The Harrovian Hong Kong - Issue 14

THE HARROVIAN

Editor: Benjamin Wang (Y13, Churchill)

Issue 14: Leadership

Leadership for a Better World

What Exactly are Prefects?

by Victor Hui (Y13, Peel)

January 2018

whole House events - Usher in assembly, concerts, plays and forums etc - Support visitors at the School on all public occasions

In addition to those standard duties, Emma and I, as Head Girl and Head Boy, also lead and manage the team of School Prefects. We have to organise ushers for public occasions, chair weekly prefect meetings, liaise with the Deputy Head and the Head to ensure the Prefect team meets the high standards of expectation; represent the school at official events; perform public speaking duties at all appropriate whole school events; and take responsibility for organising Prefect support at events, just to list a few.

So whether or not you are an aspiring prefect or just simply curious, I hope that you now have a better idea of our role. We all became Prefects for reasons and we were all leaders before we became Prefects.

Although you may often see Prefects on duty in the temple before the first period, on the astro during break time, and guarding the doors in the dining hall, instructing you where to go, some of you may still wonder what are their roles and responsibilities? Why do we need them, and why this specific team of Year 13s?

The role of the prefect provides a unique opportunity for both personal development and a way of giving back to the school community. Prefects take on important leadership roles, such as assisting teachers, providing support to students and liaising with prospective parents and other visitors. They are also meant to act as role models to the whole school community, and are especially expected to be aware of the emotional, social and physical well-being of all students, hence bringing attention to the teaching body any concerns we may have.

Being a Prefect is not as easy as it may seem - there are a lot of duties! Every one of us, no matter our title, is expected to act in the interest of the students in our Houses pastorally. Prep School Prefects are further expected to fulfil the same role in their respective Prep Houses. These roles include ensuring that relationships in the House are warm, positive and respectful; supporting the House Master/ Mistress; helping with the day-to-day running of the House.

Trust me, the list will never end.

Here are a few responsibilities just to give you a taste of what it is like to be a prefect:

- Lead and manage his or her house committee

- Have weekly meetings with their House Master

or Mistress to reflect on the past week and plan for

future development

- Perform public speaking duties at all appropriate

whole House events

- Organise teams and assist with preparation for all

Interview with the Head

by Benjamin Wang (Y13, Churchill) and Katrina Tse (Y11, Keller)

A while ago, we had the privilege to talk to Ms Haydon, our new Head Mistress, about her views on the School and how we can develop young leaders. We also took the time to ask her specific questions about the School, for example its ECA programme, and her vision for the School.

Ben: As our School’s motto is Leadership for a Better World, what kind of classroom experience do you think fosters leadership?

Head: I think a classroom experience which fosters leadership is one where everybody has the opportunity, at some stage, to take the lead, and everybody, in every lesson, is able to express their opinions, and that they’re listened to and respected for what they have to say.

Katrina: How do you go about connecting with the whole school community?

Head: Being approachable and visible: having an open-door policy is really important. I wanted to relocate my office to where I am now because I’d like to see pupils doing their everyday activities. I think attending events, going to the dining room and eating with you, coming to your houses - seeing how it operates, having a chat socially etc., are all important in terms of connecting with the community.

Obviously, there are large public events, where you stand up in front of the whole school community and you connect and engage in that way, but I think it’s about having time for people. People can get very busy, and my diary gets incredibly full, but it’s about seeing people, not sitting at a desk writing policies or responding to emails. That comes when everybody else is asleep.

Katrina: What do you think is the biggest difference

between a team member and a leader?

Head: Team players and leaders share many similar qualities. The very best leaders are also team players. There are times when they have to switch from one role to another. You have to listen; show strength of character; be a decision-maker while having courage of conviction; be resilient, adaptable and flexible in your approach; have a strong work ethic and a can-do attitude; be relentlessly positive, but also see the bigger picture and think strategically, thinking outside the box taking risks. The most important thing is to be positive, and always see the good in situations and people. Sometimes, the decisions may not be the most popular decisions, but if you know that the decisions are well-considered, ultimately you’d be able to put your head down and sleep well at night.

Ben: If there was one thing you would like students at our School to take better advantage of, what would it be?

Head: To be creative in their approach and thinking.

I couldn’t possibly imagine the jobs that our students will go into, since they probably don’t exist at the moment. The world is changing economically, politically, and socially.

Technology is changing at a phenomenal pace, so you need to be creative, adaptable, and flexible. There are times when you need to step out of your comfort zone, which may be a scary prospect. But if you do that, and redefine yourself, you may find it an exhilarating and fulfilling experience. I was at my previous school for 10 years and I could’ve easily stayed there, but I’d always had a yearning to live and work abroad. I was asked to apply for the job here at Harrow HK, and I took that leap of faith and I’ve not regretted it one moment. I’m absolutely loving my time here, working with the pupils and staff. Taking that risk, that leap of faith has been incredibly rewarding.

Ben: Do you have any advice to help students cope with academic and social pressure?

Head: I think it’s very important to have balance and perspective on life. Young people have enormous pressure placed on them. It’s important to be authentic and be yourself.

The happiest and most fulfilled people I’ve come across in my life are true to themselves, and I think there are certain times you face real challenges. Don’t be afraid to seek support from the people around you, may be your family, friends, your teachers, HMs, RHTs, tutors, healthcare team, psychologist.

It is a sign of strength when you seek support.

Katrina: Do you have specific thoughts about the School’s extra-curricular programme and how it could be improved?

Head: The ECA programme is an important aspect of a Harrow education. We are not just about examination results. We are about building characters, opening horizons, enriching your CVs and ensuring that you can develop your interests. I think to reiterate: getting involved in ECAs, enrichment, links to employability. Are you a team player?

Can you be a leader? Can you be part of a team that can work together for a specific outcome? It builds your character, the ability to negotiate, to express your view, to try something new, to be tolerant of other views - these are the sorts of skills you will need when you go out into the workplace. I think it broadens your horizons. So I want our ECA programme to be

of high quality, to be relevant and most importantly, I want you to enjoy it. I want to ensure all pupils have a say on what they’d like on the ECA programme. Although we may not be able to offer everything that everybody wants, I want to have a broad, high quality program that is relevant and enjoyable.

Likewise, for Enrichment, the time after school and before supper is a special time to me. I love seeing you playing games on the Astro, on the tennis courts, reading a book on the steps, or chatting. I think it’s really important time to get involved in activities, to have sometime where you are able to relax and chat with friends, or time to get involved in activities, to have some time where you are able to relax and chat with friends, or time to think and reflect. It ensures our life is perfectly balanced.

Ben: Do you have any questions for budding leaders at the school?

Head: How can we inspire, encourage and empower you to help and support you achieve what you want to achieve?

The First Student Council

by Cisy Ye (Y12, Gellhorn)

The first ever Harrow Student Council meeting was held on the 14th of November, chaired by Ms Haydon and Mr Fox. House representatives from both Prep and Senior School were invited to attend. This is a very exciting addition to the Harrow School community, as it opens up more leadership opportunities and chances for the student voice to be heard.

The aim of the Student Council is to unite all the individual committees and improve the communication between students and the senior staff members. A constitution will be developed by a collaboration between Mr Fox and two council members - Morgan and me. This will hopefully define key leadership roles and allow more frequent independent council meetings to take place in the future.

During the meeting, many issues were discussed, one of which was regarding the variety of modern languages offered by the school. Many students wanted more languages to be involved in the curriculum. In response, Ms Haydon’s suggested that new languages should first be offered through the ECA program and popular choices can later be developed into subjects. Another suggestion discussed in the meeting was one to do with the introduction of more practical classes, such as first aid coaching. It was confirmed that there will be more programs similar to the “Duke of Edinburgh” in the future, which will offer more opportunities for students to

practise skills required outside of the classroom.

There were further suggestions raised in the meeting to introduce a Harrow student app. The app will improve communication between students and allow updates to be announced more promptly. In addition, the council also addressed issues to do with food waste. It was suggested that in order to reduce food waste we could hold House competitions where Houses compete to reduce the overall wastage by the House. The wide range of topics discussed by the council shows its flexibility and the potential for the team to move in any direction.

The council hopes to deliver feedback promptly to students, and contribute to social and charity events. This will also further strengthen the relationship between Upper and Lower School students, as it provides a platform for all students to contribute to problems concerning the whole of the Harrow community.

Finally and most importantly, everyone is welcome to take leadership and volunteer to be elected as a member of the council and to represent the voice of the students. Make sure your voice is heard!

and support your progress by sharing their own experiences and helping you steer clear of temptations. Finally, focus on one resolution at a time, as striving to achieve several at once can be overwhelming and counterproductive.

And while there may be methods to make the burden less painful, there is no point denying the truth: resolutions to improve ourselves are difficult to achieve. So why not consider making a different type of resolution this year - why not make your 2018 resolution about both yourself and other people? Improving how you respond to friends’ good fortune, criticism and actions will have a more powerful impact on your character than any weight loss. Volunteering to help the less fortunate on a regular basis will make a greater difference to the world than becoming a vegetarian. Being grateful and kind to everyone will make a much more subtle but profound effect on 2018.

Rugby, Spirit, and Leadership

by Anna Birkett (Y10, Gellhorn)

The Old Lie: New Year New Me

by Sophie Haik (Y12, Gellhorn)

In the days leading up to the new year, people are buzzing with ideas on how to make 2018 their most successful year yet. These usually point to major changes they are hoping to make to improve their lifestyles: become more active, save money, travel more etc. The beginning of a new year offers a chance to start afresh, and inspires us to reflect and find ways to improve.

If this is the case, then how come the gym is always far more empty a few weeks into the new year then it is on January 1st? Due to this increasingly common trend, January 17th has even been deemed ‘Ditch Your New Year’s Resolution’ Day and is heralded by many online journals as a glorious occasion: “Rejoice in your new found freedom from torturous diets and horrible exercise regimes, pick up that pack of smokes and down another glass of wine. Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day sets you free from your first mistakes of the New Year!” And of those who manage to hold on even longer, fewer than 10% manage to keep their promises for more than a few months.

So why do we revert back to our old habits so quickly? The tendency to throw in the towel so early into the new year stems from the nature of our resolutions - either we set too many or they are too unrealistic to achieve. Resolutions come in a form of lifestyle changes, and changing our behaviour to become a routine can be difficult. Therefore in order to change your behaviour you must also change your thinking.

Your resolution should be something practical that you can stick to and achieve. If your resolution is to exercise daily because you rarely find the time to do so, start with a smaller, more manageable short term goal: exercise twice a week. By breaking up the long term goal into more practicable short term ones, achieving this will be more rewarding and will prevent you from getting overwhelmed. Your resolution should be specific and have a time element to motivate you to work towards a measurable goal, such as to save $1000 in my bank account by the end of January. Sharing your goal with a peer may also have a positive effect, as they can help motivate

I believe rugby is the best sport on earth, and here’s why.

As Clive Woodward, an English former rugby player, once said: “Concentrate on measuring performance and winning will take care of itself.” Whether or not you’re into rugby, the sport offers lasting values that are honored by players all across the world, and contains important lessons everyone could learn from.

1. Spirit Rugby players are all in when it comes to competitiveness and love putting their bodies on the line, but playing as part of a bigger team, relying on each other for support and helping each other out when in dire need is most important.

“I often say rugby’s like life. You can have the ball in your hand and be running down the field feeling unstoppable.

Then someone tackles you and you hit the deck and you’re vulnerable; you’re lying there exposed. Suddenly your teammates are there, not just over the ball but over you, protecting you. They’re prepared to put their bodies on the line for you. That’s what happens in life: you fall over and your mates come to your aid.” Sir John Kiran (New Zealand rugby legend) 2. Diversity Unlike most sports, it doesn’t matter what gender, size or age

you are. Players who are small, large, fast and slow all play just as big a part in the game, and each have their own unique competitive advantages. A team wouldn’t perform well if they had all backs - usually the faster most agile players - or 15 forwards - the more powerful players - playing on the pitch.

Rugby is definitely a game for all.

make the hard yards, continuing to give it their all when it seems like there is no chance in winning and taking the scrum instead of three points, because why not go for five?

Although it feels amazing running down the pitch with a home crowd cheering you on as you dive for the try line to score the winning try, it’s not these moments that keep me so hooked to the game, but instead the lessons I continue to learn from it. Over the years, this sport has taught me that even if I get hit, it’s always possible to get back up and face any challenges that come my way with determination.

3. Dedication Not only do players show dedication by showing up to training or a game early on a Sunday morning, but they also show dedication when persevering during the challenges of the game. When someone is tackled or the ball hits the ground, play continues (unless an offence is committed), meaning the attacking side has to recycle the ball repeatedly,

by Ambi Matharu (Y9, Wu) making strategic attacks and being creative in trying to get past defenders, without making a mistake. Defence, in this case, must stop the attacking players from scoring, which means making tackle after tackle until they gain possession.

Senior Inter-House Basketball Competition

4. Teamwork People aren’t playing for individual glory, but instead thinking about how the team can do well and succeed. It is the idea that I will do everything it takes to makes sure you (teammates) are doing your job well. If so, then I know that I’ve done my job properly and it’s not about the success of winning or glory of scoring a try; it’s about how the team has played collectively and how we all can improve.

5. Sportsmanship One of my favorite parts of the game is the respect rugby players have. When a referee makes a call you may disagree with, nobody argues. Players call the referee “sir”, or “ma’am”, and captains shake both the referees’ and other captains’ hands before starting the game. It’s a game where they work hard to crush their opponents in 80 minutes, but afterwards they get up, shake their opponents hands, have a

On the 16th November, the inter-house basketball competition for both boys and girls took place. As I was playing in the girls’ games, I will focus more on them. All houses played extremely well, showing high levels of commitment and enthusiasm in each and every game. The scores were close, with Gellhorn in third place and Keller in second. Both played well, and the amount of support the houses were giving each other was amazing, especially considering the competitive element of the competition! It was a fun and exciting event for all. Those who weren’t on the courts were on the sidelines cheering on their houses, supporting them, and most importantly, I think everyone enjoyed themselves! With Gellhorn third with 6 points, Keller second with 8 points, Wu House came first, with 10 points! Being in Wu house myself, and having played in the team, I think we all did a great job!

24 Hour Race 2017

by Joelle Chan (Y12, Gellhorn)

laugh and make friends.

6. Leadership So, this brings me onto my last value, and this is undoubtedly the most important of them all. Great teams require great leaders, those who are at the front of the pack, putting their bodies on the line repeatedly, and are role models on and off the pitch. Great leaders aren’t much without a team that will

Harrow entered eight teams in the annual 24 Hour Race, with a total of 64 student runners from Years 10-13. This year, the 24 Hour Race is partnering with The Exodus Road to remove over 240 people, both victims and traffickers, from human trafficking. The program, dubbed “Operation 24”, will support 24,000 hours of investigation at 2,400 locations across the globe and train 24 national and local law enforcement officers who will rescue survivors and arrest traffickers.

With the departure of Frans Otten - our previous team leader - the role was passed onto Oliver Otten (Y12, Sun) and me. As someone who has participated in the race multiple

times, as both a runner and now as an organiser, it has opened my eyes to the sheer amount of responsibility I had to take on not only as a runner but also as a team leader. The duties of a team leader were certainly relieved with the help of another person, with one of us focusing on the logistics of the race and the preparation for it, and the other focusing on ensuring we had ample support throughout. This process taught us the importance of working together, and sticking to a strict schedule due to looming deadlines. It was, however, an extremely rewarding experience.

Overall, the entire “Operation 24” project managed to raise over $1 million HKD! Once again, with the continuous support of the Harrow community, Harrow Hong Kong came out on top for the fundraising aspect and won the award for the highest fundraising school. Many congratulations have to go to the Girls C team, which was led by Mimi Li (Y12, Gellhorn) where her and her team raised a staggering amount of just over 44,000 HKD, which has contributed significantly to Harrow’s total donation of over 200,000 HKD to this cause. With the efforts of all the runners, Harrow has also placed third in regard to the longest distance run, running a total of 1420.8 km. A big thank you goes to all those who have donated, and came along to support the school and this cause, and all of the runners that participated for the entire 24 hours!

A Chance to Give Back to the Community: Laos Trip

by Lily Haik (Y9, Wu)

Grateful. If there was one word I would use to describe our exhilarating trip to Laos, it would be grateful. In the countryside, it is common for young children to walk an exhausting three hours, on average, to get to school. Whether it is through the treacherous mountainside or the raging rivers of Laos, these intrepid children are determined to attend class and will not let any hazard interfere with their journey.

However, some children’s education is hindered due to the need for extra hands in their parents’ fields. As a result, their education is cut far too short. A long-term solution was to build dormitories on site for the students. Therefore, if they did decide to continue with school, the students were able to board and eliminate the potentially dangerous and time-consuming journey.

Twenty Harrow students, accompanied by Ms. Holliday and Mr. Simms, had the honor of making a life-changing trip to Luang Prabang. We landed and it was immediately evident that Laos was immensely different from Hong Kong. The cacophony of noises produced by blaring traffic of our home was replaced by the gentle noises of nature in this foreign land. The wooden infrastructure in Laos may seem limited, but it reflects their simple lifestyle.

One of the many highlights of the trip was definitely the night market. Well known for its inexpensive products and masses of people, it was not only an enjoyable experience, but also a learning opportunity for the students who took pleasure in bargaining with the store owners and as a result got “great” deals. One of the most peculiar things I saw being sold were dead animals such as a king cobra and scorpions floating in bottles of alcohol. The store owner saw me looking bewildered at the yellow tinted bottles and explained to me

that it was traditional medicine.

We took a boat down the murky Mekong River and trekked to get to Ban Nong Jong, the isolated village where we would be based for the next three and a half days. After crossing two vicious rivers and hiking in the sweltering heat, we reached our final destination. The village was on the bottom of a steep hill, and the sight of it was a relief for our sore feet. The houses were located on either side of the dusty road and wild animals, such as dogs and chickens, roamed around as if they owned the place.

We all stayed in pairs in the villagers’ homes. Everyone in the community played a special role. Everyday, the houses were filled with laughter from the numerous children of our local hosts and the aromas of delicious food. The playful children in the village made my entire trip very memorable.

Their gleaming smiles lit up our world and their outgoing personalities eradicated the language barrier. Together, we all played games, such as soccer and Duck, Duck, Goose. Our bond was created by the international language of laughter and the warmth of a smile.

The building of the dormitory consisted of three main elements: mud, straw and lots of fun. The bricks were made of a mixture of mud and straw, using all natural ingredients from the site. To achieve the mud pits, large quantities of dirt were combined with water and stomped on by yours truly, the Harrow students. The pit dragged you down like quicksand, consuming your legs and preventing you from moving. Later, the straw was mixed into this gloopy mess and our base for the bricks were formed. Unfortunately, rain hindered our progress of building the dormitory, as it would destroy the mud bricks.

Nevertheless, essential foundations were built and hilarious memories were formed.

Every night, there was a special activity for us. On the last night, we all participated in the Basi ceremony. This is when all of our homestay parents assembled to say thank you and wish us luck in the future. We circled around a golden shrine with food laid out upon it while we held up our hands. The villagers went around tying white string around our wrists while saying prayers. We had to keep the string on for three days for good luck. Our lovely coordinators, Su and Kua, translated our thank you cards and although we could not clearly understand our hosts’ replies, their beaming smiles said it all. This concluded our time in Ban Nong Jong.

A special feature about the whole trip was the

amazing sense of community and kindness. Everyone in the village treated each other as equal, and parents fed and took care of other villagers’ children. It was incredible to see such passionate and loving people all together sharing and enjoying life. I returned from this trip a changed person- someone more aware of the grace with which I have been blessed. I loved every second, and am grateful for the opportunities that I have been given. I also understand that through universal acts of kindness and laughter, we can all relate and be at peace together. Thank you, Laos!

rice out into circular shapes. Once we were done, we set off to deliver these care packages to the Yao village! Only, standing in our way was a challenging 5km hike up to the village.

When we finally made it to the Yao village we were tested on our freshly learnt knowledge of the Yao dialect. Some of us excelled at speaking Yao, others, well, not so much.

On our final day, we visited another cave, but this one was much bigger. Entering the cave was like clambering into a gigantic mouth, slowly descending into the vast abyss below.

As we lowered into the cave, we saw magnificent rainbow lights illuminating the fascinating rock formations; each had its own special, mythical, marvellous story. After we toured the rock sculptures, we embarked on a boat and travelled around the whole cave structure. This was an incredible finish to the whole trip!

Overall, we enjoyed this trip immensely, as we immersed ourselves in a different culture, and I would definitely recommend it to all my friends.

Community Trip to Linian, Southern China

by Bonnie Pang and Caitlin Luk (Y7, Fry)

Typically, when you think of the perfect half term, you would envisage relaxing on the beach in Thailand or extravagant shopping trips in Japan, but not us! We went on a community trip to Linian, Southern China. Here, we helped the Yao people and learnt how to live life without so many unnecessary luxuries.

The trip began with a visit to Seven Star Crags. There, we observed different rock formations and even got a chance to walk on a glass bridge. This visit was greatly needed to stretch our legs after a 2-hour bus ride and once we arrived at the hotel, we collapsed into our bed after a weary day of travelling.

The next day, we woke up bright and early, full of energy to a day jam-packed with activities. When we arrived at the farm, we immediately set off doing many different jobs such as hoeing, cooking, preparing care packages and many more. Once our tasks at the farm were done, the teachers had an extra treat for us we were going to the thousand year old village to learn what the world was like a thousand years ago. We learnt about the by Mei Law (Y11, Wu) Yao community who were clever enough to build machines Bright and early on the 19th of November, a group of 19 that could grind rice and collect water. We visited the home of Harrow students and two teachers left for Singapore to attend the “Yao king”, who was the leader of the village; his house The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN). was much bigger compared to others, and even had its own Upon arrival, we had a free day, and we all jumped dining room. Once we exited the “Yao King’s” house, we were at the chance to be tourists: there was an expedition to the greeted by a breathtaking view: vast mountains were drawn Botanical Gardens; a crusade to the Luge; and a trip to a by amateur artists wanting to capture the magnificent view. nearby escape room. Singapore is always hot and humid, and

Another highlight of the trip was making Yao desserts, called for frequent visits to the air conditioned malls boasting which consisted of sticky rice, a few peanuts and sesame arctic temperatures. I was quite surprised to find myself seeds. Some pounded the sticky rice, while others rolled the missing Hong Kong’s temperate weather.

Eye-Opening Experience: The Hague International MUN

For those who are unfamiliar with Model United Nations (MUN), it follows the same principles of the real United Nations. There are delegates representing numerous countries that submit resolutions addressing various topical issues. Delegates then engage in debates and submit amendments to better the resolution before voting on it as a whole. For a MUN newbie like myself, adjusting to the key terms and procedures was overwhelming at first, but I soon assimilated it all. There are six General Assemblies, which covered current issues; a Security, Economic and Social Council; a Human Rights Council and International Courts of Justice. Harrow represented the United Kingdom, Yemen and Colombia, discussing the likes of the radicalisation of children, gender inequality and the politics of outer space.

The conference was held at Hwa Chong Institution, which was a fantastic host school. The students and staff were enthusiastic, welcoming and patient, especially in organising students who had never attended an MUN conference before.

The first day and a half of the conference consisted of lobbying (merging resolutions on the same issue to create a draft resolution). These refined resolutions were then debated in the following days.

The debate brought many different viewpoints to light, alongside frequent requests to turn down the air conditioning! An overwhelming number of amendments were submitted and an endless number of points of information were introduced. The overall atmosphere was invigorating, especially with the admins running to and fro, collecting and delivering notes. Being part of the process of passing a resolution was, of course, rewarding, but also very humbling to think that it held the potential to bring about real change, as it would in the real United Nations. The fact that everyone contributed and (eventually) came to a consensus made for a comprehensive and sensible final resolution.

Aside from our busy days in conference rooms, we attended a conference dinner with the other delegates. It was a night where we could enjoy an evening of food, music and dancing. We were expecting a quiet meal, that is, until the strobe lights called us to the dancefloor. It’s safe to say that everyone slept well that night!

On our final evening together, Mr Murphy took us all to a ‘Dine in the Dark’ experience. I was expecting a dimly lit dinner, and was unnerved, to say the least, when I found that we would be eating in pitch black darkness. The experience began with us being led by a blind waiter up the stairs and

into the black. Once seated, we (somehow) established who was sitting where. The dinner table was the opposite of quiet: there was laughing, storytelling and very loud conversation, probably to make up for the lack of visual stimulation. Most of us managed to successfully pour our own drinks, with the exception of Ella! When the food came, dinner consisted mainly of scraping cutlery as we tried to find our plates alongside musings over what we thought we were eating.

There were four dishes in each course, which required plenty of guesswork and thankfully there were no knives at the table.

The food was later revealed to us and those who guessed correctly won applause.

The trip was truly a worthwhile experience, as it served not only as an opportunity to get involved in the politics and debating, but also to extend our knowledge beyond the school curriculum whilst making new friends. Many thanks go to Mr Murphy and Ms Cheung for organising the trip, but most importantly, for making it a really enjoyable experience.

A Twist on Shakespeare: The Tempest

by Cisy Ye (Y12, Gellhorn)

This sixth form production was truly one to be remembered!

The play was packed with enthusiasm and originality, reinventing The Tempest as we know it. Ariel was played by a group of “surfer dudes” and Prospero, played by Paris (Y12, Gellhorn), wore board shorts and held a magical fishing rod.

Morgan Jack’s (Y12, Gellhorn) exaggerated performance was definitely a unique interpretation of the character Stephano!

Tye Reid (Y13, Peel) had the honour of playing Caliban, the despised monster of the island; the moment where he said “I’ll people this island with Calibans!” was most certainly a

to deter the illegal importers. Big corporations often house illegal ivory products and everyone turns a blind eye to it.

That said, the fate of the elephant isn’t all doom and gloom. It was stressed upon us that merely raising awareness of the issue and putting pressure on the Hong Kong government can make a positive difference. We are lucky enough to have grown up in a place where we have the power to effect change, so please, I urge you, remind your friends and family not to support the illegal ivory trade and to speak out against it.

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Humans of Harrow Hong Kong

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A photographic census of the Harrow community, one story at a time. Inspired by Humans of New York.

by Louisa Cho (Y12, Gellhorn)

highlight of the play. The love story between Miranda and Ferdinand, played by Emma Bilney (Y13, Wu) and Harry De Witt (Y13, Peel), was also one to catch attention with the perfect blend of awkward dancing and cheesy music, which made the audience burst into laughter. This light-hearted and simplistic way of performing Shakespeare attracted a lot of younger students: hopefully, this will reinvigorate their perception of Shakespeare!

The preparation process was definitely challenging.

As the cast is made up of Sixth Form students, they had to juggle their A Levels along with rehearsals. However, all the hard work paid off and Ms Collins was extremely impressed with the way it turned out! We can’t fully grasp the long hours and effort put into producing this performance, so I believe the cast deserves another round of applause!

The Truth about Poaching

by Mei Law (Y11, Wu)

As human beings, we have a responsibility to look after our Earth and the animals in it. Whether it be through recycling, beach clean-ups, or donating cash to wildlife organisations, we like to think that we are reasonably well informed and proactive in how to help our planet.

Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. On the 6th of November, Year 11 had the privilege of listening to members from ‘Big Life Foundation’, an organisation that aims to ‘I’ve worked here since the very first day when protect the East African ecosystem. Daniel Sambu, a Kenyan Harrow opened. It is a pleasure to see how belonging to the Maasai tribe, explained that a sickening the staff and students develop throughout the 35,000 elephants, which is 10% of all elephants, are killed by years. I really enjoy my work in the dining hall, poachers every year. To fully grasp the gravity of this number, because it’s as if I am serving my own children! I think of it as one elephant being killed every 15 minutes.

We were told it is possible to remove a third of the am really grateful for the loyalty of the staff who tusk without harming the elephant, but the reality is that work alongside me, most of them has been here poachers do not want to compromise their profit by doing so.

In order to harvest the ivory, the elephant’s face is sawed off just as long as I have. I can say with confidence that we are a family.’ and it is left to die a slow and excruciatingly painful death.

To make matters worse, Hong Kong has a long history Writers and photographers out there, step forward and contribute in ivory trade and is still one of the largest markets. Sadly, the to get your work published! Email the editors at harrovian@ law and the penalties against the illegal trade are not enough harrowschool.hk!