Mr Tim Brewis
Geography Geography continues its growth and popularity at College, with numbers of pupils going to read Geography and results across all year groups at a high. The news is full of geographical content, but reflecting and engaging upon the history and personal tragedy of incidents closer to home in Aberfan in June provided many with an experience never to be forgotten. On Wednesday 17 June the Lower Sixth geographers went to the site of the 1966 disaster in which 116 children from Pantglas Junior School lost their lives, and were able to hear first-hand accounts from two survivors who lost so much and who continue to suffer. Essays and extended answers in public examinations draw heavily in ‘Assessment Objective 1’, which is factual evidence in support of answers, and the visit was a useful reminder that behind every statistic is a life changed and a story to be told. In College we continue to rely on many external speakers to bring to life the education, research and careers offered through Geography, and we joined with the Lower College Society for a lively debate entitled ‘When is Child Labour
a Good Thing?’ Accepted wisdom may reply ‘Never’ but, guided through the discussion by Dr Peter Mackie from Cardiff University, he showed through his research in Cusco, Peru, that employment can be an enabler, not just economically, but also in terms of accessing education, the internet and quality of life for many of the street children. The Geography Society is fortunate to hear from many students every year, and a particular highlight was Lucy Gray (U6, A) reflecting on her summer travels to Nepal with Darcey Edwards (U6, Q), where both girls worked in Shamrock School in Pokhara. Lucy reported that evening duties involved putting the pupils to bed, at which point they had to be ordered to stop working. Clearly they value the College motto of ‘Work Conquers All’. Cheltenham College has become heavily involved in Shamrock School in recent months, most recently raising significant funding through a relay on the Cotswold Way after the April 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Debating is a critical enabler of classroom discussion, allowing evaluation of essay titles, and we all enjoyed our annual Upper Sixth Geography Leavers’ Dinner and Debate night. The dress code was as creative as ever and the two debate titles (‘Poverty is the real killer when hazards strike’ and ‘Rising population and standards of living are unsustainable’) both provoked fierce discussion. Much of the content for the hazards debate had been provided by an earlier lecture by James Watson of Risk Management Solutions entitled ‘The Crystal Ball of Hazard Prediction’ in which he explained how earth hazards are modelled, modified and insured in those countries with the expertise and finance. As ever, the Lydney, Birmingham, Cheltenham, Snowdonia and Gower field trips provided opportunities for primary data collection, with the latter trips also seeing the Lower Sixth ‘geoggers’ out on their morning runs with Antonia Stuckey (L6, Q) and Jana Bourhill (L6, Q) to the fore. Congratulations to the Speech Day
prize winners: Georgina Blumer (L6, Ch) and Araminta Lawson-Smith (L6, Ch), with best overall geographer awarded to William Wong (U6, S), who was one of three geographers to secure full marks at AS Level. Best of luck to all those geographers departing for Russell group universities and geographicallythemed gap years, and we look ahead to the next Iceland expedition in October 2015.
Mr Richard Penny
Government and Politics
ACADEMIC
more successfully than ever the difficult balance between achieving excellent results and fostering a love of carefree exploration of the world of literature. Hearteningly, the new A Level, scheduled for first teaching in September 2015, looks set to make striking such a balance much easier; watch this space!
The Government and Politics Department continued to enthuse and engage the student body. The academic year was bookended by the Scottish Referendum, the rise and fall of UKIP and the excitement of a General Election. It is without doubt a deeply stimulating subject and the Sixth Form students were immersed in the most recent political developments. What with visits to local hustings events and visits from prospective Cheltenham candidates, the pupils benefited hugely from the exposure to contemporary local and national issues. The real highlight for the Department was the College-wide election. Every main party was represented and what followed was a highly informed and passionate campaign. Edward Robbins (U6, L), representing the Conservative Party, won the popular vote and the majority of the constituencies (spread across the Houses, Common Room, administrative staff, catering staff and the Estates Department). Antonia Stuckey (L6, Q), standing as an independent candidate, won the Common Room vote with her well-informed and passionate campaign for her self-styled Peelite Party. What was also encouraging was that the pupil and staff turn-out was in line with national figures; but most importantly there was whole College participation, the pupils had made politics fun and there was a real sense of engagement. The Morley Society ‘Rodney Risk Challenge Cup’ was once again a key feature of the academic year. Archie Charlton (U6, NH), President of the Society, ran out the eventual winner. There is of course a degree of speculation as to how that happened, as he had originally been an early loser in the group stages of the competition. What the 2015 competition brought was a
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