It was with great sadness that we were unable to showcase this year's wonderful A level artwork at our usual end of year art exhibition, we therefore thought it would be a fitting tribute to share some of our Sixth Form students’ work here, we wish them all the best for their bright futures.

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PUPIL LOCKDOWN ART Lockdown Creativity

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STAFF

A rt

Cathy Renken, our Food Technology and Textiles Technician, kept herself busy during lockdown with her other love, experimenting with painting and stitching onto canvas.

Cathy spends much of her spare time developing her creative work oil painting and sewing natural forms, seascapes and landscapes. In recent years, her work has been exhibited in the Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry, The Waterfront Gallery Stratford, Gallery 150, East Lodge Gallery and Art in the Park Festival in Leamington. Furloughed like many of her colleagues in the spring, she was inspired by her early morning walks and began painting the woodland area around Allesley and Coundon Wedge: an area well known by some of her work colleagues, one of whom was so delighted she bought a painting as soon as she saw it! She plans to continue her work with a series of paintings inspired by trees and woodland. If you would like to see more of her work, you can find her Facebook page at Cathy Renken-Artist.

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PERFORMING ARTS EDI T ED BY C HA R LO T TE BUL L

For many in the Music Department, the beginning of lockdown was hard to manage due to the lack of music activities. Music ensembles, bands and choirs at school are important to a wide range of people as they not only offer great ways to develop skills in playing an instrument, but also provide the chance to be part of a wonderfully vibrant community.

With being stuck at home it was harder for us to keep in contact, and we really missed the chance to catch up during rehearsals.

However, not long into lockdown Miss McMinn announced that she would be starting a lockdown choir and that the choir would be learning and performing ‘Stand By Me’, a very suitable song to show support to those who were struggling during lockdown. This was a great chance for those involved in different choir and vocal ensembles at school to learn a song and go to rehearsals alongside other pupils. It was also an opportunity for new people to get involved - proving very popular with the teachers and family members at home! Miss McMinn arranged the rehearsals via a meeting in MS Teams, meaning that everyone could see her conducting and playing her piano. We were also able to unmute our microphones to ask questions or even join in at the same time. Due to the offering of several rehearsals a week it was very flexible and gave many people the chance to practise their parts and get involved with the song as well as the very entertaining warmups (with varying levels of success!).

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I participated in virtual choir during lockdown and I found it so fulfilling and exciting to be part of the school community in a new adventure and to be singing with my friends again. I loved the songs and rehearsals, and it was great to reconnect with everyone online. The outcomes were amazing and something to be really proud of!

Anna Shirley

As the rehearsals progressed, everyone got used to watching Mr Cooper’s entertaining dancing and trying the almost impossible tongue-twisters- it almost seemed as if we were not at home at all. After several rehearsals, those involved had to record themselves singing their part and then send it to Miss McMinn to compile. Once she had done this, we were able to listen to the

final product with everyone involved all singing on the same track.

We all enjoyed the process and finished product so much that it wasn't long before a second project was launched, this time with a bit of a twist! It was announced that the choir would be performing ‘Walking on Sunshine’, but the verses were going to be rewritten. They were replaced

with lyrics that had a Bablake School lockdown theme. Miss Billingham and Mrs French were both quick to give it a try with Lara Pennell also contributing.

In the end, all of their attempts were combined to produce a unique take on the song. One of the changed verses was: ‘I used to hate getting up early, so it’s nice to lie-in, But I don’t want to spend my whole life, looking out from within!

I don’t wanna go back for a weekend or back for a day, Oh Bablake I wanna come back, and I do want to stay! Oh yeah now!’

These joyful lyrics clearly demonstrated how enthusiastic people were to get involved with the choir and shows how we managed to rebuild the Bablake Music community despite lockdown. Miss McMinn also introduced a virtual band for this song. This gave those in the Music Department, who were not keen singers, the chance to get involved and contribute to the project. This time, more people were encouraged to film themselves singing so a colourful video could be made - some even dressed up!

This version was just as successful as the first and was shown in the final assembly of the year as it was a clear example of how Bablake, and particularly the Music Department, used every opportunity to keep the Bablake community spirit going even throughout lockdown. A massive thank you to Miss McMinn and the Music Department for the effort and time that went into these projects as well as a huge congratulations to everyone who got involved!

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After theatres and cinemas were forced to close due to government guidelines and social distancing, many put videos of plays and concerts on YouTube.

This allowed theatre fans to enjoy performances from their own homes and donate money to theatres to help them reopen once lockdown restrictions were lifted.

opportunity to watch these productions is something that we would not have otherwise been given and they were greatly appreciated by theatre lovers.

At the beginning of lockdown Andrew Lloyd Webber created a new channel on YouTube named ‘The Shows Must Go On’ which hosted musicals every Friday night and enabled people to donate to a theatre charity. Some highlights included: ‘Phantom of the Opera’; ‘Love Never Dies’; ‘Joseph’ and ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’. These productions were all really entertaining and gave people access to shows they may have not been normally able to afford to see. The National Theatre also posted weekly plays including ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Jane Eyre’. The

The future for theatres since lockdown ended, however, looks bleak. Even since coronavirus restrictions were lifted many theatres are still struggling to reopen as they rely on constant usage. They also need a certain number of seats to be filled in the theatre to allow them to make a profit, which currently is not possible. It is difficult to see what the future holds for theatre but by offering online performances and through a range of charity initiatives there is at least a hope that there are funds being raised that will allow the industry to survive.

George’s Marvellous Medicine N O T Q UI T E A R EMEDY FO R COVID - 1 9

At the start of the academic year, the Bablake Theatre Council decided that they were going to lead and direct a Lower School production of ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ in order to give more pupils the opportunity to get involved in Drama.

The plan was to do the production in a way that was slightly unusual, with the audience moving around the school to see the characters perform each scene in a different location with a unique set and lighting.

We immediately started auditions and began rehearsals soon after. Each member of the Council helped with a different small group of Lower School pupils. Each group was tasked with performing one or two scenes with a narrator as a link between them and a person to guide the audience.

The cast had weekly rehearsals and it was decided that it was best to schedule the production for March, to allow their performances to be as polished and perfected as they would like. All those involved worked incredibly hard throughout rehearsals to remember blocking and to learn their lines. It became a very enjoyable experience for all and was a great way to finish the school week. As one performer said, "the ability for me to develop my acting skills in a very positive environment was really fun. I have learned a lot and really enjoyed the rehearsal procedure!"

main hall as they had previously done the blocking and rehearsals in the theatre or rehearsal room. They also began to source props and costumes to help launch the play to the next level. Unfortunately, however, it was not to be. On the day that they were due to do their technical and then dress rehearsal the cast were told that they would not be able to perform due to the pandemic. This was a shame for all as the Bablake Theatre Council had put lots of work into the directing and the performers were almost word perfect and had finally begun to finetune the blocking.

As we approached the performance dates, we started to sell tickets and the cast began to rehearse in the locations that they would be performing in.

These rehearsals were vital for the cast to get used to different locations such as the library, Room 11 and the

It was a real shame that the production of ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ was never presented to an audience, but I hope that this article at least gives the cast and members of Bablake Theatre Council the recognition they deserve.

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IMOGEN SMASHES HER PB TO GET 8.44M IN THE VALHALLA VIRTUAL SHOTPUT COMPETITION. THIS COMPETITION RAISES MONEY FOR WOUNDED HIGHLANDERS, WELL DONE IMOGEN!

PE AT HOME - GARDEN VOLLEYBALL

WE CAN ACHIEVE A NY T H I N G I F W E WO R K

TO GETHER AS ONE.

SPORT EDITED BY EMMA ALLROGGEN AND BRYONY CAMWELL

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WORLD CUP GOLD MEDAL WINNING COACH BEN RYAN PRESENTED OUR SPORTS COLOURS DURING LOCKDOWN

BA BL A KE S P O R T FR O M HO M E

The PE Department were quick to make sure pupils didn’t use lockdown as an excuse to not keep up their fitness, posting links to fitness apps and workshops for Bablake pupils (and staff!) to take part in from day one.

PE staff also set their own challenges which included a Rugby pass challenge from Mr Freemantle, Mr Phillip’s stair climb challenge, Mrs Russell’s ‘Marathon in May’ challenge and Miss Watt’s ‘Keepy Uppy’ challenge to name a few. Mr Burdett’s dog Casper even got involved in a cricket challenge, with a performance worthy of the first team!

One further highlight of Bablake Sport from Home was the virtual awarding of sports colours by Olympic and World Gold Medal winning coach, Ben Ryan.

Lockdown showed more than ever how important keeping active and exercise is to the mental health of our pupils and staff. Thank you to the PE Department for their efforts in keeping Bablake moving during lockdown and well done to all of those in the Bablake community for getting involved and staying #partofthepride.

PE AT HOME - RESISTANCE RUNNING

Sport

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PROFESSIONAL SPORT

THE IMPACT OF THE VIRUS ON PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

BY S IXTH FOR M ST U DENT, W I LL PA N THER

The outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic has affected many aspects of our daily lives, including how we work, how we are educated and how we entertain ourselves. One major impact on our entertainment was the football leagues being postponed and then restarting behind closed doors.

On March 11 2020, Manchester City’s Premier League match against Arsenal was postponed as a ‘precautionary measure’. This happened a day after Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Nottingham Forest, tested positive for the virus.

This was a problem for the Premier League as Arsenal had played Olympiakos on 27 February. On 13 March, the Football Association, Premier League, EFL and the Barclays FA Women’s Super League held a meeting and collectively agreed to postpone the professional game in England, after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for Covid-19. The postponing was initially meant to last until 3 April, but the postponement was extended and there were no football matches in England until 17 June.

A similar approach was taken by other football and soccer leagues across the globe. The German Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A, the Spanish La Liga and the American MLS were all suspended indefinitely. Some leagues, like the Dutch Erdivise and the French

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Ligue 1, were cancelled rather than postponed and the team who sat at the top of the table at the time of cancellation were crowned champions.

While suspending football leagues ultimately reduced the spread of Covid-19, the decision came with large financial implications.

Premier League clubs were told to be prepared for a 500-millionpound revenue deficit as a result of the postponing. This is money that would usually be generated by broadcasters, commercial partners and matchday revenue. It is estimated that in the four month hiatus from football, clubs were seeing a 1-billion-pound drop in income, half of which would not be made back. This is an even bigger problem for smaller clubs in English Football, especially those in the lower professional leagues, as they do not have the same levels of income or financial stability of the bigger Premier League clubs.

Coronavirus also caused the UEFA Champions League to be played differently this year. Instead of teams playing a home and an away leg of a fixture, the tournament was moved to Lisbon where competing teams played only one game before the winning team progressed to the next stage in the tournament. This also caused significant revenue loss. Furthermore, the Fifa Ballon D’or was also cancelled due to the pandemic. This prestigious award is given to the footballer who has performed the best over the 2020 year. This had a mixed reception, with Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski commenting that his 55-goal spree across 2020 would have been worthy of the award.

To conclude, the football industry was hit hard by the virus due to seasons being postponed and money being lost.

MY EXPERIENCE OF LO C K D O W N A S A N E N G L A N D H O C K E Y P L AY E R B Y S I X T H F O R M S T U D E N T, EMMA ALLROGGEN

Lockdown came as a huge shock to me as it did to everyone in the UK. One weekend I was playing a National League hockey match for Birmingham University and going to England U18 training and the next we were shut away at home.

Prior to lockdown I was training on the pitch three to four times a week and playing a match up to three times a week! To go from this to not seeing a hockey pitch for three months was a massive shock to my system.

Despite the difficulty of lockdown, I got into a good routine, following a programme sent to all the U18 players from the strength and conditioning coaches at England Hockey. I set myself a schedule, doing strength sessions in the morning before school and running after school. This routine helped my fitness and my schoolwork as it ensured I woke up in plenty of time for the morning session and was able to focus on work afterwards and then I had a ‘brain’ break in the evening.

Exercise was in essence, a way to relax and escape from the stress that was lockdown.

This season was an important one for the England U18 team and for me. Due to Covid-19 we missed matches against Holland, Germany, Belgium, and the USA, as well as the European Junior Championships in Russia.

I was really disappointed to have missed out on these competitions, but I have realised that the time I have had, has allowed me to better my fitness and has made me value hockey even more than I already did! Instead of these competitions and to compensate for the lack of training camps, we took part in zoom sessions. These included fitness challenges, strength training sessions, video sessions and talks from current and ex members of the GB team, including Kate Richardson-Walsh, the captain of the Rio 2016 Gold winning team. The opportunity to enjoy these talks and challenges may not have arisen had it not been for lockdown and they have

inspired me further to strive for the England and Great Britain senior teams.

In addition, we had a virtual competition with the USA. Our challenges included the longest plank, longest wall sit, fastest mile, and hockey challenges such as the most lifts over a stick possible in one minute. England emerged victorious! We also had weekly ‘physical challenges’ in which we competed against each other and members of the Great Britain U23 team, which often resulted in me collapsing in a sweaty heap on the side of the road.

To replace our European Championships, the team and I decided to ‘Run to Russia’ to raise money for MSF and the NHS Together charity. Together we ran 6,500 km, the distance from Lilleshall to Kazan (and half the way back). We raised a huge £2,518.75!

The lockdown period has taught me the important skill of self-motivation. It was hard not seeing my teammates and having to train alone for such a long time and not having the enjoyment of a game to keep us all motivated.

Our ‘swelfies’ (sweaty selfies - see above!) helped me stay on top of training. As a team, we worked around the lockdown, finding solutions to the lack of competition, lack of face to face interaction and lack of training.

The impact of Covid-19 on all sports was immense, with no training or competition from March to June, and for some still no competition and certainly no spectators.

I recognise that I am lucky to be allowed to play again now and it is fantastic even with the restrictions (no filling water bottles, no changing rooms and certainly no handshakes!). My U18 team is fitter, more determined than ever and raring to go for all the challenges the next season brings!

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INTERVIEW WITH SPORTS JOURNALIST

BEN BLOOM

The Wheatleyan Sports Editors, Emma Allroggen and Bryony Camwell, interview Ben Bloom, Sports Journalist and Athletics Correspondent for The Telegraph, about the impact of Covid-19 on his job and the sports industry.

W H A T I M PA C T H A S COVID-19 HAD ON PROFESSIONAL AT H L E T I C S ?

HOW DID YOU GET INTO SPORTS JOURNALISM? I knew I wanted to be a sports journalist when I was still at school, but was advised that there was no specific benefit to studying a journalism degree at university. Instead I studied geography at the University of Nottingham before completing the NCTJ (journalismspecific) qualification. I then worked as a news reporter at a local newspaper for two years while also doing weekend shifts on the sports desk of The Sunday Times. I quit the local newspaper in 2012, worked freelance across a number of national newspapers for a couple of years and was then offered a job at The Telegraph, where I have remained since.

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Athletics was one of those sports which was (and remains) decimated by Covid-19 for two main reasons: the lack of sponsorship/TV money which meant there was no huge push to get the sport back up and running, and the international nature of the sport. The cancellation of the Olympics meant many athletes have chosen to skip the entire season altogether.

Those that did try and keep going will have largely endured a very dull extended year-long training regime, with very little chance to compete. No competitions mean no prize money and no appearance fees, so many have also taken a big financial hit.

W H A T I M PA C T W I L L COVID-19 HAVE ON THE O LY M P I C S ?

The cancellation of the Olympics this year was inevitable, primarily due to the restrictions on international travel.

Whether it even takes place in summer 2021 remains uncertain. If it does go ahead, it will almost certainly be in a reduced capacity. Japan has lost billions already due to the postponement, so will not be able to put the event on with the fanfare they had hoped. If the event cannot take place in 2021, it will be cancelled for good rather than delayed again, so there is a great desire to stage it in some capacity. Perhaps that might be without spectators. It all remains very uncertain.

DO YOU THINK FUNDING IN WOMEN'S SPORT WILL BE AFFECTED? Like every industry, sport has taken a huge financial hit during the coronavirus pandemic, and women's sport is no exception. Most women's team sports are still in the early stages of their ascendancy, so are more susceptible to changes in funding than some big professional male team sports. Sponsors may pull out; spectators are unable to attend and semi-professional sportswomen may not be able to afford to take part. None of this is any different to male sport, but the effects may well be greater simply because women's sport does not have such a secure base to work from. As a more perilous industry, there is concern that much of the great work of recent years may be undone.

W H AT A R E YO U R V I E W S O N C H E LT E N H A M F E S T I VA L TA K I N G P L A C E ?

As a biased horse racing fan, I was very happy that the event took place because it is the highlight of the horse racing year and it gave me something to watch! In hindsight, it does seem mad that it was able to take place in its full form, with many tens of thousands of spectators. It surely should have taken place behind closed doors without fans.

W H AT W I L L T H E E F F E C T O F S P O R T S TA K I N G P L A C E B E H I N D C LO S E D DOORS BE? For most sports, the major effect is the lack of income from paying spectators as this is the lifeblood for the overwhelming majority of sports teams and event organisers. Without paying spectators, a huge number of sport events are simply not financially viable. That situation is slightly different for the biggest events (like Premier League football or Formula One) because the money raised through other routes negates the loss to some extent.

W H AT A R E YO U R T H O U G H T S O N AT H L E T I C S C O M P E T I T I O N S S TA R T I N G U P S O E A R LY A F T E R LO C K D O W N I N E U R O P E A N COUNTRIES? Most, if not all, athletics competitions that started in Europe immediately after lockdown were local, so restricted only to nationals of a given country or people within a small cohort of neighbouring countries. The athletics season is so short that there was understandable desire to stage some events where possible otherwise athletes would have been unable to compete for an entire year.

As long as protocol was followed, it was vital for the sport not to totally disappear for a year.

H O W H A S T H E PA N D E M I C AFFECTED YOUR JOB? Life as a sports journalist has certainly been strange in 2020. For two months at the beginning of lockdown, I was loaned out to The Telegraph news desk as there wasn't any sport taking place.

I predominantly cover Athletics and other Olympic sports, so even though some sports have started to return, those that dominate my usual working life are largely absent. I have only spent two days at events (British Athletics Championships and London Marathon) since March. The rest of my year has been spent live-blogging larger sports off the TV and writing from home.

W H AT W I L L T H E F U T U R E FOR PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL BE? From a coronavirus perspective, the impact on the Premier League has been far less than other sports leagues and events because it is able to generate such enormous sums of money from means other than gate receipts. A lack of spectators costs Manchester United very little compared to the billions they receive from TV and sponsorship deals. The coronavirus impact is felt far, far more in lower football leagues.

The Premier league is a globalised industry these days, so as long as teams can continue playing behind closed doors, their product will remain visible

worldwide. As for fans who usually attend matches in the flesh - they may be the 'lifeblood' of any Premier League club, but they are not vital for its survival.

H O W H A S T H E PA N D E M I C AFFECTED TOP LEVEL NETBALL? Coronavirus meant the cancellation of the 2020 Superleague season, so the year has largely been free of netball in the UK. The main problem is that domestic netball in the UK is a semi-professional sport with minimal funding. So unlike big male sports, the players have other jobs, are unable to enter bio secure bubbles, and the clubs are unable to commit to large-scale testing regimes.

Access to training facilities has also remained hugely problematic, with the changing nature of indoor sports rules.

As a whole, it has not been a good time for domestic netball in the UK and with the pandemic continuing the 2021 season is starting to appear in jeopardy as well. The situation is slightly different for the national set-up, with 24 centrally contracted England players having trained together from early August, with the aim to play New Zealand at the end of October.

Sport

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FORMER

PUPILS FORMER PUPILS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES OF THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC

NI CKY ( S TA L EY ) D O N L EY ( 1978- 1983) EXE CUT IV E H E ADT E AC HE R “When the country went into lockdown in March, our schools were given just a few hours’ notice to identify our most vulnerable children and the children of key workers, offer them school places and simultaneously close the school.

Being situated in an area of high deprivation, our staff knew only too well the importance of organising food parcels for our poorest families, establishing remote education for all those learning from home and monitoring the safety and welfare of our most vulnerable children. It was a steep learning curve and, at times, utterly exhausting but we were determined that no child of ours would be disadvantaged by the country’s lockdown.”

STEP HEN P LUM M ER ( 1972- 1980) R ES IDE N T IAL HO M E C HAPLAIN “I'm very privileged to work for 27 hours a week at an MHA residential home in Shefford, Bedfordshire. It's the most amazing place with lots of fun and laughter (I do my best to instigate a lot of it!). My wife (a nurse) and I both caught Covid-19 early on and I was off for some weeks. When I returned it was a different place with many people confined to their rooms. I spent much of my time going from room to room, with a new set of PPE each time, and just talking with the residents who had very little or no contact with their families. They also really appreciated me playing hymns from my iPad. We have lost a number of residents and we're slowly trying to get back to normal, but these are difficult days in such a vulnerable environment. The staff and residents are amazing, though, and we're all doing our best to stay positive!”

As I am classed as vulnerable I can't understand why some people don't abide by the rules because they think "it won't affect me".

Mark Illsley (1973-1980), Part time cashier at B&Q

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NEIL A D O W N IE ( 1969- 1974) CHA RIT Y F O UN DE R “I wrote a series of short articles in lockdown, to encourage people to do a bit of science with their kids at home, for the engineering magazine Engineering and Technology. More seriously though, my wife Di (she is a retired doctor) and I were part of a small number of pioneers who founded a charity, which, since 20 March has worked on getting new equipment to deliver an important form of life-saving therapy to Covid-19 patients. We hope to propagate the equipment and its use around the world, progressing clinical trials in Africa, Asia and elsewhere, as well as the UK."

RO B THO MAS ( 1967-1971) SECRETA RY - LEAGUE OF R EMEM BRAN CE “As an organisation whose main purpose is to reduce loneliness and isolation, in mainly elderly people, through volunteering in hospitals and hospices, we have been hit particularly hard by the current pandemic. Our volunteers, called Remembrance Workers in recognition of our origins, have had to temporarily cease volunteering, and most are still unable to return to their former duties. This, however, has not deterred them from seeking fresh ways to help their communities. As 'Joan', one of our 80 years plus Remembrance Workers said to me in early April "Innovation, not Stagnation" is how we will get through this difficult period, and that is what has happened. From befriending other lonely people, to knitting for other charities, moving to non-people facing services in hospital, and through conducting personal visits, they have risen splendidly to the challenge. We have learned a simple lesson - there is opportunity in every threat, and putting people at the heart of what we do is the key to success.”

J AN RIJKEN ( 1967-1971) LEA RNING DIR ECTOR AT WILEY A N D P RO FES S O R AT IE B USINES S SCH O O L ( M ADRID ) “The pandemic is impacting the way we live, work and learn. Privately it meant working from home (instead of jumping on a plane twice a week), with pros and cons, including mental fatigue. The pandemic however boosted our business (digital learning) as all organisations are now transitioning to a new digital learning era with a new 'blend' of learning to up- and reskills their workforce.”

J O H N RAYM AN ( 1956-1963) M ATHEMATIC S LECTUR ER AT UNI V E RS IT Y O F S U RRE Y “We sent our students home at the end of March and moved all our teaching online for the remainder of the academic year. Exams were replaced by open book coursework to be completed in a 24-hour window, to accommodate those living in different time zones. All our students on placement have been working from home.

Many of those starting this summer were recruited online, had an online induction and have never met any of their colleagues face to face.

I was delighted to meet, albeit briefly, my first-year personal tutees last week, the first face to face contact with students for six months. Now all students will return to campus for blended learning – online lectures and face to face tutorials/labs/ workshops – Covid-19 rules permitting!”

Lockdown gave me the opportunity to spend an unprecedented length of time in my two allotment plots (I inherited one when my wife died very suddenly and unexpectedly in June 2019). It also enabled me to work on our garden, which had always been her domain.

Graham Guy Paine (1965-1972), Retired School Teacher and Trade Union Officer

D UNCAN NIC HOLSON ( 1979-198 5) M A NA GING PAR TNER OF A LEGAL PRACT ICE “Communication through the pandemic has probably been the most important thing.

We communicated with our staff regularly, especially with those on furlough, so they did not feel out of the loop. In addition, there is a lot to be said for communicating with your business rivals. I have spoken to many other firms to compare notes. We can all learn from one another and however experienced one might be, there will always be something new you might pick up along the way. The impact of the pandemic will continue to be felt for some time – no one is alone so I would encourage everyone to keep talking and learning.”

Former Pupils

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AMIDST ALL T H E D E AT H A N D ILLNESS, THE CLAP FOR THE CARERS E A C H T H U R S D AY BECAME A MUCH NEEDED POSITIVE F O C A L P O I N T.

W H E A T L E YA N E D I T O R GISELLE PINTO INTERVIEWS BBC NEWS PRESENTER

MARTINE CROX ALL Documenting firsthand experiences of the consequences of Covid-19 and considering divergent perspectives experienced by others within our society was very important to us when editing The Wheatleyan.

We were therefore very fortunate to have the opportunity to interview former Bablake pupil, Martine Croxall (1981-1987), regarding the impact of the pandemic on her profession as a news presenter for the BBC.

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HOW HAS NEWS PRESENTING BEEN AFFECTED

BY C O V I D - 1 9 ?

From an editorial point of view, there’s really only been one story since late March. It’s strange to think that Brexit and even the Trump administration at times disappeared from our agenda. Our audience figures have been very high as people turn to the BBC as a trusted source for reliable information. We’ve also attracted new younger viewers who have not habitually watched TV news. As presenters, we are acutely aware of the need to be accurate and for our tone to be beyond reproach.

W H AT A R E Y O U R V I E W S

W H AT W A S Y O U R M O S T

REGARDING THE CHANGES

SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE

IMPLEMENTED WITHIN

D U R I N G T H E PA N D E M I C ?

YOUR CAREER? Fundamentally my job has not changed – I still read the news, do interviews and cover live events. But we cannot have people in the studio so everything is done remotely via Skype or Facetime. We haven’t been able to deploy correspondents and crews as much due to travel restrictions. It’s made newsgathering much harder.

W H AT I S S U E S H A V E Y O U FA C E D D U R I N G T H E PA N D E M I C R E G A R D I N G NEWS PRESENTING? The newsroom is normally a very lively place but during the pandemic we have brought as few people as possible into our buildings. Many staff have been working from home for months. It’s odd not to see colleagues who you have worked alongside for years. Usually it’s just me and the floor manager in the studio so we can maintain social distancing. We all try to use as few areas of New Broadcasting House as possible to avoid spreading infection. The BBC put measures in place very quickly that have kept us as safe as possible.

At the height of the pandemic in April when the daily death total reached its peak, I found the numbers arresting. I made sure each time I read the death toll, I paused because each one was a tragedy for an individual and their family and friends.

Amidst all the death and illness, the Clap for the Carers each Thursday became a much needed positive focal point.

We are not meant to show emotion but that made me tearful every week.

HOW DO YOU BELIEVE THE I M PA C T S O F T H E PA N D E M I C WILL INFLUENCE THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM? As with many major news stories, I think we will be reporting on the medical, health, scientific, economic and political ramifications of the pandemic for years to come. The future of news is undoubtedly digital but broadcasters have realised the need to keep running live and continuous TV platforms too at least for a while longer, as that’s one of the places people tend to turn to for information in times of crisis.

Former Pupils

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CORONAVIRUS: A PERSPECTIVE

FROM ACROSS THE POND Sixth Former, Dominic Reeves, interviews two former Bablake pupils, John Elliott (1945-1953) and Ken Clark (1946-1954), about their experience of living in the USA during the pandemic.

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How have the culture and resources of the USA influenced its strategy to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic?

JOHN

KEN

Unfortunately, mask wearing has become political, so is not used in many parts of the country.

The culture of the USA is complex but the dominant culture is one that has been generated by President Donald Trump. At first, in February and March, he listened to the scientists about the virus and took some appropriate actions at national level. Of course, some of these actions caused the national economy to suffer and this became a major issue for the President. His four-year term ends this year. Trump needed a good economy to assist his chances of re-election, so he demanded that the fifty States ease their restrictions to allow the economy to recover. At that point, Trump also abandoned all effort to do anything to try to slow the course of the virus. The result has been that the virus has spread out of control and we have had more than 8 million virus cases with 220,000 dead to date. At the same time, the economy has not recovered at all.

The current administration dismantled the task group set up to handle pandemics, has refused to accept responsibility on a national basis and missed the opportunity to set up the only defensive measures available at the start of the pandemic testing, tracing and isolation.

The pandemic has laid bare the inadequacies of the US healthcare system, although it is the most expensive in the world at 17% of GDP. The idea that "USA is Number 1" gets in the way of the country accepting best practices from other countries. Unless you live in the US, it is difficult to understand the diversity in this nation - there is nothing in common between most of the coastal States and those in the interior, also, the North versus the South, are just a couple of examples. These factors explain, in some way, the difficulties facing any administration managing a countrywide response, not that this administration seemed to even try.

In addition, Trump has used Twitter and his many public appearances at rallies to promote a culture of division, hate, venom and violence. He has become delusional as he insists the virus is a 'hoax' and even if there is a problem 'it will all go away by magic'. It seems almost all Republicans think he is wonderful, but most Democrats think that the truth is different. So, this has seriously divided the country along political lines.

This country has every resource imaginable at national level, and to a lesser extent at state level. Trump refuses to deploy the available resources but expects a vaccine will be the solution to everything. From the beginning there were better ways to control the virus without shutting everything down and the two largest States, New York and California, have used their own initiative to achieve a good result as near as possible to normal. Trump could have done the same at national level, yet he refused to do anything.

How have Covid-19 restrictions affected you personally, especially if you're in a vulnerable group?

JOHN

KEN

At 85, I'm supposedly in the high-risk group.

Fortunately, I keep fit by running five miles most days, have a healthy diet and have a BFI below average. I contracted the virus early on, had mild initial symptoms, but longer-term effects. I have a large garden and spend most of my days there, so from an isolation perspective, I don't suffer any real changes to my daily schedule.

On a personal level, we take every possible precaution to avoid the virus.

We stay at home most of the time, but we do go quite freely to the local supermarkets and sometimes to a hardware store. We always wear a mask and if we need a shopping cart, we always wear plastic gloves. Many shoppers in the stores wear a mask, some do not. We stay well clear of those not wearing a mask. We are very much aware of the issue of aerosol spread - meaning that the smallest particles issued from the nose and mouth of an infected person can float in the air for a long time. This is especially true in an enclosed, airconditioned environment. For that reason, we don’t go to any restaurant, bar, or other such indoor activity. All of this has totally changed our lives.

The big change has been with our (my wife and my) travel plans. We had made a couple of reservations to Europe that have been postponed. We have a daughter and grandchildren in Germany and other relatives in the UK. We had planned an around the world trip that has also been put on hold. Fortunately, all our children have maintained employment throughout the crisis.

We miss not being able to go to a restaurant or to do any other indoor activity, but we are totally committed to our own health. We know the alternative is to get sick and potentially die! It has not changed our personalities, although I do get angry that so many people can be so careless when they act like everything is back to normal. There currently is no normal and I believe there will not be any "normal" for a year or two or longer.

Former Pupils

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AN NHS

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE FRONTLINE

Budding Medic and Sixth Form student Ali Chaudry interviews current Bablake parent, Dr H Allroggen, a Consultant Neurologist at the University Hospital Coventry, and former Bablake pupil Dr Jenny Briggs (1994-2001), Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, about the impact of Covid-19 on the NHS.* H O W W E L L P R E PA R E D W A S T H E N H S F O R T H E S U D D E N N A T U R E O F T H E PA N D E M I C ?

Dr Allroggen: I would say fairly well. There was a rapid response making extra beds, including extra ITU beds, available and a swift plan to redeploy in particular junior and middle grade doctors with appropriate skills to ITU and to Emergency Department/ Accident and Emergency.

Dr Briggs: All NHS Trusts prepare for major incidents with incident plans that, thankfully, are seldom used for real. Real scenarios often present unexpected challenges and the severity and duration of this incident are on a scale the NHS has never dealt with before. The constraints on things like the supply chain for PPE and impact on staffing, with significant numbers of staff ill or shielding as they were extremely vulnerable, only became apparent as the situation evolved. Local, national and international networks enabled rapid dissemination of learning and changes in practice in a very dynamic way which was fantastic and benefited patients. I am really proud of the way shared research and learning was brought so rapidly to the bedside and that UHL has some of the best outcomes for Covid-19 patients in the country.

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W H AT A R E YO U R T H O U G H T S O N T H E I N I T I A L E F F E C T S O F T H E PA N D E M I C I . E . , PA N I C B U Y I N G O F T O I L E T R O L L S AND THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE GENERAL P U B L I C T H R O U G H O U T T H E PA N D E M I C ?

Dr Allroggen: The initial panic response of many is unsurprising given the level of fear and abundant rumours. The later, almost overly obedient, behaviour was surprising, though we are of course about to learn how far and how long people are willing to go along with current guidance/instructions.

Dr Briggs: Clear, consistent communication and public messaging in accessible forms is essential to good public health. I read an article that explained that psychologically, buying big bulky items like toilet roll makes us feel more secure and reduces anxiety!

Along with the pictures of empty shelves in supermarkets though, there were so many examples of people helping each other out and caring for neighbours and friends. Hand sanitiser and soap were also panic-bought – I’m really hoping that improved hand hygiene mean that we will see less of the normal coughs, colds, flu and norovirus this year!

W H AT A R E YO U R T H O U G H T S O N T H E N E W A P P R E C I AT I O N O F N H S S TA F F W O R K I N G T H R O U G H T H E PA N D E M I C F R O M T H E PUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT? Dr Allroggen: Well, I don’t think this will last very long – we already see a lot of “normality” returning. No government can afford to pour in more and more resource into the NHS without at some point ask the question of contribution from individuals' earnings, as in almost all other Northern and Central European nations.

Dr Briggs: The general public have been amazing, and their generosity and support have been truly humbling. Gifts of food, PPE, homemade scrubs and countless other things really helped keep us going and stay safe. One of my fellow Bablake alumni (Edward Preston) and his village 3D printed protective visors to help keep staff safe. We all need to hold onto the community spirit and human kindness shown during the pandemic and hold leaders to account to ensure that the most vulnerable in society and our NHS are properly funded and supported.

HOW WILL WE AS A COUNTRY E N S U R E T H AT W E G A I N I M M U N I T Y TO COVID-19 AND WE CAN LIVE WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS? Dr Allroggen: That’s not a question I can answer (or indeed anybody). My best guess is by trying to achieve a very fine balance between high levels of seropositivity in young and younger (not sure what upper age limit I would set to define this) people and widespread protection plus immunisation of the elderly and individuals at risk.

Dr Briggs: There is still so much we don’t know about how effective natural immunity is in people who have had Covid-19 nor how long vaccines will protect us for or how the virus will change over time. For most people (>80%), Covid-19 seems to be a mild to moderate illness but for a significant minority it causes persistent problems (‘Long Covid’), serious illness needing admission to hospital and sadly can be fatal for around 1% of people who catch it. One percent of the UK population (over 66 million people) is a lot of people! If hospitals fill with patients with Covid-19, we can’t safely do all the other normal things that hospitals do. What is important and achievable is that we all do our best as individuals to reduce risks for ourselves but also for others as much as we can.

W H E N W O R K I N G I N H O S P I TA L D U R I N G T H E PA N D E M I C , W H A T S T R U C K Y O U A S S O M E T H I N G T H AT C O U L D H AV E B E E N DONE BETTER? Dr Allroggen: Too many resources were thrown at mitigating the worst fears, i.e. a “Tsunami” of sick patients. As a result too many other services (routine/elective outpatients and surgery) were

cancelled en-masse causing a huge backlog which will take a very long time to clear, with all its consequences on people’s health.

Dr Briggs: Interestingly, worldwide, most health and safety equipment, FFP3 masks and PPE is designed for industry and modelled on a 70kg Caucasian male face and body shape. Most healthcare workers don’t match that description, so we need to look at how it fits and affects those who wear it.

W H AT A R E YO U R T H O U G H T S O N T H E CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUT COVID-19 T H AT H AV E E M E R G E D D U R I N G T H E PA N D E M I C ?

Dr Allroggen: There have always been people who hold such views – entirely unsurprising and going back centuries. It is at the same time sad, irrational and dangerous. There should (ideally) be no platform to spread such views.

Dr Briggs: Fake news is very dangerous as it makes people feel like important messages from official sources can’t be trusted or that the majority of the population aren’t following the rules. Changing people’s opinions and behaviours is really difficult and often, using logic and evidence to prove your point is unsuccessful, which is very frustrating. Clear, effective communication in a variety of languages and formats and community engagement is important and there are lots of lessons we can learn from public health campaigns elsewhere in the world. In Leicester, local people and volunteers went door to door to inform people of how to reduce the risk and provided doorstep testing. Working together as communities and a nation, each doing what we can to help reduce the risk to others and ourselves, is the way we will overcome this.

I N T E R M S O F YO U R O W N M E N TA L H E A LT H , H O W H A S W O R K I N G O N T H E ‘ F R O N T L I N E ’ D U R I N G T H E PA N D E M I C I M PA C T E D Y O U ?

Dr Briggs: I was involved in a lot of the early planning for my department and team, at a time when there was widespread disbelief in the general public that Covid-19 would be a problem.

I visited my parents and friends in early March to say goodbye, not seeing them again in person until July, and then socially distanced. I was worried for vulnerable family members and for colleagues, knowing that they might become ill. Our team worked really well to support each other and share the burden and our UHL wellbeing hubs and teams were fantastic. One thing that was particularly hard was breaking bad news to families, sometimes many times a day, often by phone. Many of our patients’ family members were ill themselves or shielding so weren’t able to visit their loved one. Ensuring good self-care, keeping in touch with family and friends using video calling, eating well, yoga, exercise, spending time outside and taking annual leave really helped me stay as well as I could, physically and mentally.

*please note these are the thoughts and opinions of the individual and not of their employer.

An NHS Perspective

81

STAFF NEWS

VALETE T R EVOR HYDE HEAD OF PHYSI C S

BY M R C H R I S W E ST Trevor arrived at Bablake as a fresh faced, early middle aged, experienced teacher in 1995 from Ashlawn School and quickly established himself as a straight talking, shoot from the lip, stereotypical Yorkshireman who took no prisoners.

At least this was the image which came across at first and, although those attributes never left him, it was not long before pupils and staff alike realised what he really was; a superb classroom teacher with outstanding knowledge of his subject and a genuine person who cared immensely about the pupils in front of him, both inside and outside of the classroom, and full of good advice and wisdom. At the time of his arrival the Bablake Common Room had three distinctive generations amongst its members. There was a young ‘brat pack’ as they were referred to (destined to move on) the senior service up for retirement and just a sprinkling of middle ground, which is where Trevor fitted, but it was clear even then he was destined to become the backbone of the school in years to come.

Within a short period of time, and a name change just to confuse pupils, Trevor had brought a vitality and energy into the wellestablished Physics Department and, in modern parlance, he brought ‘added value’ to examination results at both GCSE and A level along with increased pupil numbers and interest. However, Trevor has never been one to sit and bask in his successes. He took on the additional role of Head of Year and during these years soon came to be valued as more than a classroom teacher. His sound advice and guidance turned many lost souls around and his commitment to his year group went well beyond regular school hours, at no stage did he ever give up on anyone. You only have to attend school reunions to meet and hear from grateful pupils who were at the receiving end of Trevor’s advice.

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One of Trevor’s greatest strengths is to know when the time is right to move on and he always knew when to take up a new challenge to keep his ideas and contribution to Bablake fresh and relevant. He moved on from Head of Year to take up the Head of Physics position and his guidance of several younger members of staff has, and always will be appreciated. He also introduced astronomy and electronics at exam level which has created a lifelong interest for many pupils. Several pupils also went on to win prestigious national awards for applied physics and aeronautics.

However, as with all outstanding teachers, it is Trevor’s willing contribution outside the classroom which will be most remembered. For many years he looked after the RAF section of the CCF, leading groups at camps and exercises across the country, where he achieved notoriety for setting off flares at the wrong time. His frequent presence on the Duke of Edinburgh trips as an assessor at all levels are well remembered and riddled with anecdotes from staff and pupils. I was reminded at one reunion how Trevor doubted the water-resistant quality of pupils’ equipment and to prove his point he threw copious amounts of water at the pupils. Once his point was proved the aforesaid pupils were taken into the nearest town to buy more appropriate gear! When the foot and mouth disease spread through the country causing D of E trips to be cancelled elsewhere, Trevor reorganised the Bablake trip to include a walk around Coventry and an overnight camp in the languages block. Always flexible and adaptable was Mr Hyde! When time allowed, he was often to be found on Classics trips, especially to Italy and his old teaching haunts in Rome, where his command of the Italian language was a revelation and much appreciated. After an incident involving a pupil's luggage being stolen and the local Carabinieri being called, Trevor was driven off on the back of a police motorcycle (no crash helmet) to provide a statement in Italian at the police station. Although we got Trevor back the luggage was never seen again. His skills in other disciplines were much appreciated and he remains one of the few people to be able to use most of the machinery and tools in the DT department properly and without damage!

Perhaps his biggest impact on co-curricular was after the demise of the school house in France when a replacement activity had to be found quickly. Up stepped Trevor again and he organised pilgrimages to his fatherland in Yorkshire to immerse pupils in local culture. These trips went on for many years and an entire generation of pupils and staff have memories seared into their minds from campfire cooking, camping under the stars, rain and wind, not to mention the museum visits in and around Bradford and Leeds. In recent years Trevor also started to organise outdoor activity trips which proved very popular and another outlet for pupils beyond the classroom. It has been estimated that he organised or took part in over 100 school trips at home and abroad during his time in Bablake.

With his good timing and grace, he now calls it a day at Bablake.

He can now spend his time organising trips for outside agencies and indulging himself with his passion for restoring and riding his fleet of aging motorcycles. For those of you who enjoy annoying your neighbours, just ask Trevor to come calling on one of his old BSA bikes on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, never again will they complain about HS2 or low flying jets. We should also not forget his two children who passed through Bablake, Josie and Alex, who were a pleasure to teach and were well and truly a chip off the old block. After news of his retirement went public there have been many current and former staff and pupils who have referred to him as a legend, few staff reach this status but Trevor well and truly does. The other phrase used to sum him up is ‘what you see on the tin is what you get’, also distinctly true. We all wish him well, health and happiness on the next stage of his life but also suspect we have not seen (or heard) the last of him or his motorbikes.

C AT HY B AR R ET T OFFI C E MANAGER

BY M R S A L I SON T U M BER It was a rather nervous Cathy that approached the slightly foreboding hatch of the Bablake School Office when she came for interview in 1999.

Cathy need not have worried; her calm and welcoming character, her office experience and willingness to take on new challenges secured her the role of office manager, a position she held for 20 years.

Under Cathy’s guidance, the hatch was soon gone and rather than being a somewhat impenetrable and unwelcoming place the school office became central to every pupil, parent and teacher's need, with the calm, conscientious and courteous Cathy at the helm. She had that rare gift of always having time to give you her full attention; if you were a Shell who had forgotten their bus pass, a parent who wanted a listening ear, a colleague with questions about the new database, a teacher in need of an emergency

THE NUMBER OF CHANGES AND NEW I N I T I AT I V E S T H AT C AT H Y OV E R S AW I N 2 0 Y E A R S I S P H E N O M E NA L . supply of stationery, a member of SLT in need of admin support, Cathy would be there for you and take the weight off your shoulders.

The number of changes and new initiatives that Cathy oversaw in 20 years is phenomenal. Computers replacing typewriters, a franking machine replacing trips to the post box, SIMS replacing an in-house database, numerous changes to the working day, three headmasters and every year supporting current and new staff. Cathy worked through the holidays, so was often the first point of contact for new colleagues, pupils, and parents and with her friendly and knowledgeable demeanour, she quickly put people at ease and made them feel part of the Bablake family, of which she was very proud.

Cathy enjoyed her role and relished the fact that no two days were ever the same. This was in part because her remit was so wide; her job description running to many pages. In one day in addition to running the office, she could be putting Shell packs together, placing stationery orders (the team at Polycopy miss her as much as we do), counting the charity money for Sue Senior down in Finance, and covering for the School nurse. Often, that involved tending to a bloodied knee or a headache, but on one occasion Cathy was called upon to perform CPR. Although visibly shaken by the incident after the event, she quickly and calmly used her knowledge and skill as a first aider to save a child’s life. She is a remarkable woman.

When Cathy could not stretch herself any further, especially during the holidays, her daughter Kara would come and help in the office. A skilled office worker herself, Kara also possessed her Mum’s good sense and good humour, and they made a great team. So much happens behind the scenes to make a school run efficiently and Cathy certainly played a significant role in the smooth running of Bablake. When the restructuring of the support staff made Cathy and her role redundant at the end of 2019, she was devastated, as were her friends and colleagues.

Her exemplary character shone through during this difficult time and although there were tears, there was dignity, integrity and positivity. We wish Cathy well – she has had rather longer to reflect on what the next adventure might be, as a result of the restrictions imposed by Covid-19, but we know that she takes a raft of skills and experience with her and of course her bright and friendly personality; one that we are missing here at Bablake.

Everyone that you have encountered, pupils, parents, teaching, and support staff wishes you well Cathy and please keep in touch.

Staff News

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LAU RA B AI NES ADMI S SI ONS AND PU B LI C AT I ONS OFFI CER

KATE BL A C KIE TEA C HER O F R EL IGIO US S TUD IES

BY M R S SA R A H H A R R I S

BY DR T O BY S MIT H

Laura joined Bablake in September 2003 and very quickly established herself as a resourceful and incredibly well organised member of staff. She initially took on huge tasks such as producing a whole school diary, the termly publication ‘The Lion’ and Junior School ‘Simba’ and played an active role in school promotion and advertising, creating design guidelines for every piece of literature that went out in Bablake’s name.

In 2007, Laura’s role changed and she became the Admissions and Publications Officer, working alongside the newly appointed Director of Marketing and Admissions. Imagine their excitement when told that they would be based in the Maths store cupboard!

Fortunately, it was a rather large cupboard and so the Marketing and Admissions Office was created. Laura quickly adapted to the new challenges of her role and set up a complete new system for admissions, ensuring that everything ran smoothly, with good humour and a fair few giggles along the way. Indeed, she was key to building this new department and the success of the Bablake admissions process is testament to her wonderful organisational skills; her planning, tidiness, record keeping and filing were legendary. Added to this were Laura’s constant ideas on how to improve the process, which only served to make everyone’s life easier. Her sense of calm ensured that everything was done logically and methodically, if ever Laura was in a state of panic, we knew that we were in trouble! In 2015, we made space in the office for a Marketing Manager and Laura happily shared her expertise in design so that we could launch striking campaigns and produce high quality marketing material. What a team!

Laura is a lady of many talents, some of which were evident in school and others which were very much part of her life outside Bablake - Laura the first aider (and genuine lifesaver), scout supremo, singer, DIY-er, gardener, website designer, theatre lover, expert skier and proud mum to two boys and a dog! She is always busy doing something and loves nothing more than getting her teeth into an exciting new project. I wonder what’s next for her…

Laura was a huge asset to the school and a great friend to many; she is missed every day by those who worked closely with her.

The Bablake family has changed forever, but I know that Laura is enjoying her new home and her new role and that she will continue to live life to the full.

Kate arrived at Bablake in September 2016, fresh from Durham and Cambridge universities, where she studied Philosophy and Theology and completed her PGCE, respectively. From the very start she proved herself to be a very popular, skilled teacher and colleague. Her lessons were meticulously planned but also had a very ‘human’ touch, a hallmark of all that Kate does. Kate made a big contribution to our department in terms of resources, writing lots of PowerPoints which we continue to use in our teaching. She is a very generousspirited, easy-going and well-organised person and thus a great pleasure to work alongside, I particularly enjoyed being her mentor during her first year. Roles were somewhat reversed in her second year as I was asked to teach Shell English, alongside Kate. I found her guidance and resources extremely helpful in doing this, and, needless to say, she was a much-loved English teacher as well as RPE teacher.

Beyond the department, Kate founded the ‘Minerva’ Society’, a Sixth Form society which meets once per half term to discuss various topic issues, such as vegetarianism and free speech.

Kate would provide some stimulus material and then lead the discussion. The sessions were well attended, not least because of Kate’s popularity amongst the Sixth Form.

Kate was also a very enthusiastic netball coach and a popular part time member of the PE Department. She also made a big contribution to school drama, in particular the 2017 production of ‘Anything Goes’, in which her warmth, humour and general good sense were much appreciated by the cast. Her skills also extended to EPQ, which she turned her hand to with ease and was a reliable supervisor, able to dispense guidance to her students as they struggled with the rigours of independent study.

When the Head of Department job came up at King's High we feared the worst! Unsurprisingly, Kate was successful over several more experienced applicants. Their gain is our loss, and I gather from John Watson, who made the decision to employ her here and whose wife now works with Kate, that she is making a great success of her role.

On a personal note, I will miss Kate, as will many of her pupils and colleagues. She is a very warm-hearted person and, inevitably,

SHEI LA B R OW N BY MR S S AR AH HAR R IS Sheila was one of those people that you warmed to in an instant. Always thinking of others, she was a joy to be around. Long after retirement, she was a familiar face at Bablake, attending concerts, reunions and plays with her husband, Alan.

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At open events, she helped with refreshments and chatted easily with visitors and her homemade rock buns were legendary amongst staff.

Sheila fought an incredibly brave battle against her illness and remained strong throughout. She will be greatly missed by us all and our love and thoughts are with Alan and his family.

tears were shed by several of her pupils in their last lessons with her, in particular in the Upper Sixth and in her form, 2KEB. However, I am delighted that she has moved on to a new opportunity which gives greater scope to her considerable abilities. I will not be at all surprised if she continues to rise through the ranks swiftly, should this be what she wants to do.

We wish her all the very best for the future.

BABLAKE WELCOMES NEW STAFF TO SCHOOL ON INSET DAY

B ENJAMI N WALL SEC OND I N ENGLI SH

BY M R S K ATE D U K E Ben joined Bablake in January 2017 and was a vital part of the success and happiness in our department. Utterly professional, polite and unflappable, Ben was an outstanding member of the team.

As Second in department Ben offered invaluable support; his role in the leadership and delivery of GCSE was excellent; it is no coincidence that his time here coincided with our recordbreaking GCSE results. Always a conscientious team player, Ben produced many detailed resources he readily shared with the department; he also wrote exam papers; led and delivered GCSE workshops; conducted scholarship interviews; marked entrance exams and had an enviable talent for taking succinct minutes of departmental meetings. Beyond the department, Ben was a valued member of the Fourth and Fifth Year tutor team; he also initiated and led the Reading Society for our Fourth Years and supported on Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.

Scholarly and intellectual in his teaching, Ben set unapologetically ambitious standards in his classes and pupils enjoyed his rigorous teaching, in-depth knowledge and friendly and compassionate nature. Indeed, among the many comments from his A level students thanking him for his constant support throughout the year, Paige Bachra, sums up the feelings of them all: “Mr Wall is a passionate English teacher, who is invested in his subject. His admiration for English shines through his students as he enables us to grow individually and develop our own critical style. I am going to miss Mr Wall’s enthusiasm every lesson. He has helped me develop not only as an English Literature student but also as a person. I want to thank him for being such an amazing English teacher, who will be deeply missed. I wish him good luck in his future.”

Ben is multi-talented and one of his passions is running. I know I will certainly miss turning to him for running advice, Gary will miss chatting about cricket scores and we will all miss his great company, his kindness and his friendship. On behalf of Carrie, Alan, Laura and Gary, from our hearts Ben – we will miss you and we wish you all the very best in the next chapter of your life.

SALVETE FIO N A M C C L EA N – HEA D O F EN G LI SH Miss McClean attended Durham University from 2007 to 2010 and graduated with a BA Hons in Combined Arts: English, Theology and Anthropology. She then completed an MA in Victorian Literature with a particular focus on Victorian Science Fiction, also at Durham, before moving on to a PGCE in English at Christ Church, Oxford. Following this, she undertook an MSc in Education at Oxford alongside full-time teaching and graduated in 2015. She previously taught at King’s High School having held the roles of Second in English and Head of Public Speaking.

M AT THEW PA R S O N S – TEA C HER O F D ES IGN A N D TEC HN O LO GY Mr Parsons graduated from University of Gloucestershire in 2006 with a BA Hons in Fine Art. For several years he worked as a kitchen designer and in 2012 he decided it was time for a career change. He started working at Princethorpe College and completed his PGCE in Design Technology through Buckingham University before joining Bablake in May 2020.

EM M A S A LTER - TEA C HER O F R EL IGIO N , P HILO S O P HY, A N D ETH I C S Miss Salter went to Watford Grammar School for Girls and graduated from the University of Kent with a BA Hons Degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies. She then went on to complete her PGCE at King's College London. At Bablake she teaches RE and Philosophy up to A level and assists with Netball and Games.

She joined Bablake from Rutlish School where she taught Sociology and Religious Studies up to A level and was Head of House.

KEV IN WA R D – TEA C HER O F D R AM A Mr Ward achieved a BA Hons in Drama, from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2014. He joins Bablake from Cardinal Newman Catholic School where he taught GCSE and A level Drama and English. He undertook his teacher training at Lyng Hall School in 2016 through the University of Wolverhampton. Mr Ward is also a trained gaelic football coach and enjoys a variety of sports.

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S TA F F

NEWS NEW SU P P O RT S TA F F

We welcome the following staff to the Bablake support team: Mr Cyrus Azariah (Graduate Sports Assistant) Ms Annie Booker (Learning Support Assistant)

MRS LAPWORTH WITH HER NHS CHALLENGE MEDAL

Miss Chloe Elliott (Graduate Sports Assistant) Mr Logan Hallett-Fisk (ICT Apprentice Technician) Mr Darrell Mayo (ICT Apprentice Technician) Mrs Helen Rypma (Assistant School Business Manager) Mrs Dawn Smith (Admissions Officer) Mr Mitch Timms (Library Assistant) Mrs Michelle Wells (Administrator and Cover Supervisor)

NEW R ESP O NS IBIL IT IE S Mr Duncan Bevis - Learning Mentor Mrs Liz Staveley - School Business Manager Ms Sonia Dines - Deputy Head of House (Crow) Mr Todd Freemantle - Deputy Head of House (Bayley) Mrs Erica Challis - Headmaster’s PA Mrs Parul Soni - Exam Administrator Mrs Sally Aitchison - Receptionist (in addition to her finance role at CSF) Mr Tyrone Casey - in Charge of Prefects

OTHER N E W S Our very own Mr Michael Spencer, Assistant Head (Academic), joined the BBC CWR Breakfast Show as their guest teacher during lockdown, testing the audience with three Physics questions.

Congratulations to Mrs Kelly Lenihan on the (early!) arrival of baby Daniel James Lenihan.

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Miss Laura Watts completed a fantastic ‘Run 100k in May’ challenge during lockdown raising money for mental health charity MIND. Mrs Debby Lapworth completed the NHS ‘Do What You Can’ #racethedistance virtual run, raising money for the NHS Charities Trust.

MISS WATTS GETS READY TO COMPLETE HER 100K IN MAY

COVID-19 A TIMELINE OF EVENTS: DECEMBER 2019 – JUNE 2020 DECEMBER 8 A patient in the city of Wuhan, China sought medical help for pneumonia-like symptoms.

JANUARY 31 UK confirms its first case of Covid-19.

MARCH 5 The first death from Covid-19 in the UK is confirmed.

MARCH 11 The WHO recognised the spread of Covid-19 as a pandemic.

MARCH 12 Public Health England stops performing contact tracing, as widespread infections overwhelm capacity.

MARCH 14 UK retailers release a letter asking customers not to panic buy products after supermarkets sell out of items such as pasta, hand gel and toilet paper.

MARCH 16 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson advises everyone in the UK against "non-essential" travel and contact with others, as well as to work from home if possible and avoid visiting social venues such as pubs, clubs or theatres.

MARCH 17 The European Union closes its borders to all non-essential travel.

MARCH 18 The government announces that all schools in the country will shut from the afternoon of Friday 20 March, except for those looking after the children of key workers and vulnerable children.

No exams will take place this academic year, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson confirms.

MARCH 20 Chancellor Rishi Sunak announces that the government will pay 80% of wages for employees as part of a new furlough scheme.

Boris Johnson orders all cafes, pubs and restaurants to close.

MARCH 23 Boris Johnson addresses the nation and declares a nationwide lockdown.

MARCH 24 Health Secretary Matt Hancock announces the government will open a temporary hospital, the NHS Nightingale Hospital, at the ExCeL London.

MARCH 26 At 8pm, millions of people around the country take part in a "Clap for Carers" tribute, applauding the NHS and other care workers.

MARCH 27 Boris Johnson tests positive for coronavirus.

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson's lead adviser, drives 250 miles to Durham with his wife and child during lockdown.

APRIL 5 Queen Elizabeth II makes a rare broadcast to the UK and the wider Commonwealth, something she has done on only four previous occasions.

APRIL 6 Boris Johnson moved to intensive care unit.

APRIL 12 Boris Johnson discharged from hospital.

APRIL 16 99-year-old war veteran, Tom Moore, completes 100 laps of his garden, eventually raising over ÂŁ32 million for NHS Charities Together.

Number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK surpasses 100,000.

APRIL 18 Care England, estimates that as many as 7,500 care home residents may have died because of coronavirus.

Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick says that the virus appears to be having a "disproportionate impact" on the Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.

M AY 2 5 Dominic Cummings says "I don't regret what I did" as he gives a detailed explanation of his actions during lockdown at a Downing Street press conference.

APRIL 23 The first human trials of a coronavirus vaccine in Europe begin in Oxford.

JUNE 1 Phased reopening of schools in England for early years pupils, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

Competitive sport allowed in England behind closed doors.

Gatherings of people from more than one household are limited to six people outdoors but are still prohibited indoors.

APRIL 25 The UK becomes the fifth country to pass the 20,000 deaths mark along with the United States, Italy, Spain and France.* M AY 1 0 The UK government updates its coronavirus message from "stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives" to "stay alert, control the virus, save lives".

M AY 1 1 The UK government advises people in England to wear face coverings in enclosed spaces, such as on public transport and in shops.

M AY 1 2 Chancellor Rishi Sunak extends the UK's furlough scheme.

M AY 1 3 Garden centres, sports courts and recycling centres reopen.

M AY 1 8 The UK adds loss of smell and loss of taste to the list of Covid-19 symptoms.

M AY 1 9 Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance increased by 856,500 in April, to 2.1 million.

M AY 2 8 Contact tracing systems go live in England and Scotland.

JUNE 5 The number of recorded deaths passes 40,000* JUNE 15 Year 10 and Year 12 students are allowed "some contact" in school to help prepare for exams.

Re-opening of some English retail shops and public-facing businesses.

JUNE 17 Premier League football restarts behind closed doors.

JUNE 19 The UK's Covid-19 Alert Level is lowered from Level 4 to Level 3.

JUNE 23 Boris Johnson leads the UK government's final Downing Street daily briefing.

JUNE 25 The UK government announces plans to relax rules for England and Wales allowing pubs and restaurants to utilise their outdoor spaces.

JUNE 30 The first local lockdown is confirmed in Leicester.

Total UK deaths from Covid-19 43,730*

*figures from before the government changed the criteria for reporting deaths from Covid-19.

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“The Bablake experience has enriched so many lives, children and adults alike.

Walking through that door is an opportunity, an adventure, a challenge. It is something far more than an education. It is a doorway into a bright future.

Seeing the light shining through the open door and the vista beyond I was so touched I had to capture it. The symbolism and poignancy of it is immense. For me, at that moment, it was just a photo that represented the joy of returning to the place I love, the place that captured my heart so long ago.

It’s something intangible, difficult to comprehend if you are not a part of the Bablake family.

I share it now because the significance of it overwhelms me.”

Mrs Julie Needham, Head Librarian

W W W. B A B L A K E . C O M