The Stag, Issue 23

THE STAG

Issue 23, Summer Term 1, 2024

CONTENTS

College Events:

Eastbourne College goes Skiing - pg 4

Eastbourne College visits South Africapg 6

The French Exchange - pg 7

Politics:

What are Iran‘s Intentions? - pg 10

Environment:

Drought Turned Disaster - pg 13

Sport:

Cricket Season at Eastbourne Collegepg 14

National Sports Report - pg 15

College Life:

Revision Tips - pg 17

College Events:

The Dance Showcase - pg 19

Year 12 Photography - pg 20

Craig House Revue - pg 21

History Focus:

Catherine the... Great? - pg 22

Culture:

The Tropefication of Books - pg 24

No Longer Human - pg 26

‘Back to Black’ Film Review - pg 27

Dior‘s Revolutionary Collection: the ‘New Look‘ - pg 28

Be You Celebrates:

Dr Alaa Murabit - pg 29

House Reports:

Blackwater - pg 30

Craig - pg 31

Gonville - pg 32

Nugent - pg 33

Pennell - pg 34

Powell - pg 35

Reeves - pg 36

School - pg 37

Wargrave - pg 38

Watt - pg 39

Interactive:

Spring Orzotto - pg 40

Spring Quiz - pg 41

Horoscopes - pg 43

This magazine is written for pupils by the pupils of Eastbourne College. It is not an official College publication and is not meant to be an accurate reflection of every activity or event across the College; nor (obviously) is every pupil mentioned. The magazine is for the Eastbourne College community only, so please do not send it on to friends or family We hope you enjoy reading our magazine!

EASTBOURNE COLLEGE GOES SKIING

The College took 38 students between Year 9 and Year 12 to the renowned ski resort Les Deux Alps (1650m) in the first week of the Easter holidays, where students were able to refine and learn the highly enjoyable sport of skiing whilst engaging in a variety of activities organised by the brilliant staff team of Mr McVeigh, Mr Beal, Miss Callaghan, and Miss Garrett

The trip started at Gatwick where we took off on a slightly delayed flight to Grenoble Pupils took advantage of the delay by digging into a plethora of airport snacks and making some last-minute purchases in preparation for the busy week of skiing ahead However, due to the delay we arrived at the hotel just before midnight, making the early 6am start the following morning somewhat challenging Despite the early start, we were able to get on the slopes quickly and efficiently after getting fitted to our skis and ski boots by the brilliant staff at Skimium Eager to start skiing we splintered off to four groups based on previous experience and ability and were acquainted with our dazzlingly enthusiastic and knowledgeable ski instructors. The conditions on the first day were challenging to say the least with freezing temperatures and snowfall in places. With the help of our ski instructors, though, we quickly adjusted and enjoyed a great first day skiing, featuring a few crashes as many (including myself) were rather rusty in the skiing department After a long day of skiing operating on minimal sleep, we were all

By Fin Eadie

happy to get back to the comforts of our hotel enjoying a satisfying three course meal and a highly competitive quiz that followed The quiz consisted of questions on a variety of topics, making it incredibly engaging as even the teachers were eager to get their hands on the winning prize of a packet of sweets.

The following day saw a shift in conditions with the sun shining throughout making for a highly pleasurable day of skiing, as we began to start refining our techniques guided by the instructors. The joy expressed whilst indulging in our daily buffet for lunch was overwhelming as many couldn’t wait to get back on the slopes and take advantage of the beaming blue skies and perfect visibility on the slopes. As the day came to a close, we enjoyed a well deserved and needed rest, prepping for the busy days ahead.

When we woke up, we were shocked by the colossal overnight snowfall completely covering every patch of grass in the vicinity. The dumping of powder provided picturesque scenery and near perfect conditions for the congenial day ahead As we soared through the snow, I believe we all gained confidence and ability capitalising on the ideal conditions for an amazing day of skiing. This was followed by a thrilling lazer quest competition where mixed teams navigated an extensive indoor fortress shooting at the opposition whilst trying to avoid blazes of lazers from the opposition Stimulated and excited by the promise of fresh powder we woke up the following day aching (in numerous ways) to get back out on the slopes Yet again, we faced ideal conditions as we cruised through the so called “virgin powder” named by our brilliant ski instructor Stef Spirits were sky high as we seized the day, exploring more adventurous slopes both on and off the piste To fulfil our needs after a jam-packed couple of days, we were guided to a firstclass restaurant ‘Le Spot Burger’ where we all devoured the tasty meal in the centre of the lively Les Deux Alps

Unfortunately, the penultimate day of the trip was upon us Beginning to realise the fantastic trip was nearly at its end, we woke up determined to make the most of the last full day of skiing. This enthusiasm was met with bitterly cold conditions carried by gusts of wind However, this did not tint our passion for skiing as we all revelled in a fabulously experimental final day on the slopes. Pushing ourselves to our limits and inspired by our instructors, we all saw significant improvements in our abilities, materialised by the certificates given to us to bring the sensational week of skiing to a close. To sign off the week in style we partook in a few fierce games of bowling, before getting to sleep for the early start the next morning

All in all, the week was an incredible experience consisting of skiing some of the world’s best slopes, whilst making many new friends in the process.

“I miss the ski trip”- Tom Schoorlemmer

EASTBOURNE COLLEGE VISITS SOUTH AFRICA

By Max Harrison

It’s been over a month since we ’ ve returned from our trip to South Africa, and I don’t think any of us have managed to completely wrap our heads around the experience. Many of us were initially sceptical about the trip as we didn’t really know each other However, I believe, and I think that everyone would agree, this added to the trip as it allowed us to form lasting friendships, and diversifying all of us in the process

We all went wanting different outcomes from the trip: some wanted to test that flash camera to its limits; some wanted to discover everything the South African bush had to offer; others just wanted a completely different experience to what they had experienced before We all managed to complete our goals, but we also managed to complete so much more. For example, during our giraffe conservation element of the trip, we found that we as a group had managed to identify 34 new individual giraffes This now means that we have the privilege of naming them all, with names of our choosing, but also means that we have contributed positively towards the conservation of giraffes

The rest of our trip held some even more exciting activities, for example white water rafting down a breath-taking valley that we couldn’t look at much because of the constant stream of rapids If that didn’t float your boat, we had multiple fascinating tours around AngloZulu battlefields. We even were given the privilege of going to help children in an orphanage by bringing them toys and necessities However, I think the best thing about our experience at the orphanage was getting to know some of the children by playing

football with them or exchanging stories about our lives for stories of theirs We also were given the opportunity to play football and netball against a local school, where we all got stuck in, but Mr Fellows’ commitment really shone

The trip as a whole has left everyone involved enamoured by the beauty of South Africa’s landscape and wildlife. However, the wonderful people that we met, such as Shalin, Paige, Jugs, and Angus, had the largest impact on all of us I would highly recommend everyone who can come to any of the talks about our experiences do so at 6pm on Friday the 17th of May.

THE FRENCH EXCHANGE

By Emily Finch

Upon the arrival in the South of France, we went our separate ways to our partner’s houses to enjoy our first French dinner. We quickly adapted to the French culture as we spoke continuous French. Although this was initially difficult, it became a lot easier.

The following morning, we arrived at the Lycée where we enjoyed French lessons. These ranged from physic-chemie, economiques, espagnole, anglaise, histoiregeogie and sociologie. Daisy, Rueben and I participated in an oral presentation in Spanish whilst Esteban went out with his partner to some French hotspots The afternoon consisted of a wonderful tour of Nimes, where we saw the grand arena where there is bullfighting and concerts in the summer. To our fascination, most people travel by electric scooters which proved to be very dangerous The tour ended with ice

On Friday, we visited Pond du Gard with all our partners, a beautiful river and bridge with a spectacular view which we climbed to the top of through very small tunnels We were lucky it was so warm and 24℃ We then went to Chateau des Baux-deProvence, a beautiful village in the mountains where Hunter came into question with tons of teddy bears Afterwards was the Carrier-de-Lumiere, a light show with Van Gough, in a cave which had moving, 3D projections Our favourite was the ‘starry night’ projection.

To end the day, we had a long-awaited visit to McDonalds which had plentiful additions to their English menu – the highlight was the potato wedges! With our partners, we ate at the creperie and finished the night with bowling where once again we were immersed in the language The French boys enjoyed being taught Orange Justice by Reuben.

We spent the weekend with our French families

(Esteban): ‘On Friday, Wissem and I went out around the streets of Nimes to experience the nightlife with his friends. I had an active weekend with lots of sport and 5-a-side football, where I represented the College and won the game for my team I also watched the local Nimes rugby team win in their stadium. The following day, I also took part in boxing for the first time which I really enjoyed and will look to continue.’

(Mary): ‘I had a very relaxing weekend doing some work in the morning followed by a delicious French meal. Then, I visited Nimes for shopping and tea and was taken to a 18th/50th party with lots of dancing. Sunday was spent having a much-needed rest and movie I am sad to be leaving as it has been such a fun experience with lovely weather and great food!’

(Ariane): ‘I went shopping and then to a park where we enjoyed the sunshine followed by a trip to an Irish pub. In the evening, we went to a concert where a local band performed some interesting music. On Sunday, I went to a BBQ with family friends alongside a couple of games of Time’s Up. I really enjoyed getting to know my host family and will hopefully keep in touch’

(Reuben): ‘On Friday evening, I went to one of my partner’s friend’s parties, where I had a great time doing karaoke and dancing which was well received by all. We visited traditional markets in Sommieres and Calvisson and a remarkably well-preserved medieval walled city near Montpellier, where we walked around the city wall with a fantastic view’

I really enjoyed getting to know my host family and will hopefully keep in touch

(Daisy): ‘On Saturday, my partner Justine and I went to Montpellier with Emily and her partner to go shopping However, I left my bag in Starbucks, and it was stolen along with all my shopping. Despite this, it was a good day with an amazing lunch. On Sunday, we went to a market for souvenirs, then to a local seaside village, stopping to see the flamingos followed by ice-cream and crepes. ’

(Emily): On Saturday, we went shopping in Montpellier which was much better than England. The little lanes were particularly pretty We had an amazing lunch, a lot of French cheese followed by card games and table tennis We visited a market and the huge bakery In the afternoon, we went to Augilles-Morte, saw flamingos and watched the sunset where the sea was pink and played table tennis.

I am sad to be leaving as it has been such a fun experience with lovely weather and great food!

(Hunter): ‘I had a very enjoyable weekend around the region I went to a little village market in Uzés then a walk in the countryside in the evening. On Sunday, I went to Aigues-Mortes, a walled village and then onto a coastal town where I tried Chichis, a local food, for the first time I had a great time and I hope to return’

Highlights of the Trip:

Hunter: ‘Playing volleyball for the first time and experiencing English classes in French’

Esteban: ‘Experiencing French school and constant orange justice and Griddy-ing dancing with Reuben’.

Ariane: ‘The whole weekend with my partner’s family’

Mary: ‘The weather and playing Uno in the economics class at the Lycée’

Reuben: ‘not being in England’ and Lucien’s friends Party’

Emily: ‘Shopping in Montpellier and the weather’

Daisy: ‘Trying French McDonalds, the ice cream in Nimes, and experiencing the differences to England’

Over the whole week, we enjoyed adapting to the French culture and speaking French which we have all improved in immensely and find it is now coming more naturally to us all.

It was fascinating to find the differences in both countries, in particular the flamingos on the sides of the road! The trip would not have been the same without the blazing sun, and we are all looking forward to hopefully returning

WHAT ARE IRAN’S INTENTIONS?

As national reputations go, it is safe to say that, in the eyes of most, Iran has one of the worst. Various episodes of stirring up trouble in the Middle East have placed Iran in the international media’s spotlight not just recently, but also throughout the last 45 years or so Acts such as sponsoring militant groups across the region in order to form the so-called ‘Axis of Resistance’, as well as repeatedly spouting belligerent rhetoric straight from the top have almost entirely isolated the oil rich nation on the world stage. And above all of this, a stronger antiIsraeli sentiment exists in Iran than anywhere else in the world, meaning that when the two regional titans clash, as they often do in some way or another, the potential is always there for unimaginable havoc to be wreaked across the world

If you have any idea whatsoever about global news and geopolitics, then you will almost certainly have an idea of what Iran has been up to recently First of all, Iranianbacked Hamas, which form part of the Axis of Resistance against American, Israeli, and Saudi influence in the Middle East, launched a spontaneous attack into Southern Israel on October 7th of last year Shortly after this, Iran’s Yemeni proxy group, known as the Houthis, used their strategic location at the southern entrance to the Red Sea to their advantage, targeting passing container ships with missiles and war drones in order to disrupt the global shipping industry Following this, nine out of ten of

By Reuben Mace

the world’s biggest shipping countries rerouted all their ships around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, thus adding a minimum of two weeks to the journey time and a significantly higher fuel cost as a result This therefore means that the Houthis have essentially managed to all but close off the Bab el-Mandeb strait between Yemen and Djibouti, a crucial maritime choke point, and still continue to do so at the time of writing

Though Iran has frequently had indirect military interactions with Israel over the years through their various proxies, for example the 2006 Hezbollah War between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese militias, the recent events on April 13th were even more significant, as Iran attacked Israel directly from its own territory for the first time An estimated 400 missiles and Iranian-built Shahed drones were fired from Iran across Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, many of which were intercepted by

other nations before actually reaching Israel. In fact, over 99% were shot down, with the only casualties being some destruction to an Israeli air base in the Negev Desert and a young girl, who received minor injuries but was not seriously hurt. All of this, Iran claims, was in response to an Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed several high ranking Iranian military officials, including a general

In order to fully understand what led to the situation in the Middle East today, it is important to look back at how Iran got into its current situation The Islamic Republic of Iran as we know it today traces its origins back to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, in which Iran’s last shah*, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was overthrown by his people after a sustained period of turmoil The Shah had been the scapegoat of numerous protests, being accused of acting as a western puppet and not considering the will of the Iranian people, even despite having lifted the vast majority of Iranians out of poverty and provided essential services to all. The leader of the revolution was a certain Ruhollah Khomeini, a high-ranking Muslim cleric (known as an Ayatollah) who believed that Iran under the Shah was rapidly losing touch with its core Islamic values and embracing western life instead A charismatic man, Khomeini was able to successfully ignite a flame that roared across Iran, with the result that everyone, even the western powers, abandoned the Shah, who at that point was severely weakened by terminal cancer, and since his son was only 15 and therefore not of ruling age yet, a lack of a suitable successor opened the door wide open for Khomeini and the revolutionaries, resulting in the sudden end of 2,500 years of Iranian monarchy

Firmly in control of Iran by the 1980s, Khomeini would go on to found the Islamic Republic and proclaim himself Supreme Leader, severing all diplomatic ties with the United States Having done this, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq would take the opportunity to lock horns with Iran in what would be the longest international war of the 20th Century, lasting eight years, with no definitive winner at the end of it Khomeini, though nearing the end of his life by this point, would begin to build alliances with resistance leaders across the Middle East, such as the Palestinian Yasser Arafat, with the aim of destabilising countries to the point of crisis in the hope that they would call upon Iran for assistance instead of another regional power like Israel, Turkey or Saudi Arabia, As a result, as Iran made this a more common practice over the next twenty years, it would build a terrifyingly intricate network of diehard loyal proxy groups, wielding immense power in attempting to dominate the region

What the last fifty years has shown us about Iran is unprecedented change Though he may have promised democratic reforms as a revolutionary, the theocratic Khomeini would go on to scam an entire nation and cause huge suffering along the way And there still may yet be further change to come, with a looming succession crisis arising within the now deeply unpopular regime. The Iran of today is a wounded nation, stricken by sanctions and trusted by almost no one, yet one can only ponder on what could have been. Once such a promising nation, Iran today bears the full brunt of wasted economic potential in the form of a currency so weak that it is essentially worthless And though it may sit atop 17% of the world’s proven oil reserves, Iran’s oil wealth has hardly benefited

anybody, both inside and outside of Iran. Yes, it is true that Iran faces immense internal strife, there is no hiding that fact, and it is far from unreasonable to assume that Iran hopes to distract from such problems by creating others in order to redirect international attention. Yes, it is also true that Iran has one of the world’s worst human rights records and allows for almost no press freedom, attracting much international scrutiny as a result. And yes, even despite Iran’s situation today, it mustn’t be forgotten that it has an enormous potential for change A positive change, a democratic change, a change in the form of liberation and religious freedom, where Muslims may live freely alongside Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians* alike This is what Iran once was, this is what Iran can be again, and most crucially, this is exactly what Iran’s increasingly vocal youth want.

*The Shah - The title which was given to the monarchs of Iran

*Zoroastrians - worshippers of Zoroastrianism, a faith which was the state religion of Iran before the spread of Islam

Mohammed Reza Pahlavi

Ruhollah Khomeini

Ahura Mazda, or ‘Wise God’, is the main symbol of Zoroastrianism

DROUGHT TURNED DISASTER

Recently, on the 3rd of April, Zimbabwe’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, declared a national state of disaster over a recent drought that has been plaguing countries in Southern Africa Zimbabwe was actually the third country to declare a state of disaster following Malawi and Zambia earlier this year Taking this measure allows the Zimbabwean government to access more resources and make a larger appeal for humanitarian aid, along with the announcement where the president stated that he needs $2 billion (£16 billion) for humanitarian assistance to help combat the dire effects of the recent drought

The drought in Southern Africa has been caused by the naturally occurring El Niño effect, which was declared in the beginning of June last year El Niño tends to occur every two to seven years and is when changes of wind patterns over the Pacific Ocean cause more warm water to stay at the surface, usually resulting in reduced rainfall in Australia and high amounts of rainfall over countries in South America, but

By Anya Rai

it also causes severe weather changes in many other places across the globe, such as the worst droughts Southern Africa have seen in decades

Due to El Niño, Zimbabwe received only 80% of their average rainfall between November to February (their summer) This will be detrimental to their harvest for the year Over 52% of employed Zimbabweans work in the agricultural sector so a reduced harvest will not only effect their livelihoods, as many of them are subsistence farmers, but also lead to inflation of food prices across the entire country. This is why food insecurity is a pressing concern for Zimbabwe’s government, with their president stating in a recent speech that “No Zimbabwean must succumb to, or die from hunger.”

The declaration of disaster will help mobilise aid organisations and international support, but it has been expected that these needs may continue on until early 2025, especially in rural areas where the most vulnerable live

Emmerson Mnangagwa

CRICKET SEASON AT EASTBOURNE COLLEGE

As the sun has begun to emerge, it’s a sign that the cricket season has commenced. This year, there are a mighty 24 teams across the school, ranging from U14s to 1st XI, both boys and girls To get the season started, a broad first team boy squad took part in the pre-season warm up in the last week of the Easter holidays The boys were due to play Kent Academy but, due to bad weather, the game was unfortunately cancelled. Instead, the players received a master class training session with Lewis Hatchet, a former English cricketer Hatchet has overcome many challenges in his life but, through perseverance and mindset, accomplished his goals of playing professionally He taught the team about sport psychology and “controlling the uncontrollable”.

By Izzy Steed and Sophie Fellows

Both the girls’ and boys’ 1st XI have entered many cricket competitions this term including National and County Cups, on top of their usual matches on the weekends. Last week, the boys’ 1st and 2nd had a warm up match against Sussex University. For their first game, the boys had a strong start with a positive outlook for the upcoming season. For the first Saturday fixture, the 1st and 2nd XI had a magnificent double win against Kings Canterbury, with the first squad winning by 58 runs and the seconds winning by 42

This season there is a record breaking number of girls taking part in cricket. Miss Callaghan says the “girls look fantastic” and is excited about the upcoming season Izzy Pedley, Girls’ 1st XI Captain, led the team in their first match against Brighton last week She says “despite the unfortunate result, it was a great team performance against a tough side”. In the match, top scorers in batting included Millie Bonnar and Georgie Pedley A very well done to them!

SPORT REPORT

Formula 1

Everyone in Formula 1 is talking about the surprising new arrival of Ollie Bearman, a British driver who is currently part of the FIA Formula 2 Championship Shortly before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz, who drives for Ferrari currently, was diagnosed with appendicitis and had to pull out of the Grand Prix. This left a seat open for Ferrari, which was taken by Ollie Bearman, who is part of Ferrari’s Driver Academy. This meant that on Friday March 8th, Bearman made his debut in F1 making him Ferrari’s youngest ever driver at 18 years old. Bearman shocked many by coming 11th in qualifying, just short of Q3. In the race on Saturday, Ollie drove a reliable and consistent race, ending up in 7th place and beating the 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton who came 9th Many commented on this impressive drive, including Lewis Hamilton who was first to congratulate what Hamilton thinks is a “rising star”, even though Bearman’s success may add pressure to his drive with Ferrari next year It seems hopeful that Bearman will make another appearance in F1, hopefully next time with a contract to go with it. Many teams will want him, and so the question may be: which team will Ollie choose?

Football

By Daisy Dunkley

There is always something going on in football, especially at the moment: there is another young, rising star who is also surprising many, and very pleasantly surprising Chelsea F.C. Cole Palmer is a 21year-old Brit who started playing for Manchester City in 2020 They then sold him for £40 million to Chelsea in September 2023 and, unfortunately for them, he has now become Chelsea’s star player, some people even think he could win the golden boot this season Palmer has already scored 25 goals since the transfer, giving a promising start to his new career at Chelsea, and hopefully there will be more to come.

Disability Sport

Disability sport continues to grow and, on Tuesday April 16th, Eden Rainbow-Cooper took a huge win as she won the women ’ s wheelchair race at the Boston Marathon.

She is the first British woman to win the wheelchair race with a time of 1 hour 35 minutes and 11 seconds. She is set to race in this summer ’ s Paralympics held in Paris.

Oliver Bearman

Eden Rainbow-Cooper

Other news in disability sport is the criticism Nike are getting for the lack of consistent diversity. This was raised when Paralympian Stef Reid found out that they do not sell trainers individually for singleleg amputees, even though the company advertise in store with a mannequin which has a blade. Nike responded to this by saying that they were “exploring opportunities” and that hopefully may implement the same scheme Nike has called the One Shoe Bank programme This scheme provides single-leg amputees with a free trainer every year but is only currently happening in the United States at the moment.

Boxing

In the world of boxing, British boxer Anthony Joshua didn’t even give Zavier Ngannou a chance in their fight and knocked him out in the second round. Joshua has been struggling to get wins recently and so this may have been a way for him to prove himself to his fans and

persuade them that his career is not over yet His winning streak however, may be short lasting as he looks to fight Tyson Fury next Before that though, Fury is set to fight Oleksandr Usyk on the rescheduled date of May 18th due to Fury suffering from a cut on his face during training and needing eleven stitches. Joe Joyce, the professional British boxer suggests that this could be a “50/50 fight” and that while “Fury is taller and has longer range ” , Usyk “throws more shots, is more skilful in the southpaw

stance”. Egis Klimas, Usyk’s manager and translator told Sky Sports over live stream that he thinks that (Fury) “will do anything to not face Usyk” Fury bounced back to this comment and said, “why would I not want to fight for the biggest payday of my life and put ten weeks into a training camp?” as well as stating that he was angry to be called a coward and that he had “ never backed down from any man in my life”. But Klimas still continued to mock Fury, talking about finding a replacement for the fight This should make the fight even more exciting than it already was, and has of course increased the publicity for the fight significantly

Anthony Joshua

Tyson Fury

REVISION TIPS

Struggling with your revision?

Here’s our handy guide to help you through the exam season.

This time of year is really important for all year groups, whether they are sitting end of year assessments or public exams like GCSEs and A-Levels As exam season is approaching fast, here are some useful tips to help with your revision Good luck to everyone sitting exams this term, especially Year 11s and the Upper Sixth!

Which revision methods should you be using?

Research has shown that one of the best ways to make sure you remember the information you ’ re revising is to use active recall methods in your revision Active recall basically means that you have to retrieve the information you ’ ve learned without prompts, which forces you to think about it and try to recall it by yourself. This works as it strengthens the neural connections for long-term memory in your brain. You can incorporate active recall into your revision by trying techniques like blurting or doing quizzes and practice questions on the topics you ’ re trying to learn Blurting is where you write down everything you recall about a topic without any help and then go back to your notes and add everything you missed to the paper in a different colour pen. This is really useful to identify what parts of you ’ re not as confident on. Also, practice exam questions and practice papers are really helpful to test you on content and also help you get to know the mark schemes of the exams you’ll be sitting

What

By Suki Sheraton

resources are the most helpful?

When it comes to revision resources, it can be overwhelming deciding which ones to use and trust Some great free apps to support you include Flora, Quizlet and Anki. Firstly, Flora is an app designed to help you maintain your focus when studying by preventing the distraction of going on your phone It allows you to set timers for your work sessions, during the time of which a cute virtual tree will grow on the app, incentivising you not to go on your phone and break your focus before the timer is up as then your tree will die Quizlet is another great app for exam revision. Once you set up a free account on the website or app you can make your own revision materials in the form of digital flashcards and quizzes and you can also use other people’s on the app to save you the time of creating them yourself Lastly, Anki is similar to Quizlet but the flashcards include quiz questions and gap fill activities to support active recall even more

How can you manage your time?

Another key to effective revision is to structure your time carefully, allocating certain time slots for work but also getting the balance right and prioritising rest, sleep and exercise Planning your revision schedule makes sure that you avoid that stressful last-minute cramming until 2am the night before your exam and instead feel well-prepared and rested for it It looks different for everyone though: some people might find that a regimented, inflexible weekly timetable works really well for them, but some might find that overwhelming and get discouraged when they can’t adhere to it exactly Another, more relaxed approach to planning your time is dedicating certain amounts of time to revision per day and fitting this in around your existing plans. For example, you could plan two hours’ worth of revision into your day around plans with your friends.

How can you stay focused?

It can be hard to stay concentrated on revision leading up to exams when there is so much going on. Finding the right environment to work is one of the simplest ways to help your focus, and there are lots of different ways to achieve this If you ’ re the type of person to need peace and quiet to work effectively, you could try going to a

library like the LRC at school to do your revision, or if you need background noise and someone to keep you accountable, maybe try going to a café with a friend to study If you find it hard to stay focused for longer periods of time, it could be useful to try the Pomodoro Technique; this is where you study for a short time of 25 minutes and then take a short 5 minute break and repeat this cycle 4 times, taking a longer break once done. This can really help if you get distracted easily and also means that you still get an hour of productive work done.

Lastly, don’t panic! Taking revision at your own pace is really important, as is getting enough rest, eating well and enjoying time with friends and family. Though exams are important, there’s no need to overdo it and work obsessively as this can harm your mental health and lead to burnout, as well as being so tiring that it may become ineffective.

Good luck in your future exams and happy revision!

THE DANCE SHOWCASE

The infamous dance showcase occurred on Friday 15th March in the JWA and was yet again a triumphant success Many people expressed their love for the showcase and its diverse range of dancers of all age groups However, no one really knows the amount of work and time put into creating such a spectacle as it is a much longer process than people perhaps realise.

Miss Reid likes to aim to have very varied dances in the show so there is always a performance or even some music that the audience will enjoy. The dance department hosts at least three Coastal Schools Partnership workshops each year and that links the department to different practitioners that provide different dance styles and genres. Miss Reid dedicates rehearsal time to the dancers whenever she can, helping with choreography and formations. Even so, some of the dances this year were completely pupil driven, which is always encouraged.

by Ella Banks

The first dance that we began learning was Cell Block Tango (the final group dance) and we started it in October as it is such a complex routine that incorporates a vast amount of storytelling. We begin so early to constantly build the dances, drawing our inspiration from the music or even the dancers themselves Dancers spend hours in the studio each week preparing for this moment. The final push towards the showcase involves more coordination than the steady rehearsal regimes set in place from the beginning of the school year

Booking the venue, placement of the floor, rehearsal schedule (which always proves difficult), costumes, hair, make-up, lighting, music, programs and posters all have to be carefully planned along with the actual performance aspect of the showcase. In spite of the chaos we feel as the performance nears, as soon as we walk off the stage, we want to do it all over again and start planning for next year We are so privileged to have a dance department at the College and we are so grateful that the showcase has become a widely loved event that hopefully shall continue for years to come

YEAR 12 PHOTOGRAPHY

by Tiggy Tutt

It’s been a busy time for the Year 12 photographers, for many of whom it is their first introduction to a creative, coursework subject

At the beginning of the year, the class worked together to learn camera-less processes such as chemigrams, photograms, and the use of pinhole cameras

After learning thoroughly how to use the DSLR cameras through adjusting the settings to fit the lighting and composition, we moved on to learning how to use film cameras, which is a lot more challenging as you are unable to see if the settings are correct until the film has been processed using chemicals.

Once we had learnt all of the necessary skills, the class then moved on to working individually on a stimulus that we each selected from a past paper.

The stimuli included things such as nocturne, patterns, rocks and symbiosis

As a class, we are now working towards our final outcome for this year, which will be put on as an exhibition this term, and it would be great to see lots of support!

Freya Parker with sections:

Hannah Duke with nocturne:

Evie Ginbey with timeworn:

Myself with symbiosis:

CRAIG HOUSE REVUE

by Ariane Dodard

The last revue of the year finally happened, and everyone had a great time! Well done to everyone who participated and ending the term on such a high. The revue was a great opportunity to bring all the boys together before the Easter holidays.

‘I think CHAPS really highlights the house spirit of Craig House, with everyone pulling together to put on a great show’

The evening opened with a wonderful compere ’ s video following Ben Clark hunting down the Year 13 boys to get them ready for the evening. Compères Herbie Sleep and Ben Clark did a great job at keeping us entertained in between acts to make us all laugh.

The Year 12 boys spent a night at the low budget movies bringing to us Jaws, Rocky, Forrest Gump, Aladin, The Lion King and closing their act with the Titanic door scene, the hilarious Lion King lift and fabulous final scene with Rose on the door

The Year 13s were fantastic with Struan getting his revenge on missing out of Head of Craig sending the boys on a wild goose chase around the College The video ended with a visit to Pennell House to talk to Mr Holgate and Struan in the trunk of a car.

Amazing musical performances from Jack Jordan playing Lucky to be Me, Harry Jordan playing Tea for Two as well as the House Band Harry Shouksmith singing Somewhere from West Side Story accompanied by Ben Clark on the piano The night ended with Craig’s amazing performance of Call Me Maybe.

CATHERINE THE... GREAT?

Mercilessly cruel and terribly vain, the tyrant Catherine the Great (1729-1796) had a love for towns, lots of them. For someone who gained power through a coup, assassinated her husband, collected territories like coins, waged wars of savagery and demoralisation on the Ottoman people, refused to abolish serfdom, and ruthlessly crushed peasant rebellions, it is hard to believe that someone with an insatiable thirst for blood liked to play Lego But she was called ‘Great’ for a reason, right?

Enlightened absolutism is exactly what she enforced. Under her oppressive rule, a cultural renaissance graced Russia with numerous newly-founded cities and universities leading to a sharp rise in literacy rates, as ignited by the Enlightenment. Representatives of all social classes formed her national assembly, including the lowly peasants (because she was capable of holding empathy for those beyond her royal court) She generously prevented freed serfs from becoming enslaved again in her 1775 manifesto She westernised Russia, becoming a formidable presence in the world of politics and science, and established the first state-funded higher education institution for women in Europe, the Smolny Institute of Noble

By Tian O’Leary

Maidens She is the furthest thing from a feminist icon, however: Jewish people had any rights stripped from them for ‘not boring any relation to Russia’, which didn’t quite serve the ‘enlightened’ view she held, enforcing the Charter of the Nobility (1785), which recognised the gentry’s deserved right to own serfs as personal property (who were already excessively exploited due to military conscription), as well as prohibiting serfs from appealing to the autocrat if their masters were abusive. She also refused mediation offered by countries to halt her bloody slaughter against the Ottoman people, and even in her reformist institution, the Smolny girls’ ignorance to anything happening

Catherine cracking a smile as she plots another barbaric atrocity

outside their walls only emphasised the blatant corruption that had seeped through the cracks of her ‘enlightened’ rule. Whilst an intensely powerful female leader who marked a pivotal point in Russian history and most likely faces greater criticism today than male tsars who orchestrated equally heinous crimes, it’s difficult to see why she should be idolised.

Ludicrously, despite soaking up lavishness whilst her people lived in abject poverty, Catherine the Great also yearned to play poor. Carnage and totalitarianism must have bored her a little, because among the hundreds of towns she funded, she ordered a town as realistic as possible (free from disease and criminality, of course- that was a

The largest peasant revolt in Russian history, incited by Catherine’s seize of power in 1762 h

little too real) to be built specially for her After all, Catherine needed a little purpose added to her simple life Even her infatuated lover shared a desire for building things: having a thing for younger guys, Catherine went for the handsome Grigory Potemkin, who was simply oozing with sex appeal (his missing eye must have done it), and for two years the two were an unstoppable power couple He wanted to impress her so much that he constructed fake villages (known as Potemkin villages) for her and her foreign guests to ogle at before they would be disassembled after she had passed, and then reassembled again further along her journey Unfortunately, the two broke up after two years, and Catherine quickly involved herself with other men (as long as Potemkin approved of them).

The moral of the story is don’t make fake villages for your girlfriend: she’ll leave you anyway

Pugachev’s Rebellion (1773-1775)

The hottie Grigory Potemkin (1739-1791)

THE TROPEFICATION OF BOOKS

By Ariane Dodard

Over the last few years, the #booktok tag has started trending on TikTok and various other platforms, accumulating over 200 billion views on the platform. The first mention of the word ‘trope’ was first found in the 1975 English Oxford Dictionary: a trope is a plot structure, theme, storyline, character trait, motif or plot device that is commonly used in storytelling.

The use of tropes became first popular in the early 2000s within TV and movies Some of the first well known tropes were ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’ or the ‘Chosen One’ trope, which then was widely used to describe overused and clichéd storylines.

It’s unclear as to why it became popular to recommend tropes Some say labelling books with tropes originates from fanfiction websites where there is a tagging system that allows people to label their stories with said tropes to make them easier and more accessible for readers Recommending tropes really took off during the pandemic to help those who were getting back into reading and looking for books based on what they like At first, this was only done on social media platforms, but now publishers and marketing agencies have taken up using this method to market books by the tropes within the books rather than by what happens in the books

Authors also noticed this popularity and have realised that they would have a higher chance in being published and marketed if they include specific tropes in their book Due to this, fantasy and romance books are filled with the clichéd tropes with similar scenes to the extent that some books not only have same plot, but also identical scenes with very similar characters

However, some authors pack their books full of these tropes making it evident that they decided what tropes to include in their book before starting to write it An example of this is when author Alex Aster posted a video onto the app with a prompt about a fantasy book and went on to mention all the tropes she would put into it.

After receiving a book and movie deal, she was the youngest author to receive this honour. But the hype didn’t last long: when the book came out readers where immediately disappointed with the final product. Throughout her writing journey, Aster shared her work including tropes, quotes, and characters. Therefore, everyone was extremely excited for its release but, to people’s surprise, a lot of the content that they were told was going to be in it didn’t make the final cut The writing was also criticised for being juvenile and bad.

This example of false marketing and ‘tropebaiting’ disappointment caused Aster to be a victim of a mass review bombing where they all went onto the book reviewing platform Goodreads and reviewed the book as one star without even having read it.

American bookseller Barnes and Noble has also benefitted from the rise of trope marketing as they have created tables for specific tropes and books that went viral on the app, which helped the store’s boosts in sales. It is evident that the books that have reached viral status receive criticism for not living up to expectations, and that the tropes don’t live up to standards

In my experience, there are some books that went viral that I didn’t enjoy because of the storyline or the writing style. However, I have discovered some of my favourite books through Booktok such as Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin as well as R F Kuang’s and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books.

NO LONGER HUMAN

By Layla Cluskey El Jishi

No Longer Human is a book originally published in 1948 in Japanese The novel is written by Osamu Dazai. The original title translates as “ a shameful life”

The novel tells the story of a troubled man who is incapable of revealing his true self to others, and we the reader follow his façade as it crumbles (Trigger warning: it features suicide, SA and abuse)

The novel was released one month after Dazai’s suicide at the age of 38. This novel is considered his masterpiece and a classic of post-war Japanese literature.

Thisbookisabeautifuldescriptionofhuman struggletoldtousbyanimperfectperson,as wearecompletelycapturedbytheagonising andalienatingatmosphereofthenovel

I find Yozo, our narrator and protagonist, a deeply flawed character who I struggled to completely back throughout the whole novel, especially in his relationships with women as he watches their struggles and does not do much to help them, which is often excused because of his psychological traumas

Despite Dazai’s flaws, I deeply recommend this novel for its interesting commentary on human struggle and the complexities of life written in a way that is accessible to all.

Dazai pictured in Bar Lupin, 1947

‘BACK TO BLACK’ FILM REVIEW

Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, ‘Back to Black’ provides a new perspective on the ultimately short life of the iconic singer and personality that is Amy Winehouse (19832011), known for legendary songs such as ‘Rehab,’ ‘Tears Dry on Their Own,’ and of course, ‘Back to Black’ Being such a cult icon with a massive following still to this day, there was obviously a massive pressure to deliver a wonderful biopic, and despite the immediate backlash over the trailer regarding Marisa Abela, who plays Amy Winehouse, and her singing, I feel that Taylor-Johnson was able to produce her best film to date while creating a film that illustrates the immense impact that romantic relationships had on Winehouse

It is without a doubt that the acting of Marisa Abela is a great carrier of this film’s credibility, portraying Amy and all her vulnerabilities and emotions excellently, along with a better attempt at her singing than I originally expected after watching the trailer. The difficulty in replicating such an iconic voice can be noted from the fact that Abela spent a year training her voice with vocal coaches in order to prepare for the singing in this film, which she does entirely herself.

By Esteban Boruel-Lopez

Another wonderful performance can be seen by her drug affiliated husband Blake (played by Jack O’Connell) While having been portrayed in tabloids as the villain who was the cause of Amy’s downfall, O’Connell is successfully able to depict Blake in a much more sympathetic fashion, showing most importantly that he was a human just like anyone us, worried Amy would leave him for another celebrity, emphasising that media images are misleading. In my opinion, he acts as the perfect support to Marisa in portraying the importance of their relationship upon Amy’s life and her music. However, I did sometimes feel lost in the timescales of the film, not knowing whether in the next scene it had jumped forward a few weeks, months, or even years, without the occasional line prompt or the on-screen confirmation of the date I also felt that there wasn’t enough explored of Amy’s relationship with her mother Janis, someone who was very close to Amy in actuality, yet we barely saw any scenes with the two of them together Overall, I felt the film to be surprisingly better than expected, especially due to the immediate backlash from the trailer, yet still nothing astounding, leading to my rating of 35 out of 5 With the acting being the highlight of the film, I would recommend anyone interested in Amy Winehouse and her music to watch it

DIOR’S REVOLUTIONARY COLLECTION: ‘NEW LOOK’

The collection’s emphasis on femininity marked a welcome departure from wartime austerity and pushed the beginning of a new start, highlighted by the name ‘New Look’.

Dior’s debut collection of the ‘New Look’ was showcased to the public on February 12th, 1947 During a time where people were coming our of the other end of the losses from World War Two, the society lacked strength and hope People longed for peace and Dior seized this opportunity of the people’s wishes to bring back the beauty and tranquillity of many “wounded hearts”

The designs were much ahead of its time and revolutionised fashion in history. The overall appearance is elegant and full of femininity by featuring round and smooth natural shoulder lines, slender waist, and a wide swing long skirt The silhouettes’ curves are further emphasized through pattern cutting and stitch lines The Bar Suit was considered the most iconic model in the collection, which was indebted to the styles and body-shapers of the late 19th Century. Although the collection was criticised as a divisive proposition at the time with the overuse of fabric, no one can deny the longterm effects that the silhouette had on the fashion world Since then, there have been various interpretations recreated of the Bar Jacket, from many designers in the industry.

By Mandy Luo

The inspiration for this collection arose from Christian Dior’s childhood memories of gardening with his mother. He developed a unique sensitivity to the elemental lines and colours of flowers. “I designed clothes for flower-like women[ ] I wanted my dresses to be constructed like buildings, moulded to the curves of the female form, stylising its shape,” Dior said The ‘X’ silhouette and flowers of the ‘New Look’ have also become one of the core elements of the entire Dior brand’s design

DR. ALAA MURABIT

By Tilly Chapman

Dr Alaa Murabit is a Libyian-Canadian physician who is a majorly influential figure, being a global expert in health, sustainable development, inclusive security, and a women ’ s rights advocate. Alaa is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goal Advocates appointed by the UN Secretary-General. Her impressive work continues to have significant meaning, shaping the future for sustainability and peace. Alaa is also a medical doctor and a London School of Economics graduate. Furthermore, Alaa was named a prestigious Harvard Radcliffe Fellow in 2021 and currently serves as the Director of Global Programs, Advocacy, and Communications at the Gates Foundation

By the age of 21, Alaa had founded The Voice of Libyan Women in 2011, working on inclusive security, peace processes, and faith-supported peacebuilding By the age of 25, she had successfully negotiated and passed numerous resolutions through the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly These remarkable achievements show her dedication towards helping the Sustainable Development Goals. She also serves on global non-profit and forprofit boards with projects in 80+ countries, including the boards of the Malala Fund, Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), and Women for Women International.

Alaa’s TED Talk, ‘What My Religion Really Says About Women’, has over nine million views, and has been selected by the New York Times as one of the four ‘TED Talks you

should watch right now ’ It is a truly inspiring speech about her origins, with her initial curiosity towards the limits of women ’ s rights leading to her passion to stand up and challenge this ideology. Moving from Canada to Libya at 15, Alaa sensed considerable prohibitions on what she could accomplish As a proud Muslim woman, she strives for equality in every aspect of her life. In this talk, Alaa shares how she discovered examples of female leaders from across the history of her faith, and how she launched a huge campaign to fight for women ’ s rights using verses directly from the Koran In an interview, Alaa stated that she initially had no plans to advocate women's rights. Her parents' equal treatment of her and her brothers played an extremely important role in the way she viewed the world, "I know I have a duty to every child to recognize and cultivate their own sense of leadership, because had it not been for my mother, I would not have recognized or claimed my own space to lead"

Alaa’s ground-breaking work has made her the recipient of more than 100 honours and awards, including BBC 100 Women, Forbes 30 Under 30, Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award, Harvard Law School’s Women Inspiring Change along with so many more renowned awards

A hugely inspiring, influential figure bringing true passion towards helping inequality and disruption in the world

BLACKWATER HOUSE REPORT

By Anya Rai

The end of last term was filled with numerous events for Blackwater We had a hugely successful inter-house netball competition, where not only our juniors won but our seniors also followed suit. Well done to everyone who took part or came to support! In the final week we also had interhouse football, where our Year 9s came back with another success and both Year 10 and senior teams put on a spirited performance, even if it was out of many girls’ comfort zones This led us to finish second in the overall inter-house sport competition, with all to play for this term

Since coming back to school for the final term, everyone in house has quickly got back into the swing of things. The Year 12s have been busy writing letters of application to Mrs Price, gearing up to join the in-house prefect team. Thank you to our current Year 13s who have been excellent over this past year. As a house, we are looking forward to what the rest of the summer term has in store, especially our annual Blackwater BBQ at the end of term.

A highlight at the end of term for many in Blackwater was the a Capella competition on the final Thursday Our group of singers put on an amazing performance and over twenty girls stayed late in house to support whilst watching the live stream and having a pizza night. Well done to all our singers for spending so much time rehearsing; it really paid off and everyone in house was highly impressed

CRAIG HOUSE REPORT

By Dan Clark

The last weekend of last term saw the Craig House Annual Performance, an incredible night with plenty of laughs as well as talent.

As the start of another busy term commences, the Craig Year 12s are busy submitting their applications for various positions around Craig, including peer mentor, Head of Sport, and the coveted Head of House position.

Whilst the onset of better weather has brought with it more use of the Craig Yard, both Year 11 and 13 have been revising hard for GCSEs and A-levels.

An amazing House a Capella saw Craig House come out with a fabulous win despite stiff competition The quality of their performance saw the group asked to perform in front of the the entire school in the end of term assembly.

We also congratulate Ollie Kirtley on being selected for the 1st team cricket, as well as Theo Summers who was called upon to play rugby for the Sweden U18 team.

Recently, the house prefects have introduced teams within the house, with the idea that a series of sports events could be carried out in order to crown one team the winner. This started off in spectacular fashion with a darts competition, which has been very well received in house

GONVILLE HOUSE REPORT

By Connor Morrell

Gonville ended last term with House a Capella which was greatly enjoyed by all involved, singing ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ by Bobby McFerrin The evening was full of funny acts from Mr. Roberts and his brother, singing and high spirits We sadly lost to Craig despite our best efforts

This term has had a joyous start with football being played across the year groups in the garden in the evenings and occasionally a barbeque at the weekend

House debating has also been underway with Gonville A (Heston Symonds and Henry Tang) coming 1st in Round 1 but losing in Round 2. However, Gonville B (Herbert Phillips and Connor Morrell) came 2nd in Round 1 and 1st in Round 2 and are looking forward to the coming debates.

On the sports side, our cricketers await their new match-up this season against Dulwich, while the Athletics Team looks forward to the start of the Diamond League commencing Our tennis players are also showing great performances.

Finally, our Year 11s and 13s begin to see the horizon of study leave for their GCSEs and A-levels for which we are wishing them the very best of luck.

NUGENT HOUSE REPORT

The end of last term was super busy for Nugent, with lots of house sport events including netball and football Our teams played really well and made the house proud

Additionally, a highlight of last term’s house activities was the House a Capella Competition, for which a group of talented singers from Nugent performed an amazing rendition of Stormzy’s ‘Blinded by Your Grace’, with their harmonies commended by the competition judge.

Things are in full swing already for Nugent since the start of term, with Year 12 prefect applications being written and interviews for the roles beginning soon. The Year 11s and 12s are working hard on revision for their upcoming GCSE and A-level exams as the rest of the house are working together to provide a supportive and calm environment for them.

By Suki Sheraton

There’s much to look forward to in Nugent during this term. The Year 12 tutor groups are excited for their upcoming tutor dinner, and the Year 11s for the College’s Year 11 dinner which will be a welcome break from exam preparation

PENNELL HOUSE REPORT

Coming into the warm weeks of summer, Pennell House is excited for the longer days and hotter afternoons, with events such as choosing the new prefects, summer term exams, inter-house events and many more to come

Among house accomplishments, Barney Revil, Ross Seavil, Jamie Foks, Zain Radwan and Duke Wilkinson all received half and full colours in sports such as hockey, swimming, and basketball. The Year 10s and 12s also won skills week within their respective year groups, coming from last to first with a great finish On the 22nd and 23rd of April, Ross Seavil participated in the ISGA golf competition, with the weather not being in

By Fergus Lawson Johnston

As with the warm summer evenings of the Summer Term, there also comes the exams for the Year 11s and 13s Both year groups are stepping up to the plate and taking full advantage of the weekend sessions available to them preparing for the GCSEs and A-levels ahead of them We wish them the best of luck in the coming weeks.

his favour, Ross still continued through the competition with great enthusiasm Finally, congratulations Barnaby Revill and Fergus Brown for both competing in the senior debating competition where they won the first round We wish them luck in their second

During the last couple of weeks of the Lent Term, Pennell showed off their singing skills with nine Pennillians singing ‘Life could be a Dream’ Pennell showed their dedication and enthusiasm with multiple group training sessions a week and enjoyed the process that came with doing the House a Capella Congratulations to all other houses that competed

As the current prefects and house representatives get ready to hang up their titles, the new Year 12s are putting their names forward for the roles, with interviews and important decisions coming in the progressing weeks

POWELL HOUSE REPORT

As we begin the Summer Term and the final stretch of the school year, all Powellians have started to feel the pressure of looming exams nearby especially for Year 11 with their GCSEs and Year 13 with A-levels Most recently, we have seen the PE moderation exams with Leo Ginger (11) and Teifi Wolstenholme (11) taking these exams in football and badminton respectively and we wish them the best of luck in their results

Moving away from the exams, Powell has seen great success so far regarding the inter-house debating, with Max Williams (12) and Chris Johnson-Bird (13) going through to the second round In round two we drafted in the expertise of Zephaniah Andell (12) and Thomas Arnold (13) This proved to be an excellent decision with the pair winning the second round and progressing our senior side through to the finals

By Esteban Boruel-Lopez

Regarding sport, our swimmers Charlie Evans-Shepherd (12), Matt Clark (11) and Stanley Yeats (9) have been hard at work in the pool, training for the South-East England Regionals and looking to carry on their immense success with all other competitions so far. Looking at tennis, our resident pro Sergio Vieira (12) managed to secure a dominant win for the 1st team on the weekend, carrying on his fine form representing Powell at the highest level of tennis.

Finally, late last term we saw the House a Capella competition take place with Powell coming 2nd place with their performance of “Just the Two of Us” by Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr Despite the obvious robbery, we are all immensely proud of the boys, with congratulations to Fred Jensen (13), Sam Hamilton (13), Jossi Pears (12) Alfie Edwards, Zach Perry (10), Toby Timlin (10) and Hugo Stevens (9)

REEVES HOUSE REPORT

Though the weather has been fairly hitand-miss upon returning after Easter, that hasn’t stopped the Reeves lads whatsoever It has been great to see the first yard cricket games get under way, as well as a lot more football on Reeves astro (even if it is mostly dominated by organised inter-house Year 9 matches at breaktimes).

The cricket season has also returned once again, with Eddie Anderson selected in the 1st team and both Henry Hollands and Ollie Tutt playing for the 2nds As well as this, Enzo Mace and Leo Wells are both part of the U14A team that have so far won both of their opening fixtures

By Reuben Mace

It is a very busy time at the moment for Year 11 with GCSEs, and for Year 13, who are in the midst of preparing to undertake A levels In fact, some GCSE speaking exams for MFL have already happened, and we wish all the best to everyone who is going to be taking public exams across the next couple of months.

t has also been an exciting time for many of the Year 12s, who have submitted their Head of House applications to lead Reeves next year. In total, ten people applied, and the house has voted on who they believe will be the best suited person for the job. Mr McVeigh has also been interviewing every candidate, and hopefully the results will be announced in the coming few weeks

SCHOOL HOUSE REPORT

By Tiggy Tutt

Although it is still early on in the Summer Term, there have been a lot of changes taking place in School House Even though the weather may not be what everyone has been hoping for at the moment, it is no worry for the School House girls as we reap the benefits of our luxurious new common room and foyer

Along with new furniture, fresh paint, a new carpet, and a modern artificial plant wall, we have just been fortunate enough to have had a 98” TV put in, which has already been put to great use with yoga for some Year 13s and our weekly Friday film night!

Whilst this has been a significant event in house, we cannot forget the wonderful news of both Mrs Whiddett-Adams and our matron, Katie, giving birth within hopefully the next few weeks! Before they both went on maternity leave, Miss Gordon organised a joint baby shower for them in house. This

was a lovely event and things such as guessing the flavour of the baby food, voting for baby names, guessing the chocolate in the nappies, and then presenting Mrs WA and Katie with a few presents for the babies.

As well as this, a few of the Year 12s made baby calendars, on which all of the girls have had the chance to guess which dates they think the babies will come and which gender they will be, with a prize to come for the winner!

Moving on from this, as I’m sure you are aware, the process for the new house prefects and Head of House has begun, with interviews having taken place for Year 12s I’m sure whoever is chosen will do a fantastic job, but I would just like to thank the current house prefects for all of the work that they have done for the house in the past year, and especially to Milly Bateman, our Head of House, for always being a friendly face and a great role model for the younger years

WARGRAVE HOUSE REPORT

By Sam Watson

Preparations for GCSE and A-Levels

As the Summer Term continues, Wargrave pupils in both Year 11 and Year 13 are preparing for their GCSE and ALevel examinations. These exams are a massive checkpoint in their lives and I’m certain all the effort put in by both Year 11 and Year 13 will be reflected in their results in August and feel I can speak for everyone not just in Wargrave but across the whole school when I wish them the best of luck

Interhouse Debate

The battle over inter-house competitions is not yet over for Wargrave as we press on to the next round of inter-house

debate After a shaky first victory, the Wargrave Senior Team managed to secure an outstanding victory in first place during the second heat and has progressed to the next round where I am certain they will see victory once again!

House BBQ

On Friday of last week, Wargrave House enjoyed a game of five a-side football in our crews in addition to an amazing barbeque provided kindly by the efforts of all the resident tutors and our Housemaster Mr Spiers It was a brilliant evening and showed the strong sense of community and friendship that Wargrave House upholds

WATT HOUSE REPORT

Last month, we all enjoyed our highly anticipated international dinner where we indulged in a vast mixture of Indian, Greek, Mexican and Chinese cuisines from local restaurants After starting the evening with a fun multicultural quiz, it was an exciting chance for us all to relax and come together in an informal setting

On the sporting front, Watt have been engaging enthusiastically, winning the house basketball and football The seniors also were victorious in water polo, whilst the juniors came a tight 3rd The house particularly enjoyed water polo as it had been highly looked forward to! House netball was another exciting event, as we played strongly until the end It was an exhausting day for the seniors, playing matches in both the A and B category putting up a strong fight Combined, we came joint 3rd.

By Emily Finch

As Easter approached, Mrs Tutt organised an exciting Easter egg hunt for those who wanted to participate. This consisted of each team having to crack a complex riddle before going to retrieve our goodie bags of sweets and chocolates

Recently in the house, many of us have been enjoying well-being yoga on a Wednesday which is a relaxing break in our busy days. We have found it quite amusing, being many of our first times, and realised it is not as easy as it initially seems! We hope to carry this on as the term continues.

The long-awaited House a Capella was a great night for the singers as they eloquently performed ‘Mad World’ Their technicality and vocals were specifically praised and the audience was undoubtedly impressed

SPRING ORZOTTO

What you’ll need:

Dutch oven

Wooden spoon

Paring knife

Glass measuring cup

Microplane Ingredients:

2 tbsp of extra virgin oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tsp of salt

1lb of orzo

1 cup of stock

freshly ground pepper

6oz of sugar snap peas, strings removed, thinly sliced

1/2 cup of frozen peas

1oz of parmesan cheese, finely grated

4 tbsp of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

3 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup of store-bought pesto

Method:

1.Heat 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat

2. Cook 2 shallots, finely chopped, until slightly softened for about 3 minutes.

By Sophie Stevens

3. Add 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced and 1tsp of salt and cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant for about three minutes

4. Add 1lb of orzo and cook, stirring often, until toasted and golden in spots for about 3 minutes Add 1 cup of stock and 1tsp of salt. Season with lots of freshly ground pepper. Cook, stirring often, until liquid is absorbed, for about two minutes

5. Cook orzo, adding 5 cups of water a cupful at a time, stirring often and waiting until absorbed before adding more, until almost tender, about 15 minutes total.

6. Add 6 oz of sugar snap peas, strings removed, thinly sliced, 1/2 a cup of frozen peas and another 1/2 cup of water, stirring often, until vegetables are crisp-tender and orzo is cooked through, 2-3 minutes.

7 Remove from heat and add 1oz of Parmesan cheese, 4 tbsp unsalted butter and 3 tbsp of fresh lemon juice, and stir until combined and melted.

8 Divide orzotto among shallow bowls and swirl a little of the pesto into each. Sprinkle with more pepper and enjoy!

SPRING QUIZ

1.

When is the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere in 2023?

A. March 20th

B. March 22nd

C. March 25th

2. What is the April birthstone?

A. Emerald

B. Diamond

C. Topaz

3. In which country do cherry blossom trees signify the beginning of spring?

A. Thailand

B. China

C. Japan

4. What are the spring Zodiac signs?

A. Aries, Taurus, Gemini

B. Gemini, Cancer, Leo

C. Aries, Gemini, Cancer

5. Who is the Greek goddess of spring and nature?

A. Artemis

B. Persephone

C. Hera

6. What is the main spring allergy trigger?

A. Pollen

B. Dust mites

C. Mould

By Sophie Stevens

7. What does Cinco De Mayo commemorate?

A. Mexico’s Independence Day

B. Mexico’s victory at the Battle of Puebla

C. The signing of the Mexican Constitution

8. Which major Jewish Holiday occurs during spring?

A. Pesach/ Passover

B. Tisha B’av

C. Yom Kippur

9. What are the 40 days and nights before Easter known as in Christianity?

A. Epiphany

B. Pentecost

C. Lent

10. Which Hindu holiday, known as ‘festival of colours’, happens in spring?

A. Holi

B. Diwali

C. Navaratri

HOROSCOPES

Aquarius (Jan 20th - Feb 18th)

Avoid all Taureans this week!

Pisces (Feb 19th- March20th)

A new jam flavour this month will radically rock your world

Aries (March 21st-April 19th)

The third cat you see today has something in store for you!

By Mystic Maud

(April 20th-May 20th)

Love is written in your stars

Gemini (May 21st - June 20th)

Try out the cake from the new café down your road!

Libra (Sep 23rd - Oct 22nd)

A smoothie from Tim’s will alter the trajectory of your life

Cancer (June 21st - July 22nd)

A Virgo will have a good surprise for you next week!

Scorpio (Oct 23rd - Nov 21st)

Your favourite artist will release a surprise album this month!

Leo (July 23rd - Aug 22nd)

Go on, treat yourself You deserve it!

Virgo (Aug 23rd-Sep 22nd)

Watch that new movie with your friends

Sagittarius (Nov 22nd - Dec 21st)

Going on a sunset walk will clear your head

Capricorn (Dec 22nd-Jan 19th

The 25th is the day to get a pet hamster

Taurus