Aquila 2014 - 2015

What if?

a l i u q A 5 1 / 4 201

CONTENTS

Note from the Editor

3

Art and Culture

26

Note from the Headmistress

3

What if your picture came to life?

26

What if?

4

What if no one learnt to write?

27

Philosophy and Ethics

6

What if the world was in black

and white?

28

What if there were no culture?

30

What if there were no Drama?

31

What if - a poem

6

What if

6

What if something stopped existing

when you were looking at it?

7

What if God were not real?

8

Science and Technology

32

What if we could travel back in time?

9

What if fossil fuels ran out today?

32

What if there wERE no right or wrong? 10

What if we were twice as intelligent?

34

What if there were no future of past?

10

What if plastics were never invented?

35

What if imagination never existed?

11

What if we did not try to conserve

species?

What if organ donation were

compulsory for anyone over the

age of 18?

What if the Apollo programme

Humanities

What if the Cuban missile crises led

to war?

12

12

was never put into action?

What if the southern states had won

the American Civil War?

13

What if the earth were flat?

14

What if ice hockey continues to have

a negative impact on the environment?

36

38

40

what if mental illness were treated

like physical illness

41

What if there was no Google?

42

15

What if there was no social media?

43

What if we had not preserved Auschwitz? 16

What if space were a lie?

44

What would Britain be like if World

War One and Two never happened?

Head girl’s Report

45

House Reports

46

Valete

48

Upper Sixth Leavers

53

18

Equality

What if we all had an equal chance

to succeed?

20

20

What if women were treated equal

in sport?

21

What if men were the weaker sex?

22

What if women didn’t have the vote?

23

What if feminists took over the

Government?

24

2

Note

from the Editor After much deliberation, the Magazine Committee decided that this year’s magazine theme would be “What if?”.

We thought that this was engaging and invited girls to write creative articles examining the different possibilities of a question.

The watercolour theme running through the magazine is a concept we decided on to create a fun and interesting magazine. We are also delighted to include some wonderful original illustrations from the girls and hope that this will

continue in future issues as it allows girls to showcase their creativity and talent in a different way.

It is at this point that I should mention that the magazine would have not been possible without the hard work and time that many people dedicated to it which I am very grateful for. Firstly, I would like to thank Miss Conroy and Mrs Parrett who have always been there to provide invaluable direction and support. I was also blessed with diligent and enthusiastic Committee members who all contributed to ensure the magazine is the best it could be. Hence, my thanks go to Deputy Editor Tabitha F, who has worked tirelessly alongside me to organise and edit the magazine.

I also have to give my thanks to Hannah H, Alejandra H and Zarina Y who spearheaded the

design of the magazine. Equally, I want to thank Anya J for finding new and progressive ways to promote the magazine such as our Twitter account (@PipersAquila).

Furthermore, my thanks go to all the Lower Sixth magazine members for actively contributing during meetings and encouraging other girls to participate. My advice for the Lower Sixth would be to realise the importance of delegation of tasks and that good teamwork is essential for success.

Without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honour of introducing the 2015 “What if?” edition of Aquila. We hope that it sparks your curiosity and just remember “What if?...”  Diva D (Upper Sixth) Editor of Aquila

from the Headmistress What if? What if we let the girls edit their own annual magazine, decide on a theme and write all the articles?

The result is a publication packed full of interesting, thoughtprovoking articles, allowing the girls to express themselves in a completely different way. The theme the editorial committee have chosen for this year’s edition of Aquila, “What if?”, could have

proved challenging in terms of the sheer scale of topics that the article writers could cover. However, the girls took on the task with enthusiasm and the broadness of the theme has allowed them to be creative and write engagingly about things they are each individually interested in.

As you browse through the pages you will be encouraged to think about a variety of things in a new way. From questioning what would have happened if historical events had concluded differently, to considering what the world

3

would be like today without technological advancements, to more philosophical questions about life in general, the girls have each taken a topic and made it their own.

As teachers we do our best to inspire intellectual curiosity within our students and this magazine is testament to that. In the words of Albert Einstein “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”  Mrs Ness-Gifford, Headmistress

what if?

YOUR ANSWER...

What if we cloned humans?

What if nobody in the world could lie?

What if animals could talk?

YOUR ANSWER...

What if we were all the same?

What if

Here are some “What If” questions that we have not answered. Can you?

What if we had no bees?

YOUR ANSWER...

What if you could be immortal?

What if the dinosaurs never became extinct?

YOUR ANSWER...

4

What if facts were rumours and rumours were fact?

What if we lived in a world without numbers?

What if you didn’t have education?

What if we limit new discoveries in medicine?

YOUR ANSWER...

YOUR ANSWER...

What if there were no books?

YOUR ANSWER...

What if there were no prisons?

YOUR ANSWER...

What if money did grow on trees?

What if we had no monarchy?

5

What if vaccinations have not been used?

What if we still spoke in Latin?

What if the cure for cancer is in the brain of somebody who cannot be educated?

Philosophy and Ethics

What if there was no right or wrong, No future or past, No choices for us to make, Wouldn’t the world be a different place.

But what if we had no culture, Or if there was just one country, And feminists took over the government, Wouldn’t the world be a different place.

What if?

A poem

What if penicillin hadn’t been discovered, Or plastics for that matter either, And that space was a lie, Wouldn’t the world be a different place.

But what if we didn’t have social media, The world was in black and white, Or if men were the weaker sex, Wouldn’t the world be a different place.  Magazine Committee

What if? What if we weren’t here? If plants were animals and animals were plants. What if? You could go on forever and ever and ever…

But sometimes you have to stop. People have said “what about the future what if the future would come”. The future we are living right now. What if the past would slowly be forgotten as if it were trickling out of our hands?

What if?

“What if” is a very strong expression, we would not know what to say if we didn’t say “what if”.

“What if” I were here but you weren’t, what if you were here and I weren’t. Sometimes you do have to stop, just stop, and put down your pencils and say stop. You just have to think “what if” … and then you will know how the world has changed.  Lucie N (Year 7)

6

Look around you; you’re in a world of colour. You may have brown, blonde or red hair and by looking at it you can distinguish this. Now imagine that you’re in a submarine deep underwater. If you were to examine your hair here, you would only see black and white. You would no longer be able to decipher the colour because the colour would no longer exist. You can’t see it because it is not there.

What if

something stopped existing when you were not looking at it?

What if this was the case with everything? What if we lived in a world where as soon as you turned away from something, it ceased to exist?

“If a tree falls in the woods and no-one is around, does it make a sound?”

Let us visit this world - Everywhere you look you see objects, plants, people, but as soon as you turn away, you know that everything will vanish.

I have pondered over this riddle for many long hours and although I have never settled on an answer, my stronger judgement always comes at me with; “how can sound exist if no-one is around to hear it?”

Would anything have been there in the first place?

If things can materialise from nowhere, nothing would ever have existed. Nothing ever “could” have existed - your mind is only creating what it needs to see. The people you talk to have only the backstory you have built for them and your whole idea and concept of life is solipsism. You are isolated with nothing but your mind and consciousness, which remain the only things to you which can truly exist.

But could even this be real? How would we know if we ourselves were ever living at all? How could anyone or anything “be”?

Sound is defined as “The sensation stimulated in the organs of hearing by such vibrations in the air or other medium.” This implies that if a sound is never detected, it never existed at all, but can this knowledge also be applied to physical things such as desks, buildings and even people?

There are some things in life that we never question and we just accept as an absolute truth. For example, if I pick up a pencil, I know that it is real. I can see it; I can feel it and I can write with it. But if I put that pencil down and turn away from it, how can I know if it is still really there?

A philosophical concept that promotes this belief is Idealism.

This is the view that things can only exist when we construct them in our mind. If this can be proved, then that pencil that appears real

If we lived in this world, nothing would be real.  Ruby B (Year 10)

to me would be in fact something that was created by my mind and does not really exist. It states that nothing can exist independent of you imagining it to be real.

A scientific view that supports this idea can be found within Quantum Physics. It proposes that a particle does not exist until it is observed, and whilst the particle is moving it could exist anywhere. If this is true, then in a way, nothing could exist without us looking at it.

This idea makes sense in some ways; it explains why everyone’s view of the world is slightly different. It is difficult to get your head around, considering most people go through life not thinking too deeply about our existence.

However, if things didn’t exist when you turned your back and were just a construct created by your mind,

7

then we would have to think about things affected by that. Would our memories be real? Would the people we know, our family and friends be real, or just constructs created in our brains?

I do not believe that this idea could be possible, but if it was proved then it would definitely change my perspective of the world. How would it make you feel? Since nothing is really there unless we look at it, then would there be any point in doing anything? Would you need to do your homework if it was just a concept in your mind?

Would life be worth living? I believe it still would be, but I am not sure everyone would agree.  Mairidgh O (Year 11)

Philosophy and Ethics

What if

God were not real?

As humans our brains are designed to work out and solve problems. This is why illusions occur, it’s when your brain is trying to figure out what you’re seeing into something that it can understand. But what if there’s something that we can’t figure out? There is a worldwide debate about whether God is real or even if there ever was a God. If there was no God I think that we would feel alone. For a large proportion of people God is the one person to turn to in situations where they don’t know what to do. We would also feel scared because our brains don’t know something. When we die we don’t know where we are going to go or what is going to happen. So we try and find answers in Heaven and Hell. We try to organise everything that we don’t understand into something that we do. We would have no-one to look up to and no-one to help us feel safe, we would panic because we don’t understand something and we would look for more answers.

But when we can’t find any more answers, what happens?  Amber T (Year 10)

8

What if

we could travel back in time?

Illustration by Anna B (Year 9)

If we could travel back in time, we would be able to reinvent ourselves as anyone or anything we wanted, like an animal, an insect or even an object. We could revisit all our earliest life experiences, from being in the womb, to seeing all those things we only have pictures in our minds of stories we have been told. We could continue travelling though time, back to when dinosaurs lived, just imagine we could be a bird or an insect hiding high up in the trees, watching massive creatures fighting, devouring each other. You could reinvent yourself as your favourite dinosaur. That would be amazing!

We could travel back to all the times in our lives that we loved and would like to experience again, like celebrations, Christmas, birthday parties we were at or those we weren’t invited to.

As we travel we could recall the things we have done, or haven’t done and correct our mistakes or things we regret.

We could travel back to our parents’ lives, to see how things really were for them. We could see how life was with black and white television, no mobile phones, tablets or computers. We could even go back to when our earlier ancestors were alive, they had it even harder, with no television, no running water, no electricity or telephones. I am not convinced we would want to hang around in that time period for very long.

As we travel we could recall the things we have done, or haven’t done and correct our mistakes or things we regret. We could start afresh, take a different route out of a problem. As we travel through all the insignificant moments, when issues seemed overwhelming at the time, yet looking back on them, they suddenly appear so unimportant. The things we have regretted saying to friends that upset them, we could go back to those moments and choose our words

9

more carefully and make a bigger effort not to upset people.

If we could travel back in time, we could choose to linger in those amazing memorable moments, when we didn’t want something to end, like a performance, the last day of school with all our old friends, a family gathering where people who were dear to us are no longer around but we haven’t said everything we wanted to say to them. It could be the perfect chance to spend that quality time again and appreciate every moment with them.

Just think how fantastic it would be to stop hideous crimes such as September 11, when the Twin Towers in New York were targeted. Imagine all the disasters that could have been prevented, if we would have known about the bad people and the events interrupted and stopped.

If World War Two could have been prevented by Hitler being put in prison, he could have been stopped from carrying out all the awful murder crimes in Europe. This would have saved millions of lives.

Travelling back in time would be incredible.

 Anna B (Year 7)

Philosophy and Ethics

What if

there were no right or wrong?

We have been conditioned by society, our customs, upbringing and beliefs to know and instinctively feel what is right or wrong. What’s more if we are convinced that something is right, we want others to believe the same, which may not be the case from the other person’s point of view. This leads to a conflict and brings to mind religious wars and terrorism in the name of the “right” religion. Trying to force this particular “right” on others,

We live in a society which is organised and governed by certain rules. The way we respond to others’ treatment of us and the judgements we make when people are mistreated show what we believe is right or wrong.

takes away the freedom of choice and imposes fear and terror.

If there was no right or wrong, would people be free to behave as they wished? If people’s behaviour harmed someone, would it be acceptable because there wouldn’t be the concept or feeling of wrongdoing? If there was no right or wrong, it doesn’t mean that human nature would be perfect – unselfish, considerate, generous, understanding and

helpful. We need to have certain rules. There is right or wrong on every issue, with many unclear, grey areas and very often the right thing can be much harder to do or more difficult to know. As humans living in a society, we try to do what is right and I feel that it would be impossible to imagine a world without right and wrong.  Poppy N (Lower Sixth)

What if

there were no future or past? to make big decisions for yourself. Your life would suddenly turn into something you never expected and very easy. However, now turn it round the other way and think about not having any past. Not remembering anything. What would it feel like not remembering your loved ones? All the happy times you had together you would lose because you would not remember them. Your life would feel like it had no end or beginning. Whilst a lot of memories are successful and treasured, some are ones that you do not want to remember, so imagine being stuck here today without anything to remember or to think about.

I was asked to write an article for the School Magazine about what life would be like without any future or past but because there is no past I really cannot remember what I was going to write!

Living just in the present would give you nothing to look forward to or remember. Can you imagine if you could not remember any fond memories or look forward to any exciting holidays? I spent a couple of days not remembering anything and living the moment as it came, nothing felt the same and everything was dull and lifeless.

Imagine not having to worry about finance or not having to reach the point in your life where you had

 Lucie F (Year 9)

10

What if

imagination never existed!

WHERE WOULD IDEAS COME FROM? WHERE WOULD THE WORLD BE TODAY? IMAGINE LOOKING OUT OF THE WINDO W AND NOT EXPERIENCING ANY THOUGHTS IN YOUR HEAD. HOW BORING WOULD THE WORLD BE TO NEVER SEE COLOURS AND THOUGHTS WOUND TOGETHER TO CREATE A STORY OR A PICTURE? What would it be like to go through life with no thoughts swirling round inside your head? For stories and books to have no meaning and wonder behind the words. For the world to spin and turn but for no technology, houses or clothes to exist, as no one ever created, imagined or visualised the items we all own today.

Would it be a good thing that a lack of imagination would mean no generation of feelings of hate

or anger against a country or person? Could it lead to peace and tranquillity surrounding the globe?

Do you think the world would be a better place? Do you think the globe would be a different place, with people living in harmony with others. No racism!

How would you feel if imagination never existed? What would it be like to go on an adventure and come back without a thought or memory in your mind?

11

And what would people speak, would common language exist or would there just be silence?

I don’t think that I would be able to survive with no imagination, to never be able to daydream and look out of the window, imagining my life to be different. I love to imagine the world in different ways to how I see it now and it makes my life richer.  Lidia R (Year 10)

Humanities

What if

the Cuban missile crisis led to war?

Fifty years ago the world was divided between Communism and Capitalism. Tension after WW2 grew between the USSR and the USA with each side battling to be superior.

In wars such as the Korean War they both backed the side that they were politically aligned to. Despite tensions, by 1962 the USSR and USA had yet to engage in direct fighting.

At the height of the Cold War, there was a period of time named “the Thirteen Days” when the world was at the greatest threat of nuclear war than it had ever been. This was all due to the pro-American country, Cuba, being taken over by a new communist leader, Fidel Castro. The USA tried to reinstate Capitalism in the Bay of Pigs invasion; however, they were unsuccessful.

Khrushchev asked Castro to place nuclear weapons in Cuba so that they were protected against further US invasions but after President Kennedy heard of this; he imposed naval blockades on Cuba. Both sides were preparing

for nuclear war; however, this was averted when Khrushchev, the Russian leader, made a deal with Kennedy. The USA agreed to take away their nuclear missiles from Turkey and the USSR would withdraw theirs away from Cuba.

What if things had gone differently?

What if Castro and Kennedy never made an agreement?

Some military leaders wanted to invade Cuba instead of making peace offerings.

If Kennedy had taken this advice and invaded Cuba the USA would have been hit by a Soviet tactical nuclear weapon that was placed in Cuba. Thousands, if not millions,

The new societies would live in a world contaminated with radiation resulting in birth defects and new cancers.

12

of US lives would have been lost leaving the USA to retaliate by destroying Cuba completely. To retaliate, the USSR would have used their nuclear bombs to attack the USA further. Perhaps at this point, the USA and the USSR would have ended the war to halt the destruction of the whole planet.

Despite both economies being financially wounded and the human populations decreased, life events could be similar to the ones that we know today. However, if peace was not reached then only small pockets of life would have survived.

These would have grown into larger societies with their own new take on the new world. The new societies would live in a world contaminated with radiation resulting in birth defects and new cancers.

Of course, these events are only predictions but nuclear war could have had disastrous effects on the human race.  Alice C (Year 11)

If the confederate forces had won the civil war in the American South in 1863, this would have forced President Lincoln into exile.

President Lincoln played a key role in the passing of the thirteenth Amendment to the American Constitution ending slavery in America.

What if the southern states had won the 1863 civil war?

America could still be a divided nation of African Americans and White Americans.

People could still be enslaved today.

Martin Luther King may never have become part of the fight for Civil Rights in 1955 as the idea of a bus boycott in Montgomery would never have been developed. Martin Luther King would never have become a leader of the Movement.

He would not have made it such an important issue which would have meant there would have been no association with President Johnson and the Civil Rights Movement. If the southern states had won the Civil War it would have changed the path of America’s future.

If President Johnson had not been proactive in promoting Civil Rights because King was not there then there would not have been a Civil Rights Act in 1964. The act was extremely important in African Americans gaining civil rights as it forbade discrimination on the basis of gender and race in hiring, firing and promoting. If it had not been instigated as a bill and passed into an Act because of southern state opposition to civil rights, the country would have become volatile and the southern government would have been fundamentally racist.

What if

the southern states had won the American Civil War?

America would have been involved in World War Two from the start as they would have been keen to prove themselves as a leading world power as not many people would have respected America because of its segregation. However, many of their army rebelled in the war because they were fighting for freedom of speech in other countries when at home and within their army it was segregated.

African Americans were treated worse than prisoners of war, because they were still enslaved.

The position of African Americans in society would have seen no progress until Robert Kennedy ran for election in 1968. He would not have been assassinated and would have won his campaign for President, with support from the old northern states. He would have changed everything. Robert Kennedy would have brought the United States of America back together and ended the divide between the North and the South, no matter what it took, even if it there was another Civil War, the northern states would have won it which would have led to America being a more democratic society once again with no discrimination within the federal government.

If the southern states had won the American Civil War in 1863, they would have discarded Washington

13

D.C. as their capital and taken the capital to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A central place of white dixiecrats. However, once Robert Kennedy took over he would have returned the Capital back to D.C. and retained order within America. Robert Kennedy would have issued executive orders in order to bring the country back to a united front, like Lincoln did almost a century earlier, Kennedy would have abolished slavery and set about bringing civil rights for African Americans and all minority groups within America. One of the first things he would have done was give them all voting rights, forcing this to happen also within all State primary elections, this means that after his first term as President, Robert Kennedy would have been re-elected. He would have worked with new leaders of a different civil rights movement which would have been extremely successful.

The success of non-violent protests would have meant that no Black Power groups would have ever properly formed.

The southern states would no longer be in control, and after nearly a century, American history would return to how it looks now. ď‚Ł Emilia F (Lower Sixth)

Humanities

sensation as we have now on our spherical Earth. On approaching the perimeters of the flat Earth it would feel like a sheer drop off due to the gravitational pull back towards the centre. The fear of falling off is not actually a problem, the problem would be falling away from the edge and rolling back towards the centre. Once over the edge you would not fall off into space but actually it would be a very level place as the diagonal gravity would no longer be an influence.

What if

the Earth was flat?

This therefore, is a planet shape that is impossible because anything as massive as the Earth shaped like a flat disk would naturally collapse under its own gravity back into a ball. This is why in outer space everything over a few hundred miles is spherical. If the Earth was flat you would have to have a completely different set of physics laws. If the Earth was flat then the entire universe would also be flat as this is the only way that a flat planet would be possible, therefore meaning that gravity would arise from a physical orientation or electromagnetic force as opposed to the conglomeration of mass.

Of course the Earth is not flat, it is round. Otherwise travellers would be falling off the edge all the time.

For my research into this topic I found a YouTube video (https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=V NqNnUJVcVs&feature=yo utu.be) which I will explain in further detail below.

If the Earth was not a sphere but a flat disk, with the right density and thickness, living in the middle would feel just as it does now, but as you move towards the edge, gravity would push at a greater angle back towards the centre,

increasing in diagonal gravity. On this disk shaped Earth it would feel like you were fighting to climb up a steeper and steeper hill as you moved away from the centre.

The buildings would have to be built on a greater and greater angle to counteract the gravity and make sure that the people living there always felt that “down” was at a right angle to the floor.

The earth would have to be split into terraces to give us the same

14

The gravity could also be explained by the Earth accelerating upwards at 9.81 m/m/s, but as I say there are no theories to explain what would happen if the Earth was flat as our physics laws no longer hold the answers.

Depending on how the disc shaped planet was orientated in relation to the sun the day and night cycle could be as long as a year. Unless the sun was also shaped like a disk and spun from one point as well as orbiting the Earth then the day and night system that we are familiar with would no longer exist.

One of the main issues with a flat Earth is that the areas closest to the rim are the warmest and have the most tropical temperatures as they pass closest to the sun during orbits. This would make the edges most suitable for agriculture as the centre would be too cold but living in these conditions would be virtually impossible due to diagonal gravity.

Therefore, it can be safely concluded that the Earth is a spherical ball, and a good job too!  Molly H (Year 11)

What if

ice hockey continues to have a negative impact on the environment?

Joe Williams spoke to girls in Year 9 about playing ice hockey and the industry behind it.

Ice hockey, along with various other sports, is having a devastating impact on the environment as we speak, and is negatively impacting the environment in a variety of ways.

On Monday 23 March the Year 9 Geography students had a lesson with semi-professional ice hockey player, Mr Williams. Mr Williams has played ice hockey since he was 12 years old and now plays once a week in slots of one hour and 20 minutes. Despite his knowledge and experience in the sport, it was surprising to hear that Mr Williams had no idea that his hobby was having such a dramatic effect on the environment.

Firstly, the manufacturing of the uniform is not eco-friendly or sustainable to the environment.

Mr William’s team often import their kit from China, where the cost of labour is cheaper. At the moment, there are 100,000 deaths annually within the textiles regions in China due to the water pollution created by textiles manufacturing.

Furthermore, 70% of the rivers and lakes in China are polluted, and 17-20% of the water was polluted by toxins produced from textiles manufacturing.

As well as the uniform manufacturing, the car emissions from fans driving to ice hockey stadiums in order to see ice hockey

matches and ice hockey teams traveling to play other teams is having a negative effect on the environment.

Car emissions are one of the leading causes of climate change and air pollution.

These emissions can discolour buildings and volatile organic compounds are produced which create a ground level ozone. This ozone can cause breathing problems with some of the dust produced causing lung problems and shortening life expectancies.

Plants are vital to our lives and we would be dead without them.

Other things relating to ice hockey that can impact the environment include; the heating and cooling facilities used in the ice hockey stadiums. The systems use a lot of energy, meaning a lot of fuel has to be burnt which releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Another issue is with fans dropping litter which has a negative impact on wildlife.

This ozone can cause breathing problems with some of the dust produced causing lung problems and shortening life expectancies.

But the dust is the least of our worries; carbon monoxide can be produced from car emissions which is poisonous for humans. The more congestion on the roads, the more deadly toxins being produced.

Focusing on the environmental side, car emissions can add acidity to rainwater. This phenomenon is called acid rain. Acid rain can kill plants and animals and weakens buildings.

15

In conclusion, if ice hockey continues to have a negative impact on the environment then China’s rivers and lakes will continue to be polluted, leaving people without access to clean water. Traditional outdoor ice hockey could be in danger of becoming impossible to play because of the rising temperatures in Canada and the main outdoor ice hockey regions. It is estimated that by 2050 ice hockey will be impossible to play outdoors without artificial interference. In a way the ice hockey being played at the moment is reducing the chances of outdoor ice hockey being able to be played in the future.  Mia D (Year 9)

Humanities

What if

we had not preserved Auschwitz?

On a grey day in early March, walking under the metal letters spelling “Arbeit macht frei�, a group of Buckinghamshire school students were told a story about a priest. Several prisoners had been rounded up by Nazi guards and threatened with the starvation cells, stone rooms with a small window and little else, with no access to the outside, food or water.

One man fell to his knees, cried, and begged to be spared. An on-looking priest stepped forward and asked one of the guards to put him in a cell instead. The guards allowed this and the priest stayed in the cells for only a few days until he died. The man who was saved survived the Holocaust and died several years ago.

This is a small story but it speaks volumes. Mankind can be pushed and it only takes one person to remind us that they are still human beings and they can still help one another. If we had not preserved

Auschwitz, then we would not have this reminder. The things that affected people decades ago affect us still today. It reminds us that people can be tormented but sometimes they do not react like the priest did. For instance, before the Auschwitz trip we listened to Zigi Shipper, a Holocaust survivor. He recalled his time in the cattle cars - the method of transportation.

This is where up to 150 people could be herded into one carriage and the longest journey recorded lasted eighteen days without food or water. He remembered being so tired that he wished someone would die so he could have somewhere to sit. When I first heard this, I was stunned.

I could not imagine that type of suffering and could not imagine a person having such thoughts from that suffering.

combs and brushes. There is a corridor lined with photographs of the prisoners in the infamous striped pyjamas. Rooms, like the bathrooms and bedrooms, have also been preserved. In one of the bathrooms, there are two pictures on the walls. One is of two kittens washing each other and the other is of two boys doing the same. I was disgusted when I saw this. People were being tortured, beaten, killed, and those two pictures belittled that entirely.

The worst thing for me were the gas chambers. It was dark, the floor was cracked, and there were scratch marks running down the walls.

At Auschwitz-I, there are plenty of reminders of the hardships suffered in the camp.

At Auschwitz-I, there are plenty of reminders of the hardships suffered in the camp. There is a room filled with tonnes of human hair, cut from the dead, which has all turned the same colour with age. In the same room, there was a carpet which the hair would be turned into. Hair would also fill the mattresses the guards slept on. There is a room filled with suitcases, another with

16

The ironic thing is the prisoners went there believing life would be better. Gypsies, homosexuals, Jews, political opponents and countless more thought that they were going to a safer place. The trauma not only tells us about what the victims went through but also how they acted. There are very few people like the priest and these people are what keeps us going in society.

They remind us that there are people, even if we are all pushed to desperate thoughts and lengths, that will not leave us to suffer alone.

If we left Auschwitz to crumble, there would not be the physical

reminder of the lessons that guide us into becoming better people.

As we were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, it struck me the most that even though you had never visited the place before, the single line of railway track was recognisable instantly.

Behind that railway line hundreds of thousands of Jews, and Hitler’s “untermenschen” were squeezed and suffocated in hot, filthy cattle trucks. Visually seeing the compact trucks fit for five cows, made it seem somewhat unreal that the Gestapo and Hitler’s SS locked over 150 human beings in there for days. Packed so tightly, with no light, no room to breathe efficiently, lice and flies crawling, it seemed unimaginable, yet so real. As we walked over the vast area of land towards the barracks in which Hitler’s prisoners were kept, it was not until after the visit that I was really able to reflect upon what I saw. Planks of wood as beds, holes in the ground as toilets with no toilet paper, no pillows, no blankets; it was stark and completely stripped, even to this day, of both humanity and life. Personally, it was one of the oddest experiences I have ever endured when learning about the Holocaust because I could feel and visually imagine the hundreds of Jews struggling there. Hard stone floors, barracks that both looked and felt like they were designed for cattle, numbered as they stood line after line in what was such a minute space of land in comparison to Birkenau’s size. Barracks that were meant to “store” 250 prisoners,

became 1000, with both guards and guns at either end. Can you imagine living a life like that? Where you do not have a pillow to sleep on, no clean water to wash with and being allowed just 15 seconds to go to the toilet? You cannot, but they did.

The scale of Birkenau was indescribable, even if I told you to imagine 30 football pitches, I do not think, unless you visit, will ever let you comprehend just how vast the space was. Yet a space that was designed to slaughter and kill, a space in which Hitler had planned to expand and duplicate. We were able to witness this view from the look-out tower that stood over Auschwitz-Birkenau. A look-out tower that was used

by Nazis, a view that prisoners were never able to see. As I walked around the room, I was not even able to see half of Birkenau. Behind the skyline of trees at what seemed to be the end, was endless land, land supposedly that was the Jews “Promise Land”, or so they were told. To the left, were several gas chambers that had been bombed at the end of WW2 as an attempt to mask the genocide that occurred there. It is due to this that many people try to deny the Holocaust even happened yet I think arguably the pile of rubble speaks for itself.

The broken bricks spoke more words than any fact had and was ironically a more fitting memorial than any that was left here after.

Auschwitz reminded me of the importance of kindness, humanity, love and not hating others.

As I put into perspective the atrocities I saw that day, I can tell you that those images will never leave me. Auschwitz reminded me of the importance of kindness, humanity, love and not hating

others. Hating others as Zigi Shipper once told me, will simply lead you to make undeletable mistakes. In this instance, a mistake that murdered six million Jews.

It is up to the next generation to avoid such costly mistakes and deter any form of discrimination.

We must take into consideration that genocide is still on going.

It amazes me how such an act as the Holocaust is remembered yet has not eradicated genocide completely. In this way, it was hard to imagine where God was and why religion did not rescue the Jewish people from such brutality.

But I leave you to think about this: You may question where God was in such an act? Why did he not protect and free his people? How could he have let six million lives go to waste? But under all this, out of all the lessons I have learned, I think you must ask yourself: “where was humanity”?  by Lydia B and Hannah W and photographs by Hannah W (Lower Sixth)

Girls in Lower Sixth visited Poland for the day as part of the LFA project (Lessons from Auschwitz) to mark 70 years since the end of World War Two and the liberation of Auschwitz.

The girls embarked on a project to learn more about the lessons of the Holocaust and its relevance for today. The four part project included a talk from a Holocaust survivor, a visit to Poland with

focus on Auschwitz where the girls were able to see registration documents of inmates, piles of hair, shoes, clothes and other items that were seized by the Nazis. The day ended with a

17

memorial ceremony which included readings and lighting of candles. After the visit to Poland the girls then had a follow up seminar where they could reflect on their experiences.

Humanities

What

would Britain be like if the First and Second World Wars had not happened?

It is true that WAR can rip apart nations but it also makes some nations unite and bring together recently disrupted and unsettled homelands.

World War One began in 1914 and lasted for four years. Many civilians died in this Great War and this dispute was one of the most deadly conflicts ever to have occurred.

This was due to the large number of countries involved but also because it paved the way for some of the most radical changes to society including politics and an increase in revolutions. This war brought together the most economically affluent and successful countries together as a united front.

The triple entente (friendship, understanding and agreement) including Britain, France and Russia (the war was also joined by America and others in the later years of the conflict) shows the importance of this war by bringing together some of the most powerful countries.

previous disputes and tension this war would have happened, regardless of the assassination which just acted as the catalyst to begin fighting. This is important to consider when asking the question, what if this had not happened at all? Although, if there had been no tension and no cause for war it is probable that the society we live in now would be totally different. It is also important to understand that the length and brutality of World War One did in fact also have a domino effect causing World War Two.

the demands much harsher. This Treaty had devastating impacts on Germany as not only did they have to pay for damages to other countries but also had to take full responsibility for the War. They

“...If neither of these wars had happened, the society we live in now would be different. “

It could be argued that this war was triggered by the shooting of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria creating a diplomatic crisis. However, I believe that this war was inevitable and due to

This connection is due to not only Hitler but also due to the war demands put upon Germany after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles which excluded German representatives. The Treaty contained anger at the devastation caused by Germany (as the Treaty states that the War was Germany’s fault) making

18

Collaborative art work from Pipers Girls

“The war is in our education system, it is in our politics and above all it is in our history.”

To commemorate the centenary of the start of First World War Pipers Corner embarked on an ambitious project to bring life in the trenches to Great Kingshill. A section of trench was constructed in the Landau Hall to provide a taste of what life would have been like for the soldiers who fought 100 years ago.

Involving girls from Pre-Prep to Upper Sixth this initiative provided the girls with a unique opportunity to learn about the Great War in a really special way.

also had to give up a large amount of their army and navy and to return land taken during the war.

Germany believed that this was unfair. The money they had to pay caused them to go into a time of deep poverty and depression. As for the role of Hitler, he was in an army hospital after being gassed when he heard that there was a ceasefire and Germany had lost the Great War. Hitler resented this as he believed Germany could have actually won (although historians believe this would have been unlikely as the US had entered).

This belief and the current situation of Germany caused more radical extremist groups such as the Nazis to come into power. After a long process which resulted in Hitler becoming Fuhrer, he began the next world war as the grudge against opposition countries during the First World War still stood and many in Germany believed that they would win it this time.

Overall, World War One did undoubtedly cause World War Two not only because of Hitler but also because of the devastating consequences of World War One. However, if neither of these wars had happened, the society we live

Collaborative art work from Pipers Girls

in now would be different. Politics would be regarded in a different light due to the fact that Britain had introduced conscription during the war to cope with the number of deaths (before the war Britain had been openly against conscription). Also, as we have experienced recently in the form of Remembrance Day, the great loss and devastation caused, affects the way we think and ultimately the decisions we make. The war

19

is in our education system, it is in our politics and, above all, it is in our history. Therefore, it is almost impossible to predict how we would live now if there had been no World Wars because the painful memory of what happened is so tightly wrapped into our society even in ways we cannot imagine.  Maddy S (Lower Sixth)

Equality

What if

we all had an equal chance to succeed?

From the Dalits in India to the millionaires in Beverly Hills what if everyone had an equal chance to succeed? What if everyone had an education to an equal standard? Our world would be far more developed and a more successful place.

Even the restricted women in Nigeria, where quality education for girls has been abolished by Boko Haram, would have a glimpse of hope if everyone had the same chance to succeed, they would have a voice and the freedom to choose their future. If you were so desperate for an equal chance to succeed, would you risk your own life going to school? Knowing that you would get brutally beaten or possibly killed? This is the reality for a lot of children. What if it didn’t have to be like that? What if they could all go to school without death threats or beatings, and they didn’t have to cross a war zone just for an education, for a hope of an equal chance to succeed?

However, here is the fundamental truth: just because everyone had an equal chance to succeed does not mean that they will. Not everyone will make good choices, it’s about what they decide to do with the opportunity.

Some might think the opportunity isn’t enough and might need to be motivated to make the most of it. If everyone had a chance to succeed there would be more competition for jobs. Some might decide to waste their chance and sit back.

My point is that here at Pipers Corner School we all have the same opportunities unlike the rest of the world. So my question to you is, what are you going to do with your one life and your only chance to succeed?  Rosie N (Year 9)

20

What if

women were treated as equals in sport

U15A Netball District Champions

Equality is defined in the dictionary as “the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities”. However, in recreational sports as well as professional sports this rarely applies. 2.7 million women take part in regular sport each week but this is a fall since 2007-8.

financially from sponsorship and advertising revenues as well as other sports related careers such as coaching and commentating.

Secondly, targeting the stereotypical models of what is believed of masculinity and femininity, and altering the perception that women are non-aggressive and non-competitive would positively benefit sport. More opportunities would need to be created for those with children as women aged 25-34 with children at home are almost half as likely as women of the same age without children to take part in regular sport. Finally, campaigns such as “This Girl Can” are encouraging selfdiscriminatory women to feel positive about their body image. The greatest difference is at the age of 18 where more than double the proportion of men than women do sport regularly.

Reasons for the divide between regular participation amongst women and regular participation amongst men (4.203 million), usually lies within the media, financial constraints and physiological barriers.

Although results from the Active People Survey reveal that over half of women would like to participate in more sport than they currently do, there is a danger that if changes are not made to encourage women’s participation and provide opportunities for deserving sportswomen, sport could suffer permanently for future generations.

To increase physical activity, we need to understand the different practical, physiological and cultural factors that currently impact upon behaviour. If these constraints no longer existed, the sporting platform would be very different. Fundamentally, I cannot comprehend why anyone would want to diminish the achievements of a person just because they are a woman. Consider how it must feel to know that your success has not been viewed with the same status and admiration as men. Deserving athletes are those who attain their results due to commitment and sheer determination for their sport which is by no means solely men. We need to take this opportunity to save the true meaning of sport so it can be experienced and enjoyed by all future generations.

The underrepresentation of women in sport is largely due to media influences. If coverage of women’s sports was dramatically increased to a level equal with men’s, there would be a greater number of role models created to inspire participation, particularly in sports such as cricket and football which are less popular amongst women. Instead, the greatest number of women participate in swimming followed by athletics and cycling which are all individual events. Presently, just one in five women play sport as a member of a club and only one in 12 women take part in competitions. Consequently, women would earn more

 Vicky H (Lower Sixth)

21

Equality

What if

men were the weaker sex?

Ever since then women have been cutting the labels, and smashing the glass ceilings. Without their hard work we might not be at Pipers – we might still be bent over our sewing or focusing our thoughts solely on who we were going to marry. But what if we never had to fight for our rights? What if the tables had turned and men were considered the inferior sex?

Many great leaders, such as Winston Churchill, may not have been given a chance or listened to, because he was a man. We would have lost these men; they would not be sources of inspiration. Basic discoveries may not have been found until much later.

Newton wouldn’t have been lounging under the tree because he would have been inside making the house spotless for when the bread-earning woman came home. Fleming couldn’t have possibly owned a laboratory in which he found penicillin because the laboratories would not have been a man’s domain. But then again, there is no saying that women wouldn’t have been the discoverers, because if they were not the “weaker sex” they would have been educated to a much higher standard. Maybe women wouldn’t have needed chance to make discoveries – an example being Fleming, whose carelessness led to the finding of the drug that has saved hundreds of lives.

According to a report published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, women have

a stronger neural circuitry between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and therefore are more likely to be better at analytical thinking, suggesting that women are better at being logical. Their more logical thinking may well have led to earlier scientific discoveries, if they were not the “weaker sex”.

For centuries women have been labelled as inferior, subservient and weak. One of the earliest signs of a revolution was seen in Mary Wollstonecraft’s “A Vindication of the Rights of Women”, a book that essentially demanded better lives for women.

During the First World War, whilst men were conscripted and shipped off to Europe, women stayed behind and worked on farms and in munitions factories.

They proved themselves to be worthy and just as good as men. If they were not the “weaker sex”, they would not have had the need to prove themselves, and continue to reign over men. Women of today would not have had ancestors who worked for their rights to look up to. The victories of the past would not be taught to us, and become a source of inspiration and gratitude. This is not an insinuation that it is better that women were considered the “weaker sex”, but without the poignant stories of women who risked their lives for justice, girls today would not be so spurred to prove themselves to be just as good as men. Women would not have the driving need today to work harder, climb higher, reach further, and if they did not have this, this would have been a tragedy.

If men wanted change, the images of Emmeline Pankhurst and other suffragettes being restrained by the arms of policemen would be replaced possibly with men.

If men wanted change, the images of Emmeline Pankhurst and other suffragettes being restrained by the arms of policemen would be replaced possibly with men. If they followed the same path as women’s suffrage then they would have formed their own militant group, smashing windows and committing arson, and as men are physically stronger than women they could have done a lot more damage.

Maybe war could have been avoided.

It has been considered that women are naturally peaceful. In the aforementioned report, it was also revealed that the wiring in the brains of women implied that women are more likely to be emotionally involved. With their heightened empathy, they might have worked together through times of crisis instead of going to war.

22

 Natasha M (Year 10) Background Illustration

by Natasha M (Year 10)

What if

women did not have the vote?

As a young woman growing up within such an industrialised and modern society, I think it is important to remind ourselves of society with such limited opportunity just under a century ago.

I believe having the vote is a very honourable possession and I feel nowadays we fail to remember the lengths at which women went to achieve this right. Ultimately, as the vote is at my fingertips and with the General Elections so important within the media, I feel I can only really appreciate my vote by understanding why I am entitled to this in the first place.

It was only by 1918 under Herbert Asquith’s Liberal Government that “The Representation of the People Act” was finally passed after a long heated struggle. From the 1860s, women such as Caroline Norton, and Barbara Bodichon began to break what was known as the “Separate Spheres” concepts by challenging women’s rights on both custody of children and property.

Josephine Butler was also a highly influential woman in repealing the barbaric and humiliating Contagious Diseases Acts implemented by the government as a way of controlling prostitution and venereal diseases.

It is in this way that both Millicent Fawcett and Emmeline Pankhurst really began the headway in campaigning for women’s suffrage and it is with such persistence that “Votes for Women” was finally granted in 1918.

There has been much dispute over what factor potentially caused the government to propose and pass a women’s suffrage bill. MP John Stuart Mill began campaigning in 1865 by suggesting an amendment to The Second Reform Act which was closely followed by Richard Pankhurst who proposed the first suffrage bill in 1870. However, continuously, bills were either rejected in fear of giving women, like me, too much power and wanted to confine my role to the home or filibustered the bill as many were disinterested in giving women the vote any parliamentary time. Several acts from members within Pankhurst’s WSPU went to detrimental lengths to achieve women’s suffrage. For example, women began window smashing campaigns from 1908 which resulted in imprisonment of women. Such imprisonment led to hunger strikes, where suffragettes refused to eat, just so I and the rest of the female population could have the vote. Hunger strikes ultimately resulted in the barbaric and awful treatment of force feeding where tubes were harshly driven down women’s throats, all because women wanted the vote. Furthermore, Emily Davison killed herself for the cause in 1913, by running out in front of the King’s Horse at the Epsom Derby in an attempt to increase support for women. Equally, the patriotism of

23

women in WW1 is argued to have strengthened the suffrage cause in saving the country’s economy by filling in roles previously exclusive to men. Yet, with millions of women with the right to vote today, in comparison to none 97 years ago, I believe not many thank such courageous and brave martyrs for their sacrifices. If we did not have the vote, we would be in a world of little equality and little voice. In fact, I would still be suppressed to being a perfect “Angel in the House” as Coventry Patmore advocated in 1854.

Having the vote not only allows freedom of choice and expression, but gives girls like me a chance to make an impact in the policies of our government today. As shown by the emerging UKIP party and lengthy speeches from Ed Miliband, it seems ever more noticeable that parties are looking for the student vote.

Without the vote from women, it would still be up to the male population to decide what is best for me and all the other women out there. Alongside this, the vote enables women to enter politics if they wish, and as demonstrated by Margaret Thatcher from 1979 to 1990, the female voice is important to be heard within politics. If we did not have the vote, women would suffer ongoing gender constraints, perhaps not as explicit as Patmore advocated in the 1850s, but they would be apparent.

Equally, without the vote, my education would have probably still incorporated subjects revolving around domestic duty and would have restricted many women going into higher learning.

So, to all women reading this article, if you wish to see change in a stronger government, make sure you vote. Use your vote given to you by such courageous and brave women who risked their lives to give women like you this opportunity. You have the power to make your voice heard and if you want to see change you cannot allow such a precious right to be put to waste.  Hannah W (Lower Sixth)

Equality

What if

Feminists took over the UK Government?

“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger.

Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” G. D. Anderson I’m sure that any feminist would agree that the UK is distinctly lacking in the women’s progression department. In a country dominated by men there are a few things we would happily see changed were women to take over UK parliament.

Getting rid of the dated misogyny would speed things up a bit for the feminist cause. With the current male led government in charge, feminism has hardly been a priority.

At the current rate it will take over 100 years for women to achieve equality at local council level, let alone higher up in politics. On top of this it will take more than 60 years to eliminate the pay gap.

We’d first take a look at the issue of government. No more excuses, we have a major problem. There is a reason that we are currently sitting at 57th in the world for parliamentary gender equality; we are neglecting half of our population. The only viable way to sort this out is gender quotas and all women short lists. Merit based appointment is a lovely idea but in the real world that’s not what’s happening. All the middle aged, middle class white men aren’t there

because of talent, but rather social advantage. Representation is vital to a functioning democracy because all individuals must feel their views are accounted for and women are not a minority. We are not in parliament for “tokenism”, or at least we shouldn’t be. So let’s level the playing field; I think it’s about time.

On a similar theme of victim blaming, sexual assault must start being treated like a proper crime.

Feminism would demand this.

Since when did the police start asking what victims were wearing or drinking when establishing the guilt of a criminal? Probably the same day we started blaming women for the abuse they receive.

It’s simply not believable that men “cannot control themselves” or aren’t to blame. Frankly I think that it is an insult to the male population to say so: we all know they are better than that. Would you tell someone suffering with a gunshot wound that they should have worn a bulletproof vest and that they were “asking for it” by going out without one? We must stop teaching victims to prevent a crime, that’s ignorant.

Instead we should start tackling the criminals, since that is how the justice system is meant to work.

Feminist does not mean man hater. it means a fighter for equality.

If there is one major area of modern life that is lagging behind the rest and clinging to its poisoning patriarchy it’s the Internet, or more specifically social media. Anonymity and lack of policing have created a platform where the antiquated voices of the world can screech. Between death threats and rape videos things are only getting worse. If the feminists ruled, then we would start taking this issue a bit more seriously, because at the moment the only solution being offered to these women is to leave. Silencing women will not solve this. And women should never accept being silenced.

The abusers must start paying the price, no one else.

24

Motherhood is an amazing thing; but for women it’s become a minefield.

If you don’t have a child then you’re selfish (because of course there is no other worth in a woman besides her womb) and if you do then sacrificing your career is imminent. In a feminist world men and women would have to take equal responsibility for childcare. This would extend

to everything, including equal opportunity for a mother and father to get child custody after a divorce.

We would get rid of asking women “when are you having a child then?” or lecturing them on the joys of motherhood when they explain they’re not. And let’s also ditch the misconception that a mother must be the stay at home parent because there is nothing more outdated.

There is a simple method with which you can work out whether your question is appropriate: would you ask a man this? If feminists were in charge this would be highlighted, it is a really important concept that the western world seems to be struggling with.

man hater. It means a fighter for equality. We need to stop brushing the name aside when it doesn’t suit us because it damages the cause.

In this new world feminism would be synonymous with progression, fairness and a united world. Because, that is exactly what it is. It’s not a fight for women or for men. It’s a fight for a population moving forward together.

It’s important to remember that a world taken over by feminists is simply a world that wholly embraces equality. I would like to think that’s something most people want. There are still things that we

This brings me on to jobs and pay. In a feminist world the pay gap would be sorted out once and for all. Equal pay for equal jobs, no exceptions.

That’s how it has to be. And also, being in denial about sexism in business and in the city doesn’t change it. We need to face the issue head on and get rid of the “old boys club” that has never quite left our traditionally male industries. This would enable more female social mobility and would change the perception of the value of women in a commercial environment.

Finally, we would sort out the title - feminist. Feminist does not mean

25

must first recognise though. We must never mistake comfort for equality. We must never settle for second best because fighting is too hard, or too controversial. And we must never eschew the title ‘feminist’ but rather claim it with all the pride it deserves. We must make it a title for everyone; men, women, minorities, gays, the old, the young, everyone. Maybe if we are able to take these steps then we really would be looking at a world taken over by feminism, by equality, by progression. And I’d like to think that that would be a better world.  Tara S (Year 11)

Art and Culture

What if

your picture came to life?

Imagine if your picture came to life? If you drew the sun, would it always be sunny for you?

If you drew the rain, would it always be rainy for you?

Would you have your own little world around you depending on what you drew? What if you had to draw a war or fights for art homework and suddenly you found yourself in the trenches at war. Or maybe you would draw a magical fairyland with rainbows and unicorns; you would be in your own make-believe world. It would be like being in the film “Ernie” but instead of imagining something and it coming to life, you would draw or paint it.

I don’t think that I would like it if my picture came to life. It would mean that you would have to be very restricted about what you painted. You could not be free with your paints or draw what you wanted to.

You could be held back in fear of the image that you were drawing would result in something dangerous or cruel.  Maya M (Year 7)

Painting by Alejandra H (Upper Sixth)

26

What if

no one learnt to write?

In a world where no one knew how to write, how would we know what happened in the past? Would we know about all of the World Wars and our country’s history without anyone having written down all of the information? Without words written down, whether that is on a piece of paper, or on a computer, we would never have any evidence for events that happened. This could be a major issue, particularly as history tends to repeat itself. We could, potentially, end up going back in time completely where many restrictions upon women and others were enforced.

If no one ever learnt to write, there would also be no way of writing down laws. This could mean that people would be able to get away with actions that are morally wrong as there would be no “evidence” that the law actually exists. This could lead to many implications in society, as more people would be likely to commit wrongdoings because there are no laws in place. There would be more attacks and assaults than there are now and there would be no way of proving that an action is wrong as there would be no laws written down to say so.

If no one ever learnt to write, would we be able to communicate with each other? Obviously, we would never be informed of current affairs in other countries, as no one is able to write them down in order for them to be communicated via a newspaper or even the news on television. Although, would we then develop another system in which we could communicate with people long distance? A system that doesn’t involve writing information down in order to communicate? Perhaps, we would start talking to each other via hand signals or even pictures. Whatever the system would be, the human race would definitely figure out a way in which we would be able to tell one another what is happening or what has happened in the past. Then, perhaps, it wouldn’t matter whether we were able to write or not, because we would have developed a way of communicating that doesn’t involve the use of writing.  Harriet L (Lower Sixth)

27

Art and Culture

What if

our world was in black and white?

Illustration by Hannah W (Upper Sixth)

7,000,000 colours can be seen by the human eye. Are you prepared to give up seven million choices?

We would lose our individuality and all look the same. The red in our cheeks symbolises the life in us.

Imagine a clinical white world or a dark black planet. Colours make us happy. I certainly feel less dull putting on a bright orange top in the morning compared to a black one.

Colours are comforting. Think of the warm yellow sun and the bright pink sunsets. What would become of the Pipers bonfire night display? You would no longer feel part of Pipers with your not so red jumper.

But is colour just a distraction? Do you crave the simplicity of black and white? It doesn’t really matter about personalisation and some colours clash anyway. It would take away the unwanted stereotypes of blue for boys and pink for girls. The BBC only started releasing colour television in 1966. One would hope that the purpose of the object matters more than its colour. Isn’t it what a person says that matters, instead of what they are wearing?

Photographer Ted Grant said that “When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls!” A black and white world allow us to listen to people better and we would find out who people are without irrelevant colourful distractions. Individuals may stop killing themselves from sunbed related cancers, because there would be no need to get a tan; no pressure for golden brown skin.

However, maybe we are interpreting this too literally. Black and white thinking, also known as narrow minded thinking, springs to mind. Black or white. Right or wrong. Good or Bad. Winning or losing. Hope or despair.

It becomes a game of opposites. Black and white thinking can be classed as limiting and something that involves little creativity. The fact is that some things aren’t black or white, they are grey. Grey is not bad it’s just different and the problem may lie with our acceptance for differences in society. Why does it have to be black and white thinking, not white and black? Are we ignorant people if we can only think in white and black?

28

Black or white. Right or wrong. Good or Bad. Winning or losing.

Hope or despair. It becomes a game of opposites.

You may be wondering, what about humans who are actually colour blind? The situation is that it is rare for people who are colour blind to only see the world in white and black. It is common for people to have trouble differentiating certain colours, such as red and pink. It is a myth that animals cannot see colour and a fish called a Skate is the only animal confirmed to see only in white and black.

The research is interesting “humans use three cones – red, blue and green to see full colour as we know it. However cats and dogs only have blue and green cones. This means they have a much more muted perception of colour, which is similar to colour blindness in humans.” (http://www.vetwest. com.au/)

Antico has more receptors in her eyes to absorb colour because she has four cones, not three like the average person. Randomly, Goldfish also have four cones! “It’s shocking to me how little colour people are seeing,” she said.

“When you look at a leaf you might see dark green but I’ll see violet, turquoise, blue.” It is estimated that Antico may pick up 100,000,000 more colour variations. Does this make us a little bit jealous?

Photographer Ted Grant said that “When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls!”

Veering to the opposite of colour deficiencies, it is thought-provoking to believe some people have super vision. Artist, Concetta Antico, falls into the estimated group of 1% of the human population that can see more colours than the rest of us.

Antico has been labelled a tetrachromat since 2012. John Mollon, at the University of Cambridge, and Gabriele Jordan, at Newcastle University, believe the condition is only found in women because its due to mutated X chromosomes. Kimberly Jameson, at the University of California, has studied Antico deeply and finds studying her artwork is an insight into her vision. It was through a customer of her art who suggested Antico should contact people who research tetrachromacy. Now Antico wants to open “an art school for the colour blind and create an online platform for people around

29

the world to discover if they are tetrachromatic.” Do we see colours in the same shade as other people or is it our description of what the colour looks like that is the difference?

“People find it extraordinary that white is my favourite colour, but it makes sense because it is so peaceful and restful for my eyes.

There is still a lot of colour in it, but it’s not hurting me,” said Antico. It might be that in a world of white and black that the two colours may not hold as much significance, sense of relief or dominancy if no other colours existed to balance them. Another artist, Henri Mattisse, stated, “I’ve been forty years discovering that the queen of all colours is black.”

It must be appropriate to end the discussion with the lyrics from Eva Cassidy’s song “True colours”. It’s better if we decide for ourselves whether Cassidy is interpreting colour as something you say, see and do or just part of what we are made of. But we do not want a white and black world and the negativity that comes with it. “I see your true colours, that’s why I love you, so don’t be afraid to let them show.”  Hannah W (Upper Sixth)

Art and Culture

What if

¿Y si no Existía una Cultura? (...there were no culture?)

El diccionario de Oxford define la cultura como las ideas, costumbres y comportamiento social de un grupo particular de personas o de la sociedad.

Esto incluiría la religión, el arte, la comida, el idioma, la literatura, la música, la ropa y muchas otras cosas. En primer lugar, voy a hablar de cómo, sin cultura, nuestra vida sería muy simple y aburrido. Entonces me voy a explorar los posibles beneficios de tener un mundo sin cultura, como no hay conflicto.

Los artículos que se enumeran anteriormente son todas las cosas que son importantes partes de nuestra vida cotidiana. Imagínese levantarse por la mañana y ponerse la misma ropa mundanas que cualquier otra persona en el mundo también lleva. Imagínate viajar a la escuela o al trabajo sin música. En un mundo sin cultura, sin arte, sin variedad, todo sería lo mismo, poco interesante y tedioso. Nosotros viviríamos en un mundo lleno de clones y cubierto de gris. Por ejemplo, la cultura española es uno de los hermosos colores, increíblemente brillante, espectacular arquitectura compleja, la sabrosa comida y muchos otros aspectos increíbles. Sin esta cultura de nuestro mundo sería un lugar mucho más aburrido y monótono.

Mientras que hay desventajas obvias para un mundo sin cultura, también hay algunos de los beneficios. Para mí, el aspecto más beneficioso de la existencia de ninguna cultura es que no habría ningún conflicto entre personas de diferentes culturas. En la sociedad actual, con el terrorismo como una amenaza tan conocido, ninguna cultura puede ser una posible solución. Si no existía una cultura entonces no habría ninguna religión. Sin religión no habría ninguna diferencia de opinión acerca de la religión, que es una de las principales causas de muchas guerras, como las Cruzadas y los actos terroristas como el ataque a la revista Charlie Hebdo. Si no existía una cultura, y por lo tanto, ninguna religión, a continuación, la caricatura satírica en Charlie Hebdo nunca hubiera sido dibujado, nadie se habría ofendido, y no habría sido un trágico ataque matando a gente inocente.

En conclusión, si no existía una cultura del mundo sería un lugar muy insulsa y sin vida para vivir. Sin embargo, podría significar que no habría ningún enfrentamiento entre personas de diferentes culturas, en especial acerca de la religión.

30

The Oxford dictionary defines culture as the ideas, customs and behaviour of a particular group of people or society.

This would include religion, art, food, language, literature, music, clothes and many other things. Firstly, I am going to discuss how, without culture, our lives would be very plain and dull. Then I am going to explore the possible benefits of having a world without culture, such as no conflict.

The items I previously listed are all things that are major parts of our everyday lives. Imagine getting up in the morning and putting on the same mundane clothes that every other person in the world also wears. Imagine travelling to school or to work without music. In a world without culture, without art, without variety, everything would be the same, uninteresting and tiresome. We would live in a world full of clones and covered in grey. For example, Spanish culture is one of amazingly bright, beautiful colours, stunning, complex architecture, flavoursome food and many other incredible aspects. Without this culture our world would be a much more dull and monotonous place.

Whilst there are obvious disadvantages to a world without culture, there are also a few benefits. For me, the most beneficial aspect of there being no culture is that there would be no conflict between people of different cultures. In today’s society, with terrorism being a well-known threat, no culture could be a possible solution. If there was no culture, then there would be no religion. Without religion there would be no difference of opinion about religion, which is a major cause for many wars such as the Crusades, and terrorist acts such as the attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine. If there was no culture, and therefore no religion, then the satirical cartoon in Charlie Hebdo would never have been drawn, no one would have been offended, and there would not have been a tragic attack killing innocent people.

In conclusion, if there was no culture the world would be a very vapid and lifeless place to live. However, it could mean that there would be no clash between people of different cultures, particularly about religion.  Ella S (Lower Sixth)

What if

there were no Drama?

AS Level Drama examination 2015 Thoroughly Modern Millie, October 2014

Living with Lady Macbeth, March 2015

A Level Drama examination 2015

If there were no drama, we would all be less confident and the school would not be as creative. At Pipers, we are all encouraged to be ourselves. Girls who are shy learn that it is not frightening to stand up and perform.

If there were no drama, all our lives would be so boring.

If there were no drama no one would be dramatic. If there was no drama people would not be able to come outside without being embarrassed because drama builds up your confidence.

 Lottie L (Year 5)

 Fern R (Year 5)

If there were no drama, there would be no television because television is acting and acting is drama. If there was no drama, there would be no plays and people would not have any fun. People would be less confident and you would have to keep your feelings all bottled up inside to yourself because you would not be able to express them. That is why you should be glad of drama and everything it has to offer.

If there were no drama, life would not be anywhere near the same. People would not have as much confidence as they do now. There would not even be the word “drama”.

There would be no school plays or any performances at all. There would be less choice on TV because most of the things on TV are acting programmes. At the cinema, you would only be able to watch documentaries or perhaps there would not be a cinema at all. Most movies would not exist.

 Caroline S (Year 5)

People who lack confidence will never grow confident.

People who stay in their comfort zone would never come out of it and no one would learn important life skills. Girls would not be able to share their talent and act out plays which they would not be able to share with family and friends.

 Sophie H (Year 5)

 Ellie P (Year 5)

31

Science and Technology

What if

fossil fuels run out tomorrow?

We are a nation of fossil fuel addicts.

About 20 seconds ago I realised that this nation also happens to include me, even though I never even think about using them. So what exactly would my day be like, if the system went bust tomorrow?

How different would it be? I like to think by the end of the day I would be triumphantly peddling on my bike across the hillsides, brandishing an organic wholemeal sandwich with recycled bin bag cape billowing in the wind and yelling: “Who needs fossil fuels?!

I am an eco-warrior!!!”, instead of stroking the empty petrol tank of our car, weeping over the kettle and mourning my lost life of oil and electrics.

to you, yes you, reading this right now: “Anna G in…a day without fossil fuels.”

Right. To start off with, I am firstly colder than usual with not only the loss of my fantastic electric blanket but also left with absolutely no heating. I then have to swallow my tablets with cold water as there would be no kettle to make tea with. To be honest, my days would certainly be numbered without tea; I would literally keel over screaming for a cup of Redbush.

Due to no shower, my short hair sticks up like a startled porcupine and, worse of all, I start to smell.

Everyone in my generation has probably been taught about fossil fuels once or twice. however, learning all the mathematical stats and being told that my life is about to end in a big, black, smoky impending doom if I dare to make a cup of tea is an extremely negative and fairly terrifying way to look at it. Instead I have decided to present

Within minutes my stomach begins to cry out for its morning toast and when hunger starts, hell truly does break out. Less than half an hour into my day and I am already losing it. Freezing, toast deprived and stinking, I next have to get to school. Making my way to the garage, I grab my bike and begin to pedal down what seems to be the steepest and most dangerous hill in Buckinghamshire. After (accidentally) brutally crashing into several pedestrians and a pram I realise that my bike chain seriously needs oiling but, with no oil to do so, I’m what my sister would call “kinda stuffed”.

To be honest, my days would certainly be numbered without tea; I would literally keel over screaming for a cup of Redbush.

32

After enduring the weirdest walk to school in the history of time, with groups of wild-eyed cyclists that seem to be preparing to take off like Elliot and E.T and escape the fossil-fuel-free world we now live in and Pipers girls huffing and puffing down the empty lane as some of them walk to school for the first time in their lives, I finally arrive.

However, arriving at school brings a whole new set of problems.

Cumberbatch’s hair. For now I slowly starve and shiver in a cocoon of despair and disbelief. It is clear that I am going to perish.

Reading that back it actually does sound horribly depressing. It’s funny to think that something I barely even think about would make such an impact on my life. There would be no way of transporting food to make school lunches to Pipers which could leave me famished. No more beloved internet, clean water, electricity, heating or hand-dryers.

“Everyone in my generation has probably been taught about fossil fuels once or twice.”

Firstly, any teachers that could make it to school are sprawled out fast asleep on their desks, having missed their daily cup of coffee caffeine boost. That is, of course, if we even get into Pipers in the first place, with no electricity to power the lanyards or automatic gates. The whole world is plunged into darkness due to no lighting, meaning I am twice as likely to trip over and break something. As a teenager, I know that however long you can survive without food and drink most of us would be completely lost without the Internet. Bleary eyed youths come blinking into the natural sunlight, crippled and cobweb covered wondering “WTH is up wiv Twitter? :-(“ and counting the hours that they could stay alive without social media. In days to come I would most definitely have a nervous breakdown after realising there would never be another episode of Sherlock/Benedict

So what can we do to help, exactly? The problem is, ever since the medieval times and the Industrial Revolution that followed, we have been digging ourselves into an enormous fossilfuel-themed hole. Of course, it was inevitable that this happened and almost unavoidable, as when man finds new and useful things he often doesn’t think about the problems that could follow. Fossil fuels will run out, and fast. Scientists have predicted that the oil, gas and coal supplies in the UK could be used up in roughly five years time (The Independent), at which point I will have just left school. Imagine trying to set up my new life as an adult in a world where every day was like the above. That life would be pretty rubbish don’t you think?

33

This is exactly why we need to make a move. We need to step out of our comfort zones so we are not shoved out of our comfortable fossil fuel lives permanently. To any of you thinking we could just take fossil fuels from neighbouring countries and use them, sources have shown that other countries are far worse off. For example, it is predicated that France and Italy only have just over a year of fossil fuels left.

We’d better get our (non-electrical) skates on and start thinking!

The reassuring thing is that as bad changes are happening so are good ones, including new scientific studies and research. Renewable energy is being sourced using wind turbines etc. and the Government in pushing for solar panels on UK houses. You can get involved with and donate to campaign groups such as Greenpeace, who are working to stop fracking for oil in the Arctic and are constantly aiming for a green future with their peaceful protests and campaigning letters. Or, if you want to do something else to save our future then you can simply start by turning off the light when you leave a room or not leaving the tap on when you brush your teeth. These tiny things help us stop using unnecessary energy and preserve our fuels whilst we search for new, eco ways to make energy.

Hope is not lost. Phew!  Anna G (Year 9)

Science and Technology

What if

people were twice as intelligent?

Have you ever wondered what makes certain people more intelligent than others and whether there is a way to change that?

Neuroimaging data demonstrates that people with a higher IQ have more efficient neural networks.

For example, Albert Einstein, who developed the theory of relativity and is argued to be one of the most intelligent humans ever, had a brain no bigger than the average person yet he could make incredible connections due to a more integrated brain. Recent studies carried out by Richard Haier, at the University of California, suggest that it is theoretically possible to adjust the mechanisms involved which leaves us with the prospect that in the future we could all become more intelligent. However, we must examine what kind of impact this would have on our society?

If all humans in the world became twice as intelligent, one of the main benefits would be that each individual could memorise and analyse more complex information faster. This could lead to more fulfilled individuals with a wider understanding of the world due to enjoying the act of learning and reading more. Intelligence is often also linked to the ability to learn languages which could permit more effective communications and understanding of people that are different to us. This would perhaps break down xenophobia and racism often seen in our society due to fear and lack of understanding of others. Furthermore, we would be able to pursue careers in whatever

we are interested, perhaps those that are beyond the average person’s current mental capability.

For example, one could become a brain surgeon, nuclear scientist or astrophysicist much more easily quickly. Equally important is the fact that greater intelligence would allow us to solve many of humanities current problems including the cure for cancer, finding creative and efficient ways to solve world hunger and improving technologies to improve our lives. More intelligent humans would be able to lead healthier lifestyles and thus live longer as they would be able to better understand negative consequences of certain behaviours on their wellbeing. However, this raises the issue of how would we cope with an ever increasing aging population as even today our intelligence has made us live longer lives with a population that our planet is struggling to sustain.

Many people believe that a lot of the world’s problems are due to stupidity of people and that if this factor was eradicated, we would live in a much more peaceful society. However, I would argue that this would not be the case if we doubled intelligence as intelligence is completely separate from personality and emotions of

34

humans. Therefore all the different personalities that are currently seen in populations would remain. This raises the question of whether the humans would use their intelligence for ever more destructive purposes.

Certainly, we could argue that the rate of unprovoked crimes e.g. assault of strangers would decrease as humans would be able to understand the pointlessness of such the crime in comparison to punishment. However, certain people believe that crimes that are motivated by financial gains so it is possible that all types of fraud, money laundering and tax evasion would increase. On the other hand the crime-fighters and authorities would become smarter too which would even out the playing field.

Overall, I believe that intelligence is relative. Therefore, if we all became more intelligent, there would still be divisions of upper, median and lower intelligence. The world would have more elaborate criminal acts but there would also be brilliant detectives to solve the crime so society would remain similar in that respect. However, technology and our ability to solve problems would dramatically improve and this would enable us to solve many of the biggest problems facing humanity. ď‚Ł Diva D (Upper Sixth)

What if

plastics were never discovered?

Most people are aware that crude oil is going to run out. How many of those people will be aware of how this will affect the plastics industry?

Plastic is the common name for a group of compounds called polymers. Polymers are long chains of single compounds bonded together. Perhaps more simply they are like your sausages when you get them out of the packet all joined together, but they can be separated by cutting the links between the sausages with a knife. This is essentially what a polymer chain is.

Polymers are obtained from crude oil, this is the oil extracted out of the ground as a raw material. Crude oil is first processed by fractional distillation; this is like sorting out beads of different sizes into groups of the same size. Long chain molecules called hydrocarbons (big beads) are then broken down using heat to smaller hydrocarbons called alkenes (smaller beads) by a process called cracking. Then the small beads, we call alkenes, join together to form polymers commonly known as plastics.

Synthetic plastic is derived from crude oil. However, where did the first synthetic plastics originally come from? The birth of the modern

plastics era was in 1907. This was after the invention of Bakelite which was the first synthetic plastic obtained from crude oil rather than plants or animals. Leo Baekeland used phenol, an acid extracted from coal tar. Today few industries use phenolic resins although his creation provided the foundation for an industry now employing over 60 million people.

The plastic industry is thriving.

Plastic is invading our homes from small McDonald’s toys for children to wheeled bins, pens and window frames. The modern lifestyle we as a society now lead is dependent on this synthetic material. Probably half or even more of the things around you are made of plastic.

Could the average person function without plastics? At a stretch the average person probably could.

Imagine without them being invented our furniture would be made of wood or metal. Plastic plates, cups and bowls would be made of china. Our clothes, which we often don’t associate with

35

plastic, would be made from cotton or wool rather than fabrics such as polyester and nylon. However, plastic furniture, crockery and clothes made of synthetic fabrics are notably cheaper than those made of other materials. What would be our replacement? Any other material would be twice the price and not have anywhere near the diverse range of uses. Before the wide availability of plastics, clothes, furniture, appliances and cars amongst many other items were considered to be luxury items and only the very rich would have them. However, most households in developed countries and even many in developing countries would consider these items to be essentials and they are readily disposed of to make way for the latest version.

So perhaps if plastics had not been invented, we would not have become the throw away consumer society we have become today, but probably life without cars and all our gadgets would be a lot harder! ď‚Ł Annabel S (Year 11)

Science and Technology

What if

we did not try to conserve species

What if, what if, what if: Normally, when using these words, it is to do with testing our imagination, looking into something which is impossible or seeing what would happen if something else had not. However, this is happening not in the far distant future, not in the past which could not be changed but now.

Extinction is a normal pattern through evolutionary history and it is when the last living member of a species dies and the species ceases to exist. However, this can actually have positive points as it creates land and space for new smaller species to develop and increase in population size. This causes a greater chance of a random mutation in the genetics and helps natural selection; and therefore causing evolution. What if the mass extinction of dinosaurs had not happened due to an asteroid impact? There is evidence to suggest that without this turning point in Earth’s history, mammals would not have had the chance to evolve and therefore humans would not have existed as we know today. However, this positivity about extinction is only applicable to a species of a large population which is reducing biodiversity when it is extinct or when a species is extinct to allow for a random mutation or new species to occur; which is called a common ancestor.

catastrophe like asteroid impacts, volcanic activity or stagnant oceans.

Humans this time will be responsible.

What if 20% of the planet’s species are extinct by 2030? What if half of the world’s species are extinct by 2100?

What if at one point of time, there will be only one species: the Homosapiens species?

Humans. This loss of biodiversity will cause grave consequences as it will cause gaps in the food chain which may even cause the extinction of our own species due to the spiral effects through the chain. Human activity is the cause of this. For example, when we attempted to cause the extinction of Anopheles mosquitoes which is a vector for the disease malaria; this was attempted for protection which is another main activity which causes the loss in biodiversity such as poaching or over hunting for food. For example, the decline in the elephant population is due to poaching for the high value of their tusks and the supposed religious and cultural reasons for collecting trinkets made out of ivory. Another issue which is more recent is the habitat destruction caused by the need for food and renewable fossil

What if 20% of the planet’s species are extinct by 2030?

However, an event of mass extinction is due to happen in the next 20 years and it is not going to be by a global

36

The more species that become extinct, the more new problems there will be that will not be solved. fuels. For example Madagascar, which is known for its unique range of biodiversity, has lost between 80-90% of its original forest cover.

The primary causes of forest loss includes slash-and-burn for agricultural land (a practice known locally as Tavy) and for pasture, selective logging for precious woods or construction material, the collection of fuel wood (including charcoal production), and in certain sites, forest clearing for mining.

There is one main reason why the problem of extinction is worse now than it has ever been. The one reason behind all the other activities which causes this level of decreasing biodiversity is our increasing population. Since the 1800s, the human population has increased from 1 billion to 7 billion due to the increase in medical advances and the Industrial Revolution. This leads to humans living longer lives and the human race taking on a save one save

all attitude; therefore causing natural selection to no longer occur in humans anymore. Thus, this means we are not evolving as a species. We need to conserve these species for economic, ecological, ethical and aesthetic reasons. Another important reason to conserve species is that evolution has provided answers to many technological problems.

For example, what is the best aerodynamic shape in water? That was answered by those creatures that live and move in water, for instance sharks. What is the best shape of an aerofoil or wing? What is the best design for distributing cooling fluid around a structure?

Each problem solved from million years of evolution. The more species that become extinct, the more new problems there will be that will not be solved. When looking into the ecological reasons, the regulation of the atmosphere is extremely significant and it is the process of photosynthesis. This is carried out

37

by plants removing carbon dioxide from the air and therefore replacing it with oxygen. This process is essential for human life on this planet. Without biodiversity, human existence would not be the same. ď‚Ł Alice W (Lower Sixth)

Science and Technology

What if

organ donation were compulsory for anyone over the age of 18?

At home recently, my parents and I have been discussing organ donation which was brought to my attention when I applied for a provisional driving licence. One of the questions asked was whether i wanted to be included on the NHS organ transplant register.

Firstly, I should point out that my family has firsthand experience of a family member who needed a kidney transplant. Before I was born my maternal grandmother was very ill and was lucky enough to receive a new kidney. Unfortunately, this was not successful (because of rejection) and she was put back on dialysis. She then had a second transplant which was successful and gave her another eight years of life. My family was, and will always be, so grateful to the families who, at the most difficult time of losing a loved one, gave another person a chance to live. Needless to say, my parents are on the register with my father’s attitude being that if he is to die, his organs would not be of any use to him. Moreover, the BMA (British Medical Association) summarises that “bodies are buried or cremated complete with organs that could have been used to save lives�. All of this made me think as to whether or not it should be compulsory for anyone over the age of 18 to donate their organs.

The knowledge of how to perform transplants goes back to the 1950s but any operations performed then were very experimental with most people not living very long after the surgery. For example, the first heart

Illustration by Elizabetta C (Upper Sixth)

38

transplant was performed in 1967 by Mr Christiaan Barnard in South Africa.

His patient only lived for 19 days after the operation.

The big breakthrough came in 1970 when a drug called Cyclosporine was discovered. Initially, it was used as an anti-fungal antibiotic but its use was very limited. In 1976, Jean-Francois Borel discovered cyclosporine was a powerful immunosuppressant. When someone receives a new organ, that person’s body tries to destroy it because the “flags”, antigens, on the surface of the donated organ are “foreign” and not “self”. Therefore, your lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) are programmed to destroy it. Cyclosporine helps to stop the rejection by inhibiting the activity of the lymphocytes. Thus, due to the use of this drug, more organ transplants are successful because there is less rejection.

In the UK today, there are over 21 million people on the register but of all the people who die only 1% of them die in circumstances in which their organs could be donated. The latest figures for transplants are that last year there were 4,655 transplants performed from 2,466 donors. By far the most common type of transplant is a kidney transplant with 3,257 being performed last year. The least common types of transplant are bowels, hearts and livers with 26, 206 and 924 having been performed last year respectively.

So going back to the original question, what if organ donation was compulsory for anyone over the age of 18? Many think that organ donation should be compulsory for anyone over the age of 18 primarily because of the shocking statistics that at any one time in the UK there are 10,000 people on the waiting list for a donor organ. Of those 10,000, three of them will die every day before they get their organs purely due to a lack of donors. Therefore, if we made organ donation compulsory there would be considerably shorter, if no, waiting lists, meaning that fewer people will die before they receive their transplant.

Moreover, with scientific and operative methods improving, the

if we made organ donation compulsory there would be considerably shorter, if no, waiting lists, meaning that fewer people would die before they receive their transplant. success rates of transplants today are greater than in the past. Therefore, the chance of a transplant actually extending the life expectancy of someone and giving them a better quality of life is increased. But in order to do this, we need the organs to transplant.

However, many disagree that it should be compulsory to donate your organs after death because people should have a choice in whatever they do. Many religious people would say that God gave us free will; and therefore by making organ donation compulsory, you would be taking this away.

Furthermore, after the death of a family member, it may be rather traumatic having to let their body go to have their organs removed if the family would prefer for that not to happen. Making something as sensitive as organ donation compulsory, I do not think it is moral and could lead to greater upset after the death of a person. Therefore, if donation was made compulsory, the death of a relative may cause greater distress than if there was a choice.

39

Personally, I do not think that it should be compulsory because it is a very personal decision for anyone.

Instead, I think that perhaps the way forward would be that everyone is automatically placed on the register, and if one wishes to, you can easily remove your name. Interestingly, from December 2015 this is coming into effect in Wales. Adults who live and die in Wales will be assumed to have given their consent to organ donation unless they have opted out of the process during their lifetime. Relatives can also express their wish for the donation to not go ahead if they know the deceased would object to it.

Looking to the future, it is quite possible that within the next generation, it will be possible to grow organs from a patient’s own stem cells. This would end the rejection problems and make organ donation a thing of the past. That is quite a thought, although it will surely bring about a whole new set of moral dilemmas.  Kirsty J (Lower Sixth)

Science and Technology

What if

the Apollo programme was never put into action?

The Apollo programme was the third human spaceflight programme carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States, which involved landing the first twelve humans on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. The programme benefitted not only our scientific knowledge but our everyday lives.

The first and probably most important effect of the moon landing was not scientific but political. At the time, prior to the first moon landing, the Soviet Union was the leading nation in space flight which was seen by many people, evidence of a stronger government. When America landed the first man on the moon it made true Kennedy’s vision as he had used it as propaganda to show the strength of a democracy over a communist state. Following on it was specifically mentioned in the open letter issued in 1970 by Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov and two colleagues calling for

democratisation of the USSR, and the letter stated that the American moon landing was evidence of the superiority of a democracy. The moon landing was intended to help end the cold war.

The advances in technology due to the Apollo programme were gigantic and the discoveries made that helped man reach the moon also changed the lives of people on earth. Changes were made to a variety of everyday products, varying from trainers to clocks. The “Moon Boot” material revolutionised athletic footwear; it improved shock absorption and provided superior stability and motion control. Al Gross, a NASA Apollo Programme engineer, used his space expertise to improve athletic shoes. He changed the plastics to foam materials in the shoes’ midsole to eliminate cushioning loss caused by body weight. These changes allowed sport brands to begin making shoes which were specialised for certain sports. With regards to clocks: to keep missions on time, General Time Corp developed electrically stimulated quartz crystals. The quartz provides a stable time base, giving clocks an accuracy of one minute a year. By vibrating up to 4,194,304 times a second, these clocks keep millions of clocks working.

The new technologies developed for space travel have also brought

40

The advances in technology due to the Apollo programme were gigantic

drastic improvement in our emergency services, for example firefighting was made safer; fire hazards are much greater in atmospheres containing a high percentage of oxygen under pressure. Due to the 1967 Apollo fire, NASA decided that they needed to find new ways to protect astronauts and their vessels. The Monsanto Company developed a chemically treated fabric called “Durette” which does not burn.

Another NASA project resulted in a lightweight breathing system including facemask, frame, and harness and air bottle marketed by Scott Aviation. Now nearly every major manufacturer of breathing apparatus incorporates NASA technology in some form, which helps to reduce the number of inhalation-related injuries. The technologies also led to major medical advancements, NASA’s digital imaging technology has also been used for CAT scans, MRIs, radiography, and microscopy as well as for various industrial and manufacturing processes.

To conclude the Apollo mission not only led to a greater understanding of our moon but also led to major advancements in technology, both in everyday life and on a larger scale, without which we would notice a difference in the way that we operate from day to day life.  Abigail H (Year 11)

What if

mental illness were treated like physical illness?

It’s no secret there’s a serious stigma attached to mental illness.

On average, only 25 percent of people with mental health issues feel that other people are compassionate and sympathetic toward them. It’s a shameful statistic when one in four people have been touched by some form of mental illness.

Experts say that part of the problem when it comes to criticising someone’s mental health is a lack of empathy and knowledge about the ailments. Yet, despite the staggering evidence aimed at helping people understand, many people still cannot comprehend that being diagnosed with a mental illness isn’t something that’s in their control- just as having the flu, food poisoning, or cancer is not in their control.

For some reason, our generation feel as though it is justifiable to ask someone “Have you tried, you know, not having depression?” I highly doubt those very people asking ignorant questions would ask “Have you tried, you know, not vomiting in the toilet?” It seems that in order for people to understand the gravitas of mental illness, the individual must do something drastic; for example, once

that suffering individual takes their own life, we then may take their mental health seriously.

This cannot be an individual attack on that one ignorant person, and the use of “ignorant” is used lightly. Unless you have experienced the pain of mental illness, we are all in some ways ignorant to the devastating effects.

The media has always taken a liking to sensationalising mental health, especially in horror/thriller films whereby the murderer will undoubtedly be schizophrenic. The labelling that is now accompanied with the terms “schizophrenia” or “bipolar” are degrading and absolutely devastating for the sufferer. The media have encouraged us to have a fear of mental illness because despite the fact that a serial

41

killer may be pumped up with drugs and alcohol, the media will almost certainly display “depression” loud and clear.

Mental illnesses are still very poorly understood. Is this a biological problem, or is it an emotional, perceptual problem that leads to changes within a person’s biology?

Is it both? Is it in some cases one and in some cases the other? I don’t know; however, this is the precise reason that we need to start treating mental illness as seriously as a physical impairment and perhaps one day we will have a fuller understanding enabling us to help the people most in need.  Sarah B (Upper Sixth)

Science and Technology

What if

Google did not exist?

Can you imagine a world without Google?

Google has made life easier for humans; as they say, knowledge is power. Google has made knowledge available to anyone who has a computer and even a device such as a tablet and a smartphone. To that extent, Google has made the world more equal. Before it existed, if someone wanted to get information but did not have the resources to do it, they would really struggle in comparison to a person who has the resources. Searching for information has been transformed because of Google, but is that all that Google does? Certainly not!

Google offers many products and services such as finding the right route from one place to another by using Google Maps. There is also an email system for individuals and organisations using Gmail and

Google Docs, connecting with other people using Google+ and listening to music or watching videos with Google Play. Google has certainly made life easier for all of us and as such has become an important part of our everyday lives.

But there is also an opinion that many people share that Google has become too powerful and has too much information. Which people exploit or use for commercial gain.

To conclude, while the above is certainly a cause for concern, Google has made life a lot easier and a world without Google is hard to imagine. ď‚Ł Niharika S (Year 8)

42

Image created by Anya J (Upper Sixth)

For most people, I am sure, checking their Facebook or Instagram feeds is now part of their daily routine. I for one, will wake up and check my various social media sites before I even have breakfast. With technology constantly developing around us and society becoming more reliant on the Internet, it makes you wonder what it would be like without social media and what impact its absence could potentially have on society and individuals?

After researching the uses of social media, it is very clear that the main use is purely for personal enjoyment.

Most users will go onto their social media sites to update their own statuses or to see what their “friends” are currently doing around the world. Due to the main use of social media being for personal use, I can assume the absence of social networking would not be detrimental on society. Individuals will find other methods of contacting their friends and family, for example, phoning, texting or video calling.

Some may argue that if social media no longer existed, then we would be more focused, without the constant distraction of new activity on social media feeds. However, I believe people will find other ways of being distracted. It is not social media that is the issue but in fact the way in which we have developed as a society.

Businesses also greatly rely on the power of social media to connect to their existing and potential customers. Businesses are able to directly communicate with their customers about news and events, which can boost the advertising and marketing of their products on a global scale and potentially improve profits for the company.

After researching, it is clear that many customers believe that having social media accounts for

organisations gives a “human face” to the company and increases the reputation of the business.

Therefore, if we remove all social media sites, how would this affect the marketing and consequently the profits of large and small scale businesses? We can assume that the relationship between these businesses and customers could be weakened and potentially result in a reduction in sales, especially for small local businesses.

There are many artists in the entertainment industry that have either been discovered or have made careers due to social networking. “YouTubers” are becoming increasingly popular, especially with the younger generation, just from making and posting videos of themselves onto the video sharing social media site know as YouTube. If there was no longer social media, “YouTubers” who have made careers may never have been as well-known as they currently are. However, I assume their absence on the Internet would not have a large impact on society, due to them having minimal influence on the public.

Finally, companies such as Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr and other social media sites all have employees that work in the company’s main offices around the world, whether they are

43

technical support, developing new and innovative ideas, customer support or even finance. These employees would be made redundant if social networking sites no longer existed. As of 30th September 2014, Facebook had 8,348 employees with offices in the US but also internationally in Amsterdam, Berlin, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Melbourne, Paris, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

In recent years, social networking has also been used by employers and employees to find jobs. One of the most successful websites is LinkedIn with 300 million members in over 200 countries around the world whose aim is to “connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful”.

It is hard to say how many people have gained jobs due to the power of LinkedIn; however, I strongly believe in the future most jobs will be advertised through this medium.

To conclude, if social media ceased to exist how would it affect your life? Would you be more productive without the constant distraction of social media? Would you not have met your friends without social media? Or maybe you would not even noticed the absence of Facebook or Twitter.  Anya J (Upper Sixth)

Illustration by Alicia W (Year 8)

Science and Technology

What if

space were a lie?

As people, we don’t realise just how much our lives revolve around space. Because of expeditions to space, we have household items we take for granted such as Velcro and smoke alarms that were actually created for safety in the spaceship.

What if they were invented for some other cause?

We look up at the stars at night and think about how they’re huge stars, far away. What if they are actually a hologram or an illusion created by mankind?

Since the 1960s, only nine astronauts have been to the moon.

This year, a probe was sent to a dangerous comet. Robots have brought blurry pictures back from Mars. The Hubble Telescope circles the Earth at a consistent speed, taking photographs of neighbouring galaxies.

Scientists have encouraged us to believe in the merits of space, promising that we will find mountains, aliens, life forms, new elements and a million other things in planets we haven’t discovered. Hundreds of films, books and plays have been written about space discovery, including the awardwinning films “Gravity”, “Star Wars” and “Avatar”. What if the years of hard work and dedication towards these films is reaching out for nothing?

According to statistics, most people will never go to space.

Therefore, what actual evidence do we have of space existing? The photos of our planet and the moon could have easily been faked using graphic design programs. The stories and complications resulting from space travel could have been made up.

If, indeed, space was a lie, our lives would be entirely different. During the period from 1955 – 1972 two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union in Russia (USSR) and the United States (USA) both set out plans to be the first to put a spacecraft into space, this was known as the “Space Race”.

Russia got their first craft into orbit, but America were the first ones to reach the moon.

What if this was all a show, making money for the Governments of both Russia and the USA? What if all of it was a ploy for making money? What if it could be proven that there was nothing out there, just our planet. Or other things that our world leaders would want to hide from us; other planets like ours, war zones, or things beyond our wildest dreams.  Emilie E (Year 8)

44

Head Girl Report

Head girl report September 2008 was the year when the current Upper Sixth girls joined the Senior School at Pipers Corner. For some of us this was the first time we became Pipers girls for others it was a new and exciting chapter in their time at Pipers Corner.

When I look at the Year 7 girls it honestly does not seem two minutes since we too were in that year and yet so many things have changed during that time both in and out of school. We have seen two General Elections, a Royal Wedding, the 2012 Olympics, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the 2014 Winter Olympics, Commonwealth Games and the centenary celebrations of the First World War. At Pipers just walking around the school I can see so many changes including more pupils, new buildings housing excellent new facilities, the wonderful school café and real live chickens arrived at Pipers!

Being made Head Girl last July was truly a wonderful surprise and the proudest moment of my life. It is an honour to represent Pipers Corner School, a place which has given me such help and encouragement whilst creating lifelong memories and friends along the way. The Upper Sixth year like every year at Pipers is extremely busy and

we have all shared the exciting moments as people get offers and places for their next destinations after we leave school. It is also a time for hard work for final exams.

But we have all had a lot of fun throughout the year, practising for the Hampden Talent Show certainly gave us a few laughs, not to mention the Sixth Form team coming last at Mandeville Quiz Night!

One of my first jobs as Head Girl was to cut the cake on Founder’s Day surrounded by everyone in their sixties style outfits though I have to say I am glad I don’t have to wear white plastic go-go boots to school every day! One of my lasting memories of this school year will be the sight of the WW1 trench in Landau Hall a remarkable and fitting way to mark the centenary of the start of the war.

I have been extremely lucky to have been supported during the year by Megan H and Sophie G who have been totally dedicated in everything they do. We enjoyed welcoming about thirty Head Boys and Head Girls from other schools to our Leadership Dinner in February and we were given a wonderful and inspirational speech by Dr Tim O’ Brien. As well as Megan and Sophie I would also like to thank all the prefects, Amreen B, Sarah B, Lizzie B, Eve C, Tabitha F, Becky J, Catherine K, Georgia M, Caitlin N, Grace R and Millie T for all their hard work during the year.

The theme of this year’s magazine is “What if” which I think is so relevant

45

to every girl at Pipers Corner from Reception to Upper Sixth as we are all able to challenge ourselves in so many different ways and we are all able to say to ourselves “What if I try something new?” or “What if I don’t?” At Pipers we are constantly encouraged to step out of our comfort zone, to challenge our thinking, to improve that grade or to try a new sport or activity never feeling we might fail, but instead believing we can all achieve at our own level. Such opportunities and attitudes allow us to develop as individuals and in turn help to widen our horizons. One of the most important things we learn at Pipers is that everyone has something to give, something to say and the right to be heard.

Pipers Corner has many traditions which shape the school year; Founder’s Day, Bonfire Night, Carol Service, Debating, Christmas Fair, all the House events, Sports Day and Parents’ Day. I have many happy memories of these occasions during my years at school and I urge all girls to get as involved as you can on such occasions and at any special events during the school year. As Head Girl I wish the best of luck to next year’s Head Girl her Deputies and the Prefect Team and I am sure they too will create many happy memories during their final year at school.

I must now say goodbye and wish Pipers Corner school staff and girls every good wish for the future.  Harriet D (Upper Sixth)

House Reports

Mandeville House

This year, as ever has been a successful year for Mandeville.

Back in October, I was amazed by the generosity of the girls in the House, donating such lovely Harvest Baskets to the local community. The annual Mandeville quiz night was again, a huge success, raising more money than ever for “Make A Wish Foundation”, a charity, which the girls in the House voted to support. The House Spirit of Mandeville was highlighted in the run up to Inter-House Performing Arts competition; the number of girls who gave up break times and lunch times to come and rehearse was more than ever.

I could not have managed this year without Sophie G, Lizzie B and Lucy W who have been there to support me, and the rest of the Sixth Form who have also gone out of their way to help. I have loved the responsibility of being Head of House and I wish Pamela N (Lower Sixth) luck for next year!  Amelia T (Head of Mandeville House)

Hampden House Sixth mash up of High School Musical, following the long-standing tradition of a group performance by the leavers, also left our audience speechless, but in a slightly different way.

Hampden House has had yet another fantastic year, in particular with regards to our charity initiatives.

We kick started the year with the Harvest Festival.

For this, every girl in the House donated cans of food, clothing and other imperishable goods, which were collated, and then given to the “Wycombe Homeless Connection”, a local charity based in High Wycombe which seeks to help the homeless through support and drop in sessions all year round, as well as, a winter night shelter.

House Spirit has been at the heart of Hampden this year, especially in the Inter-House competitions.

Our massive achievement this year must definitely be our victory in the Inter-House Performing Arts competition. Every single girl put their heart and soul into the performances and I was immensely proud!

This was swiftly followed by our annual Hampden Bonfire Cake sale, which took place in November. I was astounded at the number of cakes that the girls made and the spirit and enthusiasm with which our customers brought to the sale. In total, we raised over £200 for St Mark’s School in Uganda, our main school charity. I had no idea that everyone liked cake so much!

I would like to congratulate all of the girls who took part, but also I would like to commend Sofia R (Year 8) who has shown fantastic House Spirit this year and is a role model to her peers.

One event we cannot forget is the annual Hampden Talent Show, which took place at the end of February half-term. As ever, this was thoroughly enjoyed by all who took part and great entertainment for those who watched. A special mention must go to Annique B (Year 6) who was this year’s winner, with a truly inspirational performance of classical ballet. The Upper

46

Being Head of House this year has been both a challenging and rewarding role, which I could not have done without the help of the other Upper Sixth girls and my team: Amreen B, Rosie B and Scarlett C. I am very proud of what Hampden has achieved this year and so finally, I congratulate all the girls on their hard work and, like my predecessor said last year, please remember, a quitter never wins.  Megan H (Head of Hampden House)

Milton House Milton House have had an extremely successful and enjoyable year. Our House has become a strong team this year with the older girls supporting the younger girls, especially in charity events such as Milton’s Haunted Hall, in which we had a variety of stalls which girls of all ages ran together. I was amazed by the amount of spirit the girls contributed to this as they all donated. We raised over £200 from this event to St Mark’s School in Uganda which we are supporting as our House charity.

Furthermore, we raised more money for the same charity in Milton’s Valentine’s Cake Sale. In addition, we have held collections for our local charity “One Can Trust”, who assist people living

Penn House

The House system at Pipers is one of the main things that I will continue to look back fondly on as my time at school comes to a close. Throughout this year Penn has achieved a great deal and this couldn’t have been done without the help of my wonderful House Team – Grace R (Deputy Head), Fran D (Sports Captain), Allejandra H and Diva D (Charity Representatives).

I think it is important to mention that due to a miscalculation in scores, an announcement was made at the start of the year to declare that Penn had actually won Sports Day 2014, a massive achievement for our House and one that we are all very proud of.

in poverty within our local area. I would like to thank all girls who have come together to ensure these events were a success.

Within sport we have also thrived as a House. There is no doubt that girls have been out of their comfort zones and taken part in sports that they had never played before. That is one of the best qualities in our Milton Girls – they will always give everything a go if it benefits the House. I am proud to say we won Inter-House Netball and Lacrosse this year.

I am bursting with pride at the amount Milton House has achieved this year but none of this

would have been possible without the help of my amazing team.

Anya and Hayley have been the best deputies anybody could ask for, they are constantly supportive and do any job asked of them at the drop of a hat. Georgia has thrived in motivating the girls to play sports and Sophie has been very helpful in the arrangement of charity events and launching these within the House. My thanks also go to Hannah and Melody for constantly assisting with events and of course to Mrs Tebb who has been an honour to work with.

Most importantly, I would like to thank every single Milton Girl. I can’t think of any better way to spend my final year at Pipers than to lead this House and I know leaving this school I will always be a Milton Girl at heart. To all my Milton Girls please remember: You are lions, so let the world hear you roar!  Rebecca J (Head of Milton House)

In September we began the year with a “Back to School” cake sale which raised £167.77 for St Mark’s School in Uganda. The House also decided to organise a “Winter Wonderland” Dance Competition for our main charity event. Filling the Landau Hall with girls wanting to watch the competition was reflected in the £248.38 that we raised. Fantastic achievement from everyone.

I would like to say a massive well done to Lizzy P (Lower Sixth) and Tara S (Year 11) for winning Senior Inter-House Debating for Penn and also to our Junior team who took part in the Junior Debate for the first time in Pipers history.

I would also like to congratulate all of the girls who took part in any Inter-House sporting events, especially for their House Spirit, willingness to play – even in the rain! I would like to mention the Inter-House Performing Arts competition – this took a huge amount of work from all girls,

47

especially Sixth Form and I am so grateful to everyone who stepped in and took charge of some of the acts – Alice P (Year 11) and Lowri T (Year 11) for choreographing the dance number.

Finally I want to wish the new Head of House, Lizzy P (Lower Sixth), and the rest of the Penn Team a massive good luck next year!  Catherine K (Head of Penn House)

Valete

Valete Ray Bullard,

Jasmine Cordi-Miller,

Science Technician

English Lacrosse Development Coach

Ray joined Pipers Corner in May 2010 as Senior Technician. In his previous incarnation he had been a chemistry teacher. He immediately settled into the role.

He brought with him a wealth of knowledge from all his teaching experience and understood the importance of always putting the learning of the student at the heart of everything he did. He happily filled in as a substitute teacher on numerous occasions. He was always very “hands on” and was in his element when helping out in the laboratories with practical demonstrations and loved helping to make all science lessons fun.

As staff we frequently would discuss our lesson plans with him and on many occasion he would make a suggestion for a useful website or a free software download which would be beneficial to both students and staff. During his time we saw our banks of resources grow and include a diverse range of ideas.

Ray loves travelling, golf and crosswords. His decision to retire in December 2014 came as no surprise to us, but with a sense of sadness, as he wanted to spend more time following these three great passions of his.

He is greatly missed by all the girls and Science staff.

However, we look forward to hearing about his travels. 

Pami Sandhu. Head of Science

Jasmine joined us in September 2014 as our Lacrosse Coach. She hails originally from Newark, New Jersey and studied at Drew University, New Jersey, USA. Whilst there, she excelled in Lacrosse, both playing and coaching. Jasmine has a great sense of humour, and is regularly to be found giggling with Mrs McGonigle and Miss Cairns! She has not only helped deliver Lacrosse at Pipers, but she has also assisted with a wide range of different activities in lessons.

The girls really responded well to their new coach’s training demands, and their attempts at American accents have been hilarious! I know they will sorely miss her. She loves coaching lacrosse and teaching Physical Education lessons, and she will continue to do so in her new post.

Jasmine is staying in the UK, and will be coaching Lacrosse and teaching PE at Stowe School. She will also be coaching for an outreach Lacrosse programe and playing for an American team. She is hoping to get her master’s degree, teach and travel!

We all thank her for all her hard work, and wish her good luck with her future endeavours.  Jo Poore, Head of PE

48

Sarah Dee,

Niki Gledhill,

Head of Boarding

Head of Religious Studies

Sarah joined Pipers Corner in September 2012 and brought with her a wealth of experience from her previous schools. She very quickly instilled her ethos of integrating real life into boarding and living and working together as a community. Sarah is an extremely creative person and she has ensured that the boarders have developed a love for baking, and has inspired some interesting knitting creations.

Trips to Proms in the Park and the Hughendon 1940s fair to eat bangers and mash are at the top of a list of events as well as visiting Art Open Houses to inspire the A Level students. Sarah has always led by example; playing strings in the orchestra, her thought provoking assemblies and entering open sea swimming competitions. She leaves Pipers to pursue her many interests and we wish her every success.

Niki joined the school as Head of RS in September 2006 and very quickly it was clear that she had brought with her a wealth of experience, not just in the classroom but also in her wider contributions to school life, including the Chapel, confirmation classes and various whole school services, as well as preparing students for Oxbridge interviews. She has also been a caring and effective Form Tutor to many girls over the years smoothing out the trials and tribulations of teenage life.

 Caroline Derbyshire, Assistant Head

Niki has worked tirelessly within the RS Department, building its success year by year. Option numbers have grown under her leadership, with the girls really enjoying her calm, nurturing approach to what is often quite tricky and challenging material. Niki has developed the Philosophy and Ethics area of the course and a significant number of girls have since gone on to degree level in this discipline. Niki’s methodical approach has been appreciated by girls and staff alike and she has been an inspirational teacher and a much valued colleague to all staff, but particularly those within the Humanities faculty.  Emma Cresswell, Assistant Head

49

Valete

Lorna Page,

Janet Petty,

Teacher of English

Learning Support Teacher

Janet joined Pipers Corner School in February 2005 and has been a valued member of the newly formed Individual Learning Department since 2011. Janet holds Specialist Teacher qualifications for specific learning difficulties and uses a wealth of experience and expertise to support girls, teachers and parents. Janet has always embraced change with positivity and her gentle and calm manner has ensured that girls engage with support lessons to reach their full potential. She has always been happy to give up time to support girls and offer her knowledge in her quiet, discreet way.

Janet is retiring to spend more time with her husband and family and plans to make a trip to Australia in the autumn to see her son. We wish her a happy and healthy retirement and we will miss her.

Lorna joined us in 2013 simply as Mrs Page. Through continuing years of work outside of her teaching, Lorna leaves us Dr Page, a very significant life achievement especially considering all the demands school life would have placed on her. Anyone who knows or who has worked with Lorna, knows though, just how meticulous her planning and preparations are, usually colour coded and tabulated and written in three different formats. Laminated. Anyone who has worked as a colleague will also know that Lorna is the Master of all Apps and esoteric online resources and will be familiar with an inbox filled with “Have you seen this resource?”, “This app?”, “Here is something I have put together for my Year 11s”, “I loved this book / programme / production”, “I’ve already shared it with my classes”. Immaculately, elegantly dressed every day, Lorna exuded serenity and calm even in the Dante-esque depths of coursework, fractious Year 7s unable to sit still in a theatre, budget submissions, running the ski-trip. Lorna was appreciated as a colleague across the Department and across the school and known with affection by girls, especially those in her Form. She has left to move overseas with her family to the Norwegian culture she admires, but given her facility with the latest technology, I know she will be just as much in touch with the important things in life: Formula 1, BBC iPlayer, motorbikes and, of course, particularly, Boy George.

 Lisa Olcot, Head of Individual Learning

Olivia Shepherd, Drama Assistant

 Simon Gifford, Head of English

Olivia has been wonderful support and a sparkly personality within the Drama Department this year. As Drama Assistant and a very skilled LAMDA teacher, Olivia has contributed to departmental life in so many ways as the year has progressed. A talented singer and actor, Olivia stepped in to take a lead role in the school musical “Thoroughly Modern Mille”, providing the girls with an exceptional role model, and inspiring them with her tenacity and calm approach. She also

50

volunteered to direct the Middle School production which has allowed many girls the opportunity to develop their acting skills in a welcoming, secure and fun environment. Olivia is held in high esteem by staff and girls alike, she has been a great support during exceptionally busy times and has filled the office with much appreciated laughter. Olivia is leaving us to start an exciting course at Drama School and we know that it won’t be long before her name will be up in lights in the West End, we can’t wait to be in the audience!

gave up on any area of the school where improvement could and should be made - and in doing so she has earned the considerable respect of her colleagues.

Her legacy is a school which is less afraid to challenge processes when these need to be changed, a school which is far more up to date, a school which aspires to be the best in every area and which will not settle for anything less. This legacy reflects Denise’s character exactly.

“Retirement” is never a word one could use about Denise - she is already busy working for examination boards and Ofqual no doubt shaping the future of assessment in the same way that she has shaped Pipers - though we hope that finally stepping back from a school role will allow her more time with her family and with her horse. The School will miss her - we shall all miss her - her work ethic, her sense of humour and her constant belief that true excellence lies within our reach.

 Rachael Coe, Acting Director of Drama

Denise Walmsley, Deputy Head

 Helen Ness-Gifford, Headmistress

Lizzie Whalen, Musician in Residence

Denise joined the school in September 2008 initially as its first ever Director of Studies which, as a result of the impact she was having on the school, soon became Academic Deputy Head. To her various and many responsibilities Denise brought her sharp intelligence and incredible determination. In all my years of teaching I do not think I have ever met a member of staff who worked so hard - often right into the unseen hours late at night and often on projects which occasionally remained equally unseen in the wider school community, yet always to the considerable benefit of all. Nothing deterred her - new IT networks, impossible timetables, changing curriculums, better ways of assessing progress, ISI and Ofsted Inspections, staff performance systems - all were tackled by Denise and soon became part of our accepted practice at Pipers. Her ambitions and aspirations for the school marked her out early on as someone who would get things done - Denise does not just dream, she makes things happen.

The enthusiasm and positivity Lizzie has brought to the Music Department this year has been outstanding.

She has helped in lessons from Reception right through to the Sixth Form and all the girls have loved her being there. Lizzie has also done a great deal “behind the scenes” arranging music for the Jazz band and Chamber Orchestra and teaching theory and aural. She has also taken on conducting Vocalease and the Prep and Pre Prep choirs in the various concerts throughout the year. Often, making up dance moves and actions for the girls to follow! We are all very grateful for all she has done this year and wish her the very best as she moves on the study English Literature at the University of Warwick.

Denise also made it her business to understand every aspect of the school - from staffing to reporting, from room allocation to policies, as well as the girls themselves - and her knowledge was so detailed that when she suggested changes and improvements they were built upon such innate understanding of how the school functioned that they could only succeed.

Managing change is not always easy, but Denise never

 James Woodhall, Assistant Director of Music

51

Upper Sixth Leavers

Upper Sixth

Leavers Amreen B

Elizabeth B

COURSE: BA Drama and Theatre Arts

COURSE: LLB Law UNIVERSITY: University of Nottingham

UNIVERSITY: University of Exeter FUTURE: Working in the media industry

FUTURE: I would like to become a Human Rights Barrister

Rosie B

Sarah B

COURSE: BA Drama and English Literature

COURSE: BSc Psychology

UNIVERSITY: Anglia Ruskin University

UNIVERSITY: University of Southampton

FUTURE: I hope to work within the media industry

Eve C

Elizabetta C

COURSE: BSc Sport and Exercise Science

COURSE: BA French and Spanish UNIVERSITY: Durham University

52

Melody C

Scarlett C

COURSE: BA Art

COURSE: BSc Maths and Economics UNIVERSITY: University of Bath FUTURE: I hope to work in London in the Financial Sector

Diva D

Francesca D

COURSE: BA English Literature

COURSE: International Business

UNIVERSITY: University of Bristol

Harriet D

Tabitha F

COURSE: BEd Primary Education with QTS

COURSE: BA Sociology and Politics

UNIVERSITY: University of Winchester

UNIVERSITY: University of Sheffield

FUTURE: I would like to become a Primary School teacher

Sophie G

Sophie G

COURSE: BSc Sport and Exercise Science

COURSE: Art Foundation

UNIVERSITY: Oxford Brookes University

UNIVERSITY: Bucks New University

53

Upper Sixth Leavers

Alejandra H

Megan H

COURSE: Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

COURSE: BA Modern Languages UNIVERSITY: University of Birmingham

UNIVERSITY: Arts University Bournemouth FUTURE: Fashion Design

FUTURE: I plan to work within the Foreign Office

Anya J

Rebecca J

COURSE: BA Digital Media Design

COURSE: BA English Literature

UNIVERSITY: University of Winchester

UNIVERSITY: Newcastle University

FUTURE: Pursue a career in user experience and design

Catherine K

Salyia K

COURSE: BSc Physiotherapy

COURSE: Education and Childhood Studies

UNIVERSITY: Oxford Brookes University

Hayley L

Georgia M

COURSE: BSc Criminology

COURSE: BSc Maths and Economics

UNIVERSITY: University of Kent

UNIVERSITY: University of Nottingham

FUTURE: I would like to pursue a career in social services

FUTURE: I would like to work in London in the Financial Sector

54

Caitlin N

Grace R

COURSE: BEng Motorsports Engineering

COURSE: Art Foundation UNIVERSITY: Oxford Brookes University

UNIVERSITY: Oxford Brookes University FUTURE: I would like to work for a Formula 1 team, hopefully Williams

Rosie-Ann S

Amelia T

COURSE: Business Management

COURSE: BSc Business Economics and Finance

UNIVERSITY: University of Birmingham

Georgia T

Hannah W

COURSE: Economics and Finance

COURSE: Art and Design Foundation Diploma

UNIVERSITY: University of Loughborough

UNIVERSITY: University of Loughborough or Leeds College of Art FUTURE: I hope to study an Art related degree the following year

Lucy W

Zarina Y

COURSE: BA Textiles: Innovation and Design

COURSE: BA Fashion Promotion

UNIVERSITY: University of Loughborough

UNIVERSITY: Ravensbourne University of Art

FUTURE: I would like to work within the textiles industry

55

Pipers Lane, Great Kingshill, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP15 6LP theschool@piperscorner.co.uk 01494 718255 www.piperscorner.co.uk www.facebook.com/PipersCornerSchool @PipersCornerSch @PipersAquila