The Waconian 2014

the waconian

2014

Photographer’s Credits: Jason Lock - Pages 44, 60-61, 73, 76-77.

Cover artwork: Daniel Keighobadi, Year 11

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What is a Waconian?

‘The door of Scrooge's counting house was open that he might keep his eye upon his clerk, who in a dismal little cell, a sort of tank, was copying letters. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk's fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal.’

When most of us think of Victorian clerks, this image, created by Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol, springs to mind. It was these men, working in their counting houses or warehouses, who, in 1854, came upon the scheme to create a school for their children should misfortune befall them. The school was to become Manchester Warehousemen and Clerks’ Orphan Schools known today as Cheadle Hulme School, and we, the students, get to experience a slice of that history when we are called Waconians.

By Melanie Richardson, Chair of the Old Waconians' Association

2014 From the Editor...

“ Snowflakes fascinate me........Millions of them falling gently to the ground.......

And they say that no two of them are alike! Each one completely different from all the others…….” Charles M. Schulz “ Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play.

Every individual makes a difference.” Jane Goodall My second year as Editor of The Waconian has been as fascinating as the first, with the added challenge of having to look as though I know what I am doing now.

good humour. They organized the younger students to write for me, pestered my colleagues when necessary and wrote fine articles themselves.

In this year’s edition I have tried to do something a little different from last year by approaching each section from a slightly new angle. I wanted especially to include work by a more diverse group of students and members of the CHS community; I am delighted to have some fine, interesting writing from a number of students who, when I first asked them to contribute, looked amazed and in some cases quite horrified, thinking they could not do it. So, for example, you will find in Goodwill a lot more on individual charities supported by students and staff. In Body there are articles on new sporting activities, and in Wisdom and Expression reviews of books and plays which students particularly enjoyed and asked to write about. I wanted also to include the subjects that did not get a mention last year; I hope that everybody feels that they have had suitable coverage.

All the members of the teams have done me proud, but special mention must go to Lauren Darwent, Adam Cunnane, James Turnbull and Jess Hull for their outstanding contribution; these four have been prolific in their production of high quality articles on a wide range of topics and have come up with some marvellous ideas for things to include. They were reliable in their attendance at meetings and always kept me up-to-date with how things were going.

I am particularly grateful to Jess for her research into Cheadle Hulme School during the First World War and for finding the information for the 1914 War page and the wonderful IF? poem from 1923. I’m only sorry there wasn’t room to put in all the treasures she found; next year, perhaps.

I learnt last year that I will always end up with more than I need, and again after much deliberating I have had to decide which pieces to leave out; I offer sincere apologies to those who wrote for me and whose excellent work I have not been able to squeeze into the magazine this time.

I am grateful again to the now departing Upper Sixth students who have worked with me for two years in the Junior School and helped their Year 5 charges to come up with good ideas and to put them on paper so clearly. They have been faultless in their attendance at meetings and patient with the children, and I wish them every happiness and success as they start their courses at university in the autumn.

Many thanks to my editorial teams, Senior and Junior, who received my badgering emails, endless lists of overdue pieces and many instructions with patience and

Tim Hudson from the PR Department has been tremendously helpful as always and responded to my last-minute requests with some fabulous photographs from a huge

The Waconian 2014 is dedicated to Harry Dubois.

range of school events. I am grateful also to Emily de Vere in the Art Department who provided me with some wonderful artwork this year, all named and organized for me, and had some splendid ideas for articles.

I am sorry I could include only a small number of them.

I hope that you will enjoy reading through this celebration of 2014 at Cheadle Hulme School, with its selection of events and the achievements of our students; this has been a year marked by great sadness but also by many successes to be proud of and wonderful moments to remember.

Judith Shand, Editor

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IF? EDGAR R. WEST Senior V

Written in 1923 by a student at Cheadle Hulme School If you get out of bed just as the bell goes, And never mislay trousers, shirt or studs, And scamper nimbly off upon your tip-toes, And use with zeal, cold water, soap, and suds, If you’re first down upon the drill parade, son, With boots ashining, hair all spick and span, And you spring smartest at the word “attention!”

And give your heels the click none other can.

If you will “play the game” while playing “footer”, And “play the game” again while at lacrosse, And ne’er allow your lips to even mutter, When nine times out of ten you lose the toss.

If you will always look upon the bright side, And never swell the ranks of “grumble-grunts,” E’en though at times the meat resembles horse hide, It’s up to you to keep out of the “dumps.”

If you will work with all your might all morning, And don’t start packing up your books too soon, And don’t give way to, say, a little yawning, About three-twenty in the afternoon.

If you will struggle hard in “preparation,” With Euclid’s Theorems and the Golden Rule, And determine Yokohama’s situation, And do, in fact, the things you should at school.

If you can laugh when it is time for laughing, And yet be sober when that time is past, If you will see to it you’re ne’er caught napping, And try to do your duty to the last.

If you will keep your laurels all unfaded, And do for everyone the best you can, If you will fight your own life’s fight unaided, You’ll be, my son, a great “Waconian.”

(With apologies to Rudyard Kipling)

Edgar Reginald West Jessica Hull, Lower Sixth You could be forgiven for thinking, at first glance, that this wonderful poem was written by a current student – that the events it recalls and the sentiment it expresses reflect life at CHS today.

Yet, whilst the parallels are undeniable, this poem was, in fact, written in 1923, almost a century ago, by a student then in the Sixth Form – just as I am myself. To me, this is incredible: the legacy, created and nurtured by students such as Edgar, survives even today.

Of course, the school itself has changed and evolved over time; yet, luckily, we are still able to explore the lives of our Old Waconians, such as Edgar, in great depth.

With its leading principle in loco parentis

(in the place of parents) the school often received children who had lost either one or both parents; records were then kept, in great binding volumes, of the external circumstances of these children – and it was into these volumes that I delved, with the help and wisdom of our librarian Mrs Moore, in order to better understand the story of our poet – Edgar Reginald West.

It was Edgar’s father who sadly died in December 1919, the year before Edgar’s entry to the school at age 11 in May 1920; we know from the records that his father worked for the Vulcan Boiler & General Insurance Company for 19 years, and we can imagine that it was his salary that maintained the West household. Whilst his mother, Maud, lived at 74 Queen’s Road, Urmston, Edgar was nominated for a position at the school not only by her, but also by two men from Bodmin, Cornwall: Benjamin Hawker and Thomas

Henry Marshall. There is little way of knowing Edgar’s relation to these two men; yet, nonetheless, they gave their names as assurance of his good behaviour and diligence, so that he might be permitted to enter the school. We know, too, that Edgar had a brother and a sister, and that his sister, Marjorie, went to the school also – although three years younger than her brother at the time.

Whilst these details give Edgar context and circumstance, they alone do not reveal his personality; and this is why his poem is so special. Through this poem, we can hear his voice, despite the passage of ninety years, as clearly as if he had spoken. We can connect with the past - our own history - and maintain the legacy of those before us.

Who knows, in 2114, it may be our lives that fill these pages.

2014

Meet the

Editorial Teams

Junior Team Below, left to right:

Kathryn Reece, Sarah Shand, Shaily Mehta, Manali Shah, Harry Decker & Billy Cash.

Year 5 Team Row 1: Elliott Worthington, Sulaiman Malik, Oscar Daniels-Sims, Sam Murphy & Rehaan Khalid Row 2: Bella Law, Lucy Roberts, Grace Haughton & Katrin Haraldsdottir

From the Junior School Editor My first editorial for the Junior section of The Waconian begins with an apology.

It’s an obvious one really and directed at the children who attend CHS Junior School.

I’m sorry but there simply aren’t enough pages in this publication to do justice to your wealth of creativity, expertise and achievements.

When I was asked to work with a group of Year 5 volunteers to help compile some articles for The Waconian, I readily agreed, thinking that it didn’t sound difficult.

However, once our editorial meetings commenced and the children began to talk animatedly about the school year, listing what had already happened and what was being planned, it began to dawn on me that I had grossly underestimated the task in hand. The list of activities and achievements was endless. How were we going to do justice to it all? I was suddenly very humbled and not for the first time somewhat in awe of these incredibly skilful, creative and yet modest CHS pupils.

I soon realised that we would never be able to portray every aspect of the busy Junior School world; life here moves at such an incredible pace. So I’m really sorry if some of your favourite events don’t appear but I know that this discerning selection of articles and pictures will convey and celebrate the variety of talent, skill and energy that pervades this wonderful school. And for that I certainly don’t apologise.

Yvonne Lyng, Junior School Editor

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Senior Wisdom Team Below, left to right:

Adam Cunnane, Yasmin Lee & James Turnbull

Senior Goodwill Team

Above, left to right:

Lauren Darwent, Molly Pippin g & Claudia Georghiou

Senior Body Team

Below, left to right:

Eleanor Hopkins, Joe Murphy , Ana Redfern-Ball & Georgie Lea

Senior Adventure Team Above, left to right:

Maya Siriwardena, Liz Scott, & Jess Hull

Senior Expression Team

Far Left: Coral Swindells

Left: Haroon Malik

Right: Natasha Walker

2014

Charles Frederick ‘Eric’ Rippon Name

Charles Frederick Rippon

Born

September 4th 1900

Father F red Rippon, Shipping Clerk, 5 years with Messrs Ryland & Sons Ltd, in London and Manchester Mother

Christina Katherine Rippon

Family

Two sons aged 7 and 4 years (Charles is the one aged 7) and one daughter aged 9 years

Known as ‘Eric’.

Eric was born in Walthamstow, Essex, and started at the School as a Foundationer pupil in September 1908 after the death of both his parents. His family was not subscribed to the Foundationer scheme, but he was one of the ‘Special Free Presentations’ made by the executors of the will of Mrs Rylands.

He was 18 in September 1918, and joined the Navy on 2nd November 1918. Luckily for him the Armistice was signed nine days later, but he wasn’t demobilised until February 1919.

Here is a short essay written by Eric towards the beginning of the First World War to express his views on war.

War Charles Frederick ‘Eric’ Rippon, March 16th 1915 (?)

Did ever any good come out of war? A nation may be victorious but still it is not satisfied; it has to put up with many grievances. The fields are strewn with the dead. The earth is barren and broken up by shells. What might have been smiling with the rich ears of corn is now covered with soldiers’ corpses. All day long the thunder of cannon can be heard as each man tries to take the lives of the enemy. They have no quarrel with each other, but they fight for what they believe is right.

With war comes sorrow to many hearts who lose their sons or brothers in battle. Much money is wasted on feeding the armies and providing them with arms. Money which might well have been spent on educating the poor of the nation.

Yet although all these hardships come with war, people have not learnt to avoid war.

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Two modern-day versions of Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est War Bel Wardle, Year 9 I look around and see scared, tired and sad faces, Our feet drag through the mud and it splashes over us.

My heartbeat quickens as I turn away from the battlefield, I walk faster, every second knowing that I could be shot.

We walk along, but not straight, we look like drunken men; Every so often we hear a painful cry, as one man trips, In front of me I see a trail of blood.

Gas shells start to fall like bullets.

Gas. Gas. Come on, get those gas masks on NOW! Panic overpowers you and your head starts to bang and ache, There is nothing you can do but watch men around you crumble to the floor, choking, Men are shouting and breaking down in tears.

I feel like I have become blind, It surrounds me like a mist, men disappear.

My Conrad runs towards me coughing and spluttering, I can’t do anything; all I can do is stay with him till the end.

In front of me in a wagon lies my Conrad.

He is dying and rolling over in pain.

Imagine how you would feel, seeing someone die, There are no words to describe it.

He screams and blood and mucus rise up from his lungs.

Would you like to listen to such sounds?

The wagon makes him roll over and cough up even more vile things, The end is near for him.

After seeing this, would you say that it is glorious to die for your country in war?

Why would you want to experience these terrors?

No person should be told that it is right to fight in a war.

It is just not fair.

Death of a Dear Friend Eleanor Robinson, Year 9 We were all shattered and unable to stand straight.

Everyone was ill and violently coughing.

We tried to get away from the frontline for safety, but it was like the bombshells and bullets wouldn’t let us.

It was so painful to walk with no boots on the battle grounds.

My feet were wounded and I couldn’t quite see ahead.

We were shattered. Every one of us.

All I could hear was the screaming of the innocent lives being taken from behind me, along with the bombshells which shattered into a million pieces.

‘Quick! Run! There’s poisonous gas around here!’

It was awful. Most of us got our gas masks on in time, except for one.

He screamed and cried as he fell to his knees. It was too late for him.

The gas was thicker now and I lost all sight of my friends.

It was green and murky, and felt like death was surrounding us.

I gained sight of one of my closest friends stumbling towards me, with gas in his lungs. We both knew he was going to die, and the worst part was I couldn’t help him.

I slowly walked behind my friend’s wagon. I heard him yell in agony, and it seemed as if this was as painful for me as it was for him. I saw him grab his neck with one hand and hold his chest with the other.

If you can imagine for a second how I felt trailing behind the wagon of one of my closest friends, listening to him suffer the pain of death, if you could ever imagine what it’s like to hear your friend choking on the blood being forced out of his mouth because of the uneven ground, knowing he’s going to die, you’ll never again be able to talk with him, laugh with him, or see him again, you’re just waiting for him to die, I can tell you now that never again in your whole life will you explain that dying for your country is a glorious thing to do.

One last groan from my friend. Silence. He’d gone.

2014

10-11

“ Adventure is not outside man; it is within.”

George Eliot

2014 Saturday 19th - Sunday 20th October After two flights averaging eight hours, a short stop in Dubai airport, and all the films, food and other perks that accompany international air travel, we finally arrived at Shanghai International Airport.

We were met by our first tour guide, Chow, who escorted us to the waiting coach. As we travelled to our hotel, I was shocked by the sheer number of high-rise apartment blocks which cluttered everywhere, from the airport to the centre, and housed almost 24 million people. As we drove, Chow gave us valuable information about the area, such as the divide between the richer West and the poorer East, and the Shanghai maglev - magnetic levitation - train.

We soon arrived at the hotel, where we unpacked in our new rooms, and then went out to a local restaurant. We all battled with chopsticks for a while, before the owners took pity on us and gave us knives and forks to eat with. Not long after our meal, the jet lag kicked in, and we headed back to our rooms for some well needed rest.

Monday 21st October We had an early start, with a wakeup call at 6:45, before heading for some breakfast which featured food from a Full English to dumplings and Miso soup. Our first stop was the Jin Mao Tower, where we took an alarmingly fast lift to the 88th floor to experience the incredible views of Shanghai. We then went to the Shanghai Futures Exchange (China’s equivalent to FTSE or Wall Street) to see its trading floor, then straight on to our next stop, a silk factory, where we could follow the process of making this fabric for traditional Chinese clothing.

After a quick lunch, we visited Bao Steel factory, where we watched the production line of the steel, before driving back into Shanghai centre, visiting the main shopping streets and having a delicious dinner. After our meal we visited The Bund again, which was beautiful at night with its impressive lights and projections, before enjoying an evening walk back to our hotel.

Business and Economics Trip to

CHINA Emily Burke, Upper Sixth

12-13 Tuesday 22nd October We woke to another lovely sunny morning in Shanghai and watched the awakening of this megacity on the way to our first stop - the Shanghai Museum, which stretches over four floors and contained a mixture of paintings, pottery and many people excited by the presence of a large group of Westerners!

In the afternoon, when the teachers dropped us off at an intimidating building and announced we were going to practise our bartering skills with the market owners, I think most of us - jet lagged and apprehensive - would have preferred to go back to the hotel. Two hours later, however, the teachers had to drag us out of the markets, all of us dripping with our new fake designer bags, belts, purses and even a suitcase! There was also a new-found sense of achievement, both for us (pleased we had managed to quarter the asking price) and for the shop owners (who knew we had still extortionately overpaid).

After our dinner, we first visited the glittering fairytale Shanghai with traditional pagoda style roofs and fairy lights, but with a disappointing lack of natives, and an overpowering number of Western shops. Later, we saw some of the real Shanghai, when we walked together down the smaller alleys, away from the main roads.

Wednesday 23rd October We had an internal Chinese flight lasting about two and a half hours to get to our next location, Guilin. Despite having a population of 4.76 million, Guilin seemed tiny compared to Shanghai, but with amazing landscapes full of scraggly karst peaks, and a muggy atmosphere.

We went for lunch, before continuing straightaway with our itinerary by visiting some of the nearby caves. Unlike many European caves, where extreme measures are taken to preserve the cave and keep it looking as natural as possible, this cave featured perfectly carved staircases and handrails to create an easy walk throughout, and there were colourful lights everywhere highlighting the impressive collection of stalagmites and stalactites protruding from all walls.

Thursday 24th October This morning we had a long coach journey to Yongsheng, where we had a fifty minute walk up a steep set of stairs, so that we could see the lives of rural Chinese people. We were introduced to some women from an indigenous tribe, who are only allowed to cut their hair when they are eighteen (they have to keep it wrapped up under cover, as if a boy sees their hair he has to marry them).

On reaching the top, we had incredible views out over all the paddy fields and the mountains, where we took hundreds of photos. The Chinese people took equally as many of us, since not many tourists travel to these areas.

Friday 25th October We started the day with a four hour cruise down the Li River, with amazing views and a taster of the local speciality, snake wine - an incredibly strong drink which has a snake in the bottle! On arriving in Longsheng, we visited a local primary school, and, despite an initial communication barrier, we managed to communicate with the children by recounting the alphabet and numbers. We also brought toys for the children, and spent an hour playing football and blowing bubbles with them. In the late afternoon we went to learn the art of Chinese cuisine in an outdoor cooking lesson.

Although sanitation was not the best, with flies covering the food, we managed to make dumplings and a stir-fry, which we ate for dinner.

Saturday 26th October This morning we had a Tai Chi lesson in a park near the hotel - a series of movements used for relaxation and self-defence. We then rented out some bikes (with no gears or bells and rather hesitant brakes) and set off into the picturesque countryside.

We went back into Yangshuo for lunch, where to our delight we had our first bite of Western food (and knives and forks) for a week. But we were plunged back into the local customs not long after, with a bowl of ants and sugar that made a particularly bitter dinner.

We then parted from Henri, our faithful tour guide for the past four days, and boarded the overnight train for Guangzhou.

2014 Sunday 27th October A little later than expected, we arrived and went straight for lunch, before driving to Guangzhou Safari Park. We were transported around in a little train and then had some free time to explore; we saw lots of pandas, koalas, white tigers and the more expected animals like giraffes and elephants. We then went for dinner before having some time to sightsee. A major difference in Guangzhou compared with our previous stops was that there is a law banning mopeds. It seemed strange not to have thousands whizzing round us on all sides of the roads. Despite having a population greater than London, Guangzhou seemed quiet, so we made the most of this and explored the shopping streets before going back to the hotel.

Monday 28th October As we hadn’t done everything on our itinerary the previous day, Monday was very busy as we had to catch up! Our first stop was what looked like a traditional temple from the outside, but was actually a huge theatre. Then we went to Shamian Island; a French and English concession in the 19th century. After lunch we were given some time to shop, and we found more markets where we could barter. We noticed an interesting marketing technique the shop owners used, just standing in front of their shop clapping to get people’s attention. We drove to a brewery and beer museum, then the financial district to look at the amazing buildings, before having dinner and going back to the hotel.

Tuesday 29th October On Tuesday morning we took a two hour train to Hong Kong, after which we had to go through immigration again. As this part of the trip had been extended, we didn’t have a tour guide, so we took the underground to Kowloon, where we were staying. We dropped our bags off at the hotel and were given some time to find somewhere to have lunch. With our new-found freedom we decided to have a Western meal, and were pleasantly surprised by how cheap it was.

After lunch, we all met up and walked over to Victoria Bay, where we took a boat across to Hong Kong Island. It was a beautiful sunny day, giving us amazing views of the island as we crossed over.

Hong Kong is an extremely hilly place with the longest escalator in the world, as there are escalators outdoors to help people around the city. When evening approached we queued for a long time to get a tram up an incredibly steep track to the Peak.

The Peak is at the top of the island, with a big shopping mall and lots of restaurants all with amazing views. It was just turning dark when we arrived, so we could look out over the glistening city – a breath-taking sight.

Wednesday 30th October Wednesday was another beautiful day in Hong Kong, and we started it with a trip to a big bank in a huge office, looking out over Victoria Bay. We met an old Waconian, James Gibson, who took us up to his office on the 54th floor with a huge panoramic view looking out over Victoria. He told us about his life and how he had got his job in Hong Kong, and also we were spoken to by a Chinese economist at UBS, Ning Zhang, who gave us some impressive facts about the Chinese and Hong Kong economy. We had lunch at the office, then took the ferry back to Victoria Bay, taking a look at the less touristy areas, before heading for dinner. After that we took the underground back to the hotel where we checked out and travelled to the airport. Everyone was incredibly sad to leave, although there were aspects of our normal lives we were looking forward to returning to, such as proper toilets and being able to eat without using an entire bottle of hand sanitizer a day.

The return journey was similar to the outward one, two long flights with a stop at Dubai airport inbetween, but now with a sense of satisfaction more than excitement. The trip was an invaluable experience for the Lower and Upper Sixth Business and Economics students, both in our studies and in developing a greater understanding of the outside world. I will never forget the things I learnt there, as well as the friends I made.

14-15

DON’ T GET ME START ED ON...

Amy Dunning, Year 9 Don’t get me started on things that are incorrect or just plain stupid on signs and packaging. I mean, yes, I don’t mind if you occasionally use the wrong grammar or spelling in your everyday life, but honestly, these are things that are There.

For. The. Public. To. See. And seriously, do you want your prospective customers to see nothing but punctuation/ grammar/ spelling mistakes? No? I thought not.

Take the example of an Indian takeaway in Poynton, near to where I live. The establishment is named ‘Chilli Mangoes’.

Fine. Except, it’s not. The sign outside quite clearly states, ‘Chilli Mango’s’ Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but in all my 13 years of life on this beautiful planet, I have never once met a person named Chilli Mango who may own this restaurant. So, if you are reading this, Mr or Mrs Mango, please accept my profound apologies. As for the other uses of the apostrophe, what could possibly

have been contracted to result in such a thing? And, there is, quite clearly, no noun to follow.

The owner of ‘Chilli Mango’s’ has obviously paid good money to get such a sign outside his shop. Therefore, you would think at least that he would want it to be right.

But no. In my opinion, his lack of care for the English language also implies a lack of care for his shop, allowing it to be ridiculed by grammar sticklers such as myself in this way. I can see it now, as I sit at home on a Saturday afternoon writing this. Imagine, for instance, that he cared for food hygiene or the taste of his food as little as he cares for his language.

Undoubtedly, he would be closed down in a matter of weeks. But, above all, it is just plain wrong.

on allergy advice in countless products, stating they contain what they clearly do contain. All of these have been spotted with pointless allergy warnings: eggs (contains eggs), almonds (contains almonds), milk (contains milk), butter (contains dairy products) and my personal favourite - sleeping pills (may cause drowsiness).

I understand that companies will want to avoid huge legal bills at all costs, but I feel that this is going one step too far.

It seems to me that health and safety laws have gone completely and utterly barmy.

As a conclusion, I would like to offer the world three pieces of advice…

1. Check your sign before putting it up.

Another related thing which really gets my back up is the manufacturers of food products treating us, the British public, as blithering idiots. I refer to the information

2. We are not, and never will be, stupid.

3. J ust don’t get me started on pandas!

Ella Metcalf, Year 9 Don’t get me started on family gatherings.

I love my family and, individually, they are fine, but collect them all in one room for an evening and you have my worst nightmare. There are far too many of them to remember names and staring blankly at an elderly relative’s face listening to them tell me how similar I am to my parents (Really? It’s almost as if we’re related!) whilst my brain goes into overload trying to remember if this is Jane, Jean or Judith, is not my idea of a great night out.

First, let me give you an idea of how many people I’m talking about. My grandmother has eight siblings - all of whom are married – meaning that (excluding my grandparents) there are sixteen people of her generation I am expected to remember.

They all had at least two children, so my dad has over twenty cousins, all of whom are married (or have partners), taking that generation to in excess of forty people. On top of that, many of the cousins now have children of their own. The net result is a simply terrifying number, approaching one hundred, of people I am related to.

Do you see my problem? I am expected to remember the names and life stories of over one hundred people. Add to this the fact that approximately 80% of my elderly relatives seem to have a name beginning with ‘J’. Now imagine this, the party is almost done and so far you have managed to fend off all attacks from elderly women trying to squeeze your cheeks and tell you how much you’ve grown. Finally, you decide to leave the shady corner which has been your cover for the majority of the battle… party… to make a dash for the buffet table.

All is going well until you are intercepted by one of your many great-aunts.

‘Oohhh! Look how much you’ve grown!’

You freeze, turn and smile. Jean, Jane, Judith, Jenny. Which one do you pick? It doesn’t matter, it’s too late now. The safest bet is Jean, there seem to be about five of them.

If I have learned one thing from these infuriating get-togethers, it is that the elderly love to state the obvious. It seems that they forget everything about you in the time that you aren’t there, meaning

they are eternally surprised by you. This can be the only explanation for the seemingly endless stream of comments and questions, all of which have answers so simple I want to scream when I am asked them. For example, the classic, ‘Haven’t you grown?’ which seems to suggest that people over a certain age have literally no understanding of basic human biology.

There are, of course, good points. For example, talking to the new generation of adorable cousins, making friends with the older, less adorable, cousins and laughing at failed attempts at dancing. Having said all of that and despite the various annoyances, when the whole family is together there is a strong feeling of familial loyalty and community that brings this otherwise disparate group together and glosses over the obvious glaring faults.

2014

Notre Weekend à Paris Sarah Shand, Billy Cash, Emily Burke, Annaliesa Ray, Zach Sadri, Rory Tynan, Upper Sixth

Vendredi

Samedi

After having dragged ourselves out of bed at 4am, all feeling half asleep, we met at Manchester Airport and began to regain consciousness after eating a traditional pain au chocolat à la Costa Coffee. We landed in Paris at around 10am French time, then boarded the RER train to Luxembourg, and walked to the hotel, La Résidence du Palais, where we dropped off our suitcases.

such as Monet and Manet. It was impressive to see the original paintings in real life, rather than on a computer screen!

We then walked round the corner to a local boulangerie where we ate quiches and sandwiches sitting on benches in the Jardin du Luxembourg across the road from our hotel.

time. After the hot chocolate, we were all ready for some dinner at the Pot de Terre restaurant, where we enjoyed a wide variety of traditional French cuisine, from duck terrine for a starter, to crème caramel for dessert. The teachers then told us we had a surprise, which was to see the Eiffel Tower at night. Every hour, on the hour, it is illuminated with flashing lights, which was very impressive.

At 3pm, we had an appointment at the Musée D’Orsay with a conferencière, who gave us a wide range of detailed information and vocabulary about the paintings we have been studying by artists

Afterwards, we went to a café called Les Deux Magots, on the left bank of La Seine, for some rich hot chocolate where the intellectuals, such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, would have spent their

We started the day with a lovely breakfast at nearby Café Vavin, where we ate croissants and pains au chocolat and drank fresh orange juice. After breakfast we took the metro to Montmartre where we climbed lots of steps to reach the top, from which we could see the Sacré Coeur.

After listening to a presentation about the history of the monument we travelled on the metro once again to Le Palais Garnier, the largest and most beautiful opera house in France, and the setting of The Phantom of the Opera. After that we walked to the Boulevard Haussman to enjoy a presentation about the architecture of the 19th century. We then were given some free time to explore Les Galeries Lafayette and have some lunch.

After refuelling ourselves at MacDo we crossed Paris to visit Le Musée d’Immigration, where we learnt about immigration, integration and racism - all topics we are studying this year. We then journeyed to the famous Champs Elysées where we enjoyed a bit of free time to shop before being forced inside by a sudden shower. Shopping over, we took the metro to Hippopotamus where we had dinner

16-17

Dimanche

before walking to a small cinema to watch Le Casse-Tête Chinois, a French comedy which we all thoroughly enjoyed even though we were shattered after an eventful day. Finally we took an evening walk through Paris back to the Youth Hostel where we fell straight to sleep after such an exciting Parisian adventure.

After having eaten a traditional French breakfast in Vavin, the cute café near our hotel, we headed over to the Jardin du Luxembourg to listen to a fascinating and in-depth presentation on Le Sénat, which opened our minds a little more to French politics. After strolling through the park, we walked to Notre Dame, where we learnt about Point Zero, from which every distance in Paris is measured. Whilst at Notre Dame, we were left to explore the Cathedral and confess our sins, if we pleased, and to listen to the Sunday morning mass which was taking place.

For every visitor to Paris, the iconic building of Le Louvre is a must-see, and so, after lunch, we were given the opportunity to explore the vicinity of the building and take some selfies in front of La Pyramide du Louvre. After experiencing the beauty of the Louvre, we decided to walk across the famous love lock bridge in Paris, Le Pont des Arts, to conclude our wonderful weekend in the French capital. Before heading back to Paris CDG airport for our flight home, we went back to the hotel where we picked up our suitcases and had our final hot chocolate of the trip.

Later on, despite the windy conditions, we strolled around the beautiful district of Le Marais, before lunching in La Fronde, where we treated ourselves to some crêpes, whilst also being able to make the most of our language skills, as of course we ordered in French!

It was a most enjoyable trip, with lots of moments which we will remember for a long time.

The Centre Pompidou was also a fantastic experience for us, as we had never seen an inside-out building before; the building is truly a work of modern art.

2014

Junior adventures at chs

Hat works

An Interview with Miss Bottoms!

ElliotT Worthington and Oscar Daniels-Sims, Year 5

Why did you go?

Year 2 went to the Hat Works Museum in Stockport as part of our topic, ‘Cheadle Hulme and Beyond’. We wanted the children to learn about the local industry.

What did you learn about?

We learnt about hat making in Stockport. We learnt why there was the hat making factory; because all the workers in the factories in Stockport wore hats, so a lot of hats needed to be made. We learnt that the hats were made out of felt or animal fur.

Was it fun? Why?

The children really enjoyed the trip. They learnt a lot about the hat making process. They learnt about the materials. They even made their own felt and got to wear lots of different types of hats. I think the children’s favourite part of the trip was when we got to sit in the Yurt in the Hat Museum, which was a large hut made out of felt.

Did you make anything?

We made our own pieces of felt, and made a design using different coloured felts. These are displayed in 2C’s cloakroom if you would like to have a look.

Did you see other hats as well?

We saw a large variety of hats, from wedding hats to bowler hats, top hats, flat caps, fascinators, military hats, working hats – all sorts!

Did you try on any hats?

Yes, the children were able to try on lots of hats. Just look at the pictures!

What was your favourite hat?

My favourite hat was the officer’s hat.

“ Miss Fox’s favourite hat was the hat which looked like meringue filled with fruit”.

18-19

Year 5 trip to London Amy Upton, Year 5

When we went to London we had a very long journey but we managed to entertain each other. People brought things like:

sauce. After Planet Hollywood we went back to the hotel and went to sleep. It was a brilliant day.

Top trumps, Pens and paper, Other little games.

The next day we went down to breakfast and there was a huge choice of English breakfast, toast, cereals and muffins, crumpets and croissants. For drinks there were machines that poured out what you wanted. It was epic!

We couldn’t bring electric things like i-pads and i-pods or phones. The bus brought us everywhere but we didn’t sit in the same places every time. We all tried to sit next to each other, Allison, Lizzie and I. When we got there we went straight to the Tower of London. When we got there we split into groups. The people in my group were my best friends Allison and Lizzie, Sulaiman, Rehaan, Luke and Jack. Our group leader was Mrs Lyng.

When we got to the Tower of London we went to Traitors’ Gate. In the 16th century this was where the people were brought in if they were to be beheaded for committing a crime. If they were to be beheaded, the executioner would hold the axe towards the person, if not they’d hold it away. After Traitors’ Gate we had our lunch in the sun by some canons. When we had eaten our home-made lunch, we went into the White Tower and went to the armoury and other parts, but finally we saw the magnificent Crown Jewels.

We couldn’t wait to hear our bedrooms.

Finally we heard and I was overjoyed that I was with Allison and Lizzie! When we got to the Premier Inn we got our passes so we could get in and out of our bedrooms but the most important thing was our bedroom number. Our bedroom was amazing; we had an en-suite bathroom, a telephone, TV, kettle and a double bed and two single beds. Sadly, the teachers took the TV control and kettle. When we got to our bedroom we got ready to go to Planet Hollywood.

Planet Hollywood was amazing; there were costumes and props of films like Star Wars and James Bond. We were allowed one drink; the options were lemonade, Fanta, coke or water. For main course we could choose from veggie burger, plain burger, cheese burger and pasta. Then for pudding we had vanilla ice cream with chocolate

After breakfast we got our lunches. I really disliked the lunches; the ham was slimy so I ate the bread and not the ham. The rest of the lunch was fine.

When we got to the Globe Theatre I thought it looked strange because it looked more modern. The reason was that it was the entrance! When we got through the reception I properly saw the actual building and it was amazing. When we got inside we had a look around and also sat where the people in the olden days sat! Our guide was called Amanda; she was really nice.

After that we went to a little drama session and in the session we played boats, a game, then we did acting all to do with The Tempest - a play written by Shakespeare.

Next we went to the Natural History Museum. The first thing we did was go to the creepy crawly section. I really liked the creepy crawly section; it was amazing learning about little creatures that live on you and your food - yuk! The next section we went to was the dinosaurs. I enjoyed the moving dinosaur most. After the dinosaurs we went to the mammals. In the mammals section there were lots of stuffed animals that we hadn’t seen before; some were cute, some were fierce, some were both.

Pizza Hut was really good. I liked the buffet and the pizza was really nice and after Pizza Hut we saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; it was so good I want to see it again. Then, exhausted, we went to bed.

In the morning we set off to Hampton Court and I thought it was fantastic. We went round the gardens and Hampton Court maze. We saw the astronomical clock, then in the chapel everyone had to take their hats off. I really enjoyed the London trip. I want to do it again!

2014

Plas Menai Alice Brown, Year 6

In June, Year 6 went on a residential trip to a water sports centre in Caernarfon, overlooking Anglesey.

Monday 2nd June

It was a very early start for the children and teachers too! We left school at 7.10am so we could get to Wales by 9.00. The location of the centre was breathtaking and we couldn’t wait to get onto the water.

My group’s first activity was power boating. We were able to drive a boat ourselves, which was amazing. We also travelled all the way to the Menai Bridge on a very fast boat. It felt like we were in an action film! Lunchtime was definitely needed and, after our tummies were filled, we went kayaking. We had so much fun standing up on the kayak and capsizing. After our activities, we had a welldeserved tea and we played lots of fun games.

There were many sleepy children at the end of an exhilarating, busy and amazing day.

Tuesday 3rd June

We started our second day back on the water, but this time we were canoeing. We were well equipped for spending the day on the Menai Straits, wearing wetsuits and buoyancy aids. We rowed all the way to a muddy bay where we had great fun.

Let’s just say we got MUDDY! After lunch we learnt how to windsurf. We had to cross the water to Anglesey, whilst our boards were roped onto a power boat. I kept landing ashore, going past the marks (the buoys).

After getting changed into warmer clothes we had tea. Then we watched the Surfs. Oops I mean ‘Smurfs’. Finally we went to bed and it didn’t take us long to get to sleep!

Wednesday 4th June

Unfortunately it was our final day. Rooms were tidied; some took longer than others!! We got into our wetsuits for the last time and learnt how to sail.

After a calm start the wind then picked up and whoosh! Sailing was fast and fab!!

It was time to leave Plas Menai. We all had a memorable and fantastic time; not only did we learn lots of new skills, but we had the chance to make new friends too. I came back from the trip more confident and proud that I had achieved so much in such a short time. I can’t wait to try these water sports again.

20-21 Our Christmas German trip was fantastic; we went to loads of places and did lots of great things, all packed into a few days.

Thursday began like any other day at school. But as we left the gates at the end of the day, our minds turned away from schoolwork and went onto a different matter – THE TRIP!!!

At 6 o’clock most of us had arrived at the airport and were checking in, by 8 we were in the air and by 10 we were in Germany. Several people had had some trouble with the flight – their bags were still in Manchester! Don’t worry, they arrived on the Saturday. It was about 1 in the morning when everyone was starting to go to bed, though some stayed up much later!

On Friday we took the coach to the Dortmund Altstadt, to see BVB’s football stadium. We had a guided tour which finished with a gift shop; to our amazement, one of the items on sale was a toaster which burnt BVB into your toast! After browsing through shelves of chocolate and souvenirs we settled down for lunch.

After lunch we went to the Rheinturm and then took the elevator up to the top. The Rheinturm is a very tall tower which at the top has outwards sloping glass windows. It gives you a spectacular view of Düsseldorf – the place we were staying. The day finished with a visit to the Christmas Markets.

Saturday was the day we journeyed to Köln and walked 500 steps up to the top of Köln Cathedral. It took half an hour of walking to get up and down! After the vertical hike we went to more markets and then on to the Lindt Chocolate Museum where we had a peek

at all the machines and history belonging to Lindt. We ended the day with bowling at a local bowling alley.

Sunday heralded a trip to Phantasia Land – the German equivalent to Disney. It contained Europe’s best roller-coaster: Black Mamba!

The park was great and we stayed there for most of the day. All good things come to an end though; and sooner than we wanted, we were flying back home.

2014

YEAR 11 GEOGRAPHERS HIT

Connie Walsh, Year 11 A grand total of 22 Year 11 GCSE Geography students plus Mr Cawtherley, Mrs Shallcross and Dr Wright landed in Iceland around lunchtime on Friday 18th October. 22 students…..with just 21 passports. Someone (possibly Camlo) had managed to lose their passport while sitting on the plane, meaning we had a short delay before we could actually get into the country. Eventually, however, we were finally in Iceland. We had a jam-packed itinerary, and so our first stop was the Blue Lagoon before we had even unpacked.

The Blue Lagoon was beautiful, with its naturally heated bright blue waters hidden in the huge volcanic rocks in the Icelandic countryside. We all realised that it truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience as we wandered around the vast lagoon with natural mud masks on our faces. The only issue we had with the lagoon was that many of the older women were particularly confident with their bodies and their nudity, which slightly compromised our experience of one of the natural wonders of the world.

Our hotel in Reykjavik was lovely, and for dinner we ate the first portion of a lot of lasagne to come; it must be their national dish. On Saturday morning we set out in our minibus with our tour guide, Olé.

Throughout the week we spent a lot of

time on the minibus and with Olé and we grew to love both of them. Olé attempted to teach us how to pronounce a variety of Icelandic words, the most challenging being Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano which erupted and caused huge disruption to global air travel in 2010. It would be impossible to describe all of the amazing natural features we saw during our visit; however, the highlights were probably the waterfalls. The names of these waterfalls were particularly difficult to pronounce: Seljalandsfoss, Gullfoss and Skogafoss, which we were able to walk behind.

Finally, we visited the capital city of Iceland, Reykjavik. We were all taken aback by the arty city, and during our free time many of us visited an art exhibition and the iconic Reykjavik Cathedral.

To end a brilliant trip, we went on a super jeep tour in search of the Northern Lights.

Unfortunately, the moon’s antics ruined this for us because we were not able to see the famous lights. Nevertheless, the super jeeps were an experience in themselves, especially with our not-so-health-and-safetyconscious driver.

All of us are so grateful to have been able to visit such a beautiful country and would like to thank Mr Cawtherley, Mrs Shallcross and Dr Wright for taking us. To conclude, I have to say that for me, the highlight of the trip, despite all the incredible geographical features, was Dr Wright’s memorable impression of Basil Fawlty during a game of charades. You had to be there!

22-23

Artwork by Alice Needham, Upper Sixth

2014

Komal Amar, Year 11

24-25

At 2:30am, one day in October 2013, I finally embarked on the much anticipated History trip to Berlin, with a group of my Year 11 peers. Three days was a very short time to explore a city brimming with such exciting developments, well-known events and an intriguing past. After the trip we were all bewildered by our extensive, new-found knowledge about the Cold War and the rise and rule of Hitler. Here are just a few of my favourite experiences on our emotional excursion through 21st century Berlin.

We moved around the city like clockwork, constantly touring.

People’s initial thoughts on the history of Berlin often automatically refer to the Holocaust and the terror associated with it, and this interested me greatly when visiting Sachsenhausen concentration camp. As expected, everything inside the camp was grey and lifeless, but what caught me most off-guard were the simple yet agonizing methods the Nazis used to torture their prisoners.

For instance, the camp had contained an unbelievable number of prisoners with not enough labour jobs to go around. Every day, prisoners were forced to stand in fields for many hours, regardless of the weather. These prisoners were punished even for wincing or attempting to ease the pain by shifting their weight. The shocking images you see when exploring the camp, such as the hanging poles or squalor of the dorms, feel unreal.

Perhaps the most astounding landmark we visited during our visit was the Holocaust Memorial, a site flooded with rows of concrete slabs. Although at first sight it seemed quite deceptively mundane and bleak, this perception changed as we walked through the lattice of 2,711 solid blocks. The deeper I entered, the further the ground sank, the tomb-like blocks heightened, and the surroundings quite suddenly became claustrophobic. Wandering around, there was little light due to the menacing shadows; the concrete slabs symbolised the power of the Nazis and their intimidation of minorities. I began to realise that this trepidation was but a mere echo of how many of the Holocaust victims must have felt.

As we explored the heart of the city, it was fascinating to see the effects the Berlin Wall had on the lives of local people. The schemes of the Berliners attempting to migrate from the East side of Berlin to the West were cunning. The most famous of these is the escape of 19-year-old guard Conrad Schumann, who jumped over the barbed wire dividing the capital disguised as a soldier. My personal favourite is the story of Horst Klein, who tightroped (yes, tightroped) over Berlin, first moving with his hands, then swinging himself onto the cable and inching his way over. These little facts are something I will remember for the rest of my life.

As I am a keen photographer, Berlin was the ideal place for me to experiment. The beautiful historical architecture, particularly the Reichstag Dome and TV Tower, made for striking pictures. The Reichstag Dome is elegantly made in glass with a spiral pathway encircling a mirror column. However, the most extraordinary aspect of this symbolic parliamentary building is its breathtaking view of the city at night. Similarly, looking at the exterior of the TV Tower at ground level was very daunting, especially after reading on our tickets that it was 207 metres high, but at the top the exhilarating 360-degree panorama scene of Berlin was incredible. To say the least, my camera and I were never seen apart.

All in all, the Berlin trip proved to me that a textbook can never do justice to the barbarity of Hitler’s dictatorship, the complexities of the Cold War or the brutality of the Holocaust. At school it’s hard to put these events and statistics into perspective. When you see it for yourself, the realities behind the statistics come alive.

2014

Junior Creative Writing The Wolf

Eric the Snake

Edward Coppock, Year 1

Joseph Walker, Year 3

The wolf has powerful sharp jaws!

He has fierce eyes and long ears.

The wolf is mean because he put Grandma in the cupboard.

Eric is a reptile, a vicious scary snake. A snake for a pet?

What a huge mistake! He chases the mice.

And he hides in the drain.

He even followed Dad to work on the 8:30 train.

The Forest Fire

Diary of an Ancient Greek Boy

Finlay O’Shea, Year 2

Issy Broadbent, Year 4

Once there was a Fire Penguin, Super Worm and Detective Mouse.

Mother Goose was in her house and she was very bored.

She had an idea.

Dear Diary,

“I know, I’ll go and have a picnic in the woods with the peaceful, bushy trees,” said Mother Goose.

So off she went into the deep woods. Meanwhile, the Evil Rat had a cunning plan.

“I know, I’ll slow Mother Goose down”.

So, the Evil Rat went out of his cave and headed into the woods.

Later on, Mother Goose arrived in the woods. The Evil Rat got out his sword and aimed it at a tree and hit it. The tree fell over and started a fire.

“Oh no, help me!” said Mother Goose.

She phoned the Fire Penguin and he phoned Super Worm and Super Worm phoned Detective Mouse. Fire Penguin, Detective Mouse and Super Worm rushed to the woods. Fire Penguin put out the fire. Detective Mouse set up a trap, Evil Rat ran into the trap, Detective Mouse caught Evil Rat. Mother Goose was safe.

“Thank you, Detective Mouse, Super Worm and Fire Penguin”.

She gave them some of her picnic and they all returned home.

Today at school we wrote a big story about anything we liked. I did one about a little boy at school and his life; everyone thought it was really good but I didn’t. Our next lesson was practising the alphabet, alpha and beta; it was great fun, especially on wax tablets and with styluses. After that it was playtime. I played with my friends, we played hide and seek then we did a tug-of-war. My team won. Then we had our next lesson; it was my favourite lesson and we learnt about Greek Gods. Next it was lunchtime so I walked to lunch with my best friends again.

For lunch I had my favourite bread with olives and for pudding I had my favourite yoghurt as well, with figs and some dates and of course grapes! After lunch we had playtime, we played Blind Man’s Buff and we played with our yoyos. Now it was time for arithmetic, we learnt loads of new numbers and new ways to add bigger numbers too. Our teacher is great and he let us have a little playtime inside the classroom to finish off our day, so we played with our yoyos again. It was really fun.

Then, finally, after a great day, my slave came and we went home.

When I got home my sister told me about her day; she did sewing, chores and made a beautiful dress. Afterwards I told her about my day too and she thought I was really lucky. I had a great day, it was the best.

26-27

Madrid Jack Boyd, Year 11 When I arrived at Liverpool airport with Patrick in tow, groggy from the early start and the long drive, we were hit by a wave of rapid fire questions. “¿Por qué llegasteis tarde?” “¿Como fue tu viaje?” “¿Por qué llevas eso ropa fea?”. But this trip wasn’t just an excuse for Miss Martinez to insult our fashion sense, it was to go to Madrid, and maybe, just maybe, for us to gain the skills required for us to ace our Spanish GCSE. Whilst we treated ourselves to a gourmet breakfast at Burger King, we discussed our expectations for the trip. Patrick and I were unsure of how well we would cope in this foreign environment, as both our previous orals amounted to a lot of stuttering and some tears, mostly on my part. Tom was worried about the food; the only food he knew from Spanish cuisine was chorizo, and he didn’t think he could live solely off that for a week, no matter how good it was. Josh was only thinking about whether he could still get crisps in Madrid. Shockingly he could, but he had still brought 7 packets in his luggage just in case. The girls were just worried about their opportunities for shopping, a minor issue compared to being understood, or the availability of crisps. All our worries were dispelled as the trip went on.

Thirdly, el español. This was the thing that had Pat and I most anxious. We were worried that we would say something wrong, and offend someone, or worse yet, embarrass our teachers! However, after getting past some initial timidness, out of character for us both, we were usually able to get our point across. Whether it was ordering breakfast, “Quiero porras, por favor”, finding our way, “¿Dónde están los servicios?” and, a pleasant surprise for us all, conversing with Miss Martinez’ mother and aunt, both of whom said I was cool, or in their words chulo; so that was most likely the greatest moment of my life, though unfortunately Miss Martinez wouldn’t agree.

Lastly, and least importantly to many of us, the shopping. Whilst the trip was primarily to see the sights around Madrid, and to learn more about Spanish culture, the girls still wanted to buy some new clothes, as did Mr Wilson. He got his wish, as the boys got him an Atletico Madrid shirt, which he liked so much he wore it for the rest of the trip, but has not elected to wear it in lessons just yet. Miss Martinez received some owl earrings, obviously referencing her wisdom and grace.

After getting back from Madrid, all our small group agreed that it had been a fantastic trip, and we were all confident that we could scrape an A in our oral, or at least not cry during it.

Firstly, Tom’s worry about the food. My favourite part of the trip was by far la comida. Paella, churros, cola cao, and my all time favourite food ever porras, which were churros turned up to eleven. My only regret was that I only discovered this sweet nectar on the penultimate night; I’m sure this will remain one of the greatest whatifs of my life. We ate at a variety of different restaurants, but the quality of the food was superb. My personal triumph came when I managed to skin a prawn all by myself, albeit with the expert tutelage of Miss Martinez. I think the boys in particular were proud of the damage we managed to do to the various buffets we visited.

Secondly, Josh’s love affair with patatas. He was able to find some crisps in a supermarket, and whilst we all rolled our eyes, he bought them and walked out feeling content.

Maybe we should all learn from Josh, and find something that makes us as happy as crisps make him.

2014

Joe Morum, Year 10

Day 1

I think I can say on behalf of everybody on this trip that getting a teenager to Manchester Airport for 6:00 is a tough task, yet in the words of many teachers, you get out what you put in, and the effort this morning will certainly pay off. We have already seen a major landmark of Krakow and learnt that a lot of the economy of Poland was funded through the Weiliczka Salt Mine.

It was just amazing to see how much can be created with such basic tools.

To start off, we had to go down 30 flights of stairs just to get to the starting level, and then we went even further down during the tour. Furthermore, there are many worship rooms and even a cathedral made entirely of salt. It is hard to say how big the mine is for it seemed to go on forever and one can only imagine how much effort it took to create it. After the tour we went into Krakow City and had some downtime; it was actually quite cold and so we decided to find a coffee shop. After about an hour we came back to the hotel and had a much-needed sleep.

28-29

Day 2

I can honestly say that today was one of the most moving experiences of my life; it was a day none of us will forget. We visited Auschwitz and Birkenau, and you can only feel how I feel about the Holocaust now by experiencing this. The atmosphere inside the camps is beyond the description of words. Both camps stretch as far as the eye can see, and putting yourself in the position of a person in the camp, you can’t help but question how humanity can fall that low. We had a full tour of both the main camp and Birkenau. You quickly understand how cruel the Nazi regime was as you learn that the people sent to the camp believed they would get a new life. They were told to bring their most prized possessions, so they had something to start their new life with; in reality, as soon as the people were off the train they were told they must be showered to stop disease spreading in the camp, and that their possessions would be returned to them after their shower.

Furthermore, the decision whether a fellow human being should live or die was down to one man, who had only one quick glance at the ‘prisoners’ before he made his decision. It is hard to get your head around that concept. One fact that I will never forget is that it could take as little as forty minutes from stepping off the cramped rail cart before a person was dead. Today was definitely intense and one that I am sure has affected my views on all aspects of life.

Holocaust:

A Visit from a Survivor

Rebekah Tyler-Brough, Year 9

Day 3

Today we had a tour of the Jewish quarter of the city, as well as seeing Schindler’s factory museum, not forgetting a talk with a Holocaust survivor. I’m glad that we had seen the camps before speaking to the survivor as our experiences yesterday enhanced what we were listening to, and put a lot more weight into what she was saying. I do not wish to go into the details of what I have seen and heard over the last two days, for it may not be something everybody wants to hear because of how graphic and intense it is. However, if you wish to know what I have learnt then I would encourage you to ask somebody who has been on the trip, or ask a member of the RS Department. I don’t think words alone will be able to convey the gravity of the experience of seeing it in real life, but knowing what we learnt will certainly change your life for the better.

Harry Bibring was born on December 26th 1925 in Vienna, Austria. His father owned a men’s clothing business, allowing Harry and his family a good standard of living in their house in the 15th district of Vienna. Harry admitted to us that he was not the best student ever, but, when it came to the point in his life where he had to take a test which would decide on his Senior School, he studied really hard and managed to be accepted into the Gymnasium or Grammar School.

Unfortunately, after the Anschluss (the “forced” transfer of Austria to German power), all Jewish children had to leave the Gymnasium and go to specially allocated Secondary Schools.

At his new school Harry and the rest of the Jewish children were made to sit on the floor at the back of the classroom with all the non-Jews sitting on desks in front of them. This meant they could not see anything the teacher was doing.

After Kristallnacht, a series of co-ordinated attacks by the Nazis, Harry’s family had to stay in a flat which housed 50 other Jewish women and their children. His father was arrested on his way to work and on the same day his shop was looted and destroyed. It was after this that his parents decided it was time to leave. It was decided that Harry and his sister would come to England on the Kindertransport. His parents were never able to join them as they had planned, as his father died of a heart attack whilst being taken away by the Nazis, and his mother went to live with her sister until they were both deported first to Izbica ghetto and then to Sobibor in about June 1942. After war broke out Harry was evacuated with his school in England and he was put with the Headmaster of the local Grammar School who was interested in Harry’s experiences and very kind and supportive. I found Mr Bibring’s talk amazing and informative and his experiences easy to picture because of the detail he gave when describing his teenage years.

He still continues to make a positive change, talking to students in the hope of ensuring such things do not happen again.

2014

James Walker and Tom Poyner, Year 10

30-31

Friday 4th March I don’t think we knew quite what we’d let ourselves in for when we agreed to sign up for the French Exchange in Caen, Normandy.

The French students had come across to Manchester the previous week but now it was our turn to make the 14 hour return journey. I had brought a selection of films to watch on both journeys; others played card games and listened to music. As the journey progressed the atmosphere became increasingly tense and everyone was quiet.

The coach pulled in at 9:20pm and we met up with our French families. The adventure had begun…..

Monday 7th March On Monday, we spent most of the day at school. We were divided into pairs and assigned a class that we would follow around during the day. James and I were assigned to a class of about twenty Year 10s. We studied Latin (in French) and then Geography-History.

They have both subjects in one period, which was weird. Each lesson lasted fifty minutes and was held in the form room mostly but was sometimes held in other rooms as well, depending on the subject. After a twenty minute break we went to a cooking class where we learnt about French baking.

Saturday 5th March For the weekend we stayed with the families and they took us to a selection of activities in and around Caen. On the Saturday I went to see Pierre (my exchange student) play rugby. Many of the other English exchanges and their partners had turned up to the rugby match too. I also went into Caen and saw William the Conqueror’s tomb, which was surprisingly quiet, and I bought my scrap book.

That evening, my family had organised to meet up with another exchange pair, Tom and Arthur. It gave us all a chance to enjoy something we all definitely had in common – playing video games.

Tuesday 8th March We went on a coach trip to La Cité de la Mer, where we learnt about the Titanic, went into and explored a submarine and got to see a load of aquatic diving equipment. Afterwards we went to a planetarium, where we learnt about the solar system and galaxies outside our own. We held discussions about the placing of the stars, and talked about something a little closer to home as well the moon.

Sunday 6th March On Sunday we were lucky enough to be taken to the Mont Saint Michel, which has been used as a prison and a church. For lunch we had a picnic looking out over the picturesque countryside. There wasn’t really much difference between English and French picnics, just maybe that they have baguettes for sandwiches! That night, we had kebabs, ratatouille and potatoes for dinner and fruit salad for pudding. Again, not really different from something that I might eat at home!

Wednesday 9th March Wednesday has to be my favourite day, especially as we got the afternoon off from school-based activities. In the morning we went to the Go Ape outdoor activity centre, where we learnt about harnesses, and got to go on some of the great climbing courses.

After half an hour, our French exchange students joined us for a bit, but had to go back to school shortly after, because they had exams.

Meanwhile we stayed and continued climbing. In the afternoon we went home with our exchange students. In the evening, as a farewell to the English exchanges, we all went to Laser Quest, where the French went every fortnight. I’m sorry to say that we only won one out of four games, they were just too good.

Thursday 10th March Thursday was the worst day. It was time to go home, and no one wanted to go. After many tears, hugs, goodbyes and photos, we set off on the coach home. Having all been told to make a “scrapbook” of the week, and that there would be prizes, everyone cracked on with a determination to win. It turned out that the teachers had found a way to give prizes to everyone, and we were all declared winners – because this is one of those schools where everyone is a winner! After a very long bus journey, and a stomach-churning ferry ride, we were back home, all safe and sound to greet our waiting and missed parents.

“ We had a great time on the French Exchange, our French has really improved and it is something that we will remember for a long time. I would thoroughly recommend it to all students, and want to thank all the hosting families and the teachers for the time and effort they put into making the trip as enjoyable as possible.”

2014

YEAR EIGHT STORIES In a fun competition organized by Young Writers, pupils nationwide were given the tricky challenge of writing a story with a beginning, middle and end in just 100 words.

Here are some of our best entries.

Trains

The Disaster

Nathan Fields

Heidi Askey

Tom contemplated. ‘Life is a train. It goes on and on until it reaches its destination. Trains can be very different or similar to each other but they all go the same way no matter how they get there. They all end.’ He felt more worried than ever before as he thought about the unknown. But he accepted his life and smiled. He looked at the train he was on and realised it had stopped. Then he realised it wasn’t a train. In his last moments he looked into his mum’s eyes, sat next to him in the hospital bed.

It seemed they had won the war. The remaining enemies were few and far between in the area the winners had made their home.

The celebrations had begun. As everyone gathered to begin the party, they all knew something seemed wrong. They saw the enemies’ smirks from behind their hands. What were they planning?

Suddenly the ground shook and a toxic chemical fired from the sky, hitting the citizens below, slowly killing them all. ‘All done!’ said the doctor taking the needle out of the patient’s arm. ‘Quite a nasty infection you had there! Antibiotics should help that clear up!’

Snow White, the Seven Dwarfs and the Seven Apples

A Twist in the Tail

Freya Charlton In the middle of the forest there lay a little cottage with a thatched roof and flower beds all around. Snow White sat outside waiting alone for the owners to come by. Later that day seven dwarfs came back cheerfully singing and found Snow at their porch.

After seeing her face they willingly let her into their humble home.

One day after arriving home from work the dwarfs each had an apple freshly picked by Snow. All of them went into a deep sleep from which they never awoke. They’d been murdered. Snow White fled to the evil Queen.

Abigail Marchington One crisp moonlit night, a beautiful litter of piglets was born. The smallest was extra special because his tail was as straight as a ruler.

His brothers and sisters laughed at him and the upset little piglet decided to run away. He ran to the farm boundary before turning for a final look homewards. A juddering sensation ran through his body. Frightened and squealing, he ran all the way back and was greeted with delight. Piglet felt welcomed and happy, especially when he discovered the electric fence had given him a twist in the tail.

The Search

Selfless

Beth Rees

Ollie Leach

The rusty van came rattling over the bridge and it came to a grinding stop. Big sniffer dogs jumped out and started their search. I held my breath hoping they wouldn’t see me.

The driver commanded the dogs and they searched up and down the river. Their target was me. By the look of them they looked like rottweilers. Metal collars and big teeth. If they caught me they would easily tear me apart. Suddenly the dogs ran back to the van and it drove off in a hurry.

Was it a trick?

What had scared them off?

I lie paralysed in trepidation. My heart beats violently, lurching itself at my ribs and corroding my flesh. But at least that would end it all. Night after night he comes, his alabaster face marred with the remnants of his heinous deeds. The blood of his past is dessicated in the crevices of his face. The stench of corpses pervades the atmosphere. I know he is a ghost, a tortured soul from the past, a mere figment of my imagination. But why does the essence of him feel so real, so alive?

‘Who’s in your room?’ asked Mum. ‘Help!’

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Artwork by Brandon Few, Upper Sixth

2014

RUSSIA – UNRAVELLING THE MYSTERY Jessica Hull, Lower Sixth Picture the scene; it’s three in the morning.

Well, we’d made it through the infuriatingly complex maze of airport roundabouts.

Yes, we’d packed our seven pairs of gloves (just in case) and our families were just so devastated by our departure that they’d popped off to Spain for the week to drown their sorrows. How touching.

Still, the Airport Gods were frowning that day, and, due to ‘electrical difficulties’ we contemplated dawn from the plush confines of Gate 84. Yep, the plane was delayed. Sure, we moaned, and cursed the KLM airlines for their treachery…… for a good five minutes. But (without wanting to sound too cheesy) we were in the best of company, and nothing was going to ruin Russia 2014.

Needless to say, we got there eventually, albeit at the price of having to give up our visit to Lenin’s Mausoleum, which we’d been looking forward to with somewhat morbid anticipation; with hindsight, that was probably for the best! It so happened, then, that our first Russian experience was of the Moscow City Circus; admittedly, we were perhaps a little dazed by plane fatigue, yet stepping into the circus building it seemed we inhabited a surreal dreamscape: psychedelic colours, the heavy scent of candyfloss and the oh-so-slightly sinister music chiming away in the background. The acts themselves were incredible, for beneath the makeup and elaborate costume lay some serious talent and years of dedication; such attractions are not so frequent these days, especially back in Britain, and in going there we sadly caught, perhaps, the last glimpses of a dying art.

By morning we’d regained our strength and were off to see the Kremlin; literally meaning ‘The Fortress’, it was aptly named!

The red walls were unapologetically bold, towering above us, resonating strength.

Inside, carriages plated in gold, gifts from the farthest corners of the globe, silver and jewels and… a paper mâché crown. One artefact, as our lovely tour guide pointed out to us, originated from Kiev which, she assured us, was ‘in Ukraine ..… for now!’ As you can imagine, this remark was followed by some nervous laughter, not least from the tour guide herself. Unfortunately we didn’t see Mr Putin that day – I believe he was rather busy.

Before leaving Moscow, we were able to visit Red Square for the last time – by night.

For me, this remains the best memory of the trip: the great onion domes of the buildings, lit from beneath: red, blue, green, and gold, of course. Yet, despite the visual impressiveness, there was a calm that hung in the air, broken only by the eerie toll of the bells, a sound unchanged by centuries of history. But we couldn’t stay too long; we had a train to catch!

I’m not ashamed to say that I was ridiculously excited by the prospect of the night train; we had a carriage to ourselves, and although the cabins were a little too ‘cosy’, we found that they contained bunkbeds - so all was forgiven! The significance of our journey wasn’t lost on us, however; as Mr Axon pointed out, we were travelling right through the heart-land of Russia – how many before us had made this journey?

Characters from the history books were brought to life for us by the landscape and given a context, a reality.

The city of St Petersburg is beautiful, and the contrast with Moscow shocking. In some streets, whole building facades were painted soft pastel colours – yellow, blue, pink and green were especially popular.

Of course, the old photographs of Russia found in our textbooks are in black and white – and so cannot capture the unique atmosphere created by these multicoloured walls.

We stayed in St Petersburg for four days in total and experienced everything from the Russian Ballet to the log cabin of Peter the Great, and even witnessed some traditional Russian folk dancing! And that’s not to mention the abundance of extravagant palaces dotted around the city! The Yusopov Palace, for instance, with chandeliers the size of a small elephant, dripping in diamonds. It was here that Rasputin was famously lured to his death; the opulence of the place practically oozed with scandal and deception. Then there was St Catherine’s Palace, restored with such care to its former glory. And, of course, the Winter Palace (now home to the Hermitage Gallery) which boasted whole rooms of gold and polished mirror floors. It was excessive, yes. But this was exactly the point: whilst hundreds of thousands had starved in the days of the Tsar, the aristocracy had remained ignorant and detached, adrift from the suffering by virtue of their own decadence. The trip revealed this to us in a way that textbooks and classrooms never

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could, although not through lack of good teaching! We were able to visit a country scarred, perhaps irreversibly, by its tragic history and trace the impact that this has had on the Russian people today. The busts of Lenin, palaces of Tsars and the wonderful cathedrals remain as lost artefacts of this history – the story of the Russian people.

It is fitting that we can perhaps find the answer to this seeming anomaly in the words of the great Russian master himself:

“ Man is a mystery. It needs to be unravelled, and if you spend your whole life unravelling it, don’t say that you’ve wasted time. I am studying that mystery because I want to be a human being.”

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Letter, 1839, attributed to Dostoevsky: His Life and Works (Mochulski)

2014

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“ The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.�

William Arthur Ward

2014

The Holland Hockey and Netball Tour 2014 Amy Dunning, Year 9 I would like to begin this article with an apology to all the neighbours of Cheadle Hulme School. For at 3:30am on the 14th April 2014, forty-two exceedingly excited girls and six exceedingly excited teachers were gathered in the coach car park, ready to venture out on their eagerly anticipated sports tour to Holland. After piling onto the coach and saying our goodbyes to our weary parents, we were off! For the first ten minutes of the journey, we were laughing, giggling and singing, but then the inevitable fatigue washed over us, and we were soon mostly snoozing, with the rest of us on a full-blown sugar rush. This was a good thing, really, as ahead of us we had a 14 hour coach journey, of which I will spare you the details. So, many hours and several service stops later, we arrived at our Valkenburg hotel, the hotel Walram.

The town itself was beautifully pristine and truly old-fashioned. Exactly what I was hoping and expecting it to be like.

Rob. We learnt a lot about positional play and returned to the hotel well and truly shattered. There was no time for a nap though, as we had tobogganing and laser quest booked! Both of these were incredible, with the tobogganing being the activity we did first. It felt amazing to have the fantastic view of the town below you, when you were trying to attain the greatest speed possible inbetween the twists and turns of the track. I must say the greatest ‘speed demon’ was definitely Miss Hilton, who nearly went flying off the track, she was going so fast! After this, we went to take part in laser quest in Hitler’s abandoned tunnels in what was quite possibly the only hill in The Netherlands. The historical importance of the tunnels certainly added an eerie atmosphere to the place. Overall Gabby Young was the winner, and I was so horribly bad that I managed to score -1000 on the first game.

Once allocated our rooms, we unpacked and fell almost instantly asleep in this very pleasant hotel. The next morning, the hockey players and netballers split up, so I will write from a hockey perspective, as I played hockey for the duration of the trip. We trained at a local sports club first thing for a couple of hours, with an excellent Dutch coach named

After this, the hockey players headed off to get ready for their match, which we lost. We were playing one of the region’s best hockey clubs, according to Rob. And if we only learnt two things from the whole trip, they would be that Dutch hockey is incredibly violent, and that the standard of umpiring isn’t quite what it is in England!

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Equestrian Team Georgina Lea, Lower Sixth The Equestrian Team is a new addition to the sports teams at school, and it is run by Jane Williams. It features a Senior Team and a Junior Team made up of individuals with experience in horseriding, giving all ages a chance to showcase their equestrian talents. They compete in the National Schools Equestrian Association, and take part in events such as show jumping, dressage and arena eventing. In the past, there have been individuals who have won in dressage and show jumping. Impressively, this year the teams have qualified in show jumping and arena eventing at Addington Manor in Buckinghamshire.

There are four students in a team, with two teams competing each time.

All the students who are part of the team train separately at their homes with their trainers. They enter competitions throughout the year in various parts of Staffordshire and Cheshire. I find it admirable how much work they all put into their equestrian training, and it really pays off.

The next day, bruised and achy, we headed off for another training session, then bowling (which isn’t my forte, but at which Ella Greenwood is an absolute champ), and a game against HC Nova, which we still lost, but it was far closer than the previous night’s.

Thursday was our final day, so we headed off with the netballers to Maastrict, the nearest city, for a spot of retail therapy.

From what they told me, they had had just as much excitement as we had in those few days! We all bought gifts for family members and presents for ourselves. After this we travelled to the end of tour tournament. After three exciting games, two of which we won 1-0 and 7-0 and one of which we lost 2-0, we were all extremely satisfied with our performance, especially as we had come second overall. The Under 15s won their tournament, and both netball teams experienced similar victories. After this, we all got ready for a visit to the pancake house and disco, both of which were resounding successes.

Early the next morning, we boarded the bus for our long trip home. We stopped off at a Belgian chocolate factory, which smelt great and the chocolate was delicious. None of us could agree exactly what the best part of the trip was, but we all agreed that the week itself was excellent, both because of the great sporting experiences we gained and also due to the wide range of fun activities we took part in, which brought us together both as a team and a group of friends.

Riding at Mobberley Georgina Lea, Lower Sixth Ordinarily you wouldn’t expect there to be a horseriding club at a school.

How mistaken you are! Since September 2013, every Tuesday of yellow week, students who are interested in learning how to ride are taken by minibus to Mobberley Riding School for an hour-long session. You don’t have to worry if you don’t have any previous riding experience as it is a beginner’s class.

Sadly it is only open to Years 7 and 8, but I advise any students from either of those years to get involved, as I guarantee that you’ll have a great time as well as learning a new skill. The price is £144 for an entire term and you pay in advance for the seven lessons; you really get your money’s worth!

Also, if you just want to have a bit of fun during Activities Week, a Pony Day was introduced two years ago at Mobberley. Around twelve students can take part, so if you’re keen then you need to put your name down fast! It has proved to have gone down very well in the two previous years, so you can definitely expect it as an option for this year’s Activities Week. Don’t miss it!

2014 Orienteering at CHS Simon Fletcher, Physics Department As the competitive orienteering season has drawn to a close this year, I would like to tell everyone about the thrilling conclusion to this year’s league at Sefton Park, Liverpool, and the story of two CHS boys who have shown determination and perseverance over the last three years and finally achieved great success.

entering Harry for the highest level course, Green, instead of the usual Light Green.

This “death or glory” approach gave Harry the chance of scoring more points but he would be up against Year 12 and 13 runners and if someone else set a really fast time and Harry made a mistake, he could also do a lot worse.

And so to Sefton Park on Saturday.

The competition was now between Harry and a boy called Ed from Fallibroome.

I found out that Ed was running the longer Green course trying to score highly.

So there was only one thing for it; Harry should also run the Green course and it would be a straight fight to the finish.

James Stott, Lower Sixth, and Harry Coleshill, Year 11, have both been stalwarts of the orienteering team since the very first event we went to three seasons ago. They have both worked really hard and learnt from their many mistakes, always keen to take on board advice and to reflect on feedback. They were always up against more experienced runners from Fallibroome and Sandbach schools, and it is never easy when you think that your rivals are always one step ahead.

Harry produced a fantastic faultless run in difficult terrain to score a massive 956 points. In addition, his rivals all ran the Light Green course, as they did not want to risk the difficult challenge of Delamere, and so Harry found himself with a lead of nearly 200 points with one event to go.

I saw Ed sprinting strongly to finish. He ran bravely without mistake and set a very fast time of 32:56 compared to the winning time of 30:00. Now it was all down to Harry who had started four minutes after Ed. We cheered Harry on as he sprinted towards the finish, but had he done enough?

on mountains and in parks. At each event there are different courses of varying difficulty ranging from White (Beginners) to Green (Advanced).

at the British Schools Score Championships.

However, this season has been a revelation.

James has dominated the Year 12 boys’ competition from the start and after four events had an unassailable lead. He is officially the Year 12 Boys’ Champion!

Harry seemed to be in a very competitive year group with a clutch of five very strong boys from other schools. After the first four events, Harry had scored consistently, but had made little mistakes at two of the events and was lying in third place.

The way the scoring works is that there are six events in the season with only your four best scores counting towards your final total. Orienteering courses are graded in difficulty and at event five in Delamere Forest, we pulled a tactical master stroke by

Orienteering at CHS James Stott, Lower Sixth Orienteering is a challenging sport where the competitor runs around a course, using a map and a compass to get from place to place. It requires navigational knowledge and high levels of fitness. It was first developed in Norway where it is one of the most popular sports in the country.

The school Orienteering Team was set up two years ago by Mr Fletcher and has since become popular amongst many year groups. Every event is held in different locations all around the country, in woods,

Within each different course there are two types of race, a score event where you try to visit as many places as possible in a certain time and a classic event where you go to each place in a specific order. Over the last two years we have competed in a wide range of competitions locally in the Cheshire Schools League and also nationally

This year we have had much success in the Cheshire Schools League with Harry winning the Year 11 category and me winning the Year 12 category. Both were tough competitions to win considering the number of regional and national team members competing, and we were both very proud of our achievement.

Orienteering is a great sport for all and I can recommend it.

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ultimate frisbee!

Mohammed Nejad Mehdi, Year 11 He had made a mistake at one control and lost some time, his finishing time being 38:41. Was it going to be good enough?

The scoring system is complicated, so complicated that Sky Sports pundits could fill three hours of airtime explaining all the possible permutations. Both boys were trying to improve on their current fourth lowest score in order to increase their overall totals. Harry was at an advantage here because his lowest score was 623 whereas Ed’s lowest score was 717.

We were desperately trying to work out if Harry had done enough using a calculator on a mobile phone in the minibus.

My gut feeling was that he had, but we couldn’t be sure until I got home and could write down all my workings!!

Last year I heard of a craze that was sweeping over the school...Ultimate Frisbee!

When first I heard of it I was unsure whether it was for me. I thought, probably like many others, and maybe even you, reader, that this might be a silly club with no structure.

I feared it might simply be a rabble of kids running around throwing a frisbee back and forth. What I found when I decided to try it, however, was completely different.

The club consists mostly (and strangely) of Year 11s and Year 7s. It is also worth noting that both of these groups over time have demonstrated a very good quality of frisbee.

Of course there are the stars of the club. While Ultimate was still in its primordial days there were only Year 11s attending and we waited to see how the club would develop.

As time went on, more and more Year 11s came, but no other years, until one day along came Frasier. A humble Year 7 in a group of Year 11s, Frasier’s presence enabled other Year 7s to come along to the club and not feel frightened by the older more experienced boys.

I was delighted when I calculated that, Ed scoring 1018 at Sefton and Harry scoring 866, Harry had done enough to gain first place overall by 120 points. He is officially the 2013-14 Year 11 Boys’ Champion!

I know that Harry is thrilled to bits with his win and I know that his parents are very proud as well, as they have supported him at all times, even driving him to events in the school holidays when I couldn’t go.

I am very proud to have ended the 2013 – 14 orienteering season with such success for James and Harry.

Run by Mrs Leonard, Frisbee Club has over the two years been developed into a bustling community where children of any year can come and feel welcomed to the team. The teachers themselves have also been known to throw their hat into the ring from time to time with the legendary Mr Thorn being a frequent member. He and Mrs Leonard have often been known to impart their wisdom to the club. With the sense of community ever growing, we even have our own team kits on order so we can compete against other schools.

The story however is not over; we need you, reader! We need more members for our welcoming community; we want to expand our borders and help our skills as well as the sport to grow. In this time of Ultimate prosperity for our club we look to the generations to come; the current Year 11s who make up most of the team cannot go on forever. We look to the younger generations to come and experience the fun that we have, the fun that we know you could have too. We look to future generations to carry on the legacy of Ultimate Frisbee.

Ultimate Frisbee Update Ros Leonard, Biology Department We played our first fixture in June against Parrs Wood, which, as an introduction to competition, was a real baptism of fire. Playing against an older and more experienced team, we managed an 11-2 loss. Gluttons for punishment, in the same month we took part in the UK Ultimate Schools Championship, Years 7/8 Division, in Birmingham.

Being the new kids on the block, our Year 7 squad fought valiantly against a number of old hands. We managed one draw and 5 losses, but much more important than that was how well all players really upped their game over the course of the day, and that we were a CHS first, blazing a trail for those who will follow!

2014

Junior sport at chs

CHS JUNIOR SKI TRIP 2014 Kiera Robinson, Year 5 On the 5th April 2014 Years 5 and 6 went to France for a week of skiing.

We all woke up bright and early to make sure we got to the airport on time. As soon as we got to Manchester Airport we checked in with our family groups, when we had said goodbye

to our parents; then, the man at the airport gave us a plane ticket and, before we knew it, it was time to get off the plane and onto the bus. We had 21 hairpin turns before we reached our hotel in Alpe d’Huez which was called Hotel Beau Soleil.

We went into our rooms and unpacked. Most of us were in rooms of three and four, but one room had ten children in it.

fantastic gymnastics!

An Interview with Zachary Dutton Bella Law, Year 5

How long have you been doing gymnastics?

Two and a half years.

What was it like when you first started gymnastics?

Exciting and scary.

What made you decide to start gymnastics?

My mum’s friend recommended it.

How many competitions have you entered?

One.

Were you successful ?

Yes. How many medals have you won?

Three, a bronze, a silver and a gold.

What did you win them for?

Silver on floor, bronze on vault and a silver medal overall.

What is your aim for the future?

To be in the Olympics.

42-43 The next day we were woken up at 7:15am by the teachers.

We had a shower and got dressed. Then we went down to breakfast. For breakfast there was yoghurt, croissants, pains au chocolat and orange and apple juice. Mr Turner told us what to wear for skiing; some days we wore goggles and other days we wore sunglasses. We then went up to our rooms and got ready.

After we had put on our ski gear we went down to put on our ski boots and get our poles. After that we finally got skiing. We were put in groups according to our ability to ski. Some of us went on red slopes, some on green, some on blue and some on black. After we had skied for two hours we had lunch. After that we had another two hours of skiing.

Once we had finished our skiing for the day we had tea. For tea we had things like fish and chips, roast dinner, pasta and meatballs. After eating, we had activities planned. On the first day our activity was going for a walk around Alpe d’Huez.

We went around an ice rink and did the conga and the cha cha cha! On the second day we had a quiz after skiing.

It was really fun because we had to guess which logos matched which companies. We all tried our best in the quiz but in the end the teachers won! On the third day we did karaoke. It was amazing! We all had to sing a song that was on the sheet of paper the teachers gave us. On the fourth day we did Invertigo or high rope climbing. We were split into two groups, and the group that wasn’t climbing played either table tennis or chess.

When climbing we all had to wear a hairnet under our helmets.

It was fun because when we fell we would just bounce back up from the net. In the massive net there were obstacles to go through, under or over. There was a Tarzan swing as well.

On the fifth day we went bumboarding. What we did was sit on the top of a little slope, put a bumboard under us and slide.

On the sixth day our activity was watching Cool Runnings.

It was hilarious and for the people who haven’t seen it they form a Jamaican bobsled team. And finally on the last night we had an award ceremony and we played games.

We all improved in our skiing and we all loved Ski Trip 2014!

An Interview with Katrin Haraldsdottir

An Interview with Grace Haughton

How long have you been doing gymnastics?

Five years.

How long have you been doing gymnastics?

Six years and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

Kiera Robinson & Bella Law, Year 5

What was it like when you first started doing gymnastics?

Very exciting.

How many competitions have you been successful in?

None, but I’m working hard on it and getting better. I have only been in one so far but it was great.

What is your aim for the future?

To be able to do a back flip and be as successful as Beth Tweddle.

Kiera Robinson, Year 5 Kiera Robinson, Year 5

What was it like when you first started gymnastics?

Very nerve-wracking, because I didn’t want to hurt myself.

How has your build up been?

Very successful.

How many competitions have you been successful in?

Fourteen, but I have come second in some.

What is your aim for the future?

To be in the Olympics and be as successful as Beth Tweddle.

2014

Lucy Roberts, Year 5 Swimming at CHS is a SPLASH! You will love swimming at CHS from Reception all the way up to the Senior School. You’ll learn to swim as fast as your ice-cream will melt on a sunny day!

There are lots of different events such as the CHS galas. The CHS galas are really exciting as some people from each year are chosen to represent the school.

Each child gets to compete in at least one race and everyone has lots of fun.

There are also Interhouse Galas where the pupils from the four different Houses race each other. If it is a tie then we include a cannon relay where two teams that have tied get to do a final hectic race.

And that’s why swimming at CHS is a splash!

AJIS SWIMMING

At the AJIS swimming we gained a very respectable third place overall.

Libby McCoy came first in the individual medley, and the freestyle relay team came third in their relay race. It was a very close tournament and we came narrowly third.

44-45 Jasmine Wakefield, Year 6

AJIS HOCKEY At the AJIS in the first round it was only eight minutes per match, so not very long to score. But despite making it through the first round, the girls managed to get a well-deserved third place, after narrowly losing out on the penalties by only one goal.

WASA NETBALL We won the West Area with an amazing 32 goals in total. We won all matches so we were unbeaten. It was freezing cold, and it was a great achievement to win first place, when we had to play in the cold!

AJIS NETBALL We came a smashing second place in the AJIS netball, after only one defeat in the final against Oldham Hulme. All the girls did very, very well.

2014

July 2013 was definitely a month to remember!

Ben Mesrie, Lower Sixth I was selected to captain the Great Britain Junior Golf Team in the Maccabiah Games held in Israel. This is the world’s third largest sporting event, behind the Olympic Games and Universiade, which also take place every four years. On 18h July, more than 7,000 Jewish athletes from all over the world joined Team Israel’s 3,000 participants at the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem for the opening ceremony. About 32,000 spectators, including Israel’s President and Prime Minister, as well as numerous foreign and local dignitaries, watched and cheered as the teams from 71 countries took their turn to walk around the stadium. As the 450 GB Athletes were addressed by David Cameron and Sebastian Coe by live video link, we felt inspired, proud and determined to do our best.

Caesarea Golf Club is the only international golf club in Israel.

The course is challenging and hosts prestigious international tournaments. We fought it out, in the searing heat, over six to seven hour rounds, against scratch professional junior players from the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia and Israel. Being captain of the GB Golf Team was a great privilege. It was important to listen to the team’s feedback and to motivate especially the younger members of the team.

I had participated in the Junior Golf Team in the European Maccabiah Games in Vienna in 2011, which had been tough, but this experience stretched us much further. In Vienna, I managed to achieve the Gold Medal in the Junior Section and the Silver in the Men’s Competition.

Although we performed well as a team, we did not qualify for any medals. Personally, I achieved 6th place in the net competition.

The overall standard of golf was extremely high, and the whole team gained so much from the experience both technically and personally.

In 2015, the European Maccabiah Games are due to take place in Berlin and I am planning to try out for the Men’s Golf Team.

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Found Poem Hesham Bilal-Hafiz, Louise Goddard, Coral Swindells and Crad Roberts, Lower Sixth In the example below, four Lower Sixth English Literature students were tasked with making a love poem, using only the words in the Daily Bulletin on June 20th. No mean feat!

Below is their clever creation.

Found poems take existing texts and refashion them, reorder them and present them as poems. The literary equivalent of a collage, found poetry is often made from newspaper articles, street signs, graffiti, speeches, letters, or even other poems.

To Feel Free To feel free with you is to forget the fairy-tales daily drama potential competition a common feel for second place.

A reminder to consider Time as a great opportunity to showcase our qualities and shared chemistry.

2014 Boys in Dresses – Charity Netball for the Philippines Jonny Stewart and Teddy Baines, Upper Sixth Netball, it is only football with your hands. How hard can it be?

The Upper Sixth boys were about to find out…

Having begun training with the help of Miss Purchase, the boys realised she was as clueless as them about all this. As a team they grew and developed basic skills, trying some audacious moves on the training ground that never made it to the game.

Having spied on the girls’ training sessions, it was time for a date to be set. In a moment of madness, the idea of wearing the girls’ dresses seemed brilliant. Oh, what a mistake. To rectify this error, a fundraising element was introduced, collecting money for the Philippines Appeal. As a promotional idea, posters of the boys in their dresses were created and stuck all around the school.

Game day. The morning flew by and tensions rose in anticipation of the game. The dresses went on, the crowds gathered and the atmosphere was building despite the horrible weather conditions. The whistle blew and we were off. The boys came out all guns blazing, scoring six goals in quick succession.

Teddy Baines was the boys’ talisman here, bagging them all.

The girls, stifled by some aggressive defending from Dan Wilkinson, could only score once before the close of the quarter.

Miss Purchase then brought the boys back down to earth by reminding them that the game had barely started. The second quarter was more even, as the girls began to get a foot in the game, but they couldn’t stop the boys increasing the lead to 10-4 at half time. In the heat of the game, the boys lost their heads in the third quarter and the girls capitalised on this, pulling the score back to 10-8 with Grace Fowler in fine scoring form. Was the comeback on?

on the score sheet, along with Lauren Welsh for the girls. At the final whistle, the boys celebrated a shock victory, whilst the girls, gracious in defeat, congratulated them on some fine play.

With the words of Miss Purchase ringing in their ears, the boys came out with some of the best netball of the game, making the final score 14-10 to the boys, with Andy Hogg getting his name

Thank you to everyone involved, and all those who donated.

In one lunch time a terrific atmosphere was created and £105 was raised for the Philippines. Not bad for boys in dresses.

In a post-match interview, the girls’ coach, Mrs Patrick, said; “They were the best, most organised boys’ team I’ve ever seen play here.”

The boys’ captain, Jonathon Stewart, said “An inspired performance from the boys led us to a hard-earned victory.

I’d like to thank the girls for taking the time to play us and the staff for refereeing the game.”

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stars Phoebe McGowan, Year 10

I think the first time I ever really noticed the stars was on a camping trip to Wales when I was 11. A few of us were talking and we hadn’t even noticed how late it was until we looked up and saw the sky full of the most beautiful stars, like diamonds embedded into black velvet.

Since then I’ve learnt a lot about the lights that have inspired people since we first began life on this planet. They’re not quite as delicate as I liked to think they were – in reality, they’re huge, burning balls of gas, the biggest of which is thought to be 2,000 times the size of the Earth. When the most massive die, they can even create black holes which suck up everything in sight – not quite the pretty diamonds I first thought.

Although I did my research, my interest in stars was set to one side until another trip, this time on a Dutch sailing barge in Holland. One of the leaders told us that if we looked for long enough at the sky then we would see the Milky Way. So, every night after dinner my friend and I would grab our sleeping bags and lie on the deck staring at the sky, willing the Milky Way to appear. It was amazing how it worked – at first only the brightest of stars were visible but slowly the picture became more and more detailed as tinier and tinier stars began to

shine through. I don’t think we ever did see the Milky Way, but the experience itself is one I’ll always keep with me.

After that holiday, I started to go to Stargazing Club every so often. I really enjoyed myself, watching the sky swing through that beautiful gradient from blue to pink to orange to red and finally that inky black backdrop, perfect for the stars to stud. I didn’t even mind the numb toes that much, as long as there was someone to talk to or something to look at. I saw nebulae and planets through the school telescope and it was so exciting to see something I’d only ever seen portrayed in pictures before, right in front of my eyes.

However, I think my favourite experience with stars was in Utah last summer. We stayed in a house in a rather remote town called Duck Creek – a Disneyland sort of place where wild deer were a common sight and everyone had a hummingbird feeder on their decking. It was our last night there and I spend it reading on the veranda and letting the surroundings sink in. It wasn’t the first time I had seen the stars there, but it was my favourite. Sitting on my own out there surrounded by their dazzling beauty, it was easy to imagine how early humans could have seen those famous constellations that they named all those thousands of years ago.

2014

d i t i ! d e W Edinburgh Expedition f o e k u rD e v l i S the

Caity Lyng and Miriam Abbas, Year 11

Caity’s Day I arrived at school early and met up with my group so we could share out all our supplies and squash either a tent or a Trangia into our bags. At eight o’clock, we set off on the coach for a two hour journey; however, as we were trundling along the motorway, suddenly there was a sound like a massive balloon bursting. At first there were a few murmurs of confusion, but then as the bus started to pull over to the side, we erupted in cheers. We had broken down. Everyone was in great spirits as we filed out of the bus and sat on the grass at the side of the road, or leaned against the barrier. For half an hour we sat in the sun, whilst some people amused themselves by getting any trucks speeding by to beep their horns. When we finally arrived, there was a scrabble for the right bag and people took a quick toilet break before the long day of walking began.

As was expected, the air was filled with moans and groans as heavy bags were lifted onto shoulders, yet my group and another group perked up when we were told two hours would be taken off our route today thanks to the unexpected breakdown of the bus. So we all squashed up in a minivan and drove for a couple of minutes to our starting point. Despite the weight of the bag pressing down on our neck and shoulders and the knowledge that our hips would soon start to hurt, we were in good spirits. After hours of walking under a cloudy sky, one of our teachers told us we were close to what had once been a

gigantic waterfall, followed by a wide, winding river that had curved through the countryside. We dumped our bags gratefully and walked fifty metres along a trail on the side of this steep hill; in front of us were large cliff faces and a dry, rocky river bed. Whilst it may have once been impressive, the absence of water diminished the beauty of it. However, it was a lovely place to look at the scenery and the riverbed, which stretched on for miles into the distance. All too soon we were hefting our rucksacks onto our shoulders again and heading off towards our campsite. After a hard day of walking, we were the second group to reach the campsite and as it was still early (around 3ish), we decided to sit by a shallow stream, share out some cookies and dip our achy feet into the icy cold water.

Later on that evening, after pitching our tents and devouring a surprisingly filling dinner of chicken noodle Cup-A-Soup and pasta with tomato and bacon sauce, we decided to explore the waterfall at our campsite. We followed a path that curved round a corner, between two cliffs, and were greeted by the sight of a small waterfall. The craggy cliffs towered over us and the waterfall dropped into a small plunge pool, flowing out into different streams around the rocks on the river bed. We spent a good hour there, climbing up the waterfall and some stone steps to get a good view from high up. It started to rain so we took this as our cue to leave and settled down into our tents for a good night’s sleep.

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Miriam’s Day We got up at 6 in the morning to get an early start (some of us needed more encouragement than others!) and quickly ate our breakfast before clouds of irritating midges could descend on us. After packing up our tents and sharing out the equipment, we set off from Gordale Bridge Campsite, soon reaching a beautiful forest track where we came across a famous waterfall called Janet’s Foss. We discovered that, many years ago, to get more money for their wool, farmers used to wash their sheep in the shallow pool below the waterfall.

After our first checkpoint, we faced a very steep climb to get up to a ridge and after following a track for a couple of hours we found a grassy spot to have lunch. We were surrounded by rocky crags and we spotted many caves hidden in the steep cliff faces. Throughout the whole expedition we saw a lot of disused quarries and interesting rock formations such as shakeholes, which are sinkholes in the ground often found in limestone areas.

We continued to descend into valleys and climb up onto hills throughout the day. Eventually, just after 3 o’clock, we made our final descent, through numerous fields of

angry looking cows, into a hamlet called Feizor, just a couple of kilometres from our campsite. There, we bought strawberries (which sadly all turned out to be mouldy) and after a muchneeded toilet stop and another half hour of walking we finally reached our campsite. To our delight, there were hot showers and hardly any midges!

Later we heard that one team of boys had missed a turning and had ended up walking an extra 6 km in the wrong direction!

According to the teachers, the group now held the record for being “the most lost D of E group ever”!

Two hours later they finally arrived and unsurprisingly, they were absolutely shattered, but the other groups kindly put up their tents for them and later, they even managed to take part in a game of volleyball using a rather deflated beach ball.

After an enjoyable meal (and a “lucky” encounter with a pigeon!) we played cards until sunset. It had been the longest and most tiring day; therefore, exhausted, we settled down to sleep, relieved that we only had one more day of walking before we could finally go home and sleep in our own beds!

2014 An Interview with Miss Pearson Joe Murphy, Lower Sixth Miss Pearson, Head of Cheadle Hulme School, former England International Cricketer.

I think an obvious place to start is at the beginning; how did you first get into cricket and when did you realise you were really good?

Well, I basically got into it because of my brother; it was a typical ‘girl had an older brother and he needed a fielder’ so I spent many a day rumbling around in the nettles trying to find the ball he smashed! Then I went to a very little prep school with only eight girls and 100 boys and the girls’ sport options were netball and ballet (for which I was not a natural), so through a guerrilla warfare with my ballet teacher I managed to get myself kicked out and the only option was to go and play cricket with the boys. I had two years of coaching at nine and ten, played one game, got out first ball and didn’t get a bowl. I then didn’t play at all at Secondary School; I did hockey, swimming, athletics, netball and just learnt hand-eye coordination. I’ve never considered myself sporty. But it was at Oxford where I was playing hockey with a group of girls and we wanted to stay together as a group - so why not play cricket?

That’s where it started really.

Do you think that there is sexism in sport?

There is sexism in sport. There’s no doubt about that. It isn’t fair, but that is the way of the world. The girls’ game has developed enormously in the last ten years; they are now on contracts, they’re paid to play, they’re sponsored by the lottery and they’re able to pursue cricket as a professional career, which in my day you couldn’t. So the game has evolved enormously and I think women’s sport is getting better. The thing that upsets me is the lack of media coverage. My view is the media set our tastes – if they started covering women’s sport more, more people would become interested.

So you think more can and should be done to help women’s and girls’ sport?

Yes, I do and I feel quite sorry for girls in sport because the boys don’t have to look very far for a role-model; football is on the TV all the time, so are rugby and cricket. When do you see a hockey or a netball match? So it’s very difficult; it’s hard for them to find rolemodels. If you ask any boy if he has a favourite footballer he will, and he will want to be like him, and he’ll stay in sport. Girls don’t have that and that worries me, but we have to keep fighting that and give them pride in being good at a sport.

Yes, I agree. Coming back to cricket now, you’ve played in world cups, Ashes series etc. The pressure involved in international sport must be immense, something most people can’t really imagine. How did you cope with that or was it something you struggled with?

There are many things I’m grateful to cricket for and one of them is understanding real pressure, because in cricket you are so exposed as a player. In football and hockey and team games you can make a mistake and make up for it. If you’re a batter and you mess up, you’re out. That’s it. Your game’s over. So you are exposed, and I learnt the hard way, opening the bowling for ten years. That very first ball that I bowled set the tone for the game and my team.

I felt sick, I wouldn’t eat – I had to work very hard at controlling those nerves. But in the end I learnt that I could control my nerves myself. At the end of the day it was just me and a ball. I learnt to bowl with my eyes shut. Sometimes I did feel very vulnerable, but I think to experience that is a very good thing.

And finally do you have any advice for young cricketers?

My advice is; enjoy the game and participate in all three parts of it. The game is perfect for you if you fall in love with fielding because that’s what you spend most of your time doing. It is about spending hours; there’s no quick fix to be successful. You have to put the time in.

But cricket is a wonderful game because of the friendships you form playing it.

Get involved, find a format of the game you enjoy and play all sides of the game.

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CHS Girls’ Football Hafsa Maududi, Year 11 Football is simple yet complicated. When I first started playing, I thought it would be easy; however, each move can take weeks to perfect and training regularly is a must.

It’s a game that is played on a number of different levels and is easily accessible.

No matter whether you are watching or playing, it’s one of the world’s most popular sports and a very unpredictable game, which makes it more exciting; a team can be

Schools Football Association) is a fairly new team and the squad had only been put together a few months prior to the Championships that had taken place after the trials that were held in January 2014.

Miss Curl had been approached by the ISFA to set up a regional top girls’ squad and the final team featured girls from local schools and from Leeds and Lancashire. Despite this, many of our players have the experience, as

For every goal we conceded, we fought back harder and never gave up. Our coaches were constantly supporting us and encouraged us to push further. For ISFA North, I play as a striker alongside Ellie; these aren’t our preferred positions as I usually play in defence and Ellie is normally a keeper, but we know that sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the benefit of the team. The only thing I thought

champions one season and end up in 7th place the next! There are people who cling onto the belief that football is a man’s world, but attitudes are now changing, as many females have begun to put themselves forward.

they play regularly and have contracts with many different clubs including Manchester United and Manchester City.

we lacked was confidence, and this grew throughout the afternoon.

Each player in the squad is significant as they have to work together in order to produce a good performance. The game requires tremendous amounts of teamwork to be successful and since the North Regional Team was unable to train together it took some time to get used to each other’s style of play. Compared to the other regional teams, ISFA North (Independent

Although we came last, every game made us stronger individually and as a team and we came back from the Championships with many positives. Our mindset had changed from; “We’ll see what happens” to “We have to win it next year!” The scores were very close and we’re hoping that we’ll be able to compete at the top with the rest of the teams in 2015. The defending champions, Scotland, finished in 4th place and the South East won the title.

We were the first team to score in the competition with a great assist from Amy and a tap in by Ellie. We were also the first girls ever to play on Harrow’s 1st XI pitch.

Competing in the Championships at Harrow was good exposure and for this the girls and I would like to thank Miss Curl for giving us the opportunity to be a part of the team and being able to compete at this level.

2014

Scott Parker is a Megafinalist Scott Parker, Year 10 Riding high on my success of last year, when I competed in my first ever official chess competition for Cheshire and North Wales, where I won the U15 Schools Gold Cup and also scored more points than the overall county winner in this age group, Mr. Nolan suggested I should now enter the Delancey UK School’s Chess Challenge 2014.

This was being held at Cheadle Hulme School on Sunday 11th May. The other players were the winners of all the regional contests, so there was a lot of stiff competition. Again, I was delighted to achieve a place as a Megafinalist in my age group and received a certificate and

Chess is an ancient game that is both intriguing and addictive. There are more possible moves in a chess game than the number of observable atoms in the universe.

The oldest chess sets in existence, the Uig Chessmen, were discovered within a hidden wintering lair of the Vikings on the Isle of Lewis, carved from walrus ivory and dating back to 1100 AD.

The history of chess spans back 1500 years; the earliest version of the game originated in India before the 6th century AD. From India it spread to Persia in 600 AD. When the Arabs conquered Persia, chess was taken up by the Muslim world and subsequently spread to the Middle East and then to Southern Europe and Russia.

Chess peaked throughout Europe in the 12th to 15th centuries.

Modern competitive chess began to be practised in 1834 but in 1851, during the London Chess Tournament, concerns were raised about the time taken to deliberate moves; one player took as much as two hours 20 minutes to think over a single move. As a result, penalties for exceeding time came into force.

The practice of playing chess for money became so widespread that during the 13th century, Louis IX issued an ordinance against gambling in France in 1254. The ordinance turned out to be unenforceable and was largely ignored by the common public, and even by courtly society, who continued to enjoy the now prohibited chess tournaments uninterrupted.

In 1861 the first time limits using sandglasses were employed in a tournament match in Bristol. Sandglasses were later replaced by pendulums.

Modern clocks consisting of two parallel timers with a small button for a player to press after completing a move were later employed to aid the players.

Position analysis became quite popular in the 19th century. From 1851 onwards

rosette as an outstanding player at school and county level.

After this second success, I have been put forward to the Northern Gigafinal which is being held at Wright Robinson College, Gorton, in Manchester on Sunday 6th July. Here it is possible to win prizes of ÂŁ100 plus a title cup. The top three players of each section will then be put through to the National Terafinal in August with prize money of ÂŁ2,000.

I am one of the last 2,000 players out of the original 60,000 players that entered nationwide. So I am hoping that my success continues.

chess masters who won the London tournament were widely regarded as the Chess Master. The official World Championship was instigated in 1886 when Prague-born chess master Wilhelm Steinitz triumphed over the Polish/ German chess master Johannes Zukertort.

Today chess is as compelling and challenging as it ever was.

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Badminton Club Badminton Club started in 1985 as a co-curricular club for just the Sixth Form and it was originally run by Mr Westbrook. In 1986 the School decided to introduce badminton as a school sport and teams were formed under the leadership of Mrs Rawling. Over the next five years they built up to twelve teams of boys and girls. The teams have played in competitions in the Manchester League, which they have won several times.

For many years, Mrs Rawling ran the club single-handedly, but then when Miss Pearson arrived at the school, she brought in professional coach Mark Golds to help coach the teams. Badminton thrives as a school sport; it succeeds competitively, is a popular sport amongst the pupils and is great socially. Mrs Rawling states that she finds it very rewarding to watch how the kids develop each year. Mrs Rawling also began playing badminton as a hobby outside school ten to fifteen years ago.

Georgina Lea, Lower Sixth

From all the work she has put into it, she admits that basically she built the sport up at school from almost nothing. We also talked to keen badminton player and Captain of the U19 Girls’ Team, Tizzie Brass, who told us: “I’ve played badminton socially since I was quite young so when I joined CHS, I grabbed the opportunity to try and get better by playing with the school team. I now play for the U19 team and am the Girls’ Captain. In 2010 the team was fortunate enough to have Mark Golds (an England badminton player) come and coach us in our badminton sessions. Since Mark joined, the skills of players have improved dramatically and this enables us to focus on our strengths and weaknesses.

The team plays every Wednesday (coached by Mark) from 4pm until 5.30pm. I really enjoy these sessions; not only do our badminton skills improve week on week but great friendships have been created because of the club. It’s social as well as competitive, which is a nice break from academic life. It’s especially good when we play in matches against other schools. The Girls’ U16 Team recently won the Stockport Schools Competition.”

FUTSAL

Matthew Torkington and Joseph Bloom, Year 7

Futsal is a five-a-side football game that requires lightning-fast reactions, brilliant pace and amazing skill. Futsal is the fastest growing sport in the world.

The rules of Futsal are very simple:

Futsal is held on a Tuesday night after school and on Thursday and Friday mornings in the gym.

• T he goalkeeper cannot kick the ball out, he can only roll it

I love Futsal because it really improves my fitness, skills, movement and control.

Working on control on a little pitch really helps you on the bigger pitch. Futsal is also great at our school because it is almost nonstop playing with two minute games and little breaks inbetween; it works brilliantly.

Also, for players who like the ball at their feet, you will get a lot of the ball, because it’s only 5-a-side including a goalkeeper.

• W hen the ball goes out of play, you can take no longer than four seconds to kick it back into play • No slide tackles • F ive players on each team, with no set positions apart from the goalkeeper • Roll on roll off subs

2014

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“ The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”

Pablo Picasso

2014

on the Golden Mile Alicia Yates, Year 9 On a wet and windy Monday in September, I and all the Year 9 students that take Art as a subject went to the Blackpool front, where we spent the day walking along the ‘Golden Mile’. Even though the weather was wet, cold, windy and disappointing, the sights were definitely not. We were gathering visual information for our Year 9 coursework with Mr Yearsley, Miss Baker and Miss Craig in Paint, Ceramics and Textiles. We took photos and managed to do some drawing – soaking up the atmosphere, advertising, ride displays, amusement arcades and shop fronts.

We used the information from the drawings and the photographs to work

into Ceramics, Textiles and Paint. We are also using the ideas of some very famous pop artists including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein etc. We made a bird box in Ceramics, which allowed us to use our modelling skills. We are making a crazy pop art jigsaw idea in Drawing and Painting, which is using our design skills. And in Textiles we are making Pop Art inspired hats; which also explores our design skills.

For all of these ideas we are using our photography design sheets, which help us with ideas for drawing or sculpting or even sewing. Overall, the school Art trip to Blackpool was a lot of help for everyone’s coursework in Year 9 and it was also really fun to have a day out with our friends.

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Lowry Theatre – Wednesday 18th December 2013

Rosie Wetton and Maryam Munir, Year 9 Having both seen the film and read the book by Michael Morpurgo, we thought that the theatre production could not be as enjoyable as the book or the film, because it wouldn’t be possible to do all the different sets on one stage. However, we were amazed by the way in which, with a projector and a long cloud-shaped screen, they could express different settings and time periods. Having heard that Joey (the horse) and all the animals were puppets we were expecting them not to be very realistic, but the sound effects they made and the puppets themselves made the characters come to life as we were experiencing the real actions of the animals. We especially liked the goose that kept being locked out of the house and lightened the mood at very dramatic moments!

Although we noticed that some bits were different from the film, we thought that the stage version created the same atmosphere.

During the war scenes the play was very successful in making us, the audience, feel as if we were experiencing every moment and emotion the characters went through. We thought they used the lighting, smoke machines and the gun shot sound effects very well.

The gun shots were very loud and even by the end we found we still weren’t expecting them. Finally, the songs fitted very well with the emotions portrayed on the stage.

This play was as good as The Lion King; it was one of the best theatre productions we’ve ever seen, and left most of the audience in tears.

2014 Farming the Animals Following the events of the revolutionary play of the George Orwell classic, from the perspective that no one got to hear

Harry Grimshaw, Year 11 When I heard that my role in the latest school production would be to portray the then unknown to me Mr Pilkington, I was both excited yet also, in a sense, confused as my character didn’t seem as straightforward as the characters which some of my friends had been given, pigeon number 2 being a particularly good example of one of these far more self-explanatory roles. Then again, the road to becoming a member of the Animal Farm cast wasn’t straightforward either, as myself and fellow aspiring actor Patrick “the voice” Brako had decided to sing a selection of the fantastic Les Miserables songs; Patrick knew these by heart, yet I only knew them from his heartfelt impressions and past representations. The audition went relatively well with judges Ms Harms and Mrs Haspell laughing after my performance, hopefully with joy, possibly with amusement at my “could be improved upon” voice. The weeks that immediately followed involved relatively straightforward rehearsals in which myself and Jack “the Braun” Boyd worked on our voices together, realising, as Jack once said to me, that “it’s not too bad, this singing malarkey”. However, once the autumn half-term holiday was over, rehearsals and run-throughs seemed to shift into turbo, with events becoming so intense that it made the final shootout in

the western classic The Good, The Bad and The Ugly look like two boys playing with water pistols in a supervised public swimming bath. I remember vividly an almighty call for “Muriel!!” by Ms Harms which shook the foundations of the Holden Hall building, but this call was not in vain, as that very scene for which “Muriel!!” hadn’t been present during rehearsals that day did in fact turn out to be one of my favourite songs/scenes in the play; the song performed by Mishal “Muriel!!” Bandukda and Anna “Clover” Walters had such an awesome Downton Abbey feel that was extremely well received by the audience.

A fortunate aspect of my roles (yes, there were several, further details will come, don’t worry!) was that I had a lot of time offstage and hence was able to watch much of the play from the audience’s perspective, not just as an actor participating in the scenes. This definitely allowed me to see why the audience would find flaws in my performances as I could see that certain actions or gestures on stage would seem to us to be clear, but in fact needed to be more exaggerated and obvious to make sense to the audience.

I fear that all this drama talk is boring you, so I shall shift the focus to the trials and tribulations of life backstage where the pre-show parties in the boys’ changing room would push the boundaries on how acceptable it is to know every word of Careless Whisper by Wham!, although this did create a last chance saloon tone in the changing room; Clint Eastwood, eat your heart out! I remember vividly during one of the long Sunday rehearsals when myself and the previously mentioned Jack “the Braun” Boyd found ourselves going out for a stroll on the school fields to get away from the actually quite “sad-to-see-go” Animal Farm atmosphere; well, by stroll I mean Jack was on his character’s retro bicycle while I was ambling after him trying to keep up with his rapidly pedalling leg muscles! When back in “work mode” I took on not only the role of the now well-known to me Mr Pilkington, but also of the generic egg collector (undoubtedly my finest performance to date) as well as the evil horse slaughterer who came to collect the beloved Boxer!

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To conclude this small insight into life as a member of the Animal Farm cast, I would say that although I found myself being overcome with nerves on the first couple of nights that the play was performed, I wouldn’t replace my Animal Farm experience quite literally for the world as it has given me so many happy memories of hilarious rehearsals and thoroughly enjoyable performances, as well as allowing me to create so many new friendships that would otherwise have been impossible.

Animal Farm – Creating the Costumes Rosie Wood, Upper Sixth Animal Farm by George Orwell has always been considered to be one of the most controversial yet significant novels of the twentieth century. Last November, the Upper School were lucky enough to perform the dynamic play, with Upper Sixth Art students designing all costume pieces as part of their A2 coursework. The pupils experimented with modrock, wire and even clay to create the perfect headpieces for their assigned characters. However, latex proved to be the most effective material, giving flexibility to the animals’ movements whilst enabling the actors to display the transformation of innocent animals into tyrannical humans.

All the Art students involved found the project challenging yet inspiring, allowing them to obtain a greater understanding of the quality of costume design required for professional productions in the theatrical world. A truly impressive set and outstanding performances from the actors ensured that the production of Animal Farm was a great success, giving all the students an enormous sense of satisfaction.

The Upper Sixth Art pupils continued to expand their project on Animal Farm after the four day production by developing their ideas on topics such as the brutality of animal testing and the importance of equality within a social system.

2014

Junior expression at chs INFANT NATIVITY Interview with Lucas Kuiper Molly Thompson and Grace Haughton, Year 5 Which part do you play in the Infant Nativity?

I play the donkey.

How many lines do you have?

Twenty-five.

What is your favourite part of the play ?

When I say my favourite line: ‘Nobody ever listens to a donkey’.

Are you scared when you are in the Nativity?

Sort of, a little bit.

Do you like your part?

Yes, a lot, I love it.

Do you do a lot of rehearsals?

Yes, because we want it to be good.

What part would you want to be if you were not Steve?

One of the Kings.

Do you sing a solo or a duet?

I sing a duet with someone.

Captain Bluebeard’s Monkey Freya Webb and Phoebe McHugh, Year 6 During January, pupils from Years 4, 5 and 6 were selected for Ms Chakrabarti’s play, Captain Bluebeard’s Monkey.

After the parts were cast, we gathered in the hall to discuss our rehearsal times and we knew the next four months were going to be tough. The main parts included Captain Bluebeard (Freya Webb), Boy (Elora Cripps), Monkey (Zach Foster) and Bosun (Phoebe McHugh).

The Story Line The late Captain Bluebeard was one of many pirates; he was the most fearsome, in fact he was the greatest pirate Captain in history.

He had more treasure than you could ever imagine and with this fortune he decided to buy a school to teach his crew manners and respect.

Unfortunately, teaching his crew of cut-throat pirates was much harder than he’d expected…in the end the pirates were reunited with their Captain and all was well; but there was soon to be a new Captain!

We all really enjoyed doing the play and it has improved our acting abilities and our confidence to perform in front of our friends and family.

We would like to thank Ms Chakrabarti for all her hard work, her time spent directing the play and her belief that we could do anything we put our minds to.

Without Ms Chakrabarti we wouldn’t be who we are today.

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Here comes the Drama

Bella Law and Grace Haughton, Yea r5 The Wizard of Oz was a buzz of excit ement at CHS as Dorothy Gale (Molly Thom pson) gets sucked into the twister and finds herself in a splash of colour in the Land of OZ, meeting the Munchkins, the Lullaby League, the Lollipop Guild and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (Bella Law). She wants to go home and Glinda sends her in the right direction , but on her way she meets some interesting friends.

First she meets the Scarecrow (Charlie Bird) and with a song he explains to her that he needs a brain; then she finds the Wicked Witch of the West (Grace Hard y) who notices that Dorothy’s house has fallen on her sister and killed her. She tries to stop Dorothy from getting to OZ. And while the Scarecrow and Dorothy are trying to get to the Wizard of OZ they meet a rusted Tin Man (Zach Dutton),

who is chopping wood and gets caug ht in the rain. He needs Dorothy to oil the Little Tin Soldier and we find out in a song that the Tin Man needs a heart; then the Tin Man is off with the rest of them .

Finally they are in the jungle and they meet a cowardly Lion (Harris Hay) who needs to get to the Wizard of OZ to get some courage. When they get to the Wizard of OZ (Jack Bourne) he says that if they kill the Wicked Witch of the West he will grant them this favour; when they kill her he does not believe them .

Finally, Dorothy calls for Glinda and she sends Dorothy home. When she gets home people think it’s just a dream, but Dorothy is smart and shows Aunt Em (Katrin Haraldsdottír) and Uncle Henr y (Oscar Daniels-Sims) the ruby slippers.

After all her travels are over, Dorothy says that there is no place like home!

2014 IF I COULD WALK THE OCEAN OF THE BLUE Zachary Dutton, Year 5

IF I COULD SEE INTO YOUR SOUL

If I could walk the ocean of the blue, I would dance to the whales And make the rocks sing sweetly.

If I could walk the ocean of the blue, I would sing to the sun And the sweet silent shimmering sun Would dance to my graceful tune.

If I could walk the ocean of the blue, I would ride the waves that gleamed In the moonlight as silver as iron.

If I could walk the ocean of the blue, I would stroke the puffy picker fish And free the fish from nets of evil demons.

Bella Law, Year 5 If I could see into the future, Nothing would surprise me in a not very nice way.

If I had super hearing strength, I would know what everyone was saying, I would have the sound power of the world.

If I had eyes in the back of my chestnut head, I would be as good as Sherlock Holmes.

If I transformed into any animal, a cheetah perhaps, I would run away from all the anger.

If I could be any weather, I would be lightning, Zip and zapping across the dark and angry sky.

If I had gills, I would dive to the Dippiest, darkest, deepest point of the big blue sea.

If I could soar through the sensitive sky, I would overlook the world from above.

If I could see into your soul, I would know if you’re lying.

MAGIC Lucy Roberts, Year 5 If I could be magic, Everything would be perfect, I could do what I like and go where I like.

If I could be magic, I could make things come and I could make things go And I could make super sad things super happy.

If I could be magic, I would make things come true and I would make The dreams that we all have come true And I would make them all right in front of you.

If I could be magic, I would be as happy as a clown, I would make everybody laugh and jump up and down.

If I could be magic, I could make the fluffy clouds breathe And the cold wet rain go as soon as it comes.

If I could be magic, Everything would be perfect, I could do what I like and go where I like, But I can be invisible So nobody will know what I’m up to!

IF I HAD MAGIC Elizabeth Pollitt, Year 5 If I had magic, I would soar in the sparkling bright blue ocean and hear the angel fishes of the bright blue sea.

If I had magic, I would control the weather whilst sleeping on a light fluffy cloud which is singing to me.

If I had magic, I would talk to the animals and ride on darling dolphins in the exotic, eye-catching Caribbean.

If I had magic, I would create fairies as fast as cheetahs.

If I had magic, I would be able to visit all the amazing planets that zoom around the sun.

If I had magic, I could float gently on the glistening sea and be a polar bear on ice.

If I had magic, I would bring the magic back to Earth whilst making fairy dust in the vibrant blue sky.

IF I COULD WHISTLE Grace Hardy, Year 5 If I could whistle, I would sing like the beautiful robin Who lives at the bottom of my garden.

If I could whistle, I would imagine myself as a bird perched On the highest branch of the tallest tree.

If I could whistle, I would be a bluebird singing My morning song to everybody.

If I could whistle, I would watch the orange autumn Leaves dance to my catchy tune.

Now I can whistle, The whole world whistles My beautiful tune with me.

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Alice Brown, Year 6

Alderley Edge Festival Junior School musicians had lots of success this year at the Alderley Edge Festival. The Chamber Choir sang two songs, “Gonna Rise up Singing” and “Clouds”, beautifully. Their parents and teachers were very proud of them. They narrowly missed first place by one point to Bowden Prep. However, they were delighted with their performance and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The String Quartet and String Group played a variety of pieces exceptionally well, bringing back two first place positions. All the standards were very high and the children were a credit to the school.

Spring Concert and Progress Concert Musicians and singers have had lots of opportunities to showcase their talents this year. The Spring Concert was an evening of enjoyment for the audience in Holden Hall. Children from Years 2 to 6 took part in a variety of music groups, such as choirs, String Group, Recorder and Percussion Group, Orchestra and String Quartet. The audience were very impressed with the standard and the enthusiasm of the children.

The Progress Concert gave the children a chance to perform a piece they had been working on all year in their lessons to an audience of parents. The instruments varied from drums to piano, trumpet to clarinet. Pieces were played either as a solo performance or a duet.

The parents were thrilled with the progress their children had made.

Not only had they improved their music skills, but also all the children showed confidence. All the Music teachers were impressed and proud of their pupils.

An Interview with Finlay O’Shea: Year 2, Infant Cellist Molly Humphries, Year 5 When did you start playing the cello?

When I was four years old. I’m going to be taking my Grade 2 Examination soon. I’m seven now.

Do you enjoy it?

I love it. I like playing exciting fast music best and I like playing Jazz. I love playing in a big orchestra and I’m the only cello player in the Infant School.

Do you practise at home?

Yes, l practise at home every day with my brothers. They both play the violin.

Do you get nervous when you go on stage?

I get quite nervous, so I take deep breaths and think about nice things.

What are your plans for the future?

Next year I am going to play in the Junior Orchestra and I would like to join Stockport Youth Orchestra when I am older.

What was your proudest moment?

When String Group won the Alderley Edge Music Festival. We played “Money, Money, Money”, “Alouette” and “Captain Jack’s Hornpipe.”

2014

Art and Design Technology Exhibition 2014

This Page: Left: Adam Hull Middle Max Swann Below Left: Georgia Upton Below: ‘Birdknocker’ by Rebecca Illidge Opposite Page: Top: Elliott Addy Bottom Left: Freddie Charlesworth Bottom Right: ‘Teardrop’ by Lisa Graveley

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2014

YEAR 10 Brazil Project 2013 Tasha Laing-Smith and Ashley Booth

In order to prepare us for our DT GCSE project, our year was set a challenging and interesting task. We had to design a lighting feature which could be sold at the Brazil Olympic Games 2016 and at the World Cup 2014. Our product had to be based on the Brazilian culture, nature and sport.

There was a huge range of ideas in our class alone. Some people took on the idea of the colourful carnivals, whilst others chose to base their product on sport. There was a spectacular array of different products, our favourites being Jess’s jaguar with a carnival based headdress, with the light appearing through the jaguar’s mouth, and James’ simple and sophisticated design based on Christ the Redeemer.

Our own two designs were very different from the two above.

Tasha’s was based on different rainforest animals sitting on the Olympic rings, whilst Ashley’s incorporated Brazilian nature and the Olympics. We both made our products using CAD/CAM technology (2D design and the laser) to manufacture them correctly and accurately. One of the main aims of this project was to increase our knowledge of how to develop designs in order to obtain a high GCSE mark, which is the overall aim of our two year course.

Amelia Begg

Christian Matthews

Jess Batley

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Above: Tasha Laing-Smith Right: Harry Thompson

2014

FUMED OAK Annaliesa Ray, Upper Sixth

After being involved in the first ever Sixth Form play last year, ‘I Caught Crabs in Walberswick’ (directed by Harrison Swann and Faith Yianni), I was desperate to be able to direct my own student-led production. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to direct a Noel Coward play, as his work is so funny and a real treat to go and watch on stage. After much humming and hahing I resolved that I should direct Fumed Oak, one of Coward’s darker and more critical social comedies set in the 1940s.

The play tells the story of Henry Gow, a working class man who lives with his wife Doris, his daughter Elsie and his motherin-law Mrs Rockett. He decides one day that he has had quite enough of his mundane life that is controlled by the three generations of women, and states that he is leaving home and taking the first ship out of Britain. Harry Dubois, who played

Henry, captured the role of the unsatisfied and down-trodden individual perfectly, creating the sarcastic humour and lovable nature that pleads sympathy with the audience. Hannah Milligan wonderfully portrayed the role of Doris, the manic and controlling wife, whilst creating comedy with her powerful stares that I’m sure could kill! Anna Walters, playing Mrs Rockett, amazingly used her acting ability to transform herself from a Lower Sixth Former into a very irritating old woman, and I would like to thank her for being so understanding when she was covered with water on stage! Finally Anisa Gallagher as Elsie the moaning teenager really added to the humour of the piece with her wails and sobs, playing a very convincing character.

The play was enjoyed by the audience that came to support us, and, although the process was slightly stressful, I would like to thank everyone involved for helping me to realise my artistic vision (yes, I am a real arty director now), and I am glad to say that the Sixth Form play 2013 was a huge success!

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This year’s internal Writing Competition for Year 7 required the students to write a poem in which they employed an extended metaphor or included examples of metaphorical language. They could choose to write about absolutely anything they liked, from the change of seasons, or their mum’s incredible cheesecake, to their favourite sport. Or they could write about something totally abstract, like an emotion or the meaning of life. Here are the winning poems.

Loneliness Cate Howe Life is perfect, When the waves splash around you, But some people’s friends wash them onto the shore, They sit without company on the sand, Staring out at the desolation of the ocean, Desperate to join those on the horizon, Life is empty.

All is quiet, And the memories of your waves begin to fade, But their betrayal stays fixed in your head, The sea turns the shade of misery and the waters empty, The ocean depths seem duller, simpler, And your thoughts become caught in a net of despair, All is still.

You wait for the world to return to its old way, The day your waves, your friends, Come back for you.

The Ocean Jack Romer The Ocean is a Wolf With lots of different emotions, Wolf’s owner is Moony Controlling its movements, In or out, Rough or calm.

When the Wolf is calm, It rolls around on the shore, Jumping, feeling playful, Inviting children to play with cubs.

When the Wolf is getting hungry, It starts to drool, White and foamy.

Wolf’s teeth start to chatter.

When Wolf is starving it needs to eat, Launching a vicious attack with its pack, Wolf’s prey gets ripped apart, Leaving the wooden and metal debris to wash away.

Wolf has many different personalities Gentle, Cunning, Ferocious.

Be warned not to get on the wrong side of Wolf Because it may be the last thing you do…..

Happiness Matthew Jones

Happiness is a dazzling yellow balloon Fit to burst with exciting energy that makes you float inside.

It bounces along the bumps and bruises of life as it flies Higher into the clearer skies.

Smiles brightening When touched you feel the electric tingles in the skin.

On a rainy day the drops just bounce right off.

On a cold, sad day the balloon may shrivel and shrink.

When the sun shines, spirits rise and the balloon drifts high To join a thousand others, floating in the sky.

A Raging War Maddie Dutton The tree stands steadfast, Tens of thousands of leaves across the branches.

Dark clouds begin to gather; The tempest is on its way.

The intense rain falls like bullets, Hitting the leaves with deadly force.

Lightning flashes across the skies.

Striking the limbs, fire begins to burn, Thunder rumbles as it follows its Comrade across the sky.

The wind intensifies, screaming through the boughs.

As the clouds begin to clear Silence descends.

Scattered across the ground are leaves and limbs lying dead.

The fallen ones.

The Flight Sean Brako As my journey at Departures begins, excitement bubbles at the thought of adventures ahead.

I am ascending into the clouds, anticipating fun and learning.

Midflight I am soaring through classes, making friends for life, who join me on the scholastic trip, gaining knowledge as time flies by.

Fasten your seatbelts!

We’re hitting turbulence, exams are on the way…

At last it’s time to descend On our summer holiday!

2014

L A V I T S E F C I M US N A I C I S U M A N D YOUNG OF THE YEAR FINAL Haroon Malik, Lower Sixth Taking my seat in the aisles I prepared for an evening of musical entertainment in which members of the school would get to show off their virtuosic talents to the rest of us!

The Music Festival is an opportunity for students across the Senior School to stand up and perform to a large audience comprising friends and family. After a few quick welcoming words from Mr Dewhurst, the show kicked off with Abigail Drennan’s lively performance of “Wouldn’t it be Loverly”, an iconic classic from “My Fair Lady”, complete with a convincing Cockney accent! She was quickly followed by many varied musical acts that truly demonstrated the diversity and devotion of the musical students - there were never any two performances quite alike; whether we were listening to showtunes from Broadway productions or Bach’s 1st Movement of “Praeambulum”, Partia No. 5 in G, there was never a dull moment in the hall.

Those performing on the night from Years 8-11 had come 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for their performances in their respective year groups.

However, the five Sixth Form finalists were competing for the Young Musician of the Year Award, and its prize - the Keating Cup. Needless to say, each one of the Sixth Form finalists performed spectacularly; Lou-Anne Binns was the first finalist of the night to perform, and with her singing of “Alma del Core”, by Antonio Caldara, she certainly raised the bar for the rest of the finalists!

Her classical voice was well suited to the song (or “Aria” to any connoisseurs of music out there)! Annaliesa Ray followed with “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” from Hammerstein and Kern.

This bluesy musical number was sung with gusto and Annaliesa managed to captivate the audience with the song.

The next finalist to grace the stage was Cian O’Herlihy, a new student at CHS, playing “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” by Harbach and Kern. Playing this piece on the tenor horn, Cian managed to conjure a relaxed jazz atmosphere in the room, and showed an impressive command of the instrument. The next performance was by Hugh O’Shea on the violin; he played “Presto, Summer”, from “The Four Seasons” by Vivaldi. This daunting piece was played with energy and vigour and set the room alight. Ruaridh McGowan was the final finalist of the night with “Prelude and Fugue in A” by Bach, on piano. This piece was performed with an impressive accuracy and precision. Listening to these various performers, each one playing at an incredibly high level, it was hard to see how the adjudicator would be able to pick a winner.

Soon the time came for me to make a quick exit to meet up with the rest of the music group, A Capella, who’d be performing as part of a brief interlude, singing “Somewhere”, from West Side Story.

As always with A Capella, at one point during our performance there was a perfect moment of clarity where we knew that the hours of hard work put in had paid off, and as the final chord ended, we left the hall with a sense of accomplishment at the success of our first big performance of the year!

Finally, the adjudicator, Mrs Penny Sterling, had to come to a decision. There was a feeling of anticipation as we came close to discovering the winner of the Young Musician of the Year Award.

After a moment of tension, the adjudicator announced that Annaliesa Ray was the winner of the Young Musician of the Year Finals!

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Spring Concert Rebecca Pope, Year 9 So, what do you get when you add together 72 vocalists, 63 brass and woodwind players, 40 string players, 23 percussionists and guitarists, and two conductors, one choirmaster and a pianist? Yes, that’s correct. A Spring Concert, with an array of bands and choirs covering all of CHS’s musical talent!

On the 1st April 2014, over 150 musicians packed into Stockport Town Hall for the Spring Concert that evening. All musicians (including myself) had a “sneak-peak” at the items for the concert during the rehearsal hours beforehand.

Personally, I was involved in Studio Band, Concert Band and Chamber Choir and my favourite piece that I played was ‘Critical Mass’, which was jam-packed with excitement and sudden staccatos! I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and I’m sure that the audience did too.

I would like to thank everyone who put this amazing concert together and I look forward to the next!

Well done to all those involved and those who organised it all! It was a fabulous evening!

Winning Young Musician of the Year Annaliesa Ray, Upper Sixth Music has always been a huge part of my life, but more recently, after playing the role of Maria in The Sound of Music, I have been enjoying my singing lessons even more, and am currently working towards taking my Grade 8 singing examination at Easter.

I wanted to be involved in the Young Musician of the Year Festival as it was my last chance to enter a music competition at school, and thanks to my singing teacher I have grown a lot in confidence over the past couple of years.

After singing in the first round I was astounded by the musical talent of the Sixth Formers that I was competing against; everyone was so focused and the music that they produced was lovely. Honestly, I didn’t think there was a hope in heaven that I would even be put through to the final stage! The adjudicator from the initial stages suggested that I pay more attention to the story behind the song I was singing, “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” from Showboat, especially in my word colouring and facial expression, so I paid attention to these details in my lessons approaching the final of the competition.

On the day of the final of the Young Musician of the Year Festival I was actually competing in the Modern Foreign Languages Debating Competition in French, so I ran between the two venues like a headless chicken! I apologise to anybody who was in the audience for looking so flustered as I sang my song - I wasn’t doing well at the Debating Competition!

Unfortunately I was not able to see everyone else perform, but I am sure that everyone was fantastic. The atmosphere of the Festival was buzzing, and I would recommend anyone with a passion for music to enter the Festival in the coming years.

I am honoured to be given the title of Young Musician of the Year; it is something that I am very proud of, and I would like to congratulate everyone else involved in the competition.

2014

Junior Creative Writing Blackface

When Faulkner had finished with him he walked off into the jungle and went to search for the monkey!

Adam Ashton-Goodale, Year 6 Suddenly the camouflaged jeep came to a bone-crunching halt. Faulkner jumped out of the rusty old jeep and stood on a harmless, innocent, green snail. He looked at his laptop to see if he was at the right coordinates.

After he checked he was in the right place his Indian peasant translator jumped out of the car and stood next to him.

Faulkner snatched his gun off the peasant, but just when he was about to go into the deep, dark, damp jungle a holy man stopped him in his tracks and said in a deep, dark voice: “You have a chance to go back to where you came from.

But if you want to go into the woods, do not kill the monkey, because it is immortal”.

Faulkner said: “Monkeys aren’t immortal”.

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

When he was deep into the dark, damp jungle, Faulkner suddenly heard the monkey in the trees behind him. The man took cover and he aimed at the monkey. As he looked at the monkey from his position he could see it had a black face with golden fur.

Faulkner had a direct shot at it and he took the shot; as the birds heard the sharp sound, they flew away.

Faulkner was proud of himself. By accident he dropped his gun; he went down to pick it up but as he reached down he saw millions of hairs growing on his arm. He fell back and saw his other arm was hairy: suddenly he noticed that his hands were becoming chubby. He ran away from where the monkey was standing but he kept growing more hair. Faulkner started to go onto his hands and feet and started to run but then he fell over and thought to himself everything seemed so big. He went over to the puddle and looked at himself in it and all he saw was a monkey. He jumped back from the puddle, but then he realised that he was the immortal MONKEY…

Alderley Edge Music Festival Harry Holt, Year 7 I started at CHS in September 2013 as a violin and tenor horn player. After being urged to try several instruments, and having received lots of advice, I switched from the tenor horn to the trumpet and began lessons with Mr Gasson.

He has been great and given me much more confidence in playing in front of an audience as well as being a brilliant teacher.

I did not expect to be asked to play in the Alderley Edge Music Festival only seven months later. I was extremely

nervous at the thought of playing in the Festival but, after plenty of encouragement from the Music Department, I went ahead and played the best I could.

I felt terrific after I played the piece because it went much better than I expected and when I found out that I had won my group with a Distinction for my

piece, “Hernando’s Hideaway”, I couldn’t believe it. I’m really glad I went and performed because I learnt a lot from the experience and If I’m ever asked to do it again I will answer without hesitation - yes!

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Sam Landsman, Year 10 Foodpro is a Food and Nutrition club put together by Mrs Vlastos; it takes place several times each half term, at lunchtime or after school, in the Food and Nutrition Department. It is for pupils from Year 8 upwards, although places are limited due to the size of the rooms, so you need to keep an eye on the Daily Bulletin to find out when the session is taking place and then submit your application quickly, as the club is very popular.

In the demonstration sessions we watch professional chefs cook or bake their speciality dish and get their opinions about how to prepare and present the perfect dish. There have also been hands-on workshop sessions where we have had the chance to make our own food under the expert guidance of food professionals. The year started with ‘Sweet Delights’, a cupcake workshop where we learned how to make Italian meringue buttercream and pipe and decorate with fondant icing. This year FoodPro has also hosted Chocolatier, Oliver Dunn, Andy Dunn, Executive Head Chef at Stanneylands Hotel, Darryl Houghton, Executive Chef at The Marriott Manchester Airport Hotel and Andrew Green, Executive Head Chef, Park Inn by Radisson Manchester City Centre.

and learning from them you also get to practise new skills, as well as getting to eat their delicious dishes.

Foodpro is great for pupils studying Food and Nutrition GCSE; personally I have learned many things which have helped me with the practical side of food such as presentation and technique. It is also really good fun for pupils in Years 8 and 9 because they can develop new skills and ideas to use in their cooking. The atmosphere is great because the chefs are really passionate about food and cooking and therefore share lots of interesting stories about their careers and what it is like to work

in the food industry. In the sessions you learn good life skills as well as having fun.

My favourite two workshops were ‘Brilliant Bread’ by Master Baker Nick Chick and ‘Beautiful Biscuits’ with Laura Willison, Culinary Arts Team Captain of the Royal Navy. In ‘Brilliant Bread’ we watched the baker make the dough and then had the opportunity to shape the dough to make bread that we took home. In ‘Beautiful Biscuits’ we learnt how the biscuits were made, and then decorated them with chocolate. These sessions were my favourite as they were practical, which meant you could be even more involved.

Professional chefs who have different fields of expertise come in and whilst watching

Inter-House Music Competition Rebecca Pope, Year 9 In Holden Hall on 19th March 2014, all four Houses – Allen, Clarke, Marsh and Whitehead – went head-to-head in the InterHouse Music Competition. From vocalists to violinists, pianists to percussionists, rock bands to recorders and horns to whole-House choirs, the evening was full to bursting with musical talent.

Clarke kick-started the evening with Cian on the tenor horn and Laura on the piano and they ended their segment with the House singing ‘Marry You’ by Bruno Mars.

Next up was Whitehead. Their part included percussionists, rock bands and flautists and their House choir with the S Club 7 classic, ‘Reach for the Stars’!

Thirdly was my house, Marsh, and I performed too! Our segment consisted of violinists and pianists and ended with a choir of “Marshans” singing ‘Sing’ by Gary Barlow, with some guest staff appearances!

And finally it was last year’s winners’ turn – Allen House. Their “wedge” of the evening entailed ukuleles, French horns and a drum double act and to end the evening, the whole House performed ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams.

Once the evening had finished, it was up to our two special guest judges, including Mr. Hackney, to decide the winners. In fourth place came Clarke; in third, Marsh; then Whitehead and finally, Allen – again!

2014

3rd October

Abigail Drennan, Year 8

Today was the first rehearsal after the auditions. There are 36 orphans on the stage. I still can’t believe I am Annie!

We choreographed the very start of Hard Knock Life. I think it is going to look really good. Mrs Fowler and Mrs Drennan work really well together! Eventually we are going to have mops, buckets and dusters as props for this song and dance.

We started to learn You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile as well and sang through Tomorrow, which we will all sing in the Finale. Everyone was very excited to be in the show.

We’ve all been told to find some lace-up boots to wear with our costumes so we will have to visit the charity shops this weekend!

10th November - Open Morning This was our first performance of the opening scene from Annie. We performed in Holden Hall before the Head’s speech. Behind us was the set for Animal Farm, which is being performed in a couple of weeks. It was just me and the other named orphans, Genevieve Jeffcoate, Lucy Rigg, Elise Johnson, Alice Webb and Liora Liebermann. Faye Ainley couldn’t be there so someone else delivered her lines! I was really nervous because I had to sing Maybe on my own. We didn’t have any microphones so we had to speak very loudly and clearly. We also had to face the front all the time!

8th December

Today was the first Sunday rehearsal. Mrs Drennan wasn’t there but Mrs Fowler brought her dog!! It was really well behaved and we fed it lots of chicken! There were only a few of us there today, me, Hannah Milligan, Harry Dubois, Tom Semple and Grace Fowler. We were limited on what we could do with so few people so we mainly focused on the dog and the scenes which included her. She is so cute! I have to sing Tomorrow while holding her on the stage; I hope she doesn’t bark and run off when I start singing!

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12th January

Today was the first Sunday rehearsal after Christmas and we focused on dialogue for most of the time. I nearly know all my lines.

I seem to say “Oh Gee!” and “Oh Boy!” a lot in this musical! Only Cavan Booth, Hannah Milligan, Harry Dubois, Mike Alexander, Helen Rigg and I were there in the morning and then the dancers came in the afternoon. I was a bit nervous working with all the Sixth Formers but it was fine once I got going; they were really friendly. It was very cold because the heating wasn’t on so I sat doing homework and drinking tea whilst Mrs Fowler and Mrs Drennan were working with the dancers!

2nd February

Today was our Technical Rehearsal so Mike Chambers and Collwyn Jones were there to help us. We also had the band. It was good today because we had most of our props so didn’t have to do a lot of pretending. We used the trolley for the first time. I was wheeled across the stage at the end of I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here by Harry Dubois and Alex Benton. I was a bit worried because I was very close to the edge of the stage and being spun around!

We practised the whole show and it was helpful to run through all the numbers together.

9th February

I finally got to wear all of my costumes and wigs today.

I have a couple of very fast changes between scenes and have to have everything ready at the side of the stage. This afternoon the photographer came and took pictures of our rehearsal.

After today we have no more rehearsals and start the run of the show with a Primary School performance on Tuesday morning.

Mrs Fowler and Mrs Drennan say that we are ready now and that we have a show to be proud of. I hope they are right!

2014

Red Snapper Images Photography Competition Right: Overall winner and first prize in Junior School category: Zach Foster Below: First prize in Years 10 and 11 category: Kate Watson

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Above: First prize in Lower and Upper Sixth category: Liam Hancox

Below: First prize in Years 7, 8 and 9 category: Victoria Hartley

2014 Year 9 Trip to Stockley Farm Laura Saint and Eleanor Robinson, Year 9 On the 21st March, the Year 9 Food and Nutrition students embarked on a trip to Stockley Farm in Arley. The aim of the trip was to educate us on the subjects of organic and dairy farming.

We started the day by bottle-feeding some very hungry lambs their breakfast.

These are either twins or triplets who have been removed from their mothers who may struggle to feed them and therefore they are bottle-fed until they can rejoin the flock. After the lambs were fed, we were given a presentation on Stockley Farm.

The presentation taught us about the crop rotation process and the techniques used to meet the strict organic standards.

This is a seven year cycle using clover as a nitrogen supply, which is needed for future crops. Then we were taken for a tractor ride to the arable fields to learn about the crops and how they are grown.

Once we had reached the fields, we went on a nature walk and talked about the importance of protecting wildlife.

Soon after concluding our walk we moved on to the dairy. During the tour of the milking parlour the herdsmen explained their manufacture schedule of milking twice a day. Cows enjoy milking as the action releases hormones which make the cows feel happy. Each cow has a specific and individual diet which relates to the milking capacity. Whilst exploring the dairy section of the farm, we observed the Brown Swiss and Holstein Friesian milking herd.

After lunch, we had a short talk about the diversity and range of all the animals on the farm. The welfare of the animals was discussed in relation to meeting the high standards required by the regulations of the ‘Red Tractor’ scheme. As well as this, we were able to pet a number of small animals in the petting zoo. In our opinion this was the best part of the day, as we were able to become more hands-on with the animals and have fun.

We also worked in a small group to design a new and original sausage using the information about the ingredients produced at Stockley Farm and the knowledge gained in class.

In conclusion, the most surprising thing we learned at Stockley Farm was that goats are extremely good at selfies!

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Manchester Royal Exchange Natasha Walker, Lower Sixth The year is 1846. Sweeney Todd, formerly Benjamin Barker, returns to London after being deported to the colonies for 15 years. After finding out about his wife’s death and his daughter’s circumstances, he decides to take revenge by slitting the throats of the poor unsuspecting men who come for a shave to his barber’s shop. The owner of the meat pie shop downstairs is the always entrepreneurial Mrs Lovett, who suggests that to cure the problem of the lack of meat in London she could pop those poor men in her pies.

The play is, more than anything, a story about a man driven insane by injustice and a woman driven mad by love.

In November 2013, drama students from Years 10 upwards went to see the musical performed at the Royal Exchange in Manchester. Tension was established before it had even begun, as we watched actors in the chorus getting into character on stage as mental patients.

They were pacing back and forth, rocking from side to side and staring into space, and we wondered what exactly was going on. Little did we know that there were more twists to come. Firstly, it had been reworked for an in-the-round stage; the absence of a structure with space below eliminated the infamous barber’s chair that tipped Sweeney’s victims into the cellar. We were, therefore, quite curious, almost sceptical, about how exactly it would be staged. The problem was solved very cleverly, with chairs that ran on a track delivering the victims directly to the bake house. Also, and probably most surprisingly, the director, James Brining, had taken the risk of shifting the setting from the 19th century to the 1980s, the Thatcher era. The time shift is, in many ways, ingenious, and works well to inspire reflection; the desire for revenge, abuse of power, the absence of logical and moral thinking when there is money to be made, and finally, horror, are not confined

to a particular era. Being set more or less in modern times also made the casual throat-slitting even more chilling.

Both the lead roles, Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett, could hardly have been bettered, with the barber’s suppressed vengefulness and the terrible baker’s love for him leading very nicely through their progression to routine murder.

We sat almost in awe at both the heartbreak and the dark humour on stage. Frequently throughout there were things that made us jump, keeping us on the edge of our seats; the shooting of a pistol and the fight scenes, for example.

However, probably the most effective features of Brining’s reimagining were the 15-strong cast and the chemistry between all the actors involved. The play left everyone who saw it impressed and talking about it throughout the journey back to school.

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EL BOOM – Trends in Twentieth Century South American Literature James Turnbull, Lower Sixth

The 1960s was a time of great political turmoil on both sides of the Atlantic for Spanish-speaking people. The political and diplomatic climate of Latin America in this decade was shaped heavily by the Cold War, especially the fiasco that was the Bay of Pigs invasion launched by the USA in response to the Cuban Revolution.

Military authoritarian regimes ruled in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and many other countries, with the ideas of great literary minds constrained and censored to quell any possibility of “radical” thought. In 1950, Spanish American novelists were tolerated but marginal in the literary landscape, with Paris and New York representing the centre of the literary world.

can arguably be defined by the freedom writers had to stretch both readers’ imaginations and their own minds.

However, fast-forward 50 years and Latin American writers are held in far higher regard, with their greatest masterpieces translated into numerous European and Asian languages and acclaimed by critics and readers alike. The way in which we viewed Latin-American culture around the world changed forever, and not only did the most celebrated writers achieve legendary status, but also doors were opened for new writers to showcase their talents.

Cien años de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude), for example, is cited by many as the greatest masterpiece of Gabriel García Márquez, and its magical realist style and thematic substance cemented it as one of the most significant works of the Boom era upon its release in 1967. La muerte de Artemio Cruz (The Death of Artemio Cruz), meanwhile, was penned

by Carlos Fuentes and released in 1962. Its stirring tale of a former Mexican revolutionary on his deathbed, along with its innovative changes in point of view, led to its reputation as one of the milestones of The Boom.

Something big happened in the last half-century. Yes, this was ¡El Boom! In one of the many lunchtime talks organised by the Ezekiel Browne Society, Head of Spanish John Wilson (himself the recipient of an MPhil in Latin American Literature) led us on an insightful journey through one of the most interesting literary periods of the twentieth century.

The novels of the Latin American Boom, themselves mostly modernist, differed so drastically from the literature of the past, in part due to the bravery of the writers who catalysed the movement. Exciting new areas were explored, yielding some of the greatest masterpieces of the Spanish language. Easily the most prominent genre of the era is “Magical Realism”. With this style, novelists treat the fantastical as ordinary and the mundane as surreal, creating an exciting, fantastical cocktail of imagery and settings.

The plots incorporate legendary elements, speculative settings and characters that are comprised of the true, the imaginary and the non-existent, to the extent that the reader can no longer separate them. Indeed, the Latin-American Literary Boom

And what minds they were! The major representatives of ¡El Boom! are masters of their craft, churning out numerous masterpieces throughout their careers and defining an earthshatteringly revolutionary era. Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, Julio Cortázar, lo más grande of the Boom writers in the eyes of many, each contributed greatly to Spanish-language literature in the period, defying what was expected of them and charting their own literary courses through the stormy seas of the 1960s.

Yet, whilst we can’t praise these wonderful writers enough, Mr Wilson was keen to stress another deeply important role played in the Boom: that of the publishers. Major publishing houses based in Havana, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Santiago were responsible for publishing most of the Boom novels, and these cities became strong centres of cultural innovation. Moreover, in Franco-controlled Spain, Barcelona played a notable role in the publishing of Boom novels, reflecting the increased interest of Spanish publishing houses in Latin American literature. A crucial figure in the promotion of Latin American literature in Spain, and elsewhere, was the “super-agent” Carmen Balcells, whom Mario Vargas Llosa referred to as “The Big Mama of the Latin American novel.”

And so, here we were once again: the present. The dust settled on another Ezekiel Browne talk as our journey through the Boom years of South American literature came to an end. Listeners left with an understanding of what was a wonderful time to be a Latin-American novelist.

2014 YEAR 8 THINKING SKILLS PROJECT

! r e t p o ic l e H a ’s It ? d ir B a Is it Year 8 entry by Sarah Belfield, Part of the winning

of you really know the depths machines in the sky. But do ng flyi m, the ut abo ws Helicopters. Everyone kno ? can fly forwards and this marvellous invention e off and land vertically and tak can it as t rotor raf airc of e typ and thrust are supplied by The helicopter is a unique blades. In a helicopter, lift the of rd le wo ang nch the Fre ing the tilt r’ is derived from backwards and turn by vehicle. The word ‘helicopte gs. the win – of ’ top ron on ‘pte ed and unt – d mo blades which are lix’ – curved, twiste /’he lik’ ‘he : rds wo ek Gre up of two erican ‘hélicoptère’; this is made s invented by a Russian-Am single-rotor helicopters wa n der mo all for is bas the The helicopter that is in 1939. her was called Ivan man named Igor Sikorsky dern-day Ukraine). His fat (mo pire Em sian took him on Rus the in en Igor was 11 his father Sikorsky was born in Kiev Stefanova Sikorskaya. Wh riya .

Ma r, her the fat mo his h his wit and Natural Sciences Alexeevich Sikorsky d by conversations about pire all ins s sm a wa d he ate ere cre n wh soo ny, a trip to Germa del flying machines and an experimenting with mo When he returned he beg icopter. inventing rubber-band powered hel t ten years he attempted designer and during the nex t raf erica, where in airc Am an e of am tes bec Sta he After studying emigrated to the United he 9 191 In the rs. pte ico hel ale k. By 1942 his helicopter, around half a dozen full-sc pany in Roosevelt, New Yor Com g urin act nuf Ma ky ors 1923 he founded the Sik icopter. s first mass-produced hel for transport, media, the R-4, had become the world’ n you think; they are used tha re mo s hap ances per , iety in soc , the fire brigade, air ambul Helicopters are used a lot aster supply, transporters dis l ura nat , cue res sea , police, mountain rescue en ed my grandpa Roger wh and the army. ed lives? Yes, it has. It sav sav it Has . ion ent inv ant ort The helicopter is a very imp many more people. he had his heart attack and N! an…AWESOME INVENTIO The helicopter is definitely

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The Inspiration of Mr Yearsley Coral Swindells, Lower Sixth Mr Yearsley has been an inspiring Art teacher at Cheadle Hulme School for 32 years. The School is very proud of its amazing Art Department as it shows the diverse artistic talent we have to offer, and the atmosphere and artistic work on show on the top floor of the main building are appreciated by all members of the School. Mr Yearsley is respected by his students and he inspires them to develop their artistic talents. However, the amount of time he spends helping others means that his own work has been neglected.

Luckily, last summer he was given the amazing opportunity to spend a three month sabbatical in Ottawa, Canada, in which he was able to pick the paintbrush up again and produce some amazing work! During his three months, he chose to create a body of work studying the subject of landscapes. He said to me in explanation of this choice; ‘As an artist I have always envied, yet admired, landscape painters. Their pieces incorporate distance, atmosphere, texture, colour and expression, all of which I love. I decided to take this journey to Canada as the landscape there is very beautiful; it is different from most as it has a very wild and rugged atmosphere, and this inspired me.’

In December he held an exhibition, displaying all of his new work in the Sixth Form Art Studio. He began with small pencil observations in which he closely analysed detail and was able to represent the landscape in a very detailed and realistic way.

He then introduced water colour to his journey, using light washes and realistic colour schemes to represent the landscapes.

He went on to use bright acrylic paint which allowed him to produce very eye-catching pieces.

His use of pallet knives as opposed to brushes allowed him to develop his work to a more expressive style in which he scraped the paint onto the paper in different colours, producing a colourful layered effect. These studies continued to increase in size and creativity. Towards the end of his sabbatical, having

already produced an incredible amount of work, Mr Yearsley produced two final canvases which were around five feet in height. As these were the final pieces in his journey he decided to work from memory and feelings about the landscape which had surrounded him, instead of doing observational pieces as all his previous work had been.

These very abstract pieces evoked from Mr Yearsley’s memories and impressions of Canada show a very expressive side of Art which is easy to appreciate for those who attended his exhibition and saw the journey he had taken. Many members of staff, students and parents attended the lovely evening which took place in early December. The night included many mince pies and glasses of mulled wine which really boosted the Christmas spirit! And I think everyone was truly impressed by the amazing talent shown in Mr Yearsley’s work. His passion really shone through in his pieces and hopefully he will produce more fantastic work in the future!

2014

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“ I do not give lectures or a little charity, When I give I give myself.�

Walt Whitman

2014

In Memory of Harry Dubois 11.08.96 – 12.04.14

Zumbathon Annaliesa Ray, Upper Sixth

One of the things which Harry’s friends at school decided to do to remember him and raise money for the British Heart Foundation was a Zumbathon! Harry was passionate about Zumba, and he definitely knew all of the moves, enjoying lessons with Mrs Vernon every Wednesday afternoon.

On the day of the Zumbathon, roughly 70 members of the Sixth Form, both boys and girls and staff, arrived at the gym, wearing the brightest and most outrageous costumes and dance-wear, even with some tutus and swim shorts!! Everyone made a generous donation to the British Heart Foundation, and then Mrs Vernon led a

fantastic hour-long Zumba session. Both the professionals and complete beginners at Zumba tried very hard, and we all had a fun hour, remembering Harry’s amazing dance moves, and getting rather hot and sticky!!

We danced to some of Harry’s favourite tunes, for example ‘Timber’ by Ke$ha, and even Mr Parkin got involved, despite wearing a suit, in the ‘swing-your-partnerround-and-round’ sequence!

We all had a lot of fun, and raised over £400 for a very worthy cause in memory of a great Zumba participant, a fantastic friend, and a wonderful person.

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Anisa Gallagher, Upper Sixth During one of the last conversations I had with Harry I told him about my intention to start running with Ed Howe, one of his closest childhood friends, who of course I met through him. Harry’s first response was a quick check that we weren’t going to ask him to run with us (although he enjoyed the idea of having coffee and cake afterwards) and though of course he was largely supportive he often asked if we were sure. We knew why; Ed and I really aren’t the running kind.

Only a couple of days before our first scheduled run together Harry passed away. Neither of us really felt up to running, until Ed told me about one particular New Year he had spent with Harry where Ed had announced he wanted to do the Bupa Great Manchester 10k Run; Harry again was completely amazed at the idea that anyone would be willing to run for pleasure. “The run’s in a month’s time, isn’t it?”, Ed said, so we both decided this was the best way we could celebrate Harry’s life and raise money in his name.

The training was horrendous. Having consulted expert runners (Ed’s brother and my godmother) we devised a running timetable for the oncoming weeks to prepare ourselves.

Gradually building up how far we ran, we trained individually, as we lived so far apart, and managed to get one run together around Salford Quays, a part of the actual run, two weeks before the big event. Finally, Sunday 18th May arrived.

Happily for us, race day was one of the hottest days of the year so far, and, showing our complete naivety of the scale of the race, it was decided that Ed and I would meet at the beginning of the course; trying to find someone in the midst of around 4000 blue runners was not easy. Having found Ed literally as our wave of runners began to set off we hugged with relief that we had actually found each other.

The course itself was just a simple loop starting and finishing in central Manchester, stretching out to the Quays and around the Manchester United Football Stadium. The whole length of the way there were live musicians playing all genres of music; we passed a rock band and then a mini-orchestra. There were double decker buses draped in banners for various charities with people on megaphones shouting encouragement and getting

us to cheer, which became increasingly harder as the race went on. Everything was just so colourful and vibrant, including the runners, who all individually had made an effort with T-shirts and costumes. There was a tremendous sense of community and excitement.

Nothing could have compared to the feeling of finishing the race, the physical relief of being able to catch your breath and rest your legs, and then realising that you’ve actually just raised almost £2000 in honour of Harry Dubois. It was a feeling of pride like no other. To be able to wear a T-shirt with his smiling face and run for him in such an amazing event will forever be a beautiful and special memory for me. Together with Duncan Ray, who ran in the green wave following myself and Ed, we had raised approximately £3500, which would go directly to the British Heart Foundation.

In the BHF tent after the run, it was great to sit and talk with friends and family members, discuss future fund-raisers and complain that literally everything ached. But it was when people said that they would run with us next year that I felt the real importance of the event, which had brought people together like this. So next year we’ll hopefully have more runners, all wearing T-shirts saying: “Our Sunshine: Harry Joseph Dubois”, raising money for one of the most beautiful people I have ever had the pleasure to know.

2014

For Harry Ruth Huish, English Department Students come and they go like magpies who sit and assemble on your garden fence.

They fill your classroom with joyful chatter and their lives go on adjacent to yours.

But their busy lives entwine with yours, and often, as they sit there, oblivious to you and your life, you gaze through the glass they hold up between you and you wonder and you fret about their lives.

Why one is absent for a third lesson; Why another is wearing a broken smile and the other, a broken shoe.

And they never know it but you go home thinking about them.

And as you watch your own child eat his or her tea, you hope they are eating theirs, that they are happier now home.

That their mum has mended the holes in their worn out souls; that their dad has found the perfect bricks to fix their crumbled confidence or perhaps their crumbling homes.

But soon enough they fly, leaving you behind and they forget most of you, except the odd lesson where you particularly bored them or they showed you up.

Temporarily you forget them too to make room in your hedges for new fledglings.

But some, despite their flight, stay in your memory more vividly, for they made your days so bright.

They claw onto a vacant space. Tight.

You see their smiles surface on other faces in different places, hear their charming tune in the calls of other warblers.

Like faithful robins, their occasional vibrant red zest returns and bounces Off winter’s snowdrops.

One knowing smile will hover long long in our memories, One gentle voice will perch and hum in our hearts.

For though his restful sleep keeps him from our gardens, and he has migrated to warmer climes, his ever gentle presence will echo around our walls, will spread through our vines.

Having been ridiculed by staff and pupils alike about what I regard as my very practically designed and user-friendly mobile phone, I decided to launch a competition for students to guess which member of staff owned which type of phone.

I am aware that some would argue that the cooler the teacher then the smarter the phone but this presents me with a problem, as my understanding of cool starts at lukewarm. In my view there is nothing ‘cool’ about having a phone whose display and numbers are so small that you need your reading glasses - which of course you can never find when you need them.

The competition revealed a number of different phones owned by a variety of staff – no one has a phone quite like mine, I am pleased to say - and we raised £526 for the British Heart Foundation in memory of Harry.

Brigid Rawling, Mathematics Department

The winners were 7S, 8T, 9R, 10M, 10K, 10G, 11K, L6.6, U6.12 and the staff winner was Miss Roskell. Thank you to all students and staff who took part and at least I know my phone is unique at CHS!

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The link to Harry’s Just Giving page is: British Heart Foundation

https://www.justgiving.com remember/118336/ Harry-Dubois.

2014

Can my little village help change their little school?

Harrison Wood, Year 8 In 2010, my family and I were lucky enough to go on holiday to Kenya. I took with me Manchester City shirts that I had outgrown. The children in Kenya, I had heard, went crazy for football shirts so before I gave them to just anyone I came across, like kids on the beach that get money and gifts from tourists, I asked around to see if there was a nice charity or school that would benefit and really appreciate having the shirts. We met a lovely, warm-hearted man named Asava who recommended a school called Port Reitz, a school for physically and mentally disabled children in Mombasa.

Many disabled children in Kenya go to Port Reitz and there are about 300 altogether. Children at the school have different disabilities like spina bifida, cerebral palsy and mental illness.

The Headteacher is called Mercy and she is a wonderful, happy person. Mercy was a pupil many years ago; don’t you think it takes courage for her to run a disabled school when she is disabled too?

With sights that scar the back of your mind, like children dragging themselves along the floor and feet scraping along the rocky surface, all you can do is watch, knowing that with a bit of money, those children could be in wheelchairs, saving their feet from nasty cuts and gashes. They do have some wheelchairs funded by sponsors but the majority are broken or damaged.

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The basic food given to the children is maize and rice and there are few medications, which can mean that if the children get malaria, unfortunately they may die.

We decided to sponsor a child so we contacted Wendy, who lives in Germany. Wendy and Sandra, her sister, started a Foundation, FRIENDS OF THE PORT REITZ SCHOOL, in 2009 to raise money for the school. She knows the children and their personalities so well; off the top of her head she finds similarities between both the child and the person sponsoring them. Wendy matched me and Clinton Mutuku. Clinton is 14 now and suffers from spina bifida.

He never stops laughing and we sometimes talk to him on Skype.

When I came back I was determined to raise money for this fantastic school. I talked to my Headmistress, Mrs Lowe, at Greenbank and nominated Port Reitz to be the charity for our Charities Week at school. I also presented the charity in a talk to my Junior School. Mrs Lowe really took forth our passion by sponsoring a child, but not just that, she had hope and belief in the school; she and her husband even visited the school to help the teachers and children. Since then great things have started to happen, like more teachers going from Greenbank, and a wall has been built around the school to keep the children safe; don’t you think it is nice to know that every single penny goes to the school?

Margaret Beetham was the founder of Port Reitz School in 1965.

She was a missionary who had gone to Kenya for three years and ended up staying for fifteen. She originally went to Kenya to Teacher Training College but when she saw a disabled child dragging himself a mile and a half to school every day she knew she would have to do something. And do something she did...

Can you imagine how one little thought that raced through Margaret’s head nearly fifty years ago evolved as she raised funds from Methodist churches around the world to build Port Reitz School, and save the disabled children of Kenya? This school really connected the hearts and love of 300 children at Port Reitz. There is a saying; alone we are a drop, together, we are an ocean. There may have been difficulties but they will get through this together.

By amazing coincidence, Margaret, the founder of Port Reitz, now lives ten minutes down the road from us in Cheshire and her sister, Alison, lives in Cheadle Hulme.

To sponsor a child is £110 per year and that supplies maize and rice every day, also 500ml of water per child (including cooking), education and four uniforms.

My ultimate aim is to get all of the 300 children sponsored.

Considering there are only about 100 sponsored at the moment, it is going to be a difficult challenge ahead. My hope is to go to the anniversary party in Kenya with all 300 children sponsored in the summer of 2015.

This April I was lucky enough to meet Margaret Beetham, now in her 80s, living in a nursing home in Cheshire. Margaret was also the first Headmistress of the School. When I visited Margaret and got her up-to-date with what’s happening at Port Reitz, just before I left, Margaret said “I just can’t stop giggling”….

The fact that Margaret lives just around the corner has really inspired and driven me to get the children of Port Reitz sponsored by the local people of Cheshire, not only for the sake of the children but for Margaret’s sake as well.

2014

Junior Charity Day Beck Johnson and Tally Smith, Year 6 Every year we have a Charity Day at school. This means we raise money for different charities usually to support animals and medical conditions. Charity Day is one of the days all children in the Junior School look forward to, as we have lots of fun and do sponsored activities such as finger knitting, skipping, walking and swimming. We always look forward to counting the money we have raised on our stalls, and we hope we’ve helped the Charities.

This year, our Charities were Reverse RETT, Cancer Research and British Heart Foundation.

Every year does a different themed stall and for the first time this year we also did sponsored finger knitting. Miss Thompson showed everyone how to finger knit and it was great fun. We had to bring in our own ball of wool and do as much finger knitting as possible in one hour. Our relatives sponsored us either a set amount, or something per centimeter.

Rett Syndrome is very close to our hearts as Beck’s sister Kitt has it.

It is a condition that affects your brain; it starts to develop when the child is 18 months old. But we didn’t notice that she had it until she was six, which made the condition much harder for our family.

Kitt does struggle but she deals with it; we treat her just the same as everybody else in the family.

This year we raised around £1700 for each charity, and we hope that we helped all the Charities who help people with these conditions. And we had a great time.

Alice Brown and Ria Khinda, Year 6 On the last day of the spring half term, the Juniors had a Charity Day. The Charities we chose to support were British Heart Foundation, Rett Syndrome and Cancer Research. Rett Syndrome is a syndrome where girls can’t speak or tell their brain what to do; doctors say this is due to one of the two X chromosomes in the girl’s body being damaged. You need only one X chromosome to live so they survive with the one left. Boys would die if they got Rett Syndrome because they have one X and one Y chromosome.

The Year 3s made different cakes, such as chocolate cake and cookies, for a cake sale which the other year groups came to. Year 4 made water games, for example games called Knock all the Cans Down with a Water Gun or Throw a Sponge. The Year 5s and 6s did games in the hall, like tombola and guessing games, and they also did nail and face painting. The prices for all these activities varied

from 15p-£2. We did a sponsored finger knit; the longest finger knit was more than ten metres long! The Infants also made sponsored paper chains. Over the whole day we raised about £6,000. We had a really great day and we enjoyed seeing the teachers all dressed up as doctors and nurses!

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Artwork by Jess Glover, Lower Sixth

2014

Artwork by Leah Burgess-Smith, Year 11

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International Justice Mission: Violence, Trafficking, Slavery - the Rescue Mission Lauren Darwent, Lower Sixth The first article of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’ - irrespective of a person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or political beliefs. The world’s population has the right to freedom of speech, assembly, religion, as well as more basic principles such as a right to food, shelter, property, education and work (in fair conditions for fair pay). Yet Hannah Flint, IJM’s Regional Development Executive for the North of England, soon reveals to the crowded room that millions of people around the world are deprived of these rights, enduring suffering far worse than anything we could even begin to imagine.

In the UK, we are - broadly speaking - sheltered from the issues Hannah goes on to describe; the whole room sits in silence, with each statistic being more shocking than the previous.

Unaccountable imprisonment and illegal detention are widespread issues: in India, for every 1 million people, there are only 11 judges and 70% of prisoners in the country have never been convicted of anything; judges in the Philippines have a backlog of nearly 1,500 cases; and in Kenya, for over 30 million citizens, there are only 63 prosecutors. Worldwide, there are an estimated 27 million slaves, one fifth of women are victims of rape or attempted rape in their lifetimes, and nearly 2 million children are exploited in the commercial sex trade each year - but this is where IJM comes

in. As the largest human rights case-based organisation for the developing world, IJM has offices in 18 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America. It has more than 500 staff - lawyers, investigators and social workers – and its aim is to rescue victims, provide immediate aftercare, prosecute criminals and ensure that public justice systems (police, courts, law) aid in protecting those living in poverty.

Having formerly worked for Stop the Traffik, Hannah says what she is most passionate about is tackling cases of sex trafficking and child sexual assault, introducing us to the phenomenal achievements of ‘Project Lantern’ - a four-year task that began in 2005, funded by the Gates Foundation. There is not a single country which has laws permitting sex trafficking or the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Yet a backdrop of an ill-trained and corrupt police force - coupled with a resource-starved legal system - means that in many nations, such issues are prevalent, but the lack of justice remains unchallenged. Project Lantern’s aim was to reduce the number of minors exploited in the commercial sex industry in Cebu (the Philippines) by 20%, so I am amazed to hear that IJM far

exceeded the set goal - the actual reduction rate was 79%.

The cost of seeking justice and alleviating poverty is seemingly more feasible than I had expected: a mere £19 pays for an aftercare package for victims of sex trafficking, and £2800 funds a rescue operation, sometimes freeing over 100 people.

Moving onto the issue of slavery, usually involving forced or bonded labour, Hannah begins by posing the question: “Can slavery be abolished?” After learning that 15 million children in India are currently enslaved (a figure estimated by Human Rights Watch) I can’t help but feel doubtful; the greatest tragedy is perhaps that as explained by Hannah - “it’s hard to quantify exactly how many people are still trapped in slavery”. In developing countries that lack a stable infrastructure, there aren’t clear records of who is working for whom, and forced labour can easily be disguised as ordinary paid work. But IJM has rescued over 2,500 slaves in India alone since it was founded in 1997, with children as young as three years old being released from a life of bricklaying for little or no pay.

IJM also works to tackle property and land ‘grabbing’ - an issue that, admittedly, I was entirely unaware of prior to Hannah’s talk.

When a woman in the UK is widowed, her vulnerability is not suddenly exploited by those around her, yet in much of rural Africa, women and children are forcibly thrown out of their family homes

and off their land after the death of a male family member. Hannah describes how, in a society where you have to grow your own food to survive, “land is life”. But in Uganda, 30% of widows and orphans become victims of ‘grabbing’ following the death of a husband or parent, leaving mothers without job prospects and children without any hope of education. This said, in 2012 IJM restored more than 335 women and children to their homes, with aftercare staff helping widows to rebuild their lives and set up small businesses that enable them to provide for their dependents.

I am sincerely overwhelmed by the revelations of Hannah’s talk, as never before had I - and indeed most of the attending students - seen evidence of injustice on such a global scale. Yet Hannah’s closing remark, the vision statement of IJM itself, is undeniably inspiring: ‘To rescue thousands, protect millions, and prove that justice for the poor is possible’. Such a global aim may appear unachievable, but thousands of victims have become survivors thanks to the work of IJM, showing that, no matter how difficult the circumstances, change is possible.

2014

MANCHESTER AIRPORT DRAGONS’ DEN COMPETITION Ellia Webb, Year 10 The three month trek started with an assembly announcement from Miss Curl: ‘Teams of eight wanted to take part in an enterprise competition’. Naturally, it was not until the night before the deadline that our team was finally formed…...but there we were. After being accepted as one of two teams, we began meeting up at lunchtimes to lay out some foundations for our project. Little did we know that it was going to take over our lives.

The first challenge was to come up with a product to sell. Ideas soon started flying between the group: - ‘Grow your own Christmas tree’; ‘Paint a Christmas pudding pot’; ‘Choose your own stocking fillers’ - you may be noticing the theme by now: Christmas. Finally we came up with the prize idea; our very own brand of ‘Mulled Fruit Punch’. Not only was it incredibly tasty and warming, it had the added advantages of being easily packaged and sellable in two mediums (cups and bottles), as well as being easy and cheap to make.

A rush of activity began. By this time we had decided on our product and its feasibility. Our first pitch was to the Dragons; we had to make our punch sound as enticing as possible in order to win an investment from them of up to £100. In the next two weeks it was essential for us to decide on a recipe (some tasting sessions ensued) as well as sourcing our bottles, buying labels and ingredients (as inexpensively as possible); we had to split up the various roles among the group, find sales opportunities and finally, write our pitch.

Before we knew it the first pitch came around and we were raring and ready to go; typically, we only practised once…the day before. Despite this, we walked into the room feeling confident. The pitch went very smoothly, bar one small incident involving a shortage of punch for a Dragon to taste.

However, it was made clear we had reason to be confident as, when the pitch ended, the Dragons presented us with £100 to go towards our starting-up costs - these initial costs were highly substantial as they included £400 for buying the bottles, purchasing gas and a stove for serving cups of punch and the ingredients; as you can imagine, the ingredients had to be restocked continuously to keep up with the demand.

So, we’d jumped the first hurdle, now came the sales. Our first sales opportunity was at Stockport Market. We took along 3 boxes, each of which contained £40 worth of Mulled Fruit Punch. The team was sent out to sell and returned with profit; our first profit. We’d made £90 and were all very excited to be earning money for something that we had designed, created and marketed ourselves. To add to the overwhelming satisfaction, all the money we were raising was sent directly to St Ann’s Hospice, which made me and the rest of the group ecstatic.

For the next couple of months we were out selling at venues every weekend; some weekends we sold on both Saturday and Sunday. Form times were taken over with running around school in teams of two or three, attempting to deliver bottles and messages to various students around the campus. We’d come into school at 7.30 on a Friday morning every week to make our punch, but soon the demand for bottles became too much and we had to step up our brewing hours. Some weeks we cooked every night! Originally there had been a worry that we weren’t going to be able to sell anywhere near all of the bottles that we’d purchased, but we were doing much better than any of us had dared hope we would. By the end of the competition, we had sold our Mulled Fruit Punch at 14 different venues; some we visited multiple times!

In those couple of months we accumulated many memories that we’re not likely to forget any time soon. Some notable ones were; getting to school for 5am to sell at a car boot sale, cramming four children, a teacher, three baskets full of bottles, a massive cooking pot, a gas stove (and the huge gas burner) and all of our bags into Miss Curl’s small two door V.W, and the best and most surprising moment, being given a donation of a £50 note (thanks, Gulan)!

96-97 The final of the competition was on 12th December, and in it we were told we’d have to present what we’d done to the judges, along with our money. We’d been pretty serious in the first presentation to the Dragons, so we figured they’d allow us a little good humour in the final presentation. With this in mind we went for a casual, joking presentation which involved a tea-stained scroll with 60 things we’d learnt written on it in black marker pen. Included on the list were things such as “Miss Curl’s car has very good suspension”, and other such gems. The aim of the presentation was to show the Dragons how much fun we’d had with the project, and we certainly succeeded in doing that - the Dragons laughed throughout the presentation.

They were wonderfully surprised when we presented our final total of £3667 to them at the end of the presentation. Nobody, not even us, had expected to raise that much!

The results were announced a couple of hours later in the large hall which houses the British Airways Concorde. As the lead Dragon made his way up to the podium the room fell silent. We’d been talking to pupils from the other schools before the presentation, trying to work out whether there were any which had raised more than us. The closest we’d found was Wilmslow High, who’d raised £2300. So as we watched the Dragon walk up to the podium we were all nervous; we thought we might possibly have raised the most, but we weren’t sure. The tension built as he went through the usual “everyone’s a winner” speech, etc etc, and then he got to the announcement.

Third place was read out, everyone clapped, the tension built. We all knew that if Wilmslow had come second then we’d won, because third place had raised less than us, and if there was anyone who’d earned more than us, we’d be in second place.

He announced the results; Wilmslow had come second, which meant that we’d won! This led to Miss Curl being able to capture discreetly a video of our name being read out, and us going up to collect the plaque, which, on reflection, must have looked pretty strange to the other schools in the hall…

Our team was made up of the following students: Louis Massey, Alex Benton, Will Sparrow, Phoebe McGowan, Lottie Needham, Rachel Flynn, Tasha Laing-Smith and myself, Ellia Webb. We really enjoyed taking part in the competition, and raising money for such a worthy cause; in total the teams competing raised £13,500 for the Hospice - but I think we were all relieved to finally have our lives back. We’re hugely thankful to everyone who bought a bottle, and of course to Miss Curl, who also gave up her weekends to help us.

2014

Children in Need 2013 A

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Lauren Darwent, Lower Sixth We all know about Pudsey, the cute yellow bear with the colourful spotty bandana who’s been representing Children in Need for 28 years, but a great deal fewer of us actually know the details of what the Charity does for thousands of children across the UK. Children in Need provides grants to projects which focus on children and young people who are disadvantaged.

As Cheadle Hulme School was founded on the basis of philanthropy, as The Manchester Warehousemen and Clerks’ Orphan Schools back in 1855, Children in Need is a charity which we loyally support every year. Life expectancy for those working in inner-city Manchester in the 1850s was less than half of what it is today, and the children of the workers who died as a result of poor working or living conditions were nowhere near as fortunate as we are. Children in Need’s vision is that every child in the UK has a childhood which is safe, happy and secure and allows them the chance to reach their potential. Empowering children and extending their life choices is what the charity aims to do through supporting over 2,600 projects, working 365 days a year, all over the UK. Making a change from the usual cake sale, CHS’ Charities Committee decided to sell spots for Children in Need 2013! Now you may be wondering, what exactly does this mean, this selling of spots? Here comes the explanation – every recess and lunchtime

during the week leading up to 2013’s Appeal Night, students from both the Junior and the Senior School had the opportunity to buy spots to stick on a mannequin of their Head of House (Miss Curl for Whitehead, Mr Sparrow for Clarke, Mrs Patrick for Allen and Mr Wrathall for Marsh), and the spotty clothes would then be modelled by the four teachers. However, the mannequins wouldn’t have been complete without a happy headshot – each of the Head of House’s faces smiling and showing high hopes of getting the most spots stuck on them.

Whitehead – the House which was awarded the most house points for the Charity section from 2012-2013, as well as being the overall winner in the same year - was victorious in having bought the largest number of spots on Miss Curl’s hoodie, and she thought “that the spots were a brilliant idea! The build-up to Children in Need throughout the week was great to see and the fact that the students could keep a close eye on which House was winning added even more to it all!” Mr Sparrow, Clarke’s Head of House, commented that he was “pleased that Clarke came second, [and that they] only lost by a few spots”. But even the teachers couldn’t help but feel the rivalry between Houses,

with Mr Sparrow complaining that “Clarke members weren’t very artistic with their spot placement - I thought the spots would be scattered all over my jacket rather than being concentrated on the front”, in an attempt to hide his bitter disappointment at coming second to Whitehead. Similarly, Marsh’s Mr Wrathall said that “the idea of placing spots on clothes to be worn by the Heads of House for Children In Need was an inspired one; it raised a great deal of money for a wonderful cause”. There was no hiding Mr Wrathall’s frustration in his remark that “I had more spots when I had chicken pox as a seven year old”, but being a Sports teacher, and therefore a good sport, he

98-99 remains optimistic in stating that “there’s always next year to bounce back!” Although Allen’s Mrs Patrick ended up with the least number of spots, she nobly commented that she was glad to see “all the Houses working together for less fortunate children”, and that she “really enjoyed wearing her spotty attire!” It seems that all the non-victorious Heads of House thought that Whitehead’s victory in the academic year of 2012-2013 (the first year for which the House System was reintroduced) was just beginner’s luck, but the great turnout of students buying spots for Miss Curl’s hoodie has proved that Whitehead students really are ‘First Beyond

All’ when it comes to Charity House competitions.

Another activity running throughout the week was having the chance to guess Pudsey’s birthday in exchange for £1 donation, and this was won by Shaniya in 6H who correctly guessed the date as 18th March.

Now you may think that the lovers of the classic cake sale may have been disappointed by the Charities Committee’s innovative ideas for Children in Need 2013, but this was not the case! At recess on Friday 15th November 2013 a huge and hungry crowd gathered round a single table outside the lunch hall, waiting in anticipation for the sweet sale to begin. Numerous bags of Haribo, Swizzels lollies and treat size Cadbury chocolates were soon gone, and those who were unlucky enough only to visit the sale during lunchtime found that stocks were hugely depleted and, by the end of lunch, gone all together.

From the sale of spots, sweets and guessing Pudsey’s birthday, CHS raised £223.60, an important contribution to the phenomenal £31,124,896 raised on Appeal Night 2013.

Every penny raised will go to helping disadvantaged children and young people across the UK, irrespective of whether they are 4 or 18 years old. The stories we hear and the clips we watch on the Children in Need annual Appeal Night really hit home and remind us of how lucky we are, and I think that this is a message we should carry in our hearts throughout the year.

2014

Junior Creative Writing Black Face Alice Brown, Year 6 As the car rumbled to a dusty stop, Falkner flung the door open and he triumphantly stepped out, one foot at a time. He stood there looking at the green jungle, then he stepped again, crushing a harmless, innocent snail under his large leather boots. Falkner was a nasty man who didn’t like nature; he was a hunter with an ammunition belt holding bullets from his shoulders to his waist. His large eyes had dark circles around them; he had a twisted mouth and a crooked nose and his face was as pointed as a pencil.

There in front of Falkner was an Indian holy man and he was speaking in his native language. The translator, next to Falkner, said that he was saying; ‘Go back and don’t kill the monkey, it is immortal’. But Falkner didn’t care; he just laughed and set off into the dense greenery, as he looked for the monkey. He was walking through the canopy of leaves; he could see the tender grass and green vegetation. Falkner heard the whooshing of sinister trees, also the crunching of the golden leaves and animals. The hunter smelt the smell of moss and the sweet smell of berries. But all the time, his gun was pointed in front of him.

When he walked along he heard a screech, so he squinted his eyes to see where to look. Then he saw the ‘immortal’ monkey. Its fur was a lush gold, waving in the wind. Falkner aimed his gun at the monkey eating berries. Then there was a BANG… and the monkey fell. Falkner scampered up to it but the monkey was nowhere to be seen.

He started to tingle, his ears enlarged suddenly. Falkner put his hands on the floor as they grew hair. The poacher screamed and ran; he started to run on his hands and knees exactly like a monkey.

His face was growing hairy, but at that moment he tripped and under his clothes was a monkey. Falkner, now the monkey, looked into the water and saw his reflection. The monkey eyes started to water…

Memories Sophie Jones, Year 6 I fingered the dainty embroidery of the blue silk handkerchief that my wife had sewn with all her love and heart. The last sixty years had had their ups and downs; however, now all I could remember were the good times we had spent together.

As I gazed around the living room of what was just my small brick cottage, out of the window I could vaguely see big Jonathon shuffling along with his bright new tricycle. However, reality soon found me and slapped me hard on the face, as I remembered big Jon was long ago in his grave, and Billie was now a tubby stout man in his twenties.

With my wife gone, along with my gorgeous little cocker spaniel, Albie, I was now very lonely. However, for one fantastical split second the tiny dog was nestled up in a tight ball on my warm lap

and my dearest love had her pale arms around me, keeping us close.

My heart sank down as the friendly twosome disappeared into the darkness of the minute room that I was in.

I had nothing to do. I reached miserably for the TV remote; it instantly flickered to life, revealing a man reading on the news a long list of soldiers who had been killed at war. I saw myself out on the muddy battlefield shooting bullets at the enemies. By now tears were trickling down my wrinkled face; I had loved everything about my past life; but now it was well and truly gone.

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Artwork by Hannah Driscoll, Lower Sixth

2014

Paul and Annie Roebuck, IT Department

Several years ago Annie read a humorous account of a bike trip from Land’s End to John O’ Groats, and suggested to me that one day we should take up the challenge.

Life went on and the idea stayed in the background as ‘something we must do one day’, until last year when Annie’s nephew Matt and his lovely wife Anna beat us to it!

I am a keen cyclist, notching up 30 miles each day to work and back; I enjoy walking too and will do either exercise in rain or shine. Annie, however, has always been reluctant when it comes to exercise, seeing the local coffee shop and cake as far more enticing. But this was a challenge and we couldn’t say no.

During the winter months, going out on the tandem was not really an option: “too cold, windy and wet!” - but that changed when once again the spring arrived and we could start regular training.

The Charities we chose to support were Christian Relief Uganda and the Methodist Relief and Development Fund.

The total we raised was in the region of £5,500. Here are some extracts from Annie’s diary.

FROM HERE TO INFINITY AND BEYOND! What a hilly day! It’s a good job Paul’s got me on the back of the bike to help push and pedal. We set off from Land’s End at midday and via Trethaway got to Penzance for lunch, which was beautiful. Cycled along seafront, passed St. Michael’s Mount and then went uphill for 20 miles. Had a small problem with the bike in that the bolt that holds the pannier carrier had sheared off. This is entirely due to the fact that I gave

in to my son’s pleas to take my own toothbrush. This was obviously the straw that broke the camel’s back! Paul has repaired it for now with a cable tie. Worse than that, I broke a finger nail.

CROSSING INTO SCOTLAND: OCH AYE THE NOO! An historic moment! ‎We’re in Scotland!

Can you believe it! I was so excited when we passed over the border that I texted a few people and then sang every Scottish song I knew (3!): ‘Marie’s Wedding’,

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‘O Flower of Scotland’ and ‘The Skye Boat Song’, and then cried tears of joy!

Our morning started early when we left the care and comfort of our hosts Peter and Hazel at 8.30am and climbed through Kirkoswald, now renamed Kirkhilloswald for obvious reasons. At one point we were so slow that when a rabbit ran ahead of the bike for the life of us we couldn’t catch it! It even stopped for elevenses and a mid-morning nap and was still perfectly safe from our wheels. At 12.36pm precisely we crossed over the border, and after a great deal of whooping and merriment made our way to Langholm.

THE END – ARRIVING IN JOHN O’GROAT’S: WE’VE DONE IT!!

We’re here! We’ve done it! (and we are never doing it again) but WE DID IT!!

There are 1012 miles that are forever embedded in our heads, our hearts and our bottoms. It’s been a ride of a lifetime!

We met a cyclist en route today who cycled UK to Australia (apart from the wet bits obviously) and as he was speaking about what an absolute blast it was, I could see the cogs in Paul’s mind turning.

My reaction? “Don’t even think about it”.

Our day started early with breakfast at 7.30am. We left around 9 and sallied forth up two huge climbs out of Helmsdale.

“Where did they come from, Paul?”

(Sometimes I feel he puts them there on purpose). We had to stop in traffic on a hill because they were waiting for an ‘abnormally wide load’ to come through.

Paul clearly thought they meant me because he just carried on, after seeking a quick nod of assent from the official man.

We stopped in Wick for our last tea shop experience and from then on in the ride was painfully slow; we had 52 miles to cover today and I kept looking at the mileage counter: 47, 48, 48 and a half, 49, 49 and two feet…and so it went on until suddenly we were here! Paul told me he had read about a woman who did LEJOG in the 1950s in just under 3 days; it has taken us 3 weeks; maybe they weren’t so far apart back then... ...Does anyone want to buy a secondhand tandem?

BIKERS Noah Cripps, Year 7 In May 2013 my 2 year old brother, Arthur, had open heart surgery to cure a heart murmur which meant that there was a hole in his heart.

The surgery took place at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool. In May 2014, just a few months ago, my dad, some of our close family friends and I took part in our own charitable event where we cycled 150 miles in and around the Lake District to raise money for The Children’s Heart Federation and The Children’s Heart Association.

There was also a junior bike ride which was 9 miles up a canal; my sister Elora took part in that along with some of our friends.

The bike ride was also done for another young boy called Hugo Dancy, the child of some of our friends. Unfortunately, Hugo has to have another operation as the recent one did not go as planned. Arthur only had one operation and that was bad enough.

The bike ride was extremely tough and we all had cuts and bruises to show for the physically draining ride. Our friends Jose and Hamish had cycled up from Somerset having done a 200 mile bike ride beforehand.

But it was a great experience and we were happy to have raised money for these charities.

2014 Volunteer Uganda Leanne Curl, Department of Economics Having taken 17 Lower Sixth students to Morocco for their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, I was proud and impressed by the drive, dedication and commitment the students put into improving the local school and village of Tachedirrt during the residential aspect of the Award. Having witnessed them building an incinerator for the village and toilets for the local school, I was inspired and set my heart on volunteering in a similar way myself this summer.

I was lucky enough to be offered a place with Volunteer Uganda and immediately began fundraising for the organisation. The students in Whitehead House very kindly chose this as one of the charities they would support over this academic year and have organised various events to raise money. The fundraising didn’t stop there, however. I also organised a six mile charity walk with the children from my home town aged between 1 and 11 and, in total, over £1000 has been raised for the organisation, which is fantastic!

Once in Uganda I will be volunteering for six weeks in the Kanungu District, teaching Maths, English and Science in a local primary school - an exciting and very different challenge to teaching Business Management and Economics to the Sixth Formers! Volunteer Uganda, which has supported the charity CHIFCOD for over 20 years now, has the transformation of the local community through education and the eradication of poverty as its top priorities.

Over the years, Volunteer Uganda has worked alongside CHIFCOD to found four primary schools, a secondary school and a college!

Whilst I am there, I will be teaching three lessons a day, providing various different co-curricular activities and working on the HIV outlook programme. I hope to be able to make a difference and I am very much looking forward to the experience and sharing my memories when I return.

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Small Steps Foundation Lauren Darwent, Lower Sixth

Small Steps Foundation is based in the village of Buwenda in Uganda, helping nursery children with special needs and working with the local Glory Be Nursery to ensure that children with special educational needs (SEN) can interact with other children in a mainstream environment. The charity works to provide a safe, enabling environment for children with learning disabilities and developmental delay, promote the independence and rights of these children and educate families and the wider community about the needs of children with disabilities. Since Small Steps was set up in February 2010, it has begun a number of projects, including an outreach service so that children who are unable to attend the nursery have access to education, and an after-school coaching programme aimed at SEN children who have the potential to cope with being educated within the mainstream nursery classes.

But Small Steps is more than just a good cause; CHS has personal connections to the charity, as it was set up by Old Waconian Cat Dunlop. Cat was heavily involved in Cheadle Hulme School’s Model United Nations conferences (MUNCH) during her time at CHS, which is why Small Steps and Ugandan goods are sold at our conference every year. On Monday 2nd December, friends and families of CHS pupils gathered in the dining hall, where coffee and cakes - as well as a selection of Ugandan bags, scarves, purses, jewellery and tableware - were soon to be enjoyed. During the break and lunchtime that followed, things just got busier! The cake and crafts sales proved to be a huge success, as both staff and students flocked to our table to enjoy all on offer. It seemed that everyone was enjoying the opportunity to get their hands on some original gifts for Christmas, with the toiletries bags, earrings and salad servers all proving to be popular! In just two days, hundreds of pounds were made through the sale of the famous Small Steps badges and fuzzy yellow bugs, as well as the unique handmade crafts from Uganda.

During the MUNCH ’13 weekend and through the coffee morning, cake and crafts sales, an astounding £1000 was raised for Small Steps. Just £1 will feed all of the children in the nursery for a whole day, £4 pays for a bench for four children to sit at and £12 pays for a table for four children to write on. I was truly amazed to learn that even small contributions go such a long way, so the £1000 donation is sure to make a world of difference to the lives of the disadvantaged children in the nursery. Just as impressive is the fact that every penny raised goes straight to Cat - there are no administration fees. Only Ugandan team members are paid a wage, as Cat supports herself from her savings. Being in an environment where food and education is a given, the least we can do to help is make a donation to fund Cat’s amazing work - helping to improve the lives of Ugandan children who don’t have the basic necessities that we take for granted.

2014

Sickle Cell Concert Poly Hedley, Lower Sixth Unloading my bag and settling down for the final lesson of a very long Monday, I look up to see Molly Pipping rushing towards me, panic written across her face. With four hours till showtime, excitement was building for the concert in aid of the Sickle Cell Society and CHS Bursary Fund; yet, amongst all the chaos final preparations had presented, her news threw the greatest spanner in the works. ‘The closing act’s pulled out,’ she exclaimed, a sense of uncertainty and immediacy resounding in her tone. Despite the student cast the show was also very much student-led by Lower Sixth students Molly Pipping, Josh Adeyoju and Rebecca Illidge. Time was ticking away and with this news, disaster had struck. ‘What am I going to do?’ Molly exclaimed looking to me and my fellow classmates for last minute miraculous ideas. All I could muster was a worried and uncertain; ‘Don’t worry, it’ll all be fine’ – probably not the most encouraging or inspiring form of advice. With no ideas from the floor Molly leant onto the door frame and with a deep breath she fled, missing the closing act for a show that had taken months to organise yet was only hours away.

6.30pm: I enter Holden Hall, noticing many familiar faces, eager students and parents filling the hall with anticipation and excitement. Backstage, dance routines are being perfected, final chords are being strung and microphones triple-checked in order for a smooth and successful show. I offer the typical greeting of ‘good luck’ or ‘break a leg’ only to be met with cautious smiles and the brushing of shoulders as people rush around me realising now that tonight is the night! I hurriedly scramble back to my seat, taking my place in the bustling and enthusiastic crowd waiting for the surprises to be unleashed.

The music fades, the lights go down, the crowd responds with overwhelming applause and the show is finally underway.

106-107 The concert really was an excellent showcase of the overwhelming talent CHS students display, with many musicians gracing the stage, either with their own compositions or a wide range of covers from music that inspires them. The pace of the show increased when the Year 11 girls entered the stage, smashing an excellent routine that accompanied Beyoncé’s greatest hits - a sure crowd pleaser! Not only this, but after weeks of secrecy and rehearsals the Lower Sixth boys bounded onto the stage oozing confidence and donning multi-coloured wigs and leg warmers with a routine that had the crowd in fits of laughter!

The Pussycat Dolls mash-up anthem was choreographed by Ben Cheetham, Molly Pipping and the boys themselves: Dan Walker, Rishi Kannah, Duncan Kennon, Sam Sutcliffe, Josh Oehley, Greg McLoughlin and one of the organisers, Josh Adeyoju. Any pre-show nerves were unrecognisable as the acts fed off the enthusiasm and excitement created by the crowd.

With the incredible success of the show, the night was also tinged with a hint of sadness as we were reminded of the impact the money donated would have. The inspiration behind the concert was that of leading sickle cell researcher Dr Ade Olujohungbe, who sadly passed away last year due to sickle cell anaemia. His daughter Olivia was present in the audience, a close friend of both Molly and Becky as well as having links to Josh as Ade was his godfather. She led a heart-warming and inspiring speech about her father that really captured the mood of the night magnificently. With visual aids and the help of the ambassador for the charity, she reminded us of the 250,000 people in the UK who are carriers of the sickle cell gene and of the up to 13,500 people who have a sickle cell disorder - making it the most common inherited blood disorder in the country.

As the penultimate act entered onto the stage, whispers spiralled through the audience with expectations of who would fill the sudden opening of the closing act. The anticipation was unbearable. Molly appeared on the stage to make the announcement. ‘Please give the next act overwhelming support for stepping in over the past two hours. I haven’t seen this yet... so here we go!’ We were not disappointed. As the recognisable music of The Nutcracker began, on sprang Year 11 ballerina Holly Willock leading a tentative Josh Adeyoju through a routine that even Matthew Bourne would have been proud of! The routine was a fantastic way to end the show and both deserve a special mention for achieving such a fantastic triumph at such late notice. Josh Adeyoju, nothing is ever off the cards for charity!

The smiles on the faces of audience and cast alike at the end of the show told the story of the night perfectly. The night was a roaring success and allowed the senior students to unite behind such a worthy cause. Resounding applause and an electric buzz off-stage was met with a total of near to £2000, an incredible tribute to the time and effort of those involved. The concert was an overwhelming and inspiring success, so now... who’s up for getting involved next year?!

2014

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“ Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.”

Aldous Huxley

2014

DAY OF LANGUAGES My love affair with French was brief.

The Christopher Simon Building perhaps personifies the reason for the end of our affair, as, for me, it is always reminiscent of the French Speaking Exam and the desperate fear this inspired within me.

So, when I finally gather up the courage to venture back into this building, I’m asked to write an article on The European Day of Languages, and the benefits of taking a foreign language to A level.

Q: What are you studying and at which university?

Lauren: I’ve actually left university!

I studied Spanish and French at the University of Birmingham, before going on to work in International PR, for which I also had to learn Portuguese.

Anna: I might get some tips from Lauren afterwards about what to do after university. I’ve been studying French and Spanish at Durham University since I left school in 2010.

Q: What advice would you give on choosing a university if one is interested in studying Modern Foreign Languages?

When I arrive, I am greeted by two very friendly former CHS students, Anna and Lauren, who proceed to explain why they love their respective subjects so much and give some tips to those studying a language at A level. The other students present and myself set them some questions...

Lauren: Make sure to look at the courses at different universities and see if they fit with what you’re interested in. Spend some time visiting the universities and researching the different modules available, but also make sure to find out about the town or city in which you’re thinking of studying. It’s not all about the league tables, and your choice should be focussed on your own needs. For example, Oxbridge is very literatureheavy in terms of its syllabus, which didn’t appeal to me.

Anna: Yes, I totally agree. Your choice of modules at each university depends on your lecturers’ specialities, so for Spanish, modules can vary from Latin-American cinema to detective fiction in post-Franco Spain!

The course is very different in

Adam Cunnane, Lower Sixth different universities and options such as French with Business could give you an edge when it comes to finding a job.

Q: So why did you choose your respective universities in the end?

(Both Anna and Lauren agreed that Durham and Birmingham are great cities and Lauren even went so far as to say that the nightlife in Birmingham was a small factor in her decision.)

Lauren: Again, it’s all about the modules, so at Birmingham I got the opportunity to study Don Quixote by Cervantes and I eventually did Joint Honours with French, Spanish and Philosophy. There are also a number of French and Spanish societies at Birmingham, which allowed me to develop and deepen my understanding of the language.

Q: Where did you go during your year abroad?

Anna: I went to a very small village near Cadiz. This is why it’s so important to see what partner universities your prospective universities have, as this can end up providing an influence on where you go for your year abroad. Try to live with local people and get to know them, as children especially are good sources of vocabulary.

They have a habit of

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pointing at things and saying their names, which can be really useful for learning obscure words. I found that the south is friendlier than some of the rest of the country. (Señorita Martinez commented drily that this is true; she, herself, is from Alicante in Eastern Spain.)

Lauren: I went to Granada in my year abroad, teaching English, yet staying with a Spanish family. It was very tiring, yet truly rewarding, and it was definitely worth it. However, the year abroad can be dependent on your grades, so it’s pertinent you do well in the first two years of your course.

(Miss Godfrey

agreed that the year she spent abroad in Latin America, under the Erasmus Scheme, was the best decision she’d ever made.)

Q: Would you encourage more people to study Modern Foreign Languages?

The number taking them nationally has dropped, with German down by 11.13%, and French by 9.9%, although Spanish has gone up by 4.08% in recent years.

(I thought I’d throw Lauren and Anna off balance just as I had lulled them into a false sense of security- typical journalistic ploy!)

Anna: At Degree Level, two fifteen minute orals make up 25% of your degree which is pretty scary! However, I really think that more people should study languages. At university, you do more conversation classes and linguistic recaps, which allow your understanding of the subject to develop. Moreover, you can do anything with languages, as they increase your internationalism.

Plus, they can allow you to communicate with different parts of the world, which is really vital.

Lauren: Yes, languages open so many doors for you. I think that the reason the numbers taking languages are dropping is that most teachers just don’t make them interesting enough. We need more initiatives, just like we have at CHS, such as foreign exchanges and trips, in order to get more people involved in these great subjects.

And so, my love affair with French briefly rekindled, I thanked Lauren and Anna and left.

2014

A

HAT IS W

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R M A N?

Ezekiel Browne Society Jonah Richardson, Lower Sixth What is a German? Professor Durrell, lecturer at the University of Manchester, knows too well that this simple question is much more complex than it seems, and that its answer is intertwined with the dramatic and decisive events of the twentieth century: from the loss of the First World War and the Allied slicing up of German territory in its aftermath to Hitler’s conquest of Europe and more recently the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. You can find German-speaking communities in practically every country that borders the Fatherland.

For example, in Belgium they say that German-speakers are often go-betweens for when the dominant Flemish and French-speaking populations fall out in difficult political climates. In Alsace, a region famously fought over for centuries, ever since the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, patriotic feeling has influenced more and more young Alsatians to speak French rather than their ancestral German dialect. No real effort is being made to revive their language as there has been in recent years with Welsh.

The situation in Switzerland is very different; in a country that does not have one national language, pretty much everyone is to an extent multilingual. In fact, a phenomenon which linguists call diglossia takes place here, that is to say people can speak their own ancestral Swiss dialect and yet can write in Hochdeutsch, the type of standard German we learn at school.

It is like being bilingual, as these dialects can sound completely different from any German dialect that, say, somebody from Berlin knows. There are hundreds of dialects and many Swiss can pinpoint one another’s accent precisely to a specific valley and in some cases even a specific village. In fact the Swiss have a saying – Deutsch ist die erste Fremdsprache (German is the first foreign language).

German is spoken commonly in Northern Italy along the Swiss borders, particularly in the Alpine region of Tyrol where it is a co-official language with Italian. Being brought up bilingually in both languages has advantages for young Tyrolese who get priority over other Italians if they want to, say, study in Innsbruck; the region culturally has many more ties to Austria, where the overwhelming majority of the country speaks German. Austria was famously annexed by Hitler in the Anschluss of 1938. Nazi presence in the country met little opposition in Hitler’s homeland, which he saw as German

territory. The referendum he ordered came out with 99.9% in favour of union with Germany, although no doubt the Nazis rigged the voting. They did imprison and silence any political opponents leading up to the German takeover, which was met with singing and dancing on the street as the Army goosestepped in. However, linguistically, the type of German spoken

by Austrians has a lot in common with the type of German spoken in Germany itself, in particular in the southern regions such as Bavaria. In the aftermath, Austrians became wary of constant comparison and affiliation with Germany, even linguistically; instead of calling German Deutsch in schools they called it the language of instruction – Unterrichtsprache.

The Professor finished his fascinating presentation by discussing the linguistic differences in the type of German spoken in Germany itself. Although the financial East/West divide is still very evident today even almost twenty years after reunification, linguistically the North/South divide is much more noticeable.

The Germans call this cultural divide the Weißwurstgürtel – if you go that far south you will find much more white sausage being eaten! This may have made the German teachers laugh, but the truth of the matter is that there is still a lot of discrimination in Germany because of the accent somebody has, particularly if they come from somewhere in the south, for example from Munich. This is even truer in Germany than it is in England where some feel discriminated against because people poke fun at a Scouse accent or if people sound as if they are from the programme ‘The Only Way Is Essex’. Realising that Germany, one of the most affluent countries in Europe, has many of the same problems as we do in the UK, even when it comes down to language, was a good point to end. But many stayed on for a while to ask Professor Durrell questions or just to have a bit of chat.

The talk was well attended by both teachers and students alike, many studying German and other languages, whereas others had little or no knowledge of the German language but attended anyway because they have a passion for languages and know just how intertwined with politics and culture they are.

Above all we learned that Yiddish scholar Max Weinreich’s infamous saying: A spraykh iz a dyalekt mit an armey un flot (‘A language is a dialect with an army and a navy’) is true after all.

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Artwork by Polly Feather, Upper Sixth

2014

Junior Wisdom The School Pond

Rehaan Khalid and Sulaiman Malik, Year 5

Interview with Mr Jackson

Can you tell me about your most memorable visit to the pond with which year?

I took all of the Infant classes to the pond last spring and summer and we looked at the plant and animal life in and around the pond. The Reception classes gave the best reaction to the trays of creatures we had found in the pond, though they seemed more interested in looking at the guinea pigs.

What creatures and plant life have you found in the pond?

We have seen a wide variety of life from pond skaters to snails and frog spawn to mayfly larvae.

Do you like where the pond is placed?

The pond gives us the chance to venture a little way from the Junior School and isn’t too far for any Infant class on a day when the weather is pleasant; last year we were very lucky with the weather!

Would you like to make any changes to the pond?

It would be great to have a bridge across the pond so that you could almost stand in the middle of it and see both ends, which is hard to do if you are only 4 and the foliage is taller than you.

What things do you do with each year group?

The Reception children look at the changes that happen to the pond over time and also do work on mini-beasts. Year 2 looked closer at the mini-beasts and tried to identify some of them; they also drew a sketch of the pond habitat to compare it with other habitats they had looked at.

The School Pond

Sulaiman Malik, Year 5

Interview with Mrs Hodges

Can you tell me your mo st memorable visit to the pond and with which year?

Last year’s visit with Yea r 4 pupils, when we fou nd a great diving beetle – one of the fiercest carnivores in the pond.

What creatures and pla nt life have you found in the pond?

Mayfly nymphs, dragon fly nymphs, damselfly nym phs, two species of snail; pond sna il and ramshorn snail, ph antom midge larvae, cranefly lar vae, freshwater shrimps, water hoglouse, water fleas e.g . Cyclops, caddis larvae.

How did all the creatures get to the pond?

They must have flown, crawled or been carried and dropped by birds or other specie s. No water from a differ ent pond was added to our pond .

Do you like where the pond is placed?

The pond is in an ideal loc ation as it is close to the Biology Department where the pond-dipping equipment is kept.

We have been fortunate to have the help of the Biology Technicians, Helen Bradle y and Frances Ashpole, with our Junior School visits.

What things do you do with each year group?

With Year 3, we make a collection of pond anima ls and try to identify most of them.

With Year 4, we map the vegetation around the pond and aft er dipping in the pond and collecting animals, we ent er the information into a UKwide database called The Big Pond Dip, which rec ords how ponds are doing acr oss the UK.

114-115 w e a t r ’ n S d c oul li a e h Poll t e r hool Unifo h s e w rm Why E z b t

From my perspective, we shouldn’t wear school uniform because I feel restrained in my uniform and because I feel restrained, I can’t express my feelings.

School uniform is also very expensive; what would happen if you had three children or even more, how much money would you have to pay? I feel like a fish following all the other fish who all look alike; I am as tired of school uniform as a cow of eating grass.

Junior Book Day

it , Y a 5

Help me say NO to school uniform.

Furthermore, I think most people find the school uniform too hot or too cold or too uncomfortable, so no school uniform would mean you would be very comfy and no one would complain about what people wore.

In conclusion, I hope you are persuaded by me and say NO to school uniform.

An Interview with Mrs Pye about School Uniform Elliott Worthington, Year 5

Quotes from Students:

reading Scaredy “ I’m looking forward to hearing Grandma Hood.” g Ridin Red Dog. My favourite book is Little 1 Martha Stockswalker, Year of Raindrops. “ My Grandma is going to read The Necklace d.” erlan Wond My favourite book is Alice in Lottie Bischof, Year 1 ed reading “ I’m dressed up as an Oompa Loompa. I enjoy about a is story rite favou My the Year 4 pop-up book.

1 Year ley, Buck polar bear.” Billy

Quotes from Grandparents: involved so it’s “ It’s a really good idea. We are not usually on for the Lond lovely to be here. We’ve come up from Book Day.” Rita Stocks ren all “ It’s a fantastic idea and great to see the child nts dpare gran dressed up. The support from so many is amazing.” Mike Bailey enjoying “ It’s a great idea and the children are really rs Walte Sue and listening to the stories.” John

I think that wearing a school uniform is very important. I know it may not be the most fashionable of outfits but wearing a school uniform is a badge of pride. It shows you are part of our school and is an important part of being a school student.

It teaches children to dress smartly and to take pride in their appearance, and helps to prepare them for when they are older when they will have to dress smartly or wear a uniform at work.

It also creates an identity for Cheadle Hulme School in our community. People see us out on school trips or at sports fixtures and know where we are from. That is why it is always important to act responsibly when you are out of school. It also means that teachers can keep you safe when we are out of school because we can easily identify you.

Wearing a uniform also creates a better learning atmosphere in the classroom; nobody gets distracted by fancy outfits and everyone is dressed the same so nobody feels worried about what they wear and nobody gets left out because they are not wearing the right clothes.

2014

Junior Creative Writing The Knitting Monster

A Crowded Place: Natural History Museum

Sam Murphy, Year 5

Harry Brown, Year 6

Today is the day.

I’m sick and tired of him.

He came again last night.

With his spider-type body And monstrous purple fur.

Sinister eyes, watching me.

The massive stone structure dwarfs the tiny buildings surrounding it. Stone patterns are etched beautifully on the frame of the main door.

Today I set out to find him.

I need to face him now.

The journey is hard.

The journey is long.

I stumble over rocks And fall on stones, But I can’t go back.

I will find this colossal beast, This fiendish creature, This horrible demon.

Today is the day I meet him.

I stand outside his cave.

All battered and bruised, I’ve cut myself And scraped my knees But I’m ready to face my fear.

Looking into the dark and eerie cave I step into the gloom, All cobwebby and damp.

The air is moist, I peer into the blackness And see his burning red eyes.

I step forward Onto the sharp rocks, And look closer.

And closer.

And closer.

What is this……?

He’s, he’s knitting!

The gargantuan entrance hall’s space is vastly covered by an incredible life-size model of an enormous prehistoric animal. Behind the bustling museum lie shelves and shelves of nature’s fantastic memorabilia sitting in something of an amazing catacomb, bustling with scientists working tirelessly on mysterious insects and fossils.

The dinosaur room’s floor is clogged with people looking at fossils and displays but on the high metal platform people safely stand, looking at smaller models of dinosaurs strung up near the top of the room for display.

A room full of rare gems and jewels stretching as far as the eye can see, rows and rows of cabinets contained the gems. The room was completely full of people craning their necks to get a better view.

A Letter to my Four-year-old Self Alex Walker, George Brook and Rami Kers, Year 6 Dear four-year-old me, This is the beginning, where you start school, there are no more days with your mum.

Do not make a big fuss, this will worry your parents. If I were you I would appreciate your mum and dad as they do so much work for you. Remember, if you’re stuck on anything, make sure to ask for help; help is not a bad thing, you will learn much more if you ask.

Don’t eat sweets at an early age as it will get into a habit and in later years this will be bad for you. Do not look at other people’s work as you will not learn and it won’t help you. From my experience I would get very selfish and grumpy for absolutely no reason, so definitely don’t take my actions as an example.

I would have liked to be more involved in sport, because if you start at that age then you can have a real talent and something which you hopefully enjoy. However, never get pushed so much by your parents that you really dislike it, but you do have to do some things which you don’t want to do because this will probably help you in later life.

Doing things wrong to earn popularity is not clever. If you ever get bullied, never be scared to tell someone about it. If there is anything you are interested in, or a dream you have, don’t be embarrassed to follow it. If you follow your dreams it might work out for you, you just have to keep practising and eventually it will happen. Hopefully you will turn out strong, clever and nice. Best of luck!

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Artwork by Brandon Few, Upper Sixth

2014

The devil is not, as they say, in the detail, but in the Balloon Debate. Literally!

Yasmin Lee and Adam Cunnane, Lower Sixth

First of all, the participants, who were all dressed (some undressed) in fancy attire, had to get to know one another, and more importantly, introduce themselves to the people who would inevitably have to vote most of them out.

and Sarah Palin were seen heavily discussing tactics in private, whilst Satan flagrantly declared that the purpose of his presence was to promote sin. Jesus and God seemed slightly unnerved by this, but nevertheless unabashedly expressed that “we’re doing it for the boys!” Though not quite as flamboyant as the other characters, the Queen introduced herself in a lovely, polite way that demanded our hearts, even Putin’s, and Al Capone also won the audience over by “believing in the power of the people”.

Appropriately placed ‘in the beginning’, a scantily clad Adam and Eve revealed that they were here to show “good faith”, whilst the Coalition wanted to demonstrate “a strong friendship”. John McCain

With the balloon dropping at an exponential speed, the first round of questions was quickly fired. Round One (ding ding!) began. “Who is your favourite wrestler?” was certainly a thought-

After the initial chaos of 50 Sixth Form students crowding into one inadequately-equipped-with-chairs classroom, the balloon began to fall, and the battle for survival began.

118-119 provoking launch. Even with their lives at risk, the characters held onto their manners, and insisted that the Queen went first. She told us that “one must not have a favourite wrestler”, and that she only dabbled in horseracing. Adam sorrowfully informed us that “in the beginning, there was John Cena”, before giving an ominous shake of the head, whilst both pairs of politicians went for the mainstream hero, Hulk Hogan. (Some candidates wondered if the officeholders knew any more or if they were just second-guessing.

We’re still talking about wrestlers by the way.) And finally, Satan, seemingly quite disgusted at the notion of violence, sat comfortably on his high horse, saying that he “much preferred badminton and croquet”.

With the first vote pending, the pressure was now on full-force.

Satan and the Queen did remarkably well, almost commanding the whole room’s worth of votes between them. On the other hand, the Coalition was, sadly, the first to leave the balloon, and everyone was left visibly morose after the exit of our well-loved, popular politicians. (Surely no sarcasm there? – Editor) After the first eviction, the balloon-mates were asked about their views on the devastating passing of Nelson Mandela. Adam and Eve were almost in tears over the loss of their “favourite child” and Palin agreed – “I’m speechless. It was such a sad loss.” Jesus informed us that Mandela was “definitely someone I would die to save.” Al Capone said he would miss his positive influence. All characters agreed that Mandela was a huge inspiration, and would be missed greatly by the world.

To lift the respectful silence that had fallen upon the room, the characters were asked, if they could go back in time, when they would go to. The Queen, wrinkling her nose in distaste, said: “I would go back to the time before I knew the Duke of Edinburgh.

What a prat I married.” Jesus would go back to 0AD, his favourite birthday. Sarah Palin said she would go back to before she knew John McCain, earning a surprised gasp of shock from her partner.

Putin continued the trend of being shocked, asking the audience why they would ask him such a question when “Russia is a utopia!”

Al Capone thought for a while before a grimace appeared on his face; “I’d go back to before I frauded that tax.”

Cameron?” Though Adam and Eve’s response had to be edited out for legal reasons, it was Putin who was forced out of the balloon.

Next up, an audience member asked who was the favourite superhero of each member of the Balloon Debate.

The Queen settled on “Catwoman”, to allow her more freedom in her outfits, while Al Capone decided on Robin Hood.

He justified this by pointing out the similarity between Robin Hood (who stole from the rich and gave to the poor) and himself. Whereupon he received a call, telling the audience that he had “the poor” on the phone and promised to give them money.

(Maybe you had to be there- Ed.) However, it was Jesus and God who had to leave the balloon.

With the pressure evidently building, the remaining members of the balloon must have been briefed by their legal team prior to the next question. This asked the members to choose between Israel and Palestine. Al Capone chose the diplomatic “Not Applicable,” before the Queen surprisingly picked Israel for the delicious falafel they make there. Well, quite.

Yet, the audience had turned on Adam and Eve and they had to jump from the balloon.

The next question concerned who each member of the Balloon Debate would like to survive, if not themselves. So, forced to eschew any self-interest, Satan decided that he would pick God because of the “harmless banter” he enjoys with him. That’s one way of putting it I suppose. Putin decided that he would pick God, who makes all the animals he loves to wrestle, adding that he himself was evidently the “second son of God,” as shown through the polls. Indeed, if that answer was perhaps a little debatable, Al Capone continued the theme of controversial answers, stating that he would like the Queen to survive. This was because she “wants what the people want,” a character trait shared by himself.

With Satan removed soon after, the Debate quickly developed into a two-horse race between the Queen and Al Capone. When asked about their dream date, Al Capone started speaking first, before being interrupted by the Queen, who admonished that it is polite to let a lady speak first. Raising a huge laugh from the audience, the Queen plumped for Gary Barlow. No doubt she would never forget that day. (It might even be her greatest day-Ed.) But anyway… Al Capone chose the Queen, evidently enamoured with the “bit of bite” the Queen had shown.

With the final two questions, the Queen picked “George at Asda,” when asked for her favourite shop and when prompted on what she would do in an invasion, said that she would make use of Al Capone’s “large supply of illicit weaponry.” Take from that what you will!

Before the next elimination came a question that has often kept me up at night; “Judas, David Cameron, Hugh O’Shea- Snog, Marry, Avoid?” God and Jesus elected to snog Hugh O’Shea “for his illustrious banter” and beautiful eyes, while Satan lamented that kissing Hugh was an “overrated experience.” He continued, asking the audience; “Who hasn’t fantasised about kissing David

After a tense final vote, interspersed by dramatic bursts of the fire alarm testing, it was Al Capone who remained in the balloon at the last. I’m sure the Queen, frustrated at her loss, would be up all night listening to Gary Barlow after that.

In the second round, it was Al Capone who clawed his way to the top with his ‘frauding of the tax’, whilst the Queen sat on her comfortable throne of second place. Inescapably, someone still had to leave, and Sarah Palin, dragging a betrayed looking McCain with her, left the stage.

2014

Artwork by Jack Oldham, Year 11

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Primo Levi Ian Chippendale, Chemistry Department When I was in my early twenties, my brother bought me a book called The Periodic Table by Primo Levi. I had not heard of the author or the book and assumed it was perhaps an informative history of the elements. It was in fact an autobiography of an Italian Jew who had survived Auschwitz, gone on to become an industrial chemist and then one of the most influential Italian writers of the twentieth century. I later read his other works, including If This is a Man and The Truce, which deal solely with his time in the camps, his liberation and his subsequent long journey home.

Primo Levi was born in Turin in 1919 and studied Chemistry at Turin University in 1939 before spending several years working in industry. In 1943, he joined a partisan group in Northern Italy but was soon arrested and sent to a holding camp. This is what he wrote of the night before he was to be sent by train to Auschwitz: “The mothers stayed up to prepare the food for the journey with tender care, and washed their children and packed the luggage; and at dawn the barbed wire was full of children’s washing hung out in the wind to dry.___Would you not do the same? If you and your child were going to be killed tomorrow, would you not give him to eat today?” (If This is a Man, 1958, page 12).

On arrival he was judged to be fit to work and so entered the camp.

“In less than ten minutes all the fit men had been collected together in a group. What happened to the others, to the women, to the children, to the old men, we could establish neither then nor later: the night swallowed them up, purely and simply.” (If This is a Man, page 17).

The book If This is a Man goes on to detail his time in the camp until his liberation by Russian forces in January 1945. He partly puts his survival down to his ability as a chemist, since this meant that, during the winter of 1944/45 when many died of cold and starvation, he was chosen to work in the factory next to Auschwitz, which gave him warmth and a little extra food.

For my Ezekiel Browne talk I reread the book and came to realise that its power lies in the non-judgemental way that Primo Levi goes about telling his story. So if, for example, he is describing how a man was shot for some minor misdemeanour, he just tells it as he saw it, and so his readers then also see it through his eyes and are thereby able to feel the full horror and pain of it.

I still feel it is the most profoundly moving book I have ever read.

Back in Italy after the war, Primo Levi carried on where he had left off, working as an industrial chemist. In the late 1950s, after If This is a Man was published, he became well-known as a writer and went on to write many other books including The Periodic Table in 1975. In the last chapter, Carbon, he turns photosynthesis into a thing of beauty and wonder.

“Our atom of carbon enters the leaf, colliding with other innumerable (but here useless) molecules of nitrogen and oxygen. It adheres to a large and complicated molecule that activates it, and simultaneously receives the decisive message from the sky, in the flashing form of a packet of solar light; in an instant, like an insect caught by a spider, it is separated from its oxygen, combined with hydrogen and (one thinks) phosphorus, and finally inserted in a chain, whether long or short does not matter, but it is the chain of life. All this happens swiftly, in silence, at the temperature and pressure of the atmosphere, and gratis: dear colleagues, when we learn to do likewise we will be sicut Deus, and we will have also solved the problem of hunger in the world.” (The Periodic Table, 1975, page 191) In the 1980s Levi was much troubled by the deterioration in his mother’s health and fell into depression himself. On April 11th 1987, his body was found at the foot of a three-storey stairwell in his Turin apartment. At the time his death was treated as suicide, but since then others have argued that a bout of dizziness may have caused him to lose his balance. In any case, his life goes on through his incredible writing. Perhaps I can persuade you? Get hold of copies of If This is A Man, The Truce and The Periodic Table and read them for yourselves.

Book sources: If This is a Man and The Truce, published by Everyman’s Library, 2000, and The Periodic Table, published by Penguin, 2000.

2014

The one and only: Chris Bradford Chika Sharples, Caprice Darnell and Cate Howe, Year 7 Who is Chris Bradford? Author, musician and bodyguard.

His best-selling book series, Bodyguard, has changed the face of the world and of humanity. Chris trained to be a qualified bodyguard to write the books. He also trained as a samurai for his Young Samurai series and he practised in the field of Ninjutsu.

On Friday 25th April 2014, Chris came into school to talk about his new book in the Bodyguard series, Ransom. Students from Cheadle Hulme High School also came to see Chris in action.

He wanted to teach us about being a bodyguard and so he sent us into training. He told us about his bodyguard training and what it was like for him, along with showing us some video clips about bodyguards in different countries, America and China, and we learnt that they recruit lots of female bodyguards but still don’t quite meet the demand. Chris decided to scare us a little bit with some sound effects, such as gun shot. He even managed to include English teacher Mr Westbrook in his performance!

He showed us the basic skills and brought some children up from the audience. He demonstrated how to protect a celebrity without using much physical violence, and the proper formation in which bodyguards should be - open box, closed box and arrow head. He read an action-packed passage out of both of his books, Hostage and Ransom, and he acted it out with children from the audience. He told us; “The best bodyguards are the ones that aren’t seen.”

Chris had some really cool gadgets with him that day. The best one was a coca-cola can that was actually a camera! We all saw a video of the front row that was taken by the coke can! He wore sunglasses the whole time and told us that you should wear sunglasses because, one, they looked great and, two, enemies can’t see where you are looking when you are wearing them.

Chris told us about the work he did before he became a bodyguard; he was a samurai, worked on Ninjutsu and he also had plans for his next crazy book series…..SPOILER ALERT!……. coming May 2015.

His favourite weapons are his samurai sword and his ninja nun chucks. Also his deadly wife and two children!

Chris quotes:

The Bodyguard series of books is about a young boy called Connor who becomes a bodyguard and doesn’t know what to expect. In the breath-taking, actionpacked book Hostage, when protecting the President’s daughter, Alesha, he has to face challenges that he has never come across before. This is an extract from Chris’ first Bodyguard book Hostage: “Connor spun to face the other gang member. In Crewcut’s hand flashed the ominous steel glint of a switch blade. Alesha screamed as she saw the knife plunge into Connor’s side.”

This is an extract from his new book from the Bodyguard series, Ransom: “The pirate heaved himself back up as Connor continued to slice frantically at the fraying fibres. The pirate’s fingers reached for the deck. The rope finally parted . . . and Connor watched the man tumble back into the foaming sea.”

All of Chris’ published books are translated into 20 different languages worldwide. He has been nominated for 25 book awards, shortlisted for the Red House Children’s Book Awards and was the winner of the Northern Ireland Book Awards.

At the end of the assembly, Chris said that we could buy or even order books right there and if you bought one or two that day you would get it signed by the one and only Chris Bradford!

Overall, we think that Chris Bradford is a wonderfully talented, amazing author and man and we definitely recommend that you should read (at least ) one of his books to see how good they are. We can guarantee a great read.

Quotes from readers:

“You have to be completely focussed.”

“Wholly authentic… the action and pace are spot on. Anyone working in the protection industry at a top level will recognise that the author knows what he is writing about.”

“Be in the yellow zone of attention, not the white zone.”

Hostage, Simon, ex-SO14 ROYALTY CLOSE PROTECTION.

“A security guard is not the same as a bodyguard.”

“Girls are just as good as boys at being a bodyguard.”

“You have to be able to take a hit.”

“You do not have to have read Hostage to read Ransom.”

“I write the type of books I’d want to read - books filled with relentless action, believable characters and a plot that twists and turns through the pages.”

“A new hit for the bullet-proof new series Bodyguard.”

Ransom, Goodreads.com.

“This was a fast-paced, action kind of book.

It felt like it was James Bond meets White House. It was so unpredictable, my eyes were glued to the pages.”

Hostage and Ransom, Goodreads.com.

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STAFF AND SIXTH FORM BOOK CLUB A Review of Stoner – by John Williams Adam Cunnane, Lower Sixth In the novel Confusion, Stefan Zweig describes a book that was “exhumed from its papery grave.” This is indeed the case with Stoner. Written by John Williams in 1965, any faint remnants of the book after its first publication quickly disappeared, before it found popularity again in the past few years, resuscitated by the support of Ian McEwan, Julian Barnes and by word-ofmouth enthusiasm.

I can’t stress how much I love this book, so there is certainly a danger that this article will become imbued with my ramblings about the wonderful, poetic nature of Williams’ style or the simplicity from which the novel’s potency stems. Thus, I am determined to force myself to write from an objective viewpoint and keep my sporadic outbursts of wonderment to a minimum.

Stoner entered the University of Massachusetts, intending to focus on agriculture, but instead became quickly enamoured of literature, his love cultivated by his teacher Archer Sloane. Two relationships defined his life, that with his wife Edith and with another professor, Lomax. Stoner finds it difficult to connect with others, isolated in the machine of university life that he nevertheless loves.

There was a discussion at Book Club about whether the protagonist is a ‘hero.’ He lives an arguably quiet life, yet one that is perpetually haunted by his inability to make close friends or maintain stable relationships. Williams, however, believes that he is a hero and was thus surprised to find his secretary crying when she was typing up the novel. Williams had intended the novel to be almost uplifting, but nevertheless acknowledged the tangible connection he felt with his secretary at that moment. Williams believed that though Stoner arguably achieves nothing of significance other than merely satisfying himself, nevertheless he spends his life doing what he loves.

To determine whether Stoner is a hero, one should consider how a hero is defined. If one takes a hero to be someone imbued with courage and attractive attributes, then Stoner is no hero. One book club contributor lamented Stoner’s inaction

as his daughter is increasingly used as a weapon by his wife in her mind-games.

Indeed, Stoner resigns himself to the loss of his daughter, particularly when she later becomes consumed in the abyss of alcoholism. Therefore, Stoner’s inability to react, one could argue, is seemingly evidence of his cowardice and to laud him as a hero would be to denigrate from his daughter’s suffering which is de facto at his hands.

Another member of Book Club poetically bemoaned that, “Stoner is the imperfect hero; his flaws are evident and yet so human - we cannot help but be moved by the inevitability of his tragedy.” Thus, he is more relatable than other “greats” in American Literature, such as the pathetic character of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby.

Indeed, in spite of the vicious cycle that envelops Stoner, he still shows moments of quiet heroism. For example, he nobly stands up to Lomax’s patronage of a student even though he is ultimately aware he cannot win. In addition, he controversially refuses to go to war, which could be considered heroic in the light of the tremendous pressure that was exerted on conscientious objectors. Yet, the reader is aware that Stoner’s only true love is literature. It is thus intriguing to consider whether merely doing what one loves in life is heroic.

We discussed at Book Club whether the novel could be effectively adapted

into a film. However, though many argued that it would make a good film adaption (think Tom Hanks as Stoner), I am inclined to disagree. By allowing the novel to become drunk on Hollywood stardom, the essence of William’s piece and the sheer lucidity of the prose would be lost in translation. Any questions of whether Stoner is a hero would be quickly dashed on the altar of fame. The only way to truly appreciate William’s characterisation of Stoner is to read the novel. If not for me, then for John Williams, who was unable to appreciate the success his work became.

To end, perhaps a quote from the novel itself is warranted. His daughter turns to William Stoner towards the end of the novel, saying, “Poor Daddy, things haven’t been easy for you, have they?” Thinking for a moment, he then says; “No. But I suppose I didn’t want them to be.” He, after all, could have gone into agriculture, but chose instead to do what he loved.

Thanks to Mrs Moore, the school librarian, and all the other contributors from Book Club.

2014

WHEN ENERGY COLLIDES

GC SE SCIENCE

LIVE!

Miriam Abbas, Year 11

It was 9.00am on a frosty Monday morning in November and 40 budding Year 11 scientists began to get on the coach. After waiting for about 20 minutes for those who “didn’t even know they were coming on the trip,” we finally set off. We arrived at the Exchange Hall in Manchester at exactly the same time as about eight other coaches and, as you might expect, it was absolute chaos.

We were told that over 1000 school pupils were attending the event so it took a very long time to get in. However, the time almost flew by as we admired the uniforms of other schools (yellow shirts and green kilts!).We were led to our seats, quite close to the front, and made ourselves comfortable.

Quite a while after, when everyone had finally taken their seats, Daniel Powell, who had organised the event, introduced the first scientist, Dr Maggie AderinPocock. The subject of her talk was space exploration and she talked about the possibility of life on Mars. She told us about a company called Mars One who were planning a mission to Mars in the near future. She finished off her talk by asking who would be willing to go on a one-way trip to Mars, and yes, there was one person from CHS who actually raised their hand!

The next scientist was Professor Bruce Hood whose lecture was called “The Mind Machine.” He talked about how amazing the brain is and assured us that it is impossible to control everyone’s brains like in “The Matrix”.

He also showed us how the brain can play tricks on us. He illustrated this by showing us a number of illusions, finishing off with a very clever card trick.

kill your younger self because you must survive the assassination attempt in order to become the assassin.” This left us all feeling quite bewildered.

After a short break, a man we all remember from Year 7 reproduction videos took the floor: the one and only Professor Lord Robert Winston! He talked about fertility and IVF and showed us strange videos of DNA curling up. He encouraged us to study science and assured us that you don’t have to be really clever to pursue a career in science, but added that passion was essential.

Next, after a short lunch break, Chief Examiner, Stewart Chenery, talked about exam technique and top tips for science exams. Finally, after he had talked through a lot of exam questions, the last scientist, Professor Andrea Sella, came on stage to give his talk entitled: “How the Zebra got its Stripes”. We were shown a number of chemical reactions, one of which turned from a pale yellow solution to a dark blue solution and then back to yellow again and continued doing this for the whole talk. He explained that this was an oscillating reaction and used a little toy duck walking down a ramp to explain his ideas. Then he explained that if these reactions are not stirred they make wavelike patterns, just like the stripes found on zebras, and that the same procedure is used to create most patterns in nature.

Then followed, in my opinion, the most interesting talk of all: Professor Jim Al-Khalili’s talk on time travel, fittingly called “Can The Doctor Really Travel through Time?”, in which he explained that, according to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, it is possible to travel into the future! What’s more it has actually been achieved (don’t get too excited though-you need to travel at close to the speed of light). Furthermore, although it is much harder, we can’t rule out travelling into the past either. He also talked about black holes, wormholes and bending 3D space back on itself but apparently we can’t use wormholes as portals because they’re too unstable. He also talked about the many interesting paradoxes concerned with time travel to the past. If you went back in time, for example, and killed yourself, would you just disappear? He carried on by saying; “And if you died last year, who would have killed you? It seems you cannot

After a couple of questions, Daniel Powell came back on stage to thank the scientists and then we faced the challenge of getting back out of the Exchange Hall. After much pushing and waiting for the stragglers we finally found our coach and made our way back to school. It had been an interesting, exciting and tiring day but we had all enjoyed it and I think that some of us have definitely been inspired to pursue a scientific career.

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Once the finish had been reviewed it became clear that it ended as a draw between kinetic and chemical potential.

After a short break the games began again. The third round was a high jump competition; once all of the contestants had jumped as high as they could, using all of their momentum, it became obvious that elastic potential was a winner in this round.

The next round was called the emission round; in this round the contestants had to prove that they had the best connection with the sun. Heat and light won the emission round by showing that they were emitted from the sun.

Once upon a time, when 7T were studying energy in Science, they discovered an ancient story, which helped them to understand energy better. The story went like this . . .

The fifth contest was the challenge of strength; the contestant who could split a uranium atom would win. They all had three attempts but no one could manage to split the atom open until the last contestant, nuclear energy, who won the round with a great performance. He split the atom with ease.

When energy first arrived on this planet in 1752 - Benjamin Franklin was the man who first discovered positive and negative electrical charges - there were nine different types. The first two types of energy were light and heat; these two are emitted from the sun.

The next to come along was kinetic energy; this is the power of movement. After kinetic energy came gravitational potential, which is the force of gravity. In turn came electrical energy, the type of energy used to connect battery power to an object which requires electricity. The sixth type of energy was chemical potential; this is in food, which we eat and get energy from. An example of when this happens is if you go running after eating; the energy stored inside the food that you have just eaten is given off when you run, making it easier to run for longer without getting tired. The next energy type to be discovered was sound. Sound is a longitudinal energy wave used to transfer noises from one place to another.

The eighth was elastic potential, the potential energy stored as a result of deformation of an elastic object, such as the stretching of a spring. The last energy to come was in the form of nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy originates from the splitting of uranium atoms in a process called fission.

Next was the diving contest. Each competitor had to dive from the 100 metre board doing a series of complex flips as they fell, all before landing in the pool in a vertical position with no splash on entry. Gravitational potential flew down with grace and mastered the complex series of flips, landing feet first in the water with not even the slightest sound or ripple. Gravitational potential won by demonstrating how he was pulled to the earth by gravity.

It was the start of the energy games of 1753, just after energy was born. The favourites to win were nuclear energy from America, light energy from Australia, heat from England, kinetic from Africa, elastic potential from Switzerland, chemical potential from Spain, gravitational potential from India, electrical potential from Egypt and lastly sound from Italy. The games consisted of seven challenges.

We need all of the energy sources to live and do things.

No energy source is better than another.

It’s like humans; we are all useful and talented at what we do.

First up was the singing contest; all of the contestants took their places on the starting line. They had to sing five bars of their chosen song when their name was called. After an hour of the singing contest the places were to be announced. In the end sound won the singing contest due to her ability to project sound waves of the highest quality.

The next round was the sprint. The gong sounded and they were off, kinetic and chemical potential flying off the start line and taking an early lead. It was between them as they approached the final straight; the line was crossed.

The seventh and the last challenge was the cleaning test; in this round all of the contestants had to clean a spot of land in the quickest time and do the best job. The winner of this test with an astonishing time of just 30 seconds was electrical potential.

She won because of her ability to connect herself to an electrical source and use a hoover, whereas all the other contestants did not have this ability and had to use manual objects to clean their area.

After the games had come to an abrupt end the places were to be announced. But there was a problem; there was no overall winner.

This proves that all of the energy sources are as important as each other, although they all have different strengths.

2014

WRITE FOR RIGHTS – HUMAN RIGHTS WORLDWIDE Lauren Darwent, Lower Sixth

In the early 2000s, Write for Rights began in Poland when a small group of Amnesty members decided to hold a 24 hour letter-writing marathon for human rights. Participation in the campaign has grown to a size and force larger than anyone ever could have imagined and Write for Rights has become the world’s largest annual human rights event. A record-breaking 83 countries took part in the 2013 campaign during which 1.4 million messages worldwide - in the form of letters, emails, tweets and petition signatures – were sent to voice support for human rights.

When I learnt about the staff at the Afghan Women’s Skills Development Centre (AWSDC), I felt inspired to write to Afghanistan’s President, calling upon him to ensure that attacks and threats to women’s human rights defenders are both quickly and wholly investigated. The women at AWSDC provide shelter for women escaping violence, as well as teaching them practical skills and giving them support, but face frequent intimidation and attacks. Living in the UK, it is hard to imagine experiencing such injustice for standing up for the rights we take for granted, but in the case of so many people internationally, this hardship is a reality. Browsing through the remaining eleven cases on Amnesty International’s website that night, I was shocked to read the stories of the individual people and communities who need the voice of activists globally to help them in their struggles. The 2013 cases include a Belarussian man named Ihar, who was beaten up by the police and received death threats when he tried to set up a gay rights organisation; the ‘Bolotnaya 3’, who were arrested in Moscow after peacefully protesting against President Putin; and Mexican Miriam Lopez, who was kidnapped on the way home from dropping her children off at school, then tortured and detained for months after she was forced to ‘confess’ (though innocent of the crime) that she had been trafficking drugs. Amnesty’s work really is vital to ensure that these people and communities receive justice; their lives have been irreversibly damaged by the traumas they have gone through, but we can still campaign to increase the likelihood of their receiving a fair trial, or being released from imprisonment.

Everyone feels the buzz in the air during that hectic period of pre-Christmas preparation. With the whole school rushing around thinking of all the things they have to do before the end of the term, I was utterly astonished to see so many people giving their time to write solidarity cards as part of our weeklong campaign from 8th - 13th December, coinciding with Human Rights Day on the 10th. By the end of the week, an amazing 160 cards had been filled with whole-hearted messages of encouragement and support, and not just by those in the Senior School. The contribution of Junior School children was heart-warming, as was the fact that some Sixth Form students even wrote to the prisoners in their native language, with Liam Branagan scripting his solidarity card in Spanish, and Jonah Richardson writing his in Russian.

When I walked into the crowded post office, carrying twelve brown envelopes full of the solidarity cards that teachers and pupils of all ages had written during CHS’ Write for Rights campaign, my mission was quite different from that of the others waiting to post Christmas gifts. On the 19th December, just days after the campaign had come to a close, it was announced that Vladimir Akimenkov - one of the ‘Bolotnaya 3’ prisoners of conscience - had been released from prison. This news was by far the best Christmas present that Vladimir and his worried family and friends would ever receive. To know that because of our school’s messages, even just a few people around the world who are having their human rights abused will see a glimmer of hope, and may eventually be released and granted justice, is humbling. Whether we are writing to the families of people who have been killed or ‘disappeared’, or to the prisoners of conscience themselves, just knowing that we are making a difference - no matter how small - is amazing. We will continue to support those denied many basic human rights, and continue to put pressure on those who deny people these rights, in the hope that one day no person will be persecuted for defending their political or religious beliefs or demanding fair treatment when they have been wronged.

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Cheadle Hulme School Rangers Keaton Seddon, Year 10 The natural world never ceases to enthrall, astound and inspire those who have been stirred by their curiosity about the animals and plants with which we share our lives. We are all part of the biological environment. Its processes provide the air we breathe, the food and water we eat and drink and the landscapes in which we live. We can all encounter for ourselves the natural world in all its richness. Some have been fortunate enough to travel widely, but I continue to be inspired by wildlife at home.

We have all become so mired in our bustling, everyday lives that many of us have forgotten about the world that lies just outside our doorstep. All we have to do is to tear ourselves away from our computer games and phones and look out of the window for a few moments and see the natural world in all its diversity. We cannot help but be in awe when contemplating the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvellous structure of the world. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day.

We first joined Cheadle Hulme School Rangers in Year 7, when the club was known as Eco Soc and was run by Mr. Peat, who has now retired, and over the years we have gained a wealth of knowledge from the teachers and groundstaff who have supported the club. However, Cheadle Hulme School Rangers is not solely a club for those with an interest in learning about the world around us. We also actively take part in conservation work around the school, constantly maintaining and improving the wild areas in the school grounds. We carry out surveys of the different types of flora and fauna that we find. In the school pond we take note of species changes and the number

of organisms that we can find in each season. We do species counts in the RSPB Big School Birdwatch, check the nest boxes around school, and place Longworth traps for small mammals to determine population sizes around school. As well as this, we keep accounts and samples of the plant-life of CHS. Besides carrying out work outside, we do work inside by putting up photography displays in the Department. We are also establishing a new school wildlife calender in Biology, showing each of the months of the year and the types of animals and plants you are likely to see in them.

In Britain, our woodland represents the most diverse assemblage of plants and animals in any habitat outside the tropics and is a rich biosphere for a host of animals and plants. However, our native species are under more pressure than ever before due to agricultural intensification, climate change, growing demands for water, expansion of urban areas, transport infrastructure, and the over-exploitation of the seas. Some of Britain’s finest wildlife sites are still being threatened and damaged by development and neglect. In England alone, over a third are in an unfavourable condition. Conserving these is vital if our wildlife is to survive.

At Cheadle Hulme School we all play a small but vital role in protecting the wildlife of our towns and countyside by providing them with the habitats they need, and not only the rare species, but also those which are more familiar to us, because if there is nowhere for nature to live, then there can be no nature.

2014 Physics in Cern Elizabeth Scott, Lower Sixth Whether you’re studying Physics, or can’t tell the difference between baryons and gluons, it’s common knowledge that CERN has been at the forefront of many major scientific discoveries over the past forty years. For many, it has a vague, untouchable air; the Lower Sixth Physics students were fortunate enough to be able to spend a few days there in Geneva, Switzerland, last January and it proved an invaluable experience.

Even as someone with little prior interest in Politics, it was impossible not to be in awe of the history and architecture surrounding us. We headed toward one of the building’s main corridors, escorted by a guide, who gave an explanation of how the major UN sectors operate. As well as giving us an overview of the structure and operation of the UN, the rooms themselves were sights to behold. Possibly one of the most interesting was the Human Rights & Alliance of Civilizations Room, which was adorned with a truly unique ceiling. The multi-coloured, multi-faceted stalactites decorating the ceiling represent no one culture or nation in particular, as it was the intention of the artist to represent the different viewpoints expressed in the debating room. Many countries donated works of art to the United Nations Headquarters, and several were displayed, presumably to give a physical representation to that particular country’s place as one of the member countries.

We woke the next morning to a simple meal of a croissant, bread roll and orange juice before being hurried to the nearest tram station. After an uncoordinated jump on, where half of the group nearly got left behind, and a short ride being stared at by the nonplussed locals, we arrived at the station directly opposite CERN. As we were approaching, I could see the shape of the CERN Globe, the main tourist attraction for the whole sprawling complex, and rather reminiscent of a certain Star Wars space station. However, it’s only when you are right underneath it that you can appreciate just how large the whole wooden structure really is.

This continued when we went inside, where our tour began in a circular, high-ceilinged room with barely any lights apart from those picking out the exhibits. These included the history of the discoveries that made the work CERN does possible, as well as interactive screens explaining the latest scientific theories on things such as dark matter, and the possibilities of parallel universes.

In the CERN Globe of Science and Innovation, we were also allowed to explore more interactive demonstrations of the proofs of the processes in particle acceleration. The hands-on style suited me well, as I found it very engaging to see the effects of electromagnetic waves on the photons on a television screen, for example. After around an hour of free exploration time, we were given a talk by a member of CERN. He explained in more detail the intricacies of the process of accelerating particles and the shape of the CERN complex. It comprised of many small accelerators in a ring, so large that it crosses the French-Swiss border.

Our group was split in half for the next section and each half was escorted by a different CERN guide though the buildings containing the laboratories. This included being able to see the main control room of CERN, a modest sized room containing about 20 computers and many televisions showing different areas of the complex.

Unfortunately, we were unable to go into the Large Hadron Collider, as it had recently been switched on before we arrived and it would be too dangerous.

When at the end of our visit we boarded the plane home, we were tired, but overall enriched by the experiences we had had and the knowledge we had gained.

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Artwork by Polly Feather, Upper Sixth

2014

MUNCH James Turnbull, Lower Sixth Cheadle Hulme School has built a sizeable reputation in the MUN circuit, winning awards and holding lauded conferences every October for over a decade. Wary of their predecessors’ glittering legacy, the Organising Committee for MUNCH 14 had a remarkable weight of expectation resting collectively on their shoulders. With the Opening Ceremony upon us, Hugh O’Shea, the SecretaryGeneral, gave one of several speeches to what was the biggest audience any MUNCH Sec-Gen had faced: over 500 student delegates. The gavel eventually came down and Cheadle Hulme’s fourteenth conference had officially begun.

After rapturous, riotous applause, a purposeful cacophony of chatter gave way to housekeeping notices from the Logistics Team and the Secretariat – some of the mightiest, most pivotal organisational pillars of MUNCH. Delegates were soon shepherded

by Committee Chairs to their committee rooms, where over a weekend they’d be lobbying resolutions, firing points of information and forging curious but powerful alliances. To the casual observer, the best action takes place here, and it’s certainly true that the enthusiastic participation of so many delegates makes conferences like this possible. Yet behind the glitz and glamour of debate lies a monstrously complex and beautifully organised operation.

In Closing Ceremony speeches, Conference Directors (the peerless Mrs Evans in our case) remark that the work for next year’s conference begins the very next day. For the Secretariat, this really is the case. The Heads of Secretariat, together with an army of Secretaries and Head Secretaries, work their fingers to the bone for the best part of a year, dragging the conference in all its pristine glory over the finish line whilst still being bombarded by a cascading waterfall of responsibilities. On conference day, they’re both our silent guardians and our watchful protectors – and they comprise just one of the pivotal pillars of MUNCH! The Press

Team, Logistics, Security and Hospitality play a huge part, and our Technology Team – always there to give proceedings a brilliantly professional touch – is the envy of many other schools.

However, one must remember that MUN, at any school, is so popular and so profoundly effective as an extra-curricular activity because it’s fun - brilliant fun. The feeling of contributing positively to an event of such enormous scale is immensely satisfying, and veteran delegates, with two or three dozen conferences under their diplomatic belts, comment on the MUN-shaped hole left in their hearts when they leave school, such is the effect it’s had on them as a person.

As Day One draws to a close, there’s a thrilling final twist: in a “live” news bulletin (filmed and edited on site, not that the sterling production values give that away), news of a crisis hits the committee room. A huge earthquake has struck Qatar, completely destroying the Al-Uneid Air Base and causing the emission of high levels of gamma radiation! Of course, it’s merely carefully constructed fantasy, but it sets the tone for an electrifying second day of MUNCH, where delegates are really put to the test as debate moves to the greatest parliament of them all: the General Assembly.

If Committees were battlefields, this surely must be the Colosseum.

One (albeit overused) line that perfectly sums up this activity states; “We are not a model of the United Nations; we are a model for the United Nations”. The line makes more sense with each passing conference, and it only takes one look at the events that unfold at a conference to understand its relevance and underlying significance. Faith in international politics may have waned in recent years, but when conferences like MUNCH not only exist but enjoy great success, we can at least retain a shred of optimism for the future.

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Why do I do MUN? Amy Dunning, Year 9 Why do I do MUN? This is a very interesting question, yet one I have never really thought much about before now. I have been involved since the very start of Year 7, and I simply can’t imagine life at CHS without it. I suppose there are many people who start MUN simply because it will look good on their CV, but these are usually the people who don’t stick with it past their first conference.

There are people who just like to argue, and therefore take part in the activity for that purpose. But to those I would say; ‘Beware!’ for MUN is a lot more than a boring shouting match. You have to express your views eloquently or you are very unlikely to get recognised as a successful delegate.

So why do I do it? Well, I feel that MUN gives me a kind of power that many other extra-curricular activities don’t. You are given the ability to represent the views of a nation to come to a conclusion (even if that often involves World War Three!). I think what makes it so exciting for me is the fact that it’s just so real. You are discussing real problems, from a real point of view; it isn’t a role-playing game as many are led to believe!

MUN also allows me to form friendships that I wouldn’t have otherwise. Many MUNers attend a significant number of conferences annually, and so you get to know many people; (and forming alliances is sacrosanct when trying to get a resolution passed!). The whole community is so friendly and very understanding, especially to nervous new delegates.

MUN gets me involved in something completely different, particularly at the weekends. It is unique, and there is no other available activity similar to it. Sometimes I can be found playing sport on a Saturday morning, but at other times you can find me discussing and debating important topics which affect people all across the globe.

All that is left for me is to implore you to give it a go, even just for one conference. And if you don’t feel that public speaking and debating are your thing, there are always jobs open behind the scenes, such as secretary or Press Team.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it is unlikely that you will change the world, but Model United Nations gives you the opportunity at least to try.

Mini MUNCH Rebecca Pope, Year 9 This year, Mini MUNCH was held on the 2nd April and attracted many people from all year groups to try the MUN experience. In Committee Room 1, the delegates were debating whether students should be able to choose their school curriculum and came to the decision that pupils can decide some of the subjects that they can do, but have to do some compulsory ones too. In Committee Room 2, they discussed how much homework should be given and how long the school day should be.

Among the delegates were those who had never done MUN before: two of those were Year 8 students, Adam and Ben. They said that they loved the atmosphere and formality and Adam especially loved the arguing aspect of it!

Towards the end of this small conference there was a crisis.

Each country made up of four or five delegates debated Russia’s involvement with Ukraine and threats made to the UN of nuclear warfare. Many new delegates took to the floor and raised some good points.

Mini MUNCH was a real success.

2014

Artwork by Alice Needham, Upper Sixth

Artwork by Eve Yianni, Year 11

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Mental Health Awareness Week Charlotte Hunter, Lower Sixth Following Mental Health Awareness Week in February, Dr Chris Yianni, who had worked in the Mental Health Sector for a number of years, visited CHS to talk about mental illness as part of the Ezekiel Browne Society program. Having campaigned for this cause myself, I went along to the meeting to see what a professional had to say about the topic.

The first thing I noticed was the turn-out.

The room was filled with pupils and staff eager to hear what Dr Yianni had to say.

This alone really demonstrated to me

how important this subject is for a lot of people, and how vital it is that we don’t deny people information on such a topic, a feeling I’m sure Dr Yianni shared.

the difference is huge. Dr Yianni delivered this message with such warmth, empathy and genuineness, and CHS was incredibly lucky to have him.

The talk addressed various issues surrounding mental illness such as environment, medication and attitudes towards people with illnesses. One particular thing that stuck in my mind was his words about the stigma surrounding the topic; the fact that so many people are labelled as “that depressed person” instead of “that person with depression”…….

The attitude that CHS is now taking towards the topic of mental health through raising funds and awareness, being more open, informing pupils via PSHE lessons and the Peer Mentoring scheme, really warms my heart and is certainly a catalyst for positive change within the school.

Manchester Girl Geeks Dinner: Meet The Scientists Nabaa Saif, Lower Sixth On the 30th October, Manchester Girl Geeks presented an evening with some of science’s finest. They gathered together researchers and experts from all areas of Science, Technology, IT and Engineering.

We got the chance to meet them all and hear about the work they’ve been doing, what they’re doing next and what it’s like being a female working in the maledominated world of science.

Thinking of studying Science at university? They had all been there and done that. Interested in learning more about cutting edge research? They told us everything you would need to know.

This fun evening was a chance to ask questions and find out what working in

science is really like, while sharing a tasty meal with the Manchester Girl Geeks team.

Manchester Girl Geeks is a not-for-profit group which organises networking events, talks and hands-on workshops for women and girls with an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The Girl Geeks Tea Party sessions in Manchester were started in December 2009 as an activityoriented, family-friendly addition to the dinners. The workshops are held monthly on Sunday afternoons at MadLab in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, and include both hands-on activities such as an introduction to web development

and “Build your own PC” sessions, as well as talks on exciting science topics.

All workshops are run by volunteers and most are free to attend.

The Girl Geeks Dinner that took place at the end of October happened during the Manchester Science Festival, which was the 7th yearly return of the Festival. Its purpose is to allow others to play, create and experiment with their scientific side.

The Science Festival brings together a unique blend of art, make-it workshops, performances and big experiences for all ages across Greater Manchester. It was a great opportunity to learn, experiment and, more importantly, to have fun!

2014

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The Waconian is predominantly written, illustrated and compiled by the students of Cheadle Hulme School and Mrs Judith Shand, Teacher of Modern Languages.

Head Lucy Pearson, B.A. (Oxon) Claremont Road · Cheadle Hulme · Cheadle · Cheshire · SK8 6EF Tel 0161 488 3330 · Email head@chschool.co.uk cheadlehulmeschool.co.uk

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