The Oundelian

THE OUNDELIAN 2023

India Denham (K U6)

FROM THE EDITOR

The Oundelian is brought to you this year by a very small and select group of Sixth Form pupils. They have worked extremely hard on Wednesday afternoons all year and you can see the fruits of their labours both in the volume of their output and also in the depth of thought, time and research that they put into their writing. At times, this took the form of conducting interviews with both academic and support staff from around the School, in particular, to investigate aspects of its culture and history;

Mahitha Sagi, for example, interviewed Mr HammondChambers about the School as a global community, while Rachel Johnston spent some time in the Archives with Mrs Langsdale. At other times, this research took the form of reading widely and deeply around their areas of interest in order to find just the right approach to the topic at hand; Nathan Raudnitz’s article on cancel culture, ‘Opportunity Knocks’ is a case in point, bringing together as it did, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Reith Lecture on free speech and an English project on Philip Larkin.

Because the team was so small, we tried to think about how we might diversify the voices represented here and I hope that this is something that will grow in the future, especially as the team will remain small next year. In this

Cover image by Charles Ho (By 2)

edition we have ‘A day in the life’ of a pupil from Scott House and one from The Berrystead and a review of the Second Form Shakespeare Day, representing the School’s younger pupils. We also have a range of articles about new and developing initiatives within the School, written by people involved in their instigation: the work of the Green Team, the Neurodiversity Christmas Ball and SHARE, a project started by the Health Centre, to name a few.

In all the articles printed here, my aim has been that pupils should approach their subjects creatively: with trips for example, not just thinking in terms of what they did, what they saw and how long they spent on the coach, but in terms of how trips might contribute to their understanding and enjoyment of their academic subjects. To any pupils reading this, if there are things you are involved with next year that you would like to see represented in the magazine, or if you have a hankering to write, I encourage you to get in touch with me! I would be particularly interested in your reviews of trips and productions, and articles about any topics of interest in the School and in the world.

With thanks to this year’s Oundelian team for their hard work, good humour and bright ideas, and to Rachel Makhzangi for her support and patience. All good wishes too to should-have-been member of the team, Will White, for his ongoing recovery from illness. We missed you this year, Will.

Sophie Raudnitz

THE OUNDELIAN TEAM 2022-23

Adeola Amure (K U6)

Rachel Johnston (D U6)

Eva Morgan (D U6)

Mahitha Sagi (L U6)

Nathan Raudnitz (L L6)

WITH ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM

Maia Ayadurai (L L6)

Jesse Botty (By 2)

Charlotte Crawley (L 3)

Harriet Diggle (N L6)

Madeleine Fremantle (By 1)

Unne Fung (Sn L6)

George Fothergill (B L6)

Georgia Gardiner (W L6)

Emilia Giacco (L L6)

Maria Gibbon (Sco 2)

Benji Gould (F 3)

Perdi Jones (L L6)

Cosmo Kunzer (G U6)

India Jubb (N L6)

Will Ma (StA L6)

Arthur Meynell (Ldr L6)

Blue Mitra (D L6)

Iona Morgan (D L6)

Nancy Newcombe (W L6)

Edie Shields (Sco 2)

Anna Williams (Sco 2)

Unless otherwise credited, all photographs are by Ivan Quetglas, Oundle School Photographer.

WITH THANKS TO Sophie Raudnitz, Leigh Giurlando, Rachel Makhzangi and Matt Tarrant, SMC Creative.

SCHOOL LIFE

noun declensions. It often feels more useful to learn French, German or Spanish, where the advantages are a lot more obvious. This is the undeniable benefit of school trips; they make clear the relevance of subjects which may seem, at first glance, not as relevant to the modern world.

The Classics trip in October certainly showed us that the Classics are not ‘dead’, but alive and thriving if we look for them. Whole cities and cultures are built around these ancient civilizations and there is a lot we can still learn from them.

One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to the Theatre of Taormina in Sicily, where we delved into its history and structure and how it evolved from a Greek to a Roman Theatre.

As we walked through the theatre, we couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe and wonder at the history that surrounded us. The physical layout and components, such as the parados, orchestra, and stage building, came to life before our eyes as we learned about their use in ancient performances. We were able to see first-hand how the ancient Roman and Greek people used this place and how it reflects the society and culture of that time. This visit made lessons about classical civilization more interactive and engaging, as we were able to experience the history first-hand, rather than just reading about it in our textbooks.

We also had ample time to explore the village on our own. In

was also trying to make her way up. Some laboured steps later and all out of breath, we started to chat and quickly bonded over our school trip to her local town.

Although the castle was closed, we settled at the Madonna della Rocca church just below the Saracen Castle. It was a sunny day, and we marvelled at the spectacular view, looking out over the Mediterranean Sea, pondering what the ancient Greeks and Romans would have felt seeing this same view.

Part-way through the Classics Department’s whistle-stop tour of Sicily — amidst growing concern for the lack of suncream applied — we all boarded speedboats for a view of the city of Syracuse from the sea, rather like the (unfortunately vanquished) Athenians before their monstrous defeat in 413 BC. In being there ourselves, more than 2000km away from the classrooms in which we had learnt about this Athenian ambush, the stories became so much more alive – helped, of course, by Mrs James’ enthusiastic retellings of the story as we circled the port.

In Sicily, and especially Syracuse, the classics are still current, with plazas dedicated to gods and ancient temples appearing around market-square corners. Located just next door to Apollo’s temple and on Piazza Minerva is Syracuse’s Duomo – a perfect example of the island’s rich cultural history. The building currently serves as a Catholic church, but it was originally a Doric temple dedicated to

Athena. Since then, and with major adaptations, it has also served as a Byzantine Christian church and an Islamic Mosque. As a church with grand, ancient pillars, Christian iconography and a baroque façade, the Duomo offers a spectacle of cultural interconnectivity little seen elsewhere. In terms of ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’, Atlas would have been proud to see how far into the future this ancient building has remained in use.

Arancini were eaten, books were read, and theatres were found as we made our way to the Latomia del Paradiso, which, contrary to what the name suggests, was not such a Garden of Eden for

the captives enslaved there around 400 BC. A feature of this park was the Ear of Dionysus, the hollow carved out by these slaves, and what made it so compelling to the modern viewer was the visible remains of these ancient men – desperate chiselling into the walls that had confined them in darkness. With such a harrowing landmark, the surrounding gardens could have been dwarfed into near insignificance, but in true Sicilian style, more tombs, altars and theatres filled the archaeological park, physically enduring through millennia, as well as maintaining their renown. Landmarks littered the horizon as our coastal trek continued, with stories of real ancient generals, historians and heroes anchoring our journey and allowing us to link it back to the passages seen in Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation classes back at school.

The impact of school trips stretches across all subjects. It allows pupils and teachers alike to explore the subject outside the syllabus. With the busy pace of life at Oundle, it is not uncommon to become fixated on those dreaded end-of-year exams and forget about how broad every subject is. This is why trips like the Classics trip are such an amazing opportunity, showing the subject in the context of the real world and sparking new passions and perspectives. As well as this, something I really appreciated about the Classics trip, which I am sure applies to all trips, was the opportunity to get to know more people in such a setting. Talking to people who are passionate about the same subject as you allows for new ideas and views to be brought forward, as well as fostering new friendships within and between year groups.

So, if the textbook just isn’t working for you, and you want to create new memories, friendships, perspectives and passions, a school trip is definitely the answer!

“In being there ourselves, more than 2000 km away from the classrooms in which we had learnt about this Athenian ambush, the stories became so much more alive."

Image: Paul Batterbury

A day in the life

Scott House

My alarm clock began the day for me. As its twinkling tune disturbed a surreal yet realistically vivid dream, I was still in a soporific state. I forced myself out of bed after letting ‘my eyes have a rest’ (which occupied 10 minutes of my schedule) and after a lively morning containing the superfluous effort of shuffling my shoes on, I was off to school.

Scott House, in all its grandeur, overshadowed me; its distinguished architecture – as if it were influenced by Sir Peter Scott himself – often has an overwhelming effect on people, yet within, it is quite the opposite. The day House is nothing but a comforting pair of arms, cheering one on with its exuberant spirit.

As I ambled in, the familiar chat and titter was to be heard; time itself seemed to move briskly, yet simultaneously at a sedate pace. The piano was played under the openings of doors, ‘Uno’ was being called, and a number of groups were telling one another their amusing stories, amid much laughter.

"On Wednesdays and Fridays, if you don’t have a music ensemble, there is House time. At the start of the year, this could be catching up with your Second Form buddy. Otherwise, House time is a time to

Maria Gibbon (Sc 2), with additional text by Anna Williams (Sc 2)

just catch up with friends and play card games (which are popular!)"

Anna

During a brief chat with my friends, the calling of the bell caught us – and indeed the entire House – mid-conversation. We gathered our belongings and strolled down the steps, as if we had all the time in the world (which we did not) and light-heartedly parted ways, walking with our sets to the first class of the day.

On the way back from morning lessons, my friends and I were faced by a cluster of Fifth formers, some of whom happened to have a blithe disregard for youthful, shorter pupils, (and the five-peoplein-a-line-on-a slim-pavement policy), and obliviously nudged us. I am sure they did not mean to be impudent, but I took – rather dramatically – umbrage at their lack of awareness of smaller people.

Many people were eager to obtain food at breaktime; after all, with a long day ahead and after the use of much academic strength, we were all in need of a snack. The line was drawing ever so close, and with the mass of children that was thrown at them, the catering staff were under no pressure, and served us each a warm, flaky croissant – with seconds available for selection.

"We get half an hour for break and a snack is provided, which is so nice. We have a variety of sweet and savoury things. There could be sausage rolls, pizza, samosa, doughnuts, brownies, cookies and lots of other tasty things! I like the pizza, sausage rolls and, of course, you can’t forget the doughnuts. Hot chocolate is also served at snack time. This warms you up nicely for your lessons after break." Anna Together we resumed classes once more, and soon enough, lunch was served, piping hot, to the ravenous mouths of Scott House; all sat in tutor groups, spending time updating each other on life. A casual yet deep connection was to be found in every group, as well as glints of contentment in peoples’ most salient features – mainly eyes and smiles.

"I like to do my prep in the study room, as it is nice and quiet. If you just want to be outside, you can play football, cricket, tennis, basketball and there are also swings. Football is really fun, as we like to play boys vs girls. It doesn’t matter how good you are, you can play anyway! The TT hut is also lots of fun. There is table tennis and pool in there, which can get quite competitive! There are loads of games inside Scott as well – cards are popular at the moment, and a new game called Stress has been introduced, which we love! Twister, chess, Monopoly and many other games are there as well." Anna

The sun shone down, which cut through the clouds above us, and rays of light caused our eyes to squint. My Berrystead friend, Lil, had trekked to the Sports Centre to play netball with me. There was a gentle breeze while we were in match play, the sky flickering in an unhurried fashion, like a light being switched. Cheers and claps for teams were overheard by passers by; everyone possessed a broad grin, as sport is popular with the Scott and Berrystead girls.

Following the dismissal from sports, it began to rain heavier than ever! My friend and I made a damp, strenuous journey back to House; the boisterous winds continued to howl, our hair was wispy and misshapen, and the now vociferous sky was heard by the ears of most; up above, thunder was muffled among the clouds.

We rushed back to House, knowing that there would be hot chocolate and buttered toast waiting for us, and the thought of homework hung over our heads as we entered Scott House, which felt just as cosy, comforting and calm as ever. Most people had returned home and the House was suddenly tranquil after short, loud bursts from its inhabitants. That is just one splendid thing about being in a day House: the peace after the excitement.

As our clothes dried off, both of us proceeded to the café area to finish off homework. On duty was an amiable tutor, smiling warmly, and she asked how our day went. She empathised with me, as she too did not predict such downpour. The conversation ended, as Charlotte and I had realised we had strings ensemble! I ended the day playing with the orchestra, which consisted of both Berrystead and Scott, alongside several Third formers. Jubilant at the thought of my home, I was so content with school – the feeling it provided me as well as the opportunities. Scott House was the home I was thinking about – my second home.

"Life is super busy in Scott, but always fun!" Anna

“I knew that these friends I had made would be my friends for life.”

A day in the life

The Berrystead

The piercing wail of the bell drowned my sleepy murmurs, as I drowsily lifted my head, my body aching from the exertion of the day before. Feeling tired and a little lethargic, I crawled out of bed, slipped on my sliders, and traipsed over to the door. The penetrating glare of the corridor lamp blazed on, and I blinked rapidly, reducing my eyes to slits at the sudden brightness.

While chatting to my friends, I pulled on my culottes and tried to tame the wild, frizzy beast that was my hair, battling the wavy strands with my hairbrush. A sudden thud wrenched me from my daze, as Sophia tripped over a stray trainer that had been lying on the floor. I could hear her muffled shouts of pain from behind the closed door as I tramped down the stairs, tired but excited for the day ahead. Walking through the hallway, I met several early risers, who waved to me as I continued my journey through the common room. The soft, navy sofas were positioned against each other, giving an aura of cosiness and warmth. Another bell rang loudly throughout the House, slicing the sleepy quiet like a knife through butter. Sighing, I retraced my steps, opened the front door, and stepped out into the morning light.

Golden beams of hazy sunlight spilled over the grass, sparkling on dew drops as I walked over the path, my culottes billowing in front of me like huge, striped sails. Up the steps, through the glass door, and then I was in the dining room. An array of delicious food was on the counter, and I remembered how hungry I was. Taking some pastries and fruit, I followed my friends to our table, suddenly wide awake.

Once everyone had cleared for breakfast, the hubbub of chatter died away and Madame Fonteneau stood up to give the morning notices. After being dismissed, me and my friends hurried back to the prep room to pack our bags for the day ahead.

Grabbing books, files and pens, I zipped my bag up, slung it over my shoulder and off I went; talking and laughing with my friends beside me. A myriad of Sixth Formers was clustered around the entrance to Adamson, chatting unconcernedly as I squeezed between them, realising how giant they all were, and how small I was in comparison!

French was first, TPR followed, then break finally came. I was grateful for the excuse to return to House and have some food! Sure enough, the cooks had outdone themselves, preparing delicious chocolate chip cookies for everyone.

A misty drizzle had begun to descend onto the tousled heads of Berrysteaders, as my friends and I walked over the leaf-strewn path, occasionally ducking behind each other to escape the raindropheavy branches that curled like thick snakes around the mosscovered wall.

As I settled down to take notes in my English lesson, my writing twisted and swirled like a raging tsunami, making it impossible to read. I listened and scribbled all through Biology, and then finally it was back along the unrelenting, wet path to House.

Scrumptious smells wafted from the dining room, and when it was my table’s turn to collect our food, I dashed over to the counter, faster than anyone else. I caught the dinner lady’s eye, and a merry grin spread across her face, as she offered me a plate of chicken and potatoes.

Hazy drops of rain continued to descend, as I and some Scott House friends hurried over to the damp Astros for our hockey training session. As I pulled a yellow bib over my head, I tried to forget the cold drizzle and remember my endless love for this game. The ball was passed to me, and I focused all my strength on getting it out of the D. Luckily, Henrietta had my back, and the ball was soon high up the pitch.

After a good hour of training, I collected up my hockey stick and tracksuit, dodged the frequent puddles, and headed back to The Berrystead. Opening my tuck locker after sport, I grabbed a jumbo pack of Haribo, and headed into the packed common room. Slouching on the sofa and sharing the goodies was definitely one of the best parts of my day. With everyone squished together haphazardly, it felt so snug and cosy that I almost didn’t feel homesick anymore.

After a rushed supper, we aimed straight for the bustling Stahl Theatre, gossiping about who would get which seat and what the play was about. The rain-drenched pavements shone hazily in the moonlight, as everyone hastened through the great, red doors, gave the attendant our tickets, and swiftly found our seats. The graceful heroine took the stage with a variety of disguised Fifth and Sixth formers, each dressed in flowing gowns, tailored suits, or plain work clothes. The beautiful scenery was the icing on the cake, and after a glorious twist of fate, the play ended.

The Seagull production had been a great way to conclude the day, and as I laughed with all my friends, I felt as if I had a second family.

Sodden leaves stuck to the waterlogged pavement, contorting into disfigured positions like gymnasts, and as Madame Fonteneau opened the door for everyone, a broad smile on her face, I knew that these friends I had made would be my friends for life.

After a friendly scrabble to brush our teeth, we all tumbled wearily into our beds, glad that the day was over. As delicate nudges of sleep began to brush against my mind, a sudden thud wrenched me wide awake. Panic stricken, I leaned forward to see what was going on. Luckily, it was only Anna’s water bottle, which had collided with the end of my bed. Smiling, I dived back under the covers and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

“SODDEN LEAVES STUCK TO THE WATERLOGGED PAVEMENT, CONTORTING INTO DISFIGURED POSITIONS LIKE GYMNASTS.”

Madeleine Fremantle (By 1)

Adventure Scholarship

Cosmo Kunzer (G U6)

Image: Cosmo Kunzer (G U6)

When the option for the Adventure Scholarship came around, I knew it was something that I had to apply for: an opportunity to go out into the world as an adult and plan the trip of a lifetime, allowing me to immerse myself completely in an alien place, was something I would not pass up. All that had to be done was a presentation, with friends, on where we wanted to go and why. Due to our combined love of history and spy-rings, we concluded that the best place for any trip would be the city of Berlin, which contains an exciting and bloodied past, as well as being an absorbing capital that has every aspect of city life that you could want.

Joe, Jeremy, and I were successful: we managed to argue convincingly, presenting our trip as a ‘cultural and historical tour of Berlin’, themed on the Cold War. It was important that we showed how the money would be spent on travel, accommodation and food while making sure that safety was still a high priority.

So, the day came that we were to leave from Stansted Airport, and we were absolutely ecstatic, but as usual, Ryanair was fabulous in letting us down and we ended up standing around in a cold boarding tunnel for a good half an hour. The flight was late. Could have been worse… Now I would like to say that having landed at 10pm, we headed straight to the hostel for an early night via what is the best public transport I have ever been on, but this was not the case. Berlin is, after all, a city renowned for what goes on after hours.

We stayed in the northwest of the city, known as Nordbahnof, in a hostel definitively suited to the school trip. Somehow, by a freak accident of planning, we also managed to end up sleeping smack bang next to the Berlin Wall Memorial, which made our trip so much easier. It is a solemn place that does well to remind you of the difficulties faced by countless East Germans who died trying to cross the Wall and the hardship that they faced on a daily basis. Yet, as I’m sure many other people can relate to, my plan of a 9am start was thrown out of the window, and after our tour of the Wall we took the long walk along the river to our lunch spot. Now, I think that going around a city on foot, while taking longer, gives you a far better feeling for a place, which is far truer to life. As well as that, Berlin has some fantastic architecture and cafes that would have been missed had we taken the U-Bahn. We ate at GeorgeBrau, an authentic brewhouse that does a fantastic wurst. I was turned quite quickly to the German fare, as a crispy sausage and steaming potatoes somehow always manage to hit the spot.

Our main focus on the first day was the DDR museum, a place which aims to give visitors an idea of what life was like in East Germany, through interactive exhibits, which it does remarkably well. Nudism is one of the more unusual exhibits one will find in any museum and we came across an entire wall of it in the Museum. It was incredibly popular in East Germany as it was thought that there was nothing that embodied classlessness like the nude form. The museum collection also included Stasi cells and an entire replica of an original East German apartment. It is a place that we highly recommend should you choose to go to Berlin, the split city.

As the sun was shining onto the Berliner Dom, we sat down in the Lustgarten and enjoyed the last rays of the autumn sunshine before meandering back to the hotel and getting ready for the evening.

The next day, it was time for the walking tour of the West. After getting sausaged-out the day before, we decided to go even further for lunch by trying Berlin’s signature dish: Currywurst. The vendor might have been having a bad day, but I certainly think the notorious late-night doner kebab has it beat!

That second day we also had the pleasure of visiting the Berlin Spy Museum, which must be one of the most unusual museums I have been to. Things to do ranged from writing in invisible ink, checking your password strength and going through a laser maze to save the world from mass destruction; it really makes you want to stay for

more and we ended up being there for over three hours.

By this time, I knew our short trip was coming to an end, and we decided to splash out at another brewhouse: this time the famous Augustiner establishment. Nothing says I visited Germany better than a picture with a crispy pork knuckle the size of your head!

Now, having only booked the hostel for two nights, I knew the final one would be a little more difficult, as we had a flight at 6.30am waiting for us. The U-Bahn and bus service stop at midnight during the week, and taxis were far beyond our price range, so we had to get there early and simply fall asleep on the cold, stone terminal floor. Let us just say that sleeping on a marble floor certainly made this trip an experience and not a holiday.

I can safely say that after two solid days of sausages, walking and history, coupled with a serious lack of sleep, there was nothing I wanted to do more than lie down in my own bed. But that, I think, is the joy of travelling in uncomfortable ways; nothing makes you enjoy the home comforts more. Berlin is a stunning place to visit when you are young, as there is so much going on and it is a city that has an edge compared to others: you never know what exciting thing will be happening next. I would like to give a massive thank you to Ms Harris for organising the Adventure Scholarship and making the whole thing happen; it has allowed me to learn what to do and what not to do far earlier than most, and for that, I am grateful.

“I was turned quite quickly to the German fare; steaming potatoes somehow always manage to hit the spot.”

The Green Team

(IPCC) estimates that food waste contributes eight to ten percent of total man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The annual PPF survey has given us valuable starting points each year to focus on where and how we can implement change in the School. Before this year’s change back to ‘in-school’ catering, which has led to significant improvements, the PPF survey showed that 75% of pupils felt that our large quantities of food waste were due to its quality. Additionally, in this year’s survey we received support from two thirds of the School for greater flexibility between vegetarian and meat meals. However, while reducing meat consumption is crucial to furthering our environmental efforts as a School, we realise that this is not a change for everyone! This is why, through meetings with catering and the Head, we have focused on gradually cutting down rather than cutting out.

Whilst Oundle School’s Green Team preceded the Pupil Pastoral Forum as a farsighted Community Action group, it now operates alongside the PPF and Green House representatives. The Green Team aims to influence the habits of pupils and staff members so that they can make more environmentally friendly choices. We meet weekly during Saturday breaks in SB8, where we are thrilled to have seen a ten-fold increase in attendees since last year. Initiatives are diverse as we try to drive changes pertaining to food waste, electricity, and uniform within the School, as well as raise awareness about wider environmental issues. The Green Team is pupil-led, by Harriet Diggle in conjunction with the PPF Environmental Ambassadors Unne Fung and Perdi Jones, and we benefit from Mr Batterbury’s invaluable support and advice.

We are currently liaising with the Eco Team at LJS and are hoping to organise an activity together. Last year we planted the first acre of the Grocers’ Wood, with the Eco Team and Oundle residents, which was a huge success.

In addition to this, in the Michaelmas Term, the Green Team organised a newspaper Secret Santa wrapping scheme. We distributed newspapers to individual Houses and encouraged everyone to use the newspapers to wrap their gifts. The UK alone uses 227,000 miles of wrapping paper per year, and if everyone does their bit, we can reduce that number!

Thinking about the future, we are

also hoping to spread awareness about the detrimental effects of fast fashion. Therefore, we are planning to work together with the Charity Ambassador to organise a second-hand clothing sale to which pupils can donate their clothes. The money raised will go to an environmental charity.

Over the last two years, waste has been at the forefront of our minds and agendas, especially as our reliance on single-use items has only increased. One of our most exciting projects so far this year is working with PECT, HUBBUB and Starbucks to introduce a reusable cup scheme to Oundle town. Oundle was lucky enough to be selected and a pilot scheme launched in May this year. You will be able to collect your drink from local cafes in a reusable cup and return it to a collection centre in town for cleaning and redistribution to the cafes.

The communal aims of both town and School are clear, as we have also aimed to tackle the issue of food waste within the School this year, and are making considerable progress. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

We have also realised the importance of educating the pupil body as to what, why and how the changes we make as a School are having a positive effect on the environment and leading to actual change. One way we continue to do this is by spreading pertinent information and awareness through the @oundlegreenteam Instagram account. We share everything from climate news, global, national and local environmental issues and green initiatives, as well as updates on the workings of the School’s Green Team. Please follow for more updates!

Climate change is one of the largest issues we are facing in the modern world and the only way to make a difference is to get involved, even if only in small ways. Any changes you can make to your daily routine, such as saying no to single-use packaging and buying second-hand clothes, will make a huge difference. If you have any other thoughts or ideas, come and tell us at our weekly meetings in SB8 on a Saturday break. All are welcome!

Follow The Green Team on Instagram @oundlegreenteam

Harriet Diggle (N L6), Unne Fung (Sn L6) and Perdi Jones (L U6)

“CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONE OF THE LARGEST ISSUES WE ARE FACING IN THE MODERN WORLD.”

Oundle´s hierarchy of needs

Adeola Amure (K U6)

As a pupil at Oundle, there are a number of things you will do. There are things that may go terribly wrong, things that make you feel embarrassed, and things you know will be a fun memory of your time here. All of these experiences contribute towards shaping who you are, so it is important to try to add some of the right experiences into the mix.

A good way to do this is to start by taking a look at the theories of the 20th century American psychologist Abraham Maslow, and applying them to life at Oundle.

Maslow is known for creating his ´hierarchy of needs´. It is a pyramid describing the different factors that need to be addressed in order for a person to reach the top: self-actualisation. Selfactualisation is defined as “the complete realisation of one´s potential and the full development of one´s skills and appreciation for life”.

While this no doubt sounds like a high goal to reach for, it is important to bear in mind that this concept is not static. Your potential changes with you, your skill set and your attitudes – and in a fast-paced place like Oundle your development is constant.

For a lot of us it may seem that we are pretty much the same person we were last week, but it is the accumulation of these experiences that changes us over time. Think back to who you were

at the beginning of Third form, and compare it with how different you are now. Imagine what you will be like once you reach the end of Upper Sixth, or perhaps university. All of these versions of you have different potentials, skills, and levels of appreciation for where you are and where you want to be.

As a rough guide, I have adapted Maslow´s theory to show you some examples of things you can do while at Oundle, and hopefully these give you a good place to start. These are by no means the best or only things to do at Oundle, but perhaps this article will help some of you figure out how you want to spend your time here.

Physiological needs

The bottom layer in Maslow´s hierarchy is physiological needs. You need to make sure you have enough food, water, shelter, and other basic necessities needed to live. In the context of Oundle, this means getting Trendalls’ doughnuts at break after waiting through a whole morning of lessons, and doing nothing after a long day.

Once these needs are met, you are ready to move on to the next level.

Safety needs

The next layer is safety needs. This largely covers developing

routines to create order, stability and predictability in your life. At school this includes developing a solid morning and night routine (perhaps reading a bit before going to bed, or doing some stretching when you wake up).

Another thing you could try is to have a set time during the week where you do something you enjoy (perhaps dedicating Tuesday afternoons to piano or watching movies with friends). This way, it becomes easier to manage each day, as you can section it in the context of your overall routine.

Love and belonging needs

This is all about feeling you are part of a larger community. Oundle is already particularly good in this regard, with sets, dorms, and friendship groups all coming into play. To fulfil this need it is important to develop friendships with trust and mutual respect, where each person feels happy to be around the other.

There are plenty of opportunities to make friends in Oundle, and there are always Electives and Clubs you can join to strengthen and build existing and new relationships.

Oundle offers so many ways to feel part of a community, and if you feel like you haven’t quite done that yet, there are plenty of chances for you to give it a go.

Esteem needs

Esteem needs focus on recognition of who you are, by yourself and others; it is about building a reputation and image of yourself. In general, the best way to go about building your reputation is to figure out what matters to you. Is your goal to master your hockey skills? Or perhaps to take part in school plays and develop your acting skills? Deciding what it is you choose to focus your attention on is important when trying to build up achievements.

Once you have chosen what really interests you, then you can start practising and aiming to be the best you can be. Once you start to see yourself improve, you build up a better self-image of what you can achieve, and how you want to present yourself to the world.

If you are not sure what it is you want to focus on, try anything that sounds remotely interesting and see if you want to continue. If it is, then you have found your first target, and if not, then you know you need to try something else. This process is bound to entail a lot of trial and error, but it makes the satisfaction of improving all the more appealing. Oundle’s system of Vols and Electives is particularly useful for this.

Self-actualisation needs

This is the last step in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Once you have worked your way through the other steps, you start to realise your full potential as a human being. You develop a drive to seek out experiences for personal growth, and this desire for selfimprovement stems from an admiration for yourself and what you have (and will) accomplish. At this stage, you start to develop a clearer picture of all the things you want to achieve, and you have the drive to start working towards them. Self-actualisation is about appreciating the ability you have to do things, and choosing to use this to build the best version of yourself. Maslow stated that ‘it refers to the person’s desire for self-fulfilment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actualized in what he is potentially.’

At Oundle, this manifests as the desire to put yourself out there and do something you are motivated to do. It could be things like going to Vols to ask your teacher a question even though you don’t want to get out of bed, or joining DT Electives even though no one you know signed up.

As you accumulate targets you have successfully met, Maslow states that your desire to fulfil your potential increases, meaning the more you manage to do, the more confident you feel about all the other things you could do.

Selfactualisation: achieving one's full potential, including creative activities

Self-fulfilment needs

Esteem needs: prestige and feeling of accomplishment

Belongingness and love needs: intimate relationships, friends

Safety needs: security, safety

Physiological needs: food, water, warmth, rest

Psychological needs Basic needs

The emotion associated with this level is self-fulfilment. Maslow emphasised that this concept was not static, and that a person was always ‘becoming’.

Self-actualisation is measured by the number of ‘peak experiences’ someone has, with a peak experience being one where a person experiences the world for what it really is, and feels emotions of wonder, euphoria, and joy.

Overview and conclusion

This is the advice Maslow has for living your life to the fullest, and hopefully this article has given you an idea of how you can adapt it to Oundle. These ideas are by no means an exhaustive list of things you can do to improve, and what applies to some people may not necessarily apply to you too. However, I do hope this has given you a bit of clarity over where to start. Oundle is a great place to develop your potential, and as you work your way through the day, week and year, keep in mind some of Maslow’s advice and see how you can apply it to become the best version of yourself.

“YOUR POTENTIAL CHANGES WITH YOU, YOUR SKILL SET, YOUR ATTITUDES.”

On Saturday 26 November a Sixth Form Winter Ball Dinner took place at Two Acre in aid of The Brain Charity. Set up by the Neurodiversity Ambassadors and their excellent committee, the successful dinner managed to raise £1,700. The Brain Charity has a unique mission, with its bold and worthwhile aim being ‘to fight together for an inclusive and just society: a world where stigma, hardship and isolation are replaced by compassion and understanding.’

The dinner was organised in the space of only two weeks, meaning the committee and Mrs Lowndes, the Head of Charities, worked extra hard to ensure that it would be a success. The dinner included both Lower and Upper Sixth, a very special aspect given a dinner like this had not been done before. There were spaces for only 120 people, which were quickly filled up, and we were at full capacity within 24 hours!

This mixture of year groups created a fresh and exciting new concept that everyone was much looking forward to. Another unique point about the dinner was that the decorations were completely sustainable and came from the Head of Decorations’ (Isla Graham-Campbell’s) own garden, with the flower patches being collected from around the School.

The Decorations Committee came together and brainstormed ideas of how they wanted the room to look and feel, to get a clearer idea of how we would decorate it. They focused on making Two Acre feel calm and sensorily pleasing, which they did by contacting the IT team, who kindly installed the correct lighting equipment.

After contacting the groundsmen, they were permitted to pick flowers and foliage from around the School, and the fact that all plants used were then given to the garden compost pile afterwards ensured that the decorations were sustainable.

As well as using Isla’s decorations from home, the committee set out to ask each of their House parents to use decorations from various Houses. The process of decorating was efficient and fun; there was only an hour between match teas and the dinner, so the committee did an incredible job staying calm and creating wonderful table embellishments in such little time.

We placed information sheets

around the tables, with fun facts and small bits of information about The Brain Charity and neurodiverse conditions, and we brought in two speakers: Mr Markeson and Mrs Cooper. Following the delicious meat and cheese platter, Mrs Cooper, a Learning Support teacher, discussed her bright neurodiverse pupils, the excellent aid the Learning Support Department brings to the School, and how learning differences can lead to unique ideas and genius within people, particularly pupils.

Following this, everyone tucked into their main courses as conversations filled with intrigue at what they had just heard, arose around the room. The evening then proceeded with Mr Markeson, an English teacher who was diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood. He spoke about what it’s like to have ADHD and the things that he can sometimes find difficult. More importantly, he mentioned the areas that he thrives in and draws on to improve his knowledge and skills. His amusing and inspirational speech was much discussed over the chocolate tart that was brought out for pudding. Nathan Bull, the Hospitality and Events Manager, created an incredible menu that really made this event feel special and created a sophisticated evening for us.

Neurodiversity charity ball

As the evening came to an end, everyone’s enthusiasm and excitement was taken into the Senior Club next door. There was truly no better way to end the evening than to dance off the hearty meal! It was a truly exceptional evening, full of great chatter, discussion and education. This was and is the aim of the Neurodiversity Ambassadors and The Brain Charity, and our most important goals remain to create the chance for everyone to recognise the numerous benefits of being neurodivergent, to revolutionise how neurodivergent people are seen and how to support them in and out of School, and to make Oundle a comfortable and nurturing place for all.

Blue Mitra (N L6)

“They focused on making Two Acre feel calm and sensorily pleasing."

To SHARE or not to SHARE?

Emilia Giacco (L

L6)

SHARE – Sexual Health and Relationships Education – was launched this year in a joint effort by the Emotional Wellbeing Team (EWT) and the Health Centre. Sylvia Meadows, lead nurse, and Natalie Jarvis, Mental Health Lead, had noticed that pupils often sought advice on friendships, relationships and sexual health from the EWT and the Health Centre. With the help of Miss Harrington and the PPF, SHARE was launched to provide a dedicated space and time, and access to confidential advice, alongside the Learning for Life programme. Wednesday afternoons at 4.30 were dedicated to drop-ins from all pupils, no matter their sexual orientation, for non-judgemental support from the School nurses. No worry would be too small or too big. I was excited for the launch of this programme as I felt that relationship advice is something that pupils often discuss

amongst themselves in House. There would be a big market for unbiased advice, surely?

Unfortunately, despite efforts to advertise SHARE through posters, Hsm’s notices and Heads of Houses, the face-to-face drop-in sessions were not taken up by the pupils. However, pupils continue to take their worries to the EWT and the Health Centre,

showing that the need for advice is everpresent.

As a result, the SHARE programme is going to evolve to best suit the pupils, because the EWT and the Health Centre are keen to support them in the best way possible. A SHARE email address is going to be trailed next, so that the pupils who may feel awkward chatting in person about their worries can do so from the comfort of their laptops. Any emails from pupils will be responded to by the EWT and the Health Centre staff. This will hopefully provide the pupils with another route to access support. With TikTok and Instagram often providing unverified, biased information, it is hoped that the SHARE email address will prevent the pupils from, through no fault of their own, turning to disinformation. Instead, it will provide an online version of the invaluable support provided by the EWT and the Health Centre.

“A DEDICATED SPACE AND TIME, AND ACCESS TO CONFIDENTIAL ADVICE”

Astronomy at Oundle

Rachel Johnston (D U6)

If anyone was drawn to reading this article hoping it was about zodiac signs and horoscopes, I’m afraid you will be disappointed – that’s astrology. This is Astronomy, the study of celestial bodies and the physical universe; looking at science beyond Earth. You might know a few constellations already, such as the Big Dipper or Orion’s Belt, or know the order of the planets in our solar system through a mnemonic (I got taught My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas, because my teacher refused to say that Pluto wasn’t a planet), but it goes so far beyond that. So far, in fact, that we don’t even know when it stops, because the universe is continuously expanding.

I may just be speaking for myself, but my knowledge and appreciation of space has been limited to the collection of well-known constellations and planets closest to us, occasionally saying “Oh, the moon is quite bright tonight”, and really wanting to see the Northern Lights. I thought it was time to move beyond that, but instead of going off and falling into a black hole on the internet about the consequences of black holes, I started closer to home and spoke to Mr Peverley.

What have some celestial highlights been in the 2022/23 school year?

This year has been an excellent year for the amateur astronomer. The Green Comet (or Comet C/2022 E3) passed through our atmosphere in February, which hadn’t come past us for 50,000 years. It’s interesting to note that, because of how close the comet came to Earth, the gravitational pull of objects in our solar system may have altered its orbit enough to mean that it’s now on a one-way trip out of the solar system.

Another one was at the very end of March, when Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus all came together to be aligned at the same time in the early night sky. If you think about the hugely differing lengths of time that it takes the planets to orbit our sun (Uranus takes around 84 years, for example), this is quite the statistical improbability.

What can you hope for Astronomy at Oundle?

We are so incredibly blessed to have such clear skies in Oundle, and the landscape being so flat allows a much greater view of the night sky without man-made or natural obstructions. The investment that the School made, through Dr Richard McKim, to buy one of the best mid-range optical telescopes, together with the foresight

it had to build an observatory whilst SciTec was being constructed, mean that Oundelians are afforded a great opportunity to view the sky.

The telescope has, sadly, sat unused for a number of years, but the scope itself is still in good condition. My aim is that, from September, there is a body of pupils who are interested in using the observatory on a regular basis. Links are being made with local amateur astronomy groups and I’m very excited that the new STEM Outreach Fellow, Miss Alice Perry, is someone who is fantastically knowledgeable about Astronomy; Mr Talbot and I hope she will be able to introduce a formal Astronomy course to the School. I’m very much looking forward to Oundle School being placed upon the local map as a place where both pupils and those from our OPEN partnership can get the opportunity to use the facilities that we have.

What draws you to Astronomy, or did in the first place?

I wouldn’t be able to give you a specific age when I became interested in the skies, but I would say that staring up at the night skies over my family home, as a young boy in rural Leicestershire, first piqued my excitement. Looking at that inky blackness, irradiated with pinpricks of light, fascinated me.

I’m too young to remember the Apollo missions, but I remember watching on TV one of NASA’s Space Shuttles launching from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. It was the awe of the power that the rockets produced that drew me to keep thinking about what those astronauts were wondering as they rose above the Earth and then looked out into the void of space (although it’s not really a void in any sense of the word).

Later on, it was the images that the Hubble telescope sent back to Earth that kept that passion alive. Now, the James Webb Space Telescope has revolutionised the bringing of space to the living room. I know it’s rather passé, but thinking about how small (and almost insignificant) we

are compared to how big the universe is –something immortalised in Monty Python’s Galaxy Song – is a great way of putting things into context when perhaps things are not going quite the way that they should. I suppose, to paraphrase Stephen Hawking, “If, like me, you have looked at the stars and tried to make sense of what you see, you too have started to wonder what makes the universe exist.”

Astronomy is something that I’m sure lots of people find cool, but few go beyond the basic appreciation. Maybe it’s because we know the moon will be there every night, and the stars are somewhere, although we might not see them, and so it’s all just another part of the natural world that we’ve accepted and moved on from. That’s perfectly logical; why always seek something out that we’ve learnt will always appear? I think it’s the anomalies that come from Astronomy that spark more attention; the supermoon, when a planet becomes visible, or if you actually spot a shooting star. They happen once in a blue moon, and so the possibility of something being outside of routine is so exciting, it’s worth our attention. When the anomaly is exciting, then the norm isn’t, right? This is where I think it goes wrong; the norm is so extraordinary in its own right that the anomaly only adds more to an already remarkable topic.

So, I guess, this may have just been a way for me to explore something that I’d been wanting to learn more about, but I think it has a lesson: if you’re walking at night, look up for a minute. See the moon and perhaps think of its consistent impact on our culture and history. Maybe you can see some stars, or spot some constellations, and think of their distance; how their light has travelled all this way to be visible to you. Consider the celestial bodies you can’t see; the ones far beyond our solar system and galaxy, the ones that have not been discovered yet, the ones that will be gone before we know them. But most importantly, acknowledge their existence at that point in time, because even if they’re always there, they may not get noticed enough.

“Oundelians are afforded a great opportunity to view the sky.”

Image: Sophie Raudnitz

The Oundelian through time

Rachel

Johnston (D U6)

At the end of each year, The Oundelian is distributed to pupils, parents and teachers with a different cover and a new set of articles, ranging from sports fixtures and School plays to staff interviews and opinion pieces. It is a summary of the School year, but also a reflection of interests and investigations by the team of writers from the pupil body. To get to this point –to this Oundelian with which you, as the reader, are now familiar – there was an evolution, or so I’ve found. This publication didn’t first appear in the 21st century, and so I decided to trace it back – as far back as the records allowed.

I sat and probably read too many of the publications, but what struck me was from article to article as I flicked through a Laxtonian (the publication before its name was changed to The Oundelian following the official integration of the Schools), I could have been reading an Oundelian from 2016, when I first joined the School, without knowing many people’s names and before the Covid pandemic. Sports matches still happened, plays were directed in the Stahl, societies allowed pupils to extend their learning, art was produced with remarkable skill, exciting trips were taking place and daily life altogether happened. Nothing could be seen as extraordinary; perhaps it is the mundanity of life that makes it subtly momentous. All of the articles added together reflected the way that Oundle worked from year to year; the importance of each part of School life was carefully demonstrated in what each article was written about.

Now, I could see that there are similarities between the Oundelians that are decades apart, but I suppose it’s easier to spot the differences.

I think the most obvious evidence of the changes from magazine to magazine is the decline in frequency. Now, we work on The Oundelian all year, and the articles are compiled with additional designs and pictures, ready to be officially handed out on Speech Day. In the 1970s, The Laxtonian was released twice a year, with Lent and

Summer editions. This used to be the main way for the School to truly advertise themselves to prospective parents, and for many of the readers to get the information about sport teams and various events throughout the year. It speaks to how much society in general has changed, that these objectives are now primarily achieved through social media and the School's website, and reflects how easy it is for information to be shared in this more modern age.

Each edition of The Laxtonian used to start with reporting on The Common Room. This could include news of engagements, congratulations on a birth, introducing new staff members and bidding farewell to those who moved on, or even commentary of recovery from injury. This may seem weird to us now, with personal information being offered from teachers on a conversational and informal basis, but perhaps the level of sharing was more familiar decades ago, where no social media stalking took place and the School was significantly smaller.

This was usually followed by news on the various successes and failures of sports teams from the previous weeks, with paragraphs detailing the summary of the season. Each sport got the attention

it deserved, especially when considering the effort from each pupil. This hasn’t been a key feature in our Oundelian – and especially not in this detail – for years, but this must be due in part, once again, to our other methods of sourcing this information. Reports of games between schools are reported online, with particular successes shared on social media; the pupils always get the overall picture in our end-of-term Colours Assemblies; and each department can celebrate their achievements in The Review and Speech Day Report. Moving these articles into a separate annual publication was a deliberate choice so that The Oundelian could be a magazine for pupil journalism and voice, where interests are explored and content is determined by those writing it.

More amusingly, interspersed from page to page, back in the 1970s at least, there were advertisements after advertisements: commercials for different banks, and opportunities in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, in addition to life insurance promotion, and various restaurants in the surrounding area. The Oundelian used to be, at least partially, self-funded, without a budget from the School. Now Oundle pays for the professional design and publication of the magazine, showing its value as a source for the Oundle community and for encouraging pupil journalism.

To celebrate the writing abilities of various Oundle pupils, as is still done today, there are creative stories, interest pieces, and poems added to the magazine. This process is probably different now, with these pieces not being written deliberately for The Oundelian, but instead collected from teachers who want to celebrate a pupil’s excellent work which would otherwise only stay between them. The authors will be different now as well, with girls being admitted in 1990 and the cultural makeup of the pupils being much more diverse. Different perspectives can be seen and highlighted, which may have been seen as unfathomable decades ago.

The Oundelian may seem trivial to some, and just something to flick through when it is spotted on the side table, and that’s fine. But it is here, in these very pages, that we have the concrete evidence – the words and the pictures – of the past School year and of the lives that pupils live now. This is what The Oundelian, nee Laxtonian, has been for decades – a chance for reporting, a chance for discussing, a chance for reflecting.

Looking around, it’s hard to believe that a couple of hundred years ago the Oundle School we know today was non-existent. Instead what it replaced was a small, declining grammar school, without the characteristic parades of pupils pouring in and out of Co-op at break, and the flurries of pupils hurrying to get to their next lessons on time. Everything that makes up the Oundle we have come to know today all started at the same point.

Our story begins around 1500 with the birth of William Laxton. He was born in Oundle to John Laxton, a local businessman, and was educated at the grammar school in Oundle at the time. Although the claims that William was a pirate are mostly speculation, he still had an eventful life before founding Oundle School, having started his career as an apprentice at the Worshipful Company of Grocers and later becoming its eight-time master. He witnessed executions, greeted Henry VIII, and served as Sheriff and Mayor of London, but it wasn’t until his death, in July 1556, that his vision of a new Oundle School started to take form.

In his will he detailed the conditions on which Oundle was to be founded, stating that he wanted the creation of a ‘free gramer Schole at Owndell… to have contynuance for ever and… to be kept in the messuage or howse of late called the Gylde’. It was this clause that established what would later be known as Oundle School, and by entrusting it to the Company of Grocers (referred to as the ‘Gylde’) he created the beginning of the close relationship the School still has with the Company today.

The link between the Grocers' Company and Oundle remains as evident as ever with its arms and motto being adopted by the School. The westward-facing camel on the

crest is representative of traders returning from the east along the Silk Road with spices, while the nine cloves are symbolic of the nature of goods the Grocers' Company was associated with. The story goes that while in a procession, a camel emitted obnoxious gases in front of Queen Elizabeth I, resulting in the Grocers' Company being demoted to second in order of precedence. However, despite this they maintained their significant role in managing the spice trade in London and were able to finance the creation and maintenance of Oundle School.

Another condition was that the Grocers' Company was required to ensure the schooling of seven ‘honest, poor men’ at the new school. Laxton wanted the Grocers' Company to pay for their lodging and provide them with weekly allowances, giving them the opportunity to obtain an education without having to worry about expenses. This helped solidify Laxton’s reputation and long-lasting legacy, as well as entrenching the value of philanthropy in the School’s history.

As time went on, the School evolved and grew under the direction of the Grocers' Company, and later under its various Heads. New boarding Houses were built, girls were admitted, and slowly but surely, the Oundle we know today started to take form.

That said, the School is much more than its past. Oundle’s present consists of you: the pupils, the teachers, the staff, the friends and the family. The Oundle we know is the one with the rugby matches on Two Acre, singing practice on Fridays, sitting in Cloisters at break, and all the familiar and unfamiliar faces we see throughout the day. Oundle’s past created a layer of tradition and culture for us to build upon, and as we and the next generation of Oundelians add to it, we maintain Sir William Laxton’s legacy.

“Slowly but surely the Oundle we know today started to take form.”

Spices, camels, and a (supposed) pirate: how did Oundle come to be?

Adeola Amure (K U6)

From the archives: an interview with Mrs Langsdale

By Rachel Johnston (D U6)

We all know Oundle now; we know the buildings, the classrooms, the boarding Houses; we know the Great Hall, the Chapel, the Sports Centre; we know Trendall’s, Cookies, Beans. But do we know Oundle 100, 200, 467 years ago? Should we know Oundle then, and can we compare it to Oundle now? Can the people from years and years ago be that different to the people now?

I talked to Mrs Langsdale, in her set-up within the Cobthorne Stables, to get a better understanding of what the School Archives really are and how they can influence our lives as members of the Oundle community.

What do you think is the main principle of having the archives?

It is to preserve the history of the School, and to make sure that in a hundred years’ time people know what was happening in the School today; and so that today we can look at the past one hundred years. It’s very important to look outwards, because it’s not just about the School, it’s also about the social history. So we want to know what teenagers were like a hundred years ago, and people will want to know what your life was like in a hundred years. Keeping items brings history alive and also grounds you.

What kind of things are stored here?

We get paper documents, such as letters. We have the business end of the School with prospectuses, communication from the Bursary, the School management, the Head and little things as well. We have correspondence from the 1940s about building World War Two bomb shelters –every House had a bomb shelter that the boys were helping to build. And there was a little note sent to parents saying ‘you will be charged for the materials’. We collect little things like that, and we have letters from pupils, and it really makes the School alive to think of people walking the streets, the same streets you walk, eating different food

but some of the same food, doing the same things but slightly different things.

What does your role as the School Archivist fully entail?

It is sorting through boxes of stuff and cataloguing them. It is making sure that the items we have, and the items we find, are preserved and ordered, and they’re kept in a way that we can find them. It’s also allowing people access to the archive, and promoting and showing people within the School and the community that we have these little items that we can use to illustrate various points. These are really good resources to use in teaching, and I am involved with teachers wanting to do projects where the archive items can be of use.

If you could tell the pupils one thing about using the Archives, what would your advice to them be?

Just follow us on Instagram! People think archives are ‘fusty dusty’, but we’re not fusty (we do have dust, but we do try not to!) It’s all about being able to handle them, and being able to come in and explore – it really is that #exploreyourarchive, and it’s relevant to you and it’s relevant to our daily life. As teenagers, if you know that someone fifty years ago was going through the same School life, but going through the Second World War while we’re going through Covid and mental health issues and things like that, it helps.

How do you usually acquire items for the archive?

Old Oundelians will find a box of stuff with letters and others, perhaps in their own house or at their parents’. I find items on eBay and auctions when I’m alerted to them, and so I’ll go out and acquire them for the archive. We can occasionally find items from the School administration or the boarding Houses, and we’ll collect them and catalogue them.

Have there been any projects in recent years that you were really excited about?

With the centenary for the end of the First World War, we had an exhibition in the Yarrow Gallery, and it was available for pupils and members of the community to come and see. It took a lot of pulling together of interesting exhibits, such as stories from the war and photographs from that period, and all of it came from the archive. That was a big project that I was personally proud of because I took it from start to finish, and it was my idea and my inspiration.

Image: Elspeth Langsdale

What do you think is a hidden gem in the archives?

There’s so many. I can’t choose, it’s too hard, because every piece has a human story, and you can get quite wrapped up in it when you’re trying to finish jobs. As a mum especially, the letters and the diaries in general are so interesting to read. You get attached to the little things, such as from OO Peter Scott’s time in School House, when two of his mates wrote a book about birding on the Nene, and he did all the artwork and stamps for the illustrations of birds.

It’s important to look backwards. This doesn’t mean get stuck in the past; this simply means we should appreciate it. We should appreciate the struggles of our predecessors, and find the parallels within ourselves; we should appreciate their successes and their daily life, when as teenagers we will similarly prioritise the small things, such as House competitions and daily timetables. We can reflect on those who came before us, in the very place we are now, and still go forward until the day where future generations look back on us, and our letters or photographs or personal belongings become items of history as well.

“IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO LOOK OUTWARDS BECAUSE IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE SCHOOL, IT’S ABOUT THE SOCIAL HISTORY.”

Meet the Matrons!

Rachel Johnston (D U6) and Eva Morgan (D U6)

Matron Gietta

What is the key to being a good Matron?

Francoise, School House: Have a good relationship with the Hsm. The Matron and Hsm are the two most important members of a boarding House and have to have the same values. A good relationship, with no tension, is the key to a happy House.

How did you become Matron?

Helen, Laxton: I started as a relief matron but became Laxton matron while my two younger children were at the School. I started in a tiny room at the top of the House, and now I’ve got a big room downstairs which means people can pop in for a nice, relaxed chat, and I think my presence is felt more throughout the House.

I’m the only matron Laxton has ever had, with the position only being made ten years ago, so I’ve been able to mould the role to what I need it to be and see how the trust in a Laxton matron has grown over the years.

How is it different being a Matron in a day House, rather than boarding House?

Helen, Laxton: I think I run a loan policy for pupils much more than boarding House matrons! I want to stop the pupils from getting in trouble for something they can’t avoid, such as if they left their sports kit at home.

It may be harder in some respects, as it’s very busy during the day with more pupils across the five years, rather than 60 in a boarding House. I don’t see every pupil that often, usually having the few who are quite regular with being ill and getting meds. I also often have more face-to-face interaction with parents on a daily basis, with lots of parents calling in and asking for meetings.

How do you think Laxton fits into the School community?

Helen, Laxton: I think that being in Laxton can sometimes be seen as separate to the rest of the School. And also seen to have a House advantage because we have so many pupils and lots of people to choose from, especially for whole School events. But actually, Laxton has less rehearsal time and it is much harder to gather everyone together for a practice. People who live far away are sometimes not able to take part in all the events and activities offered by the School, or are restricted by family constraints that are unique to Laxton pupils. We have less cross-School special relationships as well, as for example, when Sanderson and Dryden stand up to clap and support each other during Part Song. But that being said, I feel like over the years a closer community has grown in the House. We have more of a personality now, and more of an in-House support system. That has been nice to see develop over the years.

What is the highlight of being a Matron?

Gietta, Berrystead: Oh, I love listening to the children talking amongst themselves. That’s really lovely, when they don’t know that you are there, and they are just talking about anything, like fashion or which people they like, and that kind of thing. It is nice to be a fly on the wall occasionally and see them being happy. But something unique to Berrystead is seeing your former pupils grow. At the start of the School year, you see the First Form, for example, arrive for the first time, and they are tiny and sometimes quite homesick. Then, watching them grow from that, a vulnerable tiny baby chick, to the time they leave at the end of Second Form, you see them absolutely flourishing. That’s really rewarding, seeing them growing up; seeing their progress. And then seeing people like you, Rachel, growing up through the School, year-on-year until you are older and more confident in yourself.

How do you know if someone is trying to skive?

Francoise, School House: Being constantly around the boys, I’ve learnt their ‘normal’ and how to read them, as I’ve grown to know them as my kids. I’ll do the basic checks of temperature, blood pressure etcetera, and give them the benefit of the doubt at the end of the day. You can sort of see right through them if someone says they are feeling sick, and then spend the rest of the day frantically doing prep. Honestly, if someone gets a reputation for lying and skiving, then they’ll have to be dead to get more time off school.

Gietta, Berrystead: Sometimes while we are chatting to them, they slip up and give things away. For example, one of the pupils couldn’t move any of their fingers at all – they thought they were broken and they would not be able to write or do sport or anything like that. And, while we were talking, they actually forgot and cracked their knuckles, and then my cat came in and they started stroking her. So, a slight slip-up! Hopefully, they realise that skiving isn’t going to work, and they stop doing it!

“I love listening to the children talking amongst themselves… It is nice to be a fly on the wall occasionally and see them being happy.”

Matron Helen

Matron Francoise

The ‘Wolf of Coach House’: a new addition to Oundle’s Economics Department

Adeola Amure (K U6)

Growing up in rural Kent as a shy child who avoided speaking up in class, Mr de Garis never envisaged he would one day be a teacher.

“After my undergraduate studies I started off in pharmaceutical research,” he said, which involved analysing data and surveying the use of medicines in markets. “I fell into teaching by accident during my Master’s degree in Business Administration, whereby I was required to teach Research Methodology to university undergraduates.” Surprisingly, he ended up thoroughly enjoying the teaching process, and it would lead him to a dramatic career change.

It inspired him to complete his PGCE certification to become a qualified teacher. “It was the best thing I ever did in terms of a career; I have never looked back!” he added.

Mr de Garis has now worked in various schools in a range of settings, both in the UK and abroad; from Head of Department in an International School in Dubai, which is in the top one percent of schools for grades attained in A level Economics, to a Lead Practitioner of Economics in a tough inner-

city London comprehensive. He met the different expectations of the two settings with the same enthusiasm.

He ended up in Oundle by sheer chance. Visiting the UK from Dubai, he was travelling to see a family member and decided to stop over in Oundle. “My heavily pregnant wife and I stayed at the Talbot, walked around for a couple of days and thought, ‘What a wonderful setting to bring up our soon-tobe-born child!’” He and his wife heard music coming from the Gascoigne while looking at all the old buildings, but as he admired the picturesque scenery, he never thought that he would one day end up building a life here.

After his visit, he returned to Dubai and thought nothing more of it, until he saw an advertisement for an Economics teacher needed at Oundle. He took this as a sign, applied for the role and ended up being successful.

Since then, he has experienced the joys of his Sixth Form sets’ banter, the excitement of fives, and the thrill that comes with marking dozens of our block tests! So much so, that in ten years’ time, he still sees himself at Oundle teaching Economics.

His favourite part about teaching is simply that it is ‘good fun’. “It is a privilege to know that you might have made an impact upon a young person’s life. I have never left a lesson and thought it had been pointless,” he stated. “Even when you are having a tough day in other ways, the best thing you can do is have a good lesson with a good set of pupils who are asking lots of good questions! It makes you feel like you have made a small, incremental difference.”

He described a sense of pride when seeing pupils succeed, especially those who continue to persevere, despite the circumstances they might find themselves in. A particularly special experience for him was seeing one of his pupils, who grew up in extremely challenging socio-economic circumstances (she even had to write her essays on the inside of an oven door, the only flat surface in her cramped, London flat) get accepted into Oxford to read Economics.

To end, he gave a few words of guidance to the pupils at Oundle: “Sleep well, have a healthy diet, think positively, and use small, marginal gains to boost your exam performance – oh, and start investing early!” All of which sounds like very solid advice. He talked about the large impact small changes can have on pupils’ grades, concentration, and overall wellbeing, and he feels as though many of us don’t pay enough attention to the little things that together make a big difference.

Overall, Mr de Garis has been a great fit to the Economics Department, and we all hope to see him there for years to come.

“IT WAS THE BEST THING I EVER DID IN TERMS OF A CAREER; I HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK!”

Karma chameleon

It is often a surprise and delight to many visitors when they walk through the front doors of Oundle’s SciTec building and see a pair of common bearded dragons. Most Oundle pupils, however, would probably respond with, ‘Oh yeah, that’s Tallulah and Minerva.’ In reality, these two are just a few of the various types of fauna you’ll find hidden in the corners of the building, such as Tiny Thing 1 and Tiny Thing 2, both baby tree frogs, or Rocky, a Baja California rock lizard. These animals help us to learn more about Biology in a different way from just reading about them in a textbook; after all, Biology itself is the study of life.

As curriculums for the various year groups develop, new animals get brought in. My personal favourite was Rubba Duck, a duckling hatched from an egg by the Biology lab technicians to aid the First Form’s learning. Originally the plan had been to home him on the SciTec pond, but this didn’t seem very fair when he began to imprint on human feet and therefore followed any person’s footprints he could find, like an adorable rendition of the Ugly Duckling. His new home is at the Billing Aquadrome where he lives happily with other ducks, and his presence was not only endearing, but also hugely beneficial for the First Form’s learning. Other times, the animals

are simply brought out to interact with us, such as the two geckos, christened as Balsamic and Axel by our class, who sat on the desks in front of us during our lesson as we desperately tried (and failed) to stay focused on the topic of evolution.

Of course not all the animals come from places with the exact conditions that SciTec offers, and so maintenance is an important task, especially for the numerous reptiles. They require the right temperature and humidity, as well as the correct amount of UV light. They need to be hand-fed three times a week, with many of their meals consisting of locusts, crickets, meal and morio worms. The food is placed in their vivarium/tanks in a way that encourages them to ‘hunt’ as they would do in the outside world, and it remains endlessly fascinating to watch them use their long tongues to swallow their food at record speed – so quick that it is easy to miss. Even more interesting is to see the natural processes that these animals undergo, such as the shedding of skin that we were able to see in the North American constrictor and ball python – a rare privilege to witness from the comfort of the classroom.

All the animals are very much beloved, but if favourites were to be picked, the chameleons would be top contenders. Ever colourful (with one of them appropriately named Picasso), they exhibit behaviours that would have been clearly evident in the wild. Their colours change in accordance with whether they are hot or cold, and they puff up when they are angry or sensing danger, to make themselves seem more ferocious to scare away predators. It has always been a great source of entertainment to try to spot the chameleons in their tanks when waiting in between lessons or during break.

Even the pond outside of the building has a variety of wildlife, including a large heron, our latest voluntary resident, standing regally at all times of the day, only moving occasionally to catch a fish that it spies in the water. It is an incredible opportunity to be surrounded by the very things that we study, to get up close without even leaving School premises. And even with the bitter disappointment that came with finding out the otters sitting outside next to the pond were actually statues, I still am grateful for the opportunity to interact with these creatures.

Mahitha Sagi (L U6)

Image: Yaya Huang (Sn L6)

Without a doubt, one of the most interesting things about Oundle is that, being a full boarding school, you are able to meet an exceedingly diverse group of people from many different places. The connections I have made from all over the globe in the time I have been here are something that is rare to experience. In total, we have 36 nationalities represented by our student body, with pupils and teachers coming in from more than 40 countries. This has cultivated Oundle’s global network of alumni, through which people are able to keep the friendships they made within the School’s walls, even when they move thousands of miles away from each other upon leaving.

As of 2021/22, Oundle had 835 boarding pupils and 125 day pupils. 71.5% of these came from 36 UK counties. Many domestic pupils come from the surrounding counties of Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire, as well as Suffolk and Norfolk, while others originate from as far as Powys in Wales and Scotland. While this has always meant that visiting friends is a bit more difficult than just a twenty minute car journey down to Peterborough, it means being able to see various parts of the UK that I hadn’t ever planned to, from the cliffs of Dorset to the hills of Yorkshire.

Looking beyond just the UK, 21% of Oundle’s pupil population are foreign nationals, with 7.5% being expatriates. These pupils come from all over the continents, which has meant that meeting someone new means also learning about where they come from and the way they grew up. It can often seem daunting coming into the First Form, aged 11, and suddenly being exposed to so many different cultures at once, extending you beyond your comfort zone and what you are familiar with. However, it is an enriching opportunity to learn more outside of the classroom and prepares you for the real world, where communities are increasingly becoming more diverse, in an invigorating way.

We, as a School, have the ability to visit these places too, on trips that have allowed us to form relationships with other schools. We have a partner school in Prague, the Gymnazium Jana Keplera, who have been sending over exchange students for the Lent Term in the Lower Sixth, and in return we are able to visit the school in Prague as a part of the Third Form History trip, having the opportunity to see an educational setting a little different to our own. In Bangkok, there is a school that models itself on Oundle’s lifestyle and has had Old

Oundelians as previous and current headteachers. Our connections, both academically and personally, have a significant impact on our School experience, and indeed others’ too.

Oundle’s legacy involves 15,000 former pupils, parents, friends and supporters of the School who live in 77 countries around the world. The highest number of Old Oundelians are now located in Hong Kong, with more than 275 having settled in this thriving business hub. The second highest number – more than 230 – are located in the United States of America, with more living in places as diverse as Bermuda, Malaysia, France, Germany, Canada, Singapore and China. This interconnectedness means it is becoming more and more easy to bump into fellow pupils outside of the School by pure coincidence, and to have this, which can lead to mentorship and friendship even overseas, is certainly a privilege. Furthermore, Old Oundelians are able to come back and visit the School, as well as get support in their careers as a part of this community. The Old Oundelian Club is one that has been established for as long as the School has been open, with communities meeting up every year or so in Hong Kong, Edinburgh and New York to reminisce about their school days over a drink. It is clear the impact Oundle’s diversity has on Old Oundelians in real world societies.

Overall, Oundle’s global influence is one that has an impact on, not just the School community, but the wider community of people who are connected to us, whether it be through the pupils, teachers or visitors. It allows Oundle pupils a kind of social education in tolerance, patience and acceptance that is necessary to move forward in global, outward-looking societies.

Oundle’s global connections

Mahitha Sagi (L U6)

“Oundle’s legacy involves 15,000 former pupils, parents, friends and supporters of the School who live in 77 countries around the world.”

Public performance pressure

George Fothergill (B L6)

Although this event happened during the last School year, it took place right at the end and so missed being included in the last issue of The Oundelian.

The writer Mark Twain once said that it always took him ‘more than three weeks to write a good impromptu speech’. Though perhaps hyperbolic, this statement does reflect the labour of love that speech writing is, especially given that you have to perform whatever you have composed, at the end of it all. Many people, myself included at first, don’t see the point of doing public speaking (“Isn’t that just debating?”). After joining, however, it became clear that I had been skirting round the argumentative edge of public speaking without confronting its core: the speaker/audience relationship. Over the next year we, as a group, would all hone our skills online, ready for a return to school to compete together. What follows is a rough account of the road which my team-mates and I took to the ESU National Speaking Competition Grand Final. I hope it encourages you, no matter your age or presumed ability, to learn and practise this wonderful and essential art.

It is first important to understand the specific form of public speaking which we learned and used in competing. An ESU speaking team is composed of three members: a Speaker, Chair and Questioner. In an event, the Speaker from one school will be paired with the Chair and Questioner from another, and vice versa. Each presentation opens with an introduction from the Chair, followed by a five- minute speech from the Speaker, followed by several minutes of questions from both the Questioner and the audience, and is then closed by the Chair.

This is very different from other speaking activities, such as debating: the speech and questions do not have to be strictly argumentative but can be explorative as well, which lends the whole sequence an atmosphere of learned conversation rather than argument. Furthermore, each role requires unique skills: the Speaker must write and effectively deliver engaging rhetoric; the Chair must control the two other participants and clearly structure the whole affair in a welcoming manner; while the Questioner must quickly compose

insightful stimulus for conversation. Fairly early on in our training, we were sorted into these groups and taught all the tips and tricks of our respective trades. I, myself, became a Speaker, Iona, a Chair and Robert, a Questioner; my position was one I had at first dreaded because of the speech-crafting it entailed, but I soon came to love it for its versatile beauty.

Now, I haven’t yet mentioned the unusual circumstances of our entry into the competition – as this was during the screen-soaked days of Covid, our first round of competition speaking was done online. Unfortunately, when talking to a screen of small icons, it is nearly impossible to gauge the reaction of your audience. The pacing, tone and metre of our respective speeches was based largely on guesswork, and was also entirely subject to the internet capability of our paired school – a fact learned the unfortunate way by the other Oundle team!

Real-world speaking proved both more natural and far more fun, as we actually got to meet other competitors. For me, this was one of my favourite parts of the competition: sitting down with two strangers, briefly explaining an outline of a speech topic you had come to love, and then presenting our respective parts with amicable argument.

Needless to say, when we made it to the

semi-finals, the team was quite stunned, not only by the prospect of travelling to Cambridge to speak to the largest audience yet, and in front of a panel of incredibly qualified judges, but also by the fact that it was to take place the day before the start of our GCSEs! Indeed, this was illustrated on the day by the number of GCSE related jokes that popped up in the many speeches we heard. The weeks beforehand were frantic with preparation, and my speech went through more than eight drafts (Mrs Wells is welcome to correct my underestimation)! It became a routine over the weeks, the three of us running through the form with the latest tweaks, followed by critiques of each of us, and ending with the newest additions and removals to the speeches.

There is a photo, taken by the particularly opportunistic ESU photographer, of our reactions when we heard we had won the whole competition. Caught there in that image are all the emotions that flooded through all of us in that instant and, though not particularly flattering, it is certainly a capsule to that amazing realisation of our hard work.

The whole public speaking group was undoubtably essential to how well we did, yet none more so than Mrs Wells herself, who dedicated so much of her time to helping the team – me especially. Without her vast wealth of literary knowledge, dedication to fitting in practice around our exams and morale-boosting quips on the competition days, everyone would have had far less success and, more importantly, far less fun. It was fitting then, that we won the competition in Mrs Wells’ last year at the School, having led the public speaking group for over 25 years! The victory was undoubtedly a combined effort and one which, I think, we all will never forget.

ACADEMIC

My life in books

Maia Ayadurai (L L6)

Childhood smiles and warm hugs on a winter’s evening, whilst flicking through a book, are some of my dearest memories. I remember my mother coming into my room like a star in the dark night sky, when all seemed lonely and cold. She would sit beside me in bed with my favourite book, asking me each time to guess how much she loved me. It was so comforting seeing the tiny rabbit and mother, beautifully drawn on the page, talk about their love for each other. I adored the feeling of escaping from my bedroom and the spitting rain dampening the houses of my village outside, with its dreary greyness, which back then seemed never to cease, apart from when I had a cup of creamy sweet milk and my mother’s voice reading over my shoulder. Eager as I was, I flicked through each page, needing to see more and wishing it would never end until the final words drew upon us.

Comfort was the most welcoming aspect to the world of reading for me and, although in retrospect it could be determined that pictures of countryside rabbits in a field stretching their arms out and loving one another are a simple idea and might not academically constitute being in the realm of reading, the aged pages and forgotten laughs and kisses are to be asserted now as the times I miss most of innocent childhood.

I have always liked to imagine being from a different place, whether that be a town or a country. There is something so exhilarating for me to be able to ponder on such dreams. It was for me then that the story of a small orphan visiting Green Gables and going to school was a more exciting prospect than ever. My first read through was with help from my grandma as we sat together. She would read it out and every detail and every picture, whether of the blossoming flowers or the mundane bread little Anne would eat, interested me. Although it may not have been wizards and witches in detailed fantasy books completely afar, it felt like home. The school friends and walks in forests looking for small signs of spring, or even the perfect stick to finish a house for hiding away in, is something I instantly felt connected to, and had experience of from the morning adventures at nursery all wrapped up in coats and scarves. Anne’s charisma and feistiness is something I admired, as I have always felt shy and out of place. I believe it helped me try to speak out more against things I did not believe in, and although I was by no means a feminist at the age of seven, it shone light on the way of the world. What set it out most for me is the pure and honest life of Anne and, above all, her friendship with Diana, something I aspire to find in my friends even now.

A book which left an impact on me, and which I read alone, was Pride and Prejudice. What seemed at first like just a romance, ended up being so much more, which surprised and shocked me. Elizabeth Bennet’s gentle and yet also strong disposition in the face of Darcy is a message for all girls, especially coming of age in today’s society. The engagement in understanding her ideas on what a man should be, coming from the Georgian period, is still critical to my thoughts

on such matters now, and what seemed, on first purchasing the book, a story of dances and social affairs, struck me as being so much more than that. Elizabeth’s sense of dignity and also fearlessness to reject a man in Darcy’s position in the face of feeling maltreated, struck me at once. I remember loving fairytales of princes coming in and saving a girl in distress and falling instantly in love, and I had always wanted that – the hope of a Prince Charming. However, after reading the book on a lazy afternoon in late autumn, I felt different. It was more clear to me now that women have every right to speak out against not being treated with utmost respect; but more, I felt naive in thinking the validation of a boy was all that mattered. Not only did Jane Austen impact me in this way, but her writing was so engaging and witty, and the letters written in the book were just so perfectly crafted, I could not fault them in any sense. It changed my perspective from seeing literature and reading as a school task to something so much more fruitful.

A book which highlighted an issue for me is The Diary of Anne Frank. At the time of first taking out the book from the School library, I was uneducated about the horrors of the Holocaust, which to me was confined to pages in history books. Reading from the viewpoint of a young girl, who was close to my age, experiencing such pain, struck me at that moment with such a deep sadness that I had never before felt from inked letters and spaces. The detailed account of being a Jew at the time was honestly beyond shocking, and on taking in her last words, I remember tears falling instantly onto the page while my thoughts condensed into emptiness. It shone a light on the systematic racism which existed then, and also in many ways still exists to this day in our tainted society, however modern and woke it claims to be. Being of a Polish background on

my mother’s side, it instantly sparked a need to find out more, to be better and erase areas of ignorance. I remember visiting her home in what was once war-torn Warsaw – a place I knew so well from visits, running through the enchanted old town glowing with technicolour light from every corner and smiles from those around. I now saw it differently. The cafes where I used to drink warm tea and make myself feel sick with sweet, sugary apple pie, now appeared stained from knowing how many innocent lives were lost in the areas I called home.

In recommending a book, the list is endless; there are so many stories and memories of reading that I believe everyone should experience. However, one book which was not only written in the most delectable manner but also illustrated sisterhood and the pains of growing up, and which I love dearly, is the novel, Little Women The lives of Amy, Beth, Jo and Meg are so special to me. Sharing with Jo the same interest in writing and the dream of pursuing a career where I can just simply express myself, made her plot line so moving; I could see the possibility of this in the shape of a young woman. Each sister is so different, yet I find so many parts of myself in them: in Amy, a constant need to be liked and validated, yet whilst also feeling at times second best; in Beth, her shy and quiet manner and, finally, in Meg, her want of true love and of fitting in. It is a comfort at times, and also extremely moving, to see each sister find their own way in the story and read how they grow into women from young girls. The friendships which form between the girls and Laurie are so dear to the story, and there are so many heart-breaking and escaped chances which have made me try to live more in the present and express my feelings when I can – a lesson that ought to be taught universally in any case!

“In recommending a book, the list is endless; there are so many stories and memories of reading that I believe everyone should experience.

Discuss the representation of good and evil in your particular field(s) of interest

Winner of the L6 Liberal Arts Essay Prize 2022-23

Authors have centred their works around the concept of good and evil for many centuries – English’s first epic, Beowulf, being no exception, with a demon terrorising the local innocent civilians – and it is only in comparatively recent years that the lines between protagonist and antagonist have become more blurred, or non-existent altogether. Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel, Wuthering Heights, provides ample evidence of malignant actions, primarily from Heathcliff, the principal male character, but while his examples of abuse (physical and mental) litter the pages of the novel, he is still regarded as a romantic hero. Unlike the intense scrutiny given to the morals of other authors’ characters in their writings, see Dostoyevsky’s Brothers Karamazov and Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables for similarly dated examples, Bronte offers no time to dwell on Heathcliff’s actions, as the plot continues on to a new death, birth or beating. As a result of this, any preconceptions held about the characters, especially Heathcliff, assert themselves more easily into your interpretation of the text, in this case leaving an otherwise brutish character with the reputation of a passionate admirer. With less detailing of the characters’ inner feelings articulated to the reader, their motives can be misinterpreted.

Heathcliff’s assimilation into the category headed by Jane Austen’s Mr Darcy (created 34 years before Wuthering Heights), of a brooding stranger turned main love interest, has been a modern media-driven interpretation of Heathcliff that tends to omit the second half of the novel. Here, Heathcliff kidnaps his brother-in-law’s daughter and forces her to marry his own dying son so that Heathcliff can enact a plan of revenge and gain control of two major properties –among other heinous deeds. Seemingly, he should be condemned as a malign character, not glorified by movies and pop songs. While Bronte herself delighted in monsters, having been heavily influenced by lives of sin such as in ETA Hoffmann’s The Devil’s Elixir, and Tieck’s Wake Not The Dead, her own sister Charlotte apologised for Heathcliff being ‘a man’s shape animated by human life.’ Even with, as Hannah More claimed in 1800, ‘English minds hurrying back to the reign of Chaos and old Night,’ Heathcliff was received as a devilish figure upon Wuthering Heights’ publication; with modern audiences left to wonder whether this opinion was justified and that we have simply become desensitized to the violence shown, or whether he has been judged too harshly by Bronte’s contemporaries.

With no attempt to evaluate, from a moral standpoint, Heathcliff’s violent deeds, we cannot know whether Heathcliff had adequate reasoning for his crimes of domestic abuse (towards Isabella and Hareton), blackmail (towards Hindley) and kidnapping (of his niece). Frequently doling out to his juvenile relations ‘a shower of terrific slaps’, his own son worries that ‘he shall be killed’ under Heathcliff’s care, while Heathcliff plots that only if the kidnapped Catherine ‘does as he wishes, [she] shall return home’. Such examples of unlawful violence prove Heathcliff to be a ‘diabolical’ villain.

A tentative ‘villain origin story’ is given through Heathcliff’s childhood of abuse from Hindley Earnshaw (who denied him an education and forced him into hard labour), leading him to seek revenge on Earnshaw’s relations. However, with Heathcliff contrasted against the child that he himself abuses in the same manner, Hareton (who blossoms into a respectable man ‘loving and desiring to be esteemed’), Heathcliff is shown as the greatest evil in the novel. In the eyes of the readers of that time, Heathcliff was framed as an archetypal villain, his gypsy background awoke their xenophobia, his home of Liverpool their fear of the working class. Already connotations with the devil arise, with William Blake’s ‘dark Satanic mills’ referencing these working class areas that Heathcliff came from. Mrs Dean, the novel’s narrator, wonders at the end of the work if Heathcliff is ‘a ghoul or a vampire,’ and Charlotte Bronte too hates this ‘hideous incarnate demon’ on his ‘arrow straight course to perdition.’ An inhuman, monstrous quality is maintained in Heathcliff until his dying moments, where he fades away having declined food while flashing the ‘deep black eyes’ of a ‘goblin’; it is these descriptions that lend to the presumption that Bronte

Nancy Newcombe (W L6)

This article has been cut for the purposes of the magazine.

intended Heathcliff to be the villain, not sympathised with.

Despite its modern romantic retellings, Heathcliff’s love for Cathy is a predatory pursuit of a woman who has chosen to marry another man, a savage fixation that will not rest until he sees her again. His animalistic behaviour tempts Cathy to, in Kate Bush’s words, ‘roll and fall in green,’ and his ultimate goal in the novel is not to reach heaven in death, (as would be expected in Victorian Britain) but to return to Cathy. His path of retribution is entirely in Cathy’s name, which would make Heathcliff seem all the more heinous to readers’ eyes as he has no end sight on religion. He ‘has a single wish’ to be reunited with Cathy, and, dying, he claims that ‘it has devoured [his] existence.’ Heathcliff feels no remorse for his violence and only concedes his revenge upon realising its futility. Sadistic in his dealings with other characters, he caused pain to all around him, with critic Joyce Carol Oates asking if Bronte herself is testing the reader’s appetite for sadism as he continues to abuse. Masochistically, readers continue to project a positive interpretation of Heathcliff’s glimpses of humanity, only to be let down repeatedly. Juxtaposed against Edgar Linton’s ‘constancy and tenderness’ and the ideal ending of the novel’s next generation with Hareton and Catherine readying for marriage, Heathcliff’s fruitless plan for retribution against the bourgeoisie, his abuser’s family and his lover’s husband only feeds his appearance of the personification of the devil.

Despite Heathcliff’s darkly inhuman drive and exercising of power, readers, especially in modern times, are drawn to his mysterious and inexplicable evil nature. His actions rupture social norms in a manner appreciated by post-modernism readings of texts that allow literary chaos to reign unchecked. Although Heathcliff is violent, it is seen that humans may need an outlet of cathartic release, similar

to an Ancient Greek Dionysia festival, to remain functioning in society; and his pugnacious nature can be forgotten when glimpses of Heathcliff’s love for Cathy are seen. Like a dark appreciation for the crime-justifying protagonist in Edgar Allen Poe’s gothic, A Tell-tale Heart, (which Bronte herself loved) our condemnation of Heathcliff is mitigated when viewing his narrative as a love story, his love for Cathy giving him acceptable motive for his crimes through a romanticized literary lens. Cathy loves this Byronic hero, claiming, ‘he’s more myself than I am,’ and he too feels this, asking her upon her marriage to Edgar, ‘why did you betray your own heart?’ From this fierce love, Heathcliff becomes wholly obsessed, begging her to haunt him in death and yearning after her until he himself dies, feeding the media’s opinion that these two were simply star-crossed lovers. Similar to Frankenstein’s monster, whose multifaceted character is often simplified in the media to a violent beast, Heathcliff too has been simplified to a deservedly revengeful romantic icon. Granted, society’s outlook on ‘evil’ has become more nuanced as the inclination for religion and a binary heaven or hell has diminished, but Heathcliff still falls under the umbrella of being a little too morally dubious.

In an eschatological reading of the text, Bronte facilitates the belief that souls of the departed can be commanded by the living when the ghost of Cathy is found to haunt Wuthering Heights, and that one’s conduct on earth has no impact upon this ability. Despite Heathcliff’s barbaric lustful revenge only sparsely intermingled with acts of love-driven kindness, he is given a happy ending in reunion with Cathy in death, and grace from the characters of the book as he lessens his tenure over their lives. With the novel’s slow unravelling culminating in happy endings for most characters (that live to see the novel’s end), the extent of Heathcliff’s sadism can be forgotten; but in remembering Saint Augustine’s teaching that evil is the absence of good, Heathcliff can be seen as inherently evil – he is not only the absence of (much) good, but the active instigator of violence and pain, that which Saint Augustine believed to be the ‘greatest evil.’ Whoever is employed to judge what is good and what is evil would surmise that, in spite of the popular conclusion that Heathcliff is the tortured protagonist to Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, he is the malevolent plot driver in the novel, whose acts of relentless abuse do constitute the label of ‘evil.’

“ONLY RECENTLY HAVE THE LINES BETWEEN PROTAGONIST AND ANTAGONIST BECOME MORE BLURRED, OR NON-EXISTENT ALTOGETHER”

scientists be

morally responsible for their inventions and discoveries?

Third Form Winner of the Science Essay Competition 2022 – 2023

“Through our scientific and technological geniuses we’ve made of this world a neighbourhood. And now through our moral and ethical commitment, we must make of it a brotherhood. We must all learn to live together as brothers - or we will all perish together as fools.” These are the words of Martin Luther King. Within this quote, Luther separates scientific breakthroughs from moral commitments. However, is it that easy? Should science not be confined by the rules of morals and ethics? And, if this is the case, who is responsible for the global consequences of discoveries?

To answer these questions, a clear line must be drawn regarding when scientists should be held morally responsible and when they should not. To this end, we must differentiate between two sorts of scientific development: category A – research mandated to produce results, not necessarily moral or beneficial to mankind, and category B – development for specific benefit to mankind, which may then have unexpected effects or, worse, be used by others to create immoral inventions.

An example of category A is Fritz Haber, well-known German chemist and co-inventor of the Haber-Bosch method. To this day, this invention is important for the large-scale production of fertilisers. Without this process, we would only be able to produce two thirds of the amount of food we do today. However, soon after this discovery, the world was hit by the Great War (WW1). Fritz strongly believed his moral duty was to serve his country. Due to this, he did everything he could to help Germany. And in 1915, Haber discovered and later proposed the use of poison gas. Operation: Disinfectant had begun, and he was at the centre of it all. Three words are all it took. Three words that would destroy millions of lives. Three words were all Fritz had to say, and 6,000 metal tanks containing 168 tonnes of poison gas would be released into the unsuspecting trenches of the allies. The signal was simple: “God punish England.” One man, three words, and 5,000 people were killed. “During peace time a scientist belongs to the world, but during war time he belongs to his country.” These were the words of a man whose previous discovery was the reason that our population would no longer suffer starvation once we surpassed 1.5 billion people. How can a man be so valuable to society yet also represent the worst of it? Monstrous, repulsive, but above all, immoral. It must be made clear that these types of discoveries are not uncommon

during wartime, which is the horrible and sickening truth. In any war, no side could be named “moral,” and neither could any of these types of scientists.

An example of category B is Arthur Galston, who was the inventor of a chemical that could accelerate the growth of soybeans. However, soon after he made this discovery, Galston found that when this chemical, known as Agent Orange, was used in high concentration, it would defoliate the soybean plant, making it ineffective. Because of this, it was categorised as a pesticide, and, in addition, Galston now had concerns about the effects the chemical might have on humans. Galston had a right to be concerned. The US government seized on the unexpected side effects of Agent Orange and made a choice that would affect thousands of lives. Seventy-seven million litres of this chemical were supplied to the government, and then sprayed on Vietnam, causing over 400,000 deaths and wounds, and another 500,000 birth defects. Galston had protested the spraying due to the devastating impacts it would have on humans, the environment, and animals, but winning the Vietnam War was all the US government was thinking about. And so, with a press of a button, many lives were lost. But who is at fault? Can you hold Arthur Galston morally responsible just because he invented the chemical to help soybean growth? Even after he protested against using it in the Vietnam War? Or do you blame the government for their lack of moral standing?

Finally, Edward Jenner and his invention of the smallpox vaccination, is an example of a discovery that ultimately improved the quality of life on Earth but could have killed an innocent child. Jenner is one of the most famous English scientists, and is most commonly known for his help in preventing smallpox. However, while in the process of finding this vaccine, he carried out one of his most famous, yet unethical, experiments on an eight-year-old boy, James Phipps. Although no harm was done to Phipps because the experiment succeeded (as Jenner had believed it would), that does not take away from the element of risk he was inflicting upon a helpless child, let alone the alleged coercion Jenner had used on Phipps’ parents. However, how immoral was this experiment, actually? Well, variolation, which was the former process used to fight smallpox, was extremely similar to what Jenner did to James Phipps, so he cannot be held completely responsible for the risk to the child. We also know how life-changing this discovery was for mankind, so how much does it matter that the initial experiment could be seen as unethical?

In conclusion, when a scientist makes a discovery or invention, they should be asking themselves whether this is morally correct and will benefit humankind and beyond. However, this is not always the case, and when someone, such as Fritz Haber, is researching something with the principal motivation of causing harm (category A), that’s when a scientist should be held morally responsible. Whatever man brings to this Earth, we must live with it, and, as Martin Luther King said, ‘We must all learn to live together as brothers – or we will all perish together as fools.”

Should

held

Charlotte Crawley (L 3)

An EPQ process

SEPTEMBER:

I need a title, I need a title, I need a title, I need a title. That went on in my head for the entire month. I was reading broad books, thinking of topics I must have plucked from thin air. My mind was fractured, in two states at all times, and I wasn’t ready for an EPQ to become so all-consuming so quickly. It is a wonder I actually chose to continue, but alas, I did.

OCTOBER:

This was the month I became very closely acquainted with ProjectQ, a tab that stayed open on my browser throughout my entire project. But I had a title, and I had made a proposal, although I still didn’t actually know how to answer the question. But, to make it seem like I had some semblance of a clue about what was going on, I had a detailed plan of every possible task I needed to finish over the coming weeks, complete with a colour-coded key of importance. Apparently, everything is better when colour-coded.

NOVEMBER:

Journals from JSTOR on top of articles from any credible (or not so credible) website out there, as well as books and newspapers from too many different authors – and, when I wanted a break, podcasts and documentaries, because that is the appropriate break for an EPQ student; continuously and forever researching. There was constant citing, all in the Chicago style of course, and source evaluation to the extent I never thought it would ever need to get to – all in a neat table with a rating out of ten.

DECEMBER:

Christmas decorations sprinkled my periphery as I tried to read the longest book I had ever set myself to read, sat at the dining room table, wondering what on earth I had got myself into this time. We were under strict instructions not to slack off on this research, as it needed to happen eventually, but there was something about the Yuletide spirit that seemed to drag me away. Of course, I went completely unwillingly. Maybe I could watch one of the documentaries while I wrapped some presents?

JANUARY:

Oh, this is why I should’ve continued with the research. Playing catch-up was like constantly trying to reach for the finish line, with the black-and-white tape just moving further and further away. PRs were spent in the library, stubbornly sticking to my seat so much that I have claimed that table on a spiritual and personal level. There was gloating from my friends, who had gone to Quadrivium or ab initio, and I had to constantly repeat that all this work would pay off. By this point, I could only hope it would pay off. There was no turning back.

FEBRUARY:

The time was here. Writing needed to start. With a new title change, which altered my entire approach to the project as a whole, I had to start writing. How do I start? Surely, just words on a page and it will take off? I still don’t have an answer as to how to start writing, or how I did. All I know is that I didn’t start at the beginning, but logic had left me by this point, if I’m being honest. Subtitles? Maybe subtitles would help? Let’s go with subtitles. When did subtitles become such a big decision? Five thousand words… It’s going to be impossible to reach that word count.

Rachel Johnston (D U6)

MARCH:

It was not impossible; it was all too easy. To accommodate the word count, I simply had to take out an entire section of research. It was a shame to see that go. At least it was beginning to take the shape of an essay. (Not that you’re allowed to call it an essay, according to AQA – it’s a report). I jumped around, adding facts and conclusions all over the place – so much so that I hadn’t actually written more than seven sentences before having a completely different thought, and going back to a section I thought was finished. Footnotes used to be a foreign concept; now, it seemed, we were best friends.

APRIL:

Done. Well, not exactly. There was officially nothing I could add to my Final Final FINAL Report Draft document, and the 5000-word (plus 34, but I swear that’s allowed!) report was complete. It felt like it shouldn’t be complete, as if my mind hadn’t processed that this EPQ would actually finish at some point. But there was no time for that specific existential crisis, as it was now time for my presentation. By which I mean, standing in the Great Hall next to a sheet of cardboard featuring my title, some key words, and a few photos blue-tacked on, while I attempted to put all the work I’ve done into actual spoken words for teachers and friends who had no idea what a suffragette even was.

MAY:

Now I was done. I’ve explained every thought and every decision, so much that ProjectQ practically had a gateway into my mind. I’ve used all the artistic licence (it’s not lying!) I could possibly use. I’ve added any possible appendix so that absolutely everything is accounted for. The final and official hand-over of a too-thick document to Mr Heath was at once far too dramatic and completely anti-climactic. Just like that. Just like that?

And apparently, it was indeed just like that. All those numbers don’t actually mean a lot in the grand scheme of things; they just added up over time to create one project. I don’t think a person ever really knows what they’re doing when they choose the EPQ option for their Lower Sixth year. I thought I knew; I thought I was prepared. I only think I’m prepared now, after it’s over.

I can say it was the hardest piece of work I’ve done so far in my life, but the independent nature of the project and the chance to explore a topic in a depth that doesn’t get offered every day, meant that this work felt truly and completely my own. I spent hours in the library glued to books and articles. I explored all the sources I could possibly have explored. I chose the line of argument and made my conclusion. I handed in a 5000-word report to answer the question ‘Why does the perception of the Edwardian suffrage movement differ from the reality?’ I did this.

“I’ve explained every thought and every decision, so much that ProjectQ practically had a gateway into my mind. I’ve used all the artistic licence (it’s not lying!) I could possibly use.”

At the turn of the twentieth century, philosophers began to acknowledge two concepts of time. Rather than a singular frame, an individual’s perception of time differs from the actual duration of time. In other words, subjective time differs from the linear time measured on a ticking clock. This new notion of time is explored by Virginia Woolf, most powerfully in her novel To the Lighthouse. It is a 1927 Modernist novel, following the experiences of the Ramsey family on their visits to the Isle of Skye in 1910 and 1920. The novel is in three parts: 1910, 1920, 1910. In both periods, time is Woolf’s focus. Woolf forms the novel to ‘capture a multitude of things’, using content, structure, and style to compare subjective and objective time. In doing this, a moving picture of fleeting time is painted alongside the eternity of human memory, questioning our beliefs on life.

In To the Lighthouse, the passage of objective time is represented by consistency, such as constant human habits. Part Two (of three) starts the same way as Part One ends – a book being read by candlelight. The repetition of this action at equal intervals acts, in a way, as objective time, pages turning in an equally reliable way to a clock ticking. However, the reader changes too: Mrs Ramsey reads in Part One, Mr Carmichael reads in Part Two. The change of agent serves as a reminder of our impermanence, giving the novel a sense of wistful loss. Objective time continues as life fluctuates and ends.

‘Night after night, summer and winter’. Nature serves as another measure of objective time. The passing of seasons and years is a constant backdrop to the various human experiences described in the novel. Unlike reading, which theoretically could be stopped,

we cannot intervene with the passing of years – Woolf gives objective time a timeless quality, as its duration can never be altered. Woolf wrote To the Lighthouse in Cornwall and sets the novel on the Isle of Skye. In both fictional and real locations, ‘the sea is to be heard all through it’. The wave’s ‘monotonous fall’ is a hypnotic background noise to all the character’s escapades. Woolf choses to draw attention to these waves in her syntax: ‘XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX’. The permanence of nature reminds readers of the fleetingness of human life.

However, Woolf’s idea of life is not fleeting and meaningless. Rather, humans can stop, rewind, and preserve specific moments through subjective time. Subjective time is how time is felt in human experience, which is significantly different to the clock’s time. When we remember the past, the distance between now and that moment in objective time is overcome. This idea of subjective time in To the Lighthouse is presented most vividly through Lily’s process of painting. Art gives Lily the ability to transcend linear time and return, mentally, to her memories: “And as she dipped into the blue paint, she dipped too into the past”. Painting is a process that involves the past, present, and future: the painting reminds Lily of the past, her strokes of paint are in the present, and she is always visualising her future painting. As Lily’s subjective perception overcomes subjective time, Woolf gives power to the human mind and imagination.

Subjective time can revitalise the past, but Woolf acknowledges that human memory is not perfect. Objective time fractures human memory: “…thinking again of Mrs Ramsay on the beach; the cask bobbing up and down; and the pages flying. Why, after all these

Woolf, Time and To the Lighthouse

By Jennifer Yang (N U6)

years had that survived, ringed round, lit up, visible to the last detail, with all before it blank and all after it blank, for miles and miles?” This asyndetic list is broken up by varying clauses, each separated by semi-colons, which creates a fragmented image of Lily’s memory. Lily can only remember partial details of this encounter with Mrs Ramsey, and many other similar experiences are ‘blank’. True experience is swallowed by objective time as full memory is constantly eroded.

Independently, objective and subjective time are powerful. The art of To the Lighthouse, however, is that objective and subjective time are presented side-by-side. Woolf designs a duality of time, creating a harmony and mutuality between the two frames of reference. Mr Ramsay on Shakespeare, “His fame lasts perhaps two thousand years. And what are two thousand years? What, indeed, if you look from a mountain-top down the long wastes of the ages? The very stone one kicks with one’s foot will outlast Shakespeare”. Today, particularly in English class, Shakespeare is considered old,

perhaps ancient. However, Woolf suggests that the duration of ‘two thousand years’ is up to interpretation. The ephemeral existence of humans (symbolised by Shakespeare, a great literary figure) is outlasted by a small object like a stone (symbolising nature’s permanence). Mr Ramsay’s attempt to understand his own existence in the context of the universe shows that life can only be understood through both objective and subjective time. The two frames of reference are in tandem.

Our own perception of time is complex and emotive. Woolf captures this beautifully. Objective time, represented by passing seasons and rolling waves, illustrates the linear passage of time. Nature is given a permanence, highlighting the fleetingness of human life. In tandem, subjective time depicts the fluidity of human thought, and a merging past, present, and future. In ‘To the Lighthouse’, the characters contemplate their role in the endless flux of time. It is this universal question that renders To the Lighthouse timeless.

“ONLY RECENTLY HAVE THE LINES BETWEEN PROTAGONIST AND ANTAGONIST BECOME MORE BLURRED, OR NON-EXISTENT ALTOGETHER”

WORDS & PICTURES

Vedika Puthi (L 3)

Christine Chin (W 5)

Red kites

Nathan Raudnitz (L L6)

High winds catch the kites. Lifting up and over the slates and power lines To settle on an airy ledge –Watching over the hill strip.

Passed between the low trees Come quick whistles: Blackbirds dropping out of the drizzle, Hiding in the berries And the bristle. Jackdaws swing between the houses, Landing in crammed bouts On phone lines, calling out In croaking rouses.

They turn high above in Cold care, paper quiet.

Three hang from wind-strung fingers. A fourth.

A fifth.

A flick of the index finger casts one wide –Wide over red brick, Banking steeply, folding close, Cutting rings in blank anonymity.

The fingers twist the higher Into spirals, Forming slow mobile To slip the songbirds into gentle sleep.

Winding in, Twisting down, They glide around the maypole. Winding in, Twisting down, Closer to the maypole now. Winding closer, Twisting in, Weaving coloured net down to base. Come warm memories of a happy place: With the final flourish of the pipes and whistles, The strips of ribbon are pulled Tight as tourniquets Under the white spring sun.

Flamingos

Arthur Meynell (Ldr L6)

Phoeni and copterus, These pink Bahamians

When sat in water display Their up-buoyance

Groups of flamingos are ‘Phoenicopteridae’ In the vernacular, called A ‘flamboyance’.

Sophie King (K U6)

Honor Adams (K U6)

Poem for the king

A hush falls over the gathered crowd

As the king’s procession approaches loud

The trumpets sound, the people cheer

As the new monarch draws near

With grace and royal air

The king ascends the throne with care

The crown is placed upon his head And all bow low, with reverence led

The king surveys his loyal nation

With pride and solemn contemplation

His reign begins with this grand rite And all around, a sense of might

For in this moment, history’s made

As power shifts and new rules are laid

The king must lead with wisdom great To navigate the trials of state

But in this moment, let us pause

And celebrate with joy and applause

The coronation of a new king

Edie Shields (Sco 2)

Lara Mallinson (D U6)

The world will not fix itself. It is already wasted.

All the fields are ploughed, There is nothing left to grow. The ground is a quarry, The forests are log storages, The roads are rubbish tips, And the mounts are landfills.

The population grows, The wildlife shrinks.

Trees are cut, And not replaced. There is no planet B, There is only Earth. We rely on nature, Without it we would be dead. It creates fresh air, And fuels our lungs.

Benjii Gould (F 3)

Bea Salmon (W U6)

Roo Brown (W U6)

Josh Laureyns (By 1)

Josh Laureyns (By 1)

Tilly Ashby (L U6)

Abbey Lawson (N 5)

Sam Kassulke (G 5)

William Atkins (C 4)

FEATURES

Clickbait

Rachel Johnston (D U6)

STORYTIMES: THE MOST SCANDALOUS SCANDALS FROM RECENT OUNDLE YEARS *DRAMATIC* *YOU MAY CRY* WHEN THE HEADS OF SCHOOL TRIED TO START AN ANARCHIST RIOT

HISTORY DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES A CRUSADE AGAINST THE GEOGRAPHERS

THE TIME A TEACHER STOLE A HOCKEY GOAL THAT ONE CHRISTMAS WHERE FOUR PUPILS STAYED IN ADAMSON FOR THREE WEEKS

Did that make you want to read this article? Did it capture your attention? Well, fortunately or unfortunately, none of those things happened. Apparently, I just ‘clickbaited’ you.

We see clickbait as something completely out of the ordinary, typed with no lowercase letter in sight, determined to be outrageous and shocking. Well, usually, it isn’t. The title of an article, or YouTube video, or even the front cover of a tabloid, is just simply there to make you click on the link or pick up the magazine. There may be disappointment, or there may be the realisation that of course that didn’t happen, but the rush of the title doesn’t make us ever question it or get upset enough to really complain. It is simply a fact of life, which we all accept and move on from quite quickly and quite easily.

Clickbait is not just wild and bold wording of a headline – it is any content on the internet or in a physical form which has the main goal of attracting attention and getting an audience to interact with it, by either reading, clicking or watching.

Companies use clickbait because it is the most reliable and profitable way for tabloids and social media platforms to market their content. It is simple to change a headline to be slightly more striking, while still holding one sliver of the truth, so that people are baited into engaging with what might otherwise be boring enough for many people just to scroll past and ignore. It can be seen in any tabloid out there, and it can start out pretty harmless, but then the headline gets bolder and more far-fetched to the point where it is completely detached and inaccurate compared to the article’s actual content; and this can lead to trouble.

There are many times when people, even those who should know better, will take a headline that they saw, and use that as pure fact in a debate or discussion. Surely there’s no need to read the article, when the title of the article would sum it up anyway? But, say the title is influenced by a tabloid’s need to use clickbait. Then the title could be misleading and inaccurate in a way that is unknown, and someone has once again

easily fallen into spreading fake news, when there was never an intention to do so. Or, the article in question could disprove the title and explore other opinions and issues that aren’t included. Then that person has stopped themselves from gaining a better understanding of a topic, or is arguing their point with a simple sentence to draw from. Neither of these outcomes are good, and yet we all do it.

A headline is important. It allows us to have a snapshot of the article within; it allows us to judge whether we want to read further or not. This should be our decision, and one that is not manipulated by supposed news outlets which care more about the views a story gets, rather than reporting fact. We seem to be losing more and more control over the content we choose to consume, because companies are trying to make the decision for us. These flashy and embellished headlines are actually taking the reliability and truth out of journalism for the majority of news sources, and leaving readers with a sense of urgency about a topic that may be completely out of proportion.

So, clickbait is incredibly normalised and unexceptional to the majority of the population, because it has been present online and in tabloids, or simply in any content we engage with, throughout the past few decades. And, there hasn’t been anything negative resulting from it? Well, the opposite can be argued – has been outlined above, in fact. Clickbait’s effect on the way society approaches news and media will be unnoticeable to many, because it doesn’t seem important. But, crucially, it doesn’t seem fair that companies are enabled and encouraged to ‘innocently’ steer our attention, hence taking away our free choice. This may all appear to be dramatic, but once again, maybe this is just the culture of clickbait affecting my writing.

"The blatant message is that the journalism they practise is full of so much manipulation of the truth, that it may not even be considered truth anymore..."

The damage done by the tabloids

Rachel Johnston (D U6)

The tabloids. Everyone has read them, millions of people follow them religiously, and we all know they’re unreliable. You’re told, at any school, “Check your sources!” or “Understand the credibility behind the article.” So, why don’t we do it in everyday life? Why do we not question the headline or the claim when it comes to events and people that affect our life? It must be important enough for us to find the updates, so why do we not challenge the information that is right in front of us? Probably, simply, because it’s human nature. If it’s the first article to come up after a Google search, then it’s also the quickest way for us to get whatever information we’re looking for, so there’s no need to go further. It’s natural for us, and our more cynical sides are rendered useless when we have the ability to find an answer easily to a question.

The word ‘tabloid’ was originally a term for compressed drugs, but the connotations have considerably changed since 1884. Although, on second thoughts, maybe not entirely. Tabloids are a condensed form of journalism that are readily consumed in an accessible format which engages and hooks people easily. That doesn’t sound too far from a drug. And they’re more readily accessible as well, being on social media platforms, the first result after a Google search, or by any shop check-out. There really is no avoiding the tabloids (not that many people try anyway) and that only strengthens the danger they pose.

The articles that fill the pages and the headlines that cover the front pages are all usually about one topic: celebrities. ‘Tabloids’ and ‘celebrity gossip’ are practically synonyms nowadays, and with good reason. There are stories upon stories about any and all aspects of celebrities’ lives, ranging from a feature on a new movie to an outfit at a red carpet event to pictures of someone spotted out on a walk. There are lots of ways this information can be sourced. In some cases, it is the celebrities themselves who send in a story in return for some free publicity. Publicists and tabloids can develop working relationships, where the tabloid will avoid harsh and negative articles about the celebrity as long as they get an ‘inside scoop’. And then there’s the bad side; the side that involves tearing celebrities down or spinning harmful rumours in order to get ratings up. Anything is fair game according to the tabloids. Harassment from the paparazzi and a massive invasion of privacy are just the beginning, and it is a side that we may never fully understand.

They also affect parts of life that we don’t normally consider. Politics can be influenced in many ways and voters are susceptible to adjusting their views subconsciously based on what they read in a source. That is predictable, but when the type of article is

considered, it becomes more problematic. Time and time again there are articles gossiping about politicians and their families, usually around election campaigns. If there was a choice between an article about a specific economic policy or an MP’s affair, which would you choose to read? It is in human nature, especially nowadays when exposure to this kind of material is common, to want to know the details of a personal life over a government plan. So it is entirely probable to go and read a gossip column about a politician and their digressions outside of the office, which will ultimately change your perception of them, regardless of the facts. Now apply that to the thousands of people who read tabloids every day, and that may have just changed the entire course of a general election. Once you read something, and buy into even slightly, it is near impossible to reverse the damage.

British tabloids are renowned for being the worst in any nation. The truth of this statement is questionable, and tabloids are incomparable for multiple reasons, but the fact that they have been called ‘a particularly British beast’ in The Guardian, ‘an English disease’ by foreign journalists, and ‘gutter press’ by international figures, is enough in and of itself. Nick Davies, a former journalist, describes them as similar to a gardener “who digs out and throws away weeds and stones and anything else which he does not want, and then plants whatever he fancies. The story, in other words, is a model of the subtle art of distortion. Aggressive distortion.” The blatant message is that the journalism they practise is full of so much manipulation of the truth, that it may not even be considered truth anymore. The tabloids are involved in every part of society, and they are consumed by people up and down the country, regardless of background. The press freedom in the UK allows them to run free and print anything they need to increase sales, so the way that we interact with the tabloids is vastly different to other countries. The damage they cause is not replicated in the rest of the world, and it is time we stopped treating the situation we find ourselves in as if it is an inevitable, or a good, part of British society.

"THE ARTICLES THAT FILL THE PAGES AND THE HEADLINES THAT COVER THE FRONT PAGES ARE ALL USUALLY ABOUT ONE TOPIC: CELEBRITIES."

Green or green-washing?

Mahitha Sagi (L

If we look at Oundle School’s sheer size and population, it is safe to say that from an outsider’s perspective, it looks like every environmental activist’s recurring nightmare. With fourteen boarding Houses, two day Houses, 1,115 pupils and the numerous facilities scattered around the town constantly needing electricity, food and heating, we might expect our carbon footprint to be anything but small. However, in recent years, in response to the ever-growing climate change crisis we’re currently facing, Oundle has assessed and adapted to create a more sustainable future, especially with all the changes that Project 24 promises to bring for the School.

It was a pleasant surprise to sit down in assembly at the beginning of this academic year and hear, not a lecture about UCAS or university choices, as I’m sure many of the Upper Sixth (including myself) were expecting and dreading, but rather the work Oundle had put in over the summer with Investors in the Environment to be more environmentally conscious, and the reminder that we have an equal role in preserving the world we live in, as well as the School. I was impressed to hear that Oundle was considering so carefully what we are able to do to reduce our impact on the environment.

However, there are dangers that such a big establishment such as Oundle School is forced to consider when making this step towards being environmentally conscious, with ‘green-washing’ being a significant one. ‘Green-washing’ is a term coined by environmentalist Jay Vesterwald in 1986, and with the constant growth of global corporations, it is more relevant than ever. It refers to when a company or organisation spends more time and money on marketing themselves as being ‘sustainable’ than on actually minimising their environmental impact. Often this tactic is used to attract consumers who choose to support businesses based on the ethical decisions they make. It was found that 66% of consumers would spend more on a product if they knew it came from a sustainable brand, and so it is an attractive option for companies to advertise ‘sustainability’ without actually putting in the financial and social effort to make a difference.

The harmful consequence of this is that it seems to promote the idea that environmental issues are being sufficiently resolved. This only diverts attention from businesses that still contribute massively to pollution and wastage. An example of this is fast food chains which switch from plastic to paper straws, but still continually support meat providers who burn down massive proportions of forests. We are given the impression that they are being environmentally conscious, but in reality, they are anything but. However, often companies themselves aren’t even aware that they are participating in such a practice. They simply have not put in enough research to see what materials or actions are actually sustainable.

This is why it was refreshing to see and hear so clearly that Oundle had worked to see what was causing the most problems, and is continuing to improve. Our biggest issue is, ironically, also one of our biggest strengths, and that’s Oundle’s historic location and buildings. While beautiful, they are a real challenge from an environmental perspective, as the old architecture is from a completely different era when it comes to energy efficiency. There are also legal and practical limitations that prevent us from taking certain measures, such as installing wall insulation in the stone walls, and local authority planning restrictions preventing us installing modern double glazing. The consequence of this is a higher amount of energy spent on heating during the colder winter months.

However these are only a few limitations in the multitude of projects Oundle has undertaken. Some of these include switching our energy suppliers to renewable sources, as well as the suppliers of our exercise books to make sure they are 100% recyclable and sustainable. Additionally, there have been fittings of over 300 LED lights in the Acre, reducing our power usage by almost 70%. Our plans for the future include focusing on food wastage, now that we have greater control over menus, in order to decrease the amount of meat-based proteins. All of this, as well as the Green Team consistently working to make environmentally-friendly changes, has shown results, and in July 2022 we received the Bronze Award from IiE. This accreditation’s criteria include monitoring resource use, an environmental policy, action plan and recycling system put in place, and a calculation of the carbon footprint of each of our buildings, to see where we can cut down on energy usage.

This is not to say that we are at the forefront of environmental activism, or that we have done enough alone to give a hopeful future for the environment. We as a School still have an impact on the environment, but accepting these effects and actively finding solutions is a huge step in the right direction. We are continuing to aim for the Silver accreditation and furthermore, the Green accreditation, allowing Oundle to be a fully sustainable organisation.

U6)

"IT IS AN ATTRACTIVE OPTION FOR COMPANIES TO ADVERTISE ‘SUSTAINABILITY’ WITHOUT ACTUALLY PUTTING IN THE FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL EFFORT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE."

Agroup come together. They share the same ideas and they all believe that these are the right ideas. They are determined to tell everybody that these are, indeed, the right ideas, so that everybody knows just how right their ideas are but… how best to do it? Hmm… Suddenly, they catch a scent: “That guy seems as though he might not agree with us… That man does not share our ideas... He is a backwards fibre! He is knotgrass in our perfect lawn! His views are abhorrent: they must be eradicated!” The group devise a plan of action, beginning by watching him veeery closely. An eye on every angle, scrutinising his every move – identifying the weak points. Find his flaws. Learn his secrets. Taking notes, gathering information… Just wait for him to poke his head over the crowd. Maybe, just maybe, if he pops his head over – just for a second…

Opportunity knocks: “I do not agree with you. Here are my reasons...”

Chaaaaaarge!! The infantry head in: cruel messages and hateful comments. The artillery back them up: notes on the man’s every move are released, with intense criticism on every passing word and gesture. Some activities surface which the man himself fails to recognise. It’s over! He’s down! Job: lost! Wife: left! Future? None. Justice. The world will forget he ever existed; and it will be better for it. Done. Now there is nobody who disagrees with us!

There are people who disagree with them, but they are too scared to say it. Look what happened to the last guy!

What does this sound like to you? Slamming the door on discussion… “My opinion is fundamental truth and what hurts me should be banned… You disagree, you shall be ignored or removed.” Is this the governments we have learnt about in history lessons; the tyrants who control and oppress vast swathes of the Earth and its people? It is certainly their philosophy: “shut up or face the consequences”. The mantra of the oppressor, with censorship by their side.

It is cancel culture. And it is on your doorstep.

In a society, it is inevitable and important that, with the passage of time, structures must change. Ideas evolve faster than systems; therefore, opposition to governments must occur in order to stimulate discussions of systemic change. This occurs at the grass roots level as well: in order to progress, we have conversations to resolve our issues. Justice in a democracy. However, there is a boundary between the stimulation of discussion and the destruction of it. It feels as though this boundary is becoming blurred.

It is remarkable that something as destructive as cancel culture can evolve out of something so well-meaning. The message of inclusivity through social awareness and being awake to the current political environment: being “woke”. Being woke ought not to be a bad thing. Being sensitive and being reasonable should not really be a point of friction. Even if we often fail to reach these objectives, because we are human, it seems odd to think of discussion and peaceful resolution as negative attributes. Remembering the suffering of the past and the hardships of our equals teaches us to be aware and to be considerate. It teaches us to find justice through working together to reach a conclusion, to be intelligent and to be civilised. What we have in cancel culture is a corruption of this ideal: the angered outspoken have turned their tastes from resolution to retribution. You caused pain: now we will hurt you! An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth! Ironic that in attempting to refresh and renew our values as a society, we fall back on such archaic forms of justice.

I began to consider this article shortly after discovering the work of the poet, Philip Larkin. Perhaps it is growing up in Oundle which attracted me to Larkin’s work – finding the magic in periphery living, where nothing particularly happens until you look for it. The point at which “sky and Lincolnshire and water meet” in The Whitsun Weddings hardly feels like a foreign concept to one who has walked the Nene on bright spring days, where sky, Northamptonshire and water meet. “The thought of high windows: /The suncomprehending glass, / And beyond it, the deep blue air, that shows

Opportunity knocks

Nathan Raudnitz (L L6)

/Nothing, and is nowhere, and is endless”. Surely, anybody able to articulate this transcendence in the everyday must be celebrated… no? Well, for a long time, yes. The favourite sour teddy bear of Great Britain: our real-life Eeyore. Not for long. The posthumous release of scandalous letters and a revealing biography put a sudden end to the legacy of Philip Larkin. An unpleasant image of Larkin became standard issue: racist and bigoted, with nasty attitudes regarding the treatment of women. Not quite Eeyore then. Cancelled. Larkin’s name was mud and his poetry was to be forgotten: left out of the anthologies, considered no longer fit for human consumption. The name became a smear on the shoe of society, for quite some time. One could argue that this was a reasonable response: an unpleasant end for an unpleasant man; Larkin getting his just deserts. Good! Alternatively, perhaps this is throwing the baby out with the bathwater? Collections of some of the finest poems of the 20th century simply cast onto the fire... Great moments of transcendence and romance which have nothing to do with race, reached by an artist who had refined his skill through years of love and devotion –thrown away, just so that a dead man doesn’t get the satisfaction.

Recently, Larkin has been readopted as poster-boy for the old debate, “Can one separate the art from the artist?” The artist in question was a troubled man: the product of a Nazi-sympathising father and the conservative views of the time of his youth, growing up in Second World War Coventry. Bombed out and desecrated. A wave of antifeminism coincided with Larkin’s writing in the 1950s and 60s, which reacted against the new world of equality, shouting and wailing and wishing for the days of youth and innocence they never got to live at the hands of the war (as ever is the way with Conservatism). Maybe it is right that these qualities are left in the past; however, it is important not to leave the good behind just because the bad existed alongside it.

It is made so easy nowadays by the presence of social media. It gives us the ability to access and aggravate the volatile and set fire to the nerve. Anonymously. So easy… and it makes us feel that we matter, for we have not sat back and done nothing! We have made a difference. We have stuck a foot into the brawl and heard the shout as it landed, and they cannot touch us! But is that justice? Or… is that a brawl? Brawls are not the individual: brawls are the mob mentality. They happen when we are agitated and when we are drunk and neither of these are positive qualities: the agitated are violent and the drunk act outside of their better judgement. So maybe it’s time to take a breath, sober up and talk it through. Joining the mob just puts one more log on the fire. And neither a large fire nor a large mob are particularly constructive.

Recently, in a TPR lesson, the teacher asked us whether we believe that humans have a nature: something which is inherent to all of us, which we cannot escape, simply because we are born humans. It was a Friday afternoon – so, though belated, here is my answer, anonymous A-level TPR teacher:

My opinion is that our human nature is to make mistakes. We all make mistakes (lots of them, sometimes) – but it is how we build from them which dictates whether or not society becomes weaker or stronger. We cannot forget our mistakes because they are our past – sweeping them under history’s rug in a rage of vigilante anger just does not work. Pulling down the statue… censoring the books…

The bedrock of strength is complexity and the bedrock of complexity is conflict, so it is crucial that we remember our mistakes and act upon them with reasoned measure and sensitivity. If we do not have elements of opposition, we are weakened: we are a shallow gene-pool of single opinion.

Cancel culture is a very dangerous thing. And if you disagree…

Let’s talk it through.

"It is ironic that in attempting to refresh and renew our values as a society, we fall back on such archaic forms of justice."

Allergies at Oundle

Eva Morgan (D U6)

Food is the centre of life at Oundle. Beans, Coffee Tavern, Cookies. Over the years, School traditions and culinary town attractions like these have merged. Salty, savoury, usually sweet snacks are the heart of what it means to be an Oundle pupil, what it means to be at Oundle. Not for me.

I have an anaphylaxis allergy to peanuts and tree-nuts. For those who don’t know, that means that if I eat nuts my blood pressure drops suddenly and airways narrow, blocking breathing. If I do not use my EpiPens (injections of adrenaline I carry with me everywhere), I will die.

I avoid anything with “contains” or “may contain”. Restaurants with lots of nuts and small kitchen are also put on my blacklist. For those wondering, that means no Cookies, no Coffee Tavern, no Coop baked goods, and (most painfully) no Beans Malteser milkshakes.

The shocked reaction I usually get is, “But how can you ever live without Nutella?” Honestly, I have had allergies for such a long time that I am perfectly fine without eating nuts. With distance and time, the most delicious of treats become less desirable. So, in the choice between Nutella and existence, the answer is clear.

But learning to live with allergies is not to say that my life has not been impacted.

My first reaction since a baby was beautifully timed to be just before GCSE mocks when an accidental contamination of hazelnut cereal sent me into a shock. That moment, when the reality of a reaction hits you, is a physical punch. What haunts me is the feeling of my lungs shrinking, filling with densely compacted earth instead of clear air.

When you grow up with allergies, everything is directed (understandably) to those minutes of reaction: the explosion of histamines in your body. But what I found most difficult was less the reaction stealing my air, but stealing my mind during the aftermath. To prevent further reactions, the hospital put me on strong steroids. Not the happy ones, the ones which make you feel heavy and void. In retrospect, it was never going to be a fun experience having a reaction. The shock was that even I did not fully understand what was going on, when a significant portion of my life is shaped by allergies. The point is that it is everybody’s responsibility to learn even a little about allergies, learn how to use an EpiPen, how to save a life.

My existence is just as tangible and rich as yours. The idea that my life can be stopped by something as trivial as a pecan could be darkly funny, if it was not so real.

The darkly funny joke extends to the fact that allergies have recently become strangely popular. I am right on trend – at least according to Netflix. Seemingly overnight, in series such as One of Us is Lying and Bridgerton, a spate of anaphylaxis murders has appeared. For these serial screenwriters, death by allergy is the new, fashionable twist. EpiPens stolen, allergen planted stealthy as a poison, murder committed, case solved.

I cannot deny that for most people these scenes are just part

of a script, to be watched and quickly forgotten. And arguably, the presence of severe allergies on the big screen can raise awareness. Certainly, if handled correctly, watching someone give an EpiPen in a random TV show could save a real life. But recently Hollywood has been trivialising allergies in an increasingly dangerous way. In Knives Out – The Glass Onion, strangely accented Benoit Blanc laughs that a fatal allergic reaction is “stupid, just stupid”. If the purpose of TV is to impress an audience, making “allergy” synonymous with “joke” is not simply a fun Hollywood twist, but imprints that trivial mindset onto people like us. I am certainly not a character to be conveniently written out of a script.

This deadly triviality is not just a problem on screen, but in real life. For people who do not properly understand, allergies can seem like an overly serious topic. Definitely a bit of a downer in any conversation. I understand the urge to “lighten the mood” with jokes. Even I am guilty of a well-timed pun. The issue is that, with anything, there is a line between harmless and dangerous. A shout of: “don’t eat that, it has nuts in it”. Or, in a moment of malicious joviality, someone talking about slipping peanuts into my meal, or eating Crunchy Nut right next to me “just to see what would happen”. Just to emphasise, this is not that I cannot take a joke. But rather, for anyone who does threaten my life jokingly, I would have the last laugh. Because from the glorious afterlife, I can watch them going on trial for murder. With allergies, there is a tendency to separate cause from effect. Allergies have seriously grave consequences. Undermining the foundations of my health and my safety through laughs can only really place me, and people like me, in a precarious position.

The future is uncertain for everyone. What I personally feel is an edge, where the relative haven of school and home gives way to university, travelling, work, new experiences. I am still unsure about how my allergies will co-exist with my new life. Navigating grimy university kitchens is nerve wracking enough without allergies. What I do know is that everyone has a responsibility to learn even a little about allergies. Just searching “EpiPen” online, or paying attention when someone lists their allergens, is a minimal effort for you with maximal gain for them.

Overall, life with allergies is a balancing act. As a more relaxed nut-allergy person told me, you cannot let your allergies control your life. But equally, you cannot let them end it.

“ALLERGIES ARE A BALANCING ACT: YOU CANNOT LET THEM CONTROL YOUR LIFE, BUT EQUALLY YOU CANNOT LET THEM END IT.”

Speedvark, a short history: a failure worth ten times more than success

“What on earth is a Speedvark?”

You want to know about a Speedvark, huh? I’ll tell you about a Speedvark. A Speedvark majors in disorganised chaos which somehow works out for the best. A Speedvark will steal your car and then give it back to you with a full MOT and a pine air freshener. Marcus Junius Brutus once said, “I love Speedvarks!” and who are we to disagree with Brutus, for Brutus is an honourable man?

Okay, great – that’s a Speedvark; however, minus the indefinite article, Speedvark is a band, composed of the following elements: Peter “uncanny likeness to Tom Petty” Flatt on drums and percussion; Benny “In a thunderstorm, he is less likely to get struck by lightning than a toothpick” Raudnitz on guitar and vox; Mig “the God of progressive rock… has NOTHING on this guy” Raudnitz on keys and vox; Marcus “Too tall for Oundle so he’s moved to Birmingham” Raudnitz on various forms of guitar. I make up the fifth element of the band – Nathan “Not Mig or Marcus” Raudnitz on guitar, vox, shaker and wearing large hats indoors. We advance under the banner of these here rules:

The Three Absolutes of ‘Varkism:

1 WE ARE HERE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME And we mean it.

2 NO COMMERCIAL SUCCESS! It is forbidden! That is totally why we have not made it big…

3 DON’T ‘VARK TOO HARD! Interpret this as you will.

Nathan Raudnitz (L L6)

Image: India Jubb (N L6)

Righto. A history of Speedvark:

Speedvark Mk1. The year is 1987. Berkhamsted School, Hertfordshire, England. A young Pete Flatt and a younger Benny Raudnitz are in their formative years. One says to the other, “D’you wanna do a band or something?” The other replies, “Yeah, okay.” There were gigs. Precocious and frustrated, the leatherclad teenage-rock phenomenon that was Speedvark Mk1 became stronger by the day, achieving mammoth success – a legendary soldout show at Boxmoor Arts Centre in 1989 and, of course, a strong second at the Fuji Rock School contest of 1990-91. People laughed, people cried, people drank and thankfully no one died (though there were a couple of incidents with a statue of liberty costume and a pair of bicycle shorts respectively). God said: “This is good! I love Speedvark! Where is the album?”

Speedvark Mk.2. The year is 1991. Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Inspiration strikes Flatt ‘n’ Raudnitz over the heads: Black Fly – in which a fly is killed – and the heavenly debate ensues. The structure writes itself in a single recorded jam.

Black Fly really is the Speedvark anthem: the opening riff, delicate and somehow innocent, introduces us to the frankly weird world of the fly as it crawls across the ridges of a freshly baked shepherd’s pie. Man swats the fly and casts him into the rubbish, breaking both body and spirit of Herr Innocent Fly. In the undeniably moving final sequence, we join the black fly on the celestial plain, “Far above the ocean sky/catch the wind my little fly.” Black Fly is released officially in 1997 to much critical acclaim:

“It really is a rather special record, something rather adventurously different” – The Organ

“So excitingly ‘cutting edge’ that I love it to death. It’s about as truly original as you can get. They’d be an inspired signing” – Gig UK

“It’s taken them eleven years to release this debut single. And what… have they come out of the cloakroom to write about? Well, Black Fly is about the untimely death of a fly and Panic is about not being able to go to the toilet... Obviously Speedvark are in a league of their own. Hoorah for Hemel pop!” – The IndiePendant

For three years, the band are pushing hard and things are really motoring forward: they gain a second guitarist, a bassist and a residency at The Paradise Club in Vauxhall, London, earning Speedvark the Evening Standard’s ‘hot ticket of the month’. Things are changing! Turning the gig into a happening – a sense experience – becomes a major focus: surreal Speedvark “information tickets” are scattered around the venue, and floral pleasantries emanate from mellow candles, while autumn leaves are cut out of card and scattered across the floors and walls (which is of course, a major fire hazard and not to be tried at home). The Paradise Club became the garden of Spe’Eden… the garden… Eed’vark... The garden of Spe- oh whatever!

Pigeon Pop, the band’s debut LP, surfaces in the year 2000 with a genuinely impressive reception from the nationwide press. Reviews pour in:

“Clearly a labour of love between kindred spirits. This is a satisfying, if perplexing piece of work” – Q Review

“Speedvark present that rarest of treasures – a celebration of self-deprecating parochial Englishness, who manage to avoid sentimental indulgence and instead rely on the minutiae of new town office life to form their neat nuggets of melodic funked up pop” – Uncut

Zero commercial interest. We’re actually still trying to shift the original pressings. Pigeon Pop is a great record – and I do not say that lightly of an album. It is witty, fun and highly original and as a 22nd anniversary treat, is also now on Spotify! The album’s fizzing energy and enthusiastic eccentricity is quite unstoppable, and on this momentous occasion, Speedvark have agreed to put their pride to one side and put out the legendary unreleased tracks that the

Hempstead’s answer to Talking Heads” - UNCUT

fan (and his dog) have been dying to hear for decades. Mr Rat will surface for the first time, with its rolling psychedelic drum-andriffage and dog toy philharmonic, along with Five More Minutes –the only Speedvark track to feature Peter Flatt on lead vocal, telling the story of a dazed morning awakening… “Just five more minutes/ and I will be okay.” Do please give it a listen! I can’t promise that you won’t regret it, because you might, but it will be something new and, who knows? – it might just stick with you, as it has for me.

Fourteen years pass between this paragraph and the previous one where Speedvark lay dormant, their future unclear. But magic was about to happen. In the late 00s, Raudnitz found himself with a collection of songs which were missing something. They were almost there, but not quite… it was time to get the band back together. So, here we go… Speedvark by Speedvark was released in 2014: a thoughtful and sensitive collection of tales from the commuter belt. Having been born somewhere in between the last two paragraphs, it is as if the songs on this album and myself really grew up together. I remember hearing April Ashby just as she was about to commence her brand-new start; Bill Giles pulling on his suit for another day at the office; Norris Haze hopping onto the tube at Baker Street. Through young and unknowing ears, I listened as Dad and Pete wove together these perfect stories of the magic of the mundane, with characters so recognisable that it is hard to think of them as anything but flesh and blood. Speedvark retains the eclecticism but refines it – from an erratic set to a carefully chosen selection. Er. Still no commercial success.

And so, we arrive at Speedvark Mk… I don’t know – seventy-six or something. Oundle, Northamptonshire, England, 2022. Marcus, Nathan and Mig – Ben’s three children of varying ages and hairstyles – are now conscious and, therefore, playing music, due to their genetic make-up (and lack of social skills). We are all particularly keen to make loud noises on any instrument which comes our way: the guitar, the keyboards, the lap steel, the bass, the Cabassa, the castanets, the triangle, the Geiger counter, the cement mixer, Mig’s elbow… and we need an excuse. We need a band.

Marcus, Nathan and Mig come together and pitch a new song to band: Pressure Rising. The beginning of a new chapter for Speedvark. In retrospect, a fitting title for the modern era of Speedvark, with the foot very much on the accelerator. The song is recorded and released – available on YouTube and Spotify to this very day. ‘Vark are now gigging again, with a fully functioning live act and more commitment to the cause than ever before. We play with chutzpah. Come and see! The joy of the band today is that when we get on stage together, it just works because we all want the same thing: we just want to have a blast together. It is a privilege of the highest order to play for nothing when this band is behind you. No matter the circumstance – whether we have just spent three hours moving an entire outdoor show into someone’s kitchen in biblical pouring rain, or driven half way across the country to play to one bloke and his dog, or even been mistakenly hailed as kings by a Spanish Armada (this happened just before we went onstage in Bedford) – we start every show with the simple, glorious, ’Varkanian mantra:

“Good evening! We are Speedvark. And we are here to have a good time.”

And we mean it.

“Hemel

The Budapest to Beijing Overland: travels through Eurasia

In Dr Croft’s words as told to Eva Morgan (D U6)

n 2019, I was lucky enough to get a sabbatical. Of course, I did not realise how lucky I was at the time, given what happened the following year! I decided to travel with my daughters overland to Beijing, going through Russia to make it vaguely relevant as a Russian teacher. We gave it the snappy title of The Budapest to Beijing Overland, and the idea was to travel through Eastern Europe and on the TransMongolian Express, ticking off my bucket list along the way.

When I was 16, I went on a bus journey to Istanbul. On the way, we went to Budapest, Prague, and all these amazing cities in the mid-eighties. I can mainly remember the visual impact of how unremittingly grey everything was, this stereotype that turned out to be true. I had not been back to most of them since, so this was my first proper venture to Eastern Europe since the Iron Curtain fell.

Budapest had always stuck in my mind the most, being the first city behind the Iron Curtain that I had properly visited. Everything was so similar, yet different this time. I went to the House of Terror, which was gruelling. Downstairs, they had the cells preserved from the KGB headquarters, and the atmosphere was just grim. Hungary has such a complex history with the German occupation, then the Soviets – Gestapo then KGB in quick succession – which have left a permanent imprint. Soviet Hungary is a difficult legacy to deal with. Victor Orban recently built a new Soviet-style monument to the “crushing” of Nazi Germany, and texts on older statues have been rewritten. That was one of the things I was very interested in. How do these former Soviet Eastern-Bloc countries deal with their own history? Each country tackled the same era in a different way, some choosing eradication while others chose memorialisation.

After spending several nights in Budapest, we went to Bratislava, Vienna and Prague. It was a

bit of a detour, mainly because they are just nice cities! In Prague, we saw Wenceslas Square, where Jan Palach set himself on fire in protest against the Soviet invasion. And, of course, it was in this square that people gathered as the collapse of Communism started in the 1980s.

Poland was next. We went to Auschwitz, which was horrific. In Warsaw, we were staying next to some unmistakably Soviet highrises, grey, brutal, gifts from the Soviet Union. After the collapse, there was another of these difficult conversations: do we keep this monstrosity, or knock it down? In the end, Poland decided to keep them. But the tension remains. There is a constant tension between the past, present, and desired legacy. In the UK, we just have not got a parallel to this. We have not been invaded in recent centuries. We have not had another power impose structures on us from outside. We have not had to deal with the aftermath of these invasions and occupations, leaving not just physical, but mental and emotional scars. It is the layers of history, but also what these layers represent. Everywhere you go, there is so much resonance.

We travelled through Lithuania, then Latvia, then Estonia. These Baltic states were my favourite. First you have Lithuania and Estonia, who have eradicated any sign of the Soviets. They are proudly independent, with flags flying everywhere. Vilnius felt like a city that had always been free, so cool and vibrant and edgy. It’s environmentally friendly and progressive, so you just love being there. Now, next to every Estonian flag is a Ukrainian flag, because the Baltics are feeling very scared.

In Latvia, it felt different. There is a very large Russian speaking population there. Next to a statue of Pushkin in a park, I talked to an old lady who said that, because she does not speak Latvian, she is now stateless because she cannot pass the Latvian citizenship test. It made me

remember how many aspects there are to a Russian legacy in Eastern Europe. Nothing is simple at all. These blurred lines end up affecting real people’s lives.

We got the boat to Helsinki, then the train to St Petersburg, because I wanted to recreate Lenin’s own journey into the Finland station. St Petersburg was spectacular. It was White Nights [an annual summer festival], filling the sky with light. After doing some sightseeing, we went on to Moscow. I went to the GULAG museum. Hearing narratives from the GULAG after travelling through all these countries, where the Soviet system had imposed things on different nations, was a stark reminder. In the Eastern European countries, you cannot help but think of the Soviets as, to put it simplistically, the baddies. But then you get to Russia and you are reminded of all the Soviet Russians who suffered at the hands of their own brutal government.

Then six days on a train. The Trans-Siberian express is a bit of a Marmite thing to do. But I thought it was brilliant. We had no Wi-Fi, so for six days we just played cards, listened to music, drank tea, looked out of the window, and read. The train stopped off in towns in Siberia, which hold a lot of importance in Russian history. We went through Omsk, where Dostoyevsky did his military exile, and Ekaterinburg, where the Romanov Royal family were killed.

At Ekaterinburg, you could get off and buy icons for a shrine to the family, which is a new perspective on a family whose legacy the Soviets smeared. Once we were further on, it was just Steppe. The Steppe never got boring, even though it never changed. Extremely flat, watery, birch trees, and beautiful sunsets. On the train, it did honestly help being able to speak Russian, because the lady in the restaurant kind of adopted us, as we were rarities among the foreigners.

The last night in Russia, we fell asleep on the Steppe and when we woke, we were in the Gobi desert. Well, it was more grasslands at the beginning, scattered with horses and yurts. Ulaanbaatar has a name that conjures magic, but in reality, I have never seen so many fuel stations in my life. Not quite what I was expecting. The desert properly started past Ulaanbaatar, with camels and sand dunes. And once again, after falling asleep with these camels and sand dunes, we woke up to the jagged mountains of northern China.

The train travelled alongside the Great Wall, through rural China. That was incredible, because everywhere we travelled through the remote countryside, I could always see some example of human impact on the environment, whether it was a powerplant, digging, or hydroelectric station. Human residue was everywhere, while in Russia it had just been trees. Comparing the two made me think just how big Russia is. We think of Moscow and Putin, but the vast majority of Russia lives in almost 19th century countryside.

Overall, the trip was a clash of different perspectives. Eastern European countries are so vibrant; perhaps it is because of what they have been through, but there is a real drive to flourish. These countries are so proud of their own culture, own identity and language. Lots of flags, and I can see why. In Bratislava, old grey Soviet apartment blocks are now purple, yellow, blue. So, while in some ways this region has not changed, Eastern Europe is no longer so grey.

"We fell asleep on the Steppe and woke in the Gobi desert."

Plato and Roe vs Wade?

India Jubb (N L6)

Iam going to be using gendered language and abortions being for women as those were the binary gender constructs of the Greek world and are therefore most applicable to this discussion.

On 24 June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States of America overturned Roe vs Wade. This removed the constitutional right of a US citizen to choose to have an abortion, and almost immediately allowed states such as Texas and Alabama to impose new and more limiting laws.

In the 4th Century BC, Plato wrote The Republic; in his Republic, all children are raised by the state, all people are educated on ability, as opposed to the social standing of their birth, and men and women work according to skill rather than assigned gender roles. A man could be a child guardian and a woman could be a manual labourer. The concepts of slavery and family have been demolished. However, in c.356 he published Laws, his final and longest work. In this, he reinstated the family and interestingly, the concept of slavery. In Laws, he gives a sense of living by one’s means and indicates that gender should not dictate a person’s life.

If we look at The Republic at face value, it appears that women are to produce children for the state, which will be taken off them so they can work harder and produce more children. However, taking a closer look, it is evident that this is not the case. Whilst the fact that all children are raised by the state negates the need for abortions (other than for medical reasons), it is easy to look at the rest of the structure of his Republic to get an understanding of his views on women. All people are educated and work in accordance with their ability, and this removes harmful gender stereotypes that exist in the world today and limit people’s lives based on their gender. This shows that Plato respects a person’s right to do what they are best at, rather than what they are assigned by biology. Due to the State upbringing of

children, men are able to look after children as guardians if they wish to and similarly, if a woman is not suited to the upbringing of children, she is not forced to do so. If a person of any gender is particularly skilled at arts such as oratory, then they would be destined for government. This, as opposed to the Athenian democracy (which bore little resemblance to what we now call democracy), allows both sexes an opportunity to enter government if suited to it. All of this goes to show that, in The Republic at least, Plato believed in opportunities based on talent as opposed to sex, and that nobody should be forced into a role for which they are not suited.

The beliefs of Plato must also be put into the context of the world at the time, in order to understand fully their feminist nature. At the time, in Athens, women were not allowed to spectate or compete in athletic games, partake in the discussions of democracy or act in plays. Women were expected to fulfil traditional gender roles, staying at home, looking after the children and the family, and were not expected to work. All of these factors in context show quite how proportionately feminist Plato was compared to his Athenian compatriots. Whilst we must still acknowledge that his views are not as progressive as the modern audience would perhaps prefer, it is shocking (and demonstrative of his relative progressivism) that the politics of the 21st Century are so much more restrictive in terms of biological determinism.

Plato also believed in the mother’s right to choose an abortion due to the circumstances of conception. He believed that babies should be conceived in sobriety and as a deliberate choice, as this would give them the greatest chance at a healthy and successful life. Thus, it is obvious to both modern and ancient audiences that

Plato would support a woman’s right to an abortion that was outside of this scenario. This can be extended to allow the modern audience to assume that Plato would support a woman’s right to an abortion in circumstances such as those of rape, drunken one-night stands and incest, as these would obviously not be conducive to a happy, healthy, and well looked after child.

In Laws, even though children are raised by their families and slavery has been reinstated, the education of women and their working after childbirth is still apparent. Education and roles in society are still provided by skill rather than by sex assigned at birth. There is also a strong emphasis on everyone being involved in politics if they are so able. All of this goes to show that even though family has been reinstated, Plato is essentially still feminist in his politics, as he is lowering the importance of gender roles and enabling the inclusion of women in political circles.

In addition to this, Plato is a believer in having children, but only if your circumstances make you able to do so. In Laws, this is emphasised by the fact that alongside the reinstatement of the family, Plato brings slavery back into his Utopia and describes their role in the sphere of child-raising. This shows that he could not picture a functional society in which children were brought up without the help of slaves. Because of this, it is evident that Plato would respect a woman’s right to have an abortion if they would not be capable of looking after them. Plato’s bringing back of slavery demonstrates that he believes that, although he is now making families look after their own children – in a change to the views he expressed in The Republic – they have the right to the support they need in order to do this.

This ‘slavery’ can be taken metaphorically into the modern world. Instead of forcing other humans to work for them without pay, expectant mothers should have the right to necessities such as a secure relationship (if this is what they need) and enough money for the family to live happily and healthily. If they are without this metaphorical slave, then they should not be made to keep the child.

Thus, Plato would support the original case of Roe vs Wade and would advocate for a woman’s right to choose, be that about children or about the jobs that they are performing for society.

“PLATO WOULD ADVOCATE THE WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE.”

Electric Warrior and the glam rock revolution

Nathan Raudnitz (L L6)

It’s 24 September 1971. You are 16 and living in some small town in suburban Britain - getting bored of your GCSEs, hanging in the grey suspense of post-war society. The 60s have been and gone: peace and love is out. The Beatles have disbanded, Elvis has left rock ‘n’ roll behind, and you just do not know what to do with yourself. You walk into a record shop and flick through, looking at the covers:

The Who are weeing against an obelisk. Mum would never let you bring that near the house. “That’s the devil’s music!”

A framed photograph of a working man carrying some sticks on his back. The photo is mounted on half a broken wall. There is not even a band’s name on the front. Probably rubbish.

But then something catches your eye. A warm yellow silhouette of a guitarist stands against a background of deep black. Fuzzy capitals stand above him: “T. REX”. Is it a “him”?! He has long, thick, curly hair falling right over his shoulders… and he’s all short! But it is a him. You pull the record from the shelf and turn it over in your hands. On the back, hundreds of lyrics cascade in yellow – later on, you might mention the introduction to a Star Wars film in the same breath. The title reads “Electric Warrior”.

Wow. There’s something happening here. Marc Bolan wields the six-stringed firearm, standing proud against a stack of amplification artillery. This is a hero of chaos

“T. REX”. This is going to change things.

T. Rex’s Electric Warrior found its home at the top of the UK charts and stayed there for eight weeks straight. In the next forty-four weeks, it would drop by only two positions, officially recognised as the best-selling album of 1971. Pretty remarkable, given its competition. Snapping at its heels came the rock behemoths of the 20th century. Who’s Next? by The Who, which opened the flood gates on a breakout teenage revolution (“Here comes the new boss/Same as the old boss”); Led Zeppelin IV – a record shrouded in rumour, left mysteriously untitled to throw off its critics but containing some of the most influential recordings of the past century: Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks and more. The bar was raised so high that not even Lennon and McCartney could reach the top anymore; however, a new guy on the scene was about to show the old guard how to play ball. “The heaviest rocker under

five foot four” was about to touch the stars. A sequin-dunked Jewish boy from Golder’s Green with hair like a shock victim and lyrics like your parents’ nightmares. Here comes Marc Bolan. You’re going to love it. ’71 really was a clash of titans, in which the Electric Warrior came out victorious. And much like the titans of old, though their battle played out long ago, the stories are being passed down may years later, from generation to generation.

But why on earth did a totally shallow, simplistically composed rock record come out of the blue and capture a culture in its grip so tightly that we are still dropping the needle into the groove to this day? Why are we still listening to T. Rex?

The main reason is that Electric Warrior is a hugely accessible album. The songs are uncomplicated, yet their simplicity comes from a desire for the raw, stripped-back sounds of blues and rock ‘n’ roll. Lean Woman Blues is a great example of this: the style with which the band sit back on the twelve-bar-blues chord-structure can be traced back directly to the rough-and-ready groove of Muddy Waters’ Mannish Boy, or the evocatively titled Smokestack lightnin’, by Howlin’ Wolf. This sets Electric Warrior apart from some of its more dated contemporaries: casualties of a conscious move into the world of complex theory and musical virtuosity in pop music in the early 70s. Giant successes of the time – Deep Purple’s Machine Head, and Black Sabbath’s Master of Reality –can seem to suffer a little from a self-conscious push to be heavier and faster than their competition. Pseudo-classical electric guitar solos, theatrical singing and crypt-kicking electric organ sounds date these records very noticeably – though impressive to listen to, they have become clichéd to the modern listener. The stark simplicity of Electric Warrior offers a barrier against the ageing process: a total triumph of style over substance. Simple chords, simple songs, simple arrangements and buckets of attitude. Pairing these with Bolan’s crafty knack for a catchy melody can only lead to a dynamite record.

At heart, Electric Warrior is a party album. With Bill Legend (drums) and Steve Currie (bass guitar) in the rhythm section, the grooves are hot but steady; therefore, dance runs as freely as the mountain stream. Bill Legend’s hot grooves are punctuated by ruthlessly melodic bass guitar parts from Currie, locking together to create drive and energy in every single track. Check out the swinging party track Jeepster, or the heavy-rock frenzy Rip Offas evidence. The latter consists of Bolan listing a bizarre collection of circumstances, then claiming them all to be “a rip off” (“Dancing in the nude/I’m feeling such a dude/It’s a rip off”). Legend and Currie go berserk but somehow manage to stay well and truly locked together, pushing the track forward from the very opening with a monstrous drum intro. The track features rhythm support from Micky Finn – a long time musical partner of Bolan’s who joined the band in its original folk line-up, when it was going by the name of

“UNIVERSAL ATONEMENT IS OLD, MAN! I JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN...”

of madness, ending Electric Warrior with a BANG!

The rhythm section are the rock on which Bolan stands, preaching his new gospel to the tired, grey and beige world of the early 1970s. Bolan’s music is self-centred. But that is what it’s all about. The 60s are over: universal atonement is old, man! I just want to have fun and be cool and get famous! “I drive a Rolls-Royce/‘Cuz it’s good for my voice!”. Now, check out my new jacket – don’t I look like a rock star? Don’t I look glamorous?! My goodness, I look great. I definitely look like a rock star – oh! Oh look! Look what we have stumbled across: Bolan has invented “glam rock”!

The combination of slab-like, distorted riff-age over a tight, hot rhythm section, with all the psychedelic grandeur of Bolan’s unique pop vocal-style (check out, Cosmic Dancer or Life’s a Gas for a taste of the unmatched Bolan sound) gave birth to an entirely new genre of popular music: “Glam-Rock”. Though many others followed, Electric Warrior is most often credited with being the very first record of the Glam-Rock genre. This movement would go on to shape the rest of the ’70s pop scene through records such as Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, an epic glam-record which is based around the highs and

predecessor. Furthermore, the song Lady Stardust was written about Bolan himself as David and Marc had been close friends and musical companions for many years (“People stared at the makeup on his face/Laughed at his long, black hair, his animal grace”).

A party classic and the alternative album of choice for many, Electric Warrior has become a cult classic of the modern era: partiers, stoners, mods and rockers – it’s just such an easy album to get into, enjoy and grow to love. Bolan’s explorations into the breaking of gender stereotypes as an icon of rock music, mixed with his goliath media presence in the early-to-mid 1970s, were crucial to the progression of popular music, as they allowed a new crowd of frustrated ’70s kids to populate the scene where the old guard had left off. Electric Warrior is the album equivalent of a phoenix: a beautiful creature, born from the ashes of a past generation. Marc’s goal was to become a star and bring rock ‘n’ roll to a new, wider, younger audience. Not only did he achieve this for his world, but he is still achieving it to the present day. Need evidence? Just listen to the record.

For Marc Bolan (30/09/47 – 16/09/77)

Second Form Shakespeare Day, reviewed

Jesse Botty (By 2)

Were you present at Oundle School’s annual Shakespeare Day at the Stahl Theatre this year? There is no doubt that it didn’t let us down! In honour of William Shakespeare’s fascinating life, four Shakespearean classics were performed on Sunday 5 February: The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night. I believe that the best of these was A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by English teacher, Mrs Harlow.

Due to time constraints, all four plays had to be shortened to around 20-35 minutes, which meant many scenes had to be cut out. However, limiting the plays to such a short time really let the audience see how well the pupils could cope with time, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream had the best cast of them all. The play, set in the Greek city of Athens, is very comical because of its plot involving the romantic and confusing story of four lovers, a group of mechanicals rehearsing a play that’s bound to fail, a fairy called Titania who falls in love with a donkey called Bottom, and a fairy called Oberon, who has to fix the situation between the lovers before it’s too late.

Mrs Harlow assigned characters intelligently, as we thought that each character suited their role and acted it out to the best of their ability. If anything, they probably made the play the most interesting that Oundle has seen in years! It must have taken weeks to prepare!

First of all, the main cast deserve credit for their performances. They were: Andrew Fasae (Lysander), Kristina Kartashkina (Hermia), Alistair Ho (Demetrius) and Tsava Mayhew (Helena). These four created a very intriguing and wholesome effect for the play. It was great to watch them deliver their lines with such grit and determination. Although some lines were a bit quiet and rushed, or sometimes blocking meant that they were facing away from the audience – such as when Lysander and Hermia went into the woods – it was still something William Shakespeare himself would have been proud of.

Also comment-worthy were Tom Bennett (Oberon), Eva Duncan (Titania), Will Atkinson (Puck) and Eli Vanschuyer (Bottom). Although they weren’t main characters, they made the play whimsical, thought-provoking and silly. It was brilliant!

I would especially like to call out Tom Bennett and Eva Duncan; as they performed their lines, it almost felt as if they were presidents or prime ministers. They conveyed their roles with such conviction and authority through the lines as if they really were rulers of the Fairy World in the woods. That’s what good characters should do: make you think! They both did an excellent job.

Lastly, I would like to give credit to the Stahl Theatre crew, who designed the lighting and sound. These really set the scene perfectly, making us – the audience – feel as if we were there. The props, such as the bench and leaves round the stage, also made it feel as if the woods were a mysterious place to be. The costumes could perhaps have been a bit more imaginative – for example, Lysander just wore a black jacket, and Demetrius a plain black t-shirt. The fairies’ costumes were quite good though, as were the mechanicals’; they were dressed as construction workers.

I would like to give a final shout out to Toby Green (the Lion) and Eddie Shields (a fairy), as the Lion made the audience laugh a lot and the fairy dance was great.

Overall, definitely a 4.5/5! This play took some creative risks and emphasised the capabilities of the performers, who managed to pull off this tale of love and chaos.

"If anything, they probably made the play the most interesting that Oundle has seen in years!"

Slow fashion at The Cirkel

Georgia Gardiner (W L6)

In the first week of the Christmas Holidays, December 2022, I had the pleasure of doing work experience at The Cirkel – an online second-hand clothing business that is keen to mitigate the damage and issues caused by the fast fashion industry. They use technology to create new systems that make fashion more sustainable. Sellers then give their clothes to The Cirkel, who sell it on their website and take a commission. This establishes an easy selling experience that makes sustainable shopping and selling a whole lot more straightforward.

I have been running a Depop account since I was 13, selling my old clothes for a small profit. During lockdown, I took to really making a small business out of it and would buy and sell clothes from a variety of places. The rise of Depop and other corporations that promote buying and selling second-hand clothes is truly inspiring. The clothing and textiles industry is the third most polluting industry globally, and here in the UK we deposit over 350,000 tonnes of clothing and textiles into landfill every year. Businesses such as Depop and The Cirkel are extremely innovative and beneficial to the planet, and a movement I was excited to be a part of!

Upon my arrival at their office in the West End, I was welcomed by a group of stylish and friendly people. They soon taught me the most important lesson for the world of work. Coffee is life fuel...

I was set to tasks immediately, visiting various sellers’ houses to collect large amounts of clothes that they were wanting to sell through The Cirkel’s website. Once these mountains of clothes were at the office, I was assigned to rifle through

various second-hand tops, trousers, and jackets, constantly trying to judge what the company would deem “stylish” and choose to sell.

After understanding how second-hand clothing sales work behind the scenes, I had the opportunity to speak to Eliza Batten, co-founder of The Cirkel. Hearing about her mission and hopes for the future of sustainable fashion, and how her priorities are protecting future generations without unnecessarily compromising the present, was truly inspirational.

The next day I was assigned to helping with the role of photographer and website manager. I took pictures of the clothes that had been selected to sell and learnt how to use their uploading software. This was certainly the hardest job of all, as I am awful when it comes to technology skills! The marketing and media facet of the business clearly plays a key role in sales, and I was

pleased to observe how The Cirkel utilise technology to plan and advertise their drops of stock through social media marketing.

Most of all, however, I enjoyed assisting in a photo shoot with the social media manager. As we all know, appearances are everything in fashion and merchandise. And although standing in the chilly cold for long periods may have given me slight hypothermia, the fact that I was given the opportunity to help style the outfits for the models alongside helping to consider the final aims of the shoot really helped me to understand the desires of customers.

Not only was this truly an educational insight into early mornings, the working world, and sustainable fashion, it was an extremely exciting and fun week where I was able to immerse myself in work, and into a lovely group of people, and truly see what a fun and hardworking work environment looks like.

"Hearing about how her priorities focused on protecting future generations without unnecessarily compromising the present was truly inspirational."

Image: Georgia Gardiner (W L6)

Image: Sophie Raudnitz