THe
BAROMETER January to February 2024
HALF TERm 3
Contents The Year 7 Music Programme, Dom McD, Year 7 Hamlet on Screen - Edward J, Year 12 Life in the Sixth Form - Mark M, Year 12 Year 8 Ceramic Tiles
The History of Groundhog Day - Harry M, Year 9 A New Covid-19 Variant Hassan Y-N, Year 8 Marble Racing - Samuel D, Year 7 Brawl Stars - Filip A, Year 8
The NFL - Edward J, Year 12 Football at the A Academy Huxley B, Year 7 How Does Gender Affect Football? - Joseph I and Daniel O, Year 11 Cover photograph - Luke T, Year 11
Chess Match: WSS vs City of London - Daniel A, Year 11 Should WSS switch to one OS? - Julian H, Year 7 Friday Clubs at Wetherby Filip A, Zade S, Thomas C, Year 8 Year 8: Favourite Subjects James C, Fitz D and Miles C, Year 8 How do the American and UK Elections Differ? - Albert C, Year 8 American Politics Update Felipe E, Year 9 Anchors Away or Votes Astray? Why the Government’s Gamble to ‘Stop the Boats’ Has Hit Rough Seas - Oscar F, Year 12 Model United Nations Club Ian S and Maksims K Year 11 Ethical Investing - AJ J-R, Year 10 What Stocks to Buy and Why Husayn G, Year 10
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THE YEAR 7 MUSIC PROGRAMME Dom McD, Year 7 writes... The way that the music teachers shape and explore young students’ potential and talent with the Year 7 music program is brilliant. From their first music lesson at Wetherby, they are shown the pros and cons and the beauty of certain instruments. In that all-important first lesson, they are encouraged to select one brass or woodwind instrument and BOOM: their knowledge in two, three lessons skyrockets. They go from not knowing how to make a sound to knowing not only how to make a sound using the instrument but also how to change that sound using different techniques or a different combination of valves. Music also opens the door to so many new and unique experiences. For example, the Disneyland trip. The Music department invites people of all years who are dedicated, practise hard and display all the Wetherby values to go to Paris and perform in a Wetherby band in front of hundreds of people. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Here are what some students have said about music at Wetherby: ‘The music programme has inspired me to pay extra attention in cello and music lessons.’ – Alexander WP Y7 ‘The music programme has doubled my talent at trumpet.’ Freddie G Y7 I do clarinet, one of the instruments advertised by the programme. I didn’t want to it at first but when I started to get the
hang of it coached by the expert Mr Wilshere, I started to enjoy it. As my clarinet group played togehter more frequently, we got better and better. Every time we arrived, we were filled with a deep passion to learn more. Around halfway through the school year, Year 7 music groups come together to form a small band or orchestra. We play
pieces from the Stepping Stones Beginner Book for woodwind and brass. The music teachers (Mr Martin, Mr Williams, Mr Wilshere and Mr Lewis) put on inspirational performances from around the world for us to look at and evaluate. After watching the on-screen performance there is a new confidence that arises and fuels us to be amazing in lessons and in practice.
HAMLET ON SCREEN
Edward J, Year 12 writes... Often coined the pinnacle of English literature and the zenith of theatrics, Hamlet explores the predicament of a young prince mourning the death of his father. He is ordered, by his father’s ghost, to avenge his murderous Uncle Claudius. Throughout the play, Hamlet is plagued by inaction and uncertainty as he even goes to the extent of contemplating suicide, infamously marked by the “To be or not to be” soliloquy. But is that the true meaning of this speech and how else can it be interpreted? Well, these are questions that directors and actors have been attempting to answer for years. In a play as complex and multifaceted as Hamlet different productions can convey a completely distinct message. From Laurence Olivier’s Academy Award-winning production to Kenneth Branagh’s cinematic masterpiece, performances of Hamlet have spanned generations and will continue to be adapted for many years to come. Seen as the first significant theatrical release of Hamlet, Laurence Olivier’s interpretation
received multiple prestigious accolades including the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor. Olivier, both as the director and actor, entirely cut Fortinbras and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from the play. The result of this was a deeply personal and psychological performance. He, as a 41-year-old, cast a 28-yearold as his mother, Gertrude, to emphasise the Oedipal overtones of the play. Indeed, this is contrasted by Hamlet’s overtly harsh treatment of his supposed love interest, Ophelia, who ends up destroyed and distraught at the time of her death. Some 16 years after Olivier’s production, Grigori Kozintsev directed a Russian adaption of Hamlet. The film is firmly based in the post-Stalin era. Both Kozintsev and lead actor Dimitri Shostakovich had been imprisoned by Stalin just a few years before the film’s production. Throughout, the camera frequently looks through bars and gates, possibly to not only reference Kozintsev’s experiences with Stalin but also Hamlet’s entrapment in this impossible predicament. If he does not revenge his father, he is a coward, and if he murders Claudius, he is a sinner bound for hell.
Tony Richardson’s 1969 production was the first Hamlet in colour. It was filmed on a very basic set with merely a beam of light to represent the ghost’s appearance. It would be another 21 years until a significant theatrical release of Hamlet. In Franco Zeffirelli’s production, a large chunk of the play was cut to facilitate and enhance the role of women. It was a much more contemporary take on Hamlet with Hollywood actor Mel Gibson taking the lead role. Finally, we are left with Branagh’s masterful 1996 film. It included every word of Shakespeare’s play and ran for over four hours. Elsinore Castle had a particularly vibrant atmosphere with endless rows of mirrors throughout. Indeed, this may link to the themes of spying and surveillance in the play, or it may just mirror Hamlet’s consciousness of being watched by his dead father. Overall, different interpretations of Hamlet are welcomed, frequent, and never-ending. But here within lies the beauty of a play such as Hamlet: the play is the lock, and your imagination holds the key.
LIFE in the sixth form Mark M, Year 12 writes... Entering Sixth Form almost feels like stepping into a new school; while some things are more relaxed, but the academic pressure is pushed even further. As someone taking 4 A-Levels (Maths, Economics, Further Maths, and Business) Sixth Form has been quite the experience so far. For me, lessons have become less like lectures and more like conversations and this is partly because of the smaller class sizes. The lesson structure during class encourages conversation and the sharing of ideas helping students find joy in learning to develop their own opinions independently which I found quite different from GCSE. The best advice I would give is to not let the relaxed feeling fool you. The content as you progress gets harder and harder but you
get more freedom in the way you study with the addition of private study periods. Private study can play a key role in your grades depending heavily on how you use them. Beyond the classroom, extracurricular activities become a key part of Sixth Form as they allow you to explore interests outside academic lessons and help to elevate your University applications. Wetherby is great in this aspect as there are always
lectures to go to, whether you are interested in Business or Biology, as well as countless opportunities to volunteer. Overall, Sixth Form is a very new experience riddled with pleasantries and challenges but very much does a great job at preparing students not just for academic success but broader challenges and opportunities that await them in higher education and beyond.
YEAR 8 CERAMIC TILES Year 8 have been creating ceramic tiles inspired by Heather Knight and Lauren Blakey. They looked carefully at textures found under the sea and built their tiles using a range of hand-building techniques, before highlighting the texture using ink. Mr Murphy said, ‘I have been so impressed with the exciting range of textures Year 8 have observed and communicated in their tiles. Amazing work!’
CHESS MATCH: WSS vs CITY OF LONDON Daniel A, Year 11 writes... After storming through the qualifying round, The Wetherby Chess team was excited to visit the first-seeded City of London School in the first knockout stages of the U18 Schools Championships. After taking a short tube ride to St Paul’s, we took the scenic route to get to City of London, where we were treated to wonderful Thames views, and a welcoming staff. As the games began, the nervousness disappeared, and we played fantastically. Despite our tough loss overall, special congratulations should be given to Harry Carson for playing a fantastic game, and Sebastian
Mokhber, punching well above his age and playing against a year 13! Overall, the team can be proud of how they played, and I am sure we will only improve next year Mr Brennan writes... We lost 6-0 to the boys at City of London school. Although we gave them a good game on every board, we were outmatched. Best of luck to them in the next round. Below is a puzzle worth a second look from the game played by Mark S, Year 11:
SHOULD WSS SWITCH TO ONE OS? Julian H, Year 7 writes... As you may have noticed, our school has a multi OS system: while the Art, ICT as well as most of the school mainframe is run on Windows 10, most of us students have an iPhone, and we integrate better with the setups of the Geography and Music departments who run on Mac and iPad OS. I have found myself wondering why the entire school just does not switch to a single OS. Other schools have faced this conundrum when they first opened and decided to have a single OS system, whether that’s iOS or ChromeOS. Both have their advantages and disadvantages but one of the major issues of Windows is that it is not compatible with our phones. Apple’s issue that we must deal with is the fact that we don’t have access to the Windows suite of Office apps and the files we have saved on our home laptops at home or the Windows computers that we use regularly. The exclusive apps that Apple own, like Logic Pro X, would be a hard loss for the music department. Equally, if we switched over to iPads, we would have to get rid of over 400 unused Surface Gos, which would be a big decision. There are a lot of pros and cons to switching to a single OS. One risk would be that we lose a lot of data due to malfunctioning data transfers which would be very annoying to teachers and admin staff. The data transfers could take days and are an intricate, laborious process. It would be a very unpopular choice to switch but it could bring a few benefits. What do you think? Should we become a single-OS school, or are you happy with the hybrid.
FRIDAY CLUBS AT WETHERBY Zade S and Filip A, Year 8 write… Lego Robotics This term I am taking part in the Lego Robotics club that is run by Ms Walters. In this club we build and code robots to take to a competition where they will compete against multiple other schools. We have to make one robot that can do lots of different skills like pushing, pulling, twisting, lifting, dragging and all of those require unique coding. We have decided to design a robot with lots of different attachments so that we can programme each one to do a different action. Our robots have a central cube with clips on it that we can attach motors to and that is where all the programming is stored. The competition is coming up before Easter and we are really excited.
Yu Gi Oh Yu Gi Oh is a card game with spell cards, track cards and monster cards. There are around 50 different types of summons which require different sacrifices and you have a certain amount of life points which will become depleted if you have no more monsters to defend you. Some of the different forms of summoning
include Special Summoning, Fusion Summon, Ritual Summon, Synchro Summon, XYZ summon, Pendulum Summon and Link Summon. Pendulum Summon is my favourite out of all of these because it allows you to defeat multiple Pendulum monsters at the same time. The thing I enjoy most is the tactics you have to employ, such as placing traps where people won’t see them and bluffing with traps. A good way to get into Yu Gi Oh is to buy a deck and start learning the game with that and then you can add to your collection by buying extra cards in blister packs. Trading Yu Gi Oh cards can help you improve your collection. Thomas C, Year 8 writes... Warhammer I do Warhammer Club on a Friday
which is run by Mr Thornton. During Warhammer club we build our figures, paint them and play games. My army is Krieg, who are alien soldiers that wear gas masks and long trenchcoats. I chose them because I thought they looked cool. My favourite part is playing my friends and trying to battle their armies. I enjoy the complex rules and the methodical nature of the game. I also like the tactical element and thinking about how I can use my men to defeat the opposing army. I have been collecting and playing for about a year and I think that is a good amount of time to learn how to play. I would definitely recommend it to others because it is a creative hobby that you can do with your friends.
YEAR 8: FAVOURITE SUBJECTS James C, Year 8 writes…
Miles C, Year 8 writes…
Drama is my favourite subject. I really enjoy it because it is interesting, and I really like the practical element. I also like that you are able to express your feelings in an energised way. In Drama we learn mime work, script work, facial expressions and how to change your voice. At the moment we are reading scripts for a play called Stone Cold. The characters in the play are called Ginger, Link and Shelter. In our last lesson I played Shelter, who is an ex-military villain who wants to remove all homeless people from the streets by killing them. I tried to show his nasty character by acting sly and changing my voice so it was meaner and deeper. Shelter is an interesting character to play because he is very twofaced and is sometimes charming so I have enjoyed trying to show the two different sides to him.
My favourite subject is History because it is really interesting to learn and you cover lots of new topics and how they have impacted the world. At the moment, we are learning about the restoration of the monarchy where the monarchy returned to power after Oliver Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector. This is interesting because many people though that it would be better for them to rule without the monarchy, but realised that they weren’t satisfied by Cromwell’s rule. We watched a film about Cromwell’s rule and his behaviour. In the film we saw how he wanted the country to be more “respectable” and have no fun (he got rid of Christmas and a lot of sports). In history we write lots of essays which I enjoy because you can explain your own thoughts and put in your own personal views.
Fitz D, Year 8 writes… Games is my favourite subject because it is very physical, especially this term because we are playing rugby. I like that I get to release all my energy, which builds up inside me all day and all week. I usually play scrum half which I like because it is a role where you have to make important decisions about where the ball will go and there is a lot of communication with the rest of the team. Sometimes I play outside centre but I prefer scrum half because I think it a very crucial part in the team. I like the fact that when you are playing rugby you have to work on your technique, especially with tackles, but you also have to have your head in the game and make decisions at a very fast pace. Even though the scrum half doesn’t often score tries, they are really important in setting them up.
HOW TO THE AMERICAN AND UK ELECTIONS to do so. Meanwhile, in the UK, DIFFER? Rishi Sunak’s five main priorities Albert C, Year 8 writes... With the election in both the United States of America and here in Great Britan coming up this year, it is especially important to understand the electoral process in both nations. It is also worth considering what the possible outcomes might mean. Primaries Let’s start with America. The US electoral system works by using an electoral college. First, primaries take place - these allow people to vote for potential presidential candidates. Unlike in the UK, where we have a permanent figurehead for each party, America has a “primary” election where people vote for who each party’s candidate might be. The election The election itself is always on the first Tuesday after November 1st, but many voters - including those living overseas - cast their postal ballot long before the actual election. Most people believe that you are voting on the actual president and vice-president, but they are actually voting for state electors. So even if Biden gets more votes than Trump, Trump could still technically win if he wins the key swing states. The electoral college The electoral college basically creates 51 different tiny elections, one for each state - plus the capital Washington DC. Bigger (higher population) states also have more electoral votes. California, Texas
and Florida have 55, 38 and 21 votes respectively. By contrast, Wyoming, Alaska and Delaware have just three each. The UK system The UK does things a little differently but has many similarities to the US system. The UK is divided into 650 constituencies (small geographical areas, each with their own referendum. Each constituency is represented by one MP and these MPs each have one “seat” in the House of Commons (the lower chamber of parliament). For a party to win, they have to win over half of the 650 seats and the leader of the winning party is appointed by king Charles III as Prime Minister. Who are the candidates? For America, the most likely outcome appears to be a win for Donald Trump for the Republicans and Joe Biden for the Democrats. However, the primaries are still ongoing, so there are not guarantees yet. In the UK, barring any major surprises, it will be Rishi Sunak for the Conservative party vs Keir Starmer for the Labour party. What will they do if they get elected ? If Biden wins he says he will “make childcare more affordable” and “will make community college free”. He also wants to impose a widespread ban on assault weapons and increase taxes for the wealthy. Trump promises he can “make America great again” and claims to have an extensive plan
are: halving inflation, growing the economy, “cutting debt”, reducing waiting times in the NHS and “stopping the boats”. For Keir Starmer his five main objectives are to: secure the highest possible sustained growth in G7, to make Britan one of the world’s largest clean energy producers, build NHS “fit for the future”, make the streets of Britan safe and to shut down all barriers to opportunity and success. Now its only a matter of time before the electioneering begins! Sources: How does the UK electoral system work? (ft.com) How do the US presidential elections work? - BBC Bitesize Here is what Trump plans to do if he returns to the White House | AP News Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia Missions v priorities: how Starmer’s policy goals compare with Sunak’s | Keir Starmer | The Guardian
AmERICAN POLITICS UPDATE Felipe E, Year 9 writes... By now some of you many have grown used to my half-termly American politics reviews in The Barometer. For this half term I thought I would look back at one of the darkest days in American politics. That day was January 6th, 2021. This was the day where Congress was supposed to be accepting the election results and confirming that Biden would be present come January 20th. However, the events that unfolded that day were remarkably close to successfully overturning the democratic process. I thought I would start with some valuable context: Donald Trump had
claimed (and still claims) that the 2020 election was rigged against him. Disgruntled candidates are allowed to challenge the results of an election by going through the courts or by asking for a re-count. If Trump and his team had had credible evidence for their claims, then their cases would not have been thrown out so unceremoniously by judges, both Democrat and Republican. Certainly, the non-judicial challenges that followed were clearly illegitimate. The events themselves were truly horrific. Members of the Proud Boys, who congregated in Washington DC spoiling for a fight, had better combat gear than United States Capitol Police.
With hindsight, the police were woefully unprepared for the events that transpired. One theory suggests that the mayor of Washington DC rejected the idea for additional police reinforcements to be set up before the attack. I have declined to say what exactly happened because there are still conflicting reports of what happened and uncertainty over the facts. For those of you who would like to find about more, the Washington Post and the New York Times have put out YouTube videos on all of the evidence that they collected showing what happened.
ANCHORS AWAY OR VOTES ASTRAY? WHY THE GOVERNMENT’S GAMBLE TO ‘STOP THE BOATS’ HAS HIT ROUGH SEAS Oscar F, Year 12 writes... The ship is sinking. The Conservative party, once perceived as an unsinkable juggernaut, has, like the Titanic, hit its iceberg: immigration. Downing Street’s crew are jumping overboard in a flurry of highprofile resignations (namely selfstyled ‘maverick’ Lee Anderson and Robert Jenrick), hurling buckets of seawater overboard in frantic press conferences that take aim at some of our most treasured democratic institutions while the Tory ship grinds to a complete halt, embittered, and embattled in a politically weaponised debate that demonises those at the bottom of society. What exactly is this illustrious policy that has for months now dominated the front pages? The Rwanda Policy was initially developed under Boris Johnson in 2019 and was a five-year agreement in which some asylum seekers arriving in the UK would be sent to Rwanda to have their
claims processed. If successful, they could be granted refugee status and allowed to stay. If not, they could apply to settle in Rwanda on other grounds, or seek asylum in another “safe third country”, however, principally no asylum seeker would be able to apply to return to the UK. Consistent legal challenges have prevented the policy from coming to fruition: the first flight was scheduled to go in June 2022, but its cancellation was subsequently ordered by the European Court of Human Rights. The legality of not just individual cases, but the policy itself was then challenged in the Supreme Court which deemed it unlawful in nature; the core
concern of the Supreme Court was the risk of people being sent back from Rwanda to countries where they may face persecution, breaching a fundamental principle enshrined in both domestic and international law, including the Refugee Convention. In the ensuing weeks, the government has raced forward with a two-track response: a new treaty with Rwanda designed to circumvent the Supreme Court’s concerns, and then, for good measure, a new bill aimed at undermining the UK’s rule of law altogether. The government has set a dangerous precedent in establishing that Parliament can legislate on a matter of fact, and prevent the courts from considering evidence to the contrary, constituting a dramatic reversal in our constitution’s separation of powers. In the current political landscape it is impossible to shy away from the fact that immigration is a significant issue; illegal immigration has risen by 400% since 2018 to a high of 52,000 in 2022, but the Rwanda Bill is by no means the answer. Primarily, the discriminatory undertones with which the bill is
being forced through Parliament is entirely out of touch with public opinion: polling carried out by the IRC and YouGov revealed that 65% of the UK public think it’s important that the right to seek asylum is maintained in the UK. Simultaneously, analysis by the Refugee Council found that most people arriving in the UK on small boats are likely to have valid claims to asylum. These are matters of fact – unlike the declaration of Rwanda as a safe country – that highlight the sheer absurdity of such a policy. The principle that our supposedly democratic and representative government is able to ignore the will of the people is a frightening proposal in a 21st century Britain. Additionally, in a postBrexit world where the UK’s international reputation seems to be ever-declining, particularly worrying is the Rwanda Bill’s potential to breach our international obligations. Seeking asylum is a fundamental human
right, as codified in the 1951 Refugee Convention, the ECHR and the International Convention of Maritime Search and Rescue. The UNHCR has already described the agreement as ‘incompatible with the letter and spirit of international law’. This is a particularly alarming prospect when considering the fact that expert opinion consistently posits that the expensive, discriminatory scheme is likely to be wholly ineffective in nature. This is exemplified by the fact that similar schemes instituted by other nations have failed spectacularly. For instance, Australia established offshore processing centres for asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, resulting in severe human cost while arrivals by boat and deaths at sea continued. Perhaps the most glaring issue lies in the mishandled cost of the scheme. A Home Office letter estimates the initial cost
at a staggering £290 million. Advocates argue that instead of investing in a complex and potentially ineffective scheme, the government should allocate resources to strengthen the asylum system. Removing the ban on employment for asylum seekers, for instance, could not only allow these individuals to contribute to society but also potentially benefit the UK economy by an estimated £211.3 million per year, given that 94% of asylum seekers express a desire to work. As the political storm rages on, the government’s immigration gamble appears to have failed, raising questions about the feasibility, legality, and morality of the bill. The ship is at a crossroads, and the decisions made in the House of Lords will determine whether it steers towards a more just, compassionate, and effective approach or continues on a course fraught with legal challenges and public discontent.
MODEL UNITED NATIONS CLUB Ian S and Maksims K, Year 11 write... What is the Model United Nations club? If you are interested in debating, politics or government then MUN is the club for you. MUN is a student-run activity that anyone can attend on a Friday afternoon. In a nutshell, Model UN is a simulation of the UN General Assembly and its other multilateral bodies where students perform an ambassadorial role while debating topics such as climate action, global health, and many more. Moreover, successful MUN participants are given the opportunity to partake in conferences around the UK and world! You’ll learn the inner workings of the UN and develop formal debate skills. Most club sessions involve fierce debates and intense research followed by a speech in front of the mock general assembly where you must convincingly argue your point and garner enough votes to pass your resolution. WSS’s MUN Head, Oscar F summed it up perfectly: “The two days focused on writing, amending and debating written proposals
(called resolutions) on solutions to these complex issues. We argued vehemently for what we believe our country would want, and debated others’ suggestions on their merits or, often, on obscure technicalities if our country was on the wrong side ethically.” Expect lively conversations and negotiations every Friday at MUN! Why should you do MUN? As well as being a fun new extracurricular activity, participation in MUN is sure to help you in later life. Ever wanted to travel to Paris, Berlin or the US? You can travel to all these destinations and more with the MUN club. Apart from exploring a new country with friends, you could have a great opportunity to develop your public speaking
skills. By doing research for your conference you are going to learn about interesting new topics and also develop key skills such as speech writing and the ability to locate and evaluate relevant information; it’s important to remember these are highly sought after skills in the world of work. Even if your graduation is all too far away, it’s never too early to join and get involved. New members will also be eligible for taking over the clubs leadership in the coming year. Head Boy/prefect applications would also look much better with a senior MUN role on them! Model United Nations allows participants to build skills such as public speaking, debating, critical thinking and most importantly, teamwork!
ETHICAL INVESTING AJ J-R, Year 10 writes... Over the past years the world has been confronted with many issues. There has been a global shift from globalization to more unilateral and isolationist policies. After the pandemic, the RussiaUkraine war poses significant risk to food prices, supply chains and world economic growth prospects. Economic issues are causing political realignments, uncertainty and divisions in the world, which in turn threaten economic growth. As a result of this, many socioeconomic and environmental issues are going viral on social media. Movements such as #metoo, BlackLivesMatter, plastics, immigration reform are all examples of movements attempting to address inequality, lack of fair play and accountability. Evidence of climate change also triggered a shift in investor behaviour. Investors used to only think in terms of risk and their financial return, so the more risk they take the more money they would make. However currently, besides risk and financial return, investors are also looking at the “real world” or ethical impact of their investments. Due to this new mindset, an entirely new investor segment has developed focusing on ethical investing. I wanted to write this report because investments tied to ethical issues are expected to surge to more than $50 trillion by 2025, or about a third of global assets under management, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report. Ethical investing bears many different names, among which
are impact investing, socially responsible investing, green investing as well as environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. All are focused on aligning investments with certain ethical principles. Ethical investing is an umbrella term for all approaches to investing that consider values as well as returns. It is investing in a sustainable, ethical, or green approach and looking for double profit: financial for the investor and progress for society. The impact companies have on the world has become a core concern for many investors. In practice, this means that investments which cause climate change, investments which do not respect workers’ rights,
gender equality, investments in arms, tobacco and gambling are excluded or underweight, when selecting companies. By investing in companies or projects that pay attention to the environment, social policy, and good governance, these companies are rewarded and encouraged to continue in that direction. In theory, an ethical investment gives the investor a good feeling as he makes money but at the same time, he creates a positive social impact. Not all propositions classified as an ethical investment are the same, so it is important for investors to do their research before assuming they subscribe to your version of ethical.
WHAT STOCKS TO BUY AND WHY Husayn G, Year 10 writes...
factors.
What are stocks?
Quarterly Earnings: these report the growth or loss of revenue and other metrics of the company which many stockbrokers use to value the stock to either buy or sell.
Stocks (also known as equities or shares) represent fractional ownership in a publicly traded company. Stocks can be part of major index groups such as the S&P 500, the largest 500 publicly listed stocks on the New York stock exchange; the Nasdaq, which is comprised of the 100 largest tech stocks publicly listed on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange); and the Dow Jones, which tracks the top 30 largest publicly traded stocks on the NYSE. In the UK, we have the FTSE 100 (the top London-listed companies). How do people buy stocks? People buy stocks through brokers (e.g. interactive brokers, Etoro, Charles Schwab) or through a physical stock exchange with the most popular one being the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). What influences stock prices? In the short term, prices of shares fluctuate due to an increase in volatility, the amount of people either buying or selling. Things that influence and increase volatility in the short term include: Analyst ratings: this is where teams working at financial companies or stock brokerages give a specific stock a rating ‘Buy,’ ‘Sell’ or ‘Hold,’ representing the analysts’ projected price targets and how they expect the stock to fare that fiscal year based on fundamental analysis, market trends, or other company-specific
Important valuation metrics include: ROIC (Return on Invested Capital) - this shows how good the company is at allocating its capital and the return it receives from that investment Ideally you want to have an ROIC of <15% P/E ratio(price/earnings ration) this shows the price of the given stock against its earnings per share (EPS). Ideally you want a P/E ratio less than 40% of the highest P/E ratio the stock had over the past 5 years.
defending itself from enemies and invaders. The moat gives them a competitive advantage. This is what a moat is, a wide competitive advantage, and this can be implemented from schoolwork, to valuing stocks. What does the company do that no other company is better at doing? What business provides an irreplaceable service that no other one can? This can be as simple as McDonalds – which other businesses can make nuggets as good? NVIDIA – which companies make better GPU’s? This also contributes to a stock’s price movements and volume; the creation of better business models cause innovation, which results in a company performing better as a whole. In other words, look for a company that does what they do better than any other company
This brings me to the next part implementing a circle Additionally, the company would of competence when looking ideally be in no debt, so you would for your perfect stock. This is have to go over to their 10K or essentially a filter and a mental annual report or quarterly report model to stay with what you know. to be able to go to their balance For example, take us normal sheet to find their total liabilities children: what do we use, where (debt) taken away from their total do we shop and eat? Companies assets to get their total equity. If it such as Nike, McDonalds and is negative then the business may even Chipotle. The problem with a be at risk. lot of investors is they do not stay within what they know and you However, the other most get a man in the shipping industry important thing when buying semiconductors (computer determining the value of a and phone chips) instead of business is ascertaining whether focusing on what he knows and they have a “wide moat”. This buying shipping related companies strategy is implemented in even such as Maersk (cargo carriers). the most famous investors’ Buy what you know and use that valuation strategies. Imagine edge that you have over anyone a castle with a moat around it not in the know.
Let me give an example. Imagine your mum comes home and she’s bought something from lululemon, a high-end clothing brand that has recently been trending upward, and you dad’s sitting on the computer looking at semiconductors (microchips in our computers and phones) despite not knowing anything about them. Perhaps the wife tells the husband about her purchase and he just ends up thinking what a waste of money, but shrugs off the comment. Next afternoon, his semiconductor stock decreases, while he sees this new clothing brand lululemon up $50 dollars at $400 a share. The moral of this story is no need to investigate areas and sectors unknown and new to you - instead, focus on what’s in front of you.
Examples that fall into this stock category include: Netflix Netflix implements the circle of competence strategy because most boys in this school end up watching Netflix to end the day. ROIC – 15% P/E ratio – 47 Return On assets – 15% In the last quarter, Netflix has had a surge in subscriber growth because they have managed to crack down on subscriber sharing of Netflix abroad, which resulted in a surge in revenue due to more people buying the subscription.
important metric to look out for, and a $5 Billion revenue growth in the next year which shows a sign of stable annual growth. Apple ROIC – 58% P/E ratio – 30 Retyurn on assets – 27.50 Most kids in this school have an Apple iPhone or some variation of an apple device. This shows that this company fits in to a circle of competence and Apple’s widespread consumer adoption shows that it will have a hard time slowing in price and revenue growth.
In short, do your research, but They predict an increase in don’t feel that an investment revenue growth of $5 Billion in strategy requires you to delve into the next year, which in my opinion wholly unknown sectors. growing revenue is the most
THE HISTORY OF GROUNDHOG DAY Harry M, Year 9 writes... Groundhog Day is a tradition celebrated in many different countries. This event occurs on the 2nd February every year. Groundhog Day is a tradition which originated from the Christian festival of Candlemas. From this, the Germans had an idea to add a slight twist to it, adding an animal into the celebration. Although Germany had the idea of adding animals, it was not the first to celebrate it; in fact, German immigrants to America first celebrated Groundhog Day on the 2nd February 1887 in Pennsylvania. The Groundhog ceremony in Punxsutawney is based around a slightly mythical Groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil! This is one of the most frequently attended ceremonies around the area.
A NEW VARIANT OF COVID-19 Hassan Y-N, Year 8 writes...
white before their death.
A science experiment was recently conducted in Beijing, China. A group of scientists examined a new strain of Coronavirus called GX_P2V. This new virus has a 100% mortality rate among the test subjects - ‘humanised mice’. These creatures are engineered to mirror the human body’s proteins more closely. The variant was originally discovered in Malaysian pangolins as far back as 2017, however it seems to have mutated since then. The virus targeted many crucial organs such as the brain, leading to the rapid deterioration of the mice’s health, and ultimately culminating in death within eight days. This was described as ‘surprisingly quick.’ In the days before their death, the mice became hunched over, rapidly lost weight and had difficulty moving. Disturbingly, the mice’s eyes turned completely
Professor Francois Balloux, an expert on infectious diseases said on Twitter(X) “It’s a terrible study, scientifically totally pointless. I can see nothing of vague interest that could be learned from force-infecting a weird breed of humanized mice with a random virus. Conversely, I could see how such stuff might go wrong...”. Here Balloux is highlighting the flaws of the study by saying this protein may not be a key component in our humanity in a scientific sense and the disregard for global safety this study might jeopardise. Elsewhere, Dr Gennadi Glinsky, a retired professor of medicine at Stanford warned simply “This madness must be stopped before too late.” The mutant strand of COVID-19 is far more lethal than other variants; while the COVID-19
we know targets the respiratory system and causes lower lung infections, GX_P2V enters the respiratory system before migrating to the brain. Although unrelated, the way the virus strikes is reminiscent of the cordyceps fungi. Cordyceps is the premise of the hit TV show and Playstation game “The Last of Us”. The game is about the cordyceps fungus infecting people and turning them into fungal monstrosities; now in reality our bodies are far too hot for the fungus to survive but it does target ants’ brains and controls them this way, the same way GX_P2V also attacks the brain. Obviously, a virus is a completely different entity to the cordyceps fungus, but the similarity is interesting. It is overall extremely unlikely that GX_P2V could spill over into the public because the researchers are being very careful so as to not have a repeat of the 2020 pandemic. Whether GX_P2V is a zombie virus, 100% fatal or constantly mutating, an outbreak would be catastrophic and could spell doom for humanity.
MARBLE RACING Samuel D, Year 7 writes... At home I enjoying playing a computer game called Algodoo Marble Racing, and also making real life marble runs. In the game, you can get pieces from a collection and you can put the pieces together to create a marble run. You can design the marble run to look like anything you want and there are lots of different interesting pieces which can make the track cool. I often make big marble competitions with many marbles in them, because the game simulates what is going to happen, so you don’t know in advance which one will win, which makes it exciting. You can assign names to the different marbles and sometimes I use colours or countries. I also have physical marble sets which come with many different sections of track to connect together. I have built lots of different tracks and I like to experiment with the different pieces. When I am building a track I have to test it as I design it to make sure that it will work. Once I am happy with it, I can race the marbles! I like doing both, but on the computer version there is a greater range of pieces to choose from which I find more interesting and I don’t have to clear up afterwards. You can also save your past designs on the computer and revisit them, which you can’t do with the real life version!
BRAWL STARS number of matches, or defeating a certain number of Brawlers. Playing more often with a Brawler you can increase their Mastery. You complete the game by unlocking all the Brawlers and then collecting coins and power points to upgrade them with gadgets, gears, star powers and hypercharges. You can also collect trophies which show how many matches you have won. The game updates regularly with new Brawlers and Brawl Passes which keep people interested.
Filip A, Year 8 writes... Brawl Stars is a mobile video game created Supercell in which you play matches, create resources and unlock new Brawlers to collect. To play, you pick a Brawler and enter a match with a real person
who is online somewhere else. You can also play in a broad range of modes some of which allow you to play with friends. You can upgrade your Brawlers by using resources which you collect by doing quests via a Brawl Pass. Quests include playing a certain
I would recommend this game because it is really fun. The Brawlers that are added are always new and interesting, and I enjoy tracking my progress on the leader boards. I also enjoy it because lots of my friends play and we can play together in modes that support teams.
THE NFL the field. The first of these tries is a ‘first down,’ the next ‘second down’ and so on. Once they make it ten yards (or further), the downs will reset, and it’s back to first down.” But the challenge is that, if the team fails to make the ten yards in three attempts, they will be left to make a decision. On fourth down they will either punt the ball away to push the opposition further away from the kicking team’s endzone, attempt a field goal if they are close enough to the posts (a kick worth three points which is similar to that of a penalty kick in rugby) or, riskily, go for it on fourth down and, if they fail to convert, face the consequence of handing the ball over to the other team without attempting a field goal or punting the ball away.
Edward J, Year 12 writes... Whether it’s the 50-yard passes, breathtaking catches, or gritty five-yard runs, there is an aspect of American Football that will appeal to virtually everyone. Each year, thirty-two teams from across the USA compete in the National Football League with the goal of reaching the Super Bowl and hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, where one incredible catch can define a career, one great throw can cement a legacy, and one exceptional performance can immortalise a group of players. But how does an NFL game even work? Well, each team aims to reach the opponent’s endzone to score - this is a touchdown. To score a touchdown (worth
either six, seven, or eight points depending on the success of the extra point or two-point attempt) the team will throw the ball or run the ball with the aim of moving forwards. The Standard explains that “teams get four attempts – known as ‘downs’ – to move the ball a total of at least ten yards up
The 2024 Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, 11 February, at SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California. It will be a clash of the titans between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Can the star-studded 49ers team fulfil the prophecy of what is sure to be the start of a legacy? Or can the Kansas City Chiefs, as is becoming the norm in the Mahomes era, win their third Super Bowl in five years?
FOOTBALL TRAINING AT THE A ACADEMY Huxley B, Year 7 writes... I play football at The A Academy, a football school in Marylebone and I play on the U13 team as a left winger. My team is in one of the highest leagues and has been really successful, recently beating one of the best teams in the whole championship, a team called Global. We play at Rectory Park near Ealing. I go to training sessions three or four times a week after school
where I practise all my football skills: full on attack, corners, passing, shooting. We have a goalkeeper coach who plays for Arsenal and we all have to play in goal as well. I really enjoy it because our coach is very strict in a good way and it is really fun being part of a really supportive team. I have known everyone for a long time and we also do really fun social activities which are great for team building.
HOW DOES GENDER AFFECT FOOTBALL? Joseph I and Daniel O, Year 11 write… In recent years the popularity of woman’s football has increased dramatically. However, before the year 2000, watching woman’s football was almost unheard of. In today’s society it is becoming more popular as people are becoming more open and accepting of different types of sports. Before the 1989, football was predominantly considered a “men’s sport” due to the fact that only men’s football was televised, bringing a lot of attention and advertising revenue. Furthermore, generally speaking, women were discouraged from playing the sport, therefore a woman who enjoyed the sport simply did not have the platform and support to influence others to watch and support them. Post 1989, woman’s football began to be televised however there was a lack of facilities, sponsors and general investment towards improving the conditions. It was a good step
towards involving other genders within a once solely male run industry. However, since the broadcasting of woman’s football, there simply was not enough attention within the media. It is estimated that since 2018 the Women’s Euro Edition has risen 58%. The 2022 edition saw over 17.4 million people tuning in to watch the magnificent Lionesses bring the trophy home, beating the strong contenders Germany,
who had previously won the Championship eight out of the thirteen times it has been played. The substitute Chloe Kelly broke the deadlock in extra time, securing the 2-1 victory, ensuring the Lionesses would win their first major tournament. This win came 56 years after England’s men beat West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final, the only previous major trophy won by a men’s or women’s England senior team.
E T I R W S U R O F Do you have something you’d like to write about? Is there a passion or interest you’d like to share with others? Is there a cause you would like to draw attention to? Would you like to report on school events? Are you a great photographer or artist?
Send your articles (and images to go with them) to nicola.bradley@wetherbysenior.co.uk, or ask to be added to the team on Teams where you can submit it directly. A submission deadline will be set each half term, so get writing so your article can be included!