Clarion! Issue 1 - December 2012

Barton Court Grammar School

CLARION! Autumn Term 2012

Sporting highlights...

Charity news...

Reports from trips to Italy, France, Germany and beyond...

The Music Scene at Barton Court and lots more...

1

Contents 2

Notes from the Editors

26

MFL Trip to the Germany Photos

3

Headteacher’s Report from Ms Cardus

27

A Visit from Professor Aliwasilah / World Challenge

4

Sixth Form Report by Mr Morgan & Miss Hughes

28

English / German School Comparison By Ionna Hunold

5

Head of Year 11 Report by Mr Hayes

29

Enrichment Day—Slam Poetry

6

Head of Year 10 Report by Mr Lintott

30

Sport: Cross Country success

7

Head of Year 9 Report by Miss Fenn

31

Enrichment Day – Ishbell Russell describes her DT project

8

Head of Year 8 Report by Miss Haley

32

Christmas Card Competition

9

Head of Year 7 Report by Mr Wood

33

Sports Report from Olympic Hopeful Abbie Wyver

10

Head Boy and Head Girl Reports

34

Sports Round-Up by Miss Poole

11

House Reports – Pankhurst and Nightingale

35

Charity Event Round-up by Bethany Cowper-Smith

12

House Reports – Wilberforce and Einstein

36

Charity: Every little helps

13

Alexis Long Interview

37

Charity: Pancakes for Pankhurst by Pierre Anderson

14

Canterbury Festival / Debating Matters

38

Very Puzzling: The Maths Department Challenge

15

The Barton Court Music Scene

39

Drama Trip to the Globe Theatre

16

Battle of the Bands Photos by Bradley Williams

40

A review of “The Woman in Black” West End Show

17

Politics Trip to Clifford Chance Law Firm, London

41

Kent Youth County Council Election Success Carla McIntyre

18

DT Trip to the V&A Museum, London

42

Gifted and Talented: A Journey Through The Galaxy

19

Politics Trip to Westminster Hall

43

Wild Life at Barton Court by Liberty Brooker

20

Politics Trip… A Personal View

44

Know your Teacher! Mr Hodgkins

21

MFL Trip to Lake Garda, Italy

45

Creative Writing Competition

22

Geography Trip to Minnis Bay

46

Great Opening Lines Competition

23

MFL Trip to Santander, Spain

47

Chocolate Workshop

24

Exchange Trip to Madrid, Spain

48

Forthcoming Events at Barton Court Grammar School

25

MFL Trip to the Rhineland, Germany

2

Notes from the Editors Welcome to “Clarion!”

Hello, and welcome to the first edition of “Clarion!”, the official Barton Court Grammar School magazine.

Firstly, why “Clarion!”?

Well, a “clarion call” is a wake-up call; a rousing sound that is full of energy and passion. Hopefully the name sums up life at the School: passionate, challenging, lively, and on the move.

The magazine has tried to capture the exciting events happening in the school. We hope that you enjoy reading it. If you do, why not get involved? For this first issue we have had a really keen team of reporters and sub editors helping Adam Mawardi and myself.

However, we are always looking for new people to help with the content and design of the magazine. Meetings are in Room 17 every Monday lunchtime, so why not come along?

Finally, I would like to thank those students who have worked particularly hard on the magazine – apart from Adam himself who has been at the centre of It, of course. I would like to thank Bethany Cowper-Smith, Scarlett Dyson, Emma Sharrad and Liberty Brooker for their enthusiasm and hard work.

We are hoping that this is the start of an exciting series of school magazines and we want to make the next issue bigger and better.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas to one and all.

Mr Hodgkins

I can’t remember where I was, or what I was doing, or when I suddenly had the idea of a school magazine, the only thing I remember was why I had the idea. I wanted Barton Court students to have the opportunity to be a part of something; to have the chance to contribute and be recognised by the whole School. I loved the idea of students being able to embrace the journalistic experience, by being given the responsibility for writing articles and following a certain deadline. I wanted a school magazine that would present the study body by, not only informing the School of what each year have been getting up to, but also giving a chance to show readers the writing skills of various students from around the School. Soon enough this idea became a reality with me leading the project as the editor; I had the responsibility of accumulating articles from students, ensuring that deadlines were kept to, contributing to the overall presentation of the magazine, and even writing a few articles myself.

The quotation “with great power, comes great responsibility” from Spiderman had never fitted better. However, despite the long hours put into the magazine - not just by me but also by co-editors, journalists and of course the overseer himself, Mr Hodgkins - the final draft of the magazine was worth all the effort. We are very proud of it and hope that “Clarion!” will go from strength to strength. I would like to take this opportunity to thank every student/teacher who helped with the magazine, whether you actually wrote an article or simply acted as a resource of information, as without you the magazine would not be as it is now.

Our next issue will be before Easter, but the work of creating it starts straight after Christmas. So come and join us at Monday lunchtimes in room 17 and get involved in 2013!

Adam Mawardi

3

Headteacher’s Report Welcome to our new school magazine, the Clarion! I hope you will enjoy reading this Autumn Term edition, produced by Mr Hodgkins and Adam Mawardi.

It has been an extremely busy term again at Barton Court Grammar School with students and staff returning in September following the best results in the School’s history for both GCSE (49.5% A*/A) and IB (96% pass rate, average Point Score of 32.8 and 81% level 7 - 5).

We were delighted this year to be the highest performing mixed grammar school in Kent at GCSE. For the second consecutive year, our students outperformed those at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School and for the first time our students outperformed those at Simon Langton Boys School and Sir Roger Manwood’s. (Source: Times ranking 2012 & local newspapers). We are delighted and proud of our student’s achievements and we welcome more students into our Sixth Form this year as a result.

Students have often told me that they are disappointed that BCGS does not seem to get the same recognition in our local press as other schools and we hope that this magazine will allow us to celebrate our student achievements with you and provide a platform upon which to recognise their outstanding success.

Whilst examination results are important and provide students with a strong base upon which to build their future careers, examination results alone are not sufficient for success in today’s society and we are committed to providing a quality education that prepares students for learning and work in the 21st century. Students are actively encouraged to be involved in as many extra-curricular opportunities as possible; exchanges, trips, community work, enrichment, work experience, clubs, sports, creative arts to name just a few.

I have no doubts that when you read this edition of the Clarion! you will be left wondering how the students find the time to be such fantastic young people making positive contributions to the life of the School and the wider community and still find the time to complete their studies successfully.

This term we have launched our new teaching and learning initiative: Thinking Schools. We have placed thinking at the heart of our learning and teaching and we are developing a common visual language of Thinking Tools to enable our students to become independent, confident, thoughtful, life-long learners. We believe that thinking students will be successful in their learning and life beyond Barton Court. We are working with Exeter University towards accreditations as a Thinking School and this takes approximately three years to achieve.

Barton Court Grammar School is also strategic partner in the “New Horizons Teaching School Alliance” and as an outstanding, outward looking and innovative school we are expected to work in partnership to improve others schools as well as continuously improve our own.

In the last two years we have renovated over 15 classrooms as part of our rolling programme of school improvement, creating a 21st Century learning environment with the latest technology, allowing us to deliver outstanding teaching and learning. We now have Interactive Whiteboards in every classroom and over 185 new computers across the school site for student use. We have a new Sixth Form Learning Resource Centre. We are developing our own Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) with student and parent portals for 24/7 learning and improved communication; both with launch dates in 2013.

It is such a privilege and pleasure to be Headteacher at Barton Court Grammar School where the students, staff, Governors and parents work together for the benefit of our community. The wide range of activities offered and the fundraising events organised by the students is testament to the hard work and commitment of all staff and students in making Barton Court such a special place to learn and develop.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish our readers a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year from all the staff and students at Barton Court Grammar School.

Ms Cardus

4

Sixth Form Report Year 13 has been an exciting time over the last few months. Summer Alp won £2,000 for her recorder competition, and Theo Matthews’ band came second in Barton Court’s Got Talent/ Battle of the Bands in October. There is clearly a wealth of musical skills in the year group – see some of the musical items inside the magazine for further proof of Sixth Form talent.

Seven Year 13 students applied to Oxford or Cambridge this year and 6 for medicine/dentistry/veterinary courses. The interviews for these have been this week and we all wish them good luck for these challenging occasions.

In this special Olympic year it was a great privilege and honour to have both Abby Taylor Baptie and Lois Ghost proudly carry the Olympic Torch in July. Well done to both of them. A moment that will last forever.

The last few weeks have seen RAG week. The charity week that is organised by the Sixth Form was a real success with a considerable amount of money raised for the five charities. This year was different with the houses competing to raise the most money. Thank you to those students who committed time, effort and ingenuity into making it a real success.

Most UCAS applications have now gone and offers are piling in at a fast pace, which is very pleasing. The most recent Enrichment Day was a real success too, with students learning both the art of Tai Chi and self-defence. There were also fine examples of debating amongst the Sixth Form and this bodes well for the School’s Debating teams – see inside for further information on this topic.

At present the Head Boy and Girl are organising the Christmas meal for the Sixth Form on Thursday 20 December from 3pm till 4.30pm.

This will be held in the Hall for £5 a ticket for a two course amazing meal. Please attend and support this event.

There are very busy times ahead with students getting ready for their examinations, studying hard in the SFLRC. The mocks start in January and students are expected to achieve some phenomenal results. Good Luck to all and Merry Christmas!

Mr Morgan In September, we welcomed back nearly 90 of our Barton Court students and they were joined by a large number of students entering from other local schools as well as students from all over Europe. Year 12 students have settled well into their Sixth Form role and have risen to the challenges that the first term has presented them with.

The whole year group were taken to watch a powerful road safety production ‘Licence to Kill’ which is produced by Kent County Council.

As well as a film, it features a number of emergency service personnel describing their experiences of attending road traffic accidents.

A number of students studying Citizenship are involved in a range of active citizenship projects. They are involved in a campaign for free bus passes & votes for 16 year olds and are asking why students have not been consulted about these changes. The results of their investigations will be fed back to the School in assemblies in the New Year. On a recent trip, Politics students met the Speaker of the House and Alexander Dobrashian took the opportunity to raise the issue of 16 year olds having the vote. Samuel Ozaktanlar asked Tony Benn whether he thought socialism had been stamped out of the Labour Party.

Year 12 students have taken part in a variety of school and community activities. Gemma Davies was a soloist in the Carol Concert, and Calum Barnes, Alexis Long and Karl Thyssen played at the Open Evenings and also won Battle of the Bands. Rag Week saw Year 12 making cakes and pancakes for sale with Pankhurst raising over £50. Year 12 Student Voice representative Pierre Anderson initiated discussions that led to a change in the ‘Hoodie Rule’, so they may now be worn as long as the hoods are down.

Outside of school, Rachel Larking came 8th in the Cup of Europe Roller Skating Championship held in Portugal. Karl Thyssen’s team were 6th in the Under-20 Ultimate Frisbee World Championship and Calum Barnes was in the team that came 5 th in the same competition.

Harry Hayes, Ryan Debling and Benjamin Smith were popular performers in the Canterbury Festival Concert. Christopher Wardell raised £332 for the Poppy Appeal and his ATC squadron raised over £2000. Overall, Year 12 have made a great start to their Sixth form studies.

I wish them a Merry Christmas and every success in their studies in 2013.

Mrs Hughes

5

Head of Year 11 Report

Year 11 have had a very positive term as they approach the mock examinations in January.

Recent meetings with the Student Voice representatives have started to look forward to the culmination of their GCSE studies and celebrating the end of Year 11 with discussions starting about the plans for a Year Book and a possible Summer Ball. Last year’s Year Book was snapped up by over 100 students as they love to look back at their time at BGCS with a warm glow of nostalgia. Students in Year 11 who want to get involved with the project need to see Me with ideas for articles and features.

Similarly, tutor time has been spent looking forward to the next step on the education ladder as tutors and students have discussed career paths and courses in the Sixth Form. There have been many highlights, including the very well attended 16 Plus Evening and the Parents’ Consultation Evening. The completion of these series of events was the interviews with members of SLT. Each student has now met with SLT to plan a route forward into the Sixth Form. In a competitive locality, surrounded by college options and other Sixth Forms, Year 11 have clearly opted to continue their studies at Barton Court. Offering both the IB and A levels and with a proven record of sending students to Oxbridge, our Sixth Form is a natural choice for our students. Over 80% of students last year obtained their number one university choice, while class sizes are closer to 15 than 30. Some schools have boosted numbers with A Level sets over 30 but Barton Court remains proud of its high quality and more intimate Sixth Form.

More challenges now await in the New Year but as students continue to flourish the prospects are very positive. More support than ever has been provided for GCSE students as many enjoy the attention of Sixth Form coaches, and extra help from Learning Mentors in the Learning Resource Centre. The tutors have worked very hard in guiding Year 11 and they remain an invaluable source of expertise and experience. For example, Ms Bradley has found she has been in great demand as she offers guidance to students and reflects on her recent experience as a first class science graduate from Trinity, Cambridge. With recent assemblies on university choices and trips overseas, there is plenty to think about.

This is an exciting time in Year 11 and the best is yet to come!

Mr Hayes

6

Head of Year 10 Report

Year 10 have started the year very positively with members of Student Voice continuing to meet on a regular basis with the Head of Year and Whole school Student Voice have met with Ms Cardus. Student Voice members have recently contributed ideas towards charities, tutor time activies and themes, general school improvements and assemblies.

Two tutor groups from Year 10 have successfully led class assemblies already this year. 10B and 10C have both delivered excellent assemblies, with all members of the tutor group involved in the planning, presentation and delivery of the assembly.

All four tutor groups took part in the inter-house sports competition. Students took part in Football, Netball and Handball. Football winners were 10G and Handball winners were 10S. Certificates were given to individual players that showed a good contribution towards their teams and displayed a high level of skills over the tournament.

Students in Year 10 learnt about all 8 Thinking Maps and produced some excellent work for display in tutor group rooms.

The Year 10 Boys’ basketball team got off to winning start in the District Basketball fixtures. They took part in a 3 team tournament at the Abbey School in Faversham. They played Abbey and Herne Bay High and beat both teams convincingly!

Adam Whyte, Jake King and Toby Elgar all successfully took part in the FA Junior Football Leader course over half term and are currently working on their 4 hours coaching experience to complete the course.

Lewis Powell & Caitlin Bover of the Sea Cadets Marching band, recently performed at the Lord Mayor’s Show and Brands Hatch and Theo Cook recently passed grade 5 in saxophone and Oliver Kennet passed grade 8 in clarinet.

Overall, the year group has performed well and I am sure they can carry through this positive outlook into 2013.

Mr Lintott

7

Head of Year 9 Report

The past two terms have been a big stepping stone for Year 9 students as they have begun their GCSE courses. Students have been very enthusiastic about their options subjects, with music, computing, food technology and drama being popular choices. The year group are clearly enjoying a more specialised approach to their studies and the tutor time activities have been focusing on making a positive start to the year. These sessions have included brain training activities and personal goal setting. I have always been impressed by the commitment that many students show towards their work and expect to read some very impressive grade sheets when these are published.

Several Year 9 students have achieved highly outside of academic study over the last few weeks.

Abbie Wyver has been selected as a reserve for the Junior GB Olympics team and manages to balance a full training schedule whilst committing fully to her school work. I am also proud to announce that Carla McIntyre has been selected as a Kent Youth Council Rep. This is a terrific achievement and judging by how seriously she takes her Student Voice responsibilities I know she will be a good rep for the county. Several students are also involved with the newly set up rugby team (Harry Harris is the captain) and are looking forward to having their first match in the next couple of weeks.

A special mention should also go to Blake Davis who managed to finish his first GCSE music composition within three weeks and has obtained 65 BCGS points in three months! Several year 9 students were also involved in the Carol Service and Winter Concert (Carla McIntyre, Kieran Stringer, Blake Davis and Zoe Fagin) and I would like to thank them for their commitment! Year 9 are also preparing up for the spring musical (‘Bugsy Malone’) with many students auditioning for both acting and singing roles over the next few weeks, so the show has clearly caught their imagination! I would like to wish them the best of luck.

Fundraising has also been on the agenda for Year 9 during terms 1 and 2, with money being raised to install new sound and lighting equipment in the hall and also the selection of the five school charities. 9S (Mr Hodgkins) held their regular jumble sale during Rag Week and made just over £20. They hope to build on this amount with more events in the new year.

Ms Fenn

8

Head of Year 8 Report

Year 8 have made a brilliant start to this academic year and I am very proud to be their Head of Year.

I have been involved with two Focus Days (now known as Enrichment days) so far and really enjoyed the company of the Year 8 students. The first Enrichment Day was the trip to the Thanet coast, during which the year group behaved impeccably and were a real credit to the School.

Many students visibly grew in confidence during the day and by the end were asking local residents what they thought of Margate High Street. The second Enrichment Day was a whole day looking at Thinking Maps, and once again Year 8 excelled. It was especially interesting to see 8C brace mapping their bedrooms, 8G making great competitive use of the bridge map with the frame of reference being the world of music, 8B tree mapping musical instruments, and 8S joining in with the Tacky the Penguin story time.

Student Voice has thought of some excellent ideas so far and I am sure Ishbel Russell and Thomas Oliveria are going to make excellent Year Reps. We have also had two brilliant assemblies by 8B on World Food Day and by 8C on segregation, raising awareness of racism.

The highlight so far has been the way that Year 8 threw themselves into fundraising for Children In Need. Given a very short deadline to organise an idea for fundraising, 8B ran a whole form sponsored silence, 8G had a mixture of sponsored silence and three-legged day, and 8S organised a lunchtime quiz for everyone. The Year 8 tutors were excellent at supporting their forms.

The total raised was £355.67, with 8G raising £101.08, 8S raising £37.07, and 8B raising an impressive £217.52. This is an amazing achievement. Well done!

Miss Haley

9

Head of Year 7 Report

Current Year 7 students have settled into School very well and have embraced their leadership roles with enthusiasm and offered superb support in the Open Evenings that the School had for the current Year 6 students wishing to come to Barton Court.

Students have fully immersed themselves in school life taking part in a range of different clubs and activities.

Notable successes have been with the Year 7 cross country team with Saskia de Giles amongst others putting in a very strong performance. We have also started a new Film Club with the support of Mr Gout and we are keenly awaiting the results of the efforts of the large number of committed students who have been attending each Friday afterschool.

Year 7 students have also represented the school in netball and football and taken part in a range of other exciting clubs such as cosmetic biology club and a new cookery club.

I am delighted with the numbers of students who have signed up for the French Trip and is looking forward to a fruitful 2013, aiming to involve the Charity prefects in more fundraising for the chosen school charities.

Below are a few Year 7 sporting highlights: Cross Country – Year 7 Boys’ team finished 3rd, year 7 girls 4th.

Individual performances – Katy Wooliscroft 4th, Isabelle Osmond 5th, Saskia De Giles 9th, Sylvie Fraser 15th – John Heasman 3rd (bronze medal), Ethan Caldwell 6th, Cole Gibbons 8th.

The Girls’ futsal team took part in the Year 7 tournament at Canterbury High playing four games, winning two and losing two. Players involved Mia Webb, Leah Towers, Isabelle Osmond, Ella Dickinson, Vicky Walker, Katy Wooliscroft, Megan Platts. The Girls’ netball team has been strong in regards numbers of Year 7’s at practice; they won their first game 17-9 v St Anselms – the girls are raring to go for fixtures after Christmas!

Mr Wood

10

Head Boy & Head Girl Reports When I walk into BCGS every morning, I feel extremely privileged to be the Head Girl. Since coming to Barton Court, I have gained so much and I wanted to become Head Girl as I knew the role would allow me to give something back. However, when I applied, I didn’t realise just how much I would gain.

I think the perception of the role is that you dress up smart and give speeches a lot, but don’t do much else. In reality it is so much more. At the start, giving speeches was the biggest challenge. Last September we gave our first public speech; we were terrified, and frankly, it was appalling. I apologise to anyone who had to sit through it.

Luckily, with the help of Miss Brown and some of the other teachers we quickly improved and I quite enjoy them now.

My aim in becoming Head Girl was to improve the relationship between the Sixth Form and Lower School. I am very proud of the work we have done and excited about what we have planned. Organising RAG week was stressful and chaotic but hugely rewarding when we saw so many people getting involved. We are also enjoying organising events to mark the end of school life for Year 13 in May as well as the Christmas meal. Leading the student voice has also been a real privilege. I have especially enjoyed working with Ieaun and the senior prefect team to do as much as we can for the School.

Occasionally we even get some school work done!

Overall, my time as Head Girl of Barton Court has been hugely gratifying. The role is hard work but I have had the opportunity to get involved with the School in so many ways and I have had so much fun doing so. I would encourage any other the current Year 12s to apply for the senior prefect team next year. I am so grateful to have been given the chance to take on this role, and will treasure the memories I have of it long after I leave.

Abby Taylor-Baptie

Becoming Head Boy has increased my involvement in the School by giving me further opportunities to make a positive impact on the students and give something back and inspiring me to work harder and be more ambitious.

Some of the many opportunities offered here is to get involved in our new leadership structure, allowing students to take on a leadership roles in the school and gain valuable skills which can be used later on in life. It is mainly focused on the upper years of the School allowing them to voice their own opinions and feelings in school life, become more immersed and help out in a subject area they love as well as being able to develop leadership skills, which will be very beneficial for them in the future when applying for university or jobs.

Also, last year a new house system was introduced with the aim to get all of the year groups to integrate together and strengthen the school community. This provides a chance to let all the year groups work and compete together in events such as sports day and music completions allowing them to take on new challenges and make friends with students in the other years.

Since being here I have seen all of the hard work Ms Cardus and all teachers put in to make this School the best it can be and you only have to look at the results from the past three years to prove this fact. The teachers here are very supportive and approachable, allowing students to express any problems they may have freely with a teacher. We have two amazing sixth form mentors here, who are willing to help out with any problems you may face.

Overall, I find it safe to say that the last year and a bit has been the best experience of my life so far. It has given me the chance to make new friendships with people from all around the world, which will hopefully last a lifetime. I have also been able to endeavour in new studies and opportunities becoming HeadBoy, an achievement that was a lot of hard work to achieve, all memories I will hold for many years to come.

Ieuan Lobban

11

House Reports Pankhurst

Nightingale

Pankhurst House, colour yellow, form groups ‘S’, is named after Emmeline Pankhurst (15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928). Emmeline was a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement which helped women win the right to vote. In 1999 Time magazine named Pankhurst as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century, stating: "she shaped an idea of women for our time; she shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back."

Emmeline Pankhurst was known for determination, fair play, mutual support and endurance. Pankhurst House fully intends to live up to her fine example.

Our house is led by Mr Reay, and the attached senior prefects are Grace Lloyd and Scott Matthews. We intend to be a House to be reckoned with in competitions, exceeding in all aspects. If the fund raising efforts in Rag Week and the House Points gained in the Autumn Term are anything to go by, Pankhurst House has already set a high standard for the other houses to emulate.

Nightingale House, formerly known as B, is named after the inspirational Florence Nightingale. Florence was renowned for her dedication and perseverance, and as a House this is something we hope to live up to. Our House is led by Mr Morgan, and the senior prefect is Lucy Korzeniowska.

Mr Reay

We intend to be fiercely competitive with the other Houses, exceeding in all aspects, providing a force to be reckoned with, due to our commitment to the House and our enthusiasm.

Florence defied convention by becoming a nurse, but her contributions to the medical world were invaluable. We aim to emulate this with our originality, in order to achieve in every area, at all times.

Lucy Korzeniowska Head Prefect

12

House Reports Wilberforce

Einstein

Wilberforce House comprises all G forms at Barton Court Grammar School. We are the current holders of the Sports Day Shield, having proudly won this in July 2012. As such we are the only House to have won a trophy of any kind.

Einstein House has adopted the colour red and represents forms groups C throughout the School. Our house is led by Mr Whatley, ably assisted by Christie Marsh and Alex Dickens, two of the Deputy Head Students.

The House is named after William Wilberforce, the great social reformer and campaigner against slavery. He was an inspirational figure and we hope that we can also provide inspiration to those around us.

This House is named after one of the most famous scientists of all time, Albert Einstein. He was born in Germany in 1879 but became a US citizen in 1940. Einstein is perhaps most famous for this equation which relates energy and mass and links them with the speed of light. Although this appears to be a very simple equation, its implications are far reaching. If you want to find out more about his work it is worth Googling the Twins Paradox which is quite a famous story to help illustrate Einstein’s theory of special relativity.

Our House is led by Mr Fairfax and the Senior Prefect is Isobel Wilson. We have our own slogan “Let the force be with you” and our members are Wilberforcites!

This year we hope to build on the success of Sports Day and win yet more of the House competitions.

Mr Fairfax

So far in the House Competition we have been warming up, coming second on Sports Day and making steady progress in the overall points competition. We are now well positioned to start to dominate proceedings from now on!

Mr Whatley

13

An Interview with Zebra Crossing’s Alexis Long

By Adam Mawardi 1) How did it feel when you won the battle of the bands?

5) Do you see any future in music or is it just a hobby?

It was an exhilarating experience, as a band we were very happy and glad that our hard work, practice and time had paid off. We enjoyed playing so much and winning was the icing on the cake. I would love to relive the moment again.

I would love to see music as a future and am considering it. I think in the past it has just been a hobby but I'm beginning to take it more seriously now.

2) Have you won/competed in battle of the bands before?

Yes, we first competed when we were in Year 8, and we won! It was very unexpected and we have definitely changed over the years, we also competed last year but were topped by the Year 8 band at the time, Intimidation. We hope to compete again the future to see how we have improved.

3) Where did you learn to play guitar and how long have you been playing in it?

I continue to learn to play guitar at YMS in Canterbury and enjoy it very much, I started sometime in Year 7 and hope to carry on for a while.

However my guitar practice is clouded by my piano which I take more seriously at the moment.

4) Are you passionate about music? Do you have any particular musical inspirations?

Yes, I would say I am passionate about music and enjoy playing, listening and composing. I spend lots of my time with Music and hope to keep it that way.

Many people have inspired me over the years, most of my inspirations come from the jazz greats like Miles Davis. I find that people who are less well known have inspired me as well, my piano teacher being one of them.

6) Do you feel nervous when on the stage?

Everyone gets nervous once in a while but for me it is usually before going on stage that I am nervous. However when I'm on stage the nerves disappear and I love every moment up there.

7) Finally, can we expect you on the stage next year? Or in fact any time soon?

Yes, you can expect to see Zebra Crossing playing at school in the future! We hope to start gigging more often and release some recorded material in the forthcoming months. We hope you will follow our musical journey and help support us along the way.

14

Canterbury Festival Foundation Bursary Competition

By Summer Alp On the evening of Monday 22 October I took part in a concert as a finalist for the Canterbury Festival Foundation Bursary Competition. There were six competitors and everyone played brilliantly. I was last in the programme, and played the Affettuoso and Allegro from Handel’s Sonata in F major for the treble recorder.

I was quite nervous and felt that the first movement didn’t go as well as it could have done but it seemed that the judges disagreed! The Head Judge David Burridge said that it was ‘beautiful’. By the time I got to the second movement I was really enjoying myself. David said that I have ‘excellent technique’ and that I went beyond technique into ‘true artistry’.

When he told me I’d won I was so surprised as the competition had been so tough, but I was the winner and I was so thrilled!

I have won the role of Ambassador for the Arts and a bursary of £2,000 to spend on my musical studies. I am going to spend the money on a handmade baroque pitch recorder which I need for music college, which I plan to attend next year.

Debating Matters Competition

By Callum McManus

Last month, myself and Sophie Clark (Year 12) took part in the first debate of this school year at Queen Elizabeth’s School in Faversham against their own debating team. Our thanks go to Mr Hayes for sorting out our team and to Adam Mawardi and Louise Kendaru for coming along to support us Now, this was the first time that either of us had done anything debate related, and despite our nerves, we managed to hold it together, and put together a good argument for our subject (we were arguing against the statement that ‘ The government should take tougher action on unhealthy behaviour), working as a duo to try and actually speak in coherent sentences! Unfortunately, we did lose the debate, but considering this was our first time, and the opposing team had been involved in these kinds of events for a year, we felt like we’d tried our best and done a good job at the end of the day! It also helped that the judges told us things to improve, so we’ll come back fighting the next time we get the opportunity to do so, and this time, hopefully win!

15

The Music Scene at Barton Court

By Eleanor Boiling

& Lucy Korzeniowska

Eleanor Boiling rounds up some of the recent musical highlights at Barton Court, and previews those to come. Lucy Korzeniowska gives a detailed break down of an outstanding Battle of the Bands evening; & Bradley Williams also captures, in photos, some of the action from the competition.

The music scene at Barton Court is very vibrant and lively and Miss Fenn (Head of Music) always makes sure that every year there are a variety of interesting and fun events for all the students and their parents to be involved in. A few examples are below:  

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On the 17 October 2012, Barton Court was given a slot in Canterbury Festival, in which many of the most talented music students from Barton Court performed.

On the 25 October, Barton Court’s annual Battle of the Bands was a great success, with the band Zebra Crossing (Calum Barnes, Alexis Long and Karl Thyssen from year 12) wnning a whole day’s recording at Canterbury College; and Luke Brealey and Harry Hayes winning a second place prize of an amp, but due to the brilliance of their performance, they were also offered recording time at the college.

On the 6 December, Barton Court held their annual Carol Service at Canterbury Cathedral, where the choir performed “Babalulow”, among other festive carols. Also, as per usual, a talented student from Year 7, Thomas Peacock, performed the first verse solo in the congregational carol, “Once in Royal David City”.

On the 13 December, there was a Christmas Concert, which has been called by the Music Department ‘Winter Solstice’, and included in this display of talent from Barton Court will be singing and dancing from some of the students.

From the 26 March to the 28 March, there will be the School Musical, which has been an unmitigated success for the last two years. In 2011, we had ‘Oliver!’, in 2012 we had ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and in 2013 we will have ‘Bugsy Malone’. These musicals have really pulled together the Music, Drama and Art departments, and are always great fun to be involved in.

On the 9 May, there will be BCGS Young Musician of The Year award.

On the 11 July, there will be our standard Summer Concert, which is always good fun.

A big thank you to Mr Cullen and all the sixth formers and Year 11’s who help out at these events, as without you they would not be possible, and thank you Miss Fenn for giving us so many musical events!

Eleanor Boiling The first term ended on a high with the return of the Battle of The Bands competition. The evening saw 10 acts, all ranging in age, entertaining a huge audience, and competing for some brilliant prizes. All groups performed one song as part of the first round, and then four were selected by way of an audience vote to perform a second song, where a panel of judges decided on the overall winner.

The event showed off a huge variation in musical styles, but a common feature in all performances was the outstanding level of talent.

Opening the show was Intimidation, a group of Year 9 boys who have created something of a reputation for themselves with their regular contributions to the music community. They performed the Arctic Monkeys song “I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor”, and impressed with their energy and their ever-improving performance skills.

Next was a simplistic rendition of Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain”, featuring only piano, drums, and voices, in the group Three & A Half Girls. They ought to be commended for their participation. Performing takes a lot of courage, and they were very brave to take part especially having joined the School just this year.

In fact, the contribution this year from Year 7 students was huge and made up nearly half of the acts on the night. All the younger students showed real promise, in particular the next act “Double or Nothing”, a dynamic duo who despite not making getting to the final round won their own special award from Ms Fenn.

Fourth up were The Undesirables, whose performance was terrifying in all the right ways, on account of their volume and attitude. Theo & the Unmentionables performed fourth. Lead singer Theo Matthews really shone, delivering raw and bluesy vocals in “The Zephyr Song”, and supported by a highly estimable pair on bass and guitar. These three were full of character; a very popular group- perhaps not just for their talent, but due also to their interesting choice of outfits and therefore unsurprising that they got to play again.

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Battle of The Bands Live!

Photos by Bradley Williams The hugely talented Harry Hayes and Luke Brealey were next to take to the stage. These two were one of the most highly anticipated acts of the night, renowned for their effortless but highly skilled performances.

Performing an original song, written by a friend of Harry’s, this pair, as ever, charmed the audience and demonstrated their immense musical talent, securing a spot in the final round.

Next to perform was Ignite, another Year 7 group, whose understated cover of the classic “Stand By Me” was a sheer delight to listen to. The simple piano accompaniment allowed the harmonious voices of Anna Palmer to really shine. They were hugely confident, performing flawlessly and showing a vast level of potential. Ignite were the most surprising act of the night and proved to be the “dark horse” when they won the chance to sing again.

James Burford and Harvey Dent performed eighth, choosing to play a gorgeous original song entitled “Waiting on You”. Another highly anticipated act, as this Year 11 pair has built up quite a following thanks to their talent, originality, and charm. Their performance was both endearing and charismatic, and it came as a huge surprise when they did not gain a place in the next round.

Nevertheless, I expect there will be plenty more opportunities to hear them play in future, as these two have the potential to go far.

Another Year 7 girls group provided the penultimate performance of the first round. They performed Maroon 5’s Payphone and again their courage in performing was admirable.

Last, and certainly not least, was Zebra Crossing. This group of Alexis Long, Karl Thyssen, Calum Barnes, and Bradley Andrews, have shown their musical prowess over the years by performing with a multitude of different instruments and genres. In the past they have played everything from djembes to xylophones, as well as the more classical piano, but on this occasion, Alexis and Calum played guitars, with the addition of Karl on saxophone and Bradley on accordion, as they performed a cover of the Alex Clare song “Too Close”. This cover was smart and upbeat, and their charismatic performance had them sailing through to the final round.

After a break in order to count the votes, the final four performed another song each. First was Ignite, singing Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours”. Despite not winning they showed tremendous promise and I look forward to hearing more from them in the future. Luke and Harry performed another original, this time written by Harry himself. Ever a delight to listen to, this pair are such natural performers, and moreover their modesty is endearing. Theo and The Unmentionables took to the stage next to perform “Water under the Bridge”. Having seen Theo perform this same song at last years Summer Concert, I can safely say that his musicianship just keeps on improving, and will no doubt continue to do so. Last to perform, again, was the fantastic Zebra Crossing. Having kept their second song a secret for the entirety of the evening, there was once again a great deal of anticipation for this performance. They did not fail to amaze the audience with their completely ingenious cover of “Sexy And I Know It”, which was smart, humorous, charismatic, enchanting, and generally brilliant.

Therefore, it came as no surprise that Zebra Crossing were the overall winners, but the other three final acts were very close behind, and ought to be commended for such talent. All the performers of the night should be praised for their courage, enthusiasm and for their good sportsmanship, perhaps we shall see more of these marvellous performers in the Winter Concert next month. The production team too were invaluable to the evening, and also a shout out is due to the World Challenge girls for their hard work with front-of-house. As ever, the event would have been nothing without Ms Fenn, whose commitment to the students and school is overwhelming. Well done to everyone who took part in any way, and I look forward to the next music event at Barton Court.

Lucy Korzeniowska

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Politics Trip to Clifford Chance Law Firm, London

By Abby Taylor Baptie

In September, 10 Sixth Form students took advantage of an incredible opportunity to spend a morning at one of the top corporate law firms in the UK. All the students had expressed an interest, or had already applied to study law at university.

We caught the train to London early in the morning, barely awake but feeling like candidates on The Apprentice in city dress. Several tube stops, and a couple of escalators later, we arrived at Canary Wharf and Clifford Chance Law Firm.

Clifford Chance is one of the ten biggest law firms in the world, so we were all extremely awed and excited to be there. We were introduced to a top tax lawyer who took us to the office he shared with a more recently qualified employee. For the next three quarters of an hour they answered our questions about life as a corporate lawyer, the cases they were working on, and how we could improve our chances of employment and gaining invaluable internships in the future. Then, we were taken on a tour of the building and began to realise how incredible it must be to work at Clifford Chance, and also how much commitment it must take. The lawyers told us how they often worked until late in the evening and on the weekends when they had important cases and we were shown the firm’s gym, swimming pool and catering facilities which were extremely nice. We were also told that at some firms there were on-site doctors, hairdressers and even bedrooms as the lawyers literally lived at their firm. The day finished with another useful question and answer session before we all returned home with plenty to reflect on.

For me, visiting Clifford Chance was a priceless experience. The question and answer sessions gave me some really useful information about the importance of showing yourself, your personality as well as just your qualifications at interview, and also about the resilience required to be successful in corporate law. The tour of the building was like entering a completely different world and this, along with the passion that the lawyer’s had for their job really demonstrated the benefits of a degree and job in law. I feel reassured about my choice to study law at university and have renewed determination to succeed in my exams and give myself the best opportunity possible to work in a law firm in the future.

I’d like to make a huge thank you to Mr Wood for organising the trip and to Ms Phillips who also came with us.

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Design Technology Trip to The V&A Museum, London

By Mrs Parker

As part of the Design and Technology experience at Barton Court Grammar School, students of AS, A2 and IB Product Design took the opportunity to visit the Victoria and Albert museum in September to see a special exhibition of contemporary design, Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary.

The exhibition featured the studio’s aspirational architecture and furniture, as well as the 2012 Olympic cauldron and a full size mock-up of London’s new Routemaster bus. The highlight for some was the opportunity to experience the “Spun” chairs, and everyone agreed they would be a real asset to the school!

Overall, the students found the experience to be very inspirational.

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Politics Trip Politics Trip to To Westminster Hall Westminster Hall

By Adam Mawardi

Sixth Form Politics students experienced an enjoyable and fascinating visit to London at the end of November. Attending a conference at the prestigious Westminster Hall in the centre of London, Barton Court students joined hundreds of others from schools around the country; all eager to listen to some of the most influential and controversial politicians of the last few decades.

Guest speakers included George Galloway and the veteran elder statesman of British politics, Tony Benn.

The day proved to be fascinating in many ways. Firstly, it was interesting to hear such a wide array of political views that represented a spectrum of political opinion, from the far left to the far right.

Secondly it was exciting to be able to personally question such influential and charismatic politicians, putting them on the spot and subjecting them to scrutiny. It is an often voiced criticism that young people are apolitical and apathetic when it comes to Westminster politics and the electoral process in general. Events such as this question that assumption and prove that young people are politically active and engaged in the political process.

Politics can seem irrelevant to everyday life to students, but the event really brought home how political decisions and ideologies can have a profound impact upon everyone.

We would all like to thank Mr Wood and Mr Gout for arranging the trip. Overall, it was a thought provoking and stimulating experience.

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A Personal View on the Day…

By Adam Mawardi The trip started inauspiciously as we sprinted onto our train to avoid getting soaked, but things brightened up as we arrived in London and headed towards Westminster Hall. Fortunately no one brought anything untoward with them, so we negotiated the bag-check safely and made our way to the main room.

Expectations were high and the level of anticipation was near boiling point as we took our seats before being addressed firstly by: John Bercow, Speaker of the House A very well spoken man who talked about his trials and tribulations in dealing with the ‘childish and unruly’ politicians in the House of Commons and not about the scandal his wife had been involved with on twitter. Independent from any party, Bercow keeps order in the chamber whilst also choosing which MP speaks in each session of Parliament.

Alan Duncan, Conservative MP Social Libertarian Alan Duncan is a cabinet minister – a political appointee who broadly agrees with the policies of his or her party in a specific field of government. It is their job to carry out the functions, tasks and policies decided upon by the party. Duncan is the Minister of State for International Development, and takes primary charge of education, health and social services.

Simon Hughes, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Simon Hughes spoke warmly about the Lib Dem’s proposed policy on cutting taxes for ordinary workers. His talk was a pep talk on how Britain should not panic and that we will all get through this economic crisis together. We just need to trust the politicians.

George Galloway, Respect Member of Parliament Any attempt that ‘Gorgeous’ George Galloway wanted to have at political redemption were (in my humble opinion) utterly destroyed by his appearance on the reality TV show, Big Brother. It is hard to think of the man as a politician but rather as the sorry half-man, half-cat we saw on our screens in 2006. Despite that one blemish on an otherwise faultless (haha) career, he remains a mesmerizing speaker and had the attention of the whole room as he delivered his trademark yawl. It is fair to say he split opinions with his strong views on the situation in Palestine, and was subject to some boos (and meows) as he left the stage.

Tony Benn, retired Labour MP Tony Benn has topped several polls as the most popular politician in Britain. He has been described as "one of the few UK politicians to have become more left-wing after holding ministerial office." It is incredible how a man who is 87 years old, partially deaf and walks with a cane can command so much respect in a room. As he hobbled to the stage, he received the best ovation of the day, and gave his valid opinion on the state of the political system today.

Nigel Farage, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party Nigel Farage talked about what an outrage it was for a foster child to be taken away from its carers because they supported UKIP. He did his best to reassure the audience that his views were not as ‘racist’ as David Cameron and co. have said and how Britain would be better off if it was out of the European Union. People were nodding their heads in agreement so could not have known that we would not have had the Human Rights act without the EU.

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Politics MFL Trip Trip to To Lake Westminster Garda, ItalyHall

By Adam Mawardi

During Enrichment Week in July 2012, we went to Verona, (near Venice), Italy. Students and teachers travelled by coach, led by Ms Benard and Mrs Richardson. The journey lasted 20 hours but the coach drivers entertained us by playing movies. The four star hotel was beautiful and Ms Benard managed to get us into the pool every day! This was a lovely way to cool down after a hot day walking in the sun.

During our stay in Italy we visited Venice, Lake Garda and Verona. In Verona we saw Juliet’s balcony, the scene of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. At Lake Garda we had a boat trip around the lake, my favourite part of the trip. The views were beautiful and we saw where one of the James Bond movies was set. Venice has a very rich history and some of the buildings were fantastic. We learnt some Italian which we used to order food and for shopping. One evening, we visited a small historic village and we were treated to the nicest ice cream I had ever tasted! On another occasion we went to a pizzeria: delizioso!

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Geography Politics Trip Trip To to Westminster Minnis Bay Hall

By Adam Mawardi

By Millie Korzeniowska On Tuesday 2 October we went to School as usual and had registration in our form rooms. Then, as we attempted to cram the whole of Year 8 into room 24, Mrs Grayson took the register again and we were sorted into our coach groups. B, C and the best, G, were put on coaches 1, 2 and 3 ,mixed with S and Mrs Grayson, Ms Rothwell, Mr Wood and Ms Haley.

We then set off at 9 o’clock and drove to Minnis Bay. It took about half an hour in the coach, and then when we got there we were given workbooks which we got to fill in whilst walking along the promenade.

After we had filled in the questions about Molly the Mollusc, we set off for Margate. We got off the coach to a rather disgusting smell and then, holding our noses, walked up the High Street. We then had to ask the local people of Margate what they thought of the town and what could be improved. It took our group a while to fill the sheet in as when we asked people, ‘What is good about Margate?’ the first 5 replied ‘not a lot!’ We did get some answers in the end. Most of them were about people liking the beach and the fresh air from the sea.

After that we went to the sweet shop on the High Street and bought sweets and ice creams, we also went to the cafe and bought hot chocolates. Finally we left Margate to go to Botany Bay. When we arrived we had lunch in a big garden field area.

We then went down the 32 steps-well that’s how many we counted so it’s probably around that number and onto the beach. We also had a competition to see who could make the best sand face. We had a look at the huge stack that the sea had eroded and had to describe it with 10 words, and even though most of the ones that came out were ‘stack-like’ everyone found it very interesting.

We then got on the coach again and had a 50 minute drive back to school, which consisted of at least 45 minutes of singing the same song, and went home as usual. Overall, it was an excellent day.

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Forthcoming Politics Trip MFL Trip to To Santander, Westminster SpainHall

By Adam Mawardi

Mrs Perkins tells us more about exciting exchange trips, past and future!

Year 8 and Year 9 students will be travelling to Santander, capital of Cantabria in July 2013.

Santander is placed north of a wide bay and is considered one of the most beautiful bays in Spain, a perfect mix of mountains and sea. Based in Santillana del Mar, 30 minutes from Santander itself, the students will receive an hour of Spanish language lessons each day which will be followed by a trip or activity in the local area.

A day trip to Bilbao, Cabarceno Nature Park, Altamira Caves Museum, a Tapas Tasting Evening and a Santander Bay cruise are just some of the exciting opportunities planned.

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Exchange Politics Trip Trip toToMadrid, Westminster Spain Hall

By Adam

By Mawardi Mrs Perkins The Spanish Exchange to Madrid was offered last year for the first time at Barton Court Grammar School. The 20 Spanish students visited us in April and stayed with students' families from Years 9-12 for 6 days. They attended Barton Court for 3 days, joining in activities and experiencing a broad range of lessons such as Food Technology, PE , Italian and Science. They also enjoyed trips to Leeds Castle and further afield to London.

Barton Court students have just enjoyed their return week in the north of Madrid staying with Spanish families and attending school for 2 days. An excursion to the historic city of Segovia enabled students to see the famous Roman Aqueduct and other interesting monuments.

All the students practised their Spanish with their partners and families, and many of them had such a great time that they are arranging to meet them again privately later in the year, forging friendships that we hope will be long lasting.

Following such success we are looking forward to running this trip again next year.

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MFL Politics Trip to Trip the Rhineland, To Westminster Germany Hall

By Adam Mawardi

Early on Saturday 14 July, a group of students set off from school to the Rhineland in Germany. After a day on the bus, we arrived at our hotel and everyone settled into their rooms.

Over the next 4 days, students enjoyed a packed programme of activities, ranging from a mechanical instrument museum in Rudesheim, to a medieval castle overlooking the river Rhine, with a gothic cathedral, theme park and chocolate factory in between. Students practised their new-found language skills and enjoyed trying out the local cuisine, in particular asking for ice-cream! For many students, this was the first time that they had visited Germany and they had a great time.

They learnt a lot of history at Cologne Cathedral, both ancient and modern. It is a place of pilgrimage as the three Kings’ bones are said to be there and, as a contrast, we also learnt about some of the very modern stained glass windows, which are very beautiful. At Marksburg Castle, students learnt about life on the River Rhine in medieval times. The chocolate factory was also a big hit. Many of the children were surprised to discover just how long chocolate has been around, since the time of the Aztecs in South America. We also managed to have a lot of fun at Phantasialand, with the Black Mamba ride leaving Mrs Green and Miss Brown with very wobbly legs!

The students were a credit to the school and my thanks must go to them, Mr Weber, and Miss Brown for such a successful trip.

It really is a great trip and a lot of fun; it doesn’t matter at all if you don’t speak German or don’t think you will choose German for GCSE – it is simply a great way to experience a different country and culture. If you want to know more, ask the Year 8 students how much fun they had! Details for July 2014 will be available next year.

Here’s what some of the students had to say: Cameron about Cologne Cathedral: “We learned about the stained glass windows and what is the story behind them, even the really bright modern one done by a German artist, Gerhard Richter.”

Barty: “Germany was really fun. Everyone got on and there were not many arguments. The food at Hotel Fleck was really nice. We had three course meals every evening.”

Liberty about the mechanical instrument museum: “It was very interesting because we got to learn how they work and because I hadn’t known there were so many types of mechanical instruments before.”

Barty: “we did try to speak some German”.

Oliver on the chocolate factory: “In the first of three floors, it was all about how they make chocolate!! You get to see how the cocoa bean goes from, well, a bean to the beloved, treasured treat that is Lindt chocolate!!!!

Another highlight of the first floor was the tropical house – 90% humidity”.

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Photographs Politics Trip from this Fascinating To Westminster Trip Hall

By AdamByMawardi Mrs Green

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A Visit from Professor Aliwasilah

By Adam Mawardi On the 11 October Barton Court hosted Professor Cheadar Aliwasilah, who was visiting the UK from Indonesia. Professor Aliwasilah had visited both primary and secondary schools to learn more about how we teach the English Language; this is because Indonesia i s currently reviewing how they teach their own first language. He not only met both with staff and students, but observed lessons and experienced a typical day in the UK grammar school.

At the end of his visit Professor Aliwasilah said "thank you very much for the hospitality, warmth, friendliness, and support you and your colleagues have given me. It was a very insightful and inspiring day, which will be a good memory to take home to Indonesia. The students were just amazing, especially in literature.

It was a great honour and opportunity for me to observe the classes in your school, one of the best in the country. I learned a lot of things to try in Indonesia.

I was impressed by students’ appreciation of literature, and they are all avid readers. The teachers are all dedicated and passionate about their job. My claim: English teachers are a guardian of the British culture. All these will be a sweet memory to take home in Indonesia. I’ll be staying for another month at CCCU, where I’ll be concentrating on writing.”

World Challenge

By Priya Patel World Challenge is an organization in which you and a team go abroad for a few weeks. You go trekking, do rest and relaxation and a community project. You have to raise a certain amount of money which usually ranges from £1000 to £4500 to fund the trip.

I am going to both Southern Peru and North Bolivia. The reason I chose to apply for World Challenge was due to the fact that it is a once in a lifetime opportunity, helps less fortunate people abroad and looks great on my CV. We are fundraising by doing bag packing in local supermarkets, and we did a sponsored cycle in February, which raised £1000. We are planning on doing more bag packing nearer to Christmas and doing a sponsored abseil and skydive.

Once we arrive in Peru and Bolivia we will be trekking from the capital of Peru (Lima) to Bolivia (La Paz). In our last week we will be doing our community work which is to teach English at a school, help build new school facilities, and water pumps.

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A Comparison of Schools in England & Germany

By Adam Mawardi & Ioanna Hunold Here at Barton Court we have the pleasure of numerous international students coming and studying either A Levels or the International Baccalaureate with us in the Sixth Form, for either one or two years. Students come from a variety of places around the world, and it is very interesting to see how different they find our school compared to their previous school. To get an insight into the contrast of educational systems between countries, I asked an international student from Germany called Ionna Hunold to compare her old school to her current one.

My school in Hamburg, Germany is called the Carl-von-Ossietzky Gymnasium (CvO) and is quite different to Barton Court.

First, the layout of the schools are really different; Barton Court is a combination of an old building and a new building, whilst the CvO has 5 big buildings, sport halls and one sport court. The schoolyard is much bigger at my school in Germany, but lacks beauty - it is very grey, because both the buildings and the ground are made of grey stone; whereas at Barton Court, we are fortunate enough to be surrounded by nature, such as the pond or the trees. One thing at my school in Germany that is really typical for the CvO are graffiti’s of every graduated year group on the walls of the school. Some rooms at the CvO do have smart boards, but the only use they have is sadly for watching films- hence we mainly use blackboards. In Barton Court every lesson is with smart boards and personally there is a large contrast between lessons with a board that is not as basic as a blackboard. Sports are very important at the CvO. There are so many opportunities to play different sports: for example hockey is very important.

Being at Barton Court Grammar School is a really fantastic experience and I have learned a tremendous amount during my time here.

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Enrichment Politics Trip Day: ToSlam Westminster Poetry Hall

By Adam Mawardi

By Mr Hodgkins

Year 10’s had a whole day of Poetry in their first Enrichment Day of the year in October.

However, it was not dominated by Shakespeare or Wordsworth: instead they learned about an exciting new form of poetry called Slam Poetry.

Based around clever rhyming, fast rhythms and lively subject matter, Slam Poetry often has a personal focus where poets make observations on their lives and the world around them.

On the day itself some of the poems from students were sarcastic and amusing; others were heartfelt and moving. They all had pace, energy, wit and passion. Some were solo efforts; some were created in small teams.

Each of the five classes had two winners, creating a shortlist of ten poems. From this list, five poems were eventually awarded with prizes. Jack Gilbey’s solo effort came fifth, and fourth prize went to a collaborative effort from Jacob way, Max Lamdin and Rex Dingle.

Pictured are the three students in the top positions: Third place went to Tim Blaney; second place to Skye Hart; and the winner overall, with a very personal observation on the nature of fame, was Georgie Young.

Well done to all of the students in Year 10 who produced a range of inspirational poems on a wide variety of themes.

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Cross-Country Politics Trip To Westminster Success Hall Adam Mawardi

By HarryBy Harris Harry Harris reports on the School’s recent successes at the District Cross Country competition at Kent College.

On Wednesday 7 November, Barton Court took a team of budding athletes to a cross-country competition at Kent College. The generally pristine looking Kent College field had become a victim of the weather the day before and the field was treacherous underfoot and at some points you were up to your ankles in mud and water. However, the conditions didn’t dampen Barton Court’s high hopes, enthusiasm, and expectations for themselves, as we had good reasons to believe that we could win this.

There were around 70 people in each race with the top 20 runners going through to represent the district at a crosscountry event in Bexleyheath in January of next year. Out of a team of around 15 boys we had six qualifiers for the district, those being, in the Year 8/9 race, Finley Perry (coming 11th) Harry Harris (coming 12th), Michael Farbrace (coming 17th) and in the Year 7 race there was John Heasman, Ethan Caldwell and Cole Gibbens.

Every competitor who didn’t qualify still gave it their all and on another day they could have probably qualified. They all proved great ambassadors for Barton Court Grammar School.

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Enrichment Politics Trip Day: Design To Westminster TechnologyHall Adam Mawardi

By Ishbell By Russell On Thursday 29 November Year 8 had a DT Enrichment Day, where we learned entrepreneurial skills and team work. We were put in teams of 3 or 4 and tasked to design and market a new brand of seasonal decoration.

On the day we had to, not only design and build the decoration, but to devise a business plan and pricing, making sure that we made a profit, advertise our product and complete market and pricing research, all in periods 1 to 4. In period 5 each team had to host a stall at a trade fair, where the teachers came around and assessed how much effort each team had put in, whether there were any extra elements that the team had added, the quality of their design and pricing, and ultimately whether or not they would consider buying the product.

If the teacher did want to buy the product, they gave the team a slip, saying ‘100 units’. Each teacher was given 10 slips and could give as many as they liked to each team. At the end of the fair Mr White took in the results and chose the top 3 teams from their overall profit and how highly the teachers had rated them. Each winning team received a certificate and a prize.

Personally, I really enjoyed the day. Not only did it mean not having to do school work, but it was also interesting for both creative and academic students. I liked the fact that we got to do things that we don’t ordinarily do in school, as well.

Overall, it was great fun and an enriching day.

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Christmas Politics Trip Card To Competition Westminster Hall Adam Mawardi

By Marya By Muzart It’s the run up to Christmas and the Art Department have been busy organising a Christmas card competition which was open to the whole school.

After numerous entries of outstanding quality, Mrs Hodge set about finding the winner. It was a tough decision to make, but the final three can be revealed.

In 3rd place was Bethany Cowper Smith and her computer generated angel. The design paid great attention to detail and was the only one of its kind out of all the entries! Well done, Bethany.

In 2nd place was Callie Edward’s snowflake screen-print. It was simple and elegant, and justified the phrase ‘less is more’.

Both Bethany and Callie will receive some chocolate and sweets – yum!

The 1st place prize goes to Tom Harris in form 7S and his card containing the various descriptive words of Christmas.

His winning design will be used for the School Christmas card.

Tom will also get some vouchers – just in time for some Christmas shopping!

The Art department would like to thank everyone for participating, and remember to keep your eyes peeled for future competitions.

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SportsPolitics ReportTrip From an To Westminster Olympic Hopeful Hall Adam Mawardi

By AbbieByWyver

Abbie Wyver of 9S is one of the best Rhythmic Gymnasts in the country and is already dreaming of the next Olympics. In this article she tells us more about her sport, her future ambitions, and the dedication required to succeed.

Rhythmic Gymnastics involves four different pieces of apparatus: hoop, ribbon, clubs & ball. Gymnasts can compete individually or as a group. You may have seen it at the 2012 Olympics. Rhythmic Gymnastics is a very difficult and demanding sport and involves long hours of training to reach the top. I started gymnastics at my club when I was six and now am in the clubs elite squad of 10 gymnasts that are performing at national level. I train 21 hours a week which can be demanding with school work.

Since my first competition in Bath, aged 7, where I came 1 st, I have qualified for the British Championships very year and finished 2nd twice and 3rd once for my age group, (although I have since found out that due to a mistake I should actually have finished 1st twice and been placed 2 nd once).

During my time competing I have been to competitions in Poland, Portugal, Greece, Gibralter, Czech Republic and Stoke!!! I must have shown potential because I was invited to the trials for the GB gymnastics team, aged 9 and I was lucky enough to be selected for the GB Start Squad. Unfortunately the GB rhythmic gymnastics committee ran out of money so we could no longer train as a squad.

This last month has been great for me and my team mates. We won the junior club team competition and I have been selected for the English gymnastics squad. We are training towards the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

I love my sport and want to compete in the next Olympics. It would just be amazing!

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Politics Trip Sports Round-Up Hall To Westminster

By AdamByMawardi Miss Poole Miss Poole provides an overview of some of the School’s sporting achievements since September.

The PE Department has had a busy start to the school sporting year, with representative teams competing in the District Leagues for football, netball and basketball.

The girls’ under 14 football team were unlucky to lose a very tight game 4-3 to Dover Girls Grammar in the first round of the Kent Cup. However, there were some exceptional performances and the team are ready and raring to go for the district league matches that starts up after Christmas. This term has also seen the development of a girls futsal club. The girls are enjoying this small sided indoor version of football, and we hope to be successful in both the under 12 and under 14 Kent School Games tournaments that are running at Canterbury High School this week.

Tuesdays have consistently seen over 30 pupils a week attending netball training. The squads from Years 7-11 have been training very hard and have shown great enthusiasm. The season started with excellent wins against Canterbury High: 9-2 to the Year 8’s and 9-8 to the Year 10’s, before we had two defeats for Year 9’s and 10’s against Herne Bay High. A mixed Year 9 and 10 team then lost to Chaucer 15-9, in a very high quality game. The term did end on a high however as a mixed Year 7 and 8 team did fantastically well to beat St Anselms 17-9. The teams are continuing to train hard in preparation for more fixtures next term, including the District Tournament in March.

Girls’ basketball continues to be popular with teams training on a Thursday night in anticipation for upcoming fixtures in the district league.

Abi Wyver has been selected for the England junior rhythmic gymnastics squad, and is also a reserve for the British team, which will be going to the Junior Youth Olympics in Australia in the New Year. Abi is the youngest in the age group, which suggests she has a very promising future in the sport.

Rock climbing has been introduced on the curriculum for the first time in GCSE PE. Both Year 10 and Year 11 GCSE groups are in the process of completing an 8 lesson rock climbing module. Pupils have learnt to manage the risks and safety rules surrounding climbing, use the equipment correctly, belay one of their peers climbing, and to climb using a number of techniques. The pupils have been very positive towards this opportunity and have really enjoyed having the opportunity to try out a new sport. Many students have progressed particularly impressively and will be submitting rock climbing as one of their four sports for their PE GCSE. On Monday 3 December the Year 7 girls futsal team travelled to Canterbury High School for the local qualifying round of the Kent School Games. The team faced tough opposition from the Abbey, Canterbury High, Archbishops and Herne Bay High, but were able to win 2 of the 4 games. The team were captained brilliantly by Ella Dickinson, and were unlucky to narrowly miss out on going through to the next round finishing 3rd out of 5. The team was Ella Dickinson, Megan Platts, Mia Webb, Katy Wooliscroft, Iszy Osmond, Vicky Walker and Leah Towers.

On Wednesday 5 December the under 14 team did one better and managed to qualify for the Kent School Games finals after winning the qualifying event. The team came through top of a tough group consisting of Westlands and Herne Bay High. In the semi-finals Barton Court had a tough encounter with Archbishops, which was finally won on penalties. The final was another close affair, this time against Abbey, but again the girls showed great resilience and determination to come out victors. This is an outstanding achievement that shows how far the girls football has come in the last couple of years.

The team were as follows; Bonny Mason (Captain), Lily Mason, Leah Rolls, Ellen King, Millie Hanson, Poppy Smith, Ellie Holder, Rebekkah Kennett, Shannon Keogh, and Mollie Wright.

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Politics Trip Charity To Westminster Round-UpHall

By Adam Mawardi

By Bethany Cowper-Smith

Bethany Cowper-Smith rounds up some of the many charity efforts that are at the heart of Barton Court Grammar School…..

This year presents a new opportunity for the School to try and beat the amount of money that was raised for charity last year. In the last academic year £5,000 was raised for five charities by the students. These charities were UNICEF, Kent Air Ambulance, Pilgrims Hospice, Macmillan Cancer Support, and the NSPCC, all of which are vital charities internationally and locally. Sadly UNICEF were unable to send a representative to collect the money at the assembly held for the charities but were able to send a video message saying what their plans were for the money.

The Kent Air Ambulance provides a helicopter service that can get to those who are seriously injured. They can get to any point in Kent within twenty minutes, no matter how blocked the roads are, helping to increase the chance of a person being saved. The money raised for them will help them to buy a helicopter that can run at night allowing for operations to be carried out 24/7.

The NSPCC strives to end child abuse nationally, providing amazing services such as the 24/7 helpline for children, Childline and identifying high risk areas so that abuse can be stopped and prevented. They are going to use the money to help fund Childline and answer as many calls as they can.

UNICEF is a charity that supports children all over the world, helping to aid them medically and financially, but also to help improve their rights and standard of living. The money raised by Barton Court Grammar School will allow UNICEF to supply over 2000 children all over the world with measles vaccinations.

Pilgrims Hospice supplies help for those with life limiting conditions and for their families and carers who support them every day; the money will be used for a new set of stairs in the patient gym to aid fitness.

Macmillan Cancer Support looks after those with cancer, but also their families and those who have been affected with cancer in the past. The money can be used to supports these families emotionally, financially and practically and make a difficult time so much easier.

This year we are going to support SNAP, a charity that supports children with special needs or disabilities and their parents; Amnesty International, a charity that helps to maintain human rights across the globe and fight for justice when they aren't being upheld; Doctors Without Borders, a charity trying to provide medical aid to over seventy countries “regardless of their race, religion, or political affiliation,” and the Kent Air Ambulance for another year.

Another upcoming event in 2015 is the “Inspire Worldwide” trip to Uganda, where students have the opportunity to go to Africa and help improve the quality of life for the people living there.

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Charity Every Little Helps

By Mr Hodgkins Big charity events are obviously very important, but 9S showed that simple events can also have an impact, and are surprisingly easy to organise.

Giving up lunchtime, the Form arranged a charity jumble sale and brought in items to sell in their form room. Old books, CD’s, computer games and clothing were sold and a total of £20 raised for charity. “It was simple to organise and publicise the event, and a lot of fun selling our unwanted things to other students”, said Harry Smith, pictured. It just goes to show that simple events can be effective. Well done 9S ! Pictured are: Back row: Ben Laing, Dominic Platts, Abbie Wyver, Kate Maclean, Front row: Harry Smith, George Steadman-Gay. Continuing the “Every Little Helps” theme, students in Year 8 participated in a sponsored silence, and a “three-legged” day to support Children in Need. All of this reinforces the important idea that charity Initiatives can be simple , easy to set up and also very effective. Well done to all those involved !

Rag Week News During the week of the 26-30 of November 2012 the School held the annual RAG week, in which many events were organised to raise money for the four school charities, which had been picked by the students. Because we introduced a new House system this year we decided it would be ideal to incorporate this into RAG week, in the hope of getting more students involved as well as giving it a more competitive edge. The week was structured so that on each day a house would put on their own event in competition with the other houses to raise the most money. The week’s events commenced like this: On Monday, Nightingale organised a “Guess how many sweets are in the cake” event raising £31. On Tuesday, Einstein held the “Splash the Teacher” event, raising £36.70. A Football Accuracy challenge was held by Wilberforce on the Wednesday, raising a whole £1. Thursday was Pankhurst’s day and they ran a range of events including a raffle, a jumble sale and a cake and pancake sale, raising a huge £143, winning the competition between the houses. RAG week was wrapped up with a non-uniform day and popcorn sale bringing a successful end to the events. A big thank you is needed to all of the House Teams and their helpers who organised the events for each day as well as a thank you to all of the teachers and students who showed their support throughout the week.

Mr Morgan This week at Barton Court has been an exciting one (as I’m sure you all already know) as it has been Rag Week (Raise and Give). The week has been the result of weeks of planning from the incredibly hard working Senior Prefect team who had been given the task of coming up with a wide selection of activities to encourage everyone to raise as much money as possible for the chosen charities.

On Monday we had “Guess how many Sweets are in the Cake”. This was an interesting idea from Nightingale House. Basically, the person who guessed how many sweets were in the delicious cake, which was made entirely out of sweets, won the cake.

The next day it was Einstein’s turn to try and win the House Cup. They held “Splash a Teacher” event out by the ICT block at school. The teachers that took part to help raise money were Mr Morgan, Mr Whatley, Miss Poole and the Head Boy. They bravely participated in the cold, and the water was even icier than they expected!

By the middle of the week it was Wilberforce’s turn. They held a charity “Football Accuracy” event which was where students were able to test their accuracy of shooting and other activities.

Lastly, on Thursday, Pankhurst had their turn to raise the most money. They came up with a lot of ideas and carried out a range of activities to help raise money for the chosen charities. One of the activities was a jumble sale which gave students a chance to get rid of their unwanted revision books, reading books and anything else they could find to be sold on to someone else. They also had a cake sale and a pancake sale which had a lot of interest. Finally, they distributed raffle tickets with prizes of chocolate, vouchers and a diablo.

Overall, the week has been very successful, with hundreds of pounds raised for the charities. I’m sure that they will all be incredibly grateful for all your hard work. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has been involved in RAG Week, whether you have helped in the events or have given some of your money, it will all make a positive difference. Thank you!

Christie Marsh

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Politics Trip Pancakes for Pankhurst To Westminster Hall

By Adam Mawardi

By Pierre Anderson On Thursday 29 of November, it was Pankhurst House’s attempt to try and raise more money for the RAG Week.

One of its best forms (the author is not biased of course), 12s, came up with two ingenious ideas: a cake sale and a pancake sale. With the assistance of their wonderful Form Tutor Mrs Parker, members of the form bought in cake (and some even cooked it themselves), and at break time the rush to purchase the sweet delights from the other students was unbelievable.

At lunch time, with the assistance of Louise Funnel who runs a school club called “Mosaic”, there was a pancake sale for Pankhurst. Here the sheer number of students who were craving the delicious fresh crepes was comparable to break time.

There was flipping, frying and flying of pancakes all over the Food Tech Room. So many people wanted to buy pancakes that there was no more mix left! Both of the events were very successful, and 12s made more money than any other form during RAG Week for the various school charities.

All of 12s would like to give a special THANK YOU to Mrs Parker, Louise Funnel, and all the students who supported our actions.

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Politics Trip Very Puzzling…

To Westminster Hall The Maths Department Challenge

By Adam Mawardi

The tree has 4 chains, each one contains 7 items. A few of them already have a number.

The exercise: number the empty items with numbers between 1 and 7 so that: Each chain contains the numbers 1…...7 exactly once.

All the horizontal and diagonal lines cannot contain the same number twice.

ALL CORRECT SOLUTIONS TO MRS MACRAE BY 11 JANUARY 2013 WILL RECEIVE A BCGS POINT AND WILL ENTER A DRAW FOR AN EDIBLE PRIZE

23 39

Politics Trip Drama Trip to the To Westminster Hall Globe Theatre & West End Show

By Adam Mawardi

Barton Court Students enjoyed an opportunity to tour The Globe Theatre in November. After being given a guided tour of the amazing building itself, which accurately recreates the theatre as it was in Shakespeare’s time, students then explored the Globe museum and were given a demonstration of sword fighting by professional actors. Students were able to try on items of clothing and to play with some of the stage props (as shown above). Overall The Globe was an incredible experience and really brought to life what the theatre was like in the sixteenth century. The students then walked to Covent Garden for lunch and then later saw a performance of “The Woman in Black”. (see next page)

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Politics A ReviewTrip of Westminster Hall ‘TheToWoman in Black’

By Adam Mawardi

By Jennifer Richards On Thursday 15 November, the GCSE and Sixth Form Drama students were lucky enough to visit the Fortune Theatre in London to see a performance of the critically acclaimed ‘The Woman in Black’, which is Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Sara Hill’s best selling novel.

The play premiered in 1987 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, under the name ‘A Christmas Ghost Story’. Then, in January 1989, the play opened in the West End at the Lyric Hammersmith, after which in February 1989, it moved to the Strand Theatre. Finally, ‘The Woman in Black’ moved to the Fortune Theatre in August 1989, where it is still performed today. This makes ‘The Woman in Black’ the second longest running play in London; and after watching the performance, I can see why it has remained so popular.

‘The Woman in Black’ tells the tale of ghosts and revenge. The play starts in a Victorian theatre, with the elder Arthur Kipps reading from a manuscript of his story. A young actor tells him of his poor line delivery, leading them to decide to perform the story, with the actor playing a younger Kipps, and Kipps playing all the other characters he meets, as well as narrating the play. Kipps learns about the death of an elderly, reclusive woman named Mrs Drablow, so he travels up to Crythin Gifford to sort through her private papers in her house (Eel Marsh House). But when he arrives, he learns of the mysterious past of Eel Marsh House, and the sinister ghost of the Woman in Black.

At first, I was worried that having a play within a play might detract from the atmosphere; however, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It created a dark, deep storyline that ran alongside a contrasting, slightly comic plot that provided light-relief for the audience. But when these two storylines merged, there was an unexpected, yet clever twist that left the audience gasping for breath.

This performance was the perfect example that sometimes simplicity is best. ‘The Woman in Black’ was performed in an intimate theatre that had minimal staging, occasional use of recorded sound, and just two actors, from which a chilling atmosphere was created.

Having little staging meant that the play relied heavily on the actors quality of performance, but they did not disappoint. They convinced the audience that a wicker basket was a pony and trap, and had people in tears when Arthur’s dog seemed in danger; yet this dog was not on stage, but a mere figment of our imagination, created by the actors. I’ve never seen an audience so drawn to a scene, with such worry etched on their faces, for a character that was not even present on the stage!

Though this simplistic style may not be everyone’s idea of perfect theatre, I loved the suspension of disbelief, and seeing how the characterisation would change when someone switched from being one character to another. I was hanging on their every word.

However, I shouldn’t really say there were only 2 actors, there was a third, and though this actor had no lines, she was perhaps the most vital character: The Woman in Black. Before I went into the theatre, I thought that I wouldn’t possibly be scared, as by being a theatre performance, the woman in black wouldn’t seem so threatening. But the all white-face make-up, the slow, threatening walk, and the ability to appear as if from nowhere, made the Woman in Black completely terrifying. For someone who doesn’t get scared easily, I found myself screaming at doors opening and unlit corners. Many people who went to see it slept with the lights on that night.

If the wonderful staging and acting weren’t good enough reasons to see ‘The Woman in Black’ the sheer terror of the performance makes it a brilliant play, especially to see in the winter. It’s gothic style, mixed with a comic edge, made it a much better play than I ever could have anticipated. I strongly recommend you go and watch it, but be careful, the Woman in Black can show up anywhere, and she has no mercy.

23 39 41

Politics Trip Council Kent Youth County To Westminster Election Success Hall

By Mr Hayes and Carla McIntyre

By Adam Mawardi

Carla McIntyre was elected as a member of Kent Youth County Council on Wednesday 7 November 2012, the same day as Barak Obama was re-elected as President of the USA. Is that an omen for the future?

To be elected, the Year 9 student had to produce a manifesto including three possible future campaigns. She focused on issues affecting many young people around Kent: maintaining a healthy lifestyle; recognising students’ own abilities and making the most of the internet safely.

On the 18 November she attended her first Kent Youth County Council meeting in Maidstone and met with other young people from all around Kent.

Carla said after the meeting “I hope that in some small way my role will have improved the lives of young people in Kent. My promise was to ensure that everybody’s voice would be heard, so that is what I will try to do.”

Mr Hayes I was elected as a member of Kent Youth County Council on Wednesday 7 November 2012, the same day as Barak Obama was reelected as President of the USA (and a week before a few people voted for a Kent Police Commissioner!).

Following a career in politics isn’t what I’ve ever dreamt about, but now I’ve begun my journey, who knows what could happen? The self-motivation to even consider standing as a candidate in any role isn’t always easy, but with the encouragement and support of my friends and family, I knew that if I took each task step by step, I would achieve everything within my power.

Once I had made my decision I then had to produce a manifesto including three possible future campaigns. All of this was on top of my school work and did become challenging at times. I focused on issues that I knew were affecting many young people around Kent: maintaining a healthy lifestyle; recognising our own abilities; making the most of the internet safely. I also had to campaign in person, mainly using my network of friends from different parts of my life to persuade people to vote for me.

After the results were announced, so many people congratulated me that I felt a huge sense of achievement. To see people who didn’t even know me bothering to vote made every moment I dedicated worth it. The hard work it took to reach where I am now was a small price to pay for the exciting year ahead and the possible opportunities in the future. Adults say it’s the taking part that counts but it does feel good to win!

On the 18 November I attended my first Kent Youth County Council meeting and found out what I had become a part of. Luckily I soon met the other representatives from our Canterbury district. I felt slightly thrown in at the deep end as we discussed the campaigns that had already been chosen for the coming year, but I soon started to understand how the Council works and that this was in part a normal working meeting. As a new member I attended an induction presentation which, as well as giving me all relevant information, gave me a chance to talk about what I wanted to achieve during the year.

Although I naturally didn’t have much to contribute that day, in one year’s time I hope that in some small way my role will have improved the lives of young people in Kent. My promise was to ensure that everybody’s voice would be heard, so that is what I will try to do.

Carla McIntyre

40 42

Politics Trip Gifted & Talented: To Westminster Hall A Journey Through the Galaxy

By Adam

By Mawardi Mr Gauthier

We were delighted to welcome Dr Isenberg who came to Barton Court to speak to our Gifted and Talented students in Years 7 to 13. During this very popular lecture, our students had the opportunity to extend their knowledge of Physics and apply it to the galaxy though a variety of demonstrations. It was a real pleasure to see so many students show a keen interest in the presentation. Indeed, approximately one hundred students have attended both presentations and Dr Isenberg even commented on the impressive knowledge our students had in physics.

At the end of Dr Isenberg’s visit, Callum Gray in Year 11 said that he “found Doctor Isenberg’s talk to be very interesting and insightful. He used great practical demonstrations to aid his explanations which were helpful and fun to watch, in particular, the smoke rings and the pendulums. I hope to attend more educational talks by him in the future.”

Pictured above is Dr Isenberg with Riccardo Browne, Karl Thyssen, Sam Mills, Christopher Wardell, Andy Beaumont, James Hirst-Beecham, Aaron White and Roberto Browne. (Year 12) Pictured below is Dr Isenberg with Josephine Isaacs, Charlotte Swain, Jasmine Quinney and Callum Gray. (Year 11)

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Politics Trip Wildlife Barton Court To at Westminster Hall

By Adam Mawardi

By Liberty Brooker Liberty Brooker tells us more about the amazing wildlife right on our doorstep…

Barton Court is a good school for things like wildlife and nature. For a start, we have the school pond. This is home to a wide range of creatures. For instance there are the moorhens: small, black birds with red and yellow beaks. The pond also has the ducks. There’s no need for a description of these as everyone knows what they look like! The pond also has great crested newts; they are called this because the male ones have a crest (a jagged ridge that makes them look a bit like a dinosaur) on their back. The pond also has microscopic creatures; students get to study these creatures when they do pond dipping. Around the school we have lots of trees with leaves that are turning brown, red and orange now that it’s the autumn. One of our trees is the rare Ginkgo tree, a kind of tree that dinosaurs would have recognized. We also have a nature garden round the back of the car park (next to the library). Some people think this is just a patch of grass that nobody can be bothered to mow but the whole point of it is that the garden is left completely alone. The garden has lots of weeds and grass that make good homes for some creatures. The School has been trying to make more habitats for animals to live in around the School. We have bird boxes and log piles for bugs. Mrs Hayles says “I try to make sure we have a wide variety of habitats and try to keep things as untouched as possible”.

Overall, Barton Court is an amazing habitat and we all need to treasure it !

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Politics Trip Know Your Teacher!

ToMr Westminster Hodgkins Hall

By Adam Mawardi

So, Mr Hodgkins, you collect vinyl records ?

Indeed, albums mainly.

How many albums do you possess ?

Only a few hundred now. I used to have a couple of thousand, but the attic floor started to sag!

What's the first single you ever bought?

“Rat Trap” by the Boomtown Rats. I don't suppose you've heard of them ?

Er, no Well, my first album was a real classic: “Parallel Lines” by Blondie.......................Blondie? Debbie Harry? “Atomic”?

Er, not really..........

I despair for the youth. Anyway, I've always been a fan of vinyl - so much better than cd or MP3.

Why so?

The sound is warmer and fuller, plus the whole ritual of taking the record out of the sleeve and putting it on the turntable. It takes effort. Concentration. You have to make time to listen. These days music is often consumed in short bursts, in a hurry, on the move. With vinyl you tend to listen properly. Besides, MP3 compresses the sound and it can seem very tinny. You can see I'm a bit old fashioned in this respect.

So you used to buy and sell records?

Yes, as a hobby, I used to scour charity shops and boot fairs and then sell on at Record Fairs Any great bargains?

I've bought a few albums for 50 pence and sold for £20, but these days the charity shops are wise, and tend to over price their stock. They'll even ask £5 for a Cliff Richard album.............

Cliff Richard..............?

Never mind.................anyway, once I was given a bunch of old records that a mate had in his attic. Amongst them I found a Beatles Acetate that I sold for £800.

Did you split the profit?

Of course. 50/50, before you ask! Mind you, I found out the dealer had sold it on to a buyer in Japan for £4000, but that's life. The thing with vinyl is that many albums are really works of art with great artwork and inserts. You can't substitute physical music. The odd scratch and hiss just gives character, like a dent in furniture........

So, you're a bit of a music obsessive?

I guess so. I was a freelance music writer in the 90's and I've always enjoyed reading and writing about music. CD's are handy, but you can't beat the smell and feel of vinyl records, folding out the sleeves, reading the lyrics, hearing the sound of the needle hitting the groove................vinyl will never die !

Thank you Mr Hodgkins for sharing your hobby with us today.

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Politics Trip Creative To Writing Westminster Competition Hall

By Adam Mawardi

Competition was fierce in the English Creative Writing competition. In the end it was a poem from Sixth Form student Jessica Arnold-Harris that caught the eye of the judges…

I Used to Bleed Poetry by Jessica Arnold-Harris There was a time Now some time back When I’d dab at the wound ‘Til the page turned black.

When any scrap would do To stem the flow Of liquid inks Dark shine, like crow

I’d bleed from veins And vainly weep Who knew that words could cut so deep.

But now the tide is treacle slow And lacklustre No shine, like crow.

Yet still I weep a mournful tone When clawing these blood drops from stone.

The sun is dim, the stars are out And if that’s not enough, I doubt

I’ll ever get it back so much It stains me at the lightest touch.

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Politics Trip Great Opening Lines…

To Westminster Hall The Next English Competition

By Adam Mawardi

Do you know where these famous opening lines of literature come from? (answers are at the bottom of the page)

1 “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”

2 “It was a bright, clear day in April, and the clocks were just striking thirteen.”

3 “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.”

4 “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.”

5 “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

Well, now’s your chance to create a great opening line in the next exciting English competition.

All you have to do is write the opening line of your novel—maximum 100 words—and hand it in to your English teacher, together with your name and the proposed title of your novel.

Deadline is the end of January. Winners will be announced before half term.

There will be prizes for the three best entrants.

5 J D Salinger—The Catcher in the Rye 4 F Scott Fitzgerald—The Great Gatsby 3 L P Hartley—The Go-Between 2 George Orwell—1984 1 Charles Dickens—A Tale of Two Cities ANSWERS

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Politics Trip Chocolate Workshop To Westminster Hall

By Adam ByMawardi Mrs Parker

We thought we would end the magazine with a sweet and tasty article about chocolate...

Students of Food Technology were invited to attend a Chocolate Workshop led by Katrina Taylor of Taylor’s of Whitstable. Katrina has been hand-making her award winning chocolate for many years, supplying amongst others The Goods Shed in Canterbury with a range of irresistible products. On Wednesday 5 December she decided to share a few of her secrets with 12 lucky students, each of whom took home a presentation box of their own hand-made truffles, a beautiful layered lemon chocolate dessert and a batch of ganache, all ready to make yet more chocolates when they got home. The students were transfixed throughout the workshop and left with not only a selection of organic chocolate treats, but also a passion to learn more about the delicate processes involved in the craft of the chocolatier. Thanks go out to Katrina Taylor for her time and generosity, from all of the students and teachers involved.

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Politics Trip Forthcoming Events at To Westminster Hall Barton Court Grammar School

By Adam Mawardi

2013 9 January — Year 7 Parents’ Evening 4 February — Enrichment Day 4 7 February — Year 10 Parents’ Evening 28 February — Year 8 Parents’ Evening 8 March — Year 8 Options Evening 11 March — Year 9 Parents’ Evening 13 March — Enrichment Day 5 26/27/28 March — Bugsy Malone, The School Musical 10 May — Enrichment Day 6 4 June — New Year 7 Welcome Evening 17 and 26 June — Year 6 Interviews 1-5 July — Sixth Form Induction 5 July — Enrichment Day 7 8 July—Sports Day 11 July —Summer Concert 15-19 July — Enrichment Week

Barton Court Grammar School An Academy of Excellence Longport, Canterbury Kent CT1 1PH Tel: 01227 464600 Fax: 01227 781399 Email: office@bartoncourt.org www.bartoncourt.org