Year 9 English Competition Winners

Durham Johnston Comprehensive School English Department

Year 9 Opinion Article Competition 2020 Winning Entries

Life in Lockdown Australian wildfires. Australian floods. WW3 threats. And now a worldwide pandemic caused by a guy in China eating a bat. It is safe to say that 2020 should be cancelled and we should just skip to 2021. Or even 2022 because let’s face it this virus isn’t going anywhere.

Life in lockdown is definitely not easy for me and I’m sure that is case for most people. I’m stuck at home not able to see anyone except my family, I mean I love my family and all but 50 days(at the time of writing this) is a long time to be stuck at home only seeing them. In the past 3 days I have heard: several fights between my stepsisters; my brother screaming at video games 24/7 as if they can hear him and at least 10 shouting matches between one of my siblings and my parents. Of course, the dog is loving it as she is getting spoiled rotten, except she is sick from eating too many treats now- so I guess even she isn’t enjoying this.

I started of lockdown getting up on time every day, working super hard so all my work was done, exercising almost daily, eating healthy and just generally acting like I’m one of those people online who has their whole life worked out. Well…

I couldn’t keep that up!

Now I’m barely getting my work done, waking up at noon and eating as much as an elephant- and when I say that I don’t mean leaves like an elephant does but more crisps and cake. That’s healthy, right? I think it’s safe to say that I’m struggling in this lockdown and I’m sure I didn’t need to say that for you to realise.

While I am joking about this, I think it’s important to acknowledge that times like this people really do struggle especially those with poor mental health who need their friends to cope. Or people who have bad life at home. Or (like me) are in a relationship and struggle going so long without even a hug from their significant other because sometimes that’s all you need to get through a hard time. Or even if you are someone who gets along great with whoever they’re in lockdown with, is with their boyfriend, girlfriend, wife or husband, doesn’t struggle with mental health and is happy enough to work from home with not much support you still have the right to struggle and be upset. I think that no matter how good your circumstances are that doesn’t take away how valid your sadness is. Sure, someone will always have it worse than you but that doesn’t mean you aren’t aloud to be upset as well.

Now I’ve joked about a bit and also been slightly more serious so this seems like a good place to end and hopefully that will be the case for lockdown soon. Like almost everyone else I cannot wait for this to all end and we can go back to living or normal, hectic lives filled with friends. I think after this we will not take so many brilliant things (like freedom) for granted. And, hey, maybe in the future we all be telling our children about these times when they start to take so many wonderful things, that we don’t have right now, as normal.

Stay strong and remember all this will be over soon, Ellie Hooper 9HH 19/05/20

Our current lockdown Why it has benefitted me Lockdown, even though the current restrictions have been eased, has still been a prolonged period that only consists of us staying at home, interacting less with the outside world, and being limited in most of our daily routines. Despite this, I’ve benefitted a lot from all the time we have on our hands.

People may say lockdown is monotonous and that there’s nothing to do, however, without doubt, there are numerous tricks or skills that you have been desperate to complete, or an aim that consists of getting better running times in the school runs in PE, for example, but you haven’t had the time to do it. For a long time, I’ve been desiring to learn the ‘around-the-world’ trick with a football; it took ages to master and it took weeks of practise. Fortunately, I knew I had months of free time, so I thought to myself: “Why not try it again?”. The weeks of practise and the weeks of frustration resulted in the achievement that I’d completed it. Surprisingly, it didn’t take as long as I would have thought – probably because I was practising it every day for a sufficient amount of time. Overall, if I can complete an around the world, you can complete anything you’ve ever wanted to. Make the most of your time now because you’ll regret it afterwards. If lockdown never happened, if nobody ate the bat, I would’ve never achieved what I had wanted to achieve for years; I simply wouldn’t have the time.

The ‘around-the-world’ trick Subsequently, with true belief that I could do it, I focused on my general fitness. Therefore, I’ve began to do runs (long distance and sprints) to improve my tennis significantly when I’m meant to be in a tiring situation in a match. In addition, I’ve had even more benefits from lockdown such as:  Reaching a new difficulty level on Fifa 20  Fixing my Xbox Elite controller (dealing with the mechanics)  Starting to compose my own music Hopefully, you’re making the most of your time too.

That is the foremost lesson that I have learnt from lockdown. I’m missing most aspects of normal life, including tennis tournaments, football matches, and some parts of school. For example, the school tennis team; playing tennis in the summer is the finest way to play. Having said that I’m despairing at the fact that tennis tournaments won’t resume until September – they’re substantial as they maintain my rating and ranking in the county. Obviously, I want that to be as best as I can possibly make it. At the moment, my friends are on Fortnite all the time. Some are effectively using their time, but some are not. Hence, I’m advising all of you to not waste this precious time.

If you’re a Newcastle United fan or keep up to date with all the sports news, you would be familiar with the news regarding the takeover. This is thoroughly astonishing as it will surely make us, domestically, one of the greatest football clubs on the planet. Newcastle United are not that good

in terms of skill level nowadays and we are never considered as one of the ‘better’ clubs. However, our club history is huge as we were significant in the past. Consequently, these Saudis have recognised our prestige and will take us to divine levels. Soon, being the richest club in the entire world soon, I have something to brag about at school. Unfortunately, the takeover process has taken beyond the expected amount of time because of the current pandemic that we’re in.

Accordingly, there are negatives and cons to the coronavirus pandemic, such as perpetual delays, the prevention of seeing our friends, and the inconvenient education. So, this is why we need to acknowledge the positives and see the bright side. Consider all this time we have - it’s one of the only positives of lockdown. Likely, we’re going to have nearly double the amount as there are rumours of various year groups not being allowed to attend school until September.

Make the most of your time and use it to your benefit. If you don’t, you’ll regret it in the future.

Leo Hampton, 9DA 20/05/2020

Lockdown Teaches Us How to Save the Planet Thursday 28th May Lockdown has been the cause of anxiety and uncertainty for many, but intertwined with this all, could it have provided us with the key to unlocking a healthy future for our planet?

Despite the high demand in latex gloves, antibacterial wipes and surgical masks, landfill managers are claiming that, since lockdown, much less waste has been delivered to landfill sites. Approximately two thirds of landfill waste comes from large businesses. Lockdown has forced many of these businesses to shut. Others have received a great deduction in staff members. Despite its negative impact on the economy, this has led to a steep decline in the amount of waste, resulting in a significant elevation for our planet’s environment. Are such vast amounts of industrial waste really necessary? The NHS’s new method of disposing waste has also proved effective towards the environment. As of the beginning of this pandemic, all hospital waste has been sent to a separate landfill sites, where it is immediately buried. Not only does this protect others from the pandemic, but it also protects wildlife from the dangers of waste and the release of toxic gases, an effect of incineration. Every year, over one million marine animals are killed each year from plastic debris. By burying this waste, we are obstructing the escape of these plastic items and therefore preventing the deaths of these animals. If eliminating this waste isn’t an option, I believe we should refer to burying waste in all cases, whether there is a risk that it is infected or not. We go to these measures to protect the people, why not go to these measures to protect the animals?

Reports of wild turkeys, mountain goats, deer and rare pheasants have been seen roaming the desolated streets of a variety of different urban areas. These sightings have been worldwide. Just a couple of weeks ago I happened to spot a cockerel, wandering aimlessly around the estate. It passed through the neatly trimmed gardens and curved to avoid the large vehicles which stood peacefully beside the little patches of grass. It brought me joy to think that a bird could make such a journey, over undisturbed roads and through quiet streets. However, I dread to think that when restrictions are eased, these animals will be lost, stranded in a world of tumult, with nowhere to turn. If animals are to live in harmony with us, we must make our cities safe for them. We may not realise it, but this lifestyle is putting the lives of so many species in danger. We are abusing our planet and its wildlife through habitat loss, climate change, pollution, invasive species, overexploitation and much more.

A herd of mountain goats roaming through the streets of Llandudno, Wales Let us welcome these animals with open arms, not attack them. Let us return from lockdown, a changed generation, a generation equipped for the future.

BBC news has answered our inquiries on annual birdsong. Many have questioned whether the calls of birds are louder this year than others. People suspected that the lack of urban noise has drawn more birds closer to us. This, however, is not the case. The BBC has confirmed that the birds themselves are no louder than usual, but the absence of violent traffic and excessive city sounds has led us to appreciate their calls more. Respect for the environment has multiplied in more ways than one. On my daily walks, I feel that the soil, which is usually scattered in all sorts of litter, has been much cleaner lately. I believe Venice’s canals have become clear due to the that working from home and our flexible timetables have reduction of movement on the water

given us the opportunity to discover our local patches of wildlife and explore them. Before lockdown, on a normal weekday walk, I would pass multiple citizens, striding in an urgent sort of manner, desperate to reach their destinations. Now, the people I pass are walking slowly, admiring the surroundings. I myself have had the time to observe the naked blossom branches transform into a clutter of pink petals. I am of the opinion that this time has brought people to a better understanding of the beauty around them and has reduced the vast numbers of littering in woodlands and parks. Woodlands and parks are not the only areas which have been described as recently enriched in beauty. Locals have marvelled at the sudden clarity of Venice’s canals. They have reported the typically murky water so clean that they are able to view the fish swimming below the surface. The lack of boats means the waters are undisturbed and gives sediment a chance to settle. This beauty is a recurring theme at multiple destinations. We must never forget this beauty. We must hold onto it. We must respect it.

Since the beginning of lockdown, we have seen a dramatic descent in global carbon emissions. By limiting vehicle use, we have let daily CO2 emissions drop by 17%, compared to 2019. As countries slip back into their normal routines, with some of the lockdown restrictions still in place, the annual decline is likely to be only 7%. Once these restrictions have been completely eliminated, annual CO2 emissions have been estimated to become a mere 4% decline. Under the Paris agreement, the EU has set the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Carbon neutrality is the balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon. Lockdown has reduced carbon emissions, but we are still so very far from reaching our 2050 aims.

“The fall in carbon resulting from the Covid-19 crisis reveals how far the world still has to go,” said Corinne Le Quéré, Professor of Climate Change Science at the University of East Anglia. This global pandemic has shown us we can change the behaviour of individuals (by driving less, flying less and working from home), but this alone will not ensure us to reach our aim. It is the structural changes (changes in economy and industry) which will make the biggest difference. This isn’t to say that our actions so far haven’t had a positive effect. Let us keep to our favourable 17%. We cannot allow ourselves to drop back into our old habits. We can not return to our former routine, which is driving us straight into the hands of destruction.

If we are to reach this goal, we must understand that changes have to be made. Lockdown has taught us an important message: we have the power to heal the environment, let’s use it.

Lockdown has been a restriction, a frustration and an inspiration. We have the ability to change our environment for the better. Lockdown has proved this. We mustn’t forget these dark times. We mustn’t ignore their lessons. We cannot return to the light unchanged. To continue with our pernicious ways would be a humiliation to this planet. We have the potential to give animals liberation, to give nature admiration and to give the planet a healthy future. Saving the planet is our duty. There is still time. Use it.

By Lara van Hunen 9JW

Congratulations to Ellie, Leo and Lara for their thoughtful and excellent articles!