Horizons Vol 1 - The Lingfield College Academic Scholars Magazine 2023-24 Year 7 & 8

BROADENING PERSPECTIVES THROUGH ACADEMIC EXPLORATION

Introduction

As part of our work in stretching and challenging our most able pupils, all Academic Scholars at Lingfield College in Years 7-10 write a research essay on a topic of their choice In conjunction with the scholars sessions and annual scholars trip, the essay encourages pupils’ intellectual curiosity and provides them with an opportunity to broaden their knowledge and excel in a topic that they are passionate about. The essay is investigative in nature and enables pupils to develop an array of skills including research, time management, evaluation and critical thinking

We also offer an EPQ club to Year 8 on Thursdays and Tuesdays for Year 10 scholars. The EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) is a qualification rewarded by the examining body AQA which supports students in writing their scholars essay and results in them receiving a Level 1 or Level 2 EPQ qualification for their work

As well as writing about their chosen topic, pupils who enrol in the EPQ club complete the following:

Project proposal

Research into primary and secondary sources

Producing a written report

Creating a bibliography and appendix

Creating and maintaining a production log

"I am absolutely delighted with the quality of this year ’ s entries Their topics are forward thinking, challenging, and their research is extensively evaluated to draw viable conclusions "

Evaluating the project in a written and a verbal presentation

Well done to each and every one of the Academic Scholars for their outstanding entries I look forward to celebrating with you all at this year ’ s Scholars Symposium on 19th June, where will announce the prize-winner of

HOW HAS THE PERCEPTION OF WOMEN'S FOOTBALL CHANGED AND HOW IS IT BEING IMPROVED?

ARE YOU ADDICTED TO YOUR MOBILE PHONE?

ARE ELECTRIC CARS REALLY “ECO-FRIENDLY” AND WILL THEY “SAVE THE PLANET?”

HOW HAS CHILDHOOD CHANGED OVER THE LAST 70 YEARS AND HAS THIS CHANGE BEEN POSITIVE?

WHAT MAKES THE ULTIMATE OFF-ROAD VEHICLE?

25 IS TIME REAL OR IS IT JUST AN ABSTRACT CONCEPT?

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF BEES GO EXTINCT?

TO WHAT EXTENT DO FAIRYTALES/DISNEY FILMS THAT CHILDREN READ/WATCH INFLUENCE THEIR PERSPECTIVE OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY?

TO WHAT EXTENT DO AIRPLANES HARM THE ENVIRONMENT AND CONTRIBUTE TO GLOBAL WARMING COMPARED TO OTHER COMMON METHODS OF TRANSPORT, AND WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS TO THIS?

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF TEENAGERS AND HOW CAN ANY NEGATIVE IMPACTS BE AVOIDED? 42 HAS THE UNITED NATIONS LEARNT FROM THE FAILURES OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS?

DOES PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS’ PAY REFLECT THEIR EFFORTS AND HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO OTHER PROFESSIONS?

CAN CHANGING OUR EATING HABITS SAVE THE PLANET?

WRITTEN BY AMELIA-ROSE C

The food that we eat and the way that it is produced effects not only our health but also the health of our planet This essay looks at the environmental issues of the dietary choices we make, looking at the impact of both meat-based and plant-based diets on climate change, ecosystems, and biodiversity It looks at possible solutions to reduce the environmental impacts of food consumption while weighing up the pros and cons of both plant-based and meat-based diets.

The large areas of land dedicated to looking after livestock, along with the growing of animal food, creates a huge biological footprint. Each year, domestic animals, which include cattle, poultry, and sheep among others, causes large areas of habitat destruction that is a threat to global wildlife. Many people believe that moving to more sustainable plant-based diets , as well as improving the way we farm could prevent environmental damage on a level that equals the combined areas of China, Australia, Europe, and the United States.

However, many people also argue that modern ways of farming , including those associated with growing plant-based foods, can cause similar harm to the environment For example, growing avocados has been blamed on deforestation, soil depletion, and increased water usage, especially in areas across North, Central, and South America that are major avocado growers Similarly, almond farming is often criticised for its environmental impacts, particularly with water consumption in dry environments such as in California, which is a large producer of almonds

Our planet is facing many challenges, forcing us to look at these issues both locally and globally We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, preserve natural habitats, use more sustainable ways of farming, and sustainably run our economy

Habitat destruction, increased pollution, the consumption of more and more natural resources, and climate change has created an alarming decline in biodiversity This damage to our planet’s biodiversity destroys ecosystems and effects the way we adapt to environmental change

Climate change is probably the biggest concern on our planet, mostly caused by the increase in greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities, including our dietary choices.

These activities and choices are increasing global temperatures, causing unpredictable weather, melting ice caps, and increasing sea levels

Deforestation is a big driver of ecological damage, caused by the need to increase agriculture and food production, urbanisation , and the harvesting of timber

Our increased greed for land is affecting habitats that are vital for plants and animals, and it is increasing climate change because less plants can absorb carbon

dioxide and more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere

Pollution severely harms human health, wildlife, and ecosystems Industrial activities, transportation, agriculture, and waste disposal are the things that mostly cause pollution Also, plastic pollution, which includes food packaging, is extremely devastating to both land and marine environments. Plastic entangles wildlife, it contaminates ecosystems, and harms the health of all living organisms all the way up the food chain

Ocean acidification, caused by increased carbon dioxide absorbed into the seas, creates an acidic pH change in our marine ecosystem This harms marine life, particularly vulnerable organisms such as coral reefs and plankton, while also increasing algal blooms that reduce the levels of oxygen in the water and blocks sunlight. These create large dead zones in our oceans.

Our dietary choices have a big influence on the sustainability of our planet, changing landscapes, and reducing natural resources at an alarming rate Across the globe, huge areas of forest are in a state of deforestation to accommodate the large demand for cattle and crop farming Meanwhile, our oceans suffer the consequences of overfishing and industrial trawling, resulting in destroyed marine ecosystems and reduced fish populations.

Food production is the main cause of biodiversity loss, with approximately 75% of land devoted to raising livestock Every year, over 2 million hectares of rainforest, equivalent to the size of Wales, are chopped down to make way for the 70 billion farm animals we breed each year

As the population increases, estimated to grow by nearly 2 billion over the next thirty years, the consequences of our dietary habits may become irreparable

The increasing rise in meat consumption, escalating by 500% between 1992 and 2016, highlights the urgent need to rebalance our dietary choices

Approximately 75% of the world’s food supply comes from just 12 plant and 5 animal species Prioritising plant-based foods and moderating our consumption of animal products is essential to reduce environmental damage

However, moving to plant-based diets has many challenges While such diets have many benefits, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and less pressure on natural habitats, they have disadvantages Some argue that plant-based diets may mean an increased reliance on monoculture farming (growing just one crop species in a field) increasing issues such as soil erosion, water depletion, and chemicals such as pesticides Also, considerations need to be made regarding nutrition and the availability in areas of the world that are reliant on animal diets.

Nevertheless, a mostly plant-based diet will reduce environmental destruction, encourages biodiversity, and gives better access to nutritious food Growing and harvesting lots of different plant-based foods reduces the negative impacts that are caused by intensive animal farming

Focusing on the consequences of our dietary choices means we must make changes on how we view our diets, including promoting food education

While not all meat products create the same issues, moving towards more sustainable food options will improve the ecological footprint of our diets

A good solution would be to create more awareness and understanding about the consequences of people’s food choices

Education is key to changing our dietary habits – educating people to make informed decisions about food sustainability. Emphasising the environmental impact of food is not just buying and eating food – it includes the entire food lifecycle, from production, to preparation, to distribution, and to waste management

One idea would be to encourage people to grow their own vegetable plots in their gardens Home grown vegetables have minimal transport costs and little wastage –it is a simple but effective solution

Encouraging sustainable plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pulses, and nuts is a good strategy to reduce energy, land, and water usage, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions These dietary choices not only have health benefits but also help to reduce climate change

While promoting a move to a non-meatbased diet may seem daunting, small changes in dietary habits can create positive environmental benefits. For example, educating people about the

ecological footprints of various meats, such as the huge difference in greenhouse gas emissions between chicken and beef, can help people to make more educated choices at the supermarket

The following graph shows that chicken has 60 7 less kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions compared to beef on its carbon footprint

By encouraging people to think about and discuss food sustainability, including politicians, food producers, retailers, and consumers, will help create change throughout society on how food is produced and consumed

Introducing policies that encourage sustainable farming, growing local and seasonal produce, and reducing food waste can further increase efforts to improve food sustainability and reduce ecological damage.

Changing our food systems to prioritise environmental sustainability needs global action and joint effort from everyone By using the power of education and food technology, we can create a path towards a more resilient and sustainable food future for generations to come

Using smart farming techniques can be used to minimise environmental impacts Examples can include using sensors in drones to spray pesticides

or fertilizers on targeted locations in fields, rather than spraying a whole field Other examples could include indoor vertical farming that produces much more food on a smaller amount of land, enforcing sustainable farming practices such as providing more renewable energy grants, by planting trees and shrubs to increase biodiversity around fields, or using advances such as lab grown meat

In the last example, lab grown meat could be the potential answer to sustainable meat production However, disadvantages include it currently not being approved by the regulators for human consumption, and the associated high production costs Although, if people accept the idea, it could be a relatively quick solution for meeting our demand for meat and decreasing the environmental damage

In conclusion, it is important that we deal with the challenges created by our dietary habits If everyone works towards adopting more plant-based diets and creating awareness of the ecological consequences of our food choices, we can make a more sustainable future for our planet

From deforestation caused by livestock rearing, to the depletion of marine ecosystems caused by overfishing, the environmental damage caused by our dietary choices is clear to see However, by prioritising to plant-based foods we can reduce many environmental issues

Additionally, educating people about the consequences of different foods empowers them to make more positive food choices

Creating a more positive change to our food systems is essential

The power to effect meaningful change lies in everyone ’ s hands, and by changing to a more sustainable diet we can create a more balanced coexistence with the natural world However, we must act now By thinking about the impact of our dietary choices and considering how nutrition can be linked to preserving our planet's ecosystems, we can move to a more sustainable future

HOW HAS THE PERCEPTION OF WOMEN'S FOOTBALL CHANGED AND HOW IS IT BEING IMPROVED?

WRITTEN BY AMALLIE L

Lingfield College introduced football as a sport for girls in 2023. This made me think; why was football seen as being a sport for boys? It shocked me when I saw that Football Association figures published last July showed that only 72% of girls play as much football as boys in primary school! Women’s football was written about in literature from as far back as 1580, the first recorded women ’ s football match was in 1881, and from then women ’ s club football was formed with spectator numbers growing from 2000 to over 10,000 by the end of the century.

When the Lionesses started winning games in the European Championships in 2022, it seemed to make people more interested in women ’ s football. But if it’s been going for so long, why did it take them winning this competition to make people take them seriously? This essay will look at how the perception of women ’ s football has changed over time and if it is being improved

Although the game of football has been played for centuries, you might think that women have only been playing it for a generation or so But women ’ s participation in football dates back much further than you imagine

It is claimed that Mary Queen of Scots herself owned the oldest football in existence – that is as far back as the 1500s Shakespeare mentions it in two of his plays, and a poem called “A Dialogue Between Two Shepherds,” written in 1580, refers to women playing football So, there is evidence that women have played the game for centuries

The first ever recorded women ’ s football match was in 1881, between teams representing England and Scotland During the rest of that century, more games were being played and in 1895 the British Ladies Football Club (BLFC), the first ever women ’ s football club, was formed.

The president of the BLFC allowed the women to wear clothes that made it easier for them to run around in, like bloomers, instead of big dresses, and players were given shin pads and proper football boots for protection

Many factories put together their own teams and played matches against each other

Some of the teams even went all over the country playing matches to raise money for the injured men who came back from war, making these women the first paid women footballers It was reported that every town in England developed a women ’ s team and so there was increasing demand to create leagues and governing bodies to allow women to play professionally

By 1921 there were about 150 women ' s football clubs Matches were becoming more popular spectator events and drew crowds of up to 45,000 fans, showing how popular it had become

One of the first known official women ’ s games occurred on 23 March 1895 at Crouch End, with an apparent crowd of around 10,000 supporters. These important changes were happening alongside big changes in society, like Votes for Women, where women ’ s rights were being fought for

During World War One, while the men were away fighting, women took on men ' s jobs, like working in the factories Because factories were such dark and dirty places to be in, football was encouraged to benefit better health and to keep up morale.

However, on the 5th of December 1921, the FA (Football Association) put an end to women playing football on FA-affiliated pitches. They said, “the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged ” Despite this, women were determined to keep playing football and just five days later around 30 teams from across England met to formalize the English Ladies Football Association (ELFA) But, the FA ban meant that women could only play in parks, rugby clubs and small grounds so they could not have many spectators

In 1969 the Women’s Football Association (WFA) was formed and put increasing pressure on the FA to remove the ban on women playing affiliated football In 1970 the ban was finally lifted, and women were once again allowed to play under the FA This meant that they were allowed to play on the FA pitches and have official match referees

Then, in 1971, the FA Women’s Cup was launched, and international matches were set up by the following year. The WFA put

in a lot of work to continue to grow women ’ s football and by 1991 they launched a National League This same year The Federation International Football Association (FIFA) also launched the Women’s World Cup.

Then, in 1971, the FA Women’s Cup was launched, and international matches were set up by the following year The WFA put in a lot of work to continue to grow women ’ s football and by 1991 they launched a National League This same year The Federation International Football Association (FIFA) also launched the Women’s World Cup

In 1993 the WFA handed over the control of women ’ s football to the FA so that they could get more financial resources and

media attention, to help women ’ s football grow even more

The last 10 years have seen even more developments in women ’ s football and in 2002 football was named as the top team participation sport for women With international women ’ s football getting stronger, in 2011 the FA Women’s Super League was formed

This was the highest level of women ’ s football in England and grew into the professional sport that women footballers play today The Lionesses’ 2022 Euro’s games saw record breaking attendance and TV viewings for any women ' s football But, despite all the work that has been put in to growing women ’ s football, there still seems to be a big difference between this and men ’ s football

One reason might be because football is very focused on money – currently, on average the men ’ s teams are earning £60,000 per week and the women ’ s teams are only earning £904 per week! The most expensive transfer for a male player is £107,000,000 and for a female player is £384,000.

This is a huge difference and gives the impression that women ’ s football is not as good or important as men ’ s football. A similar difference is also seen in ticket sales A ticket to watch a women ’ s game is only an exceedingly small fee, for Tottenham Hotspurs a ticket to a women ’ s game costs £10 but a men ’ s game costs £80

I’ve also noticed that women ’ s teams often do not get to play in their club’s stadium Brighton women ’ s team for example usually play in Crawley and not at the Amex stadium, and Tottenham Hotspurs women ’ s team play at Brisban Road not at the Tottenham stadium

In 2015, the Women’s Chelsea FC Manager stated that women ’ s football would never achieve equality with men ’ s

football, that ‘ we can never appreciate women ’ s football properly when it is always being measured up to men ’ and thinks it should be viewed as a completely separate sport rather than a ‘spin off of men ’ s football ’ I think this idea is ok but I think it would stop women being able to fight for equal earnings

Importantly, from January 2020 the FA has paid male and female players equally when they play for England Other countries that do this include, Norway, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Sweden Wales have said they will aim to do this by 2026 This was a huge step forward and shows that perceptions of women ’ s football are changing. But on a club level it is still very different. In 2021, exactly 100 years since the FA banned women ' s football, Lewes Town Football Club were the first club in the world to introduce equal pay for male and female players They are still the only club in England to do this

Women's football has continued to grow over the past half-century With the introduction of official worldwide t t i i d d

From the first women ' s game in 1881 to the Euros in 2022, the history of the sport is a fascinating journey This essay has shown that women ' s football has changed dramatically and that women have never given up in fighting for their rights to be considered as equals

There has been a change in the perceptions over the decades, but it seems like ever since being banned women have been having to fight to prove their worth in the game Women’s football is still not equal to men ’ s, but it has made progress While it is not clear if it will reach equality or how much women will have to fight to get there, the game is increasing in popularity I think that women ’ s football deserves to have equality with men ’ s because they worked hard for their right to play

I would like to see women get the same support and coaching as men I think that they should be allowed to play and train on the proper team pitches and in the stadiums, and I think the FA should take responsibility for putting this dent into women ' s football by putting the ban in l b k i 1921 W d t t

ARE YOU ADDICTED TO YOUR MOBILE PHONE?

WRITTEN BY ETHAN O’B

The NHS defines addiction as not having control over doing, taking or using something to the point where it could be harmful to you.

There are many different known addictions but the ones which most people will recognise are addiction to drugs, alcohol and gambling.

However, people can become addicted to anything, and I am interested in how mobile phones and social media use has gradually taken over many people’s lives.

Mobile phone addiction is sometimes known as “nomophobia” (fear of being without a mobile phone), is often fuelled by an internet overuse problem or internet addiction disorder. Most of us are rarely ever more than five feet from our mobile phones. Like the use of drugs and alcohol, they can trigger the release of the brain chemical dopamine and alter your mood. You can also rapidly build up tolerance so that it takes more and more time in front of these screens to derive the same pleasurable reward

Since2000mobilephoneownershiphasincreased Thelatestdatasuggeststhatthereare684billionmobilephonesintheworld Worldwidemobilephoneusershaveincreasedyearoveryearbyatleast5%overthelastfiveyears

Peopleoftenusetheirmobilephonefor“quickhits,seekingattention,validationanddistractionwitheachswipe,likeandtweet”(Dr AnnaLembke,dopaminenation) Sheexplainsthatalthoughtheinternet,socialmediaandonlinegamingcanbelotsoffun”thedata showswearelessandlesshappy” TheworldHappinessreportbacksthisupwithinformationthatpeoplewithhigherincomehave becomemoreunhappy.

Thecommonresponsetoanypauseistopickupyourmobilephonemeaningthateconcentrateonanyonethingforonlyashorttime Manypeople,includingmyparentsthinkthatthecovidpandemichelpedcausethis

Between2020and2022peoplemostlyremainedandworkedathome

Schoolchildrenneededdevicestoworkfromasmuchasadultsandwhenevertherewasanopportunitytotakeabreakwewouldoften switchtosomeotherformofmedia/devices InmyownexperienceIwouldsitandworkwithmymumanddadforthemorning, completingtaskssetbyschool WhencompleteIwouldcallmyfriendsonWhatsAppandlogintomyPlayStation Ialsodidalotofwalks, butthemobilephonewasalwayswithus Inowhavemyownmobilephoneandmydailyusehasincreasedwithage

Are you male or female?

On average how long is your screen time?

When you are without your phone, how do you feel?

Do you feel your phone affects your mental health?

Are you reliant on your phone?

Feel relieved when at home, but outside feel worried as I'm uncontactable

No, not the phone, but certain applications do

Yes, because it has credit card, phone, TV, photos and work apps Also, I use Netflix in the night to help me get back to sleep, hence my high usage

Like I'm missing a body part

No, because I stay away from social media

One part of me feels happy but then I feel bored and left out

Yes, because I can get really attached to it and ignore the bigger things in life

Pretty worried because most of my life is based around my phone

Yes, because of unrealistic expectations online and pressure to look at certain way

Yes, because I use it communicate, buying things, checking bills and for sports news Yes, because I can watch videos and chat with my friends Yes, because I do everything on my phone

Do you feel that you see time on your mobile phone as a treat? No, because I have free access to it Yes, because I find it relaxing to have everything at your fingertips

Do you feel happier talking online or in real life?

Which are your main apps?

In real life because I like to hear and see people

Signs and symptoms of smartphone addiction

Real life because I do like talking in person

There is no specific amount of time spent on your phone, or the frequency you check for updates, or the number of messages you have sent or received that indicates addiction/ overuse problems. So I have made a little list of signs that tell you if you are addicted/ overusing your phone

Yes, because I can just chill and not worry whilst doing what I want

Real life because I can laugh and talk to their face

No, because I always have it with me and it's not like a special occasion

Real life because it's quicker to talk than type and, I can see and sense the emotion

Feeling of panic if you leave your phone at home

The battery runs down, or the operating system crashes Do you feel phantom vibrations, and then you think your phone has vibrated, but when you check, you find no messages or new updates?

Withdrawal symptoms from smartphone addiction

A common warning sign of smartphone or internet addiction is experiencing withdrawal symptoms when you try to cut back on your smartphone use These may include restlessness, anger or irritability, difficulty concentrating, sleep problems and craving access to your smartphone or other devices

Self-help tips for smartphone addiction

There are a number of steps you can take to get your phone use under control While you can initiate many of these measures yourself, an addiction is hard to beat on your own, especially when temptation is always within easy reach It can be all to easy to slip back in patterns of usage Look for outside support if that’s your family, friends or even a therapist it will always help to get rid of an addiction

Recognize the triggers that make you reach for your phone. Is it when you are lonely or bored? If you are struggling with depression, stress or anxiety, for example, your excessive smartphone use might be a way to self-soothe rocky moods Instead, find healthier and more effective ways of managing your moods, such as practising relaxation techniques

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think that the phone is addictive, but if you look deeper into it, you see that all the important things the phone provides, such as a phone so you can communicate with loved ones, but it is actually the apps that dissolve your mental health and keep your screentime sky high by sucking you in

ARE ELECTRIC CARS REALLY “ECO-FRIENDLY” AND

WILL THEY “SAVE THE PLANET?”

WRITTEN BY ETHAN S

My scholars paper will attempt to answer the question of whether electric cars are the the future of the motor industry or if there are better alternatives This essay will analyse the minor details and differences in the types of car being discussed. Firstly, the pros and cons of electric cars will be recognised and explained. This will give reasons and examples that we will later compare against petrol and diesel cars. Finally, the vehicle types will be examined which will establish a fair insight of what the future of this industry holds

We are told that electric cars can be very beneficial towards the environment as they cause a lot less pollution as they do not have an exhaust pipe It is claimed that we will see a drastic change in how the current pollution is in the heavily populated areas of the UK. As well as this, there will also be a massive decrease in running costs compared to the absurd price of petrol and diesel in the UK currently This will make it easier and cheaper for people struggling with the cost of living crisis It is more suitable for people with less time on their hands due to the fact you can charge these cars at home, you can even charge it with an extension cable out of your window! For those living close to main roads, or in a city, the noise pollution coming from cars can be a serious problem. Electric cars are much quieter than the average petrol or diesel car and so this would be a benefit These socalled amazing cars can easily outperform high-performance cars while producing zero emissions to their local surroundings. No need to worry about petrol stations not having EV charging points as the majority already have these in place for current electric car users

Electric cars do not have an internal combustion engine and therefore no exhaust pipe People will say that they do not contribute to air pollution or CO2 emissions Politicians and climate change activists want us to adopt electric cars because they are “ eco friendly” and will “ save the planet”. To decide if electric cars are truly eco-friendly, we have to take into account the amount of carbon emissions produced during their construction

There are many pros of having an electric car, low running costs for example, but there are a significant amount of cons associated with an electric car In my opinion, an electric car is actually less economic than the standard petrol and diesel car due to the mining that has to be done just to produce one car. Electric cars may look like a wise choice for the UK government because it will reduce pollution in the cities, which is a good thing, however, this will make the UK more polluted in my opinion It takes the pollution away from one area and brings it to another place, mostly rural, countryside locations This could put the country at more risk of pollution rather than reduce it

cheaper than fuel for your car

Lots of electric cars being produced have bodywork made of steel This requires coal and iron, and a vast quantity of water and electricity, for its manufacture The interiors generally include plastics, which are made from oil. The electric motors are made of iron, steel, plastic, rubber and copper Rare metals such as silver and gold are also used in the manufacture of the motors But, it is the huge lithium battery, weighing 500kg, which makes electric cars very “ ecounfriendly ” Electric cars require large quantities of rare metals, including lithium and cobalt “In total, two hundred tonnes of various ores and salts have to be mined and processed to make one battery, resulting in more pollution than a petrol or diesel car generates in twenty years ”

not the most popular choice of vehicle type for the majority of consumers

A large proportion of the electricity generated in this country is still done by fossil fuels. According to the book ‘Why I Will Never Buy an Electric Car’ Andrew Neil stated in The Daily Mail on 21st January 2023 that “50% of the UK’s electricity was currently generated by gasfired power stations and only 17% by wind ” Looking at the article on the Daily Mail website, he also stated that “ even with the huge expansion of wind power envisaged by Labour and Conservatives, we will still need gas-fired stations to generate electricity when the wind is weak or isn't blowing at all (which often happens during our coldest spells). And what's left of our petrochemicals industry will need oil, from home or abroad, if it is to survive We already import over 60 per cent of our gas, at huge cost, as every household in the land knows only too well ” Electricity is clearly not that cheap although it is

According to the Autocar website, “Electric car fires often make the headlines, but they are not a common occurrence According to Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions, 239 fires recorded in the UK from July 2022 to June 2023 were linked to EVs ” It also states that, “Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, some 1898 fires in 2019 were from petrol and diesel vehicles, 54 from EVs ” Although these figures do not seem particularly concerning, I would suggest that there is a far greater percentage of petrol and diesel cars on the roads at present compared to electric vehicles The Financial Times stated in January 2024 that electric cars only accounted for 16 5 percent of new vehicle sales in the United Kingdom last year, which was actually a drop in sales It is clear that there are still more petrol and diesel cars being bought in the United Kingdom and would suggest that electric cars are still

In my opinion, I think that the UK government should consider and trial the idea of synthetic fuel Personally, I think in the foreseeable future we should be using this new type of fuel. I watched seen synthetic petrol being trialed on the programme “Richard Hammond’s Workshop” They tested a 1920 Bentley racing car at the Goodwood Race Circuit, West Sussex, running on synthetic fuel This was a successful test, with no modifications to the engine I think this could be a more realistic approach compared to the problems described earlier with the manufacture of electric cars. Also, Rowan Atkinson wrote an article in The Guardian newspaper about why he doesn’t think electric cars are good for the environment He states,“I love electric vehicles - and was an early adopter But increasingly I feel duped ” In this article he says that electric cars are nice but not good for the environment and that “Volvo released figures claiming that greenhouse gas emissions during production of an electric car are nearly 70% higher than when manufacturing a petrol one ” Rowan suggests other ideas such as using synthetic fuel. He says in the article, “Formula One are going to use synthetic petrol from 2026” This shows that other types of cars can be run on this new type of fuel and appears to be an increasingly better option for the environment to prevent less pollution

HOW HAS CHILDHOOD CHANGED OVER THE LAST 70 YEARS AND HAS THIS CHANGE BEEN POSITIVE?

WRITTEN BY EMILY C

Growing up is vital. If we didn’t become adults, the whole world would be full of unwashed clothes, dirty dishes and soaked swimming costumes! We would have no Internet; no inventions; and no ice cream, which is why growing up is incredibly important. However, people should enjoy childhood as it is impossible to get a second chance at it, unless you happen to be a time traveller (which is quite unlikely) As everyone knows, childhood has changed since the 20th century because of the rapid progress of technology. But this brings a debatable question: is this change positive? I have interviewed 66 people across a range of ages to find out what their childhood was like and whether they think it has changed for the better.

“Never grow up, always down And stop eating chocolate, eat cabbage instead.” From George’s Marvellous Medicine.

“Growing up is not the problem, forgetting is.” From the French film “The Little Prince ”

Survey Results

What activities did you do when you were a child?

Born in 1940-1959: According to my research, the majority spent their time outside The activities they did included cycling, walking, swimming and tennis The most popular was cycling

1960-1979: They did sports including swimming, horse-riding, cycling, hockey, football and badminton

1980-1999: From this era, 69% of people put down sports including gymnastics, swimming, cycling, football and horse-riding The most popular were ball sports This differs from the results from 1940-1959 because the most popular sports then were not organised

Born after 2000: 43% play instruments and the same amount do sport Of course, many children do both activities

The main change is that more children are playing instruments with a gradual decline in sport Musically speaking, this is a positive change because learning an instrument you enjoy releases serotonin -a happy chemical Recent revelry at Lingfield’s Rock & Jazz concert was a fantastic feast for serotonin, as if happiness was lemonade and everyone had drunk so much it lifted them off their feet in joy!

What sort of books did you read?

1940-1959: The type of books read in this era were Enid Blyton books (36%) and adventure stories (82%)

1960-1979: Books included Roald Dahl (29%) and Enid Blyton (38%) School books were read though not commonly (only 10%) 91% read fiction

1980-1999: 27% read school books, nearly thrice the number of 1960-1979 The rest (73%) read fictional stories

After 2000: 36% mentioned fantasy books being read and the same percentage read adventure In this era, the children read much more fiction compared to 1980-1999 data

How much time did you spend reading each day?

1940-1959: The average amount of time spent reading was 72 minutes

1960-1979: Approximately 55 minutes

1980-1999: 1 hour This was reading for enjoyment, not for school

After 2000: 51 minutes

This significant decrease in reading is extremely worrying If this trend continues, children will be reading next to nothing in 20 years ’ time Scientists are anxious about polar ice caps melting but what if the future of books is melting with it? We need some book anxiety here, otherwise our beloved novels will cease to exist and illiterate catastrophe will reign

How much of your time did you spend outside each day?

1940-1959: The average for spending time outside each day was approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes.

1960-1979: 2 hours and 35 minutes

1980-1999: 3 hours

After 2000: 2 hours and 5 minutes

This 35% decrease since the 1940s (despite the slight improvement during the 1980s) is not positive in the slightest Less time outside could result in less fresh air which could lead to major health problems We all know how vital being outside is for our physical and mental wellbeing

How many hours per day did you spend on electronic devices/TV?

1940-1959: The average for spending time watching TV was approximately 36 minutes An interesting comment was how one person just had a radio and listened to it an hour a day

1960-1979: Approximately 71 minutes

1980-1999: 67 minutes This is a negligible difference to 1960-1979

After 2000: The average time spent on electronics/TV is 81 minutes

Do we really want children to be cooped up indoors with their eyes glued to their screens in future generations? Yet again, despite the miniscule improvement in the 1980s, screen time has more than doubled over the last 70 years This concern was also expressed by the older participants

When did you get your first phone?

1940-1959 and 1960-1979: These respondents got mobile phones when they were adults, but this is because mobile phones did not become widely used until 1990s Phones then were only used for texting and calling, but there was a very simple game called Snake They all remembered having a landline though, only used for calling

1980-1999: The average age for hi generation was 16 years old On (that is just 1 in 8) 12-year-olds h mobile phone in that generation 2000, the average age is 10 and old This differs from all the othe generations because people from eras didn’t get a phone until muc This is so significant that I shall co on this at the end of my essay

How were expectations differen you were a child?

1940-1959: These quotations sh adults had more power over chil obedience was expected: “I didn to be listened to, our opinions d matter,” and “To do what paren to do rather than children ”

Table manners were important; expected to help around the hou getting married and having a fam expectation. Children had less ch so played imaginative games. Chi were “ very respectful of adults b taught to be wary of strangers ”

1960-1979: Several comments re how parents were stricter; rules more important; and that you ha adults “Children behaved more children, didn’t grow up so fast, h were less focused generally on sc although learning was important family.” Social media was mentio times and how children played o instead

There was more freedom, howe were still expected to be followe person said, you were “taught to do as you are told and not to dr attention to yourself ”

1980-1999: A common commen lots of time was spent outside: “E was different from now. We cou day outside.” Some crucial comm

1980-1999: A popular statement made was that school was “fun” and “good” Several people added that school was “interesting”, “hard” or “challenging”, with only 7% describing school negatively One person stated that school was good apart from bullying This shows that most of the people born in this era enjoyed education.

After 2000: An overwhelming 93% described education today as: “engaging”, “interesting” and “fun”, showing that children find school enjoyable

Over the last 70 years, education has continued to improve, which is surely something to celebrate Teachers have become less strict and treatment of children has become better If, over time, childhood had improved in other areas as well, maybe children wouldn’t grow up too fast and childhood would become even more enjoyable However, I think that there is one let-down: phones and social media Perhaps this is the reason why more people thought that the change in childhood has been negative rather than positive, as shown in this pie chart below:

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Phones

Themostimportantthingwe’retold, Sofaraschildrenareinvolved, IsNEVERletthemhaveaphone, Untilthey’recapableandalone ThisinformationIwillhand Toparents,whowillunderstand, Butsome-ofcourse-willmakeexcuses, Saying“Oh,butmylittleBruceis Goingofftosecondaryschool

Andwilldefinitelyneedahelpfultool” Thisweunderstandandknow, Butsocialmedia,ohno,No,NO!

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ANDTHIS,OFCOURSE,WASPREDICTED! THEIREYESGETTIRED;THEYBEGINTO DROOP!

THEIRBACKGETSHUNCHED;THEY BEGINTOSTOOP!

Soplease,ohplease,leaveaphonetilllater, andchildren’sfuturewillbefargreater.

WHAT MAKES THE ULTIMATE OFF-ROAD VEHICLE?

WRITTEN BY EUAN D

Have you ever wondered how a vehicle can drive through a river, and come out unharmed? An off-road vehicle, off-highway vehicle, overland vehicle, or adventure vehicle is any type of vehicle which can drive off paved or gravel surfaces, such as trails and forest roads that have rough and low traction surfaces In some areas, there are no adequate roads, meaning that rain can easily turn these muddy tracks into a bog. Off-road vehicles are one of the only options for people living and working in these places Off-road vehicles need to have large, powerful engines that burn a lot of fuel. These vehicles have sizeable fuel tanks, so they do not run out, which is not what you want to do in the middle of nowhere.

The goal of this essay is to find out exactly what an off-roader needs to tackle the toughest terrains and carry the heaviest loads. So, with that in mind, sit back, strap in, and let’s go find some mud!

Engines

The engine is one of the most important components of an off-road vehicle and needs to efficiently provide power to all the wheels Most modern engines are four- stroke, where a stroke means one movement of the piston, up or down An engine works by sucking in a mixture of fuel and air, compressing it, followed by a source of ignition to create an explosion The explosion forces down a piston, which in turn drives a crankshaft The piston is pushed up again by the power of the other pistons and expels all the exhaust fumes from inside the combustion chamber On its return down, it pulls in the fuel and air, then the entire process repeats again A bigger engine has a larger combustion chamber, and more fuel is injected, therefore there is a substantially bigger explosion forcing the piston down.

A particularly important question to think about when considering the best offroad vehicle is: ‘What fuel does it need?’ Older cars use leaded petrol with a high octane mix because their fuel system cannot manage the ethanol added to modern fuels and uses the lead to protect compounds in the fuel valves Modern vehicles use petrol or diesel, but diesel is preferred for off - road driving for several reasons.

Diesel provides higher power at lower revs, so therefore is less likely to stall, can be submerged deeper in water, and can increase efficiency by up to 35% Another type of fuel is hydrogen, a new idea that has only just made its way out of concept cars This type of engine is very rarely seen, and the power varies hugely.

The hydrogen-powered supercar Hyperion has a massive 2,038 horsepower The advantages of a hydrogen powered car are the extremely reduced noise levels and the zero-emission guarantee

Next, we come to electric vehicles This energy source seems like a fuel of the future, but there is a lot more to it than that One of the main problems is the weight The battery on an electric vehicle can weigh about half a tonne, then with all the rest of the car can come to one and a half tonnes. This is a significant problem as it affects the handling and can cause trouble in wet terrain An electric car also cannot be towed due to the build-up of damaging levels of energy in the battery This means that the towing company will have to send out a flatbed truck, and this could take a lot longer Another disadvantage is that electric cars are watertight This sounds like a good thing, but just thirty centimetres of moving water can carry them off their wheels.

Suspension

Ever gone over a speed bump at more than ten miles an hour? Then you will know just how bumpy the average car can get An off-road vehicle must solve this problem and find a better way to keep the ride smooth, even on the toughest terrain

An easy fix for the overall comfort of a journey is the suspension. The suspension allows the wheels to individually move up and down, regularly keeping the chassis of the car level There are three typical types of suspension: spring, airbag, and leaf

The first type is the most common, spring suspension, because it is one of the cheapest options to have on a vehicle When off-roading, softer spring suspension can allow the car to flex more easily but can be worn out quickly. Stiff suspension is great at cornering at high speed and can decrease body roll

The best type of spring suspension for offroading is coil-over suspension, also called a screw suspension This allows for individual adjustment of the ground clearance by means of a screw thread on the suspension strut This has most of the advantages of both stiff and soft spring suspension but can be a lot more expensive.

Another category of suspension is the airbag This consists of a small airbag inside a rubber spring and can be raised and lowered with a compressor activated inside the cab This might seem like the perfect way to go off-road, but they are very prone to leaking, or the airlines getting clogged Lastly, there is the leaf suspension, a type of suspension found on many heavier vehicles This suspension is simple and reliable, but instead of the wheel moving up and down, keeping the body steady, most of the vehicle raises and lowers, creating a jolting effect Another disadvantage of leaf suspension is it reduces the approach and departure angles, which play a key role in off-roading

Off-roading

What any off-road vehicle needs is some actual off-roading! All good off-roaders need three qualities: a good wading depth, good approach, and departure angles, and lots of traction.

Engines work by compressing a mixture of fuel and air in the combustion chamber

Water is incompressible, so if any water is present then the pistons will bend and snap, sometimes gouging out another bit of engine as they go. This is not ideal when trying to ford a river The wading depth is the depth of water that a vehicle can go before water gets into an engine The wading depth can be raised by installing a snorkel on your vehicle A snorkel is a raised pipe that runs along the side of the engine, then up the windscreen This provides a source of air that is not likely to become submerged in water Of course, there are electronic engine sensors which do not want to get wet on recent diesel vehicles.

Another way to combat water damage is to simply float above the water. Huge AllTerrain-Vehicles, or ATVs, like the Sherp, the Burlak, or the smaller Green Scout can drive on the surface of the water

This is because of two reasons: either the car ’ s body is watertight and buoyant, or the wheels are large and filled with air

One of the other values of an off-road vehicle is the approach and departure angles These angles mean the maximum angle a vehicle can drive up, or down a hill. An ATV that has wheels that extend from its body will have an exceedingly high approach and departure angle, whereas a sports car like a Lamborghini Aventador would have smaller angles

Traction is the name for the friction of a vehicle as it moves along a surface

To prevent loss of traction, traction control can detect when a wheel has lost contact with the ground, or is spinning, and slows

the wheel to gain more friction. This could be important when driving through heavy mud as the traction control would keep the drivetrain working efficiently Another method of keeping your friction high is to provide more surface area for grip

Many off-road vehicles are designed with tyres that can inflate and deflate at the touch of a button inside the cab

This is an excellent feature, as if you are driving on the road, you would want your tyres to be pumped firmly. However, for off-road mud driving, flatter tyres provide a lot more surface area

Upgrades

There are many models of vehicles with of f- road capabilities, from the Dacia Duster to the all-powerful Ford Ranger Raptor The best of these are dependable in tough situations and can provide power whenever you need it

There are companies that can add the finishing touches to your ultimate off-road vehicle Two of the leading companies in this range are Brabus and Hennessy Brabus focuses on touching up the interior with things like ultra high-end leather, along with other items, such as sports pedals, a new handbrake lever and gearstick 5 Hennessy adds exterior features like an additional pair of wheels, a strengthened chassis, and engine tuning for maximum performance

Other types of upgrades can start much smaller, like a tow hitch, or running boards These can greatly improve the look of your vehicle and can benefit you significantly. A tow hitch opens a new range of possibilities, like towing a caravan, or being able to tug a car out of trouble. A bull bar is a good-looking way to improve the strength of your car and will protect the engine in an off-road incident Another easy upgrade is to have a bike mount perched over the tonneau cover, great for holding bikes and camping equipment

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Ultimate OffroadVehicle can be definedby excellentperformancein the engine, suspension, off-road capabilities, and can benefitgreatly with upgrades from companieslike Hennessy or Brabus Diesel is the most reliable fuel source offroad due to its power at low revs and its superior wading capability Suspension is a crucial part of the car, and coil-over types are the best off-road but are a lot more expensive thanothers For off-roading, power, good approachand departure angles, andhigh wading depth are the mostimportant features Upgrades are an amazing way of improving the way a vehicle looks, drives, and sounds

There are so many off - road vehicles, each unique in their own ways, but some are more outstanding in their range than others.

One prominent example of this is the Ford F-150 VelociRaptor Based on the Ford Ranger Raptor, Hennessy have developed this six-wheeled behemoth and equipped it with huge off-road tyres and special front and rear bumpers Hennessy also played around with a 3 5 litre EcoBoost engine, so the pickup now produces over six hundred horsepower Tough terrains, muddy swamps, icy tracks, and forest paths are all pushed aside for what could be the most ultimate off-road vehicle of all time, the Hennessy VelociRaptor.

IS TIME REAL OR IS IT JUST AN ABSTRACT CONCEPT?

WRITTEN BY GEORGIA R

What is time? Time means different things to different people. It can be measured in a multitude of ways, by different people all over the globe Farmers use it to know when to plant seeds, the military have their own way of saying time so as not to confuse am and pm, and everyday people like you and me, use it to know when to go to sleep, when to get up, and to be on time for social gatherings and events. We use it to order and place certain events in our minds and so consequently, we see it as a real thing. But what if we did not have time at all? How much of a difference would it make?

We humans use time for pretty much everything on a daily basis, but animals do not. They seem to know just when to breed when to hibernate and when to hunt Surely, we, the human race would be able to do that too, which suggests that time may just be an abstract concept, not really necessary at all. Something that we created to make our lives easier, and that we could function perfectly well without Or is time one of the true secrets of the universe that is real and tangible?

Scientists have disagreed on the subject for hundreds of years, many, like Einstein, believing that it is an illusion, but many others argue that it is very much a real concept. In this essay we will try to understand the rough concept of time itself and figure out whether time is real or just an abstract concept.

movement of groups of stars including Sirius and other stars with similar movements

Our conception of time accelerates as we get older This is because, when we are young, events are marked with things such as school terms or years. Because we always want to get to the next year or important event time seems to slow down As we get older there are fewer important events to mark the passage of time and so it seems to speed up

Impact of modern transportation

Before modern transport, time was specific to your location Many towns and villages would have had a town clock that would chime out the hour so that people in the vicinity would know what time it was These clocks were not synchronised but would be set to the local midday meaning that as you moved up or down the country, the time in separate locations would be different At the time this did not matter, because if you did travel, you would not travel far, and consequently, the local time would not vary too much

However, as trains started to radiate out around the country, the distance people travelled grew, hence train timetables would have to show two times, one for the local time, and one for elapsed travel time Consequently, the time difference began making it difficult to run the railway and show the correct times It was then that it was decided to synchronise the station clocks along the railway For example, if the train began its journey in London, the clock on the train would be aligned with the main station clock and as it travelled up or down the country the clock at each station would be set to match the one on the train. This meant that the clocks in the towns along the rail lines eventually began to align with a master clock

With the invention of the telegraph, nearly all public clocks were synchronised with the clock at Greenwich observatory meaning that almost the entire country was on the same time Following on from the synchronisation of the railway, people began to think about applying the same concept globally. Sir Stanford Fleming was one of the first people to suggest implementing 15-degree longitudinal time zones although time zones will tend to follow country boundaries This highlights the fact that although time itself and the movement of time may be to a certain extent ‘real’ the way we think about and perceive time is random and arbitrary

Measurement of time

Throughout history there have been many ways of measuring time including burning candles and incense sticks, sun dials, and water clocks These have all worked for the people who created them because they did not require an exact measurement of time, just a rough estimate of the time of day We do now require an exact measurement for everyday things like getting to work on time and for much larger things like space exploration

Scientifically, time is measured by working out the frequency of ceasium atoms absorbing microwaves. There are 9,192,631,770 cycles per second, which then defines the international scientific unit for time, the second This process takes place within what we know as an atomic clock. We use seconds to create minutes, minutes to create hours and hours to create days Most of these units of time follow a regular pattern The division of time into sixties seems to come from ancient civilizations such as the Babylonians and Sumerians

No one really knows why The Babylonians used base sixty for their astronomical calculations, but it was probably because it had many factors, so it was easy to divide up The Egyptians are widely credited to be the first people to split the daylight hours into twelve parts because they used the duodecimal system.

A simpler way of measuring time is to use a clock or a calendar This is what people usually use to track the events that will take place in the day or to remember what is happening soon

Conclusion

Time is something that we humans have created to help manage our lives and measure the duration of events Many people believe that it does not exist at all, and that it is just an abstract concept. Time may be real but our conception of it is abstract What we consider time may just be a fraction of what it really is and maybe it does not exist at all

Einstein said that time was relative and an illusion He said that it could be observed in different ways by different people in various places This theory works until you look at all of the things that are based on and around it This puts into perspective that even if time was an abstract concept, there would be too much to change and the ways that society functions, would be thrown into chaos In my opinion time is something that we have based the entirety of society on and therefore cannot be argued with as so many, very real, and important things, are based on, or around it

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF BEES GO EXTINCT?

WRITTEN BY SAANVI T

Albert Einstein highlighted this in his famous quote: ‘If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left’

What a perfect afternoon!! Clear blue sky. Sky pierced through the lucid sunlight everywhere. Fluttering butterflies drift lazily hovering around the garden. Dragonflies buzz through the beams of light and their wings shimmer Throngs of dandelions tapping each other Birds making cheery noises playing tag. Emerald -green grasshoppers bouncing on the grass like leggy trampolines. My face smothered with an eerie warm glow, squinting eyes and glittered demeanour as i rest swinging lazily holding my book and closing my eyes for a moment Buzz buzz !!!! I jump out and quickly escape for life into the house. Phew!! I wonder how a tiny little creature ruin a lovely sunny afternoon. I have a severe apiphobia since childhood. Petrified, I typed angrily on my phone, WILL BEES EVER GO EXTINCT?

This question, when I was given results on Google, completely shocked me and changed my outlook towards this little industrious, shy, buzzing creature we all call BEES.

I then felt the need to understand and learn about how useful and important Bees are in our lives.

Hopefully my essay will be an attempt to make humans understand the value of bees and take effort in saving this most useful creature from getting wiped off from the face of Earth

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Requeening is when the beekeeper replaces the queen bee with a new one Requeening could be essential for lots of reasons. Once it's recognized that the beehive is missing a queen or determined that the existing queen needs to be replaced, beekeeper will first purchase a new queen The queen can be purchased which comes in a cage with a cork and candy plug

The cork is removed before placing the queen in the beehive A hole is also poked through the candy plug The queen cage is then placed with the candy plug facing downwards It prevents the candy from dripping onto the queen bee if it melts. Bees usually eat through the candy plug of a queen cage in about two days During this time, the queen bee will be emitting pheromones and is likely to be accepted by the colony Beehive should not be opened less than a week after requeening it Despite accepting a new queen bee, a colony remains stressed for several days If you open the hive while the colony is stressed, the intrusion may be blamed on the queen and get her killed After about 10 days, beekeeper may carry out a quick hive inspection looking for signs of queen acceptance They may spot the queen during the inspection or see signs of her activity – mainly freshly laid eggs If the queen is missing, they will have to get another queen and install her In the hive inspection after installing a new queen, the beekeepers additionally get the opportunity to free the queen from the cage if she is stuck

If the new queen bee is free of her cage and doing well in the hive, beekeepers may remove the queen cage from the hive I found this very fascinating as it teaches us that every being in this universe needs acceptance to thrive, be it a human or be it a bee

You may have thought that bees would recognise their beekeeper, however they do not recognise them normally, and you would just have to be calm with them. Beekeeper do very little during the winters however, during the summers they need to do a regular check up on the bees

As I continued to study about them more, I came across an interesting question What if you get stung by a bee? Well, a professional had said to scrape the sting out with something like a credit card, and immediately have antihistamine It will heal on its own in few days Some people sometimes can get allergic reaction, but it can be easily treated at the hospital and is only life threatening if a severe reaction if left untreated

Now coming to the most important question, what really would happen if bees went extinct? Our world as we know it is dependent on bees It’s not just that our planet would become a pointless waste of space without honey, but at least a third of our food directly relies on bees for pollination

When bee is on its journey to suck nectar and pollen from the bed of flowers, some pollen from the stamens that is the male reproductive organ of the flower sticks to the hairs of her body When she visits the next flower, some of this pollen is rubbed off onto the stigma, or tip of the pistil that is the female reproductive organ of the flower When this happens, this is how pollination happens and the seed is fertilised to generate fruits Without bees our ecosystem will collapse. Bees pollinate our wild trees and wildflowers too, which then support other insects, which then support birds, bats, mammals and everything up the food chain with food and shelter

Generally, crops such as wheat and barley are not pollinated by bees but are pollinated by the wind as it blows on to the crops - as the stamen is designed to blow over the grain crops, but the preponderance of organic foods such as nuts, fruits and vegetables are pollinated by bees

Reports show that 70% of our world's food crops (which supply about 90 per cent of the world’s nutrition) are pollinated by bees It’s almost unfeasible to measure the importance that these minuscule yellow and black striped creatures have on our agriculture and the food we eat, and I think we should all owe a thank you to our bees! Studies and research from the BBC show that bees and other pollinating insects, such as wasps – yes, even wasps are pollinating insects-, have been calculated to have a global economic worth of around £120bn Of this, honeybees are said to be responsible for £23,442,900,000 a year in crops

IF BEES BECOME EXTINCT, HUMAN RACE WILL BE CLOSE TO EXTINCTION TOO.

Now is the time and we must fix it Sally Bavin, Woodland Trust conservation adviser, told The Independent: “From a woods and trees conservation angle, the succession of early blossom from a diverse range of native trees and shrub species such as blackthorn, wild cherry and hawthorn provide nectar for bees early in the season Some bee species rely on old, decaying trees for nesting habitat – a habitat which has declined severely.

“Dead wood and veteran trees are features lacking in many of our woodlands with a negative impact on woodland ecological condition, including bee nesting habitat ” She added: “In your garden you can provide a bee hotel which mimics the habitat naturally provided by beetle exit holes in decaying wood ” Tanya St Pierre from Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Get Cumbria Buzzing project told The Independent: “On World Bee Day, it’s really worrying to know that one-third of our UK wild bee populations are in decline ”

“Recent research suggests even some common species are now in trouble Until recently, both the red-tailed bumblebee and the early bumblebee were frequent visitors to our gardens; however, since 2011 these species have shown a marked decrease in number, according to studies by the University of Kent ”

“Much of this is due to the loss of natural habitat, but also to the increased use of pesticides and herbicides ” But she added: “The good news is that we are not powerless to help reverse the situation We can all do our bit Bees need food, shelter and somewhere to raise their young The Wildlife Trusts suggest growing lots of bee-friendly plants such as bird’s-foot trefoil, vipers bugloss and having ‘wilder’ areas in our gardens and allotments that are undisturbed.”

To encourage more bees into gardens and make gardens better places for bees to be, Cumbria Wildlife Trust offered the following tips:

“Go eco-friendly: grow trees, plants, wildflowers and shrubs where possible They are affective for bees Stop mowing grass: mowing your garden just once a month rather than once a week can give insects and wildflowers a chance to thrive If not, try to keep a designated area for your grass

Be natural: pesticides are harmful to all pollinators – you can help to reduce the amount of chemicals enter the food chain by gardening in a more natural way

Organic gardening is much more beneficial for wildlife tall or tussocky grassy areas, bramble patches, nettle beds, wildflower areas, log piles, and damp wet ditches are all fantastic habitats for a wide range of pollinators to nest, breed and overwinter safely. Not only will this help to ensure the survival of the next generation of bees, but it’s much less work for you too

Weeds are wonderful; change the way you think about weeds as they are beneficial for the wildlife Dandelions are an important food for hungry queen bumblebees raising their young ”

But what can we do to help? As a whole, we can spread awareness on any social media accounts or promote buying organic honey instead of processed honey, it may be costly, but do think about how at least 150-200 bees have used their whole capacity to fill our stomachs

Would you want that to go to waste? Each one of us are an important aspect of life to play to save this little creature from extinction which spends her lifetime for us.

During her lifetime, a worker bee will produce only 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey To make one pound of honey, workers in a hive fly 55,000 miles and tap two million flowers They work tirelessly and selflessly for us, and we owe them a place in our ecosystem

Now, when I am lazily swinging in my garden on a sunny afternoon, reading a book and when I close my eyes, I try to concentrate towards a special sound...buzzing of a bee.

I then open my eyes and admire its glistening wings and how the hardworking sound of buzzing feels like a chime I close my eyes again and smile while listening nature at its finest “I really hope bees never become extinct”

TO WHAT EXTENT DO FAIRYTALES/DISNEY FILMS THAT CHILDREN READ/WATCH INFLUENCE

THEIR PERSPECTIVE OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY?

WRITTEN BY LILY-BELLE T

For my scholar’s essay title: To what extent to fairytales/Disney films that children read/watch influence their perspective of women in society, I have decided to divide it into a few various focus points These are ‘the hero’, ‘the damsel in distress’ and of course the ‘happy ending’. Children’s fairy tale books and films have been in circulation for decades passed down through generations. The enjoyment in reading/watching them regularly to reminiscing about them years later throughout our lives. Perhaps as a teenager even into adulthood.

However, in recent years, when I started exploring the internet and saw how some people in society treat women nowadays, like Andrew Tate, it started me thinking about what could have impacted this man, was it from a young age? Though in the past there have been things to do with women ’ s rights in the 1900s and many different things that I have learned from my history lessons in my time at school, I can’t help but wonder whether it might have been discreetly absorbed into our brains from a young age and altered our views on women as a whole in society.

I chose this title and topic when I began to witness how women generally in society were and are treated; not only online and throughout the internet but shamelessly done out in public too After I had heard about a man called ‘Andrew Tate’ through people online, I searched up a couple of videos on YouTube of his podcasts and found out and saw for myself how terribly he thought about women, even saying it to their faces without any remorse.

However, Andrew Tate isn’t the only person who publicly speaks out against women and their ‘lack of authority to men ’ and that women are the inferior species

There are many, many other boys and men out there who speak badly and are condescending to women too

The first couple of focus points I will go over is ‘the hero’ and ‘the damsel in distress’ and explain what these mean in my opinion. For the topic of ‘the hero’, the question has occurred to me a lot of why is it always a man? Yes, there are some movies like Mulan and Brave contrasting to this, but these have come at a later date compared to other movies like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella In Sleeping Beauty, Aurora is cursed to sleep after pricking her finger on the spinning wheel’s needle, and her saviour is none other than a man who kisses her to wake her up he same sort of thing happened in Snow White where she is kissed in order to be awakened.

When these sorts of things are shown to children (and I don’t mean kissing), it could be portrayed to them that it always has to be a man to save the women This could lead to, at a later date in the person ’ s life, that when they have a relationship with a man, the man is the one in ‘control’ and should always take the lead and that it can’t be the other way around Or maybe with the constant show of it being just male with female relationships that it leads them to believe that that is what is the social norm

for a relationship, and it can’t be a woman with a woman or a man with a man These lead to my last question, why can’t a woman save a man?

My second focus point is on the ‘damsel in distress’ and what this means to me, again, in my opinion To me, the damsel in distress means when the women are portrayed as unable to stand up for themselves or when they might be displayed as dumb, weak and feeble or someone that makes ‘irrational decisions’ or even worse cannot make decisions for themselves at all As a child this might not affect much on their behaviour, but things are always influenced by something, so when they are older, they might look back on it and see that – to them – it could mean that women are nothing but a pretty face, or have to be pretty to be seen and taken notice of This can obviously change their behaviour as a person when they talk to women possibly treating them as a pretty object or a ‘damsel in distress’.

princess marries the prince, this suggests that to have a happy ending for themselves, they must marry or, in a woman ’ s case, be saved by a strong man who is capable of standing up for both himself and the woman he is saving

In contrast to the things said in the last 2 paragraphs, there are recent movies that have been created like Mulan, Brave, Moana and Frozen. These movies all show the power women hold, their bravery and skill that they all have in their unique ways In Mulan, she joins a group of warriors, pretending to be a man and succeeding in showing off her skill as a woman In Brave, Merida shows off her lack of need for a man and instead shows off her independent skill of archery and the fact she doesn’t need protecting n Moana,

The next focus point I will go over is the concept of the ‘happy ending’ and what this means in my opinion The ‘happy ending’ is the notion of when the princess and the prince fall in love and get married at the end of the fairytale/Disney film What this ends up portraying to the child is that at the end of their ‘story’, they will have to get married with the man or woman they might have ‘saved’. Obviously, ‘saving’ in the real world could mean literally saving someone, say from an accident, but it could also mean someone saving someone out of a unhappy situation they might be in To children, everything is always influenced by what they see or hear, so when they are older, they may think or believe that for them to be ‘happy’ in the end, they must marry to the opposite gender and stick with that same person forever and be cared for by them and have no real influence in their own life. In the ‘happy ending’, because in almost every single one of the films/fairytales the

In Frozen, Elsa is portrayed as a very independent, strong person and shows her lack of interest in being wed even in her status as queen Her power of ice is all she needs to stand up against the obstacles that come her way All these movies can give a child the view that women don’t always need a man or anyone else for that matter to protect them from what comes their way, leading to the mindset that not all women are in need of ‘ a hero’ when they can be ‘the hero’ themselves It also defends them against the fact that they are ‘damsel in distresses’ and are ‘dumb’ or ‘weak’ or incapable of completing tasks or standing up for themselves and fighting their own battles

In conclusion, on the surface the fairy tales are a harmless escape from reality and very enjoyable, and a very welcomed

retreat from the challenges of everyday life

If they are watched/read with this understanding, and I believe that ultimately this is the intention of the creators really, then that is fine and how it should be Everyone needs to have an escape from the harsh reality of life sometimes and it is good for your wellbeing. However, the underling subliminal messages that are portrayed in Disney films/fairytales intentional or otherwise that we watch/read as children can have a massive impact on our behaviour and thoughts as we grow up This is because as we are growing, our minds our developing and absorbing all the information they can receive and gaining an opinion on what they may believe personally

Popular Disney films and fairytales all tend to be similar with beginning, suspense,

‘danger’ and a happy ending With all of the films/fairytales being repetitive when you really study them They can gain the attention of children and lead them to stick to that piece of information and believe that, yes, that is how they are meant to look, act and be like to be successful and happy. That life is all about the happy endings and there will always be that man to come along and save you from anything bad that you may encounter That you have to be beautiful to succeed in your life, that without beauty you will become downtrodden and left to live alone and succeed at nothing In reality women are powerful and some would say more so in fact than men in a lot of ways

TO WHAT EXTENT DO AIRPLANES HARM THE ENVIRONMENT AND CONTRIBUTE TO GLOBAL WARMING COMPARED TO OTHER COMMON METHODS OF TRANSPORT, AND WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS TO THIS?

WRITTEN BY MATTHEW A

In my essay I will be exploring the environmental impact of airplanes and also compare them to other methods of transport. This topic is extremely relevant in this day and age because every year, more and more people fly in planes, for various reasons such as recreation, business and cargo, therefore polluting the atmosphere with CO2 even more, due to the fuel burnt in the engine. The topics/sub-questions that I will explore in my essay are

“Are planes the most polluting sort of transport?”

“Should we stop flying for the sake of the earth?”

“Are there any other solutions to this problem?”

I chose this specific sector particularly because I have an interest in planes, and I find global warming a big problem that we need to fix as we need to keep our planet alive. I have chosen to complete the EPQ to challenge myself and also to improve my essay writing skills.

"Are planes the most polluting form of transport?”

It is not a secret that all transport types of cause pollution if they burn fuel If we want to answer this question, then we will need to measure the environmental impact of all types of transport and compare them to each other For this essay, I will be measuring in CO2 per passenger per kilometre in grams, kilograms, or tonnes. “The “problem” is that doing these predictions means taking (a lot of) assumptions For instance, the number of travelled kilometres, the vehicle model, or the number of passengers, ” (André Gonçalves - Editor & Head of English Market, 2020) Also, one must consider the global quantity of the type of transport compared to another e g

There are many more cars than planes in the world The source mentioned above has statistics for planes and cars in CO2 per passenger per kilometre and also for other transport types too The statistics for an average car are 55g of CO2 per passenger per kilometre This means that if every car in the world (1 4 billion) went for an average journey of 13 5km travelling with 4 passengers, they would release 4,158,000 tonnes of CO2 in total However, an average sized plane will release 285 CO2g per kilometre per passenger. This means that “if all 23,000 planes in the world had 88 people and travelled about 2800 km, they would release a total of 1,615,152 tonnes of CO2 ” (EEA, 2020) In the end, on average cars do pollute more than planes taking into account the considerable number of cars in the world in comparison to planes My opinion is that we should limit the number of flights so that planes do not have as much carbon emissions in the future

“ would say that this suggests that airplanes do harm the environment but to a much larger extent

Should we stop flying for the sake of the earth?”

This question is a hard question as there are other options that we have to solve climate change, or at least reduce it However, this is a serious issue because around 2 4% of global emissions are caused by aviation. To answer this question, we must think about whether this is realistic or not “Reducing the amount we fly can seem daunting, especially when we have to travel regularly for business or if we enjoy holidays abroad But there are ways each of us can lessen the impact of our travel, and when we do fly, keep the emissions to a minimum ” (BBC news, Timperley, 2022)

This source also states statistics about the global flying rate and also about the UK flying rates It says that “A return flight from London to San Francisco” emits about 5 5 tonnes of CO2 per passenger, more than double the emissions produced by a family car in a year. Even a flight from London to Berlin emits around 0.6 tonnes of CO2e per person, which is 3 times the emissions saved from a year of recycling

Along with this, the emissions from planes are rising rapidly, as the passenger numbers are expected to double in the next 20 years and have increased by 32% between 2013 and 2018

At the moment, around 2 4% of global emissions are caused by aviation. While this may not seem like a lot, it actually is quite a significant contribution since in the UK and US, only 15% of people consider themselves frequent fliers and in the entire world, it is estimated that 3% of people take flights often If everyone in the world took one long haul flight every year, then it would “exceed the US’s entire emissions for a year ” I personally believe that it is unrealistic and that even if this was put into effect not every country would follow it and some people would not be able to stop flying after getting used to it as a present day standard

I feel that flying is normalised now and people will not be able to let go of this

Are there any other solutions to this problem?”

My final question is whether there are any other solutions (other than cutting out flying) to solve this problem “All aircraft emit CO2 as a fuel combustion product Fuel use by the global aircraft fleet has increased a lot over four decades” (White Paper on Aviation Climate Change, 2016)

At first glance, it may seem that there are not any alternative solutions to this problem. But “As part of Inmarsat’s commitment to reducing the effects of man-made climate change, there are a range of satellite technologies available today that can assist in reducing these emissions ” (Inmarsat, 2024) shows us that it will be possible to create more efficient ways to solve this problem This website discusses that satellite enabled communications could cut a staggering 5 5B tones of CO2 per year

It shows that satellite technology can do way more than just deliver passengers safely and securely from A to B, but it can also optimize routes around the weather to make sure that we can remove any unnecessary fuel burn and emissions These satellites will deliver highspeed connections, therefore communicating with air traffic control and pilots quicker and more efficiently

Another way this problem could be resolved is by developing more fuel-efficient engines and creating alternatives to burning fuel, such as hydrogen or electric powered engines, which are being developed. The problem with electric planes is that the batteries can be too heavy and bulky for the plane to fly with the current technology

This means that electrifying planes is not a feasible idea unless we can invent less bulky batteries that can store enough capacity for long haul flights

The problem with hydrogen-powered planes, however, is the lack of charging stations and amount of hydrogen to power 25,000 commercial planes, as this may only be available to us in 30 or 40 years There is one more idea, however, which is water powered planes, but the problem with this is that we don’t have the technology yet and also that water is quite heavy so we would need planes that can hold a lot of water to use. My opinion is that the possibility of switching to electric planes or even hydrogen-powered planes would be a promising idea, given that we are developing the technology to hold them

Conclusion

In this essay I was researching and finding out whether planes were the most polluting form of transport or not and discovering solutions I compared it to other transport like cars, boats and trains and my result was that planes are the most polluting to a medium extent, due to the fact that planes produce way more, but there are 40000x the number of cars and other transport than planes in the world I have learned that this is a significant issue because 2 4% of global emissions are caused by the aviation industry so we may need to find a solution quickly

I have come to the conclusion that forcing people to not fly or trying to get them to stop flying is not a viable idea, as we have all adjusted our lives to flying as a normal thing that we do. I have researched alternatives to burning fuel, such as hydrogen, water powered and electro power but these are not viable alternatives due to factors like weight, how many fuel stations there are, and not having the technology to create these yet I have Luckily, we have found communication satellite technology that will help reduce 5 5B tones of CO2 per year

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF TEENAGERS

AND HOW CAN ANY NEGATIVE IMPACTS BE AVOIDED?

WRITTEN BY NATHANIEL H-B

IIn 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined mental health as “ a state of mental wellbeing that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.” WHO also defined well-being as “ a positive state experienced by individuals and societies.”

Throughout this EPQ essay I will:

Explore the effects of social media and gaming, I will be focusing on Snapchat and VR because they are social media frequently used in my age group.

Find out how social media can impact the well-being and mental state of humans, specifically teenagers. Additionally, I intend to find out if it has caused a negative or positive impact on my mental state or well-being, as well as find out the average amount of time you should spend on your phone daily and if I and other teenagers spend too much time on social media and their phones.

I chose to complete this EPQ because I wanted to use my free time on other things and not just social media and gaming This topic is relevant to me because I use social media a lot, this has caused me to think about what it would be like if we didn’t have social media and gaming. Also, in nowadays society, social media and gaming is a vital part of most people’s life as it is used as escape to reality. Although social media is portrayed as bad effect on your everyday life because of what could happen on it, it also has positive impacts which I will address further into the essay.

The positive influences of social media on teenagers

The positive influences or impacts that social media can inflict on teenagers is being able to talk to your friends and connect with them, having the ability to do this can make a teenager happier and feel more fitted with their friends as they talk too each other online and play with each other Additionally, an article written my Dr Linda Papadopoulos states that social media “provides a platform for young people’s voices to be heard allowing them to have a say on issues that matter to them” [3] Also, social media such as Snapchat doesn’t just allow you to connect with friends and talk to them online, it also has a ‘spotlight’ feature, or a section of the app which you can watch short videos either containing funny thing or sometime educational thing. You can like these posts to see more of them or you can just scroll past them, this feature enables the teenager to be entertained if they have nothing to do or are bored Talking to your friends doesn’t just allow you to feel more connected with them it also can improve how you talk to people and your confidence when talking to people

This can also open you up to more opportunities in the future, because having the confidence to talk to people or in front of lots of people is an important part of life, for many scenarios Social media is normally stereotyped to cause mental health issues for reasons I will address in the next paragraph, although, most people don’t consider the positive things that can come out of it To sum it all up, there are lots of positive influence from social media on teenagers which can affect the wellbeing and mental state in a good way

The negative impacts of social media on teenagers.

There are many negative impacts on teenagers from social media, one of the main one is cyberbullying which could

cause increased feelings of depression, because if someone says something enough you can start to believe it and think less of yourself This is expressed in a survey done by the Royale Society for Public Health which shows that “Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all lead to increased feeling of depression” [1], and a survey completed by Nathaniel HallingBrown shows that 100% of 11–14-yearolds use snapchat and 36% use Instagram Also 80% of 11-14 year olds agreed with the fact that social media can affect your mental state and well being

Fig 1: This shows what social media apps 11-14 year olds use and how many of them use it

Another study undertaken by a 2018 Pew Research Centre survey of nearly “750 13to 17-year-olds found that 45% are online almost constantly and 97% use a social media platform, such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat” [2]

Fig 2: This shows what age group most participated in the survey, it was mainly 11-12

Cyberbullying could also occur on games, it is better well known as toxicity on games which occurs when a player is being rude to another player either because they are better than them, they are jealous because of how good they are or if they are just out to get people and be rude

Although, this isn’t the only negative impact, another is comparing yourself to others, this is when you see someone

that looks or has something better than you, then you start to compare yourself to them and think less of yourself and you could feel uncomfortable with your body image Furthermore, you could get addicted to your phone, and you wouldn’t do as much exercise, which could lead to obesity. This could also make you be uncomfortable with your body image and lead to depression To sum it all up, the negative impacts of social media on teenagers are quite significant on the mental state and well-being of teenagers

Fig 3: This shows the percentage of 11-14 year old that also think that social media can affect your mental state and well-being

How to avoid the negative impacts. These impacts of social media can sometimes be horrific, and that is why we need to find ways to avoid/stop these For example, an article completed by the Mayo

Clinic Staff suggests parents could “set rules and limits” on how their teenager uses social media [4] Another way is by placing a strict ban for cursive words or rude sentences and phrases, we would do this by having a preprepared list of rude phrases and words that are banned from posting

If you tried to post them it would stop the message from posting, this would stop name-calling, and partly stop cyberbullying, because they wouldn’t be able to say anything rude We could also have filters on video platforms and games so you can block certain things from your device, for example, on a game you could block the goriness so it isn’t as unpleasant and bloody, or you could customise who and what you want to see

The final solution to help avoid the negative impacts is bans, this means if you are caught saying rude things or cyberbullying or anything that isn’t allowed, then that device will be completely banned from using that social media platform

One problem for this is that they could sign in with a different email on a different device to get back on the platform and carry on breaking the rules, a way to stop this could be any device purchased from that same person is permanently banned from the social media app Referring back to the question there are many ways to try to avoid the negative impacts of social media on teenagers, although they are also many ways people can abuse these rules and get around them

In conclusion, social media gives equal positive and negative impacts on the mental health and well-being of teenagers, although the negative impacts can be more serious and more important I found out that the social media apps most used in my household are the one portrayed to cause the most mental health and well-being problems, and that this topic is a topic not spoken about enough because there is not much being done about the problems

HAS THE UNITED NATIONS LEARNT FROM THE FAILURES OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS?

WRITTEN BY OSCAR J

In this essay, I will be looking at the failures of the League of Nations and whether the UN has learnt from the past flaws of its predecessor. The League of Nations was set up after World War I as a response to the devastating damage that World War I caused. Its membership consisted initially of 42 nations which by the time it was dissolved in 1945 had diminished to just 23 It’s eventual aim was to foster peace and prosperity, first and foremost for the nations most affected by the global conflict, however, as we will discuss these aims were not met during the course of its existence After World War II, (one of the most notable failures of the League of Nations) the current organisation, the United Nations or UN was formed to expand upon the concepts of the League of Nations and learn from its mistakes

The UN in comparison is made up of 193 member states. Many commentators today would argue that the United Nations is just as ineffective as the league of Nations That in these current times, in a much more global society, with dangerous conflicts and powerful, unstable leaders such as Putin, that these failures could have more dangerous consequences than those of the League of Nations. in this essay, I will explore the past and present problems of these two international organisations, and decide whether the United Nations has truly evolved from the League of Nations. I will explore some of the blunders of the League of Nations in detail including the Manchuria crisis and most notably World War 2

I will explore whether the League of Nations was truly a global institution or if it only had the prosperity of its member states in mind I will then consider the reach of the United Nations, the major failures and issues that are apparent and if it is in fact any different from the League of Nations.

In this paragraph, I will discuss the failures of the League of Nations When commentators consider the League of Nations, one of the most prominent failures discussed is of course World War II and the league of Nations failure to prevent it This is however only one example of the League of Nations failures and does not truly show quite how almost corrupt it was

An example of this was the British Naval Conference of April 1930 which, due to fears of Britain and America (controlling members), forced Japan to keep its navy to 60% of the size of that of Britain and America This is however only one example of the League of Nations failures and does not truly show quite how almost corrupt it was

An example of this was the British Naval Conference of April 1930 which, due to fears of Britain and America (controlling members), forced Japan to keep its navy to 60% of the size of that of Britain and America

This shows how in the League of Nations large countries with influence over other members, truly controlled this supposed democratic institution. This incident at the British Naval Conference could be viewed as a spark for the Manchuria Crisis in in Japan Nationalist /extremist supporters in the Japanese army in that area, angry at the way the government was effectively being controlled by other countries, attacked, and for some time occupied Manchuria and the surrounding area of China, even attacking Shanghai in 1932 Despite being partially to blame, the League of Nations decided to not involve itself in the conflict This shows the unwillingness of countries to participate in conflicts, which don’t directly affect them, and is still an issue surrounding all international organisations As I mentioned at the start of this paragraph probably the most dramatic failure of the league of Nations was the

It seems that all the League of Nations really did in response to Germany and the USSR, invasion of Poland was to remove these countries from the League, achieving nothing and showcasing its real lack of power due to its absence of an army (other than the armies of the countries that it contained) As I mentioned at the start of this paragraph, in this context, it is clear that the League of Nations was, as many people have put it, a “failed international experiment”.

In this paragraph I will discuss the present failures of the United Nations Similarly, to how the league of Nations was founded the United Nations was founded after a devasting global conflict - World War II Its aims were to be a better more inclusive and effective bringer of world peace It’s founders decided to learn from the mistakes of the League of Nations to prevent disasters such as the Manchuria crisis from arising again.

Many experts agree that whilst the United Nations is more effective than the league of Nations, it still lacks the international influence which countries such as America, Britain and Russia have A difference

United Nations is that the UN has a permanent army sustained by all member states (of which there are 193) Referred to as the ‘United Nations Peacekeeping Force’ this army acts all over the world, attempting to keep peace and promote prosperity in the world

How then does this army contribute to the UN’s effectiveness? As we see with most large-scale organisations, there is a large element of bureaucracy in the way the United Nations functions It has complicated procedures and relies on representatives of countries, which may or may not be voted for by the civilians and is in that way, only a very indirect democracy where civilians are concerned Also, the United Nations has a few laws which may be counterproductive to the peacekeeping mission

The international law of engagement makes it extraordinarily hard for the peacekeeping force to actually fight for peace Instead, they are unable to attack unless in self-defence, and once they do start fighting soldiers have to shoot to miss even when fighting against terrorists or corrupt organisations or countries

In the Bosnia Serbia war, UN peacekeepers were sent in, to prevent further devastation, but their presence was inconsequential as the international laws of engagement meant that they could not use force unless in selfdefence The UN’s peacekeeping force failed to prevent the mass genocide of Bosnian Muslims The fact that Serbia was a UN member state meant they had knowledge of UN peacekeeping practices and so were able to exploit these to their advantage This shows one of the many problems with the UN, mainly that as it is an organisation for

peace, it is ill equipped to deal with today’s world full of conflict and war The UN instead aims for negotiation, which is often ineffective when dealing with determined or corrupt people such as the government of Serbia and this could be said to be the main argument for the ineffectiveness of the UN

It is simply not equipped to deal with the fast-changing world and is quickly becoming out of date as the world spirals into problems which need to be fixed now rather than after lengthy debate We are quickly nearing the point of no return in climate change and the UN has yet to come to an enforced and patrolled way of limiting emissions and pollution

This shows how little influence it has inside the countries which it contains as without the security councils intervention the UN can only advise for things to be done not force countries, for instance, limit carbon emissions Currently the security council is only called upon during times of war and is not used for matters which may be even more pressing

In this paragraph I will be comparing both the UN and the League of Nations and their respective failures to ultimately decide whether the United Nations has learnt from the League of Nations One of the main issues of the League of Nations was its inability to enforce laws due to its lack of a permanent army

It could be considered that this has been solved by the United Nations due to the existence of the peacekeeping force That is to some extent true, however, the peacekeeping force is often useless, as we saw in the Bosnia and Serbia war, as it is bound by the international laws of engagement. Another reason we doubt the UN peacekeeping force is the fact that it must be maintained by all member states Some of the biggest contributors to the UN peacekeeping force could withdraw their support for different conflicts, leaving the peacekeeping force bare and empty, unable to even muster up a small army, useless against the larger and freer armies of their opponents However, even though its army has shortcomings, at least it does have an army where the League of Nations was dependent on member countries for military power

Which leads us on to the second comparisonis the United Nations corrupt? (It will always be biased towards these members of the security council – the USA, UK, France, China and formerly Russia) I feel that the United Nations has vastly improved from the league of Nations and it is widely agreed that the United Nations is not in itself corrupt and is generally an inclusive and democratic organisation due to the huge amount of member states giving a much more global perspective.

The functioning of politics internationally does not however protect the United Nations from heavy bureaucracy and as discussed in the second paragraph this is unavoidable for large scale organisations It is simply not reasonable for an international organisation to be able to resolve every issue quickly and to the best interest of all of the people in the world

We assume that the United Nations exists to deal with our problems, however we should not assume that United Nations will be able to solve every problem in the world. It is simply preposterous to suggest that a single organisation be able to address all the shortcomings and all the suffering of the world

The United Nations, despite the unavoidability of bureaucracy to hinder its effectiveness, is still in existence Of course, global peace is just one of the aims of the UN – prosperity of countries throughout the world and dealing with global issues of importance such as climate change are also on its agenda and bureaucracy is a necessary evil in order to deal with these issues as fairly and democratically as possible.

As discussed in paragraph 2, the United Nations is only able to suggest a country does something which means that if a country does not want to listen to the United Nations, they do not have to unless a security council is involved This means that the United Nations simply does not have the intended influence over countries and governments, and its main purpose of promoting peace cannot be wholly achieved, less countries are forced to be peaceful.

For the final comparison, we look to the disastrous failures of the League of Nations for instance, the Manchuria crisis and World War II amongst other political unrest, such as the rise of fascist parties in both Italy and Germany and it is true that the United Nations failures have not yet caused global war However, the United Nations did fail to prevent countless wars in Afghanistan, Vietnam and Ukraine whilst its involvement in the Serbia Bosnia war was no less than disastrous. So is it safe to assume that when faced with global conflict an international organisation cannot deal with it effectively? It seems despite best efforts organisations have failed dramatically when faced with conflict

In conclusion, I agree that the United Nations has to some extent learnt from the mistakes of the league of Nations But as discussed in paragraph 3, the United

Nations has not truly evolved into an all inclusive and effective international organisation What I think sums up the problems with the UN is the ongoing crisis in Ukraine Whilst the UN is trying its hardest at preventing a humanitarian crisis in in Ukraine, it is limited on the basis that it is not able to directly intervene and currently whilst the UN has attempted to send field doctors and physicians into Ukraine to help with the crisis, all of these doctors and physicians have been Ukrainian and it seems that no other country is willing to provide Doctors for the use of the UN in Ukraine The UN is also attempting to raise US$1 1 billion to support Ukrainian refugees, but the fact that the UN is struggling to find what is a relatively small amount of money in global politics shows that it is not equipped as it should be to deal with these issues

Although the UN has tried to set itself apart from the League of Nations and is generally considered no longer a corrupt experiment, inevitably it still shares some of the same problems For instance despite having a military the UN is struggling to use it effectively and like the League of Nations, bureaucracy is preventing swift action when it is most needed It can be said that the UN has only partly learn from the league of Nations failures In our global world we need international cooperation more than ever

In the ever changing and fast paced world I would suggest the UN needs some reworking to be considered effective That is not to say that the existence of the UN is not positive I do believe it is An area where it has changed significantly for the better is in its inclusivity of so many nations The UN currently puts humanitarian issues at the top of their priority list and has surely saved many lives, however I do believe that with changes the impact and reach of the UN could do more good in the world.

DOES PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS’ PAY REFLECT THEIR EFFORTS AND HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO OTHER PROFESSIONS?

WRITTEN BY TOM F

My essay considers the fairness of footballers’ wages, particularly when compared to NHS healthcare workers who “ save lives not goals" but who get paid considerably less I would like to investigate how hard it is to make it as a professional footballer and consider if the wages are deserved. It would be useful to look at all the clubs in the Premier League and see which ones have the highest average pay for players. I would like to think about the ethics of this profession earning so much when there are so many people in need who could benefit from financial support To help me reach a conclusion I have broken down the question into sub questions. I will consider:

How hard is it to become a premier league footballer

How the average pay of footballers compares particularly to nurses, but also to the average pay generally of workers in England.

Where the money comes from to fund such high footballing salaries

How footballers can influence and contribute to charitable causes.

I chose this topic because I love football and I thought it would be interesting to gather opinions of my peers on the topic as well as explore how it is even possible for individual players to receive such huge salaries. I hope this will help me build an understanding of the other side of the beautiful game. I believe that completing the EPQ will develop my essay writing and research skills, plus provides an opportunity to delve deeper into a question that I’ve been thinking about for a while

How hard is it to become a Premier League footballer?

Most people think that a footballer’s job is easy and that they’re getting paid a ridiculous amount for such a simple task What people possibly don’t quite appreciate is the challenges academy players have to face, the amount of time devoted to the sport from a very young age and how difficult it is to make a career out of football “From all the children who play in academies at the age of nine, fewer than 1% will make it professional at any level of the game Only 180 from 1 5 million youth footballers in the UK are likely to make it all the way to the Premier League” (Samba Soccer School, 2020 )

These statistics show that an incredibly high level of talent is needed from an academic player to achieve their childhood goal. They earn so much money because top players are so rare, and like anything, the rarer something is, the more value it has In addition to superior talent, it’s about having the right mindset and attitude to put in 100% effort and take your chances My research on this topic has helped me understand that risks are involved, too; anything could go wrong, and these young players’ hopes of making it could be abruptly dashed If you ’ re a child who has been in a training academy since primary school, it would be damaging to your mental health if you get released

released from the club that you ’ ve been committed to for so much of your life. A footballing career can easily be ruined by injury too Having had to dedicate more time to the sport than academic results may now cause a problem in terms of alternative career options Footballers have put in a lot of effort and risked so much to get to the top, which is one of the reasons they get paid so much

What is the average pay of Premier League footballers compared to nurses and the average pay of workers in England? Premier League players are paid tens of thousands of pounds a week in our footballloving country, but other workers in our society are paid very little, resulting in a massive pay gap The average annual wage of a worker in the UK is £26,000 In comparison, Ronaldo, who played for Manchester United, earns £15 8 million a year It would, therefore, take him 14 minutes to earn the weekly salary of the average UK worker Furthermore, achieving Ronaldo's annual pay would take the average UK worker 712 years

There is a huge contrast in the pay of nurses and doctors to pro footballers This difference supports statements such as “saving lives should pay more than kicking balls” (New York Times, Rosie Kelly-Smith, 2002) A nurse who works in a hospital earns between £28,407 and £34,581 a year, essentially nothing compared to Ronaldo's earnings. A consultant doctor who works for the NHS, who, like a Premier League footballer,

is highly trained and has specialist skills, earns £93,666 to £126,281 a year. However, nurses and doctors dedicate their time to others, helping those who are sick get better Without providing any monetary facts, the opinion of my peers about whether Premier League footballer's pay was fair was evenly mixed, with 40% saying they considered it was fair and 60% saying ‘No’ it was not fair

When I gave them context and stated the wages of nurses and doctors, their fairness opinion changed 84% of respondents now said they did not feel it was fair that premier league footballers were paid so much more than nurses (Appendix A, fig 2), and 92% felt it was not fair they were paid more than doctors (Appendix A, fig 3) Only 12% of respondents felt nurses and doctors’ wages should be less than premier league footballers (Appendix A, fig 4), and 83% said healthcare workers make a bigger impact on their life (Appendix A, fig 5)

The contrast between the pay of premier league footballers and healthcare workers is so great and, therefore, seems unfair when healthcare workers arguably contribute more to society

From left to right clockwise: (Appendix A, fig 1) (Appendix A, fig 2) (Appendix A, fig 3) (Appendix A, fig 4) (Appendix A, fig 5)

Where does the money come from to pay players such high salaries?

After reading the last two paragraphs you may have been thinking ‘but how do football clubs afford to pay their players so much?’ In recent times the demand for the top players has increased and clubs are making 100 million pound signings and paying players more than ever. The reason why clubs can afford to do that is because people have become more interested in football “As a result of globalisation and technological advances such as the pay TV market, football has become more popular and so more profitable ” (Bank of England, 2019) Last year Manchester United had the highest average annual wages for players which was £17 9 million, followed by Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool

The club that had the lowest was Brentford with an average annual salary of £640,000 It’s clear the best players who get paid the most, play for teams that are in bigger cities like London and Manchester Large cities have better infrastructure and can naturally attract more spectators to matches, which in turn helps sales of shirts and merchandise too A clubs’ money is generated by our football loving society; supporters gladly spending their own hard-earned wages to watch their favourite players play for their favourite teams Be this in the stadium or at home by signing up to pay-to-view TV channels

What can footballers do with their status and how are they being charitable?

A lot of professional footballers don’t just keep all their money to themselves, and many players do use their high profile, status and wealth for good If a footballer made a sizeable donation to a charity or was seen to support a particular cause, those who look up to them will want to follow in their footsteps An example of a player like this would be Marcus Rashford

During the COVID-19 pandemic he campaigned for free school meals to continue during periods of lockdown to ensure those children living in poverty could still access this critical source of food “Twice he had to challenge the Prime Minister Boris Johnson to secure that action by government” (UK Fundraising, Howard Lake, 2021). Footballers are in a great position to make a positive difference to society, and many choose to donate time and money to charity because of their own difficult childhood experiences They want to help people that don’t have activities like football as a way out Having talent and effort recognised on the pitch provides an opportunity for top players to give back to communities and support tho fortunate than themselves

Conclusion

It’s hard to reach a clear conc whether premier league playe reflects their efforts, it’s very m on opinion However, when pay to that of other professio that Premier League footballe paid millions of pounds even important jobs in society such are paid very little At the star this essay my opinion was tha of Premier League footballers completely over the top and workers should be earning a money because they contribu society However, I’ve learnt are plenty of players who sha money with charities and help causes, using their high profile important messages across Fo contribute positively to societ because they can be good ro and inspire others I also now appreciation for how difficult mentally and physically to ma top as a premier league playe importantly to stay there To like this is rare, that’s why the

much value placed on them; it’s the reason why clubs are willing to pay the wages they do and why so many people want to watch them play Throughout writing this essay my opinion has slowly reformed; I believe nurses should most definitely still have higher wages, but I think that the wages Premier League players earn is more justified than I initially thought. It would be interesting to compare how wages of premier league footballers compare to the wages of other professional athletes These sportspeople would have sacrificed so much to compete at the top of their games too But that’s another discussion for another day

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I chose my essay theme because I wanted to learn more about how our diet effects the environment It made me think about what I could do to help the planet, for example by eating less meat

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS?

My goal is to be a vet because I’ve always loved animals and I want to help them However, I’m not entirely sure which area I would like to specialise in yet

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR ESSAY THEME?

I chose my essay theme ‘How has the perception of women's football changed and how is it being improved’ because one of my favourite things to do is sport and I particularly enjoy football It was fascinating looking into the history of women ’ s football, and how society’s views towards women ’ s football changed over time

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR GOALS

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WHO ARE YOUR ROLE MODELS, EITHER IN OR OUT OF SCHOOL, AND HOW HAVE THEY INFLUENCED YOU?

My great grandad is my role model, he was in the Royal Artillery and fought in various battles during the second world war, including the DDay landings His stories have influenced me with his determination and resilience

WHICH SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST AND WHY?

I like maths because it’s used in everyday life and it’s very useful I find art very relaxing, and I enjoy games because I like working as a team

WHICH SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST AND WHY?

My favourite subjects are History, Art, and PE/Games I enjoy History because I find it interesting looking at the important events that have happened in the past that people might not really think about anymore, but that continue to shape our future I enjoy art because it helps me to unwind, and I can really get stuck into what I am doing I also enjoy PE/Games because I like playing a range of sports and playing matches against other schools

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS?

I think that being a NASA scientist would be an interesting experience, because I love learning about space and chemistry.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR ESSAY THEME?

I feel that children nowadays are getting too device-obsessive and wanted to see what other people thought about this

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR GOALS FOR THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR?

One of my goals is to pass my grade 7 piano with a decent mark (I am doing my grade 6 in July). My second goal is to reach gold level in swimming. My third goal is to be part of another school performance

WHICH SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST AND WHY?

I enjoy art and drama because they release my inner creativity

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR ESSAY THEME?

I chose my theme because I was interested to see the effects that phones have on the youth and how you can stop addiction

WHICH SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST AND WHY?

I enjoy art and PE the most as you can use expression in your work, and you can push your physical strengths and weaknesses

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR GOALS FOR THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR?

My favourite scholar session this year has been the last 2nd last one as we got to look into the number PI and how the human body’s measurements are not perfect

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE SCHOLAR SESSION THIS YEAR AND WHY?

I enjoy art and drama because they release my inner creativity

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I chose my essay theme as I have always enjoyed watching car related programmes such as Richard Hammond’s Workshop, The Grand Tour, and Top Gear I thought it would be good to find out if electric cars are really the future

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS?

In the future I would like to try studying economics and perhaps look at working in something like investment banking

E THIS ESSAY

offroad cars hat has always nd out lots of uld help with a et (mechanic).

MODELS,

CHOOL, INFLUENCED

My grandparents are people that I look up to because they all do something that I enjoy doing Examples of this are sailing, cooking, mechanical work, birdwatching, and helping with animals

HOW HAS BEING A SCHOLAR CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON EDUCATION AND LEARNING?

Being a scholar has made me realise that even though I am autistic I can still achieve great results and I hope to do well in my future exams Just because you have a disability it does not mean that you are unable to do good things

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE SCHOLAR SESSION THIS YEAR AND WHY?

My favourite scholar session was Mr Douse’s sports science scholar session I really enjoyed this as we learnt about our hearts and how to keep it at a safe and consistent rate while still trying to get fitter

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS?

I have thought about what I want to be when I am older, and I would like to do something that I enjoy As I love cars, learning about them, helping with them, and driving them are my favourite things to do Therefore, I would like to be a mechanic because it covers all my passions

WHICH SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST AND WHY?

I like Games, because I am active and with my friends, all enjoying a sport or game Also, I like German, because my German teacher is nice, and we are allowed to talk while we work This provides opportunities to ask and answer questions and not have to be silent while surrounded by my friends.

ETHAN S

ETHAN O’B

R

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I chose the theme ‘Is time real or is it just an abstract concept’ because the idea of how time zones and twelve-hour days came to be has always fascinated me and I felt it would be interesting to research and learn more about I loved learning about how our concept of time and how we use it has evolved over the centuries and especially how we began to synchronise time through the railways

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS?

I would like to get into Oxford or Cambridge to study physics and computer science

T

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS?

When I am older, I was to be in a Russell Group University, studying medicine to become a cardiologist I have dreamed of becoming a doctor since nursery, as I wanted to help people and make them smile again

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR ESSAY THEME?

I chose the essay “What would happen if bees went extinct?” this is because, since childhood I was afraid of bees and thought they are just some dangerous insects and that it wouldn't change anything if they became extinct So, I decided to do some researched and was shocked to find out how hard they work, not just to provide honey!

WHICH SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST AND WHY?

I really enjoy PE/games, English and science I love PE/games because I like staying active and being part of a team in sports such as hockey and netball I enjoy English because it is interesting to see how different authors write in different ways and learning about different terminology and its uses I also really love science because it is fascinating to learn about different organisms and substances and how we use them and how they were created

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE SCHOLAR SESSION THIS YEAR AND WHY?

My favourite scholar session this year has been the sports science session with Mr Douse as it was really interesting to see how heart rate changes through different movements and exercises It was also fun to create our own exercise based on a heart rate

HOW HAS BEING A SCHOLAR CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON EDUCATION AND LEARNING?

Becoming a scholar or even being recognised for my intellectual ability, really gave me a confidence boost and made me more driven towards lessons I believe that once you get rewarded for doing something you love, you are more focused on doing it and achieving higher

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR GOALS FOR THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR?

During the next academic year, I want to become consistent in my studying, and be more diligent I heard a saying which said that “1 drop doesn't make an ocean ” and the drops being how much effort you put into your work I also want to push myself to get 100 percent in a few of my subject's next time

SAANVI

GEORGIA

LILY-BELLE T

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

My essay theme was on the portrayal of women I chose this topic as it has been discussed over many years and is controversial I wanted to give my opinion on how fairytales influence the role of women in everyday life, and comment on how I have seen it growing up

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS?

I enjoy writing, and also photography, but am yet to decide on the direction any of this will take me This is something I’d like to think about as I progress into my GCSE years

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE SCHOLARSHIP SESSION THIS YEAR, AND WHY?

My favourite session this year has been You are Stardust, because the teacher taught us about how all elements come from supernovas, which I didn’t know before.

WHICH SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST, AND WHY?

I enjoy all the subjects, however I particularly like computer science because we learn how d i h isual basic and

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I chose the essay theme social media and its impact on teenagers, because it is relevant to my age group and nowadays society.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS?

In the future, my mind isn’t completely set on a career path that I would like to go down, but I have been thinking about either law of computing

WHICH SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST, AND WHY?

I enjoy History and have looked at some interesting topics, such as Jack the Ripper and the British empire I like delving deeper into the different topics

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

My essay theme was aeroplanes causing damage to the environment and climate change I chose it because I am interested in planes and aware of the problems of climate change, which we are seeing more and more because of extreme climate events, which I am told are happening more frequently.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR GOALS FOR THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR?

I have achieved my first goal, which was to improve my scholarship results I want to get into the top bracket of essays and improve some of my grades, notably P and R I would also like to broaden my knowledge of the world outside the UK

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR GOALS FOR THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR?

My main academic goals next year are to achieve top grades in all the core subjects and focus on a topic outside my comfort zone in EPQ.

WHICH SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST AND WHY?

My favourite subject is either Maths or History, because I have a large knowledge of both and understand them well

NATHANIEL H-B

MATTHEW A

HOW HAS BEING A SCHOLAR CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON EDUCATION AND LEARNING?

Being part of the scholars programme has allowed me to consider positions for myself I didn’t even know existed before now and has broadened my horizons and approach to extracurricular learning.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR ESSAY THEME?

I chose my essay theme because of my involvement in MUN and felt it was an interesting topic of discussion

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I chose my essay topic because I have always wondered why footballers get paid so much more than other professions, particularly healthcare workers, this topic has always been in the news and is highlighted in the transfer window

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE SCHOLAR SESSION THIS YEAR AND WHY?

My favourite scholar session this year was “ you are stardust” because it was interesting to find out how some elements in our body are created when stars blow up

WHO ARE YOUR ROLE MODELS, EITHER IN OR OUT OF SCHOOL, AND HOW HAVE THEY INFLUENCED YOU?

My absolute role model is Nikola tesla, who proved anything we can imagine is possible, and Dr Brian cox who gives exciting dives into sometimes complicated things in a way people can understand.

WHICH SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST AND WHY?

I enjoy history and science the most, and can’t wait for triple science in year 9, because I think these subject give you a broad knowledge in lots of different areas

WHICH SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST AND WHY?

The subjects that I enjoy the most are probably PE because I like playing new sports that are fun and keep me active, and also maths because I like problem solving

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS?

I don’t really have a clear idea of what I’d like to be in the future, but I know that I would like to have a job that involves sport or engineering or maybe even both

"Education in the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Nelson Mandela