WNAT Compass - Issue 1

WNAT Compass ISSUE 1 - The hidden threat of surveillance capitalism - The impact of social media on teenagers - Learning more about Stonewall - Film / book reviews

Welcome to

WNAT Compass The West Norfolk Academies Trust is a locallybased charity working with primary and secondary schools in the borough.

Our aim is to challenge and support a small group of schools in their provision of an excellent education for the young people of West Norfolk.

The Trust works in a supportive partnership with primary and secondary schools – each school maintaining its own unique ethos.

The schools work together to ensure maximum benefit for all students through economies of scale and shared resources.

As part of this on-going collaboration, this publication has been created by budding writers from our primary and secondary schools.

Created during the last academic year, this writing showcases what our young people were able to achieve despite remote learning, group bubbles, two-metre distancing and face masks.

Between the pages of this magazine you will discover new imaginative worlds, reflections on contemporary society and insightful reviews of both book and film.

We are proud of each and every one of these students, but we are particularly pleased to be able to celebrate the work of our prize winners - Jake from Clenchwarton and Kirsten from Terrington - both of whom received an Amazon voucher in celebration of their achievement.

It is our privilege to work with these young people every day and we hope that you will enjoy their work.

Andy Johnson

Executive Headteacher West Norfolk Academies Trust

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2020 - WHAT A YEAR! Ellie, St Clement’s High School

2020, what a year, It started with fireworks and lots of cheer.

But then a horrible virus began to appear, Changing all plans for the rest of the year.

new norm, We missed time with families and new babies being born.

We thanked our NHS for all their support, We took time to reflect and kept everyone in our thoughts.

Sanitiser, social distance and washing your hands, Became the new norm across the lands.

More and more people began to get sick, So the government closed everything really quick.

We came together daily to watch the PM speak, ‘Follow the science’. ‘hands face space’. Life seemed really bleak.

Then one day the PM didn’t appear, The fact he’d contracted Covid gave us more fear.

We were all told to stay at home and not to go out, Sometimes this made us want to scream and shout.

We learnt at home with mum which was an attractive feature, It was only a few days before we wanted back our teacher!

Weeks turned into months, with no sign of an end, We never got the chance to spend time with friends.

The restrictions got tighter taking away our pleasure, A gentleman called Captain Tom became a national treasure.

Facetime and zoom became the

SATs were cancelled and schools

‘YOU WOULD WANT TO LEARN HERE’

Creating new friends, Learning, Every last pupil leaves school grateful, Nobody’s perfect, Chasing away horrible fears/problems, Helping their friends, Wanting nothing less Always there to help, Ready to face reality, Teachers getting along, Opening up our personalities, Never expecting the new facts.

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were made to close, The hopes and ambitions of a generation froze.

My year 6 class were left feeling upset and confused, With no prospect of returning to school our confidence was bruised.

We began to feel better when restrictions started to lift, The potential for holidays and days out felt like a gift.

Plans were made and as we began to pack, The second wave hit and set us all back.

2020 wasn’t the final year we had hoped, But somehow we found strength and learnt how to cope.

We adapted our ways and soldiered on through, Covid…. We lost so much because of you

People filling friends up with new knowledge, Reading new ideas, Interesting is what you would call the facts, Meeting new subjects, Aiming high, Reaching higher goals, You would want to learn here!

Bella, Clenchwarton Primary School

The impact of social media on teenagers Jessa, Springwood High School As you are aware, due to COVID-19 restrictions, a lot of people relied on the internet and social media for work, school and communication. Today I’m going to focus on how technology and social media has impacted the lives of teenagers and their lives so far.

Social media can have many different impacts on our health and more and more people, especially teenagers, are influenced by social media and this influence comes with positive and negative attributes.

Social media can be a way of entertainment for young people which is also seen as a positive but it could also be used as a platform to communicate with other people. This communication with others eases stress, anxiety, depression, and boosts self-worth, provides comfort and joy, and prevents loneliness. Communicating with other people can add years to your life as people with strong social skills live longer and healthier lives, according to numerous studies. One example of a study is in a CNN article which said a recent review of 148 studies found that people who are isolated face a 50% greater risk of premature death than those who have stronger social connections.

However, there are numerous negatives of social media on our mental health such as lack of confidence,

thoughts of self-harm and low self-esteem. Other dangers that can come from using social media is stranger danger, addiction which can lead to bad health, cyberbullying, unfair self comparison and fear of missing out (FOMO), which can negatively affect your thoughts and feelings which will eventually impact you physically. A 2018 British study links the use of social media to decreased, disrupted, and delayed sleep, which is associated with depression, memory loss, and poor academic performance.

Another dismissive reason for social media is bullying.

Bullying can lead to depression, self-harm, low self esteem and many other mental health illnesses. Dr. Donna Wick, a clinical and developmental psychologist said, “Kids text all sorts of things that you would never in a million years contemplate saying to anyone’s face”.

Overall, we all know social media is never going to go away. It’s going to stay with us as we move into modern generations but unfortunately social media can come with a price and the awful repercussions of the use of social media outweigh the positives. At the end of the day, your mental health should be taken care of and limiting social media usage is one way to do it.

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Creative Writing Fern, Walpole Cross Keys Primary School

I knocked on the cottage door. Nothing happened.

Then I saw a faint black silhouetted figure through the window strolling to the door. I stepped back into the cold, dry, mysterious fog. Then the door knob rattled and turned as the door opened, the fog slowly cleared from my eyes and I saw my father bewildered in the doorway. I stared in desperation.

Overwhelmed with many weird anxious feelings that whirled round in my head. I then stepped in. My mum was sitting on a bed in a room with stone walls, scattered chairs, a table were mostly all to be seen. Dad stood near mum then they asked “Zoe is it, well really you?” “Yes, yes it is,” I replied quietly. Then I mercilessly raised my voice and said “Why didn’t you come back for me?” “Why”. “We would have but we couldn’t” they said softly and calmly. “Mum was ill and I wouldn’t know how to get there.”

I understand I said lowering my voice down again, “I was just so determined and angry about everything and why you didn’t come back for me.” Then my dad noticed Munchkin stood in the corner just listening to their conversation, “You look very familiar like one of our friends who are to houses down”. Munchkin’s eyes widened slowly. I knew what he was thinking.

Could they be his parents? Munchkin then burst out “Can we go please please!” This was exciting to him. “I don’t see why not.” smiled dad. Then we set off for the house. Once there, almost the same as me, Munchkin knocked then stepped back. The door knob rattled and turned and his mum stood at the door. Munchkin ran to her then looked back and said gently “thank you.” Then we left him and went home.

That night I lay silent in bed wondering whether the sea would ever stop in the future and it never did.

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HELP! Jake, Clenchwarton Primary School

My name is Tommy turtle and I live in the sea.

There’s Daddy turtle, Mummy turtle, Grandma turtle and me,

CHOICES Samuel, Clenchwarton Primary School

As she drifted through the park with her head held low and lips quivering, she came to a grinding halt and broke into a deep sob as she reached the graveyard gate. Slowly shuffling forward, she stumbled towards their graves.

Mournfully, she placed the colourful flowers on the moss-encrusted stone bed that radiated a deafening silence through-out the yard. To catch her breath, she lowered herself down onto a bench as thin as a knife and spotted something so peculiar that she forgot all about the melancholic moment.

Overwhelmed with curiosity, she cautiously approached the unidentified object. It was a painting - a painting of her brothers in this park. It took a moment to sink in. Then, in an instant, she lost all contact with the world.

We roam around the ocean, that’s open and free, But things have gotten very sad recently.

There used to be more of us, but now there is few, Could you please help us, if I tell you?

Please tell the humans to stop - this problem is drastic, My friends and family are dying and the reason is plastic!

8 million tonnes of rubbish tipped in my home every year, And you think it’s okay to dump it all down here!

It’s getting in our tummies, tangling round our necks… We can’t breathe!

It’s poisoning us, we’re dying and suffering severe in-jur-ies.

Oh please make it like it used to be, when I could swim, eat and be free, Use recyclable stuff instead - save the environment! Save me!

She saw black, blue, red, orange and green and then woke up standing on leaves that fell fresh from the autumn trees above. She was in the painting. Beside her stood two young men, aged fifteen. They were her brothers. Her dead brothers. The brothers that were supposedly dead sixty-nine years ago. Those brothers.

They were flying a kite and she couldn’t quite comprehend what had occurred. Stunned, she enjoyed this moment of playing with her brothers and faced a life-changing question: Was she going to die with them or re-live her painful life without her brothers?

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Connecting Classrooms Annabelle, Marshland High School Since March 2021, Marshland High School has been partnered with the Nevajeewan School in Nepal through an international programme called Connecting Classrooms. This programme originated from a willingness from the United Nations to make young people across the world more aware of Sustainable Development Goals (known as SDGs). Through these goals, it is hoped that the world will be a better place by 2030 by reducing poverty, fighting inequality and addressing the urgency of climate change. It is up to all nations across the world and all of us individually to help build a better future.

Since our partnership began, students at Marshland watched an assembly delivered by Mrs Beavis to introduce them to the programme. Students have been making eco-bricks, which we will be using at a later time to make something such as a table or a bench.

Mrs Whithouse delivered an assembly to students in Nepal about Marshland, Norfolk and our project. We prepared a resource together to teach sustainable food production and consumption to our students.

This was delivered through the Science curriculum and our students grew tomato plants, which they have taken home and will hopefully have fruit in the summer. The Nepalese students in lockdown have been trying to grow potatoes on rooftop gardens.

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At form time, students and teachers at Marshland chose some typically British recipes, which were then collated into a recipe booklet and sent to our Nepalese counterparts. Some Nepalese students recorded themselves making typical Nepalese food and this was shared with staff and students so they could try to make the food at home.

Twelve of our Year 7s are now International Ambassadors. They met and came up with questions about life and culture in Nepal. In early July, we did a virtual meet via Zoom, during which they presented key concepts about the British life and culture and asked their questions. The students in Nepal did the same and gave our ambassadors some information about the life and culture in Nepal. Our ambassadors will now be preparing a short video to share with the rest of KS3 about what they have learnt.

It has been a fantastic opportunity for the whole school to be involved in this project and we are looking forward to more interaction with our partner school in Nepal in the next few months and beyond.

Learning more about Stonewall Abi, Smithdon High School

Stonewall is a global movement that stands for LGBTQ+ rights.

They campaign for positive views and attitudes towards Pride and work with people in the LGBTQ+ community.

held in London with approximately 2,000 participants. After that, in 2000, the UK Government lifted the ban on lesbians, gay men and bi people serving in the armed forces.

They give opportunities to educate and support people, while advocating for LGBTQ+. Over the last 30 years, they have fought for equal rights and have changed the lives of many people in the community.

Finally, this year in 2021 the UK census includes questions on gender identity and sexual orientation for the first time, meaning that data can be gathered on the numbers of LGBT people across the country.

Stonewall was founded in 1989, one year after Section 28 became the law. This legislation banned the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ by schools and councils, and led to a total defeat of LGBTQ+ identities in schools.

The government has made significant changes to support the LGBTQ+ community: banning conversion therapy and creating a new fund to increase the support available to increase the support available for survivors of abuse.

The founders were a small group of people actively campaigning against Section 28, and since then have been in many major protests in LGBTQ+ rights. In 1958, The Homosexual Law Reform Society was founded to campaign for the legalisation of same-sex relationships in the UK.

The pride flag, with its bright rainbow colours, is easily recognisable - and in 2021 a new pride flag includes people of colour and intersex people. The colours of the transgender pride flag have also been included in the newest flag along with the original rainbow colours.

In 1972, the first Pride event was

Each colour in the rainbow part of

the flag are said to symbolise different parts/areas of pride: with pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for nature, turquoise for magic, blue for serenity, and finally, purple for spirit.

As a school, we have had PSHE sessions in form about relationships with a focus on sexual orientation and awareness. We learned about the zero tolerance policy: As a school we are taking a stand against homophobia and homophobic language.

We have also had assemblies on relationships with the inclusion of LGBTQ+ relationships. Our library contains a wide variety of LGBTQ+ books for students to take out.

We aim to educate and raise awareness of Pride and our LGBTQ+ students in school in an effort to stop harassment and make people understand the severity of their actions. Our British Values include individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance so it is fitting that, as a school, we discuss these.

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Kirsten, St Clement’s High School

APOCALYPSE

dary secon l Schoo prize r winne

The apocalypse lasted thirteen days. (Not that we had known that it had ended by then). Thirteen days we spent wondering if this was going to be our last.

Cramped in the basement of my house only five of us had made it. Thirteen days, five people… it’s harder than it sounds. Chaos and destruction had raced over the Earth in one fatal swoop.

miracle. A gift from God. They were wrong.

We used to have a radio - it is broken now - so we knew how many the apocalypse had taken. All of us knew how it started. Super charged electromagnetic radiation pulses.

The Lights lasted three days, peacefully living in and around the school. Until, of course, some idiotic teens had decided it would be an ingenious idea to get closer. They had been the first of billions to die.

At first, they had been described as the Northern Lights descended to the Earth’s surface. A scientific

Two guys and one girl had snuck into the school grounds on the third night, slipped so easily past the

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Green flashes of swimming light danced around a school in London. Scientists from all over the world came to examine it, yet no one went within ten meters. It was as if the Lights here were silently repelling them.

security that surrounded the area 24/7, it was as if the guards hadn’t been there. It had been the girl who had made the first contact.

A random person from a neighbouring building had streamed the entire event. Slightly grainy and jumpy but the film showed it all. The girl reached out, her hand within inches of the light. Pale faces of all the teens glowing, eyes reflecting their terror, exhilaration, and the green Light.

It gave them an almost unearthly look, as if they were the phenomenon instead. We could see, when watching the stream online, the girl closing the inches. Sealing the world to its shattering fate. Her hand slipped in and for one moment, one moment filled with overflowing anticipation and tension, nothing happened.

Not a single thing. You could see the disappointment on the teens’ faces. I had been watching the live stream when it happened.

Along with the rest of the world I tensed in that one moment and with the rest of the world (or what’s left of it) I will never forget what happened next.

Kai and Thea were huddled in the corner on one of the mattresses; Nolan and Mia were murmuring quietly by the window. I sat on the chair in the middle of the room trying to fix the radio and failing miserably.

“It’s no use.” I said, glaring miserably at the stupid piece of metal in my hands. “I can’t fix it.”

No one replied. I hadn’t really expected them to. The last report on the radio had told us that over 99% of the population had died from the Lights and then the report had been cut out after someone had started screaming that the Lights had entered the building.

Attempting to fix it had given me a small hope that I actually could. We all knew hope was a thing of the past now. It had been wiped clean from the surface along with the majority of living organisms.

Letting a disappointed breath slip past my lips I stood and slipped across the room to the last food box against the wall. Finally deciding to find out how long we had left.

I cracked the lid open and could practically feel the sudden silence pressing down on me, the others stares burned holes into my back. They were worried too. I lifted the lid off, and my heart stopped dead.

Crushing realisation of what I saw before me threatened to suck all the air from the room.

The box, previously filled with edible food, contained only the bare remains and tattered shreds of our remaining tins and bags. A small but obvious hole hidden at the back jumped out at me. Rats. Rats had gotten to our food.

“Hey, Gemma, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I turned towards Mia and gestured faintly towards the box. The others gathered behind her and peered in.

A collective gasp rose and engulfed the room with a suffocating shock. Someone let out a sob. We all knew what this meant. No food meant we couldn’t live down here any longer.

And so, on day thirteen, the silent end of the apocalypse took hold. One of us would venture outside. One of us would take the burden and save the rest. One of us would save the rest or die trying. That one person- decided through a drawing of straws- was me.

Nolan had thrown it to the floor after that.

Too shocked to unplug it to stop the screaming coming from the other end. I had spent the next few days trying to mend it. Of course, I probably shouldn’t have touched it.

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REVIEWS

Shadow & Bone Caitlin, Smithdon High School Shadow and Bone is a fantasy book, which features a girl called Alina Starkov. She is a mapmaker in a war and discovers that she has powers that allow her to control light.

These powers could potentially save her land from the shadow fold; however, she doesn’t actually know how to use them since she’s suppressed them from a young age. Alina has to be taken to the Little Palace, a place for people with powers known as Grisha, to be taught how to use them.

While there, she catches the eye of the darkling. He is the commander of the second army, which is an army full of Grisha. Fitting into life there is hard, and just when Alina gets comfortable, she has to run away.

Shadow and Bone is the first book in a trilogy written by Leigh Bardugo.

The other books are called Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising. The trilogy has just been released as a Netflix series too.

I am currently watching it, and I think it is good, but I prefer the books and recommend that you read them over watching the series. You can have more imagination with the books as well as more detail.

The Shadow and Bone trilogy is connected to the Six of Crows series. I am currently reading the Six of Crows and, so far, it is really good. These books can be read by either teenagers or adults.

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I convinced my mum to read them, and she loved them. I think Shadow and Bone is a marvellous book. One of my favourite characters is Baghra, Alina Starkov’s mentor at the Little Palace.

She is the one to reveal an unexpected truth to Alina and to the readers. Another favourite character of mine is Prince Nikolai Lantsov, who is introduced to us in Siege and Storm. He’s very adventurous, mysterious and cocky.

Nikolai is second in line to the throne, behind his brother Prince Vasily Lantsov, who is nothing like him.

In Shadow and Bone, I found it very frustrating when Alina stopped running away from the Little Palace and returned to seek something that she and the darkling both wanted.

I thought it was an unbelievably bad move to make, and it was. It almost cost her all the land that she wanted to save. I never really enjoyed reading and always preferred films and shows, but these books brought out a whole new level of enjoyment for me and I actually quite like reading books now.

I would one hundred percent recommend these books and hope that someone else will find enjoyment for them just as deep as mine is. I would rate Shadow and Bone a nine out of ten!

REVIEWS BOYS WILL BE BOYS Ellie-Mae, Springwood High School

Due to the continued sexist treatment of women over the years, which blew up massively in the media after the death of a young woman, I decided to pick up a book on feminism, toxic masculinity and the patriarchy.

This wonderful and inspiring read looked into how women are constantly mistreated in many situations in a witty, yet truthful way. Ford regularly calls out certain behaviours some men can use when discussing sensitive topics, such as motherhood and rape culture in such a tone that it makes it easier to digest how harmful such behaviours are.

Personally, my favourite chapter was ‘Not all men’, which highlights destructive thought processes surrounding assault and counteracts statements made against women who come forward with their SA stories. Ford does this in such a way that almost adds humour to the horrific things said to survivors, but isn’t distasteful.

Although the book mostly centres around the sexism women experience, it also talks about how destructive the expectations set for men are and how they affect growing up as a man. I highly recommend anyone to read this fantastic book, or perhaps Ford’s ‘fight like a girl’ (which I am yet to read, but I’m hoping will be as good).

The only negative I found to the ‘Boys will be boys’ was that it can be hard to read at points due to the triggering topics brought up, especially in the introduction, but that is expected considering the nature of what the book entails. I hope you consider picking up a copy, and it teaches us all how to start changing for a better, more equal society.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Year 6 Junior Leadership Team, West Lynn Primary School Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a well-known story published in 1964. The main character is about a young boy – Charlie Bucket – who is a poor child living with his parents and grandparents. The plot involves an eccentric chocolate factory owner who sends out golden tickets in his chocolate bars throughout the world. There are only 5 to be won and whoever finds them has the privilege of visiting his factory. Even though it has been around for 57 years, the book is still extremely popular and has been made into successful movies.

I would highly recommend this book to people who enjoy a bit of comedy where dreams really do come true… You will not be able to release this book from your grip or bring yourself to be able to put it down.

MATILDA Year 6 Junior Leadership Team, West Lynn Primary School Matilda is one of the world’s most popular children’s books and was published in 1988. Since that time it has been made into an award-winning film adored by children everywhere.

Starring Mara Wilson as Matilda, the plot involves a young girl who lives with hideous parents. She is incredibly smart, but her parents take no notice of her.

It’s not until her teacher – Miss Honey – recognises her incredible talent that Matilda really starts to feel loved.

I would highly recommend Matilda because the film gives you a mixture of emotions throughout. It’s a very heart-warming story and it doesn’t matter how old you are to enjoy this tale of adventure.

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The Detective’s Case Lexi Mai, Clenchwarton Primary School It was detective Cloverson’s day off. Staring into Miami, Brooke wondered when her next case would arrive. Her previous case was about a missing laptop.

Someone known as the ‘global thief’ stole it.

It turns out that he takes devices that would be able to access information about, well, anything! It was always something different so no one could find a pattern. But he is behind bars, so there was nothing to worry about. A torrent storm was being built because of this ‘vacation’. It was becoming boring. Nuzzling into bed, Brooke patiently waited to get back to work.

The next day, Brooke got official news. She’s back. At first, she waltzed around with glee, but then remembered the reason she was so rejoiced, so Brooke frantically ran to her station, keen about the time.

After entering, sweet, succulent smells of sugar caressed her nose. That scent drew her attention to donuts. Moist, luscious, tasty donuts. Dripping with smooth, melted chocolate with sprinkles placed among it. Before Cloverson could get her hands on them, her boss, Ash Anderson, came up to her with a face saying something like this: ‘Hey glad you’re back.

I’ve got a case for you. But you’re gonna have to go solo on this one.’ And she was right. Precisely. This case was about a ‘stolen’ briefcase containing their most precious belongings like their wallet, phone, some money, just things like that. This wasn’t the only stolen technology though.

Brooke knew exactly what to do. First, she acknowledged that this crime took place in a public area.

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With this information, Brooke interviewed multiple witnesses. The detective saw how they all shared a common phrase, horizon. The robber had dropped a book called ‘Horizon’. He also said something along the lines, “I don’t want to lose you. Someone will find out my secret.” Cloverson checked security cameras, questioned other units if “horizon” was familiar and even looked the mystery word/book up on the internet! Still, no matter how hard she tried: Brooke. had. nothing.

Dawn became dusk and night was falling fast. Brooke headed home to be greeted with her daughter, Courtney, and husband, Hugo. Hugo was listening to Courtney explain about her new 3D earth he’d bought her.

Brooke asked what she was doing. Courtney exclaimed that in her class, when she learned about geography, she found out where and what the seven continents were. Once settled in, Brooke took one glance at that globe. She knew exactly how stupid she had been.

That stolen briefcase contained a phone. A device.

Something the global thief would steal. But he was in custody. Who was committing all these crimes?Did they have an accomplice? Or something more?

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Brilliant Club Zoe, Marshland High School At Marshland High School, the University of Cambridge had opened up an incredible opportunity to students and I was one of those fortunate to have gotten a place.

Each week, we had a PhD student, Cansu Karabiyik, come in from the university and for the first few weeks.

We went to through tutorials led by her and learnt lots about diseases. We were given tasks to complete at home to bring in the following week, these included: comprehension, finding information and some smaller essays based on what we have learnt.

The project for these sessions has been all about being disease detectives so during the fifth tutorial our final assignment was set. We had to write an essay pretending to be the head of WHO (World Health Organisation) disease detectives division. However there had been an outbreak of malaria in Mali. It is our job to come up with a plan to stop it.

During the sixth week Candy gave us all one-to-one feedback on our essay plans. The feedback we received was that we had planned well and additionally gave us points on how to improve. Luckily, we were given two and half weeks to write the final essay and would once again gain feedback on our work and reflect upon the experience we have had.

I have really enjoyed the Brilliant Club so far. I think that it is a fantastic experience for all of us taking part.

My favourite part was when we had to work in twos to create a PowerPoint on one of the areas we have learnt about in the tutorials. Myself and my partner did the different transmission types and it was great fun to make and present.

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A CENTURY LATER Jamie, Springwood High School

Standing on the edge of the boat, Lyla breathed in the cold fresh air. She had never been on a boat before.

Let alone a replica of the RMS Titanic. This boat has been in the works for over 10 years but it was finally announced that construction and final checks had been completed and had set sail last Tuesday. Lyla, letting her eyes drift shut, let all her other senses take over her. She wanted to feel and experience everything: the smell of the salty sea air, the sound of the waves crashing against the boat. She was enthralled by it all.

Lyla had been a fan of the Titanic ever since she found out about the tragedy. The sinking of the Titanic was one of the most awful tragedies but Lyla was interested in everything about it: how it could have been prevented in so many ways; how it was meant to be unsinkable; how big it was. She would print out giant pictures of it gliding on the ocean and stick them to her wall. She would go to sleep at night thinking about how the great ship lies at the bottom of the ocean while she was fast asleep in bed.

The ocean always scared Lyla. The endless waves and dark depths. However, she was fascinated by it. Opening her eyes, Lyla breathed out a breath she didn’t realise she was holding. A silent tear slipped slowly down her cheek and fumbled to wipe it away. “Stop it!” she scolded herself. This was amazing. The view; the opportunity; the feeling. Lyla couldn’t get the thought of how scared the passengers on the Titanic would have been that night. The dread once they had

discovered what was happening. The sinking feeling in their stomachs when they knew they were in serious trouble.

Lyla cast her gaze over the polished deck, “It looks exactly like the original” she thought with delight. This replica would never replace the real Titanic but she felt a warm, comforting feeling when she arrived on the boat last week. Seeing the grand staircase, and the giant yellow and black smoke funnels. It somehow made her feel closer to the people who died all those years ago. It was so freeing and calm out there.

It gave her time to think about all of the passengers who boarded the Titanic a century ago.

Slow footsteps approached her, snapping her out of her day dream, “Ready for dinner?” a voice sounded from behind her. It was Blake, her husband. Lyla turned round and smiled up at him. He snaked his arms around her and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

“Yeah, I’m ready to come in.” she replied in a wistful tone. After standing there for a moment longer, taking in the beautiful sight, they both turned around and headed for the door which led into the dining room.

She was amazed that even after a century the Titanic was still one of the most important and well known events in history. Lyla took one more look at the waving ocean, smiled to herself, and headed inside after her husband.

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Gandhi Lorena, Springwood High School “Non-violence is a weapon of the strong.” This is one of the most inspiring words spoken by Mahatma Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi was one of the non-violent leaders like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandella, Dalai Lama, etc. Mahatma means “great soul”. He was the leader of the Indian nationalist movement against British rule and is considered to be the father of the Indian nation.

Gandhi was born in 1869 in Porbandar in modern-day Gujarat, India. And at his time of birth, India had been under British control for 11 years.

Gandhi was a mediocre (not very good) student at his school but his family hoped that he would become a barrister (an entitled lawyer to become an advocate) to take care of his father’s positions as a high official in Gandhi’s home state, travelled to London to study law at University College in 1888. Where he became interested in religious thought after meeting several members of the worldwide community.

He returned to India in 1981 and tempted unsuccessfully to set up a law practice, he then moved to South Africa where he took a job at a law firm in Durban.

Where he would spend the next 21 years of his life.

Gandhi awakened to the plight of Indians who faced racism and injustice in South Africa. This led him to question the situation of his people in India who live under British rule. He continued to draw attention to the thirst treatment of India in South Africa and developed his methodology of satyagraha or devotion 17

to the truth as a form, the form of non-violence protest.

Thousands of Indians joined his non-violent protest and the harsh and brutal treatment of the Indian population led to compromise between Gandhi and the South Africa government who considered Gandhi’s demand for better treatment.

Gandhi returned to India in 1915 and became a leading Indian nationalist leadership of congress in 1920.

On 26 January 1930, the Indian National Congress declared the independence of India from British rule, although the British refused to recognise this and tensions increased until the end of the second world war.

For this independence he made a famous speech ‘Quit India’, which led to the arrest of thousands of freedom fighters and protesters and also led to a huge increase in violence in the country leading to Gandhi’s arrest during 1942. He was released from prison but during his time the political atmosphere had changed in India.

India and the British gave the first signal that power would be handed back to India. Gandhi was assassinated on the 3 January 1948 by Hindhu Fanatic (a strong believer) but Gandhi remains to this day father of India and is revered across the country.

Gandhi is one of the true leaders because he showed the truth and gave independence to India. “First they laughed at you, then they ignore you, then they fight you and then you win”

The National Archive Tracey, Marshland High School I recently took part in an online session hosted by The National archives, which are an independent agency of the UK government whose role is to preserve governmental and historical records.

what we thought about the information provided and what we believed the area was like at that time. There was no right or wrong answer because everyone one has a different point of view.

During one of our history lessons, we were given an online session by them on 19th century Whitechapel.

During this live lesson we were given a number of tasks that focused on giving us varying resources that we could use to find out what Whitechapel was like in 1888.

What it facilitates is an ability to investigate and construct reasoned answers, using the information provided to back up your theory. For example, you could pick item number two and claim it shows that the area was dangerous, however, someone else might say it’s not useful because all of London had a high crime rate during that period.

Our first task to get us started was a photo from the 19th century, it showed a rundown alleyway filled with young children (mostly girls) in a sort of uniform, few surrounding adults and in the middle of the crowd stood a woman to the left and a man to the right, this could have been family gathering or an argument. The reason for looking at this photo was to pick up on key details to increase our reasoning skills based on what the picture depicted.

Our second task what to find out which type of document would be most useful for finding out about the people and the area of Whitechapel in 1888. We were presented with the following: 1. A map of Whitechapel 1892.

2. A coroner ’s report into the death of Mary Anne Kelly.

3. An 1881 Whitechapel census record 4. Police records on ‘Habitual drunkards’ for 1903 5. A photograph of Whitechapel Street in the 19th century.

6. A register for Whitechapel casual ward (temporary homeless shelter) in 1888.

This was done to prompt a topical class debate as to

Alternatively, you might claim that item number six was useful as it highlighted the high percentage of drunk people in the area whilst someone else might feel it just highlighted that the area contained more public houses than other areas of London.

What the tutorial did do, was to show that you need to examine every piece of evidence, collect together all of the possible theories behind the evidence you have and then collate them into a factual representation of an historic period or event.

For example, it is reasonable to assume, based on the evidence above, that Whitechapel was a run down, neglected area because it was subject to habitual drunkards, had a high homeless rate and a high crime rate.

It is true to say that in an archeological sense, just scratching the surface proves nothing, you need to dig deeper before you come to a conclusion. In my opinion, an online tutorial such as the one above is an excellent way to learn about the investigative nature of history.

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THE GRAVEYARD Vinethmi, Springwood High School

The tall, castle-like structure loomed over the ground, casting the surrounding area into its dark shadow.

Sharp spires protruded from the top of its towers, and old broken pieces of stone lay scattered all around. A veil of thick mist hung in the air, with a cold light wind sweeping through occasionally, carrying the lingering unpleasant smell of moss and dead flowers.

looking as though they were arranged in rows, but some standing out of place.

Despite this, the night air had a deathly stillness about it, as if nature itself was holding its breath; watching; waiting. A stray owl hooted, from its perch on top of the bare branch of a dead tree, like it was crying a warning to anyone who dared to enter. Large plaques of uneven, cracked stone jutted out of the ground,

A loud creak rang out, disturbing the silence in the air.

The man swung open the old metal gate as he cautiously inched forward, squeezing himself through the small opening, and carefully pushed the gate closed behind him. It slammed with a sharp clang of metal.

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The engravings were barely visible over the cracks and chips on the rough surface. Thin layers of grass had grown on the older sites as if to hide the gruesome reality of what lay underneath.

yard carried. It compelled him to move his feet faster, leading him to clumsily stumble over both feet in his desperate rush to get to the metal gate at the other end. To get out of this frightful place and step back into the warmth of the outside world; back to civilization.

The gate seemed as though it was getting further and further away, taunting him. Hoot!

The sudden loud noise stopped him abruptly in his tracks, a small involuntary scream ripping from his throat. Fear gripped him and his eyes darted around wildly, as he tried to locate the source. He froze as they came to rest on another pair of eyes above his head.

The piercing yellow circles, with little black voids at their centre, bore into his almost equally wide ones.

Its face was ghostly white and a stark contrast to the rest of its feathers; a mixture of dark brown and black shades with little light brown specks visible here and there.

Its little pointed ears sat atop his head sticking straight up. Its head cocked to the side almost curiously as its hypnotising glare held him rooted to the spot. Sharp talons extending from its feet dug into the wood of the branch.

It seemed to almost glow in the dark, with its sinister atmosphere. Its curved beak opened in another bonechilling shriek. The man was wrenched out of his fix-

He stood rigidly, peering into the curtain of mist. His eyes took in the scene in front of him, searching for any signs of danger. Inhaling shakily, he wrapped his arms around himself for warmth and walked uncertainly into the tendrils of the cold, white cloud.

A chill crept up his spine; the hairs at the back of his neck stood on end. The crunches of his footsteps on the twisted path were drums, announcing his presence for everyone to hear. He winced with every step and checked his surroundings nervously. The Graveyard was not a place to be in. But what other choice did he have?

His usual route had been closed as a result of the heavy floods, forcing him to take a dangerous detour.

Breath escaped his mouth in a puff of smoke as he sighed. He quickened his pace, eager to pass through as fast as possible.

He shivered at the unnatural feeling that The Grave20

ated trance at the loud sound and retreated back a few steps. His breath came out raggedly as he stared up at the offending creature.

The owl simply sat on his branch gazing back at him with a blank stare. He shook his head and willed his feet to move once again as he continued his seemingly never-ending journey. He rushed past the tree, ducking his head quickly under the branch with the unsettling owl perched atop it.

He stumbled ungracefully past a few more rows of gravestones, with a renewed sense of urgency. Finally, after what felt like eternity, he reached it. The gate. His freedom. It stood tall and proud and beckoned him invitingly.

With trembling hands, he grabbed the bolt and slid it open. After a sharp tug on the bars, it swung open with a creak. He breathed a sigh of pure relief. Where once the cloud of unforgiving smoke had cruelly swallowed him up, now it gently parted as it allowed him to escape its suffocating hold.

This time, the man’s body was completely still. Instead, a sense of security and warmth filled him as 21

he stepped out into the world of the living. He hastily shut the gate. The bolt slid into place and he took a few steps away; satisfied that he had trapped the, unnatural and fear-filled atmosphere of a place of death, firmly behind it.

His lips pulled into a small, triumphant smile and his heart rate slowed back down to a healthy pace. He turned away and started a slow trudge down the tarmac, the welcoming glow from the streetlight lighting up the way back to the bright and familiar house at the end of the road.

As the man walked further and further away, The Graveyard grew smaller and smaller, and disappeared once more into its protective veil. There it would wait; with its ghastly, mysterious horrors, hidden in its depths.

Watching and waiting, for its next victim, who would yet again entertain it with a show of false courage and trembling fear.

THE HIDDEN THREAT OF SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM Victoria, Springwood High School As creations spawn a dozen other derivatives to form a convoluted family tree connecting cogs to code, the internet has only boosted this exponential growth thanks to such newfound ease of distributing and collecting information instantaneously.

In more general circumstances, a bachelorette can find herself a nice lad a few miles (or kilometres) away in a matter of swipes, and a lazy git can order themselves some grub in a matter of a second.

Online learning has mitigated the pandemic’s blow on education and the online content creation industry is booming beyond comprehension with its promises of self-expression and empowerment.

With that said, there’s an underlying power which undermines our entitlement to privacy, online anonymity and free speech. With the threat of government intervention, personal information leaks and market manipulation, to what extent can we truly celebrate the internet and remain dependent on the services that strip us of our autonomy?

THE PROCESS OF SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM Surveillance Capitalism, coined by former professor, Shoshana Zuboff in 2014, is the term used to describe a practise whereby the behaviour of internet users is tracked, recorded and exchanged amongst big tech companies and advertisers - big tech referring to the Silicon Valley giants.

This often happens under the guise of improving the user’s experience on a given website and oftentimes an algorithm will shape itself to suit one’s individual needs.

This new technology can explain why so many services are offered to us for free. Why else would internet providers attempt to outbid each other in order to provide free Wi-Fi to fast food chains and their billions of customers?

User data is a valuable resource, it’s a currency. It can be hard to imagine, but no data is too trivial to har-

vest.

Facebook and YouTube assess the content on their platforms using likes and comments. Google’s advanced search engine is reliant on the analysis of every misspelt word, click and page view in order to function effectively for its users. If this weren’t said within the context of privacy invasion and macroscale data mining, I’d be rather flattered.

The expansion and streamlining of these services is costly, but the rapid distribution of services across all online industries has created a competitive landscape where the highest attraction price for most consumers is none at all (because imagine paying for something, I scoff at the thought!) so conglomerates like Google package our data up to be sold off to third-party advertisers.

It’s how small purchases or browsing sessions haunt potential customers for weeks ahead across multiple platforms. That one car you did a quick Google search of two weeks back has come back as an advertisement sandwiched between two YouTube video recommendations.

The real kicker comes when advertising generates another revenue of data about how targeted users interact with these advertisements. It’s a constant feedback loop of users’ tastes being utilised by Google to predict consumer behaviours.

The service is improved to accommodate these behaviours. The range of consumers targeted increases.

Further profit is made.

Google used this method effectively first and has reaped the rewards of it ever since. It’s almost become its own economic base centred around the predictability and exploitation of our behaviour.

ADDRESSING PRIVACY VIOLATIONS Evidently, the nature of data mining is incredibly intrusive, being stalked on the daily and having those 22

observations sold off with very little compensation.

Google’s intentions seem to be to know what you want before you even input a search query. And unsurprisingly, the concept of privacy is one rejected by the various members of these conglomerates running the show.

Facebook has a long history of keeping tabs on users, yet CEO Mark Zuckerberg excused the system way back in 2009 with the infamous phrase, “if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.”

to understand that privacy is never necessarily about hiding criminality or concealing an unnerving truth.

A woman may be comfortable in her own skin but that doesn’t create an open invitation for others to stare at her changing through her window - that takes control away from the individual (and is undeniably creepy).

Funnily enough, Google likes to believe they utilise the mined data to observe “bad guys” and take countermeasures, or learn the typical behaviours of an innocent internet user to spot the “bad guys.” Very vigilante.

My naked data is being stared at by shady corporations but all is forgiven because justice! The existence of database breaches already says enough about this poor excuse of a “justice system.”

Google has famously said, as their slogan, “Don’t be evil,” and yet co-founder and current major shareholder, Larry Page, openly dreams of a society free from data-protection laws because, “there are many, many exciting and important things you could do that you just can’t do because they’re illegal.” Yikes.

THE CAUSE FOR IGNORANCE Obviously, there’s no clear cut solution to such a conundrum because we as the general public are blinded by the gimmicks provided to us. We love convenience to a fault.

How can you reject Amazon’s stalking of your product search when everyone else seems indifferent to your consumerist wants and needs?

In response, I can only quote an open letter to Eric Schmidt in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “The essence of freedom is precisely the fact that I am not obliged to disclose everything that I’m doing, that I have a right to confidentiality and, yes, even to secrets.”

Perhaps Zuckerberg wouldn’t mind sharing his home CCTV footage - it’s as if he’s got anything to hide, right? What’s there to fear?

Of course, if you’re not one for eloquence, you could be snarky and say, “show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” instead or, an even snarkier, “none of your business.”

But then you can’t really be snarky because snarky is suspicious to most of these tech giants. They fail 23

Sure, the algorithm is buggy when I’m sent advertisements of USB mini-B cables weeks after the only purchase I’ll ever make of one (because who manufactures products with mini-B cable ports anymore?) but at least the nature of artificial intelligence has adapted these technologies to curate a list of other products that might entice my digitally native brain.

Similarly, no average man’s going to pull a Karl Marx and tremble at our position as, “slaves to the system,” especially when the extent of our exploitation is as unimaginable as the fourth dimension - who cares about a threat they can’t conceptualise?

What makes the threat of surveillance capitalism so hard to conceptualise is the detachment felt between us and the data about us being stored in those fancy machines. It’s all just binary, right?

Ones and twos. Else/if statements. “It doesn’t affect

me directly, sooo…” In truth, it’s easy to sweep the issue under the rug because otherwise it seems as though you’re yelling at a brick wall.

How do you explain such a complex system of oppression to someone in a society where freedom and meritocracy seem to be a given?

It doesn’t help that online technology is still so new.

Even after the founding fathers of the internet warned the public of the internet’s ability to become a weapon of domination, we’ve been left unprepared for the power that’d be wielded by the conglomerates.

A dependence has been developed by the majority of the population to the point where access to the internet has been deemed a fundamental human right by most, according to the BBC over a decade ago.

As Marx’s idea of a distinction between the proletariat and bourgeoisie crumbles in this postmodern society, competition amongst individuals to achieve a fulfilling life has spiralled and these competitors are using these online services to fuel their endeavours.

Some depend on social media to improve their self image and reputation in school, others depend on social media to survive.

This new mutation of Capitalism is so sneaky in how it integrates itself into our lives. Google is one of the biggest offenders, creeping its way into our lives with the biggest search engine, video platform, browser, mobile operating system and email provider in the world.

We’re used to choosing between competitors when shopping and yet it’s impossible to avoid Google despite disagreeing with their practises because competition against Google is scarce and ineffective.

So that begs the question of how we can protect ourselves from this threat. Is it even possible to become self-sufficient in our own data management and website navigation after this new technology has spoon-fed everything to us? Possibly.

want it off their screens.

Rather, the specific use of the data collected and the consequences of it should be highlighted in these agreements.

This could potentially reduce the amount of extraction but might also compel data miners to provide some degree of financial compensation and possibly extra security for such vulnerable data.

A micro example of this idea of compensation is being expanded upon somewhat through services such as Swagbucks and Toluna, websites which offer exchangeable points in exchange for the user’s willingful engagement in a variety of surveys.

Earning money through these means is a lengthy process, the legitimacy of most survey sites is questionable and there’s no telling how this kind of engagement could replace Google’s current means of data mining. It’s a nice thought, though.

Even without government intervention, we could look into the potential Google has in setting a good example of transparency for its consumers - disclosing all the inner workings of the algorithms, the changes to these algorithms, leaving IP addresses alone and automatic cookie deletion. Whether data is recorded or not could be exclusively up to the user.

However, this would jeopardise Google’s position as a digital monopoly. There’s a reason streaming has become the desired method of media distribution, because people know how to copy and paste files.

It can be argued that the boom in piracy is what led to content streaming in the first place. Google understands this, most software developers do, which is why they’d be more than hesitant to fully explain the secrets to their success. Copy and paste. And Google can’t trust that they’ll reach the same level of success if their customers become wary of their services.

CONCLUSION There are solutions to tackling this new age surveillance, but it’d require the efforts of potentially millions of users. Is it possible? Definitely.

THE FIGHT AGAINST INVASION Some call for governments to strengthen user privacy rights. This could be done through websites requiring an opt-in agreement more specific than the general cookie acceptance pop-up most users shrug off and begrudgingly accept because it’s a nuisance and they

Ideas circulate and turn into global movements nowadays, we’ve collectively fought against and boycotted industries which have wronged us and oftentimes a change is made because of it.

Should we be able to educate each other on the consequences of handing our data over to a higher power, I don’t see any reason for pessimism.

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