Horizons Vol 1 - Lingfield College Academic Scholars Magazine 2022-23

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

This year, for the first time, we offered an EPQ club to Year 8 and 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

Evaluating the project in a written and a verbal presentation

"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 I hope that you enjoy the new format of our Scholars Essay Booklet, which we felt would be a better showcase of their incredible work "

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 14th June, where will announce the prize-winner of each year group

CHRISTINA HUBBARD

HEAD OF SCHOLARS

MEET OUR YOUNG EMERGING WRITERS

WHAT WAS POLAND LIKE IN WORLD WAR TWO?

19

SHOULD CAPITAL PUNISHMENT BE ABOLISHED WORLDWIDE?

22

THE SCRAMBLE FOR RARE EARTHY METALS AND WHY THE BATTLE FOR SMALL OBJECTS IS SO IMPORTANT TO THE WORLD?

25

IS FAST FASHION RISKING OUR PLANET FOR TRENDING CLOTHES?

DO MEAT FREE MONDAYS MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

WRITTEN BY TOM F - YEAR 7

A lot of natural resources are required to produce meat, but these resources could be used for other foods that would feed more people. Climate change is getting worse and worse, and I am hoping this topic will help people to understand that meat doesn’t just appear on a plate. Meat production contributes to greenhouse gases and every small action we take can create a big impact. There are many people doing the best they can to get the message out that our world is slowly getting destroyed. Sir David Attenborough is one of those people, he is such an inspiration and I have watched all his documentaries Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Seven Worlds One Planet and programmes like this illustrate how the world is being torn up by climate change. David once said, “the future of humanity and indeed all life on Earth depends on us ” . To save our planet we need to stop the things that are putting greenhouse gases into the air Farming contributes to global warming and I’m wondering, if everyone has a meat free Monday would it play a part in tackling climate change? I am passionate for our planet, its animals, its rainforests, its oceans and when I’m older I do not want to see a world of devastation.

Climate change is the biggest problem we are facing at the moment and if we don’t start to act and make a difference then in the future our world would have fallen to ruins. One of the biggest impacts on the environment is global warming, the carbon emissions floating into our atmosphere are making the world warm up I can see on TV that Antarctica is slowly melting away, which causes the seas to overflow and that will make floods and there would be less land to live on Floods can cause masses of people who live by the coast to move further inland and that can lead to over population in these areas The animals that live on the ice would become extinct because their homes would be destroyed There have been massive floods in Pakistan which destroyed and damaged about one million homes, wrecked 3000km of road and killed 2000 people Bush fires are breaking out in Australia, burning down the trees that create oxygen and habitats for many animals like koalas and birds Even in England last year there was a heatwave and a drought, I had never experienced anything like that before. It got so bad that my local pond dried up and you could walk in it without getting wet Then in November it seemed to rain forever and in December it was freezing My football matches were cancelled for six weeks, half the time because of waterlogged pitches the other half because of frozen pitches!

All the world leaders came together in COP27 (Conference of Parties) to discuss what the world could do about climate change One of their objectives was to work together to limit the global temperature rise to 1 5 degrees Celsius There are excessively big effects on the environment and our use of natural resources when it comes to farming livestock for meat The first problem with farming livestock is the amount of land that is needed for the animals to live on. To get this land it might involve having to chop down trees and get rid of lovely landscapes, animals and their habitats

An area of rainforest equal to 100 football pitches is cut down every hour to make room for livestock Around 60% of the world’s agricultural land is used for beef production, yet beef only produces less than 2% of the world’s calories. Livestock, particularly cows, create more pollution than the entire transport system, this is because the animals are constantly eating which causes them to burp and break wind, and that creates methane It doesn’t sound like much but imagine the difference that is made when 1 5 billion cows are burping every minute Methane has 80 times more warming power than carbon dioxide, and every day the world is getting that slightest bit hotter Agriculture creates 14 5% of the world’s carbon emissions, 9 4% of the world’s carbon emissions come from the production of beef and cow burps

A beef cow will give you 300kg of meat

That’s about 1500 portions of food

The process of meat takes a lot of time and effort to make It may take more than you think to turn an animal into edible food but, is all the effort and resource worth it? By resources I mean the land, water, vegetables, fruits and plants that are used to feed the livestock, which is the first process of meat Many crops are needed for livestock, 62% of the world’s cereal crops are used to feed livestock and only 23% to feed humans. Imagine how much other food we would have if more than half of our crops weren’t given to cows, pigs and chickens It takes around two to three years until a cow is ready to be slaughtered for meat Then the beef would have to be processed so it is ready for eating It can sometimes take 30 bathtubs of water to produce one beef burger which is a big waste

However, cows eat a lot of vegetables and crops, the amount of food a cow eats in its lifetime could feed more people than the cow itself! This is why plant-based food is better for the environment because it doesn’t waste our world’s natural resources The process is also cheaper because you just use the food that is already available rather than feeding it to livestock A vegetarian diet requires two and a half times less the amount of land needed to grow food This land could be put to better use, and we could re-create rainforests so animals can have their habitats back rather than it being used for livestock

All the above indicates, it would be so much better for the environment to have a vegetarian diet You could eat plenty of plant-based meals which are healthier for you and don’t put Earth’s natural resources to waste I do like pork ribs, steak and beef burgers but I’m wondering now if there are alternative options out there. Maybe I could swap my bacon bap for a beetroot burger

On a Monday I would normally have cheerios with milk, but given cattle are also in farms because of dairy production as an alternative option I could have cereal with oat milk instead For lunch I could swap a roast beef sandwich with mustard for a beetroot burger with lettuce I would have a chickpea and sweet potato curry for dinner rather than a chicken katsu curry because chickens are the third biggest livestock pollution producers I spoke to dietitian Amy Gittins about what foods I would need to eat instead of meat to get the right nutrients to keep healthy. You can get protein by eating things like lentils, beans, chickpeas, seeds and nuts Eggs and dairy are also good There are meat substitutes like soya burgers and Quorn which are good for protein but apparently, they can often be salty and high in fat so I need to make sure I don’t eat too much Vitamin B12 is essential but only a small amount is needed and is found in eggs and dairy.

Dairy foods also help with calcium, but so do dried fruits, nuts and leafy green vegetables such as kale. Iron is needed to keep us healthy and without it our bodies won’t produce enough red blood cells which will make us tired Iron is found in dried fruits, wholegrains, nuts, beans and leafy green vegetables but iron from these foods isn’t absorbed by the body as well as it is from meat Amy advised to eat fruits and vegetables that have lots of vitamin C to help my body absorb more iron from the plant sources I eat. Amy said zinc is particularly important for me as a child because it helps with growth and to fight illness Like iron, you get more zinc from animal foods than plants but eggs and milk help, as well as wheat germ, beans, nuts, seeds, mushrooms and some fortified breakfast cereals

All this information has proven to me that meat free Mondays would make a difference and has convinced me to try it out The Meat Free Monday initiative is

already supported by some companies, schools and even Burger King, but I think more should be done. We should all stop talking about what’s going to happen in 2050 and start to take action to prevent the bad things from happening

Only 5% of our world’s population is vegetarian but if we can bring that up to about 15% then there will be a massive difference

Every one of us can help limit global warming and take care of our planet By making choices that have less harmful effects on the environment, we can be part of the solution and influence change (United Nations, ActNow)

WHAT IS THE BEST POLITICAL ECONOMIC SYSTEM?

WRITTEN BY NATHANIEL H - YEAR 7

A political-economic system is a set of rules that determine the way a country is run

There are different types of political economic systems, each with its strengths and weaknesses. The purpose of this essay is to explore the three main political economic systems which are, communism, capitalist democracy, and socialism Communism is a political-economic system in which the government owns and controls all companies, and everyone works together to produce goods and services. As the government owns all the companies, there is little competition which means there is little driving improvement In communism, everyone is equal which may seem good, but possibly isn’t as it is difficult for people to self-improve, because everyone has the same pay. Capitalist democracy is a system, in which most companies are privately owned. This allows competition between companies which leads to improvement - an example is Xbox and PlayStation, they keep improving their game consoles to ensure people will buy them. Most democracies have more freedom as to what you believe in and speak. And finally, there’s socialism which is similar to communism The citizens are only allowed to own small businesses and the

government owns important businesses Socialism also allows freedom as to what you believe in Other political systems include dictatorship and populism An example of a dictator is Joseph Stalin, who was the General secretary of the communist party of the Soviet Union and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union He brought the Soviet Union to its death between 1924 and 1953 Populism is when someone is liked for saying what ordinary people want to hear An example of a populist is Donald Trump or Boris Johnson Both these leaders focus on saying what people wanted to hear, and this caused many people to vote for them.

Communism is a political-economic system that allows mainly the government to control the country The citizens of the country are not allowed to be involved in democracy Communism also lets the government control all the companies as to what they sell and the price they sell it at As an example, North Korea is a communist country and it’s known for isolating the citizens from getting information about their government, and people dying from poverty Another example is the USSR which is an old communist country that collapsed because of the poor economy The USSR could have lasted a while, but because of the cold war, they had to spend money on weapons instead of essential equipment, such as farming equipment, causing them to collapse. The advantages of a communist country are that the government has control over everything allowing it to be more organized Also, there is no competition between companies as the government controls all the companies, so there is no controversy Another advantage is that everyone is equal because they all have the same pay It also makes health care, education, and employment available to all citizens. The disadvantages of communism are that the government controls the lives of the citizens by forcing them to have a job to

receive benefits

Another disadvantage is that communism eliminates the free market A further disadvantage is that everybody being equal might seem good, although it’s not all the time as there is no room for personal improvement. Your wealth also belongs to the government if you follow the rules of communism In my opinion, a communist country is bad because you barely have any freedom, and all the companies don’t have competition, thereby stopping them from improving Also, when you get a job, you know you are getting paid the same amount as everybody else, and you can’t improve your pay by getting a better job, so you are stuck with the same rules and payment until you leave the country. When you look at the idea of communism it seems very good and will work quite well, but when it is used in real life it doesn’t work out because of corruption, poverty, and the need for humans to improve

Capitalist democracy is a politicaleconomic system where all trade and industries are privately owned and allowed to do what they want if they stay within the rules of the government The government doesn’t own any companies but places a set of rules that all companies must follow It is citizens that own them and are allowed to compete with others

As an example, the UK is a country with capitalism, all citizens are free to choose what they do if they follow the rules the government has set, also, the allowance of free speech makes the country a better place Citizens in a country with capitalism are allowed to vote in or out who they want, this shows that a free democracy is very important to allow the citizens to adjust the country to the way they like it The advantages of capitalism are that all citizens have the right to democracy and the right to choose their future Also, all citizens are free to choose their job and get better pay Capitalism allows companies to respond and compete within the marketplace, creating improvisation and improvement The disadvantages of capitalist democracy are that as citizens have control over who runs the country, then people who are not very smart might make rash decisions and vote for bad leaders such as Boris Johnson or Donald Trump

Another disadvantage is that your salary is chosen by your employer and many people have gone on strike for bad pay

From my point of view, I think that capitalism is good because freedom of speech and human rights are more important than anything, and allowing citizens to get different salaries and companies to control what they sell and the price they sell it at lets everybody and every company improve

Socialism is a political-economic system that allows all citizens to own small businesses such as your local bakery or a corner shop Whereas the government would own important businesses such as electrical, water, gas, and internet companies So, in a socialist country, the government owns most businesses while allowing room for the citizens to run small companies Socialism is similar to communism because in communism the government owns all the companies, whereas in socialism the government owns most of the companies and allows the citizens to own a few small businesses.

An example of a socialist country is China

China’s government has one party, a communist party China is most known for its architectural wonders such as the Great Wall and Forbidden City, its variety of delicious food, its martial arts, and its long history of invention The advantages of a socialist country are that the government controls the main companies meaning it would be well organized. Another advantage to socialism is that people have total freedom as to what they believe in, and there are equal classes Also, you can vary your salary with better jobs which means you can self-improve The disadvantages of a socialist country are that the citizens lose individual initiative and start depending on the government to organize their electricity water and gas taxes. Another disadvantage is that most of the companies would be small or local as the government owns the important businesses, which means there would be

less competition between companies

From my point of view, I would say that socialism is a good economic political system I think this because having freedom and being a unique version of yourself is vital. Also being able to choose how you live your life is very important even though the citizens are mostly going to be at a standstill position if they own a company because small companies such as the local barber and the barber in the neighboring town wouldn’t compete as they don’t need to, unless, of course, they were on opposite sides of the road

In conclusion, the best political economic system depends on its economic growth, history, culture, and its environment. I believe capitalism is the best political economic system as allowing citizens to do what they want is most important and capitalism’s economic growth is much better than communism Although the others have many good strengths, their weaknesses overran the strengths as they were much more important, such as being an organized country is much more important than the country’s citizens having very little freedom and control over how it is run Also, capitalism allows lots of room for improvement in companies whereas in communism the companies’ items don’t change and it engraves laziness in the citizens as the government does everything for them Socialism is quite good but its merely a mix of capitalism and communism, all the important companies are controlled by the government meaning there is no improvement in them, and all the small businesses are privately owned and as they are just small businesses there is not much competition between them as they don’t need to

CAN WE CHOOSE TO FORGET?

WRITTEN BY OSCAR J - YEAR 7

Memory is what we build our lives on; the fact that something deep down always guides us; that feeling of safety is often created by a comforting memory of the past. But if we could decide what we can remember, would that have an effect on the way we live our lives? What we could contribute to the world? Our shortterm memory is proven to be unstable, collecting information and disposing of it just as quickly The way an event reaches our long-term memory from which it is remembered and valued is through a process known as encoding. There are three main types of encoding, known as visual acoustic and semantic The way a memory reaches our short-term memory is for a combination of acoustic and visual encoding to take place This way our brain will repeat the memory and visualise a list of information until we might remember it for a time. However, to truly remember and value that memory in your long-term memory we must use semantic encoding in which a piece of information experienced is exchanged for the meaning of that experience This means it is much harder to forget a memory once it is in the semantic form.

Scientists and psychologists alike have argued that it is very unlikely that once a memory has entered your subconscious and long-term memory it would be very unlikely for it to be able to be destroyed This is mainly because of the way neurons work The neurons that form the connections in your brain are highly unlikely to expire before your death. You may be thinking the neurons that existed in your brain when you were a baby no longer exist anymore as you do not think like a baby However, the connections these neurons formed at that time have simply been repurposed to better suit your current life This means a neuron can never truly die unless you suffer from a disease such as Dementia or Alzheimer’s

If there is a memory in your subconscious that you cannot really remember that well it is probably because the neuron that was holding that memory there has been partially repurposed This means that the memory is still there but extremely hard for you to recover If this theory is correct it means you can never truly forget a long term memory (We are not including short term memories in this argument as by design you will forget some of your short term as this is simply how your brain

memories are not accurate recollections of the event is an ancient one

Many of if you may have experienced a time when someone has said “that's not how I remembered it!” This could be a strong argument that you can forget something or partially forget something Our subconscious can also be accused of altering our memories to best suit our own purposes Why do I raise this point I hear you ask? Because this provides evidence for both sides of the argument! Although it is true that you are altering your memory it shows that you can never truly forget the memory itself The very fact that your memory remains even after severe alteration via your conscious and subconscious may mean that you cannot ever truly forget.

The subconscious has an effective tug on our deep memory so even if you do not know it you have hidden memories in your brain As I discussed in the first paragraph the way to access these memories is with a memorial trigger Such triggers will have something to do with the event and will likely be at the core of the memory that it is triggering. For instance, if someone is trying to make you remember the time

In conclusion once a memory has entered your sub consciousness you cannot truly forget it (unless you suffer from a brain disease such as Dementia or Alzheimer's) This is because of the neural structure in your brain However, whilst the memory is still in your short-term memory it is possible, via methods such as trigger blocking, repeating the opposing view and focusing on that memory to forget. Once in your long-term memory it can be very hard to forget however research has shown that it could be possible (as long as it has not reached your subconscious) Once in your subconscious however then it seems that is impossible to forget and only your very valued memories make it into your subconscious The conclusion I've come to whilst researching and writing this essay is that in all probability you can't purposefully forget a long-term memory This conclusion is controversial There is still no clear answer, and research is ongoing

Although it seems short term memories can be purposely forgotten the reason I believe we cannot choose to forget is because important, meaningful memories will almost always enter our long term memory and then the subconscious and the biological structure of our brains, the

HOW WAS MUSIC CREATED AND WHO HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY TO MAKE IT HOW IT IS TODAY?

WRITTEN BY LILY-BELLE T – YEAR 7

I decided to write my essay about music because I enjoy it so much, and listen to all kinds of music every day, and have done so for a few years now. So to look in to the other side of music, as in not just listening to it, but to find out more about the music industry and how music actually came about it seemed like a good topic for me to write about. In doing so, it gave me the opportunity to broaden my knowledge of music rather than just listening, singing or dancing to it.

Doing a google search the definition for music says that music is the art of arranging sound to create some combination to form, a harmony, a melody, a rhythm or otherwise expressive content. With different melodies comes different instruments. People have created orchestras that have many different instruments of different kinds to make music using notes A note is a representation of a musical sound made from an instrument. My research tells me that It is estimated that there are roughly 1500 different instruments in the entire world. These are put into different ‘families’ to make up the total of 4 families

The families are called woodwind, string, brass and percussion Of course really anything can be used as a instrument, if it makes a sound by tapping it or blowing it or hitting it, you can create music For example a row of ordinary bottles made of any material each filled with different levels of water when tapped with a stick or other implement will produce a sound, each bottle producing a different sound depending on the level of liquid in them Tap each bottle in different sequences and you have produced a piece of music You don’t have to buy an expensive instrument to produce music Natives and some cultures make their instruments from animal skins and bone They will happily create their music with those and enjoy this as much as we do our music.

My research further told me that music developed when humans first started using different noises to express fear or joy

These sounds, along with some of the sounds they heard from animals, such as birds' chirping, led them to make music

When people began to use tools, for instance pound grains, they started to create a rhythm or a regular pattern Music is said toimprove your health and wellbeing. A study from a well-known and educated school showed that relaxing music may lower blood pressure and heart rate after physical exertion It can also improve mood and reduce anxiety through bringing people together, can be an antidote to loneliness and social isolation

So in short, music has the power to culturally, morally, and emotionally influence our society. Therefore, the more intentional we become with the sounds, messages and moods we create and release through our music, the more powerful we will become in making deep positive impacts or of course negative ones Music can be used to get a message across, like in adverts or in films when a mood is trying to be created The background music sets the mood or atmosphere of the scene

Music can excite you or calm you You can drift away into music imagining that you are on the stage singing out to the crowds that have come to see you

No one knows who invented music There is no historical evidence that tells us who sang the first song, whistled the first tune, hummed the first note, made the first beat, wrote the first sheet of music or created the first rhythmic sounds that resembles some sort of tune that could resemble what people know today as music

Through the years music has changed in its format considerably From vinyl records that you played on a turntable which produced the mono sounds and you would listen through one speaker, and only inside a building These then moved forward to being able to be played in stereo. To moving forward to the cassette tape that made listening to music portable. Music was recorded onto a tape and you would play this on a tape machine that had it’s own speaker to listen to the mono tone of the recording, that in time also was able to be listened to in stereo People would have these tape cassette players in their homes and cars When the internet was born it began to change the whole way we started to listen to music, making it far more accessible and readily available

with just a click of a button Millions, even maybe billions of tunes at your fingertips literally 24 hours a day 7 days a week In recent years along came the digital era of music. The internet was invented, which besides many other things, it made streaming music from the internet onto your phone, speaker, tv, laptop or iPad etc possible, which in turn enabled us to be able to have music around us whenever we wanted to listen to Our homes filled with music from speakers placed in every room, if we wanted them in every room Full stereo surround sound submersing you deep into the beat So much so that you can be taken away to where ever you want to go. Music has become accessible to everyone and anyone at any time, day or night 24 hours a day The quality of music available to all is now far superior to the mono flat tones of the past Surround sound speakers allowing you to become engulfed in a world of music at its highest quality

We can listen to our chosen music whatever we are doing, long gone are the days when music at home could only be played on the record player or a radio

The music industry consists of the individuals and organisations that make money by writing

songs, music, creating music, selling songs, teaching music and supplying music to various avenues Musicians, singers, performers for theatre, films, concerts, TV, radio and so many more Today with music on films, plays, theatre, TV to name but a few, music is everywhere, you just have to listen The morning chorus from the songbirds, the radio, your alarm clock etc are all producing music

Major record labels currently make up over 85% of the music industry, it is the largest market in the world, so my research tells me In the first half of 2022 in the USA the music industry is said to have made over $7 7 billion dollars In the UK, it is said to have made £100 billion dollars for the same year. In digital sales, the UK are said to be the largest in Europe. My research has lead me to find that Michael Jackson, who was known as the king of pop is said to have had the biggest impact on the music industry breaking all records around the world, and setting new ones on his solo journey He started out with his brothers and they were known as the Jackson five However, it was his solo departure from them that really took him to a different level. To even things out just a little, but not really, Madonna is said to be the best selling woman artist within the music industry My research tells me that she sold over 300 million records worldwide Really nowhere near Michael Jackson At the height of her career in the 1980’s she also influenced music with controversial lyrics and videos Both artists are still very well known today, with their music still being played for this generation. Both artists were American, but of course known all over the world by all ages Michael Jackson created the moon walk, a dance that so many have tried to copy, and had a very well-known music video and album called Thriller in 1982 it went 30 times multi-platinum in America This alone is said to have sold over 70 million copies worldwide being the bestselling album ever Sadly Michael Jackson is no longer

with us, passing away at the age of fifty years old in 2009 His music still lives on being played regularly even today It is sad that he was unable to enjoy his accomplishment, he had worked so hard to achieve Both of these artists were in the eighties where it is said by some was one of the best eras for music and talented musicians. That of course is a matter of opinion, and I myself would probably tend to disagree with that Although I do enjoy listening to some of the eighties music at times That is one thing to add about music, it is always there It doesn’t matter how much time has passed you can still turn the clock back and listen to music of the past

WHAT WAS POLAND LIKE IN WORLD WAR TWO?

WRITTEN BY MATTHEW A - YEAR 7

I chose this question because it resonates with me, as my Grandfather was from Poland, and he was born in World War Two. For his 80th birthday, we gave him an autobiography of his childhood which I recently read, and this sparked an interest in me because I already have an interest in World War Two. I predict that the answer to this question will be that it was traumatic, especially for a young child who experienced bombing and fleeing from large towns and cities Throughout this essay I will discuss how World War Two impacted on my Grandfather and on the country itself during and after the war. Finally, I will discuss any other relations or benefits on Poland such as the change of infrastructure My Grandfather was just 5 years old when the war ended, and he had to walk many miles to escape the war and bombing from the Germans, leaving behind the safety of his home. Despite the fact he was young, he remembered a lot from that time, especially as it was a traumatic experience for him and his family An example of this was when he was seventy-six on bonfire night, he said that he didn’t like the fireworks as they reminded him of the bombing. As we know, many people died in the war due to bombing, and there were many close calls to death, of which my Grandfather experienced.

Many people also had to resettle in different places throughout Poland Also, I will be discussing how World War Two may have had a positive effect on Poland, as well as a negative effect Of course, World War Two was bad on every country, but I will be discussing if any of the results of the war could have been at all positive.

My Grandad was born in 1940 which was in the middle of the war and was also about the time that the Germans had decided to try to decapitate and take over the Polish nation They put as many young Polish men into concentration camps as possible, whatever their faith This was before the Holocaust had started and eventually led to my Grandfather’s dad being put into Auschwitz when it was first created He was bought out of it by someone who paid for his release This was very relieving for my Grandfather and his family, as they knew he would be safe When he was four years old (in 1944) the war was coming to an end My great Grandfather was teaching physics in an underground University, which had to be created because the Germans were trying to eliminate any Polish culture and education there was left. Because he was teaching, he had associations with an underground movement known as the Armia Krajowa (AK), the largest group of freedom fighters in Europe at the time, which had around 20,000 people all over Poland Also in 1944, the Russians were standing on the side of the Vistuła River, and they had defeated the Germans in Russia with the idea that they were going to come to help the Polish underground in an uprising, and get rid of the Germans However, this was wrong, because when the Insurrection started, the Russians just stood there and watched as the Polish forces were absolutely destroyed by the Germans My Grandfather had to flee Warsaw with his parents, and his Grandmother due to the Insurrection and

he walked to a place called Bernerowo, which is about 13 kilometres south of Warsaw This is only a sixteen minutes’ drive today, but walking in World War Two would have taken almost three days, which is what he had to do at just 4 years old, with a broken shoe.

The effect on Poland that World War Two had was catastrophic It lost over 5 million of its population (about 15% died) over the 5 years of the war and it was estimated that PLN (Polish Zloty) 6,202,060,900,000 was lost in damage which is about £1,175,600,000,000 During World War Two, Poland suffered the largest losses of all European countries in relation to the total population and national wealth which affected many people including my Grandfather’s family After the war, the entirety of Eastern Europe was taken over by Soviet troops The reason given was that Russia had to come to the aid of its “blood brothers”, the Ukrainians and Byelorussians, who were trapped in land which was illegally annexed by Poland Lots of citizens were forced to resettle by the Soviet rule over the country and also during the war many Poles were forced to move as they didn’t want to get involved in the battle and fighting There were also food shortages

During the war, Poland suffered many severe food shortages due to the German policies of agriculture and the destruction of infrastructure There was also forced labour, because the German authorities required Poles to work often in brutal conditions. Some were even sent to concentration camps and spent the rest of their days there As well as these, the destruction of infrastructure was horrific after many buildings were destroyed, including schools, hospitals, factories and even houses Despite the hardships of the war, many Poles engaged in an underground resistance as mentioned earlier against the Germans

These included acts of sabotage, propaganda and espionage There was also persecution of minorities in Poland as well as the rest of the world such as Jews, Romani people and members of the LGBTQ+ community According to the Polish government's 1931 census, there were 3,113,900 Jews living in Poland at that time. In fact, before World War Two, Poland had the largest Jewish population in Europe and the second largest Jewish population in the world after the United States of America

It could be argued that World War Two shaped the future of modern Poland This is because alongside all the destruction and losses it would have increased their global recognition from other countries as well as being a key participant in the Allied effort, and its contribution deserves its right place in the international community Also, it helped them establish new territorial gains and bigger borders, as at the end of the war their borders were redrawn, and the country was given new territory to the east, which was before part of the soviet union As well as this, the devastation allowed them to rebuild their infrastructure and modernise the economy. It also received aid from other countries such as the United States to help quicken the rebuilding process Finally, after the war had ended, a new political communist system was introduced into Poland and although this may not have been a great change, it did help shape the country's social structure and political system

The atrocities and war crimes committed in World War Two, including the Holocaust, led to a greater awareness of the need for human rights In Poland, this has helped to promote commitment to promoting tolerance, human dignity, and democracy World War Two also led to the creation of the United Nations and other international organisations made to get peace, security, and cooperation among nations. Poland is an active participant in these efforts Despite the devastation and destruction of the war, Poland has made strides in modernising its economy post-war and today, Poland is one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe Also, the war led to the destruction of many cultural treasures in Poland, such as buildings, art and literature Efforts to preserve and renew these assets is a major focus of post-war reconstruction too, helping to promote a sense of cultural identity among Polish people

In conclusion, the effect that World War Two had on Poland was catastrophic on the people and country itself. It resulted in the loss of over 5 million of its population and significant damage to the country's infrastructure For those who survived, it was a traumatic experience that affected them for the rest of their lives This is evident in the case of my Grandfather, who had to flee his home at a young age and experienced the horrors of war Despite this, Poles made an underground resistance against the Germans, showing their resilience and determination to fight back

It is clear that World War Two had a negative effect on Poland, but it could also be argued that it shaped the country's future Poland's contribution to the Allied effort in the war deserves recognition and has helped to increase its global recognition The war also ended in changes to the country's infrastructure and government, which may have had some positive effects However, it is to say that the devastating impact the war had on Poland and its people and remember the sacrifices made by those who fought and died in the war My Grandfather did not fight in the war due to him being too young, but we must remember all those who did.

World War Two shaped the future of modern Poland

SHOULD CAPITAL PUNISHMENT BE ABOLISHED WORLDWIDE?

WRITTEN BY RUFUS C – YEAR 8

Capital punishment is the legally authorised killing of someone for a crime Methods of capital punishment are hanging, the electric chair, the gas chamber, firing squad and most frequently used today; lethal injection. In 2021, China executed the most people in the world (more than 8000 people), Iran executed the second most with 314, then Egypt with 83. In this essay I will discuss and analyse whether the death penalty can ever be justified However, to answer this question we need to know why it is still validated when to kill someone is the ultimate punishment for a crime as it is irreversible and worse than any other punishment To justify sentencing someone to death you need to be 100% certain that it was them who committed the crime as you cannot take it back if you find out they’re innocent However, this is very hard as there is still always a chance that they were wrongly convicted. You must also know that they are not suffering any mental illness as if they are then they should be put in a secure psychiatric hospital and not on death row. If The death penalty is to exist, it must also be distributed equally and not in a racist way where some races or religions receive it significantly more than others.

In addition, you must also know whether it actually works and positively impacts the number of murders in that location After narrowing down who is going to be put on death row with all these justifications, there is going to be a very minimal amount of people who get sentenced to and killed by the death penalty So, is there really any point in having it?

In this paragraph I will discuss whether the death penalty is distributed equally and fairly across the whole population. Capital punishment is legal in 55 countries As of 2022, 2,414 convicts are on death row in America and an estimated 4 1% of these are innocent meaning that unless they are exonerated of their crime then approximately 100 innocent people will be killed, and 100 more people will get away with murder as the crime will no longer be investigated This is also a problem in China where since 2007 at least 8000 people have been executed each year and a staggering one in eight are believed to be innocent This means that by the end of this year 16,000 people in China will have been wrongly executed since 2007

Recently a Japanese man named Iwao Hakamada who was on death row for 45 years, was granted a retrial to prove his innocence He was released from prison in 2014 but he still wants to prove his innocence as new DNA evidence will cast serious doubt on his conviction, this shows that the court cannot always know who is guilty and who is innocent When considering racial bias, in the general US population 13% of people are black and 77% are white but of the death row inmates 38% are black and 59% are white which means that there is a definite racial bias in the court of law system This may be due to unconscious bias, but it is mostly due to racism which is incredibly unfair. In addition when looking at people with mental illnesses the death penalty is not applied fairly All states in the US have been urged by the UN Commission of human rights not to execute anyone with

any form of mental disorder such as schizophrenia which can give you hallucinations Despite this, 5 to 10% of people on death row have a mental illness that may have caused them to kill someone or admit to something they didn't do. Approximately 10% of all homicides in the United States are due to people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder One example of this is David Berkowitz, more commonly referred to as Son of Sam, who killed six people in the 1970s claiming that his neighbour’s dog had told him to do it This shows that the death penalty is distributed unfairly and therefore should most certainly not be justified as many people who receive it are innocent and some races/cultures receive it more than others

One reason often used to support the death penalty is that it will deter people from committing murder However, I don’t think that it does For example, in America 24 states officially use capital punishment, the states with the highest murder rates are Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama and all of these states use the death penalty hence it hasn’t deterred people. You may think this is just chance, until you see the rest of the statistics and you see that the states with the death penalty usually have higher murder rates than those without Despite this there may be other reasons for these higher murder rates such as it is a poorer state, so they use the death penalty because they can’t afford to keep them alive in prison and since it is a poorer state people need money and sometimes the only way to get it is murder. I doubt this is the case though, because even some of the richest states like Wyoming use the death penalty and still have fairly high murder rates There are, however, a couple of anomalies to this rule for example in Utah they have the death penalty, but the homicide rate is only 2 9 per 100,000 Another anomaly is in Illinois where they have no death penalty, but the homicide rate is at 11.2 per 100,000. Overall, this

means that the death penalty most certainly does not prevent homicide

Another justification for the death penalty is that it would be cheaper to execute the person who committed the crime as opposed to paying for their security and healthcare for 25 years or until they die in prison Overall, it costs very varied amounts of money to keep prisoners alive in prison per year ranging from $18,000 per prisoner in Mississippi to $135,978 per prisoner in Wyoming but the average cost per person per year in a high security prison is $106,131 as of 2022 in America

This means that it would cost over $2,000,000 to house a prisoner for 25 years. This whole idea that it is cheaper to execute someone may not be true though because of the monumental legal costs

This is backed up by a 2016 study by Lewis and Clark Law School and Seattle University where they found that court cases that result in death sentences are three to four times more expensive than those that don’t This higher cost is due to the requirement of appointment of death qualified defence lawyers and more complicated jury selection practices. After adding up all these costs it would cost around $315,000 for non-capital cases and $1 1 million for death sentences

As well as this it was estimated that it cost Pennsylvania approximately $816 million more to execute 408 people than it would to send them to life in prison without parole Furthermore, in Washington it cost them an average of $1,000,000 more to execute someone than a similar case where the death penalty was not sought which means that it does not cost less to execute someone than to keep them alive in prison In addition to the legal costs there has been a very dramatic increase in the price of the drugs used in the lethal injection This is shown in October 2020 when Arizona paid $1 5 million for 1 kilogram of lethal injection drugs (enough for 200 people). They were criticized by many people as they have only executed 3 people in the last 8 years This evidence suggests that it costs significantly more to execute someone than to keep them alive in prison until they die due to legal costs and the cost of the drugs Overall there are many reasons that the death penalty should be abolished worldwide I believe the most important reason is that it is occasionally given out incorrectly to people who have not committed the crime they were tried for

I also believe that it is given out unfairly to different races and religions due to racism

Another reason to abolish the death penalty is that it does not deter people from committing murder This is all still very relevant as in February 2023, MP lee Anderson has made a comment that “Nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed” implying that he wanted to bring back the death penalty in the UK

In conclusion I think that capital punishment should be abolished because it is unevenly distributed, ineffective as a deterrent and more expensive than putting someone in prison for 25 years or until they die and therefore the death penalty can never be justified.

THE SCRAMBLE FOR RARE

EARTH METALS AND WHY THE BATTLE FOR SMALL OBJECTS IS SO IMPORTANT TO THE WORLD?

WRITTEN BY ARYAN J – YEAR 8

7th December 1941 will be a date that lives in history. December 1941 Pearl Harbour (On the island of Oahu), "The Gathering Place," halfway between Japan and the mainland United States) was bombed, destroyed, entirely destroyed Americas Pacific fleet demolished A forgotten reason behind the dreadful, intense attack was the United States of America had frustrated Japan’s expanding global ambition. In summary the expansion was so the country could obtain goods and resources. The Japanese did this by blocking the Pacific rivals’ access to a critical raw material, OIL With Americas actions it led Japan to take extreme drastic measures.

Stampede to the year 2021, a researcher in Vienna expressed “the brutal rivalry against the USA, China, Russia and Europe for natural resources, on the contrary it wasn’t oil or gas however it was the scramble for today’s rare earth metals. These are a compact group with certain amazing properties. Warlords or mafia bosses from across the Earth exchanged highly dangerous weapons to the democratic republic of Congo. In addition, what shocked me highly was it wasn’t for drugs or low paid slaves but for rare earth metals.”

Now we saunter to the more scientific point of view Dr Juliee Clinger is commonly known as the author of rare earth frontiers (which covers anywhere from terrestrial subsoils to lunar landscapes) In a summarised version the rare earth metals are a group of 17 chemically similar elements. She quotes “This contains 15 of the rare earth metals originated from a group which is known as the Lanthionines The rare earth metals are generally considered to be elements to be elements with atomic numbers (57-71) lanthanum to lutetium

another question, why are they called rare earth metals?

Before we verify this answer by Mrs Clinger my personal opinion is they are called this because the word rare, when you hear it spikes you as it sounds exiting and seaming as its so hard to dig and takes a while to get rare earth metals, this is my theory. Now if we verify this it is called rare earth metals because of their similar geographical characteristics The word rare in the term means how difficult it is extracting the metal from the ore Earth means non-ferrous metals Now we have looked at the scientific perspective, where are the resistance manoeuvres against digging them up?

or humans health like China promised How will they defend from wars and attacks to protect the metals and the mines? The largest Potanin producers are Russia run by president Vladimir Putin Why now when the war took place did the UK withdraw the Nickle from Russia?

These are all metals Now we still have 2 remaining rare earth metals which in fact are scandium and etrium The specific reason they are all grouped together is because they all have similar geochemical characteristics ” Indeed, they all do have slight differences in atomic structure which is similar to diversity with people This gives them magnetic, electric and more features You can find cirem in old tea sets, it’s also found in lenses as well as red glasses It’s otherwise known as a signal booster for example internet cables need cerium every 30 km to give a boost to international connection. There is etrium and uropien, they are found in our phones and give the mobile the LED colour Dysprosium is used in control rods for nuclear reactors

Now we lead back to the start where countries are fighting over rare earth metals however where really are they located? They are dispersed all over the world, the metals are most likely to be in every country. In addition, that leads us to

In a town in Portugal (Barroso) workers are looking for an ore which is lighter than air itself, (lithium) Protesters challenge against the mining process as it destroys their planet and Portugal’s bio diversity is now very dangerous due to the mining When the earth formed only 3 earth metals were found and lithium was one of them Lithium requires a lot of water, that livelihoods need! However, some of the head workers verbalise the money made out of the mining will be used for new facilities, schools and houses for residences. We need lithium but the mining hurts the informant and the residency The mining will use lots of chemicals which will affect what the civilian’s food and what they drink Congo mines around 60% (the most mined in the world) they are the main producers It is an arduous idea in my opinion as Congo is not a good supplier, Congo doesn’t have the resources. They have large mines removing space which could be used for farming These mines are locked away from the rest of the country The civilian’s pry through the gates to take the ores and resell them to make more money for themselves China is currently being shipped with Congo and China doesn’t want to sell the metal but the rare ore itself This hasn’t taken care of animal

March 2020 the days of pain suffering Covid lockdown People found hobbies e g , magnet fishing The magnet contained neodymium which aloud the magnet to carry as much as a panda’s weight

This element was discovered in 1841 when Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander, extracted a rose-coloured oxide from cerite, which he named didymium, as it was a twin of the element lanthanum In 1885, Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach separated didymium into two new elemental components, neodymium and praseodymium This gives the magnet power This has been developed to be used into powerful motors like off sure wind turbines. On the coast the UK have enormous windfarms with an off sure capacity of 10gigawatts

Number 63 in the periodic table of elements is eropian, the most reactive of the rare earth metals, depending on what it is mixed with it creates a red, green or white colour If you find it you can use it on a star, one can locate where it was born. There are around 25billion eropian notes. Over the last 2 years the EU has

failed to develop a strategy for finding rare earth metals China has created a very strong policy compared to other countries where they do not have a strategic strategy

This is serious! Showing how slow other countries are at creating renewable resources Without them they will lose their economy, Europe are working very close with Canadians for lithium deposits to all potential partners to create a cooperation However, in some countries there is a great NO for mining. A worker called Zao has a profession of removing vegetation and drills holes into the mountain where ammonium sulphate is injected into the holes liquefying the earth and finally it is drained into a blue liquid where it gets absorbed and left The mountains will die due to this Governments have said to move it from their homes to the mountains as the law is you can’t build anything in Europe that goes against the human harm. The EU depends on China 93 percent since 1948 and to this day they are only 90 percent outlining the issue Can the EU expect to obtain earth metals where China holds the future? The alliance seeks to spread them all over the world It takes 16 years to have an active extraction of moving live rare earth metals Zoa thinks by 2030 20 percent will be moved in Europe Ukraine has lots of potential currently, and this is

seen as very complimentary as they are currently at war The development of the supply should be up to the European dimension if it comes to a certain point, but the war isn’t what you read in the headlines The war is also the scramble for rare earth metals and how Ukraine has used drones to their advantage for the purpose of rare earth metals What is a drone? A plane, an eye, a motor in the sky The Ukrainians use these to destroy Putin’s artillery system and army air knowledge They have become so popular; songs have been made after them and now there is a 3-year waiting list for one Russia’s motors may have been used for a push for NATO but who knows However, what if they were used for more he world is a whole new game controlled by the green transition to obtain rare earth metals Ukraine has 117/120 minerals that the Russians want They are all in the eastern part of Ukraine controlled by Russia. Russia is always on the hunt for new species and useful objects. Africa is a useful back up after Ukraine as Russia has already disabled Ukraine’s economy Given that, Russia will have to look at Africa as a resource Since the invasion the country has struggled with technology like the UK have This is no game but a hunt

In 1965 a group of scientists were welcomed at a hotel called the rare earthers. They developed the atom bomb by removing rare earth metals. We have already become massively dependent on them, if we want to become a green planet We need to let go of this hunt It’s a choice which we have already decided I welcome you to the new rare earth world

IS FAST FASHION RISKING OUR PLANET FOR TRENDING CLOTHES?

WRITTEN BY SIENNA T - YEAR 8

Completed the Extended Project Qualification Level 1

Did you know that 10 000 items of fast fashion end up in landfill every 5 minutes? Well, today I am going to discuss the sustainability of fashion. In this essay I will cover how fast fashion is ruining the environment, synthetic fibres (with the example of polyester), an example of a material which is wasted to create these garments, how most people shop from the fast fashion retail brands and finally I will compare an ethical brand with a destructive nonplanet-conscious brand. Fast fashion is cheap clothing made quickly by mass-marketers in response to the latest trends. It is often made of cheap, inferior materials such as polyester and nylon They are made to be durable, but the fabric is toxic and can sometimes irritate your skin. Fast fashion is adverse for many reasons for example the poor working conditions and the amount that ends up in landfill.

Firstly, fast fashion is ruining the environment Fast fashion is made cheaply using synthetic fabrics which emit fossil fuels These clothes are sent to shops quickly and then sold for very affordable prices These clothes follow the latest trends and are cheap so many people buy them but as soon as the trend is out of fashion people throw a

way the clothes and it all ends up in landfill

This awful fashion business model has hundreds of bad effects which impact our environment for the worse For example, the materials used to make fast fashion pollute our earth when put in landfill and to create fast fashion we have to waste some of our non-renewable recourses

Due to these industries inexpensive prices, it is very popular and according to eath org upon average 100 billion garments of fast fashion are produced yearly and around 92 billion garments end in landfill which proves how one of the main reasons for the destruction of our planet is due to fast fashion

Fast fashion is mostly made from synthetic fibres like polyester. Many people buy clothes which have a label saying 100% polyester Polyester is a go to material because it is cheap, durable, and light However, polyester is one of the worst and most destructive materials According to Weavable 49% of all clothing is made from polyester and that is due to double by 2030 Polyester is so detrimental for the environment because it takes long to biodegrade. A cotton t-shirt takes from 2-5 months to biodegrade; shockingly a polyester t-shirt could take anywhere between 20-200 years to biodegrade, leaving it in landfill for several decades Polyester also needs a copious amount of energy to produce which pollutes both air and water, yet it is the most widely used fabric in the world About two-thirds of all clothing is synthetic and more than half are made from oil-based polyester

Furthermore, to create these “trendy” garments 70 million barrels of oil are used annually That is 70 million barrels of oil wasted on clothes that people only wear for a couple of months before they throw them away to buy “cooler” and “trendier” clothes.

According to my survey only 8 out of 40 people purchase environmental labels

Now I will compare the efforts made to make Valentino and Shien sustainable brands Valentino has launched many collections in which they have tried to make their brand better for the environment They have implemented their initiative “Valentino sleeping stock” in the hopes to create a sustainable collection

It is all a cycle of the clothes being made, then the clothes being bought, the clothes being worn for a brief amount of time and then the clothes being thrown away Only after each cycle the number of toxic gases in the air expands Every time you buy cheap clothes from these fast fashion brands you are contributing to the destruction of the planet Oil is also a nonrenewable recourse which means that if we run out of oil, we will have to wait thousands of years for the earth to produce some more No one has found a substitute for oil yet so wasting 70 million barrels of oil on fast fashion annually is not worth it At the rate we are going, before long we could globally run out of all oil sources

There are many brands that use this fast fashion business model: produce something at the lowest cost possible then “pile it high, sell it cheap” Some examples are H&M, Boohoo, Zara, Primark, Misguided, Shien and Nike From the data that I collected from my fast fashion survey only 7 out of 40 people do not shop from any of the above fast fashion brands There are also a few brands which do not use this concept like Levi’s, Avocado and Valentino

They have also begun to use different fabrics to ensure that no CO2 is released into the atmosphere to create their clothing Valentino has made a great effort to make a sustainable brand, however, Shien has not made any effort whatsoever to become more planet conscious. Shien releases thousands of items of clothing daily and because they do not use ecofriendly materials Shien is responsible for 700 million tonnes of CO2 annually Shien is just one example of a fast fashion brand, there are many other brands which use this horrible concept to make a profit

Some examples of these fast fashion retail brands are H&M, Boohoo, Zara, Primark, Misguided, and Nike which are not changing anything (like Shien) about their brand in the hopes for sustainability

Almost all of the brands in the fast fashion industry are treating the world and the companies’ workers wrong However, brands like Levi’s, Avocado and Valentino –which follow an ethical retail route – have been trying to change their brand to avoid any carbon emissions being released

In conclusion, the desire to keep up with the latest styles and stay in vogue has led to clothing being made cheaply and quickly so that it can get to stores before the trend is out of fashion and, it is then priced so that it can be replaced quickly by the consumer; this is now known as fast fashion. It is appalling for many reasons: the synthetic fabrics used to create this clothing such as polyester which is one of the most destructive materials and how much oil is used and wasted to create the clothes Many people do not shop from the sustainable brands because they take longer to get to the shops, and you probably will not be able to find a t-shirt for less than £50 whereas on some of the fast fashion brands you can find a t-shirt for less than £5 because the sustainable brands use more expensive and exquisite materials Yet these fast fashion brands are ruining our planet because of their popularity and the high amount of carbon emissions which are released with every item of clothing made I truly believe that we should shop less often and maybe from the more expensive brands so that we can stop ruining the environment because having the new “in” clothes is not worth our planet! This has to stop! The earth is dying because of us humans! If we stop obsessing over fashion, maybe we can limit the killing of our planet

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I wrote this essay thinking the topic of science, geography, mats and rare earth metals would be blaring but as soon as the research appeared I couldn’t leave my PC. Learning about atomic numbers, protests, wars and even drones created an amazing atmosphere. I chose this topic as I wanted to be different from my usual style of writing and this has allowed me to be opened to a whole new level of articulateness

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL AND WHY?

My role model is Robert Downey JR as he is an articulate, brave and amazing actor He makes me act presentable, and not to act silly but in a right tone He is also a great actor, and I have grown up watching his movies

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR CAREER WHEN YOU’RE OLDER?

When I am older I want to be an actor I have a massive passion for drama and lots of past experience and for the future I have pursued this early and am working with a company called TalentINC where I will be going to a America to practice and film.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

Because my Grandad was born in World War Two, and also, I am interested in this subject because I like this certain period of history

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR CAREER WHEN YOU’RE OLDER?

When I am older, I want to be a pilot MATTHEW A

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL AND WHY?

My Grandfather because he was an amazing man

WHAT OTHER ACTIVITIES ARE YOU INVOLVED IN? Flight Simulation and playing the Piano

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I chose this topic as I am fascinated by psychology and how consciousness works and wanted to challenge myself

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR CAREER WHEN YOU’RE OLDER?

I am not completely decided but think I might like to be a quantum theorist as I would get to explore the beginning of time itself

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL AND WHY?

I really admire Nikola Tesla He was very crazy but also a genius who almost succeeded in inventing time machines I would like to explore time like him

WHAT OTHER ACTIVITIES ARE YOU INVOLVED IN?

FI love MUN (Model United Nations), science and history clubs As part of my Public Speaking and Debating Club we have taken part in the Rotary Youth Speaks competition and won an award I also enjoy reading and spend a lot of time in the library I am taking part in this years lower school production of Goodnight Mister Tom and I am really enjoying rehearsals! I also do LAMDA and am learning to play the guitar

ARYAN J

NATHANIEL H

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

The reason why I chose this essay theme is because I am passionate for the environment Climate change is a big problem and I want to prevent it I recycle as much as I can, use reusable bags and get public transport to school, this essay topic also made me think about what I was eating and if I could do more I hope this essay might encourage others to do their bit too

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL AND WHY?

One of my role models is David Attenborough because he has spent his whole life experiencing wonderful scenes and fighting for climate change by showing the world what has to be done

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT THE SCHOLARS PROGRAMME?

I like the scholars programme because I can make new friends and work with people who I would not normally work with The scholars sessions also teach me new things that would not usually be covered in normal lessons

LILY-BELLE T

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I chose this essay theme (the best political economic system) because this is what inspires me

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR CAREER WHEN YOU’RE OLDER?

For my career I would to be an MP, but if not then I would aim for a rugby player

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I chose this essay theme because I have always loved to play music my entire life I listen to music a lot and even play a couple of instruments (violin and piano) I also thought it might be useful to dig deeper into the music past and find out where it came from, hence the title ‘how was music created’

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR CAREER WHEN YOU’RE OLDER?

As for my career when I’m older I have a couple of choices, however I have no idea of them being certain or happening The first one is being an author All my life I have always had a passion for writing and would write small, short stories when I was younger I have always enjoyed the thought of building up a character and changing

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT THE SCHOLARS PROGRAMME?

I like that each scholar session is different and that it is about something that you probably wouldn’t learn in your usual lessons

WHAT OTHER ACTIVITIES ARE YOU INVOLVED IN?

I am involved in taekwondo and rugby

them throughout the chapters along with building up a plot through improvisation

The second career choice was a singer In the future I hope to start singing lessons so I can have a chance of pursuing this job possibility

WHAT OTHER ACTIVITIES ARE YOU INVOLVED IN?

Other activities I enjoy are Netball and the two instruments I play I have been playing netball since year five and have always enjoyed the training and the actual game play In my old school, Chiddingstone, we only had two teams –A and B – however, I was on A team and we played in the League of Kent Moving onto the two instruments; I play the violin and piano I started the violin in year one and I am still playing it now For my piano, I have only started playing it in year seven At the end of March I will be doing my initial grade for the piano and I am extremely confident that I will play well

TOM F

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I chose the essay theme of the death penalty because I had always been interested about why different countries did and didn’t have the death penalty and whilst researching my opinion on the death penalty was completely changed

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL AND WHY?

My role model is Bill Gates as he is an amazing entrepreneur and has donated money to charities across the world

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT THE SCHOLARS PROGRAMME?

In the scholar’s program I really enjoy the trip to Oxford or Cambridge that the school do every year I also enjoy the scholar sessions where we learn about more complicated topics outside of the curriculum

WHAT OTHER ACTIVITIES ARE YOU INVOLVED IN?

I am involved in other school sport activities such as the football, tennis and rugby A team and the hockey B team

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I chose this essay theme because I think the environment is something that humans take advantage of, and they don’t treat it properly. Fast fashion is one of the main reasons for destruction on the environment. I also love fashion and keeping up with the trends, so I found it very interesting to find out how detrimental clothes are for the environment.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR CAREER WHEN YOU’RE OLDER?

When I am older, I would love to go into politics or the performing arts or sports because they are 3 things that truly inspire and interest me

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT THE SCHOLARS PROGRAMME?

The scholar’s programme is very useful and enjoyable because I really find all the scholars’ sessions quite interesting. We have looked at a variety of topics that I would never have thought to research into but after some of the scholars’ sessions I have continued to research into that topic and discover more interesting facts.

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL AND WHY?

My role model is Lois Pearson from Manchester Thunder netball team She plays goal attack (like me) and she never misses a goal She is my role model because she is very sportsmanship like, and she is amazing at netball One day I really hope to be as good at netball as Lois Pearson

RUFUS C

SIENNA T

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

William Butler Yeats

Niamh Fitzgerald - Year 12 Editor, Horizons 2022-23