The Barometer Half Term 1 2021-22

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BAROMETER September - October 2021

HALF TERm 1

CONTENTS: Year 7 Welcome Residential

Spiderman No Way Home Isaac M

My 5 Favourite Anime Series - Zain S

Go Kart Build - Sherif K and William PN

Transfer Season 2021-22 Martin V

2022 USA Mid-term predictions - Felipe E

The Mousetrap - George H

The Future of Fusion – An Energetic Burst of Optimism - Matteo H

Boris Johnson breaks manifesto and raises taxes Edward P Book Review: Black Tudors: The Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann - Mr. Robertshaw Bill Traylor: The muted expression - Mikhail D WSS Piano Recital - Deni D ‘Know Your Prof ’- Tommaso S

My Trip to Aegina - Stepan K WSS Peru trip - Devan S Year 9 Welcome Residential Erwin James: Prison Reform Lecture at WSS - Tommaso S The Events Leading Up To Taliban Situation in Afghanistan - Samuel M Space: Vanity project or worthwhile venture - Ian S

1C3 PEAK - Barnaby M-J London Zoo’s history - Daniel W Emma Raducanu – British Teen Tennis Sensation - Maani N The History of the Meme Jamie B The Energy Crisis: What is it and how might you be affected? - Kaveh K The Zeitguide - Taddeo B

The Barometer Front Cover Competition Cover photograph Nikolaos P, Year 13 Highly commended: Aiden U, Year 13 Jasper H, Year 10 Jeremy B, Year 12 Luke T, Year 9 Huge congratulations to all the boys who entered photographs.

Keep an eye out for next Terms cover competition.

Year 7 Welcome Residential

Go-Kart Build Sherif K and William PN, Year 13 write…

After lockdown, three of us (Sherif, William, and Aryav), then in Year 12, decided to group together. At the time, we were talking about personal statements for university applications and the sorts of activities we could include therein. Sherif came up with the idea that we build a go-kart over a period of several weeks, given that we were all interested in furthering our studies in a technical direction involving either maths or engineering. In addition, we thought this would be an excellent opportunity to enhance our teamwork and problem solving skills.

Furthermore, having spent so long doing virtual learning, it would be fun to have a hands-on group experience after many months of lockdown.

Prior to the build, Sherif had been conducting online research about the project, during which he searched for the right engine to construct. Through this preparation, all of us were able to form a general idea of what the building process would be like, as well as how the finished product would look.

In May 2021, the three of us embarked on the ambitious project of building a go-kart, beginning with the engine. At the start, we had nothing more than a box of unassembled components.

We began by putting together the carburettor, which we attached to the engine block by screwing it on.

We then fitted the fuel lines to the carburettor and the engine block and the radiator to the side of the

Subsequently, we completed the holder for the battery. This meant that it was now time to add a key component of the whole engine – the battery itself. Before fitting the battery to the engine, we had to drain the battery fluid from a separate container and into the battery itself, which was an extremely nerve-racking process.

Carburetor

Battery

Radiator engine block. However, having done this, we realised that we had positioned the radiator the wrong way round, resulting in us having to disassemble and reattach it.

We then constructed the air filter.

Air Filter

Once all the fluid had reached the battery, we moved onto the final step: attaching the exhaust. This was one of the most challenging aspects of the build as it required a lot of patience, and it was difficult to execute given the proportions.

However, once we had completed this stage, the entire engine was complete, much to our relief.

In conclusion, despite the many challenges that came our way throughout the duration of the project, we found it to be extremely fulfilling; our satisfaction at the end more than paid off for our moments of despair during the build. We would definitely recommend such a project to anyone who is looking for an opportunity to take on a self-directed, team-working project that delivers a tangible result.

Good luck!

2022 USA Mid-term predictions Felipe E, Year 7 writes…

In about a year and two months, the USA will have a mid-term election during which the congress and the Senate will be at stake. The Democrats start off with a fairly big disadvantage as President Joe Biden has a relatively low approval rating. The Democrats’ majority in the House is five seats and the Senate is even with the Vice-President using the tie-breaking vote.

not have control and they will not be able to legislate effectively.

Their ambitious climate agenda is likely to fail; Biden then would have low approval ratings going into the 2024 election, meaning that he could be a one-term President.

A Democrat house and senate would ensure that Biden would

get his priorities done and should have very high approval ratings.

This means he could have a high chance of winning the next election. His major policies are police reform, affordable healthcare for all, and others.

Biden would then enter the 2024 election with a very high approval rating and would consequently win the election by a big margin.

History tells us that the Democrats will lose their majority in the House unless a miracle happens.

In the Senate, the Republicans only need to pick up one seat; their targets are Georgia and Arizona. So, the Democrats will

Boris Johnson Breaks Manifesto and Raises Taxes Edward P, Year 12 writes…

Recently, Boris Johnson has made headlines across the U.K. due to his unexpected decision to raise taxes for employers and employees earning more than £9,568. He proposed to raise the taxes by 1.25% in April 2022, as well as the taxation of dividends. However, a small selection of people are not affected by this and do not need to pay this tax. This includes people who only receive pension income and certain landlords and investors.

Many people’s complaints originate from the fact that this rise in taxes would mean that Boris Johnson is breaking his election manifesto commitment, in which

he said that he would not raise tax rates to aid the weaknesses of the social care system.

The main reason for needing to invest in the national health service is that 5 million people aren’t getting the health care they need, which, according to health secretary Sajid Javid, could rise to around 13 million if no action is taken. Therefore, with plans to raise around £12 billion a year in extra taxes, Boris Johnson plans to improve this. However, Tory MPs fear that most of this money will end up being spent on the NHS, leaving very little money to improve social care (which includes child protection, counselling, residential care etc.)

Moreover, health experts have doubts on whether this money

will be enough to actually fix any of the deep-rooted issues within the NHS. In addition, despite Boris Johnson winning comfortably with a 61-vote majority in the House of Commons, not everyone is happy with this decision. Dominic Cummings, who used to serve as chief adviser to Boris Johnson, said, “Why should young people on average and below average incomes lose disposable income to pay for another subsidy for the older middle classes? This is bad police and bad politics.” What does this mean for the future and will this tax raise remain as it is?

Source: The Financial Times

Book Review: Black Tudors: The Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann From the History Department: Mr. Robertshaw writes…

Black Tudors is a well-researched work, which serves to repopulate our historical imagination of the Tudor Period with a more appropriately diverse cast of non-European participants. As such, it is not a modern attempt to shoe-horn diversity into the past – notwithstanding a title that consciously hints at this – but rather an honest endeavour to highlight some remarkable forgotten stories from an era that few would associate with black gentlewomen, merchants, and courtiers. As Kaufmann suggests in her introduction to the book, recent television dramas have done us all a disservice by leaving an impression of the period that is substantially more monochromatic than it actually was. She also expresses the hope that her research will counter a pervasive assumption that the black experience of England prior to the arrival of HMT Empire

Windrush was one exclusively of “enslavement and racial discrimination.”

With contemporary interest in primary accounts at an all-time high, and historians scrapping over every nuanced thought process of the “subaltern,” Black Tudors is also very apposite in its detailed retelling of ten overlooked life stories, as a series of micro-biographies. Its characters variously include a trumpeter of Henry VIII, a salvage diver (at a time when few could even swim), a West African prince, a mariner who sailed with Sir Francis Drake, and an “independent single-woman,” whose story makes us question not only race, but also gender, in the Tudor Period. Each chapter is narrated in an engaging style that prompts the reader to identify closely with characters’ interests and motivations, yet not so much that it ever feels condescending or speculative. The book is also rich in source material: with fascinating descriptions of the types of food consumed, the work performed, the music appreciated, and the status courted; as each sought a better life in this land of unanticipated opportunity.

With respect to Wetherby’s own budding historians, Black Tudors offers an abundance of first-hand material, which might be usefully incorporated into GCSE or A level writing. The micro-biographical structure of the book also lends itself well to dipping in and out of between classes. For those with more of a taste for historical fiction, another work that

comes highly recommended by Wetherby’s History Department is The Honey and the Sting by E.C. Freemantle, which is set in pre-Civil War England. Unlike Kaufmann, Freemantle casts a black character as the main protagonist in a thrilling murder mystery, which includes elements of the supernatural. Both recent historical works are an invaluable resource for pupils and adults alike, and perfect for any wishing to take advantage of Black History Month to gain a fuller understanding of the forgotten voices of British history.

Bill Traylor: The muted expression Mikhail D, Year 13 writes…

Bill Traylor was a self-taught African-American painter born in 1854 Alabama. Born into slavery, Traylor began a late career in painting that transcended to become one of the most unique and emotional bodies of work ever seen in outsider art.

We know very little about Traylor’s personal life. At the age of 80, when most people would start to settle down with their lives, Traylor moved to the city of Montgomery, but he soon found himself homeless and without work. Traylor had a very tough life; he had to work hard to sustain himself. It wasn’t until Traylor was completely unable to work fulltime that he sat down, reflected on his life, and realised that he had a story to tell. Since Traylor didn’t know how to write, he proceeded to express himself through his paintings.

Traylor’s works were often made on pieces of packaging that he would find or receive from other people. His art consisted of simplistic drawings of humans and animals doing day-to-day activities like taking a walk or building a house. In a sense, they are an illustrative record of his life and the things he saw around him. The time period

when he made these works is very rarely depicted in art from such a personal perspective. Traylor was alive at a time when slavery was slowly being abolished in America and his work provides an incredibly moving and expressive commentary to the situation at that time.

At first glance, his paintings might seem like naïve depictions of simple occurrences that everyone could relate to. However, as one dives deeper into the meaning of his work, one begins to uncover a deep metaphorical subjectivity.

At the time, it was incredibly dangerous for an AfricanAmerican to express his views on slavery. Therefore, in order to be able to explore his feelings on his environment, Traylor had to disguise the contextual meaning of his work in flat simplified forms.

In one of Traylor’s works, titled “Man and a Large Dog,” (1939-42) we see a depiction of a white man walking a very big dog on a leash.

It is strongly speculated among art historians that what is really going on in this artwork is a comment on the unfairness of the white population holding tight control over the large black population in America at that time.

Drawings of animals are commonly seen in Traylor’s work.

They were often used to represent things that would be dangerous for the artist to outline literally in his work. When one sees works of angry dogs barking at each other or horses being used to plow fields by men, it is important to recognise that they often represent a deep message of unfair treatment of black people in early 20th century American society.

In my opinion, the power of Traylor’s work can be credited to its simplicity. He created an incredibly original language through his work. He came up with his own symbolism and his own ways of distilling the very complicated subjects around him in a way which manages to capture the time period he lived in very vividly.

Traylor is a monumental example of the importance of art in society.

Through his work, we see how essential self-expression can be to us. If Traylor had never felt the urge to express himself, we might never have been able to appreciate such an emotional piece of firstperson commentary about such a tragic moment in human history.

What we must learn from Traylor is that art is one of the most powerful tools we have and we must do everything we can to make sure we utilise its endless possibilities of it. We need to pass it onto latter generations, so that they may learn from our society, reflect on it, and improve.

WSS Piano Recital Deni D, Year writes...

On Monday, the 11 October, Wetherby hosted their Autumn Piano Recitals. This was so exciting because for the first time in 2 years we were all invited to perform… live!

I began playing my piece: “La Chevaleresque”.

There was an incredibly diverse collection of pieces played by the best pianists of Wetherby Senior.

The evening started with Mozart’s “Minuet in C”, progressing to

and teachers were incredibly supportive, and each performer was given a huge round of applause! Having two members of my year with me was great, as they were very supportive and fun to be with.

The concert featured classical music, some jazzy pieces and even relaxing but modern ones.

It was great to hear such a variety of pieces and see such a range of performers.

This was the first live concert since 2019 and it was definitely a fantastic one! Some performers were slightly nervous but other pianists, especially those who had already played, were smiling and were very supportive, encouraging others to play their best.

With 15 performers and pieces of complexity ranging from Grade 2 to Grade 8, the concert was incredibly interesting to listen to.

Personally, I was slightly nervous about playing in front of a large audience (I think others were too) and, having taken a deep breath,

Bach’s “Prelude in C minor” all the way to “In Dreams” (featured in Lord of the Rings). The evening lasted about 30 minutes, and with so many enjoyable performances it felt more like 10.

All the students, parents

Having discovered some great music and some great performers, the evening came to an end. I definitely look forward to future concerts hosted. I am certain they will be just as good, and maybe even better.

‘Know Your Prof’ Tommaso S, Year 13 writes...

Ms Ataii joined the Wetherby Senior School community in 2018 as both a GCSE and A-level Chemistry teacher, and thereafter as the Head of Chemistry. Those that have had the chance to meet her will agree that she possesses a magnetic personality, and that the science department here at WSS should feel very glad to have her on their team.

Today, we thank Ms Ataii for giving us the chance to be interviewed for The Barometer, as well as a chance to get to know her a little better.

Let’s begin.

Has teaching always been your main occupation?

No, I used to work as an accounts manager for John Lewis headquarters.

What do you enjoy the most about teaching?

The moment I see the sparkle in my students’ eyes when they grasp an abstract concept is by far the best part of my job. I would never be able to replace that with anything else.

Did you always see yourself following a career path to do with the world of Chemistry? When did you make this choice? What helped you decide? Did anyone in particular inspire you to consider a career in Chemistry?

Where I’m from, you get assigned a university course based on your grades in the national exams.

My choices were midwifery and chemistry, and based on my father’s advice, I decided to study Chemistry. It was a great choice and I’ve never looked back.

If you weren’t a chemist, what would you see yourself becoming instead?

A mathematician. I love Maths – but that’s my second calling after Chemistry.

Which topic in the GCSE and/or A-level syllabus is your favourite to teach? Why? Gibbs free energy in the A-Level syllabus. It explains why and how things happen to the fullest extent.

To cut a long story short, I ended up being tailed to the school by the traffic police, who said goodbye to me wishing me good luck to get home with my terrible sense of direction!

We’re all very aware of the range of complications of remote learning after experiencing them first-hand during a very challenging year.

Were you able to find a positive swing to counteract this whilst teaching from home?

Not having to do the long commute in the morning, and teaching in the comfort of my own home.

One adjective to describe your students during remote learning.

What is something which isn’t currently in the GCSE or A level Chemistry syllabus which you would love to teach your students here at WSS, and why?

Can I say ‘remote’? On a serious note, mostly very focused and diligent.

The chemistry of food, because it’s important for students to understand the concepts of chemicals in our daily food, so they can make decisions about what they eat and what they choose to put in their bodies.

Apprehensive, since the one-toone contact was much harder on Teams.

Can you share with us the funniest moment you’ve ever experienced as a teacher?

As a newly qualified teacher, I had to visit a school in Epping Forest to do some collaborative work with other teachers. I do not have a particularly good sense of direction, and at that time there was no Sat-Nav or mobile phones – you had to navigate using only the A-Z. I had gotten so lost that I had to stop on the hard shoulder.

One adjective to describe you during remote learning.

If you are told that you can leave school two hours early out of the blue, what would you do, with the current Covid-19 restrictions in mind? What about without said restrictions?

Call my daughter and ask her to meet me for a nice meal.

This is a tad cliché, but if you were an element of the Periodic Table, which one do you think you’d be?

Why? Fluorine, becau

se it’s the most electronegative element which attracts a bonding pair of electrons towards itself. So small yet so powerful!

If you had the chance to go out and have lunch with any actor or actress, who would you choose?

Why? Al Pacino because he’s my favourite actor, or Meryl Streep as she is my favourite actress.

What’s the one film which you believe the world couldn’t live without?

The Piano (the one directed by Jane Campion in 1993). And The Godfather, of course.

Are you currently reading a book?

Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe by Serhii Plokhy.

What’s the one book which you believe the world couldn’t live without (chemistry textbooks don’t count!)?

I can’t comment on a book that the world couldn’t live without but two of my favourite books are:

E-books, yes or no? Why? I love my Kindle. It’s so convenient and you never forget which page you were on.

To finish on a high note, what’s the one piece of advice you would like to pass onto your students?

Life is a journey. Don’t be in a rush to get to the end – enjoy the ride!

The Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Spiderman No Way Home Isaac M, Year 8 writes…

With the release of the No Way Home Teaser Trailer, many fan theories have speculated about the return of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire. In a recent interview with Jimmy Fallon, Garfield denied being in the film despite video and photographic evidence of him on set with Tom Holland. On the other hand, fans have quite a different approach towards Tobey Maguire’s return, claiming that he has been hinting

at his return by discretely winking to them after being asked the question.

The return of Alfred Molina’s Doctor Otto Octavius was revealed with a menacing “Hello Peter” at the end of the teaser.

Also, the return of the Green Goblin is confirmed, but it is unclear which one it is as we only saw his grenade being thrown onto the road. Jamie Foxx’s Electro was confirmed with thunderbolts raining down into a sandstorm, which could be caused by the

sandman from Tobey Maguire’s trilogy.

The No Way Home Teaser Trailer set a record for the most-viewed trailer across all platforms. With an insane 355.5 million views, it beats the previous record of 289 million views set by the biggest film of all time: Avengers Endgame. This may be due to it being a lot more anticipated than Avengers Endgame.

Transfer Season 2021-22 Marty V, Year 7 writes…

From Ronaldo to Manchester United, Messi to PSG, this transfer window has been one of the most active so far. There has been so much gossip this year about different people going to different clubs and many things have changed. Two of the best players in the world have moved club: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Ronaldo went back to his old club, Manchester United, and Messi went to PSG. Messi ended up bankrupting Barcelona FC, which now has over $1 billion of debt. 19-year-old Jordan Sancho has arrived to play for Manchester United, as has Raphael Varane.

Manchester United has been one of the most active teams on the transfer front. Another active team on the transfer front was PSG, who got five fresh players: Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, and Georginio Wijnaldum. One of the most expensive transfers that has happened is Jack Grealish to Manchester City for £100 million.

He used to play for Aston Villa.

Another surprising transfer was Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea, who were looking for a new striker.

Another interesting transfer this year was Dayot Upamecano, although fewer people are aware of it.

Another transfer that is happening is Antoine Griezmann from Barcelona back to his old club, Atlético Madrid.

This year, there was one club that we all thought was falling behind and was not going to succeed or make any transfers: Arsenal. They bought Ben White from Brighton for £52.65 million. They also bought Martin Ødegaard from Real Madrid. The 29-year-old centre back, David Alaba moved from FC Bayern to Real Madrid, who previously sold Varane to Manchester United. One more huge transfer that happened was Memphis Depay to Barcelona.

Messi left Barcelona, leaving them bankrupt, so they needed a new CAM and bought Depay from Olympique Lyonnais. After the Dutchman played well in the EUROS, clubs were looking to buy him.

The Mousetrap

George H, Year 9 writes...

This simply fantastic play written by the famous Agatha Christy is a joy to watch. The suspense, the drama is one to let your eyes feast on. The murder mystery The Mousetrap was performed at St Martins’ theatre in the West End. It is a small theatre, but the atmosphere was great. My favourite part was at the interval where we would go round asking who we thought did it. There were a range of guesses, however I will not tell you who I thought it was –this is a spoiler-free review and you’ll have to go and find out for yourself.

The acting and actors I thought some of the acting on display was great with convincing deaths and a nagging thought in your head “who did it?” as they gave nothing away. My favourite character was the inspector because he had a few funny and witty lines.

The setting I loved the background because it gave a warm, cosy home vibe. The attention to detail and accuracy were stunning, with intricate designs on the wall and the perspectives of the stairs, made you believe that the house could go on and expand to the other rooms. One thing that stunned me was that while the play was going on it was always snowing

outside and when they opened the window it swung back and forth like it was blowing in the wind.

In conclusion, I would say this is a fantastic play and is a must see if you are into murder mystery. All of the teachers loved it as did the students.

My Trip to Aegina Stepan K, Year 12 writes…

Over the summer holidays, I was rather fortunate to be able to visit many countries, however, the one that truly stuck out to me as such a beautiful and exciting place was a little island south of Athens called Aegina. I went there to meet up with long time family friends as they had kindly invited me to stay with them for about ten days.

In that time, I had such a blast and saw such beautiful, picturesque places that astounded me. Mostly I was blown away by the sea, the water was as clear as glass, even if the depth was rather intimidating.

Additionally, the aspect of local Greek, homemade food could not be understated, every day I would have some sort of fresh catch from the ocean or a Greek salad which just melts in your mouth.

Moreover, another fantastic activity that I did was going on long runs, but if you’re not an avid runner I highly recommend you go for long walks. There are so many alluring places on the island.

Even though I was there for ten days I wasn’t able to visit all the landmarks.

I would say that it was an incredible opportunity for me to go there and I highly encourage you to do the same during your upcoming holidays.

WSS Peru trip Devan S, Year 12 writes....

Have you ever dreamed of visiting the world’s largest rainforest? Or maybe seeing one of the seven wonders of the world? Well you’re in luck because on the 8th July 2022, Wetherby will be running another school trip to Peru for 10 days.One of the places that we will be visiting if you go is Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is an Incan fortress high in the Andes mountains. It was built in the 15th century by an Incan

ruler and is 2430 metres high.

Its sophisticated dry-stone walls and panoramic views will blow you away. Another place we will be going too is Cusco, the launching point of Machu Picchu.

Hidden in the Peruvian Andes, Cusco used to be at the capital of the Incan Empire, but now it hosts over 2 million tourists per year. Its wooden carvings and Incan architecture are a must see.

Twenty kilometres North of Cusco is the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

The Sacred Valley was the most

fertile area of land throughout the Incan Empire. Its green pastures spread for 60 kilometres and will amaze you with steep slopes and lush colours. On the trip you will also visit Lima, the capital of Peru, which lies on the country’s arid Pacific coast. It’s one of South America’s largest cities and its attractions help to preserve the history of Peru’s ancient civilisations.

We hope to see you there!

Year 9 Welcome Residential

Erwin James: Prison Reform Lecture at WSS Tommaso S, Year 13 writes...

On Monday 13th September, Wetherby Senior School welcomed an incredibly special speaker to kickstart the “Critical Thinking about Modern Britain” lecture programme. Joined by Queen’s College, London, WSS invited Erwin James to give a lecture on prison reform in the UK. Erwin is a well-known writer (‘A Life Inside: A Prisoner’s Notebook (2003), ‘The Home Stretch: From Prison to Parole’ (2005) and ‘Redeemable: A Memoir of Darkness and Hope’ (2016)) and columnist working for The Guardian since 1998. But the most significant aspect for us was that he was able to talk about prison reform directly from his own personal experience. Erwin, in fact, was a convicted murderer sentenced to life imprisonment and has served a total of nineteen years and eight months in jail before his release in August 2004.

The phrase “survival of the fittest” was the first thing which came to mind when Erwin explained how it was everyone against everyone within those concrete walls; only the sneakiest and most treacherous inmates had a chance of survival. The general idea which Erwin constantly emphasised was that prison was a truly hostile environment, with inmates ranging from informants and thieves to terrorists and killers.

An unwritten, corrupt moral code (like inmates killing those responsible for heinous crimes themselves) overlaps and mixes with the official rules of prison.

As students, we only hear about this in movies, like Shawshank

Redemption and Prison Break or documentaries specifically about prison life. Hearing it directly from an actual inmate on how he fought against the odds in a hostile environment reminded us all of the harsh conditions of prison life that all modern states are experiencing, and hardly trying to solve.

I was quite moved when Erwin described the cell where he spent nearly two decades in concrete floor, one window with iron bars and a rusty bucket as the closest thing to a toilet. The details meagrely helped us to vividly picture the greyness of the cell and to contemplate the greyness of his time spent in it.

At some point during his time in prison, something new happened.

Erwin began to talk to Joan, the prison psychiatrist, and a journey of awareness began for him. Joan was the only one who treated him and the other inmates like actual human beings, constantly

reminding Erwin that he still had some value in him. He started reading and studying. Their discussions persuaded him to enrol in evening education classes and after ten years, he received a degree in history. He soon became a point of reference amongst the inmates, who started to ask him to write letters for them as he was the only one in jail who could read and write. Erwin distinctly remembered how an inmate once asked him if he could write a letter to his wife, how another inmate asked one for his girlfriend, and then how another even asked him to write a letter for both his wife and girlfriend.

The parole board (the independent body that carries out risk assessments on prisoners to determine whether they can be safely released into the community) supported Erwin’s early release in 2004, and he started his career as a writer and journalist from then.

As the Q&A approached, Erwin told us that this was the chance to ask any burning questions, no matter how personal they may be. He mentioned how he tried to write nothing but the truth when he was publishing articles whilst in prison, but he also revealed that he refrained from including specific details to prevent any barriers to publishing his works.

When asked what we could do to help and to better understand this delicate topic about prison life and the chance of reform, Erwin suggested we always look at all the facts when considering someone’s criminal life, otherwise we are unjustly condemning someone without properly knowing everything.

Something which Erwin said towards the end really stuck with me: he admitted that “[He knew he] couldn’t make amends for [his] past, but at least [he] was now given a chance to be the person [he] could, and should,

have been from the very start.”

One of the boys here at WSS asked if he had any faith in the current justice system. He bluntly said no.

This encounter left me with a lot of thoughts and takeaways. Erwin acknowledged that there is never an actual excuse for crime, but he also wisely added that if one looks back into a criminal’s past, you can untangle their life to the point where you can find the source of it all; the root of their trauma which caused them to carry out criminal activities.

I reflected upon how the living environment in which one is brought up can tremendously affect one’s life, now and in the future. I also realised that a person who has always lived in a violent and unsafe home, may have never experienced a life where crime is socially condemned and punished.

That person may have never properly experienced a loved one’s sentiment to the point where they felt like they did not matter

anymore, leading them on a path of crime.

Also, Joan talking to Erwin and supporting him with everything she had to make him understand that there is some positive value in all of us, reminds us how fortunate it is that committed and inspiring people are involved in these crucial rehabilitation programmes in prisons. What is less positive is that disputes about the effectiveness of these rehabilitation programs are still recurring nowadays.

As an avid reader, what caught my attention was also the role that books had played in this story.

I felt a remarkably close bond between Erwin and his books. I can imagine that they may have kept him company during his journey towards rehabilitation, as well as giving him hope for a future career outside of jail. They must have been like friends to him, that helped him get through a lot without judgement or prejudice.

The encouraging ending to this is that modern society seems to be ready to give people who have wronged in the past but have committed themselves to bettering their life, much like Erwin, a second chance.

Finally, a student from Queen’s College, London asked about his opinion on the death penalty, to which he answered that it was a complete waste of time and life.

He added that no one should have the right to take life from another.

This response marked the end of the lecture and sounded as if Erwin’s long journey to achieve social and personal rehabilitation had finally come to an end.

The Events Leading Up To Taliban Situation in Afghanistan Samuel M, Year 9 writes…

It all started due to the 9/11 attack on the twin towers by two hijacked planes: the American Government decided to respond to the attack.

Soon, troops were rolling into Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. The targets of the campaign were primarily extremist groups located throughout the Muslim world, the most notorious of the groups being Al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

The focus was on the countries associated with Al-Qaeda as they were the biggest extremist group controlling numerous territories.

The USA assassinated their leader, but bombing on either side reached terrifyingly destructive levels.

Al-Qaeda have since retreated across the border to Pakistan, which has since become corrupted by their rule. In 2013, the “war on terror,” named by President George W. Bush, officially came to an end when President Barack Obama made an official statement that the USA had ended their combat role with the extremist groups. Much of the fighting was done before this time and the USA sent a thousand special forces troops into Afghanistan with pledged future alliances with Germany, Australia, France, and Canadian military forces at the end of 2000.

Not only that, but they also sent their most destructive bombers to Afghanistan, including B-52 heavy bombers. Just south-east of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda’s leader escaped to Pakistan. On 5th December 2001, a former king was put on the throne and an interim government was formed. It was thought that the Taliban were gone with the surrender of their military.

Movement leader, Mullah Omar, escaped across the border and the main Taliban force surrendered, but Al-Qaeda still held out in the mountains near Kabul.

In 2007, a major Taliban figure was killed during a joint operation by the US and other combined forces, as a crackdown began on Afghanistan. In 2009, President Barack Obama recommitted US forces in Afghanistan to keep going. In 2011, the USA finally got their redemption for the 9/11 attack by eliminating Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for the attack on the twin towers.

By 2014, US troops began their withdrawal from Afghanistan after years of fighting. 2021 saw the final successful evacuation of troops, but at the great cost of a Taliban takeover of the country. The Taliban need to think carefully about their approach to managing the people of Afghanistan because they don’t want to seem like international pariahs, like when they were first in charge of the country, but they are limiting women’s rights. This could make them the targets of a rebellion, but people are too scared to rise up with the withdrawal of troops and no one to protect them. The Taliban are taking extreme measures, making NATO leaders sceptical about trusting them. The Taliban have also demanded a seat with the NATO leaders. If they are deemed dangerous and not allowed the seat, all ties with Afghanistan will be cut, including trade routes, food, and communications. This means if the Western leaders deem them too dangerous, they will crumble and fail at leading an unstable Afghan public and if they take their measures too far, we could see the troops go back into Afghanistan. US President Joe Biden says nothing is for granted or certain.

Space: Vanity project or worthwhile venture Ian S, Year 7 writes…

After a year of a pandemic, inequality has risen and so has inflation while GDP has shrunk; many are asking what to cut, some turn to the stars.

So, is space exploration worth it?

It depends on who you ask.

On one side, many argue there is no value to spending billions on blasting expensive rockets into space that often blow-up wasting millions and sometimes even end lives. The current Nasa budget is a staggering $22.6 billion (about $70 per person in the US) this begs the question why spend that much money on frankly a flex of power over other countries when it could be spent saving lives in any sector from healthcare (funding desperately needed in the US) to security and policing.

Then of course there is the famous argument that other space projects like colonizing Mars to escape climate change far outweigh the cost of fixing climate change.

It would cost ten trillion to set up a martian colony. Which is enough money to pay off huge debts, invest in infrastructure and expand welfare.

on earth from the ISS. In short, the ISS has helped us create new water purification systems: helping drought prone areas, disease breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer and asthma.

Agriculture techniques have also been vastly improved along with hundreds of other life-changing breakthroughs; not to mention that all these projects are building towards humanity’s final big achievement of becoming a multi planetary species and the worth of becoming one is unwarranted as it would free us from worries of apocalypse wiping out humanity and ensure a constant human presence in the universe.

On the other hand, space projects can be argued to have their worth.

Space projects can often have huge positive impacts on the average person. For example, Nasa published 3 huge books full of the wide-ranging benefits we feel

With projects like Artemis to build an ISS around the moon, SpaceX Mars Colony 1 on track and space tourism beginning with all civilian flights for £50k it is up to you.

Waste or not?

My 5 Favourite Anime Series

Zain S, Year 9 writes...

Anime is like marmite to a lot of people; you either love it or you hate it (or you don’t know about it). Anime is stereotyped by controversial genres or series.

Although I admit that there are a lot of bad anime series, there are many good ones as well. Here are my top five anime series (in no particular order).

Tokyo Ghoul The Tokyo Ghoul series is known as being a violent horror series.

But in my opinion, it is much deeper than that. Tokyo Ghoul is about a world full of ghouls creatures who are like humans in every way, except that they can’t eat normal food. Instead, the only food that they can eat is human flesh. The protagonist is an ordinary college student named Ken Kaneki. One day, he gets preyed on by a ghoul, but

then, steel beams collapse on the ghoul, supposedly killing her.

The protagonist is badly injured by the ghoul and must have an organ transplant. The only donor is the ghoul, but the doctors didn’t know that she was a ghoul. When Kaneki wakes up, and leaves the hospital, he finds that he cannot eat human food. He stumbles upon a café. The world knows it as a normal café and it serves humans, but it is run by ghouls.

The ghouls take him in. The genre of the series is tragedy, and it is about the protagonist trying to understand the ghoul world and trying to get the human world to understand that not all ghouls are evil. In my opinion, the manga is better than the anime, because the anime portrays it more like a horror series and doesn’t represent the tragedy correctly. There is a sequel, called Tokyo Ghoul:re.

Re:Starting Life in Another World from ZERO A regular guy decides to go out to go shopping, but on the way back home, he gets hit by a truck.

After having died, he wakes up in a fantasy world. All he has is his phone, which has no service and will run out of battery quickly, and his shopping. But the protagonist has a special rule that applies only to him - he can ‘Return by Death’.

He has ‘save points’ and when he dies, he gets to reset them. But there are two things that apply to that rule: first, he still feels the pain of death, so by midway through the series, he is mentally broken. Second, he cannot tell anyone about ‘Return by Death’.

That Time that I was Reincarnated as a Slime This is another series about as regular person who dies and is resurrected in a fantasy world.

But he is reincarnated as a type of monster that is known to be the weakest type of monster: a slime.

Most slimes are weak and cannot think, but this slime is extremely overpowered. He is incredibly intelligent, heat resistant, pain resistant, and can regenerate any health lost in seconds. He goes on to start a peaceful monster nation and to make trade deals with other nations, like the dwarf nation and the half-animal nation.

Sword Art Online

My Hero Academia

In 2022, a new device called the NerveGear was released. Using the NerveGear, you can enter virtual worlds using a process called full dive. Sword Art Online is the first game that is released using Full Dive. Sword Art Online is a virtual world set in a floating structure called Aincrad. Aincrad is made up off 100 floors. People enter the game and start playing. But on the first day of release, all the 10,000 players are summoned to the centre of the starter town. They are told that they will not be able to log out of the game until all 100 floors are cleared. But if you die in the game, you die in real life.

In the near future, humans have evolved. Now 80% of all humans possess superpowers called quirks. This caused the rise of people using their powers for evil, villains, as well as heroes to fight them. The protagonist, Deku, wants to be a hero, but he is one of the 20% of the population that don’t have a quirk. Everyone has told him that he has no chance of getting into U.A, the best hero school, but all that changes after a chance-meeting with the world’s most famous superhero, AllMight.

The Future of Fusion – An Energetic Burst of Optimism Matteo H, Year 12 writes…

Fusion is a type of nuclear reaction wherein atoms of hydrogen are fused together, releasing, kilogram for kilogram, about ten million times the energy obtained when burning coal. Crucially, it also liberates far less radioactive waste.

The National Ignition Facility, a US science institute that aims to give nuclear fusion a role in the climate emergency, has made a remarkable breakthrough in harnessing fusion – the power The results of the experiment source of the stars. were remarkably close to net energy gain, the long-standing On 08th August 2021, the NIF goal of fusion scientists all over carried out an experiment during which 192 beams from a powerful the world, in which the amount of energy released as nuclear laser were directed at a small energy (output energy) is greater capsule of hydrogen isotope fuel (deuterium and tritium), initiating than the amount of energy used to kick-start nuclear fusion (input the collapse of the capsule from the size of a pea to the diameter of energy). The experiment yielded 1.35 megajoules of energy – about a pin. This implosion creates the extreme temperature (100 million 70% of the energy used to initiate nuclear fusion. degrees Celsius) and pressure (compression to over a hundred times the density of lead) required Despite not reaching ignition or net energy gain, the yield to enable nuclear fusion.

from the August experiment is over a thousand times that of experiments carried out in 2011, and over eight times NIF’s previous record, established in Spring 2021. This suggests that more energy milestones are to be reached in the near future.

One day, fusion could provide a limitless clean energy source.

1C3 PEAK Barnaby M-J, Year 8 writes...

IC3PEAK are a Russian Musical duo, Founded by Anastasiya (Nastya) Kreslina and Nikolai Kostylev in 2013 in Moscow, Russia. They focus on electrical and anti-governmental music of which has gained them an extremely bad reputation with the Russian Government.Their song “Смерти болше нет ”, (Death is no more) released in 2018 placed them upon the Russian government’s blacklist of artists, composers, politicians and influencers that have spoken against Vladimir Putin or his regime. They were detained in the city of Novosibirsk after the release of this song with no explanation, and were released only after they had missed the rest of their shows.

Some have speculated that the provocative lyrics and cinematography featured in the video are to blame, the opening sequence shows Nastya standing outside the Russian seat of parliament pouring kerosine into her eyes with the lyrics “I fill my eyes with kerosine, let it all burn, let it all burn, the whole of Russia is watching me, let it all burn, let it all burn”.

They have received a lot of hate and threats from the Russian public and the FSB over the years due to the main composer of the band, Nikolai Kostylev’s

bisexuality, as due to Russian “Gay Propaganda” laws, anyone found to be openly displaying homosexuality/LGBTQIA+ as their sexual preferences towards children/media run the risk of being taken by a state sponsored underground group of vigilantes who often kidnap and murder/ convert gay and bisexual young people, or being taken by the FSB (the modern incarnation of the KGB) but although this has been one of the main reasons of his lack of appearance in videos or performances, he remains very vocal by composing their music entirely.

In a recent interview with the duo conducted by DW, the duo claimed that in a recent tour of

Russia they were forced by the FSB to cancel over half of their performances and that upon one occasion, they were forcibly chased from the city of Ryazan by the FSB after they were filmed and placed on social media speaking against Putin.

Overall they have received a lot of respect from Russian activists as they continue their music even with the Russian Government tracking their every move, sadly their risk of assassination or kidnaping is very high so they have had to cut back drastically on performances due to security concerns, but hopefully they will be freed from the grasp and censoring of the Russian Government.

London Zoo’s history Daniel W, Year 7 writes....

London Zoo, not only an iconic part of Regent’s Park, but one of the oldest scientific zoos in England. This zoo is an exhibit of many interesting and fascinating creatures that inhabit the numerous exhibits from the aquarium. With the atmospheric lighting, the penguin beach with the fish eye lens windows and the mounds of insects and their exhibits that never cease to amaze me.

In 1826 the zoological society of London was founded by Sir Stamford Raffles and Sir Humphry Davies. However, Sir Stamford Raffles passed away because of a stroke, after this the third Marquis of Lansdowne overtook the supervision during the construction of the animal houses.

The Zoo opened to members of the zoological society and had exhibits of animals such as orangutans, the Arabian oryx, the

greater kudos and many more.

During 1829 King George IV provided a royal charter and so in 1847 the London Zoo was opened to the public.

Around 1837 Sir Charles Darwin joined the ZSL and would later study an orangutan called Jenny at London Zoo. In following years, the London Zoo would introduce and curate many animals and exhibits, in

1849 the London Zoo opened the first reptile house and a year later would mark the arrival of the first living hippopotamus in Europe since the Roman empire. In the same year, the London Zoo would introduce the first aquarium to the public.

After the crossing over to a new century the zoo would discover Okapi officially by 1901, in 1916 Evelyn Cheesman became the first woman in a curatorial post as

curator of insects. In 1931 the ZSL opens as an animal park and the first zoological parks in the world.

After this, in 1947 during Guy Fawkes night a Gorilla named “Guy” arrives at London Zoo. 1960-1961, the institute of zoology is established, at the time it is said that the secretary at the time, Lord Zuckerman raised funds to buy laboratories to undertake ZSL research. In 1962 as a result of lending an

Arabian Oryx to the world herd in Phoenix Arizona the first cooperative breeding programme developed, during 1967 the first cheetahs were successfully bred in ZSL Whipsnade Zoo marking an iconic day for zoos around the country and to an extent countries in Europe. As one of the largest releases of captive bred animals in 1995, 100 sand gazelles were sent out into Saudi Arabia.

The Queen and the Duke of

Some iconic moments: London Zoo opens the biggest penguin pool in England (2011).

London Zoo creates a tiger enclosure to simulate a tiger’s natural habitat (2013).

ZSL join with the HRH, Duke of Cambridge (2014).

Today the ZSL London Zoo is still open and continues to house many unique animals and to support and tackle issues about threats to wildlife.

Edinburgh officially opened the Millennium Conservation Centre in 1999 that introduced bugs and the biodiversity exhibit. In 2004 the ZSL supports the rescue of 950 illegally imported fish from Indonesia to Heathrow. In 2010 the ZSL’s Sri Lanka discovered a thought to be extinct Horton Plains with photos.

If you would like to find out more, have a look at their website: https://www.zsl.org/about-us/ landmarks-in-zsl-history

Emma Raducanu – British Teen Tennis Sensation Maani N, Year 12 writes…

Emma Raducanu has burst onto the British and global sporting scene this year, enjoying a meteoric rise into the public eye in a way few people have ever done before.

Such prominence has been earned off the back of a string of superlative performances, rewriting the record books in her first two Grand Slams to become Britain’s first womens’ singles major title winner in 44 years at the 2021 US Open. To have achieved a run of ten wins without even dropping a set is beyond remarkable, in addition to the fact that she was a qualifier in the tournament.

While she may have only become a household name over the past few months, this moment has been a long time in the making, dating back to when she first picked up a racket as a young child.

However, as is always the case with young athlete stars, she

has attracted big money from endorsements and large sponsors who will look to make fast profits from her efforts on the court.

She must be careful not to let the fame and money go to her head as all too many young players do. It would be an incredible disappointment to see her massive potential go to waste.

The History of the Meme Jamie B, Year 9 writes…

either upset or elation for the public. Memes can often feature crossovers between the casual and the serious, such as chopped up clips of an influential person that, when put together, make the person seem terrible or incredible, depending on the opinion of the person who has created the meme.

The internet meme is an idea, style, or behaviour which is spread via the internet, mostly to be humorous, and often passed on through social media. Nowadays, the meme is a broad concept that might include all sorts of ideas and observations.

Memes often have a controversial undertone; while flippant in the way they are conveyed, they usually have a serious message.

What might make a meme funny for one person may be offensive for another. This is generally what makes a meme amusing in the first place. Often, the outrageousness of the meme is what makes it hilarious.

The term “meme” was first used

by Richard Dawkins in his book, The Selfish Gene, written in 1976 to explain how ideas replicate, mutate, and evolve. He stressed that the idea wasn’t totally original and that there had been similar theories and ideas along the same lines as Dawkins’ idea. For example, the concept of the meme can be traced back to 1904 in the book, Die Mneme, by Richard Semon, an evolutionary biologist.

The term “Mneme” was also used in Maurice Maeterlinck’s The Life of the White Ant, written in 1926.

The meme evolved gradually onto social media platforms such

as Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, and others as these sites began to merge further with the mainstream media.

This development made the concept of the meme more about controversial topics that caused

The meme concept continues to develop to this day, becoming more and more complex and broad in its definition all the time. Memes are possibly the most popular internet concept ever created as the topic is so broad that so many things on the internet fit under the definition.

The Energy Crisis: What is it and how might you be affected?

Kaveh K, Year 10 writes…

On 22nd September, one of the largest gas suppliers in the UK, Avro Energy, went bankrupt, leaving over 580,000 customers without an energy supplier while they were switched to alternatives.

This had been preceded by five other companies going bankrupt, meaning that there are now almost 1.5 million households affected by these bankruptcies.

The rapid increase of wholesale gas prices in the UK started in March 2021. This was due to rises in demand at the start of the postCovid economic recovery, which left many northern-hemisphere

countries scrambling for supplies following a particularly cold winter. This was not helped by the largest gas-supplier in Russia, state-backed Gazprom, refusing to increase exports in Europe and causing a surge of 10% in gas prices. Whilst this didn’t have huge effects on countries such as Norway, the UK generates almost 50% of its electricity from burning

fossil fuels in gas-powered power plants, so it has been greatly affected.

In addition, energy companies

have a cap – a limit set by the industry regulator, Ofgem. This cap prevents energy companies from charging prices above a certain threshold. In response to the industry need, Ofgem has raised the wholesale price cap to £528 in the 2021/22 winter, an increase of £221 since the previous year, though this may have come too late. Some other

energy companies, such as Bulb, are facing financial troubles and will likely enter administration in the future.

So, will your power go out this winter? Well, the answer is probably not. When an energy supplier becomes bankrupt, customers are automatically moved to another supplier by Ofgem until they choose to change. An energy supplier is actually unable to cut off your power supply, so there’s no need to worry about the lights going out. Ofgem has a helpful guide in case your energy supplier goes bust: https://www.ofgem. gov.uk/node/171921 for more information.

The Zeitguide Taddeo B, Year 13 writes Your one-stop culture guide to the can’t miss events in October…

SPORT TYSON FURY v DEONTAY WILDER T-Mobile Arena, Nevada (9 October) Let’s get ready to rumble for the third instalment of this epic rivalry between ‘The Gypsy King’ and ‘The Bronze Bomber’. The first fight ended in a controversial draw. The second was won

by Fury in the seventh round.

The bookies have him as a strong favourite again for this trilogy finale. But all it takes in heavyweight boxing is one punch – and Wilder possesses a right hand made of pure dynamite.

This could be a bout for the ages.

TV & FILM SQUID GAME On Netflix now A group of desperate, destitute people take part in a contest where the winner wins a $28 million

jackpot. All they have to do is complete six children’s games. The catch? Each game has a shocking twist and the chances of death are extremely high. Think Hunger Games. Then think crazier. Then add Korean imagination and style.

It’s utterly brilliant.

LITERATURE THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE On general sale now Richard Osman’s follow up to his

million-copy-selling phenomenon, The Thursday Murder Club, a book which was so successful the film rights were bought by Steven Spielberg. Re-join our ageing heroes in a thrilling adventure of stolen diamonds and underworld gangsters.

ART & CULTURE FRIEZE LONDON The Regent’s Park, London (13-17 October) Perhaps the most influential art fair in the world, Frieze specialises in contemporary art and living artists. Taking into account the social and travel restrictions imposed by Covid, one thing this reviewer is especially looking forward to is the introduction of Stand Out. From Luke Syson, director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, this section will present a history of art through objects presented in an interactive, multimedia format.

THEATRE HAMLET Young Vic, London (27 September – 13 November) Cush Jumbo (The Good Wife, The Good Fight) plays the titular role in William Shakespeare’s Danish tragedy. Directed by Greg Hersov, it also stars Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty) as Claudius.

BONUS PICK: FOOD CINQUECENTO 1 Cale Street, London The best pizza in London. Fact.

WSS PERU TRIP

Visiting: Amazon Rainforest, Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Lima, Cusco Dates: 7th - 17th July 2022 Open to all Year 10 - 13 To secure your place, see the letter sent home or speak to Miss Maroudi & Miss Miguez