MDLII: The Year 2016 (Vol 2) by Bedford-School

The Year MDLII

VOLUME 2

The Editorial Team 2015-2016 Current Affairs: Shivam Patel, Alex Stammers, Oreayo Israel-Bolarinwa, Daniel Hickey Maths and Sciences: Jonathan Konstatinidis, Arjun Vaingankar, Max Williamson, Daniel Tune The Arts: Arol Bosut, Ken Wong The Humanities: Ben Poslad, James Smith, Nick Cowen, Christopher Turner Languages: Frank Kupshik, Josh Carmichael Sports: Jake Carter, Max Smith Music: Ben Anstis, Peter Wood, Nic Reay Mosaic: Rob Salvesen Production Assistance: Anna Garrett With thanks to: Laura Stephenson, Karoline Jeffery

2016-2017 Current Affairs: Libero Sepede, Thomas Liggins, Calvin Fang, Hugh Parfitt, Charlie Gee Maths and Sciences: Andrew Zhu, Taliesin Crook, Fraser Dingwall, Ed Lamb, Max Erdmann The Arts: Josh Garrett, Jasper Tsao, Thomas Rainbow, Logan Jones The Humanities: Callum Fenton, Jordan Cheng, Robert Stevens, Chris Lamb, Oliver Horsfall, Alfield Au Languages: Harry Walker , Harun Cehovic Sports: Edison Xiong, Samee Mohammed, Thomas Stewart Music: Harry Guthrie, Paolo Lombardo Mosaic: Ted Hicks, Angus Watson Production Assistance: Anna Garrett With thanks to: Laura Stephenson, Karoline Jeffery, Nicholas Allen, Sam Adams, Matthew Bolton, Michael Herring, Florence Markham Cover Art by: Shay Boyd

CONTENTS Current Affairs 6 7 Black Lives Matter: Political Force Or Social Media Fantasy? 9 Has Gun Violence Become A Norm In The US? 11 The Death Of The “Greatest” 12 The EU Migrant Crisis 14 How To Really Access Power And Respect

The Arts 29 30 32 33 35

On The Nature Of Contemporary Artwork Masterpiece Of The Month On Shakespearean Tragedy American Theatre On The London Stage

Humanities 37

Editorials 15 16 Is suppression of freedom of speech ever morally justifiable? 18 The Truth About Grades

Maths and Science 20 21 Superconductors and Their Applications 23 Designing “Space Chairs” 25 In The Light Of How Our Diet Has Changed Over The Last Century, How Does Nutrition Affect The Developing Brain? 28 The Pythagoreans’ Club

38 Corbynomics: The Good, the Bad and the Radical 40 Geography Society Lecture: Evolving Risk And Vulnerability From Snow Avalanches 41 RS Trip 2016 42 The One Party Nation 43 Geography Trip 2015 44 Doing Economics?

CONTENTS CONTINUED Languages 46 47 49 50 52 53

Textured Thoughts German Society What is Language? The Life Of Bryan Spanish Play Write-Up

Mosaic 64 65 70 73 76 77 80

Music 54 55 House Singing 58 West’s Side Story; Is Kanye West Really “The Greatest Living Rockstar”?

Fowles and Wellbelove 64 87 88 90 91 92 93 94 95

Sport

60 61 Champions Trophy Final Review 62 Stunning Sports Day 63 The Basketball Experience

Alone In A Crowd In A Czech Café… What If? Elevator Ride With God Christmas Truth The Maid

Define Courage (Dis)Grace Jack Everything In This Dream The Inside Of His Head ‘Humankind Cannot Bear Much Reality’ (TS Eliot) Condolences The Power Of A Work Lies In Its Emotional Impact On The Reader (I) Literature Challenges Us To Rething Our Social or Moral Viewpoint The Power Of A Work Lies In Its Emotional Impact On The Reader (II)

MDLII BSIP 2016 99 100 MDLII BSIP 2016

EDITOR’S LETTER 1898: “J’accuse” by Emile Zola blisters the treason case against Alfred Dreyfus to the core of its corrupt anti-Semitic foundations. 1995: Christopher Hitchens becomes the first man brave enough to fiercely lambast the ostensibly blemish free Mother Teresa, a woman earmarked for sainthood and a personal favourite of the late princess Diana. 1996: Daniel Keane is born, and his father Fergal dedicates a moving open letter to him that is both a meditation on fatherhood and a very real expression of pain and joy.

ournalism, in polemic and principle, has a long tradition of being one of the most destructive and creative forces in society. Whilst this year we have not blown whistles on racist military conspiracies or composed heartrending accounts of our family history, we have written with the bloody passion of schoolboys and the soul of poets, as well as the odd bit of nauseatingly pompous pontification. Because that is the peculiar strength and chief defect of school journalism: its authors have not yet learned to be bashful. Flicking through former issues I can see articles on a diversity of subjects that would make a freshly minted postgrad wince to write well on (The legality of the Iraqi war, the works of Turner, whether Kanye West really is the greatest living rock star…). It is this that best represents the value of the magazine. Certainly it provides a medium of creative expression, an interesting browse, an odd fact. But the real beneficiaries have been us as authors. The fear of an embarrassing piece

forced us to read outside the curriculum, to create, to understand, to write poorly, to write better. You the audience gave us a far more compelling motivation than any coursework due date. And we thank you for reading.

Letter written by

Joshua Carmichael

on behalf of the 2015 - 2016 editorial team

Current Affairs

BLACK LIVES MATTER: POLITICAL FORCE OR SOCIAL MEDIA FANTASY? The names of Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland and many others may slowly fade from memory in the coming year.

o, too, may the campaigns of Chris Christie and Jeb Bush fall from the headlines. The familiar refrain ‘Black Lives Matter’ will, however, no doubt be uttered, or indeed tweeted, many times more - as will, one must fear, the cry to ‘Make America Great Again’. The course of 2016 will no doubt serve to answer many of the questions posed by the strained relations of presidential candidates and Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists in 2015. For Brittany Packnett - a BLM representative in the presidential police-reform task force – 2014 was a year of “weaving the broader story of systemic injustice”. The past year necessitated a change in the story. The situation, however, remains distinctly unchanged. Though disruptive protests have forced the issue on many a politician’s lips, the prospects of immediate national police and judicial reform in the next years are bleak. There are, seemingly, too many questions with too few answers. Trump and his fellow Republican candidates have, instead of providing these answers, coolly denied the political sway of BLM. In doing so, they have failed to address an issue that weighs heavily upon the national conscience. At the time of writing, the movement has scarcely been mentioned at all in the televised debates, despite the fact that 73% of the 40 million potential black voters believe racism to be a key national issue. Carson, the only

black candidate standing for the presidency, labelled the movement “silly”; Chris Christie interpreted the activists’ aim as to murder police officers; whilst Donald Trump advised that an interrupting protestor be “roughed up.” In turn, their supporters have taken to chanting “All lives matter”, to deny, they say, the black community of its attention-seeking ways. If, however, we overlook their glaring differences, both Trump and the BLM movement are allied by a relentless drive to ignite controversy, and, often, clash in the name of publicity. Donald Trump, always the entertainer, will certainly don his clown mask once again. More worryingly, the Black Lives Matter activists risk adopting the heroic guises of ‘Dr. King’ and ‘Mr. X’ in the great competition for media attention that 2016 will inevitably become. Politicians and activists alike are true masters of set design, and our dependence on social media has only added to this great game. Die-ins, ‘Black Xmas’ and road-blockades have all graced the newsreels – the Baltimore Protests even managed a venture across the Atlantic – but their effects are left in only trace amounts: six police officers charged and a state of emergency lifted. Thus far, we have heard but mere promises of significant reform. After vigorous persuasion, Clinton has called for a “new New Deal” that would enforce police body cameras and bolster misconduct trials, but neglected demands 7

Article written by

Thomas Rainbow

these ‘black lives’ are not solely confined to young black men, but are centrally populated by trans-gender and disabled victims, can the true value of the phrase be gauged.

for the upright treatment of transgender, disabled and imprisoned blacks. There is contained within her words, a certain sense of appeasement. She has maintained reservations as to whether the movement will ever truly balance its image with its implications. It seems, ultimately, that prospective presidents are only willing to devote 13% of their efforts to secure 13% of potential votes.

To add to its issues, the movement’s stated intentions are dangerously open to interpretations, thanks to the unquantifiable nature of the racism it seeks to discredit. The deployment of body cameras can hardly capture the tacit suspicion that may well account for 37% of police shootings. Invisible racism should perhaps be dealt with in the same manner as ISIL infiltration – an issue that firmly arrived on American shores in December’s San Bernardino Shooting. In its aftermath, Democrats called for tightened gun control, senators called for a revision of encrypted communication legislation and Trump called for a ‘total and complete’ ban on Muslim entry to the United States.

In spite of this negligence, the movement is, in some part, responsible for its own woes. I ask you this: who are the leading personae in this Black Lives Matter production? Look to the movement’s Wikipedia page and one will find a troubling response: “the overall Black Lives Matter movement… is a decentralized network and has no formal hierarchy or structure”. 2016 must ultimately decide between a faceless, unrepresented movement that fights for familiar-faced victims, or a plastic face that preys upon, or more appropriately, criminalizes, societal castaways.

For African-Americans, the heady days of clear-cut reforms are firmly over. Even if the new Congress can overcome its all-toocommon lethargy, judicial and police reform would be patchy at best. Introducing body cameras would shed more light on the movement’s publicity efforts than police malpractice. As Anthony Jones, a Philadelphia police officer puts it, wary citizens have adopted “a cell phone ‘gun’” in anticipation of wrongdoing – another camera angle may well prove fruitless.

In November, fresh protests emerged when two white supremacists shot and wounded five activists in Minneapolis. Similar protests, however, erupted when a Dunkin’-Doughnuts employee wrote the slogan on a police officer’s cup in October. 2015 offered countless examples when nation-wide awakening seemed imminent. Yet still, the movement seems nothing more than a passing triviality to many politicians.

In the wake of 1960s civil rights - this supposed new era of ‘post-racial America’ - suggestions that legislation still discriminates against the black community could easily lapse into a suggestion of entirely demolishing and rebuilding American social infrastructure. The 18 counts of drug possession and burglary on Freddie Gray’s criminal record do not provide justification for his death, but do offer some explanations for disproportionate police killings.

Regardless of whether America chooses to discuss the matter, the social media feeds and trends of 2016 shall no doubt be rich with further ammunition for accusations or indeed official investigations. Every streaming of an incriminating mobile-phone video may well inspire a new proclamation of support for the movement, but the nature of hash-tag activism is such that it runs the risk of overuse. How many of the 9 million tweets carrying the phrase in 2014 truly engaged with the issues it entailed? We are often too quick to disregard the meaning of a phrase for the sake of sentimentality and unity, which, though critical for success, crucially lacks political momentum. In many ways, its greatest obstacle to meaningful government collaboration is its objectives.

In the worst affected urban areas, criminal justice has become the dominant government institution. According to the Justice Mapping Center, a single block can demand over a million dollars to incarcerate its residents. As author Ta-Nehesi Coates suggests, a ‘post-racial’ vision of America is often deployed by the media ‘to measure progress’ under the Obama administration. When Black Lives Matter is no longer cited in reference to a politician’s failings, only then can it develop a truly productive identity.

#BlackLivesMatter is, at its core, a byword for a foggy list of political agendas that, for the time being, will struggle to be realised. Only when the American public appreciate that

BLACK LIVES MATTER 8

HAS GUN VIOLENCE BECOME A NORM IN THE U.S.? * Is gun related crime on an increase in the U.S.?

Article written by

Shivam Patel

* What are the arguments for and against gun control laws? * What can be done to bring about safety in American society?

t is widely believed that modern society is being drawn into the direction of disarray. Crime, especially, is widely considered to be steadily soaring out of control. In America, politicians frequently join the fray, using the crime issue to assert various political points. For example, Donald Trump recently declared that Latino immigrants are “bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” Or Democratic Party front-runner Hillary Clinton is an advocate of the death penalty, but hopes to address an “unacceptable” increase in incarceration. Similar rhetoric is uncommon in other advanced countries, most of which have much lower crime rates than the U.S. Gun control is a particularly difficult issue in the U.S., a fact that most other first-world nations find baffling. In spite of a plethora of high profile multiple killings in the past, most Americans remain hostile to any further restrictions on guns. It is widely believed that communities are safer where citizens are free to purchase weapons to defend themselves. Just a while ago, Starbucks Coffee in America requested its customers to not bring their guns into their shops. Although it was brave of Starbucks to go even this far in a country where people are better armed and only slightly less nervy than rebel fighters in Syria,

it is time America rises to address the problem of people who go armed to buy even a latte! The supporters of gun control believe that stronger laws can prevent the needless loss of life. Even individuals who support gun control rights acknowledge that certain people should not be permitted to own guns. Current gun control laws prevent criminals, mentally ill individuals and children from owning guns. Unfortunately, there have been instances where young people and mentally unstable persons have acquired weapons and used them to commit mass murders. But, the thing to understand is that guns, weapon technology, gun ownership and even gun control laws can have unexpected consequences. The creation of a national gun registry would give rise to privacy issues, and the use of outdated or unclear gun control laws can result in a lot of confusion. Unfortunately, a perfect gun control solution has not been created. There isn’t a way to know if gun control will make the nation safer or more dangerous until the Americans are willing to implement it. If America can’t adopt stronger gun control laws, maybe its citizens can adopt safer ways to use their guns. There have been various arguments against more regulations on gun use. It has been 9

Statistics

don’t change people’s

minds, people do.

drink/drug driving and build safety features on highways, as well as in vehicles. The result is a steadily improving record; by 2015, it is predicted that for first time road deaths will be fewer than deaths occurred due to firearms. So why can’t any actions be taken to reduce the number of deaths by firearm? Plainly, there’s no equivalent effort in the area of privately owned firearms. It is true that no nation sees itself as outsiders do. Half the country is sane and rational while the other half simply doesn’t grasp the inconsistencies and historic lunacy of its position, which springs from the second amendment right to keep and bear arms, and is derived from English common law and our 1689 Bill of Rights. We dispensed these rights long ago in Britain but American gun owners cleave to them with the tenacity that previous generations fought to continue slavery.

frequently reminded that Americans have the right to bear arms. Gun control laws would prevent individuals from defending themselves and their property. One of the most common laws that the supporters cite is the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This law includes the famous phrase “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The fundamental argument that gun control opponents make is that the right to own and use weapons is an undeniable personal freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. However, with this right of the citizens, comes the responsibility of the holder to use it appropriately. But this side of the law has unfortunately not been clearly justified by the U.S. Constitution. Also, many supporters have pointed out from referencing incidents from the past that the chances of death are not just correlated to increased possession of guns. The usual retort that risk is everywhere might be boring to be repeated but remains true. Indeed, guns are “designed” for killing whereas knives are not, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have stabbing incidents. Guns can level the playing field, especially for women - who are often the targets of violent crimes from more powerful opponents. A world without gun is one in which the advantages of youth, size, strength, aggression, and sheer numbers are almost always decisive.

In regards to their own safety, Americans often have an unusual ability to hold two utterly opposed ideas in their minds simultaneously. That can only explain the past decade in which the fear of terror has cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars in wars, surveillance and intelligence programmes and homeland security. Ten years after 9/11, homeland security spending doubled to $69 billion. The total bill since the attacks is more than $649 billion. So what shall be done? People shouldn’t abandon their instinctive responses of horror to even rare occurrences like mass shootings, but also need to realize they are their guides to taking actions against it. The selective use of statistics masks the objectivity, validating their instincts and making them less willing to see the real side. If Americans are ever going to reach a consensus on gun control, it will happen because their principles would have evolved, not because the numbers led them there. Fewer guns would reduce deaths and outweigh any loss of liberty and freedom, the very basis on which America was formed. The only way change can be introduced is by altering the beliefs of Americans about liberty and freedom, not by inundating them with numbers. Statistics don’t change people’s minds, people do.

From a statistical point of view, gun killings wouldn’t stand out as the most egregious cause of death in the U.S. In 2013, there were 16,000 homicides in the U.S., 11,000 of which were by firearm, predominantly pistols. Auto accidents still kill three times as many people as gun homicides do, 50,000 in 2013, despite vehicular deaths are consistently falling since 1980’s. But at least that rate is also going down. Gun suicides occurred at nearly twice at 21,000 annually and that number is not dropping. Everywhere you look in America, people are trying to make life safer. On roads, for example, there has been a huge effort in the past 50 years to enforce speed limits, crack down on 10

THE DEATH OF THE “GREATEST” Muhammad Ali, the three-time world heavyweight champion who had a long battle with Parkinson’s disease for 32 years, died on 3rd June 2016 when he was only 74.

rom the moment Muhammad Ali’s death was announced, tributes have poured in as the world grieves for an iconic boxer who also became a leading symbol of the civil rights movements. Ali’s charisma and commitment to social and political causes enabled him to become not only a global champion, but also one of the most famous people on the planet. His famous quote “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can’t hit what the eyes can see.” (CNN, 2016) was often repeated. He had since devoted his life to helping promote world peace, civil rights, crosscultural understanding, interfaith relations, humanitarianism, hunger relief, and the commonality of basic human values (looktothestars, 2016). His work as an ambassador for peace began in 1985, when he flew to Lebanon to secure the release of four hostages. Ali also has made goodwill missions to Afghanistan and North Korea; delivered over $1 million in medical aid to Cuba; traveled to Iraq to secure the release of 15 United States hostages during the first Gulf War; and journeyed to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela upon his release from prison. His recent attempt to free two American hikers held captive in Iran reinforces his tireless commitment to promoting freedom, tolerance, and humanity around the world.

providing over 232 million meals to the world’s hungry. Ali has hand-delivered food and medical supplies to children in Cote D’Ivoire, Indonesia, Mexico, and Morocco, among other countries. In addition to his international efforts, Ali is equally devoted to helping charities at home. He has visited countless numbers of soup kitchens and hospitals, and helped organizations including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Special Olympics; a charity which provides athletics training to more then 2.2 million people with intellectual disabilities. He also annually participated in Celebrity Fight Night, which generates funds for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Ali once said, “I’ve always wanted to be more than just a boxer. More than just the three-time heavyweight champion. I wanted to use my fame, and this face that everyone knows so well, to help uplift and inspire people around the world.” Indeed, he was not just a boxer; he was also no doubt a good role who made a difference in the world.

He continued to serve those in need overseas, 11

Article written by

Edison Xiong

THE EU MIGRANT CRISIS Article written by

Shivam Patel

â&#x20AC;˘ Why are inundating numbers of migrants entering the EU? â&#x20AC;˘ What can be done to stop this influx? â&#x20AC;˘ How does multiculturalism benefit our society?

he European Union is experiencing one of the most significant influxes of migrants and refugees in its history. Forced by civil war and terror and attracted by the promise for a better life, hundreds of thousands of people have fled the Middle East and Africa, risking their lives along the way. The scale of the crisis has put huge pressures on some destination countries, particularly Greece, Austria and Hungary. At least 500,000 migrants entered the EU between January and August 2015, as opposed to a mere 280,000 during the whole of 2014. The 500,000 who came does not include the number of migrants who might have entered undetected. Amongst the factors driving people to take such risks are mainly the conflicts soaring in Syria and Iraq and the human rights abuse in Eritrea. Most of the people who have entered the EU through boats from Africa originate from these three countries. There are also people setting out from Libya, Sudan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Kosovo, Iraq, Iran Darfur, Somalia and other countries in the hope of a new life somewhere in Western Europe. The journey to Western Europe is not a simple one; it is a tempestuous, tiring and turbulent journey. As many as 4,000 people have been reported missing or found dead on their journey since the start of 2015. These statistics might just be a number for a few, 12

but in reality they demonstrate the depth of problems faced by people in war-torn countries. The migrants that have actually made it alive now have a sense of freedom that they will have the right to express their opinion away from oppression. However, many are visibly traumatized upon their arrival; smiles of happiness quickly fade into frowns of troubled reflection. The violence had taken away their homes and killed or maimed their friends and family, but they are confident that most dark clouds have a silver lining and that their life in tents is only transitory. Ascertaining the motivation for people to make this journey is complex. However, it is mainly because of fear of the political regime or political instability in their origin country, for example, refugees fleeing North of Nigeria is due to the insurgency of Boko-Haram, in Pakistan, the civil war and the oppression by Taliban extremists in the Northwest region is forcing people to leave, in hope for a better life elsewhere. In Eritrea, cases of extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance and detention, arbitrary arrest and torture, inhumane prison conditions, indefinite national service and lack of freedom of expression and opinion have been reported. Such bleak prospects of living in Eritrea due to the political regime have left people no choice but to embark upon the road to exile. These are only a handful

of examples of countries where people have to fight for a basic human need: the right to be free. Something has to be done to resolve this matter: the EU needs to come together and agree on common terms as to how we can provide for refugees who have already made their dangerous journey to Europe. Also, it needs to take measures to bring stability to the region: accepting as many migrants might be a short-term solution but we cannot forget that the more liberal we become by taking in refugees, the more we will attracted and will cause greater pressure on the welfare system of EU nations. An apt solution will be to ensure that conditions in the origin counties are suitable to live in. For instance, the governments of Nigeria and Pakistan need to pay more attention to eradicate the supremacy of Boko-Haram in North of Nigeria and Taliban extremists in North-West of Pakistan, so that people living in these region have a safer life. In the case of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, where the government has a minimal control over most of the land area of the country, foreign intervention is required. However, this method has received ambivalent responses from the world and will be very hard to get right, as we have seen from the partial failure of the USA’s invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. The situation is getting even worse and the desperation of the people to leave is soaring. However, there are many benefits to having migrants in a country; the balance between economic and social benefits is equal, by-andlarge. In economic terms; migrants fill up the job vacancies. They generally tend to take up those jobs which the native population would rather avoid and this corresponds to economic stability of the country. Migrants are generally young and therefore bring with them ideas,

innovation and vigor to the nation. Services to the ageing population can be maintained, as the younger generations tend to run them better. There are also social benefits to the nations that receive migrants: especially by introducing the native population to distant cultures, enriching its cultural diversity. An example of this benefit is, of course, Bedford School. Our school is amongst one of the most culturally diverse independent schools in the country - about 30% of our boarding community hails from overseas and this has greatly shaped our school. Not only has fact helped us to achieve a high reputation, both nationally and internationally, and we rank very high in many respects. In an assembly a few weeks ago, we celebrated the United Nation International Language Day by hearing a few words in some of the languages spoken in the school; it was indeed fun and this event was a testimony to our successful multicultural community. The ethos of our school has been shaped by the blend of innovative ideas brought by people who belong to different countries mixed with traditional British values, with is truly the strength of our school. And as they say, “united we stand, divided we fall;” let’s make the diversity of cultures the strength of our society and work together to help solve the migrant crisis.

HOW TO REALLY ACCESS POWER AND RESPECT Article written by

Robert Stevens

Power is not brought through fear or wealth but through respect. those around you, the more respect it gains in the long term. Whether you are an ordinary person in a perfectly ordinary country or a leader against injustice, being humane and sensitive will always prevail over the anger around you. Violence has the short term impact of gaining power, but it ingrains a seed of hatred. No one looks up to the powerful leaders of Hitler and Stalin, because their authority was false. Violence and fear never truly bring power, only resentment and hatred. But preaching peace and kindness.... nothing can gain power and respect easier than that.

f you are the one who brings traits of humanity where none can be found then it is you who has true power. The great empires of Rome, Britain and Mongolia all used fear and death to establish â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;powerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. As is the way of the world, these great empires fell, but now look at those great leaders who preached peace and used kindness; Ghandi, Martin Luther King and the Dalai Lama. These great leaders achieved and exceeded their aims and all have a lasting legacy. It does not just have to be great leaders who use acts of kindness for respect and power. No matter who you are or where you come from, being kind and humane will get you respect no matter where you are. In places where you are surrounded by hatred and aggression, it may be harder to stick on this humane path - but that just brings all the more respect. The harder you have had to work for this attitude towards 14

Editorial

IS SUPPRESSION OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH EVER MORALLY JUSTIFIABLE? Article written by

Callum Fenton

Across the western world, freedom of speech is seen as an inalienable right for every person that should not be infringed upon for any reason.

his right is seen as necessary for any fair and civilised country to function in a just and ethical manner, however are there any situations when allowing someone freedom of speech may be unethical and unjust? Is it possible that the consequences of allowing someone to speak could outweigh the benefits that freedom of speech entails? To truly know whether or not it could be right to take away someone’s right to free speech, we must first examine why freedom of speech is seen as such a necessity, and for this we must turn to history. I imagine that many of your minds are now immediately turning to the various examples that you will know of where foreign governments or dictators have had opposition silenced or killed off. I, however, would prefer to direct your attention closer to home. The 1959 Obscenity Act, for example, banned the publication of books that were deemed too obscene for public consumption; books such as “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” were banned under the act, even if only temporarily. This, in my opinion (and I hope yours too), is a very clear example of a time when legislative power has been abused by the government in order to suppress freedom of speech in the name of preserving old fashioned values. Luckily this act was overturned and publishers essentially have the right to publish whatever they wish. This is an historical case where freedom of speech has been used in a morally unjust manner and an 16

example of the danger of allowing a legislative body to have the right to restrict freedom of speech. It is reasons such as this that would encourage the majority of people to agree that free speech should be a right for everyone. History, however, can also show us many examples where freedom of speech has been sacrificed for the good of the people. An obvious example can be found in America, a country renowned for their enshrining of free speech, where American law states that fighting speech that could “incite an immediate breach of the peace” is illegal and an offence, that depending on severity, could lead to imprisonment. This would obviously be an example of a time when free speech can be limited in order to preserve another inalienable right, in this case the right not to be harmed. One other example of free speech being taken away for the good of the populace is Britain during WW2 and the “Loose lips sinks ships” campaign encouraging people to censor what they say in order to hinder any German spying efforts. This is an example when the populace has had what they can say regulated in order to preserve the lives of others within the population - in this case soldiers. These cases are obviously times when it is clear that freedom of speech has been limited for a morally justifiable reason. Now to explore the real benefit of possibly restricting freedom of speech I believe it is

necessary to look beyond history and into possible cases that could emerge. If freedom of speech is a right belonging to everyone, then it is a right belonging to immoral people, meaning freedom of speech can be used for immoral purposes. A modern example may be bullying, which can have serious consequences as a direct result of someone using free speech to insult another. A victim may go on to harm themselves or even commit suicide. In a case such as this, would it not be morally justified for the bully to have their free speech limited in order to preserve the mental and physical health of the victim? Well in my opinion probably not, because we must look at the consequences of such a decision; by saying that using free speech to insult someone is wrong, we set a dangerous precedent where people saying anything offensive can be persecuted for their actions. We could end up living in a Fahrenheit 451 –esque world where people are so afraid of causing offence they instead choose to say nothing. It is therefore obvious that some sort of middle ground needs to be found where free speech cannot be used as a weapon to victimise people, however can also be used as a tool to express a point.

In summary, I do believe it is morally justifiable under certain circumstances to limit free speech, however I think these circumstances are rare. I believe that the only time someone’s right to free speech should be impeached is if the consequences of what they say will take away somebody else’s inalienable rights. Therefore, I believe that the moral justification of the restriction of free speech is dependant on what or what not the government believes to be a person’s right.

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THE TRUTH ABOUT GRADES Article written by

Jaynil Patel

In every school there are teachers who will keep their grade books at the ready, using any disruption to wave it about in the air and threaten students with a bad grade. They claim that an A circled in red ink helps to ‘motivate’ the young, curious minds of their students.

t might.

But I have always found the best teachers are the ones who cast aside their grade books, and inspire and challenge us students to think independently and open-mindedly about the world outside of the confines of the syllabus. It is therefore not a coincidence that there is serious evidence supporting the growing belief that grades are harmful. There will always be people that will defend the practise of dishing out grades at every opportunity. However, recent research carried out by number one educational research group ASME, has shown that the three main effects of grading are: * Grades tend to diminish the student’s interest in learning itself * Grades tend to make students pick the easiest task, avoiding any forms of challenge * Grades tend to reduce the quality of a student’s thinking These all make sense. If a teacher hands out more and more grades as rewards for good work, neat handwriting or replicating the perfect template for a paragraph, then that once curious mind is going to be lead astray by 18

the rewards of his work, and it will lose interest in what he is learning and why he is learning it. Is this ‘Victorian’ educatory system, as Tony Little the Headmaster of Eton described it, really the best way to educate and nurture the minds of the future generation of our country? A student’s will to challenge himself will get weaker the more teachers or parents put pressure on them to get an A. At the end of the day, students are still children and if you say that grades are a guarantee of success, they will just take the easiest route, missing out on so much over the course of their whole school life. Also, a series of studies carried out by educational psychologists from the prestigious University of Denver revealed that those students who received quantitative feedback, i.e. grades, were significantly less creative than those who received qualitative feedback, i.e. verbal or written feedback. If a student is forced to learn only what is in a syllabus, how is he/she to cope when confronted with a topic that challenges or contradicts what has been preached to them in lessons? Hundreds of thousands of students value themselves as a B or an A, blind to the arbitrary nature of that grade. An A doesn’t show what a student can do, what a student can’t do and what a student needs help with. Even

the ultimate percentage of a Biology test is a larger reflection of how the test was written, what skills the teacher wanted to assess, and what the teacher felt deserved more or less marks. Equally qualified teachers could give completely opposite grades for the same grades. A student could write the most nuanced and evaluative essay on the effects of global warming, yet score a B because of his handwriting, or because he didn’t use the same case study the teacher wanted him to use. Despite this both teachers and students have become accustomed to grading work and receiving graded feedback on every bit of work they do. This needs to stop. Schools are too obsessed with data at the moment; instead of trying to measure a child’s ability with a letter, they should assess their ability with written feedback without a grade. Grades are not only damaging to the teacher and student, but to the parents as well. Try and think back to the saddening conversations at parents evening, a time where unfortunately most of the focus in on grades. Some parents feel like their child, who they know they brought up to be a clever child, is struggling because their effort grade average is 3.7, their attainment grade is a B- and they’re predicted a B in History. There are thousands of excellent teachers who are dealt the hard job of relaying the bad grades they were forced to give by their school, even though there really wasn’t any need to give the grades in the first place. Ultimately, all of this disappointment and confusion caused by grades affects the student most. Due to the myth that grades are “a ticket to academic success”, which students then associate with happiness, some children can’t cope with the pressure and disappointment. Many people will say that grades aren’t the cause of any serious damage, and that they’ve been part of schooling for ages so it must be the right thing to do. However, the stats below show the harsh reality that they are oblivious to.

* 20 young students take their lives every day in India due to pressure caused by grades and exams. * 70% of self-harming teenagers in the UK have suicidal thoughts due to exam stress. The number of lives ruined or lost because of grades will drop the sooner we get them out of the system. Students need to be born into a world where everything they learn isn’t associated with a letter, because then they won’t focus on the rewards of their learning, instead they will challenge themselves more and naturally develop into inquisitive learners. Over the last decade schools have started to change, and are now turning to only verbal and written feedback which is proven to be much more useful. This is a sign of hope, and I urge you, whether you be student, teacher or parent, to not place so much value on grades in order to make your own, your child or student’s education so much more fruitful. When the goal of education becomes a grade at the top of a homework, on the front of an exam, or printed in black and white on your résumé, the intrinsic motivation to excel in other realms of life becomes much harder to find. Anyone can get an A star, and it doesn’t take a lot to realise there is more to ticks and crosses in education, but it does take a lot to act on that and change.

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Maths and Science

SUPERCONDUCTORS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS In a world where the threat of climate change, exacerbated by our relentless energy consumption, has become one of the main challenges facing humanity, the issue of efficiency has never before been more critical.

uperconductivity offers the ability for a current to flow with zero resistance, opening the door for the possibility of a plethora of technologies and energy saving techniques. Today, superconductors are put to use in super-efficient generators, Maglev trains, MRI imaging and particle accelerators. However, the full potential of this phenomenon is relatively untapped. It is hoped that with the continuing development of high temperature superconductors, we will be able to slash energy wasted during power transmission as well as give rise to many other exciting applications of the technology.

without resistance is like a ball rolling without friction: it would continue flowing for ever. The first observation of superconductivity was made by Dutch physicist Heike Onnes, who observed that when he cooled mercury to a temperature of 4 degrees Kelvin, its resistance suddenly disappeared. Whereas resistance is normally directly proportional to the temperature of the conductor, Onnes had observed an anomaly in this relationship. Mercury had suddenly gone from having a finite resistance to exhibiting zero resistivity below the temperature of 4.2 Kelvin. So why is this the case?

The concept of superconductivity must have seemed as incredible as a perpetual motion machine before its discovery; a current flowing

The answer lies in the behaviour of the electrons inside a material, the same electrons which carry charge through a

Article written by

Wilfred Hamilton

Superconductivity

is a game

changer

conductor to provide an electric current. In normal circumstances, when there is a flow of charge through a material, its passage is impeded due to the collisions with the atoms in the material. These collisions cause the kinetic energy of the travelling electrons to be dissipated, causing the conductor to be heated. This waste of the electronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kinetic energy is called electrical resistance. The reason why it is proportional to temperature is due to particle theory; as the material is heated up, the kinetic energy of the heated particles increases and the particles vibrate more and more violently and so there are more collisions with the flowing electrons, causing an increase in resistance. Superconductivity is a game changer as it is essentially the absence of resistance; this is made possible by the formation of Cooper pairs through the coupling of two electrons. As the conductor transitions into superconducting state, these Cooper pairs cease to behave like ordinary electrons and condense. Consequently, the collision interactions that lead to normal resistivity are avoided, allowing the Cooper pairs to move unhindered through the superconductor when an electrical voltage is applied. This current can then flow unopposed as long as the superconductor remains below its critical temperature, which is the temperature when it enters its superconductive state. It was found that if you reduced Strontium Titanate and then cooled it at a temperature of 0.3K, it became superconductive - a property that seems exceedingly unlikely for a metal oxide due to the fact that they are usually electrical insulators. Nevertheless, this finding lead to the synthesis of more and more new compounds that were capable of superconductivity and as understanding increased, the highest temperature rose and rose. In 1986, a copper oxide or cuprate was found to superconduct at 30K, causing research efforts in the field to increase until in 1987 a landmark was reached. Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide was the first compound 22

discovered with a critical temperature above the temperature of liquid nitrogen, a relatively available and cost effective coolant. This discovery meant that the costs for operating superconductors were slashed and many new technological applications were made possible. By replacing current power lines with ones made from the low resistant superconducting wire, the power loss could be reduced to less than 20% of current values, leading to vast energy saving in the long term. Another technology known as super magnetic energy storage (SMES) allows energy to be stored in the magnetic field of a superconducting coil, offering the ability to store energy and release it into the network at any time by discharging the coil. This is currently a very efficient energy storage technique with 95% efficiency - it also allows for immediate power output as there is no time delay in converting the magnetic energy stored in the field into electricity. One of the few drawbacks is that the magnetic field cannot be too strong or the critical temperature of the superconductor would be exceeded and therefore would lose its superconducting ability and, in turn, the energy storage per unit is limited. Although these technologies I have mentioned are all currently possible, the discovery of high temperature superconductors with yet higher temperatures remains vital as the costs associated with cooling superconductors to a superconductive state render many exciting applications unviable. Personally, I look forward to following the advances in this potentially revolutionary technology and I hope that we will be able to harness its true capabilities, and as a result, dramatically improve our energy efficiency.

DESIGNING “SPACE CHAIRS” What are the challenges faced in designing a space chair and how to tackle them?

esigning chairs which can keep humans safe in space is a major scientific hurdle which has not yet been completely crossed. However, a few Bedford School boys have attempted to do just this, and this succinct report talks about what they think a space chair should be like and how it may work. It was a very interesting project which provoked numerous scientific ideas and thoughts, as well as challenges to be tackled to withstand the environment in space and of course, maintain the safety of the people who used them. Some of the main issues to consider whilst designing the chair were concerning safety, security, comfort and feasibility. Security, of course was the main priority, but attempts were made to make the design as comfortable as possible. The shape and form of the chair is quite similar to that of a car, however the fabric and the cushioning is replaced by a

memory foam, which makes it not only more comfortable by shaping itself to the person’s body, but also reduces impact on the person during acceleration. The person sat on the chair is held by a five-strap seatbelt which makes secures them in place and also ensures the force on the body is evenly spread out, thus reducing the pressure on the person’s body. The position of the footrest can also be altered depending on the size of the passenger. Some experts from relevant fields were also consulted in order to get a better idea of what factors were to be considered. One of the potential issues that was discounted was the G force that the passengers would be subjected to. It turned out that 45° angle take off would not be particularly dangerous to them. The suit which the passengers would have to wear (Anti- G suits that astronauts use), would ensure proper circulation of the blood 23

Article written by

Alexander Williams Bryan Ng Christopher Junge Ray Ren Wilfred Hamilton

in the body. After discussions and meetings with experts, the following key points were crucial for the design to be successful: comfort of the passengers-vibrations; orientation with respect to direction of travel and design of the seats for comfortable sitting position. Safety and reliability was also a consideration; equipment must be durable and chances of failure remained small. One of the main matters of consideration is the performance of the chair while taking off. At this moment, the passenger would have to sit upright, similar to the taking off position in an airplane or even a rollercoaster as this position reduces pressure on the body. In a similar manner to how seats on an aeroplane change their angle on taking off with respect to the direction of travel, the same practice has to be followed in a space vehicle. However, during landing, the chair has to face in a parallel direction to travel, not only for comfort, but also to minimise the force on the spine to avoid serious injuries. Passenger safety is always the key priority and measures have to be taken to keep passengers safe. According to the Pascalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Principle, pressure cannot be diminished in a closed system. In practice, pressure will greatly vary throughout the journey; however, a five strap seatbelt can be used to distribute the same force over a larger area than a two strap seatbelt typically found in automobiles. In order to decrease the impact caused by vibration, a damped spring is used. This consists of a spring sealed in a tube with some gel to act as a shock absorber in two different directions, one going from the top to bottom and the vice-versa. A ball bearing system will allow the seat to move freely to compensate for the movement of the spacecraft. Although, the potential problem here is that the seat may move too much and the passenger will be in danger in case the spring fails. To solve this problem, four damped springs are used, so if one of them 24

fails, there are others which can still operate perfectly. The probability of all four springs breaking is extremely tiny and can be ignored. To sum up, these were a few points of concern considered by the team. A lot of scientific scrutiny goes into making space chairs which are safe, but with advancing technology, we will get close to designing a perfect chair in the future.

IN THE LIGHT OF HOW OUR DIET HAS CHANGED OVER THE LAST CENTURY, HOW DOES NUTRITION AFFECT THE DEVELOPING BRAIN? Brain development and the importance of a child’s first few years in cognitive development is now a widely discussed topic.

s a definition, neural development is the process where complex nervous systems are constructed in an organism. It begins with nerve cell differentiation from stem cells in embryonic development, and arguably lasts until late adolescence, or possibly even throughout the entire lifespan. Over the previous decades, a vast sum of knowledge has been collected about brain development, and today there is much information available to the public about how children’s learning and memory abilities are affected by factors of brain development. On the other side of popular science, the interest of the ‘goodness’ in what we eat has peaked. Constantly bombarded are we with articles correlating ‘this item of food’ with ‘this type of disease’, it almost seems that everything we eat has a negative to it. Most notoriously, it is now common to connote the term ‘saturated fats’ or the word ‘cholesterol’ to heart disease, yet a recent article by New Scientist claims that saturated fats are no longer the major factor to blame in heart disease, their actual ‘bad’ effects much unclear; whilst cholesterol is a vital constituent of plasma membranes, of which we have many! From these two areas sprouts the question of whether the 21st Century diet we are currently consuming is affecting the way the young infant brain develops. I will look at cognitive benefits of some of the

foods we consume, comparing their rates of consumption to decades ago. For the purpose of this article, a 21st Century diet is defined as the diet of people living in the western world, although this clearly in itself is quite ambiguous and widespread. To begin, one important nutrient required in brain development is iron. It is common knowledge that iron is vital for oxygen transport in the bloodstream – it is required to make haemoglobin; however, iron is also important during embryonic brain development. Myelination, the process of creating myelin sheaths on the axons of neurones, requires iron. This is significant as myelin sheaths increase the speed of nervous impulses, by reducing electrical resistance. Iron is also involved in the production of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, which is responsible for reward pathways in the brain, that generate the sense of pleasure. Iron is commonly known to be rich in red meat. Whilst overall meat consumption has increased, red meat has actually fallen in many countries. According to data from the OECD, the USA, Canada and Australia have all decreased their red meat consumption since 1970s, whilst only BRICS nations such as China have increased. This is leads to the suggestion that there is quite a significant iron deficiency problem. A report in 1989 stated that 86% of girls in the UK received less than 25

Article written by

Andrew Zhu

the recommended amount of iron. In fact, the WHO claims that iron deficiency is the most common nutrient related condition worldwide. All in all, with iron deficiency a large problem, this could pose a problem for infants and developing embryos. With experiments using rats, iron deficiency led to problems with spacial navigation, and procedural memory recall, creating impaired cognitive development. Cod liver oil tablets, fish oil tablets, chia seeds; what do all these supplements have in common? Omega 3. Pharmacies can be seen lined with various products boasting this ‘super nutrient’. But what use does Omega 3 have with brain development? Omega 3 fatty acids are vital in the production of synapses and for myelination in the brain. Particularly, the fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) makes up to 30% of the mass of your brain, and is vital for synapse plasticity, which is supposed to help with learning and memory. This proves huge importance during brain development therefore. The final trimester of pregnancy and the first 2 years of an infant’s life is the period of most development for the brain, and where synapse plasticity is at its greatest. DHA is required especially at these points to construct and reconstruct neurones to aid brain growth. As DHA cannot be easily converted from other fatty acid forms, our brain is reliant on our diet to bring these fatty acids in. Unfortunately, omega-3 deficiency is a prevalent problem throughout the Western world, mainly due to a low consumption of oily fish and shellfish, which are rich in Omega-3, especially DHA. The average intake of DHA and EPA (another fatty acid) in the USA is around 100-200 mg, significantly lower than the guideline amount of 650mg. The introduction of supplements helps alleviate the situation, although even then few contain a high proportion of DHA, as it is much costlier to collect.

If one thing is sure about diet changes over the last century, it’s that consumption of junk food has skyrocketed. This has in turn been a reason why obesity rates among adults in the UK are around a third. We all know that a junk food diet can lead to diabetes and obesity, but there are also risks for cognitive development. Experiments on rats show that a high saturated fat and cholesterol diet led to an increased number of memory problems, compared to a control group of rats that were fed low fat diets. High calorie intake has also been suggested to cause problems. Excess calories can lead to the creation of free radicals, which strongly oxidise any protein and nucleic acid in neurones, which can wreak havoc. On top of this, recent investigations have shown a link between a reduction of the response of insulin – due to repeated high sugar levels, and Alzheimer’s disease. Even though this is not directly linked to brain development, the message still stands that these forms of diets are not in any way helpful for the brain. Over the past century, not only has the food we eat changed, but also how to food is grown and farmed. Modern intensive farming methods have meant that the vegetables and meats, on the whole, carry less nutritional value than 60 years prior. According to a US survey of 43 crops comparing them from 1950, amounts of iron has decreased by 15%. Broccoli from today has 28% less zinc in it. The importance of iron has already been mentioned, but zinc is also needed for neural development. It exists as part of a number of important enzymes which manage proteins and nucleic acids, and is involved in the biochemistry of neurotransmitters. Zinc deficiency during early infancy can therefore lead to cognitive impairment as neurones are more likely to die. Whilst years ago, most food would be locally grown and harvested, agricultural trade is now an international business, with products being imported worldwide. This poses another nutritional problem as many vital

nutrients are lost within the first 48 hours of picking, meaning by the time the product reaches the supermarkets, it may have lost significant amount of its nutritional value. Having discussed the following changes in our diet, and the impacts they may have on cognitive development, it may be easy to say we have become worse off for our brains. However, let us not forget the great improvements that have been made. Thanks to a modernisation and mass production of agriculture, fruits and vegetables have become far more available to the public. This

outweighs any possible dilution of nutritional value. Although the poor diets filled with junk food are still prevalent, and they definitely pose a danger to neural development, there is an increased awareness of the health consequences that this diet leads to. Even the selling of fish oil tablets is proof that there is an awareness of our deficiency is Omega- 3 fatty acids, and a willingness to try to rectify the situation. Although work still needs to be done to educate people about specific dietary needs of the neural development, much of the current progress is a step in the right direction.

References http://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/brain-architecture/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synaptic_plasticity https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22730322-100-bittertruth-how-were-making-fruit-and-veg-less-healthy/ http://www.nutrition-matters.co.uk/free_docs/changingdietconsequences.htm http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18790724 http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=70 http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/2/614S.full http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2008/1/report_dhafishoil/Page-01 https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528805-800food-for-thought-eat-your-way-to-dementia/ http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/scientists-learn-how-food-affects-52668

THE PYTHAGOREANS’ CLUB Article written by

Bryan Ng

The Pythagoreans’ Club is a club for Sixth Formers who have a special interest in mathematics.

e organize lectures on a monthly basis and are joined on these Friday afternoons by the Sigma Society from Bedford Girls School. On Friday 18th September Mr. Jerome Watson gave the Pythagoreans’ Club entitled “Proving Pythagoras and Playing with Primes” about some proofs of the famous Pythagoras’ theorem, using different areas of mathematics, such as congruent triangles, similar triangles and calculus. It also included a proof that Mr. Watson invented himself using geometric progressions, which is a kind of wisdom we can rarely see. He also spoke about the relationship between prime numbers and Pythagorean triples. It was a fantastic afternoon and a great start to this years’ lecture series. Proving Pythagoras’ Theorem in different ways is a wonderful way for us to see some creativity in mathematics. Mathematicians are rarely thought of as creative, but definitely not in this case. Mr. Watson’s geometric proof can be seen as a time when 28

mathematicians explored the creative path. Our second lecture was on Friday 9th October, when Mr. Phillip Coggins spoke to the club on “Drilling Square Holes”. The lecture dealt with Reuleaux Triangles, which are shapes that have a constant width. Constant width means the diameter of the shape is the same no matter in what direction the measurement is made. It might be surprising, but a fun fact mentioned in the lecture is that the GBP 20p and 50p coins are actually reuleaux shapes. We also tried to make some shapes ourselves using cardboard, compasses and rulers, which is quite rare in a lecture. It was a very enjoyable afternoon. It is important for us to learn mathematics outside of the classroom. It increases our skills in logic to help us solve problems step by step. Moreover, as Mr. Watson said, mathematics is the basis of everything. By understanding mathematics, we can then try to learn more about the world with it.

The Arts

ON THE NATURE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTWORK Article written by

Thomas Rainbow

The pursuit of art has a responsibility to represent, with utmost execution, the cultures, the philosophies and the politics that govern any given period of time. artwork with great caution and scepticism. For me, the works being produced at current are, in some desperate way, in direct competition with one another. In the digital age, there seem endless individual voices, each gasping for a breath of recognition. As in the Theory of Evolution, an artist should absorb others’ shortcomings and relentlessly seek their own work’s betterment. This, in my opinion, would prove the only viable method of achieving a reputation that rises above the vast expanse of expression that is the current art community.

uch is my overarching criteria with which I approach any contemporary work. We, as the audience of an artwork, have as great a responsibility in shaping future notions of this particular age as the artists themselves. By translating criticisms into creativity, we can breach further towards a satisfying definition of modernism. When one approaches Rembrandt’s masterful ‘The Jewish Bride’ in the Rijksmuseum, you would undoubtedly be shunned if you were, say, to question its internal balance. I am not suggesting that this painting, or indeed other masterpieces, is undeserving of its status. Far from it. Its acclaim has been rightfully achieved by years of criticism meriting unanimously positive reports. One can only begin to imagine, however, the number of paintings that suffered rejection thanks to these reports. As would have been done in the 17th Century, we should approach modern 30

How then, are we to identify potential in this conglomerate mass? My thoughts are in many ways best expressed by the prologue to E H Gombrich’s The Story of Art, where the author warns against judging artwork by our instincts - we must avoid forming an opinion simply based on whether we ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ it. In accordance with my prior discussion, I therefore extend this notion to the specifics of contemporary art. The innovator should not revert to the satisfaction and resignation of ‘liking’ a work. If they do so, they risk losing any incentive to contribute and better their own work in the domain of contemporary art. However, it would be perfectly acceptable to ‘admire’ or, further, ‘praise’ such artwork if it so merits it. In this way, one could reach a conscious judgment upon something as unplaceable as artwork. Think to the rivalry of JMW Turner and John Constable. Through lifelong

competitiveness, one and the other were equally encouraged through mutual admiration to undertake increasingly powerful and meaningful works, eventually gifting the nation with some of its finest paintings and sons. This leads to the practice of incorporating external, contemporary influences upon one’s own work. A thorough understanding of visual art would, to my mind, incorporate intense familiarity with the scrutinized and glorified temples of excellence, such as Rembrandt van Rijn as discussed previously, rather than resting our knowledge base upon unstable and untested foundations. If the art we produce is so readily influenced by contemporaries of no significant acclaim, we risk treading a path of similar insignificance.

innumerable toils and tests may eventually find its end in the digital age. Miró’s twisting geometries found revival in Pollock’s simulated spaces, which in turn made appearances in Basquiat’s dismissal of dimension. Modern art itself is not at fault; it’s how to find the artistic nuggets in a digital stream of expression.

The greatest problem facing the art community today is simply overpopulation. The Internet revolution has made the business of art ‘excessive’ in every sense of the word. Artistry is no longer solely limited to the professional. Nor is it a pursuit limited to the talented. Any visit to the endless number of online communities, such as Deviant Art, or artist blogs would demonstrate the necessity for a scathing disapproval of the majority of today’s art. A failure to scrutinize will inevitably result in a severe absence of great inspiration from the lives of the future artists. The lineage that has developed through

Figure at Night Guided by the Phosphorescent Tracks of Snails, Joan Miró, 1940 Number 1, 1949, Jackson Pollock Bird on Money, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1981

MASTERPIECE OF THE MONTH Article written by

Joshua Taylor

Mr Baker discusses Kathe Kollwit Mr Baker’s love and appreciation of work by Kollwitz grew when visiting museums dedicated to her work in both Cologne and Berlin. However, it was one work in particular that led to him standing in sheer awe and sadness at what he was witnessing. The lithograph ‘Brot’ (translation ‘Bread’) measuring a mere 54 x 38cm, and produced in 1924, is an anti-hunger statement image. There is a sense of ambiguity as to who these individuals are. The face of the child on the left is the only one visible. The features, so delicately handled by Kollwitz, express a range of emotions, fear, hunger, loneliness, sadness and so much more. It was the face of this child, (of a similar age to his daughter at the time) that held Mr Baker’s attention for so long. It was partly this personal connection to the Kollwitz work, out of the hundreds in the museums, that created such an impact. Her eyes are like tunnels, her hair, wavy and unwashed and the dirt on her face all contribute to such a convincing impression of what life was like in World War 1 for this anonymous and troubled mother. This was, quite simply, the reality for so many at the time.

r Baker’s appreciation of art really began in 1984 with a fortuitous passing, but memorable, visit to see a Caravaggio painting in the Maria Del Popolo Church in Rome. You only need to walk into Mr Baker’s office to witness the evidence of his love of art, with the large number of framed works adorning the walls, and this is further emphasized by the passion with which he talks about his favourite works.

Kollwitz’s work in its entirety is harrowing, saddening and often difficult to look at. “Brot!” is a typical example. Kollwitz described merciless hunger and sadness. She was a woman of - and for - ordinary people; someone fighting for their rights. In all her prints and works of art, women, often with children, are the focus. Her works are full of passion and show the harshness of life. It is clear, by talking to Mr Baker that Kollwitz’s passion has been recognised and has registered with him. “Brot!” is a print that will evoke different emotions in every viewer, but her work is work that should be seen. Indeed, “Die Pflüger”, another one of Mr Baker’s favourites, is well worth 15 minutes of anybody’s time.

Over the years Mr Baker’s visits to galleries and museums have become a routine part of his holidays and trips away. But it was on a visit to the MoMA gallery in New York that a work by Kathe Kollwitz really grabbed him. Her work is in stark contrast to that of the old master Caravaggio and one of Mr Baker’s other favourite works of art “Love Conquers All”. A more joyful but somewhat ‘naughty’ painting. 23 23

ON SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY To look at tragedy solely using Shakespeare would be a grave mistake.

owever, an inquiry into tragedy would be fundamentally incomplete without a reference to his many renowned works, and it is important to remember that. Nevertheless, for the purposes of this article I will be concentrating on Shakespeare and his version of the concept of tragedy. Tragedy in itself was first shown on stage by the Ancient Athenians in around the 6th Century BC. Starting originally from an improvised monologue (probably to music) by a choral actor in praise to Dionysus, it spread throughout the Greek world, flowering in the 5th Century BC. The sphere of tragedy is definitely a Greek concept, as all those studying Miller’s ‘A View from the Bridge’ will no doubt be aware of. Aristotle defines tragedy as “an enactment of a deed that is important and complete, and of a certain magnitude, by means of language enriched, each used separately in the different parts of the play: it is enacted, not merely recited, and through pity and fear it effects relief to such emotions.” (Poetics, VI 1449b 2–3[19]). In summary this means: tragedy is a significant event that is acted out by performers, which when performed, evokes pity, fear and other similar emotions with a cathartic effect to these emotions. Shakespeare however, offers a little more. Personally, I think the crux of what a Shakespearean tragedy is – as supposed to the simple definition of Aristotle – is most easily defined by splitting the

genre in half. What makes the play tragic (according to Shakespeare)? And what feature makes the Shakespearean tragedy so different to any other? Firstly, what makes Shakespearean tragedies particularly tragic? There are many answers to this question; the protagonist’s assured death, the higher status of the protagonist and her/his eventual demise and the desolate state of the world at the end of a Shakespearean tragedy. But for me, what makes his tragedies peerless is the abruptness and the unanticipated nature of the tragic events that descend upon the character. For me, what makes a Shakespearean tragedy what it is is how the protagonist is always – always – caught unawares. The audience may feel an inclining of a tragic climax approaching, but this is always left for the audience to feel and the characters to not. Othello does not see the treachery of Iago until it is far too late, Antony does not feel his life slipping away until it already has; in all cases – the dice are already cast, the character’s fate decided, and they go helplessly to their dooms. The protagonists of Shakespearean tragedies, assigned to their fate from the outset as they are, fall to a ‘trigger’. One set spark that ignites the flames that inevitably engulf them. For poor lost lovers Romeo and Juliet is was their first meeting – the perils of love at first sight; for Macbeth it was the one word from the witches, promising him power that lead 23 3

Article written by

Ted Hicks

of the characters – as it is here where he excels, and here where he can set himself apart from other playwrights in the complexity and astounding clarity of his character portrayals.

him down the destructive path of temptation. Most, if not all Shakespeare’s tragedies have a ‘trigger’. Perhaps combined with long term causes (I grant you), but nonetheless, the trigger is the peak of happiness the protagonist meets, and from then on they are on the slippery slope down to desolation which Shakespeare excels at portraying. Another, possibly less significant feature of Shakespearean tragedies, is that the protagonist is always originally respected. Every single tragic protagonist Shakespeare uses in his tragedies are honourable, well-respected men (the slight exception being Mark Antony – he has somewhat lost a portion of his honour at the start, but still was respected greatly in the past before the play starts). It is this respect and honour, so apparent to the audience, that slowly but surely drips out the protagonist, scene by scene, drop by drop, until there is nothing remaining. It is the exact opposite of the classic ‘underdog’ situation. As Britons we take pride in our appreciation of an underdog – but this reversal, (from a high to a comprehensive low), is atypical in Shakespeare and his mastery of the sudden collapse of a person of respect makes for delightfully uncomfortable viewing.

The exoticism of the setting serves another purpose for Shakespeare. Isolating the audience from the play, making a clear definition between real life and his plays, almost serves the opposite purpose. In abandoning all similarities between reality and his fiction, he leaves the audience with no disentanglement with the fiction he portrays. The only thing this leaves behind with the audience is the associations they themselves make to their own lives. He allows their minds to form their own similarities with the tragic events of the play. The realisation that then occurs, when the reader sees their life going in the same direction of the protagonists, is overwhelming - he uses the audience’s own consciousness to affect their own emotions. This serves then almost as a warning - not to follow in the path of the damned. This outpouring of fear and shock is cathartic, which makes the audience want more afterwards (the world’s most eloquent business strategy!). This is also why I use the term ‘uncomfortable’ in such a positive sense in this context.

Secondly, the Shakespearean tragedy is, without fail, set in a place unfamiliar to the average member of his audience at his Globe theatre. (The only play he ever set in familiar times and locations, incidentally, was ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ – set in Elizabethan Windsor, England). Every tragedy he wrote was in an unfamiliar area, with unfamiliar people – especially during his first tragedies – thus putting his audience in a realm of the unacquainted. There was no anchor to the story, except the aspect Shakespeare wanted people to notice more so than any other – the emotional collapse of every single character in his usually extensive casts. It is the focus on this, brought about by the foreign and little known settings, that brings down the weight of the descent the protagonist takes, to full view of the audience This evokes the most pathos he possibly can from his encapsulated audience.

So, the fall of the person of respect, in an unfamiliar situation, from an unexpected ‘trigger’ event, into total and utter desolation…this makes Shakespearean tragedy so unique, and also why it will be studied for centuries to come. Even the complex plots, embellished as eloquently as Shakespeare does, can be universally understood and accessed. As the key features that make it so tragic and ‘so Shakespearean’ are gloriously simple – yet pricelessly original.

The audience is also taken away from what they know to separate the play from their actual lives. To Shakespeare, the average man is no subject for a tragedy – something Miller would no doubt argue against if the pair could ever meet – and that tragedy involves a fall from a respected high position. The foreign circumstances in the play serve to increase the ties the audience feel to the emotions of the characters – leaving the settings alone. This is exactly what Shakespeare wants; he wants the audience not to look at the physical aftermath of the tragedy, or the corporeal effects of the tragic process. He wants them to see exclusively into the emotional demise 34

AMERICAN THEATRE ON THE LONDON STAGE London stages have seen some excellent American theatre emerging in recent months, particularly from OffBroadway theatres in New York.

hereas Broadway is seen as a moneymaking machine, it is Off-Broadway which tends to produce perhaps more artistic, less commercial work. Two plays, in particular, have made their way to London following success on the other side of the Atlantic. ‘The Flick’ by Annie Baker at the National Theatre is a 3 hour-long epic of miniature proportions about three employees of a small independent cinema in Massachusetts. Having won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, it arrived in London with a good deal of anticipation. However, it also arrived with stories of people being so put off by its deliberate pacing, pregnant pauses and demanding length that there were several walk-outs (indeed, the couple next to me did not return after the interval). But the length is really part of the play’s enormous charm. Baker, director Sam Gold and the excellent cast allow us to get to know Sam (Matthew Maher), Avery (Jaygann Ayeh) and Rose (Louisa Krause) gradually, revealing their loves, hates, dreams and fears through their banal conversations about movies and relationships. While this may sound relentlessly tedious, it is in fact hugely riveting and deeply immersive for a piece of naturalistic theatre. This is a play that reminds us that theatre exists as much within the silence between words as in the words themselves. Sam, in his thirties, bemoans the fact that

twenty-something-year-olds move up faster through the ranks than he does, while harbouring suppressed feelings for Rose, who runs the 35mm projector (one of only eight in the state) and worries about her debts. Avery, meanwhile, is a film buff suffering from depression who arrives as a new employee at the start of the play. Together, they make an awkward love triangle who all dream of the possibility of something better than they have as the world around them moves faster than they are, reflected in Avery’s disdain that movies are gradually making the transition from celluloid to digital. They are all lonely in their different ways – one attempt at a spontaneous physical connection ends up embarrassing for both involved, and yet it drew laughter from the audience. But this is comedy underpinned by an emotional vulnerability and genuine sadness. 23 53

Article written by

Logan Jones

At Trafalgar Studios, ‘The Spoils’ by Jesse Eisenberg was a rather more A-list affair. Eisenberg is best known for his Oscarnominated performance as Facebook founder Mark Zuckberg in ‘The Social Network’, or for recently playing Lex Luthor in blockbuster ‘Batman vs. Superman’. He also shows a talent for playwriting and stage-acting however, playing an obnoxious brat called Ben who bullies his good-hearted Nepalese roommate Kalyan (Kunal Nayyar, Raj in ‘The Big Bang Theory’) and attempts to break up the engagement of two childhood friends, Sarah (Katie Brayben) and Ted (Alfie Allen, from ‘Game of Thrones’). It isn’t hugely surprising that Eisenberg often gets compared to his idol, Woody Allen, particularly since the play feels like an edgier version of Allen’s 1968 play (and 1972 film) ‘Play it Again, Sam’. But ‘The Spoils’ is less broadly-comic, less screwball, and earns its laughs largely from the relationships between the characters. I was also reminded to some extent of another recent Broadway and OffBroadway hit which premièred at the National, Stephen Adly Guirgis’ ‘The Motherf**ker with the Hat’, with its New York setting, political subtext and rapidfire dialogue. You might worry that the familiar personae of actors such as Eisenberg and Nayyar (well-known for playing neurotic nerds)

might just be repeated in a play like this. But both actors give mature, intelligent performances that largely make you forget you’re watching Jesse Eisenberg and Kunal Nayyar, and are well-supported by the rest of the cast, particularly Brayben as the charming, down-to-earth object of Ben’s affection. But there are some structural issues towards the end, and unfortunately the central dinner party scene suffers when Eisenberg himself takes a back seat, reminding you that the play is at its most interesting when his energetically twitchy but layered performance dominates the stage. He pulls off something very difficult: he makes a character as nasty and self-centred as Ben compelling and sympathetic, which throws up another flaw in Sarah’s irrelevant final monologue when she tells him what we essentially already knew: that Ben isn’t really all that bad. Having said that, despite its dark and occasionally scatological humour, ‘The Spoils’ recreates what ‘The Flick’ manages to do, which is very cleverly balance its pathos and comedy, and extract this comedy from a deeper sense of sadness and loneliness. Can we have more American theatre like this please?

Humanities

CORBYNOMICS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE RADICAL Article written by

Alex Stammers

Jeremy Bernard Corbyn was elected Leader of Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition on the 12th September 2015. Since then, and during his leadership campaign, when appearing in interviews, debates and giving speeches he has left clues to his various policy positions.

mong some of the most controversial are his views and ideas for economic reform, which have been dubbed ‘Corbynomics’. Speculation still abounds as to the details of his economic policy but, on what we know at present, public opinion is divided. I must preface this analysis with the comment that the following is solely an economic perspective on the present economic policy put forward by Corbyn and his Shadow Cabinet. Whilst your perception of the validity and feasibility of these policies is influenced by your political standpoint, I will try to eliminate any political bias from this piece and evaluate the policies solely from an economist’s point of view. In the days following his election, much of the coverage of Corbyn has been centred on his most controversial policy of all: People’s Quantitative Easing (PQE). Now, as soon as anyone hears the words Quantitative Easing (QE) they are immediately thrown back to the dark days of 2008 when Ben Bernanke and Sir Mervyn King were detailing their complex plan for economic recovery. Whilst Corbyn’s ideas do, however, share a name and a central premise with these policies, they are fundamentally different in their method. ‘Traditional’ QE involves ‘printing’ 38

money, which is then used to buy bonds and securities from banks aiming to reintroduce money to the banking sector and, in turn, the wider economy, to stimulate economic recovery. Corbyn’s PQE effectively cuts out the middle-man – the banks – and seeks to ‘give’ newly printed money straight to the people. He aims to do this by investing heavily in public infrastructure, especially in road building and green energy projects. There has been moderate support for this plan, indeed it has its merits and does seem to be a more contemporary approach to QE as a policy. By spending directly in the economy there will be immediate effects for the economy as, say, construction workers take their wages home and spend this money in local shops and stores. This newly injected money would then filter through the economy providing a fairly widespread boost. Also, in the longer run, Britain would reap the rewards of investment from green energy and improved infrastructure in both financial and social terms. PQE, however, is not without its limitations, the primary one being that it would lead to a weakening of the pound and could stimulate unhealthy levels of inflation. All this extra money injected into the economy, with no method of removing it again, could lead to an excess money supply and the aforementioned

experience and satisfaction – market-based systems seem to work better. The reason for this, in the case of the railways, is that competition between rival providers leads to a constant game of one-upmanship, ultimately putting downward pressure on prices and leading to improvements in the service provided. Under government-led services and industries there is a lack of competition that stifles the need for innovation and improvements to services seen in the market system. This leads to the type of inefficiencies seen in the NHS, where the government’s near monopoly power has led to, for example, significant waiting times and overcrowding. Put simply, the NHS lacks any rival firms encouraging it to improve significantly.

problems. There are, moreover, those concerned that this direct approach to QE is as much an attempt to devolve financial power away from the Bank of England and in to the hands of the (presumably, Labour) government. John McDonnell, the new Shadow Chancellor, has written in the past that the Bank of England should be stripped of all its power in the first week of a new Labour government. Such strong words have already made enemies in the Bank and in the City and Mr Corbyn ought to be very careful about how he implements his policy of PQE, however effective and growth-promoting it may be. One of Corbyn’s most polarising policies is his opposition to ‘big business’ and ‘the City’. To meet his ambition to promote equality in the UK, Corbyn would act to rein in some of its highest flying businesses. To stop ever-widening equality gaps, he proposes a maximum salary level and a significant increase in the minimum wage and an increase in corporation taxes and cutting subsidies to businesses (supposedly £93bn annually) to help fund his PQE. Whilst this would put many more people on a much more even footing, it may do more harm than good from an economic point of view. The issue arises because such ‘anti-capitalist’ policies alienate many of the large firms which make the UK their home. Indeed, a survey by ‘The Supper Club’, representing many of the largest UK firms (those with a turnover of £1m+), concluded that 44% would relocate their HQs outside the UK if Corbyn was elected Prime Minister. A frightening 78% agreed that Corbynomics would be bad for the economy. Of course this is the point of view of large profit-seeking firms and there is an equally compelling argument from the workers’ perspective for whom Corbyn seems to be looking out, but the key difference is that firms are essential to the generation of wealth and productivity in the economy. So, however badly Corbyn may want to restrict the richest firms, he may have to compromise on some of his political ambitions if he is to keep businesses happy and still encourage entrepreneurial spirit in the UK.

Doubtless to say, Jeremy Corbyn’s election as opposition leader has shaken things up a bit. From some of his radical policies, to his selections of his shadow cabinet, Corbyn is doing things differently. Perhaps this needs to be embraced; a different, more social, focus to economic policy and more widely in UK politics may be just what we need. Mr Corbyn, however, needs to ensure that he does not overlook the importance of large firms and businesses as the powerhouses of our economy. His People’s Quantitative Easing, whilst glorious sounding, must be managed very carefully in order to reduce the possible effects on inflation and the pound that may further harm the very ‘people’ he is trying to help. As important is that he must tread carefully around the Bank of England and be wary of devolving too much monetary power to various departments of government. This would reduce the predictability of monetary policy and might decimate confidence in the economy and cause confusion for businesses. All of these consequences would act contrary to his initial aims of helping the economy more directly. Finally, his decision to renationalise the railways and coal mines would have to be combined with significant governmental regulation and management, which would be difficult to achieve. Regulations aiming to improve consumer experience and some incentive for innovation in the sector may reduce some of the issues previously experienced with nationalised industries in the 20th century.

Finally, the other cornerstone of Corbynomics is his desire to renationalise the railways line-by-line and to reopen the coal mines. Although by renationalising the railways the public stand to gain the rewards of the current investment in infrastructure, this points to the larger issue of efficiency. Efficiency is always a hot topic, especially when it comes to large industries like railways and mining and the indication is that government ownership of such assets leads to inefficiencies of production and reduced incentives for innovation. Despite some possible benefits for the government and the taxpayer from renationalising these industries – generally, superior consumer

Only time will tell how Corbynomics will turn out for the nation. If it even turns out at all.

GEOGRAPHY SOCIETY LECTURE: EVOLVING RISK AND VULNERABILITY FROM SNOW AVALANCHES Article written by

Duncan Johnston

CASE STUDIES FROM FRANCE, ICELAND, AND JAPAN

n the 25th of January, Geography students were fortunate enough to attend a lecture on ‘Evolving risk and vulnerability from snow avalanches’ by Professor Chris Keylock from Sheffield University. He was welcomed with a packed EMH with students ranging from Year 9 up to Year 13, including students from Sharnbrook Upper School and Bedford Girls School. This lecture proved to be very beneficial for A2 students as it related directly to the course due to it being an essential element of the A2 Earth Hazards topic. The lecture provided students with useful examples in mitigation techniques towards avalanches. Examples included mitigation techniques in Iceland and France; thus allowing students to get a solid foundation of knowledge in terms of how to mitigate the hazard. An interesting aspect of the lecture was the fact that all of the examples he presented to us were based on his own work. We were able to see the 40

videos and photos he had taken during his fieldwork. A personal favourite of mine was seeing a controlled release avalanche in action and seeing its ginormous size in comparison to a large pole (which measured important aspects of the avalanche) that ended up looking like a matchstick compared to the avalanche. In summary, the work from France coupled avalanche frequency to mesoscale climatic phenomena, the work from Japan introduced a multihazard context and the work from Iceland was the core business in terms of risk determination and remediation. The Geography Society now looks forward to the follow-on project that will involve Year 9’s modelling mitigation techniques and testing the techniques with flour to act as snow.

RS TRIP 2016 On February 1st, as part of our Lower Sixth IB Philosophy course, we were lucky enough to visit a Philosophy conference held at North London Collegiate School.

Article written by

Chris Lamb

his included four lectures held by figures in the field on topics as varied as machine consciousness, the life and ideas of Ludwig Wittgenstein, experiments in neuroscience relating to free-will and political philosophy. I am going to outline the second and fourth talks since these seemed the most interesting and accessible. Ray Monk delivered our second lecture on the life and ideas of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Many would consider Wittgenstein to be one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. Wittgenstein lived as part of a wealthy family in Vienna which bore much tragedy. His sister Gretel was his main source of inspiration as she provided him with works of the time- these built up his interest in philosophy culminating in his work with Bertrand Russell at Cambridge University and challenging Russell’s set paradox. Wittgenstein’s work included the notion of ‘language games’ which attempt to explain our contextual understanding of language, and his belief that ‘eternal life’ doesn’t exist in the afterlife but in the present. The last speaker was Professor Jo Woolf, a dean at UCL, who spoke about political philosophy. This was a particularly interesting talk in which he explained about the distribution of power in society. As well as mentioning the importance of ‘weighted questions’ in

politics which demand a certain answer, Woolf talked about a study in America which showed how our background influences our future prospects. Though it was predicted that race would be the biggest determining factor, social class turned out to be the most influential. He pointed out that whilst we like to think that pure hard work got us to where we are, with the same effort it may have been impossible had we been from a lower social class, contrary to the promoted idea of the American Dream. In all, it was an enjoyable and thought-provoking day. A big thanks to Reverend Atkins for taking us.

social

class turned out to be the

most influencial

THE ONE PARTY NATION Article written by

Calvin Fang

Where am I referring? North Korea? China? No – Britain itself.

general public, we have accepted that we need a system whereby 36% of votes could translate to, theoretically, 100% of power. We have chosen a system where parties may not be represented for having votes diluted, not allowing them to compete effectively and thus making the Conservatives feel comfortable for winning a majority.

ount how many parties there are in the ballot paper: Conservative, Labour, UKIP, Lib Dems; the list goes on. But does the fact that there are multiple parties to choose from make the country pluralistic? Crucially, is Britain becoming a one party nation? As one would learn in history, it is important to set criteria for key words in a question. I have therefore taken the liberty of consulting my Politics textbook and looked for the definition for ‘party system’ – it describes the normal number of parties that compete effectively. For this definition I was given, I think it can be argued that Britain is a one party nation.

This can be reflected in Zac Goldsmith’s campaign for London mayor, for which Owen Jones called ‘disgraceful’ when Goldsmith attempted to link Sadiq Khan to extreme Islam. One instance of this is linking Khan with Imam Suleman Ghani, for which they called him ‘Islamic State supporting’. But Ghani has no proven link with the jihadi group and has been reported to support the Conservatives and disapprove Khan given Khan’s support for marriage equality. The result of this is many Conservative voters ending up voting Labour and denouncing Goldsmith’s campaign. The results reflected this. London elected the world’s first Muslim mayor in a western metropolis, amid the height of Islamophobia in light of recent attacks. What this shows is a laziness from the Conservative Party, believing that they may win comfortably for the one-party status they are in right now, by deceiving voters.

The year in politics has been profoundly by the General Election. Unlike many predicted, the nation produced a Conservative majority government, rather than another coalition government as most anticipated. What makes Britain increasingly a oneparty nation is not because of the winners, but the losers. With a Conservative Party winning a tiny majority only, one should imagine that they would be cautious with their actions. However, what we have seen in less than a year of Cameron’s majority government is their attempts to exploit the weaknesses of their oppositions. With the second party having nearly a hundred fewer seats than the Conservative, the opposition is already weak as they cannot present a united front. This is, however, further exacerbated as Miliband had to resign, making Corbyn the current leader of the Labour Party, showing the split of the Old Labour and New Labour. This means that the opposition force no longer operates ‘effectively’ and with the system designed to produce a majority, we have a one-party nation now.

I therefore see that the 2015 General Election has not been an event that once united the country, but has torn it apart. With no competent opponent parties to overcome the Conservatives, a series of unpopular bills have been passed, affecting the disabled, the NHS, and so on. Democracy is not about how many candidates you have on a ballot paper, but rather how arrogant or respectful one can be. Our 36% votes have granted 100% mandate and as shown from the recent London mayor campaign, I fear the political structure is far from ideal.

What about the Lib Dems? The supposed ‘third voice’ has diminished after the election defeat, with eight MPs only, making it a pressure-group-like political party. Perhaps Britons themselves were to blame – with Clegg’s vision of using the Alternative Vote system brutally sabotaged by the 42

GEOGRAPHY TRIP 2015 On Tuesday 15 September a group of eleven Geographers accompanied Miss Spyropoulos and Mr Rees to the Royal Geographical Society in London for a lecture entitled “London: Too big to succeed?

peakers included Lord Adonis, Bridget Rosewell OBE and Jules Pipe CBE. Three talks were given about the subject from these three individuals from different job sectors, each with their own opinions on the topic. Much of the discussion focused on London’s infrastructure, particularly the lack of affordable housing within inner city London as well as how the rapid population increase could affect public services. The talks were followed by a series of questions from the audience. These ranged from “Do you think Heathrow airport expansion is needed?” to “Would you say there is an issue with the number of properties owned in London by offshore investors?”

We were treated to clear, informed points of view with a resounding opinion from the panel and audience that London was not too big to succeed yet it must address a number of key political, economic, and infrastructural areas in order to do so. A drink in the Societies map rooms afterwards completed an enjoyable evening. Overall the trip was informative and insightful into the urban issues surrounding our capital.

Article written by

Duncan Keyworth

DOING ECONOMICS? Article written by

Calvin Fang

Economics is undoubtedly one of the most popular subjects for Sixth Form, but do people really know what it entails? For Fifth Formers considering Economics next year.

t is a common misconception that doing Economics will make you rich. That statement is rather misleading. I have mentioned a lot about specialisation and diversity in my previous articles; one can be successful in his own field if he excels. Doing a subject does not guarantee your success – in fact people like Lord Sugar have been very successful despite the fact he dropped out of school. Indeed, understanding economic methodology can help predict the economic world and enable an understanding of the past - a highly desirable skill. I have typed ‘is economics…’ on Google as part of an experiment for this article and I shall answer some of the questions that came up. IS ECONOMICS A SCIENCE? In a nutshell, yes, it is a social science. Economics seeks to understand the world by seeing how people made choices in the past to predict the future. Like one would learn in GCSE Science, it is important to ‘repeat the experiment’. But that does not mean that you do ‘experiments’ in lessons, but rather attempt to understand economic theories. For example: a low interest rate means that people spend more as they save less, because the reward for saving is lower, therefore boosting aggregate demand and cause an increase in both real national income and price level. It seeks to explain the causes and 44

consequences of choices you make; the first lesson you learn in Economics would also show that economics is not about money – we have to learn facts as well: revise in a similar way as you would for Maths or English for example. This is at the heart of the discipline, the concept of trade-off; therefore, rational beings would have to make choices as we cannot have the best of both worlds. This leads to the second most common misconception: DO YOU HAVE TO BE GOOD AT MATHS TO DO ECONOMICS? Not really, there are little calculations involved. One example of this is finding out the relationship between two goods: suppose that a Starbucks charge less for their coffee, the quantity demanded for Costa could increase, this suggests that they are substitutes, and simple calculations could be made to examine this and see how strong the relationship is, but I suppose these could be inferred from common sense and having a good maths acumen helps. I have heard that in universities, Economics gets more mathematical – indeed, it is designed to be accessible so that people who are not doing maths will not be disadvantaged. Unlike the Big Short, where geeky ‘quants’ dominate the field, at AS level at least, it is more argumentative. Personally, I’d therefore say essay skills might be more important than maths skills.

IS ECONOMICS HARD? This came up on Google and I guess I am not in the place of answering this question. I guess all A-levels are designed to be challenging in one sense or another. In comparison with Maths, History and Politics (the other subjects I do), there is not a lot of content to know but it develops your understanding of the field as well as skills in posing an argument. Throughout the year, you will pretty much be drawing an LRAS and AD curve in macroeconomics and supply and demand curve for microeconomics, applying the diagrams to different context.

subsidise university education, the efficacy of taxing cigarettes and the nature of our demand, and firm’s supply. In AS you will also learn that economics is based on assumptions, one of it being the buyer and seller having perfect information. I guess what I’m trying to say is that try not to hold the prospect of ‘I will become a millionaire if I do economics’ without realising what it entails. How can one know without experiencing? Thus I hope this article has given some insights to some Fifth Formers considering economics this year.

WHAT DO YOU LEARN? In AS, the course is separated into macroeconomics – the study of the nation’s economy as a whole, and microeconomics – examining a particular industry. Macroeconomics gives you the wider scope and you will therefore learn about how government policies affect the economy as a whole: monetary policies, fiscal policies and supply-side policies. Microeconomics discusses whether government should 45

Languages

TEXTURED THOUGHTS At 19 months old, a child called Helen Keller contracted a bout of meningitis that left her irredeemably and profoundly deafblind.

t 19 months old, a child called Helen Keller contracted a bout of meningitis that left her irredeemably and profoundly deafblind. Her journey to become the first deafblind lecturer, political rights activist and prolific writer, is by itself astounding and extraordinarily moving, shattering the silence and darkness of the world that had enveloped her at such a tender age. However, in addition to these reflections, anyone who chances to read the memoirs of Keller is also struck by a linguistic problem. In someone with no experience of sound, of the written word, of images: how possibly do thoughts find a means to vocalise? Keller’s autobiography is itself proof that she found no difficulty in adequately constructing and understanding sentences in English, German, French, and Latin. Keller could speak, but like Beethoven’s experience of performing, she spoke the words without hearing them, indeed, without ever having really heard them. Yet without being able to listen to the sound of a word in her thoughts before speaking or writing (because she had almost no memory of word sounds), as most of my readers might do, to what extent can we consider Keller’s dialogue a translation, and if we do, what of? As you have been reading this, the phonetics you learned in early childhood have been triggering the sounds of the speech qualities that they represent in your mind, engaging in a process known as ‘sub-vocalisation.’ In

other words, when we read, it is a great deal like being read to. In addition, we access a whole variety of images, impressions and imaginary sense data in a subjective but universal manner. The key thing here is that it is our language that enables us to produce such an action, to formulate coherent thought. Keller herself describes the difference between the periods in which she knew language as “two lives;” the period of being deafblind she describes as thought consisting of a series of “wordless sensations.” This precisely then is the point of our enquiry. What changed in Keller’s thought processes when she began to learn language? It is for this reason that no account of Keller would be remotely complete without the inclusion of her teacher Anne Sullivan (who was herself blind). Sullivan first began her Herculean task by spelling the word “doll” onto Keller’s hand and teaching her to imitate. In this manner, a whole vocabulary was tediously and intimately constructed, hand to hand, over the course of several years. A particularly defining moment occurred when Sullivan first spelled the 24 73

Article written by

Joshua Carmichael

word love into her hand; Keller describes in a particularly touching scene her realisation of the concept after a flurry of questioning. What we might notice here is that, by some ineffable mechanism to us, an abstract concept has been represented in touch impressions, and what is more, the thoughts about it will likewise be rendered in the imagination of sensation of touch, or even smell. We have no trouble in imagining sensations, without any difficulty at all my readers can conjure the smoothness of silk, the sharpness of a thorn, the taste of mint. But what we struggle with is the idea that whole thoughts could be contained in these, that musings on love could be captured in the imaginings of a brushing or light pressure. Keller’s case thus represents a powerful argument for Chomsky’s conception of universal grammar. Chomsky argued that all grammar was in part at least, innate. By means of some hypothetical Language Acquisition Device (LAD), people have the ability to acquire vast amounts of linguistic understanding, with no need for formal acquisition of specific rules that govern the language. Consider young children; no one ever explains to a child the exact process of syntax and yet children string their sentences together (roughly) correctly. When we consider Keller then, through this perspective we can explain her ability to relate ideas coherently in a vacuum

of conventional language as emerging from an innate LAD responding to the only sense data it perceives. If we take this approach, we have no problem explaining how Keller could translate the difference between the verbal communication of the world and her own totally alien internal monologue. The answer is simply that there was no difference; although they differ in content, thoughts constructed in the medium of imaginary touch and even perhaps smell, construct themselves with the same logic that construct our predominantly image and sub-vocalisation-driven thought. Keller was unquestionably one of the most diverse polyglots in history. In addition to the spoken languages she mastered, she also perfected her reading of braille, lip-reading by touch and hand drawing words, even describing how she could experience music by feeling for the vibrations. Her case, in my view, demonstrates that our conception of our thoughts as representing some kind of ongoing internal speech or monologue is nothing but a fallacy. Rather, we communicate to ourselves via a whole quartet of imaginary sensations. More importantly, however, Keller demonstrates the flexibility of language; that whole thoughts, abstract concepts, ideas can be represented in ways we cannot even conceive of. What does love ‘feel’ like?

GERMAN SOCIETY Bedford School has many societies and each one offers very unique activities. Today I want to talk about one specifically: The German Society.

he main aims of the German Society are to spread the German culture among the students and offer them a fun opportunity to put in to practice what we learned in class. The events that the German Society offered this year ranged from movie evenings and Pictionary to a lesson on German cuisine where we cooked our own schnitzel. Many of the aforementioned events were organised in conjunction with the Girls School. Furthermore, we had our now traditional rugby and football fixtures, this time around against the Russian Society. It took us a quite some time to get ready for these matches, but it was totally worth it. We lost the rugby match because most of us (myself included) don’t know much about rugby. On the other hand, we won the football match quite comfortably. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that both events were good fun - even the rugby match! This is what we have done this year, but the opportunities are endless and I am confident that the next German Society presidents will be able to surprise everyone with a greater number of unique and new activities.

For all of the above we have to thank our teachers: Nina, Ms Starkey and Herr Graeff who helped us throughout the whole year. We also have to thank Charlie Hart and John Holroyd for the useful help they gave us during the rugby trainings, Oreayooluwa Immanuel for the coaching in football and every member of the society, who put their time and effort in making all of this possible. Everything I wrote in the above paragraph is true, but the German Society is much more than an extracurricular club. German Society is about learning, but it’s also about making friends, meeting new people and having a good time. But I don’t need to tell you this, come and join us and you will understand what I’m saying!

24 93

Article written by

Fabio D’AttimisManiago Marchio

WHAT IS LANGUAGE?

A Meander from Kushim to Lacan

Article written by

Joshua Carmichael

The earliest written words of humanity are simple: “Twenty-nine thousand and ninety-eight measures of barley received over thirty-seven months, signed, Kushim”.

LANGUAGE

IS A SURPRISINGLY

TRICKY

TERM

he first words of a species that boasts Shakespeare, Proust, and Homer; first impressions matter, perhaps it was a little lacklustre of us to make our debut thus, but I disagree. There is little more charming to me than the thoughts of the Sumerian accountant Kushim toiling in obscurity on his barley measures, destined to be the oldest recorded author. Indeed, it is extremely telling that our first author is an accountant; the first partial scripts evolved out of ways to record quantity, for memories are short when huge numbers of bushels are involved. Later, the vocabulary of partial scripts rapidly expanded after our ancestors had the bright idea that it could correspond with and include the spoken languages used for thousands of years. This truly was our ‘Tower of Babel’ moment and arguably is one of the reasons we have been so successful as a species. If you look at Neanderthal remains, it is not difficult to explain how we outcompeted them to extinction (bigger brains, larger muscles) and one of the key explanations is the social cohesion spoken language affords and written scripts enabled us to expand further, recording complex ideas for posterity. Language is a surprisingly tricky term. Aged academics have raged long battles over its meaning in the musty mahogany heat of their dim university departments. Here we 50

find the biosemioticians, structuralists, poststructuralists, psychoanalysts and many others in frantic fisticuffs, because what so often begins as a simple definition leads to insoluble paradoxes in other areas of the humanities. To see exactly where the problem lies, we must begin with the Swiss linguist Saussure, the father of structuralism. Saussure had three key insights, namely sign-signifier relations, signs being arbitrary, and the idea of structures. Firstly, Saussure posits that language consists of signs, inscriptions or sounds used to represent things in the real world which he refers to as the signified. He then goes on to argue that the relationship between sign and signifier is totally arbitrary. A tree is called a tree for the simple reason nothing else is called a tree. Finally, Saussure noted that it is usually impossible to perfectly translate words between languages in the sense that although signs might refer to the same signifiers, they carry different connotations and exist in a wholly unique network of relations within their own language. The problems with this theory are where things become interesting. A field of linguistics known as biosemiotics states that signs are arbitrary, arguing that often signs do bear a relation to their signifiers. For example, studies have shown that in many different languages the words for rock share hard

sounds. Perhaps, then, we find it natural for our choice of word to reflect the thing itself. Another point of contention of the theory is the rise of the post-structuralists. I will try not to dwell too long on these, for I am not arrogant enough to pretend that I have an excellent knowledge of the reams of immensely complex work put forward in this field, but I would like to briefly consider two particularly interesting thinkers, Lacan and Derrida.

we communicate. Lacan, one of the fathers of modern psychoanalysis and potentially a minor charlatan, had a similar idea arguing that language has divorced us from “The Real” and that essentially language cannot perfectly define our needs and thoughts, and therefore the distance between “meaning” and thought meant we were not really in touch with reality, that we can only experience the world through the blinkered lens of language.

If you know only one thing about the enigmatic Parisian philosopher Derrida, it will be his dictum “Il n’y a pas de hors-texte” often translated as “There is nothing outside of the text”. By this, Derrida is not saying that nothing exists but words, but rather that language has somewhat trapped our thinking. The only way for me to construct a rational thought is through signs which can only be defined in terms of other signs, ad infinitum. The structure of language is inescapable; it ceases to be only a medium to communicate with others and becomes the only way to communicate with oneself. There is a definite distance between what we “mean” and what

The only thing it seems we can be certain of is that there seems to be very little we can be certain of. Every minor definition seems to push us back under an overwhelming pile of new and ever complex “complete” theories, which would make poor Kushim with his little stone tablet wonder what on Earth all the fuss was about as he wrote down those few signs to mark the weight of the barley. Indeed it seems paradoxical to take thinkers like Derrida and Lacan at their word, for they ask us to accept their theories written in the medium they simultaneously claim can never truly represent anything.

THE LIFE OF BRYAN Article written by

Frank Kupshik

Our school is fortunate enough to have students from many parts of the world and as a result of such a large spread of nationalities many of our students are able to speak languages beyond those we provide within the curriculum.

which tone you speak it at. It gives rise to the usual “Cantonese accent”, which is a consequence of the speakers of Cantonese trying to allocate tones to English syllables. Chinese script also writes with “symbols” rather than “words”, also known as logograms. Given that statistically anyone can read 90% of a Chinese newspaper only knowing 1,000 of the 50,000 different characters, it really puzzles me when I see a lot of vocabulary that I don’t know when I read English newspapers.

ne of these students is Bryan Ng in the Upper Sixth who came to Bedford School at the start of Sixth Form from Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, the official language is Cantonese – one of the three main dialects spoken in the Chinese mainland alongside Mandarin and Wu – and it is spoken by almost sixty-million people worldwide (0.89% of the world). Bryan has been kind enough to answer a few questions on his experiences in the UK as a non-native speaker as well as some information on the Cantonese language itself.

FRANK: Which do you find easier: speaking or writing English, and why?

FRANK: Good morning, Bryan. Thanks for agreeing to answer these few questions. I would first like to ask how much English did you know before coming to the UK and how much has your English improved since your arrival?

BRYAN: From my experience, I think speaking English is easier than writing it. The syllabus of English in Hong Kong is all about grammar, which is not as important an element in speaking as it is in writing. Even so, I still feel embarrassed and want to correct silly grammar mistakes I make when I speak.

BRYAN: As a Hong Kong student studying in an EMI school (English as Medium of Instruction School), my English was better than the majority of Hong Kong students elsewhere. However, as I entered Bedford School, I felt that my English still had a lot of room for improvement as the majority of English speakers here have been brought up with English as their mother tongue. Nevertheless, I think that the rate of improvement of my English is the highest it has been in my life since I have become an IB student who needs to cope with a lot of coursework and essays in the language.

FRANK: Finally, what advice would you give to somebody learning or attempting to learn Cantonese, or any other language? BRYAN: I think I would advise them to try to speak the language that they are learning with the native speakers so that they can practise thinking on their feet in that language. Moreover, they can force themselves to use the language and so become more accustomed to it - for example, by changing the language settings on their computer or mobile phone to another language.

FRANK: What are the main linguistic differences (written and spoken) between English and Cantonese? And how easy were you able to cope with these differences?

FRANK: Thanks a lot for coming in Bryan. It has been really interesting to hear about your experiences.

BRYAN: Cantonese is a tonal language: it has nine different tones, which means for every identical pronunciation of a word, the syllables have different meanings depending on 52

SPANISH PLAY WRITE-UP One cold, bright afternoon in September I was handed a thick stack of papers.

o my horror, I realised that this stack of papers was the play we would have only four months to learn, rehearse and perfect before throwing ourselves into the spotlight at the newly-opened Quarry Theatre. Progress to begin with was painfully slow- trying to coordinate the movements of eight ‘actors,’ all with busy lives, is no mean feat. However, poco a poco, the play began to take shape, thanks (in no small measure) to the monumental efforts of our choreographer/motivator/residentexpert María. Many evenings, days off during the holidays and even Sundays were sacrificed in the pursuit of the sort of perfection María has been accustomed to during her illustrious career in the performing arts world. Buoyant with our success in III Festival Hispano de Teatro, where we claimed the prize for “The most unique theatrical experience,” we attempted to transform our initial 10-minute

performance into something much more substantial. Eventually, after months of line-learning and rehearsals, we were ready to perform to a packed-out Quarry Theatre, and despite the nerves, we delivered two excellent performances, which were found to be entertaining and humorous by English and Spanish audience members alike. I would like to thank the other members of the cast, who were great fun to be with, and who made the potentially monotonously repetitive rehearsals into something truly enjoyable. Also, our collective thanks must go to Mr Huxford and to África, without whom this production would never have taken place, and finally to the amazing María, who has taught us all so much, not only about theatre but also about Spain itself: to her we all surely owe our future careers in Teatro Español.

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Article written by

Jake Duxbury

Music

HOUSE SINGING One of the biggest - if not the biggest event in the school’s calendar - is the House Singing competition.

ne of the biggest - if not the biggest event in the school’s calendar - is the House Singing competition. Following on from last years’ “interesting” waist coats, questionable conducting and talented (?) man band performance, this year promised to be better no matter what happens. Each house was asked to produce both a unison performance as well as a part song (a small a cappella group) and then adjudication is left in the hands of visiting guests; choral singers, directors of choirs and so on. Given little more advice than “wave your hands and bow when the music stops”, boy leaders have free reign over song choice, direction and choreography. Not to mention, they have to teach the parts to the masses, which is not an easy task... Speaking to the leaders of the part song, preparation seemed to be going well. Either that or the long held tradition of thin optimism before performance was reigning strong. Up first was Ashburnham, partnered with boarding house Sandersons. Led by Aidan Swain and Nic Reay, the team was hoping to continue their success after their 1st place performance in 2014. SONG CHOICE; STACY’S MOM – FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE RESPONSES: AIDAN SWAIN How did you decide upon “Stacy’s Mom”? We wanted to raise awareness that Stacy’s Mom has got it going on.

How have your rehearsals been? Is there anything you’re particularly worried about? Rehearsals have been a mixture of decent practice and note bashing, chaotic unintelligible talking, shouting and grunting mainly coming from (names withheld) who disguise them in the form of “helpful” ideas. That, and stopping rehearsals to laugh at (name withheld)’s dreadful haircut. The latter takes priority. (Productive and rational distribution of time...) Is there anything you’ve learnt from previous years of House Singing that you wish to act upon this year? From past experience, the better the time you have on stage, the higher you are placed. Also, cripples seem to get the sympathy vote, so this year we have taken advantage of this by unanimously disfiguring Nic Reay’s leg. He took one for the team. What’s been your highlight of rehearsals? Always enjoyable when you look at the sheer glee on the face of Senior Four member, James Smith as he sings the final “mom” of the piece. He will tell you it’s the peak of his school career.

After speaking to Ashburnham I had the chance to speak to Bryan Ng from Burnaby. Burnaby’s partner day house is Bromham. Perhaps stealing ideas from Ashburnham, perhaps not, Bromham have decided upon “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede.

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Article written by

Nic Reay

worried about? I wouldn’t say I’m worried, however an issue that’s risen several times is that sometimes we struggle to pronounce the “n” in “funk.” (Oh... oh dear lads...)

SONG CHOICE: “HOOKED ON A FEELING” – BLUE SWEDE RESPONSES: BRYAN NG How did you manage to decide upon a song? We chose the song last year; Jason, Felix and I sat in the computer room and searched YouTube. (Aimless searching of the void that is YouTube, good dedication lads!) How have rehearsals been? We’ve been having our rehearsals at short break, which has made it very difficult for the group to actually start rehearsing and concentrate. How would you describe the rehearsals so far? Concentration & effort needed - (I know I am cheating there by using a symbol). Is there anything you’re specifically worried about? I am most worried about the tuning of our group, which hopefully will get sorted by the competition. (Well, that is the idea...)

Next up was Crescent. Crescent has chosen “Uptown Funk” a modern pop song by Mark Ronson which promises to be exciting, even if a little risqué. Let’s hope the adjudicator is mesmerised by the sweet dulcet tones of Jasper Williamson and co. Crescent is partnered with Pemberley and this year their performance has been led by Ben Anstis. SONG CHOICE: “UPTOWN FUNK” – MARK RONSON RESPONSES: BEN ANSTIS How have your rehearsals been? Our rehearsals have been good; the lads have put in a good effort and have worked consistently throughout the time available. Which three words would you choose to sum up your rehearsals so far? Committed, focused, ambitious. Is there anything you’re specifically

Any final comments? The progress we’ve made in the last 5 weeks has been absolutely amazing. Wherever we place I’ll know the lads put in a good effort.

Paulo Pontine followed. Joint to Redburn, Paulo has drawn from both the day and boarding sides of the house. Led by two grade 8 singers, who happen to be music scholars, whatever was to follow was bound to be full of humour and modesty... SONG CHOICE: “CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE” – QUEEN RESPONSES: JIM COOPER How did you choose your song? We tried to do it a few years ago but the arrangement was too hard. That year we went on to win with “I’m Yours.” This time I’ve made an arrangement that’s more suited to our strengths as a group. How have your rehearsals been? Intense. Which three words would you choose to sum up your rehearsals so far? Yeah, alright thanks. Is there anything you’re specifically worried about? Damaging the trophies at the after-party (don’t worry, we kept them in good shape after we won last year). Is there anything you’ve learnt from previous years of house singing that you wish to act upon this year? It’s difficult to combat the might of Aidan Swain’s legendary A flats, but we are giving it a go with some high tenor notes. What’s been your favourite moment of rehearsals so far? When half of your part song goes off to watch Fiji vs Uruguay and you can’t rehearse!

Next up was the boys from St. Cuthbert’s. Not disheartened by their placing last year, they are hoping to bounce back with a strong performance of “I Get Around” by The Beach Boys. Pulling support from both the boarding side (Philpot’s) and day side of house life, leaders Edd Elsemore and Harry Jackson hope to impress the adjudicator with what seems to be their secret weapon... Peter Wood. SONG CHOICE: “I GET AROUND” – THE BEACH BOYS RESPONSES: EDD ELSEMORE How did you choose your song? After hours of meditation and contemplation, the entity that is (name withheld) had a vision to sing a one man a cappella version of bohemian rhapsody... But that was an awful choice so we ignored it and went for this one. Is there anything you’re specifically worried about? Getting everyone to ‘perform’ the piece with hearty enthusiasm. (I suppose it might be a difficult task to get your “squad” to look in the eyes of the Head Master and sing with conviction, “I get around”). Any final comments? To test his ability to sing under pressure, Peter Wood sang the whole part song whilst doing a plank, then downed a protein shake... An amazing achievement we feel must be shared with the world.

Lastly, we come to St. Peter’s. Joint with Talbots, Harry Guthrie and Nathaniel Conte have taken a relaxed approach to leadership, openly saying “there isn’t really a leader, we all chip in.” Lacking any year 13’s in their team, St. Peter’s hope to dazzle with their young looks and youthful energy.

How did you choose your song? I’ve always thought the song was appropriate for this sort of event and I have always wanted to perform something by this arranger (Anders Edenroth). How would you describe how your rehearsals have been? Rehearsals have been very slow but productive. I’d sum it up as being up then down, rewarding and frustrating. Is there anything you’re specifically worried about? I’m worried about our presentation of the song. I see this as being a big part of the judgement and at the moment our ‘fun’ song could be something else... What’s been your favourite moment? My favourite (and slightly embarrassing) moment was being proved wrong by a 4th former in my rhythm. I must be a fantastic leader..! (I thought you said there wasn’t a leader and that everyone is equal... Perhaps some are “more equal” than others?) Any final comments? This is my first year running it so I haven’t perhaps run it as efficiently as past years. I have certainly learned that you should pick your song choice early! I’m looking forward to hearing everyone else. As the banners go up, the face paint is bought and the somewhat bizarre tradition of supporters dressing up as women is continued, the countdown is nearly over for the 2015 competition. Wishing luck to everyone that is performing, I’m sure guests of the school are completely oblivious to what is going to hit them on competition night. Good luck boys!

SONG CHOICE: “IT DON’T MEAN A THING” – DUKE ELLINGTON RESPONSES: HARRY GUTHRIE

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WEST’S SIDE STORY; IS KANYE REALLY “THE GREATEST LIVING ROCK STAR”? Article written by

Jim Cooper

Kanye West’s boastful outburst at last year’s Glastonbury festival sparked outrage from many fans of popular music.

he now infamous remark was accompanied by boos from the capacity crowd. In fact, his appearance had caused controversy right from the start. Prior to the event, over 135,000 people signed a petition to try to stop West from headlining on the Saturday night. I however seem to be alone in agreeing with Kanye West in his claim to be “the greatest living rock star”. The first issue to deal with (which happens to be the sole pillar of most peoples’ argument) is that West’s music is not rock music. West’s music has developed a lot over the years from the classic hip-hop of The College Dropout of 2004, to the sonic masterpiece that is Yeezus of 2013. What is certain however, is that West’s music could never be described as rock.

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When I first heard Kanye declare that he was “the greatest living rockstar”, I immediately agreed with him. Surely, as Rihanna said, “a rock star is more of an attitude” and if so, West certainly fulfils the brief of a rock star in this respect. One of the main reasons for this is his ability to provoke controversy. In his 2011 collaboration album with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne, the song Murder to Excellence includes West highlighting the prevalence of gang culture in America with the line “314 soldiers died in Iraq, 509 died in Chicago”. His willingness to point out social problems and provoke controversy is a characteristic trait of a rock star. What’s more, the statement that he is “the greatest living rock star” is thus a self-fulfilling prophecy. By saying this, West fuels disagreement and conversation, a most coveted skill of any rock star. It’s an impressive feat to be talked about by the old and the young across the globe. This idea was well illustrated on the School’s recent choir tour to Spain. When the sixthform were all at the back of a coach listening to West’s Made in America through a set of speakers. A key feature of hip-hop is when the backing drops out for a few seconds to add emphasis to the rapper’s words. Unfortunately, West’s line was fairly explicit in this case. As the Director of Music stood up from a seat in the middle of the coach, the backing dropped out and West uttered the line. Mr Sanders turned purple and shouted “Off now!”

West’s music never fails to divide opinion. On a more practical level, doing an entire 90 minute set under the full heat of around 1,000 lights on a rig just metres above his head is no mean feat. At one point West asked the technicians to raise the rig slightly for fear of hitting his head while jumping. A sizable proportion of the set was delivered from a cherry-picker that extended over the crowd. West was even unfazed by a stage invasion by a comedian. It takes a special talent to put on such a herculean show (and many people don’t realise how involved West is in every artistic element of his performance). However, I believe that there is a more fundamental reason for West’s supremacy as a musician, let alone as a rock star. West is one of the few artists nowadays whose music is written for a purpose other than sheer enjoyment. The aforementioned Yeezus, pushed the boundaries of hiphop, testing the skills of the best producers in the business. A recent academic study found that West has one of the largest vocabularies of any singer in history, beating the likes of Frank Sinatra. Kanye West never makes music for the sake of creating this summer’s club anthem, it always has a message or a purpose, whether to point out inequality among races or the downfall of religion. Kanye is one of 2015’s true artist, with a major influence in the worlds of music, social media and fashion. Perhaps we should take him more seriously. After all, from 2020, he may well be sitting in the Whitehouse with one eye on his record sales and the other darting between the world’s finances and the nuclear button. Then again, maybe he’ll stick to music. Maybe that’s for the best…

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Sports

CHAMPIONS TROPHY FINAL REVIEW Bedford went into the final as firm favourites after defying the odds and winning their previous two matches.

Article written by

Oliver Thrasher

Epsom responded well as a certain pass was blocked by Adewale’s hand and was deemed a deliberate knock-on by the referee; understandably this doubled the pressure, Bedford then having to defend with fourteen men. Following some breathless attack play, Bedford then defended extremely well and managed to not concede until Adewale came back on the pitch. About five minutes after Epsom hit another penalty, Bedford scored a great team try. After receiving a kick from deep, Olabooye played in Dingwall who broke the line, he then managed to offload to Cooper who majestically played a great inside ball for Boyd to effectively seal the game. With just ten minutes to go, the Bedford fans then erupted, as we knew we were nearly home and dry. Epsom, however, played right until the end as they scored in the final play of the match. As the attempted conversion struck the post, relief and celebrations in the stands met the referee’s whistle.

he school was visibly excited as they swarmed in numbers to make the trip to Allianz Park Stadium. Epsom, however, were not to be underestimated having also knocked out some big teams on their journey to the final. So, the chants were prepared as the Bedford XV entered the pitch to a loud reception from the fans. The game started off cagily with big hits and dropped balls coming in from both teams.

The Bedford XV have been outstanding all season and managed to return the first national trophy for quite some time. This a great achievement and the school are grateful to them. Team: 15 Fraser Dingwall, 14 Faysal Olabooye, 13 Shay Boyd, 12 Fraser Strachan, 11 Tunde Adewale, 10 Oliver Burgess (vc), 9 Jack Dalton, 1 George Cave (c), 2 William Kerr, 3 Colston Kane, 4 Philip Cooper, 5 David Hickey, 6 Simon Beal, 7 Charlie Clarke, 8 Jake Carter.

However, it was Bedford who broke the deadlock with a wonderful bit of solo brilliance shown by Faysal Olabooye at the 10-minute mark, the only try of the first half. With Burgess’ trusty boot kicking three long penalties, Bedford were 14-6 up with 5 minutes to go in the first half. Just as half-time was approaching, Bedford fell asleep as Epsom ran in a try, which was converted to cut the deficit to one point. Bedford’s dominance within the game up to this point, however, was not reflected in the score line.

Replacements: 16 Edward Jonson, 17 Euan Weed, 18 William Bowes, 19 Alexander Dennis, 20 Oliver Hind, 21 (1) William Entwistle, 22 Joseph Rogers. Coach - Mr Burgess

Bedford came out the better of the two sides after the break and two minutes into the half Burgess scored a great individual try under the posts. Our nerves calmed in the stands as he added the extras, re-establishing an 8- point lead.

MOTM - Oli Burgess

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STUNNING SPORTS DAY Article written by

Emmanuel Adeyemi

Sport is an integral part of school life at Bedford School and for the more precocious of boys in this field, Sports Day was an early opportunity to showcase their athletic ability. determined to help contribute to Bromham’s title challenge, despite being engulfed by nerves. I ran my race smoothly and coasted to victory. I was ecstatic afterwards and my excitement carried through into my other two events in which I came 2nd in the A Long Jump and produced a strong opening leg in the relay. However, as much as credit is given to the talented, I would also like to give mentions to those who got through their races with sheer effort and determination, even though, initially, they may not have competed in their favoured event or begrudgingly agreed to participate. Across the board in the longer distances, after conversing with boys before their races, I found many disgruntled at the thought of running the 1500m.

n Tuesday the 29th of September, Sports Day came around. It was a swelteringly hot day and as it was my first one in the Upper School, I was taken aback by the sudden realisation of the long walk to the Athletics Stadium. When I arrived, the stark difference in atmosphere was vast. This year I saw a crowd packed to the rafters, vibrancy and much jostling as boys vied for places to sit.

Nevertheless, commitment and perseverance was exemplified again and again. The day was capped off by the relays, as usual. In Fourth Form, Bromham finished a narrow fourth, but I would like to talk about the prominent Sixth Form relay. Bromham’s relay team won this captivating finale, as Faysal Olabooye streaked away from a chasing pack. This impressive feat was topped off by the fact that all four boys were in Year 12, while other house’s had a mixture of both Years 12 and 13 in their Sixth Form relays.

One other major different at this year’s Sports Day for me was the class on show. As a sprinter myself, I was obviously anticipating the 100, 200 and 400m sprints in all years, but I kept an eye on other events around the circuit. I caught glimpses of the heady heights cleared by the high jumpers and the brute strength applied in the javelin and discus. However, when the sprints came round I was glued to them. The rapidity of boys in the older years made me understand what I would like to aspire to; as for now, I am just appreciating the fierceness of the competition as Ryan Apps, Timmy Pong and Teepee Princewill stormed to 100m victory in Years 9, 10 and 11 respectively.

Overall, Sports Day was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Despite the fact that Bromham came last, it was an exciting day that fulfilled my expectations for a hot, sunny afternoon and I can’t wait until next year to experience the thrill of sports day again.

As my 200m race approached, I prepared myself. I was 62

THE BASKETBALL EXPERIENCE Basketball is a minor sport in our school. However, it is not only the most important and influential sport for every single player in the basketball team, but it also holds a special place in the hearts of boys who play.

his academic year has seen a complete transformation in the team and we are glad to have some new blood to strengthen our performances in every game we play. To begin with, Harun Cehovic has always been an inspirational leader in all our matches. Be it a friendly game or a competitive league fixture, he has demonstrated great defensive abilities and has proved to be tough competition for our opponents. Chizu Chukwu, who is the rookie of the basketball team, has a God- given talent and the potential to become a powerful Centre in the future. We have had some excellent opportunities in the competitive side of Basketball as we participated in league games against other teams from Bedfordshire. These league games have not only made us realize that we have a lot of room for improvement but have also taught us to accept defeat. Losing is almost as important as winning, because everyone will fail at something or at some point in life. The important thing is to learn about the failure and to use it to your advantage. Losing a game or a league has helped us teach that these losses are temporary and can be overcome next time. The same goes for setbacks later in life. When we lost our first match against Sharnbrook School, our team captain, Victor Lee pointed out the importance of teamwork. One of the best attributes of our team is that we all understand the value of working together. Playing as a team teaches us that the success of the individual is not as important as the success of the team. The lessons of selflessness have been well learnt after various games which ended in defeat. We always try to work on developing the chemistry between one another and our training sessions are mainly focused on passing as well as improving our communication in a game situation. Our team defence did a good job helping us to win matches against St. Thomas More and a friendly match against Oakham. 63

Article written by

Matthew So Shivam Patel

Unfortunately, we lost our home game against Mark Rutherford Upper School. They deserved to win because they had better skills than us and were thoroughly well-prepared for the game. This mirrors the idea of accepting defeat and having a positive attitude towards improvement. Practice makes one perfect. We believe that we can achieve more if we do better and better. We are believers of the fact that those who practice in order to get better will reap the rewards in terms of improved skills and ability. The same can be applied in life â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the harder you work, the more you will be rewarded. We then added in some more training sessions to focus on our weaknesses. Our complete dedication definitely paid off as we have won the last league match against Biddenham Upper School and a friendly match against Stowe. Throughout the whole experience, we have learned a lot, not only sporting skills but also life skills, which will apply in numerous situations in future and make us better people. It has been a great year and special thanks to Mr. Green and Mr. Beale for coaching us and for organizing our fixtures.

MOSAIC

For over 80 years, Mosaic has existed as a separate publication and a magazine in its own right; a forum for creative writing and where artistic expression can flourish. In this past academic year, the School has witnessed a vast growth of creative writing evident within the Detwieler which showcased interpretations of the theme ‘Conflict’, the creative writing seminar with Louis de Bernieres and the four shortlisted pieces in the Fowles Essay Prize – all of which were creative pieces. Next academic year will witness the birth of a creative writing society, taking place every two weeks on rotation with the English Society. It will be a space in which students can learn how to craft language and where they can share ideas.

In amalgamating Mosaic and MDLII, creative writing is showcased each term as opposed to one annual publication. I feel that the growth in popularity of creative writing this year demonstrates that despite the presence of technology within the daily life, pupils still enjoy putting pen to paper and utilising their imagination. It is a medium through which one is able to escape the constraints of analytical thinking providing freedom to express oneself. This reality is the timeless appeal of creative writing, and the Mosaic section of MDLII will serve as a constant reminder of the appeal and vast nature of creative writing and expression.

Robert Salvesen, Editor of Mosaic

ALONE IN A CROWD Demonic disillusion. Chaotic confusion. Indecisive illustrations.

Article written by

Joshua Garrett

foot race without a finish line. Muttering contrasts with shouts of joy and groans of disbelief. The hard granite ground crowded with shiny shoes polished to perfection. Prams pushed by a myriad of mothers wishing their wailing babies to hush. High tops harassing the ground with the chain around one’s neck speaking louder than that one ever would.

of money; but pennies will do. Crystal creations colonize casting shadows over its shuddering pray. A deceptive darkness that no one seems to recognize now constitutes to the way in which these populace perceive the world. ‘Good mornings’ are enthusiastically exclaimed to a phone and not to the person right in front of their eyes.

The sun was glaring through the buildings, glistening through the windows and gazing at the pedestrians who wouldn’t dare to look back. Ludicrously long overcoats are worn by those who wished to obscure their identity. However they did not achieve this goal. Their overcoat is their identity. Perfectly polished shoes were only pretence, as they are so that commuters are perceived as powerful and successful. As they want to be. Not as they are. The revolution of a reflection revealed the face of the characters that wish to describe their characteristics. With each and every succession of steps the walkers of paved ground would learn more about themselves. They fear eye contact with outsiders and willingly watch the moving image shining through their shoes; the fixated face which is their own.

The street is crowded. Littered with people and noises and scents and lyrics. With gestures and rhythm and expressions and strides. The street is crowded. And yet everyone is alone.

Along the walkway are hand in hand couples, the mothers and their children, and the brothers and their sisters, inseparable since the beginning. Towering sky scrapers topple over tedious musicians toiling to a tentative audience asking for a small amount of time in exchange for a large amount 65

Artwork by Mason Keane

Artwork by David Zhou

Artwork by Shay Boyd

IN A CZECH CAFÉ… Article written by

Conor Hilliard

I first met Mr. Stamford in a café in Prague

mmediately upon shaking his cool, smooth hand, I felt an unmistakeable tingle of lightning travel up my arm. Alright then Ivan. This isn’t like before, I thought, struggling to maintain my calm, this is serious. Speak when spoken to, and for God’s sake, keep your cool. He was very much aloof, his mildly handsome face giving nothing away. I knew his reputation, of course, and I did not disagree with it. At least, not until later on in life, after I got to know him a little better. In the early years of our correspondence, I disliked his mannerisms intensely, but, after all this time, I am glad to have known him. Whilst intense, abrupt, and abominably rude, I would not trade the world for knowing Mr. Stamford. I remember how well polished his expensive black shoes were, that first time we met. I remember them looking so shiny I could see myself in them. Somebody had done a good job that morning. His navy-blue suit was so sharp I was worried he would cut himself upon the lapel. I will never forget the tie he wore; it was red, but not a warm ruby or a vibrant crimson. It was dark, and I queasily thought that it was stained with someone’s blood. It took me a while to look up after that, but I soon did. Immediately, I was pierced by his rather queer eyes. They were a silver grey, like moonlight on water, and they seemed to search my very soul. They glimmered with a shrewd, keen intelligence, and I felt entirely unsettled by their unflinching gaze. They were cold too, and I could feel an icy 70

sternness emanating from them. His nose was also noteworthy, for it was long and hooked, and sharp as his eyes. Mr. Stamford always looked like a hawk, and I was the tasty field mouse he had begun to circle over. We sat in silence for a moment or two, but not because we could not think of what to say. Rather, it was because he was not yet ready to talk. I’d had this before. Most men of power are the same: trying to unnerve you by ignoring you, or keeping you waiting. It never usually worked on me, but Ernest Stamford was very different. You could feel his presence and his power just from sitting opposite him. When he spoke, his voice picked at the words he wanted to say, like a vulture picking at carrion. His Czech was a little too impeccable for my taste. There was no trace of an English accent in his voice, which I was a little unsettled by. I was no stranger to Englishmen, but I was used to having to speak through an interpreter, but, then again, this was not just any Englishman. This was Ernest Stamford. I didn’t know that much about him back then – nobody did – but what I did know was sketchy and confusing at best. It was clear by the way he held himself that he was comfortable in his station, and was aware of his own importance. I’d heard the phrase ‘born leader’ before, but I wasn’t quite sure that I’d ever met someone who epitomised the words so completely. I was once told that he inherited his aura from his grandfather, a well-renowned general in the British Army who had helped mastermind

the famous D-Day landings. However, I was not so sure about this. Mr. Stamford’s power was a different sort to the strength of your average grunt. He perhaps gained his presence from his education. I knew that Mr. Stamford went to one of the best private schools in the world, and it was there that he made many of the connections that he has today. After leaving school he went to Oxford University and studied Law, before abandoning that for a degree in Politics. By the age of twenty-four he was climbing high in Britain’s Foreign Office, and was one of the youngest ever aides to John Major. By twenty-seven he was serving as one of the United Kingdom’s main ambassadors to Eastern Europe. My predecessor had many dealings with Mr. Stamford, and the two had a healthy respect for one another, although they never got along. Whilst Ernest’s career was a shining beacon of success, his private life was another matter entirely. His elder brother, and father are both senior politicians in the British Home Office and I learned later on that Ernest has always harboured great resentment towards his relatives. I often wonder if this was the reason he had chosen to join the Foreign Office - to further distance himself from his, rather frankly, incredibly successful and prolific family. He has not spoken to his parents in over twenty years, and has absolutely no desire to break that streak now. His sister is beloved by him, but only because they were both virtually ignored by his parents in favour of his brother. I have no doubt that he had great affection for her deep down, but he often publicly lamented how he, “…had to babysit her for my entire bloody childhood.” We talked at great length about how the United Kingdom might or might not involve herself in our debacle with the Slovaks. Whilst the situation was still mostly peaceful, many in power were unsure of how long it would be before violence broke out. We wanted support from the West.

He didn’t speak much. He allowed me to tell him what I was told to tell, and then, very patiently, asked me what I thought. At first, I was unsure, and then it clicked. It was then that I realised why Ernest Stamford was such a successful politician, such a great ambassador. It was something I’ve seen him do time and time again, in meeting after meeting. When asked about the major decisions, the world changing issues, he always wanted to know what would happen to the people. I’ve often encountered those who claim to know Mr. Stamford. I had the honour of attending Bill Clinton’s first inaugural speech in 1993, on behalf of President Havel, to ensure a good impression on the new American administration. Whilst there, I was approached by a young American aide, and we spoke a while. A little later on, Ernest and I exchanged glances, which the young American picked up on. “Oh,” he said abruptly, “I wasn’t aware you knew Mr. Stamford. Unpleasant fella, ain’t he?” I asked him why he thought so, to which he replied: “I’ve never seen a guy so constantly pissed off about the world.” I can quite securely say that this aide was very wrong about Mr. Stamford. Whilst he always seemed to be a cold, callous Machiavellian git, he hid a tender warmth that very few were privy to. I am immeasurably fortunate indeed to have seen this side of Ernest Stamford, good fortune which I have only fate to thank for. Without knowing Ernest, I certainly would not have been able to spend so much time interacting with the British Foreign Office, and thus would not have been able to connect with and meet some of the most powerful and influential men and women in the world – and I can tell you in strict confidence that these connections have helped me out many times over the past twenty years – but I, along with many of my fellow Czechs and Slovaks, 71

may still have our lives because of Ernest’s political deftness. I cannot say for definite what would have happened if our meeting in that café in Prague had not occurred, or at least, had been different, but I am certainly glad Ernest helped us prevent any kind of violence in the autumn and winter of 1992. In recent years, Mr. Stamford has moved on from the dreary push-and-pull of British politics – although I have no doubt that the Labour victory of ’97 pushed him to leave the Foreign Office behind. I regret to say that we have not met since then, although I have heard whispers along the proverbial pipeline. One British socialite told me on my recent visit to London that he’d taken up work in the Civil Service once more, and would resurface with the next Conservative Parliament, although her husband quickly told her that the Conservatives wouldn’t win another election for at least ten years. We talked a little on that, and the man told me that Labour had too strong a hold to break any time soon. Ernest’s successor told me, when he came to Prague in late ’99, that Ernest had moved into the secret service, working on international relations behind the scenes. “How is it you came to know this?” I asked, curious as to the disposition of my old friend. The man began speaking in English – his Czech was not quite as good as I’d expected (Ernest had spoiled me in that regard) – and the interpreter hurried to catch up, “Nothing has been confirmed yet, Mr. Dvorak, and I enter the realm of speculation for you. But, I knew Mr. Stamford too, and I know that you had little notice of his resignation.” The Englishman mulled his words carefully. “There are those of us,” he said slowly, quietly, “in the American and British governments that believe the situation in the Middle East is getting out of hand. From what I can gather, Mr. Stamford has been involved in talks with the Israeli and Iraqi Prime Ministers, 72

trying to diffuse the tensions there.” Good luck with that, I thought to myself. Ernest was doomed to fail in his mission, the world later discovered, but that was still years in the future. We were young then, and the world seemed so bright. The Oil Wars were a distant horror on the darkening horizon of the twenty-first century. I knew that, if Ernest did pull off a miracle and diffuse the powder keg that was the Middle East, he would become one of the unsung heroes of Western – if not world – politics. Just like he had in Prague on those warm summer days in 1992, he would create a peace that the history books would say was destined to be. In a way, I was glad for my old friend. This was what he loved doing: worldchanging politics. He seemed arrogant, but I often thought that it was not without cause. Ernest was undoubtedly a brilliant politician, and one of the greatest minds this century has seen. He was where he belonged, and I wished him luck in it.

WHAT IF? W

hat if the grass grew tall as trees and you could pick an oak like a rose?

What if we sought out ignorance and shunned knowledge?

What if we walked through cloud and gazed up at waves?

What if men had babies and women had beards?

What if the sun was silver and the moon shone yellow?

What if citizens kept the law whilst the politicians broke it?

What if snow was warm and rain was dry?

What if we fought during peace and rested while at war?

What if mountains blew in the breeze and leaves weighed a thousand tonnes?

What if the winter gave life and the spring took it away? What if the leaves went brown in April and the colours grew in November? What if you saw the birdsong and heard the daylight? What if you could touch the time and feel space pass you by? What if you could paint a song and listen to Picasso?

What if right was wrong, and we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what wrong was?

What if we could touch the stars, but pulled them down to us? What if we loved greatness, but never aspired to it? What if we wanted glory, but never bothered to achieve it? What if we fought for those we never truly believed in? What if we judged a man by his face, not his heart?

What if up was down and left was right? What if the flowers were grey and the city was silent? What if backwards was forwards and wrong was right? What if a mile was just a step and an inch took you to the moon? What if a corner was straight and a ruler took you round the bend?

What if we loved each other and not ourselves? What if we cared for the weak and didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worship the strong? What if we valued our thoughts better than we did our treasures? What if lives were priceless and our gold was worthless? What if we lived our lives as we should, not as we could? 73

Article written by

Conor Hilliard

Artwork by Shay Boyd

ELEVATOR RIDE WITH GOD Article written by

Ted Hicks

I’m stuck in the Lift, going flat I think – you cannot possibly tell from the mechanics of the Lift how it works, or why, but I presume it goes forward, attached to the linear line of time.

look upwards and this is being repeated countless times from within the raven’s wings casting dots of light out from the high roof of Space. A ball of flaming gas ignites and burns, but how can something so beautiful last forever? The Earth’s younger sister floats, holding the edges of her sister’s skirt, peeping out from behind her legs at the creation happening in front of her. ‘Good.’ The ravens and doves cease their argument. They descend, splitting like meteors into millions of different birds – I see glimmers of Toucans before they descent into the Amazonic head of hair the Earth has, I see Dodo’s flapping – to no avail, and sparrows, like shoals of the fish now in the seas, flit around the countryside of the Earth’s stomach. ‘Good.’

urrounding me are four walls of tinted glass, black as the pupil I see in my eye, from the glossy reflection. Bang! Stop. The glass grows increasingly translucent into transparent and transfiguring ahead is the Earth, our Earth. It is beautiful. The curvature of her waist is perfectly round, her figure perfect, her bodily position in the universal impeccable for life to be able to spawn. I am so mesmerised that I miss the expanding heavens fly by like immense coal-black ravens. The darkness shoots ahead as the ravens race each other, pushing forward on and on, out of sight they vanish – the darkness stretching on to the very gates of heaven. A voice comes through the Elevator speakers: ‘Good.’ And so we move on.

The Elevator judders to a stop. Man is formed. I reach out of the window and touch the fluid that is swirling like wet plaster. It feels depressing to the touch. Finished. He does look like an Adam. Out of his rib spawns a woman – she looks like a Gloria.

The Elevator shoots forward, following the ravens. Take That’s ‘Shine’ muffles its way through the speakers, and abruptly the darkness is gone. The ravens are joined by snow white doves, visible in the distance, beating their wings, racing against time. The ravens cry ‘Night!’ in their complaining speech, the doves coo back ‘Day’, in the first lucrative effort that attempting to keep peace is, that began from the doves of heaven.

A voice comes through the Elevator speakers: ‘Good.’ And so we move on. I nod to the man in the corner, white beard and robe, speaking though a microphone. ‘Good.’ he says. I agree.

A voice comes through the Elevator speakers: ‘Good.’ And so we move on Again, the Elevator flies along the ever swelling gluttony that is the Elevator track of time. Water is formed from a reaction between Hydrogen and Oxygen, and promptly fills up the deep crevices of the Earth’s glorious body rolls, leaving dry land areas. ‘Good.’ The first cell division occurs before me (they blamed the split on the husband’s obsession with his career) and trees blossomed the world over. Fruit fell like soldiers in a battle, slain by their own commanding power. ‘Good.’ I 76

CHRISTMAS TRUTH S

oundly, silent silence in the night,

Article written by

Andes Lee

I had my warm blanket tucked in tight.

12 o’clock is around the corner, My heart is pounding even faster.

The silent night of the Christmas Eve, Santa Claus will walk in like a thief, A thief who gives out presents, Why can’t I sense his presence?

My heart goes pounding, In my sleep that I’m pretending. The footsteps are getting closer, To jump up I feel eager.

“Got you right there!” That’s what I shouted, Seeing two figures with my present out. My parents are stunned with frozen arms, But knowing it’s them, my heart feels warm.

Artwork by Euan Weed

Artwork by Alex Williams

THE MAID Article written by

Jamie Williams

When Father, Mother and I moved to Mentmore Place, a fine house on the corner of Bromsgrove Street, Kent, we thought that we were going to have a jolly nice time.

ue to Father’s job, we had to move from our cosy cottage in Green Lane, and this was the next best thing, we all agreed. The agent said something very curious when we signed the deed for the house, however. He said that no one wanted to buy it, albeit it was one of the finest houses for miles around. The last people who lived in it, he said, moved out almost as soon as they moved in, because of a ‘disturbance’, which we thought very strange. But we took it all the same. When we arrived at Mentmore Place, we shuddered. A fierce storm was brewing and, to top it all off, the building itself was very ominous, with a dark, crumbling chimney, and a weathered, ancient door with a brass knocker. Inside, however, it was warm and dry. A comfortable log fire burned brightly, and the plush armchairs were so comfortable you could literally sink into them. Our hearts lifted as we stepped inside and saw a delicious spread laid out on the table. ‘Golly!’ I cried out. ‘I think God reserved this house just for us!’ ‘But who could have made it all?’ asked my mother. ‘Who could have set the fire?’ ‘I did, ma’am,’ piped a shrill little voice. A small, mousy maid came into the hall. She looked very gaunt and frail, despite her young age. ‘My name is Flora, ma’am, and I shall be your maid in the house as long as 80

you wish to stay here. Dinner is served.’ We all sat down. Mother frowned. ‘But the agent didn’t say that a maid lived here…’ Life passed quite pleasantly in the house for some weeks. Every day, though, there was a strange occurrence. At precisely 3 o’clock, an aged man with a hunched back came hobbling down the lane, which was seldom used by anyone but us. He was dressed all in black, and sported a top hat and a polished cane. We thought him to be very solemn and mysterious, so we asked Flora who he was. ‘Erm… he’s Mr Archibald, ma’am. He used to be the village doctor before his back gave out.’ As she was saying this, her hands were shaking violently, so we left her be. And this happened again, and again, for several weeks. And each day we asked Flora more and more about this ghostly Mr Archibald. And each day she turned white as a sheet and said the same thing as before, ‘He used to be the village doctor before his back gave out.’ One Saturday afternoon, my mother was pruning roses in the garden, when Mr Archibald walked past. My mother, being a civil lady, looked up and said politely, ‘Good morning Mr Archibald.’ Mr Archibald stopped, and turned towards

my mother. ‘Hello,’ he said kindly, and my mother noticed something. His usually ruddy complexion had turned completely white, and there was a white lily in his lapel. ‘How do you know my name?’

him say, ‘Oh Flora, my only daughter… I wish I could have saved you.’

‘Oh,’ Mother said. ‘Flora, our maid told us your name. Oh, sir!’ she exclaimed, upon seeing the shocked look on Mr Archibald’s face. ‘Whatever’s the matter?’ Mr Archibald withdrew a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his forehead, brows furrowed. ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘You wouldn’t know- you’re new to the village. Flora died…. a year ago.’ Now it was my mother’s turn to go deathly white, as Mr Archibald continued. ‘Today is the first anniversary of her tragic death. She drank poison- I don’t know why. A doctor tried to save her, but he couldn’t. That’s why the previous occupants left.’ My mother, still pale, and quivering with fright, murmured thanks to Mr Archibald, who left in a sombre fashion, still hobbling on his stick. She had a solitary rose in hand as she turned to walk back up the garden path towards the house. One of its thorns dug into her palm, but she was too scared to notice, not even when a small trickle of blood started to spread down the sleeve of her white linen dress. A fortnight later, as we were making the final packing preparations, Mr Archibald came up the lane again. He shuffled sadly up the garden path to my mother. ‘I can see why you are leaving,’ he said. ‘I’m very sensitive,’ Mother muttered to him. ‘Thank you very much for telling me about this, so we could find another house. Goodbye, Mr Archibald.’ ‘Goodbye, Mrs Parker,’ said he, and turned away. But as the aged doctor swung open the gate to the lane, I distinctly heard 81

Artwork by George Cave

Artwork by Max Higgs

Artwork by Shay Boyd

FOWLES AND WELLBELOVE Each year the English Department runs the annual Fowles and Wellbelove writing competitions. Pupils in the Sixth Form can enter the Fowles competition and can write a creative piece or discursive essay on a title and theme of their choice. The Wellbelove competition is for pupils in Fourth Form, Remove Form and Fifth Form. Pupils have the choice of three discursive essay titles and the work produced for each competition is of remarkably high standard. In recent years, we have been fortunate in welcoming a

well-known writer to judge the competition and all pupils are offered the opportunity to attend a creative writing seminar before the prize giving â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an event which is always oversubscribed! The winner of the Fowles prize this year was Max Williamson and the winner of the Wellbelove prize was Ben Sporton. Both essays will be published in full within the Ousel magazine in December, but the following are excerpts from all entries.

DEFINE COURAGE I remember being told I was brave. I remember having words like “courageous” handed to me, when I had no intention of receiving them.

riends and relatives launched the words at me as if they were a prize in themselves. Not deservedly, of course. Rather, the word “Courage” in the context of my illness lost all meaning, and consequently, I have a rather bleak and pale view of the whole concept of bravery. What I have come to realise is that the courage we idealise is not the virtuous cliché we have been lead to believe in, but the reckless application of ignorance in the face of adversity. I was called courageous when I was going through cancer simply because I was coping: there’s nothing to be admired in that. I was only coping because I was too young to realise the consequences of my own morality: a topic which I still fear. I suppose this has made me a cynic, but I certainly don’t wish to romanticise what is my opinion a concept far more suited to the era of religious crusading than our secular society; quite the opposite. I wish to redefine courage into not what is admirable, but what is wise. From the outset, it is crucial to make the distinction between strength and foolhardiness. Strength, being the ability to choose when faced with a crisis, is the exact opposite of both cowardice and foolhardiness, which define the inability to choose under the same circumstances; in one case taking the route which best serves the person themselves, in the other taking the route which least serves them. There are of course cases where foolhardiness has resulted in wonderful

benefits. OB Sub-lieutenant Arthur Tisdall will always remain an example of this for me: during the Battle of Gallipolli, Tisdall shored is vessel the S.S ‘River Clyde’ and made four to five round trips under heavy fire to save men who had been left stranded on the shoreline, with no regard for personal safety. This is foolhardiness is in purest sense, and is perhaps something to be admired. But ask yourself this: If Tisdall had been shot the moment he stepped out of the boat, would he have been brave, or would he have been foolish to attempt such a dangerous feat? He certainly wouldn’t have received a V.C. By contrast, take President Jimmy Carter. In his tenure as president of the United States, his main foreign policy goal was to bring about global civil rights: an ambition which (I hope) we all admire today, and which ran slightly against the grain of the senate, who wished to return the United States to a more moderate policy. But, due to a somewhat inept tackling of genuine crises, for example in Egypt and Iran, as well as poor growth in the domestic economy, Carter is now maligned for his idealism and naivety. Why should Tisdall be respected for having the good fortune to be foolhardy, and yet Carter is maligned for the not having such an opportunity? This illustrates one of my fundamental problems with this traditional sort of courage and foolhardiness as idea: for it to be admired and appreciated, it must pay lip service to Lady Luck.

Article written by

Max Williamson - Fowles Essay

(DIS)GRACE Article written by

Daniel Hickey - Fowles Essay

To the whole population of Earth, Daedalus Bell seemed have achieved the impossible.

resources, and human effort) in a cavern system underneath the oceans of the New World, had been meant to provide all the raw materials and finished products for the inhabitants of the surface – migrant colonists from Earth. The entire undertaking to colonise this new world had been the most difficult, complex, and expensive undertaking in human history, and Bell’s one-of-a-kind manufactory, a masterpiece of ambitious engineering and technology, had been crucial in making the whole thing possible. It contained the most advanced human technology, had been built with the most modern equipment in existence, and was cooled by venting heat to the oceans above, receiving its raw materials from the ground below. It was a monument to the human race, but above all, it was Head Engineer Bell’s magnum opus, the culmination of his career. He had named it after himself, and took full responsibility for its cost – and its magnificence.

rom the day of the discovery of a human-liveable planet in 2152, Bell had claimed that before the end of his time as Head Engineer, and the highest authority of the unified human race, he would have established a human colony on the New World able to support over 5 million people. He’d had only 10 years to muster the funding and technical expertise to develop everything, from a way of reaching the distant planet to the means of processing resources there. Building a colony on another planet had been predicted to be a process taking upwards of 100 years of sending probes, manned missions, and construction ventures funded by a myriad of corporations and private enterprises. But Bell had used his own technical genius and political clout, as well as a large helping of ambition and luck to take a world with no human life and a barely breathable atmosphere and by 2160, turn it into a place where humans could survive without any contact with Earth at all. He was even taking a visit to his New World to review his accomplishments. Even now, nothing threatened the human race’s faith in the most ambitious leader they had ever had.

And now the whole 12 million tonne facility was beginning to melt into a mountain of slag before his eyes.

On the New World, however, in the central command centre for the colony, the hearts and minds of a few had fallen silent with terror. The size of the screen that covered the entire front wall of the command centre only served to increase the magnitude of the disaster that was unfolding before the assembled staff. From the lowly secretary (who had happened to be delivering coffee when the video feed was received) all the way up to Head Engineer Bell himself; everyone stared at the scene of devastation displayed on the screen with numb shock. The message relaying news of the accident had come just a few hours before; at that point, no one, not even Daedalus Bell, had predicted that a seemingly small industrial accident would escalate into the inferno before them now.

One of the many nuclear reactors that powered the facility had apparently overheated and the pumps to the oceans above somehow failed to resolve the issue. From there, the build up of heat must have caused the other reactors to fail as well, which probably damaged the cooling pumps. Now, with nowhere to go, the heat was building up so high as to melt the very structure of the compound, and may soon crack the roof of the cavern, possibly causing the ocean to flood in and destroy whatever remained. Daedalus reflected on the number of unknowns in that story, and that the lack of clear facts and eyewitness reports were probably a result of the hundreds of specialists focussing on trying to find a way out of the building he had designed, the building he had sent them to work in, the death-trap they were now almost certain to die in…

The Bell Subterranean Manufacturing Plant, a city-sized factory built (at astronomical cost to Earth in money, metal,

Bell had started his career as a humble engineering student, and 88

recovered from their horror and got to work organising a response. It was awful, how many people could be inside the BSMP? And after so much work! No doubt Head Engineer Bell wouldn’t waste time and would begin right away on an emergency response initiative. Then, when the flames had died down, a thorough investigation into determining who was responsible would begin. At first she had been too shocked at the sight of the BSMP glowing red hot to move, though she did consider that if the command display had been a bit more realistic she might have bolted straight away.

over the last 36 years had risen ceaselessly through the ranks of humanity’s technocratic government, but it hadn’t been simple or easy. He had trodden on the careers of other people, and sacrificed so much on the way; his professional rise had entirely eaten his romantic life and precluded any kind of leisure activity or hobby. He had been ruthless in pushing aside competitors and put every effort into making his work - his policies, his designs, his theories - the best of any, which of course was why his name was all over the worst industrial disaster in history. He remembered people he had left behind… kind-hearted companions and vicious rivals in his youth; fellow hopefuls with whom he had built up everything from robots and structures to personalities and friendships. Now they only saw him on their computer screens. He never saw them at all. He probably never would again. He thought about the possibility that someone he had known was inside the Manufacturing Plant. He then tried everything in his power to stop thinking about the certainty that no matter who was inside his factory, a mistake he had made somewhere had caused the deaths of hundreds of mothers, fathers, sons, wives, cousins, brothers.

Now that the initial shock had passed, she began informing various relief and emergency services and organising response teams to send in to try and salvage the situation. In fact, the state of the BSMP was not as bad as it seemed, when looked at objectively. True, parts of the plant were suffering structural failures and the temperature inside was rising, but plenty of safeguards were in place to manage the situation. Analysis showed the heat would take time to spread to crucial areas, and thank-goodness the cooling pumps were still working. Some of the engineers were already reporting that they had managed to evacuate their section without any major casualties. As long as people stayed calm and focussed, a lot of the factory could be saved.

The other rising stars, the brightest minds in the world, people he had shunted aside to make way for his own dreams… now his dreams were a glowing, viscous wave of molten steel; his dreams were shortages of all kinds of goods for the colonists; his dreams were the end of the possibility of the New World being a launching-pad for the exploration of deep space. He dared to look away from the nightmare and examine the faces of those near him, he could feel their horror, and he knew they were blaming him inside.

She thought again of the Head Engineer. In the years he’d been leader of the human race she had never heard of him making any kind of mistake, and he always seemed to have a level head. She had faith that he would take control of the situation, and even in the face of such a terrible tragedy, everyone in the command centre still supported him. Obviously, he was already thinking about the various avenues to pursue in saving all the people inside and rebuilding his greatest achievement. After all, what could possibly be more important than that?

They were once the greatest minds of other fields: Head of Biological Sciences, Director of Culture and Heritage, Prime Economic Minister... all of them had sought to occupy the position of the highest authority on Earth, but he had come in, swept everyone away with wild dreams. How could he have let this happen, how could he let something so grand and glorious transform so suddenly into something so horrifyingHe had never even shattered a plate on the ground beforeWhat the hell was he going toWhat had he done Fiona Smeaton glanced away from the screen momentarily to observe the leader of humanity staring boldly upwards at the destruction displayed there as everyone slowly 89

JACK Article written by

Joshua Garrett - Fowles Essay

For me, life can be separated into three differentiating parts. Three alternative segments that bare no influence on who I am.

or how can they? I do not know who I am. There is a beginning, a middle and an end. And in all honesty I find this fairly humorous. Humorous and… and daunting. My existence has been one draped in confusion and scepticism and yet I feel as though it can be divided into three intrinsic components; the beginning, the middle and the end. In many ways it’s as if my life has been a childish fairy-tale, one of those stories that begins with ‘once upon a time’. And in many ways, it’s not. There is no ‘happy ever after’ and I fear that if you were to describe my story to anyone who had not yet travelled through the stage of adolescence; they would not have a ‘happy ever after’ either… The beginning. Organised chaos. Chaotic organisation. Screaming and swearing and bright lights. I could feel my body quite literally being wrenched apart. It was as if I was on the rack and had been born into mediaeval Britain; an era governed by William the Conqueror with bloody battles that could be likened to weekend fixtures. But I hadn’t. I’d been born into a world with electricity, mobile phones and running water. With cars and computers and skyscrapers. With racism, gender discrimination and climatic destruction. Words around me were being said in a language unknown to my mother (and unknown to me; for I had not yet learnt the power of 90

speech).“Él tiene la cara de su madre” some were shrieking with a piercing joy. “Él siempre tendrá el rostro de su madre” others were assuring my protector with a glint in their eye.

EVERYTHING IN THIS DREAM what’s the time? 11.47

e’d been trying to get to sleep since 10 and it wouldn’t get any easier once the fireworks started. So what now? He could make another futile attempt to get to sleep, only to end up watching the hands on the clock drag themselves around, while listening to its incessant ticking as each solitary, mocking second reminded him that he still wasn’t asleep. Either that or he could get up, go for a midnight walk, wait for the fireworks to finish, go back to bed and wait for it to all blow over until he had to get up early and drive through the deserted streets to work. what’s the time? 11.47

Article written by chill in the wind. He wrapped his scarf around him tightly, shoved his hands firmly in his pockets and decided, after wandering aimlessly for a while, to make for the park. He dragged himself through the thick shadows among the trees at the park like a shadow himself. Once he walked out into the moonlight he thought of the days he used to spend there; the long walks after arguments, the cold walks on Christmas Day, the warm evening walks in deep summer. Tonight the moonlight was crisp and white, unusually so for such a busy night, and sharp enough that, if he weren’t so alone, he was sure he’d be able to make out the features of a face next to him. what’s the time?

walk By the river most of the town would be waiting for midnight and fireworks that would explode among the stars and burn across the night in a spectacular display of fear and wonder, before the smoke trailed off and disappeared into the shadows of the sky. He wondered whether he’d be able to see all of that. All he had was the harsh orange glow of the streetlamps and their insinuating buzz. Down by the river he knew there was the sense of anticipation in the air, crackling electric: the idealistic sense that something fresh and wonderful was just around the corner, forcing everyone to remember for ten seconds everything they had ever done, beckoning them into uncertain futures of joy and thrill, heartache and disappointment. But here there was nothing but a scathing 91

Logan Jones - Fowles Essay

THE INSIDE OF HIS HEAD Article written by

Ted Hicks - Fowles Essay

Well hello, monsieur! Allow me to take your coat and exchange it for my name.

e m’appelle Monsieur Fritz LeFeuvre, deputy head of night-time security and maintenance for the East wing of this establishment; the illustrious ‘Paris Museum of Post-1945 History and Minimalist Art’. Your visit is remarkably fortunate in that we are 10 minutes until closing. What’s that you say? It is your last night in Paris? O my good man! I had no intention of turning you away, think me the third innkeeper of the famous Bible passage, and this humble museum the stable. I would not dream of discouraging a visitor; one of American origin no less! Oh, my sincerest apologies, I see you are taken aback. I am sorry if I embarrassed you, it is my curse that I am particularly adept at picking up accents – as a night guard it is useful to know what types of people hang around the glass front door; it is a proverbial looking glass from which I can view the relentless rapacity of modern Paris. No Sir, I am afraid there is no time for you to see the whole museum with a guide, in fact the last one is leaving now with the final party of guests. Allow me to escort you as I complete my rounds; my occupation is that of a loneliness that only a certain few professions would recognise, astronauts and deep-sea divers the only others amongst our number. We will begin with the display ‘The last twig in the poppy field’ by the esteemed G. Lubershaft, you perhaps have heard of him non? Ah pas problem, I never took a liking to him anyway. I see you have donned your jacket, Sir. May I enquire as to the designer? Ah ‘Diesel’, a more 92

fundamentally American brand was never seen on this earth, it befits you perfectly. As a Franco-German I prefer the more established European tastes; in my opinion there is nothing Diesel can do that Saint Laurent cannot do better, but even so your ‘Yankee’ style is very becoming to you. Ah monsieur, this is minimalist art! No mere stick in the middle of a red room! The one stick, lying with nothing around it but four plain white walls on a poppy red floor, is a very evocative image; t shows the last branch of an old generation, the survivors, in the midst of the sea of dead. What date? Ah I am no tour guide, monsieur! I think 1945, a few weeks after VJ day – ah there it is! The flash of pride was immediately evident over your American visage. What Sir? Oh nothing is the matter – it was a mere moment of sadness on my behalf, a lapse in my normally iron countenance, I strive to hold Germanic facial unresponsiveness you see. Allow me to stem your curiosity. In 1945 I was a young boy of 12.

‘HUMANKIND CANNOT BEAR MUCH REALITY.’ (TS ELIOT) Eliot’s aforementioned quote, from a poem within his ‘Four Quartets’, is a striking one.

t suggests a notion quite contrary to what many would consider integral to the human condition; a search for knowledge, truth, and to be authentic as a person; embracing of the world in which we live. Because of the freedom a writer has, literature serves well to explore this question of reality- many prolific literary works choose to disregard the constraints of perception and use unreal aspects in their expression, as in those I have chosen to explore. Günter Grass’ The Tin Drum, a part of post-war literature, transgresses reality in both the nature of its protagonist and its narration, Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore likewise as a contemporary work of magical realism, Franz Kafka’s classic novella Metamorphosis which integrates the absurd with normality, and Gabriel García Márquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera as key work in Latin American fiction. I believe that these texts can demonstrate humankind’s affinity to illusion and the unreal as a search for identity, expression, and commentary.

whose “spiritual development is complete at birth and only needs to affirm itself”, along with his ‘sing-shattering’, his perception of society is disconcertingly frank. The essayist Hans Magnus Enzensberger said that Grass “does not seek out taboos; he simply doesn’t notice them… again and again the narrative enters a forbidden sphere where disgust and sexuality, death and blasphemy meet”. Thus, and under the guise of insanity, Grass imposes upon the reader a frank description of events, perhaps only legitimised by the absurdity amongst them. What we may take from this is that for realism, as humans, we need surrealism; we cannot bear the reality which Oskar sees and can only accept it in the context of magical realism. It is a somewhat unsettling thought that if it were not for The Tin Drum’s nonsensical elements, we might see at as only a profane novel with a perception bordering on the sociopathic.

From its beginning The Tin Drum implies a certain detachment from reality, memorably introduced with the following: “Granted: I’m an inmate in a mental institution”. Whilst this could suggest for a dismissal of any non-realism, our protagonist, in the form of Oskar Matzerath, is not intended to perceived as simply ‘crazy’. Rather, Grass’ character presents an opportunity to show both stark realism and fiction; amongst the absurd notions of Oskar as a “clairaudient infant” 93

Article written by

Christopher lamb - Fowles Essay

CONDOLENCES Article written by

Thomas Rainbow - Fowles Essay the gum-stickled, finger tipped, back pained shelf of a Onpayphone

It was 1 o’clock, and his computer screen had begun to burn tiny

well-thumbed copy of King James’ Bible waits for the day’s service.

holes in his eyes. There were lines on his wrists where his desk

In the relevant pages, brutish strokes of the pen formed 679

sat everyday. And his coffee had grown cold. Anyway, everyone else

Across ‘God’s Indignation’ of Chapter 2, from Lamentations.

was leaving – he didn’t want to look out of place when the office was empty.

A glance - the stained glass sunlit depictions

So he left, or he was leaving until he reached the elevator – he had to wait a minute or two

Of the bald headed martyr from human resources.

for it to arrive, but when it did, he was well on his way. Nobody said hello when he

Moments; the martyr flails, falls to the ground and

walked through reception, which he thought was rude, but that didn’t matter because

Our street-wise saint rushes to his aid, but

today was a day to remember. Today he had a phone call from his wife’s sister, or one of them

His crusade is cut short by the friendly intervention

anyway, to let him know that his wife’s mother had died. I think it was a few days ago,

Of an apostle-like man of a God-like stature.

actually, but he had only heard today. He wished he had heard sooner – on Sunday maybe

Christian gestures – today he noted a general air

when he was filing, or maybe Monday when he took his daughter to that god-awful dance

Of goodwill amongst former loveless neighbours.

class. That was a waste of time (his daughter was a disastrous, if not determined

Never mind, the matter at hand – time to return

dancer). I suppose it’s all a waste of time, really. The work, the screens - but at least his

To the deliv’rance of faith unto a thinning congregation

wife’s mother’s generous last testament would ease things. To think of it, though,

Greying souls in suburban nursing homes – their greatest

that greying soul in a suburban nursing home. All those years she spent sitting

Venture only voiced cantations into a city telephone.

on plush chairs – on that half-fortune! - while he worked down his fingertips at 94

Counting years- his conversation numbing an unmemorable loss of days;

his desk on his swivel chair. He wasn’t happy, I don’t think she

days in the pews of St Patrick, spent wrestling winds with mink furs

was happy – the only time she ever opened her mouth was to call

And forgotten fingers, forging breath in nuclear airs, before the father

that Jesus-bearded tramp. But it was Tuesday today, and not

and the son - and Bill J Clinton – razed the ground to its rightful foundation.

wanting to disappoint the friendly employees of the nearest

Never mind, the matter at hand – assuming his position on his glass-caged lectern,

coffeehouse, he decided to go to the coffeehouse. The

here our priestly operator now begins his daily sermon.

walk only took a few minutes. Yesterday, this very same journey mocked him

But bloodless fingers stumble with the numbers, stumble with the coins

with executive’s cars and tailor-cut suits, but today (for today

50 cent a call, a charitable cause, yet scarcely profitable

was a day to remember) the world beamed with extravagant price tags. It would

Particularly for a man of his condition – the gutter will at present suffice

be a few days before the money comes through, but when it

But religious self-sacrifice these days appeals less and less to the passerby.

does good lord what fun he’ll have. But now, I suppose, he

Petty change for tax-free business, uncopyrighted dealings of Gideon’s bibles

ought to play it sad – let his wife know he shares in her grief.

Feeding machines with hat and cap dimes, with a special offer of his worldly time

His pockets are light and empty (they’ll be filled soon

The words of God, words on page, spoken words become

enough) - he must have left his phone at the office. There’s a quarter or two

Airless words, electric words, blissful words.

though; he’ll just use a payphone. And so he calls his wife, offers his consolations and continues

But in the midst of all this Godly talk, where was his voice – his voice

towards the coffeehouse. He arrives, and sits. From a seat by the

The sales pitch for deathbed satisfaction in Jesus Christ?

window, he listens as church bells ring out their pretty tune, and watches as

There’s a haggard voice that runs through the cracks of telephone cable,

midday churchgoers in their prettiest clothes descend and

there’s a voice inside his head that does a good impression of Cain or Abel,

submerge into the sea of white collars. They separate and

there’s a rhythm of shouts and howls that tap gently on the glass pane window.

dissolve as they walk away, they think of the service

But our fatherly friend speaks with none of them.

and they laugh as they pass the straight-faced, corporative-faceless employees.

THE POWER OF A WORK LIES IN ITS EMOTIONAL IMPACT ON THE READER Article written by

Ben Sporton - Wellbelove Essay

I think the power of a work lies in its emotional impact on the reader; if a book creates emotion it uncovers a whole world in which the reader can experience what is happening to the characters on a deeper level.

his connects the reader with the story, giving them a greater understanding of the work. The emotional impact on the reader in the book â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wonder,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; is one that is incredibly eye opening and touches the reader very deeply. Wonder is based on the story of a young boy, August, who was born with an abnormal facial condition. At the beginning of the story he goes to school for the first time because his parents had home schooled him when he was younger due to his many operations. The book evokes a very strong connection between August and the reader, this connection is deepened when you hear the different narratives of his friends and family. The book is especially enthralling to the reader as it has a range of emotions and experiences in it which many can relate to, such as bullying and feeling insecure around others that we do not know. These situations create a strong connection between August and the reader as they are common situations and whether the reader had experienced bullying or not, they still make the reader feel insecure and empathetic of his situation. August, despite all of these unfortunate situations, is a very positive person and with his family for support he makes new friends and ends up very popular amongst his class mates and indeed the whole school. This inspires the reader and sends out a very important and positive massage about bullying and how it affects those who are bullied despite being 96

kind and generous people. The message a book sends out has the biggest emotional impact on the reader and it helps them to gain a new perspective on their life. I think for something to be so emotional that it makes so many look into their own life and think about it in a way they have not previously is the most powerful thing a work can do and something that all great authors strive for.

LITERATURE CHALLENGES US TO RETHINK OUR SOCIAL OR MORAL VIEWPOINT On ‘a Game of Thrones’

good piece of literature can challenge you to change your outlook on a multitude of things, not just your social or moral viewpoint. It can change your standard for the literature you read; how you think about aspects of life and finally your social or moral viewpoint. A Game of Thrones is exactly this. It was written by George R.R. Martin in 1996 and the series is still going on today. It is set in a fantasy world where multiple families and groups are fighting for their interests. It isn’t a flawless piece of literature but when it comes to making you think about issues in current society, especially social and moral issues, it is excellent.

Article written by want a “truly just” person to find out. The idea that most people aren’t good or bad challenges the “fairy tale” idea which is quite popular in a lot of stories where there are “bad guys and “good guys”. It makes you think about the “fairy tale”-like stories you have experienced and it also makes you think about how good or bad the people who you know in life are. In the novel the characters are very well developed and fleshed out to show how they aren’t good or bad. The events that the characters are put through completely define and change them which helps to reinforce the idea that they aren’t good or bad.

In ‘a Game of Thrones’ there aren’t any good or evil characters. There are lots of characters that fall somewhere in the spectrum between good and evil, but very little purely good or evil characters. Some characters, for example Ned Stark, try to do everything as morally right as they can, however they don’t always manage this and they still fight and kill people. Other characters, for example Tywin Lannister, have the interest of his family and allies in mind when he makes decisions but if their interests involve killing someone or something else considered morally wrong then he won’t hesitate to do it. A quotation that sums this up well is “There is no creature on earth half so terrifying as a truly just man.” This quotation shows that people who are “truly just” are rare and that most people aren’t completely good. It also says that most people are scared of someone who is “truly just”. Therefore most people commit bad acts that they wouldn’t 97

Thomas Byrne - Wellbelove Essay

THE POWER OF A WORK LIES IN ITS EMOTIONAL IMPACT ON THE READER Article written by

Ben Watson - Wellbelove Essay

I agree with the proposed statement that the power of a work relies on its emotional impact with the readers. The emotional impact is increasingly the main theme more and more as a book progresses in the intellectual capacity needed to understand it.

ord of the Rings is a well-known book that heartily agrees with the proposed statement. One of the many emotional quotes that I could have picked is when Gandalf returns to the company as Gandalf and he says ‘‘I am Gandalf the White. And I come back to now... at the turn of the tide.’’ This quote is a prime example for agreeing with the statement, as when I first read this, it sent me into tears as now everything in the novel looked to be alright. One analytical reason why I believe this has emotional impact is the ellipses in the middle of the second sentence, as this just delays the impact slightly and it also gives important suspense that adds to the emotional impact on the reader. Another of the many emotional quotes that I could have used was when Sam says ‘‘But in the end it’s just a passing thing; this shadow, even the darkness must pass.’’ This quote is another prime example for agreeing with the proposed with the statement, as the its power lies within the emotional impact of the reader. One of the reasons that this quote is so inspiring is because of the very simple view of the hobbits which is why Sam says that the ‘darkness must pass’ as this adds confidence to Frodo and helps him keep heart. This is important as Frodo needs all the confidence he can get to continue on his 98

strenuous journey, which is also the same for people going through stressful times in their lives, thus adding to the emotional impact.

MDLII BSIP 2016

This year saw an excellent range of essays submitted by Lower Sixth students as part of the Bedford School Independent Project (BSIP), a programme taken up by the vast majority of the year group. It is hoped that BSIP students have enjoyed the opportunity

to develop their independent research skills and that their work will have extended their academic interests and rewarded wider reading and intellectual curiosity. This article contains a miscellany of the best BSIP entries from 2016.

MDLII BSIP 2016 Written by

Mr M Graham

leading contender was LOGAN JONES’ impressive cultural study, ‘Paul Thomas Anderson and the 20th Century: How does his work comment on American society?’ In this section on Inherent Vice he considers the demise of the hippie movement: The movement started to dissolve towards the end of the decade, perhaps because the hippies’ belief in their core values became lost. This idea is expressed in Sortilège’s narration, when Doc imagines Shasta’s response to the question of how much she cares for her older billionaire boyfriend as being, “‘I love him, what else?’ with the unspoken footnote that the word these days was being way too overused.” The subtext of this line suggests that even the hippies’ search for meaning has lost its meaning since their belief in world peace has not found its way across the rest of the country, let alone the world. Alternatively, their dedication to world peace is questionable, with Anderson perhaps suggesting that personal contentment was the sole aim in the first place, under the pretence or illusion of a wider, more significant cause … Violence, conspiracies and hatred pervade American society, eventually forcing the hippie movement to fully confront the reality that not only is the world a deeply imperfect and hostile place, but that it is likely to stay that way. Inherent Vice is set during the transitional phase in which people began to abandon peace. Therefore Anderson communicates to the audience how American society changed in this period as a result of national paranoia.

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OLIVER McCORMACK continued the American culture theme in his study of Muhammad Ali as a cultural icon, charting his influence on politics, sport and American society: Ali was respected as an icon around the world. He was an advocate of other cultures and ethnicities, not just his own. Ali was an advocate and representative of the fight against racial injustice to black people all over the world, not just in America, and he also aimed to help other ethnicities and cultures in the fight against white supremacy. He represented far more than just his own religious beliefs and the black culture. He represented the ideas of peace and freedom, with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group across the world. Above all, he was a man of principle, who risked everything, including his world heavyweight championship title, the highlight of his career, and what he dedicated his whole life to achieving, in order to stand up and advocate what he believed in, and to improve the lives of others and achieve peace and racial freedoms – furthermore consolidating his image, as a global, cultural icon.

HARRY GUTHRIE has explored of the life and times of composer William Byrd. This is a dramatic account of the life and work of ‘a musical colossus … a master of polyphony known by his contemporaries as Britanniae Musicae Parens, the father of British music.’ He led a contradictory and perilous double life, ‘a Catholic dissident living and working in plain sight in the Protestant Court’:

In parallel with composing great sacred works for the Anglican Church, he was busy writing illegal Catholic compositions in Latin which could only be performed in secret in the homes of Catholic sympathisers. Paradoxically, at the same time as he was the Queen’s favourite, he got into trouble with the authorities for supporting the Catholic cause. Yet, despite the political and religious mine-field that surrounded him, he survived to become the most celebrated composer of his age … Byrd was adroit at using his music to flatter the great and good, both Protestant and Catholic. The need to be flattered was a key part of the Queen’s personality and she was capable of taking it to extremes as can be illustrated when she instructed her court painter, Hilliard, to “leave out the shadows”. This meant he must paint her as a beauty or run the risk of being executed. Byrd followed suit when he wrote This Sweet and merry month of May in honour of Elizabeth. This was the forerunner of the English madrigal (not a genre that Byrd especially liked) and he followed the widespread practice of praising Elizabeth in the text.

Another excellent historical essay was produced by HUGH PARFITT, writing on ‘The Empire of Japan: The formation of the Japanese constitution and its effects on modern Japanese politics’: It is without a doubt that the public remains divided over the issue of the Japanese empire. The majority of people in Japan have an overwhelmingly negative view of the Japanese empire. Nevertheless, there still remains great debate on issues such as the interpretation of Article 9. Prolonged tensions over the Senkaku Islands (Known as the Diaoyu Islands in China) and the South China Sea mean that interpretation of Article 9 will remain a contested issue for the foreseeable future. There have been further debates on the extent to which

Emperor Hirohito was responsible for various war crimes committed. Although Hirohito is now dead, many people want to find out the truth regarding his actions during the war. However, ultranationalist groups are staunchly opposed to this meaning both policy implementation and the historical legacy of the Japanese Empire has been dramatically skewed.

Several outstanding essays were submitted in the field of Classics this year. MATTHEW DIEMER chose an intriguing topic in asking: ‘Can the Archaeology of death tell us anything other than the normal method of disposing of a body in a particular place during the Roman Republic?’ Although we learn a lot about the archaeology of death from the monuments erected by the wealthy, we can also learn a lot about the lives of the poor from the ways in which they are buried as well. The ways in which the poor are buried are much different to the ways in which the rich are buried. The normal working class ‘plebeian’ was buried in a number of ways. For example some lower class citizens of society were cremated like the wealthy senators and equestrians however they would not have had a large monument built for them or their family, they would either be placed in the house of the family or their ashes may be scattered in a place of particular importance. Because of the everyday placement of these burial urns we have a lot of remains of what they would have looked like. These urns, although decorated in their own ways would have represented the lower class by the level of detail and the overall look they had to another person. People would like to spend as much money as possible when honouring the dead so that they were seen as very honourable and mournful people who cared about their ancestors and parents. Much of what we learn today about the burial 101

of the Ancient people of Rome and beyond comes from the poor people of Rome.

Death is also close to hand in ANGUS WATSON’S brief summary of Mycenean Warfare, in which he begins by emphasising the difficulty of accessing such a distant past. In doing so he challenges the Homeric portrayal and searches for a broader and more plausible representation of ancient combat: The general view of Mycenaean warfare now is that, while they did not utilise the iconic phalanx formation of later classical warfare, they did engage in mass battle. Warriors fought individually in a fluid fashion, with the ebb and flow of battle pushing men together and apart, rather than any specific attempt to keep formation. This is shown even in the Iliad when Homer describes the Greeks as they “formed apart…locking spear by spear, shield against shield at the base… and the spears shaken from their daring hands made a jagged battle line” “advancing rank upon rank”, and “arrayed like a wall”. However, the main argument against Homer’s type of heroic duel is common sense - it is ridiculous to think that the conflict of massed armies, in combat, would be seriously affected by the actions of one hero killing two or three men. This loose style of fighting is confirmed by its presence in the poetry of Tyrtaios, who is famous for his war-poetry. He says: “And as for you light-armed soldiers, crouching here and there behind the shields, keep hurling great rocks, and fling your smooth javelins against them, standing hard by the soldiers in full armour.” Kallinos tells his fellow Ephesians to “let every man, as he dies, hurl his javelin one last time”.

A more serene note is struck by TED HICKS in ‘Odi et amo: A Study of the poetic skill and stylistic qualities of Catullus’:

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The poem itself is about contrast. It contrasts his hatred to his love, his feelings to his unwillingness to feel, his action of feeling what is happening to his confusion as to why he feels this way. This is reflected in the chiastic structure of the poem itself and the positioning of the verbs in the sentences. If the similar words ‘hate’ and ‘crucified’ are paired, and ‘ask’ and ‘know’ paired likewise, out of the apparent lines of words appear two intersecting lines, reflective of a cross. This cross could symbolise the cross used in crucifixions, but perhaps more likely could simply show that his thoughts are so contrasting that similarities only occur on opposite ends of the poem to the other, showing that there is no close fitting emotions in his thoughts and everything is in opposition. It is a simple poem with no complex language in an attempt to clarify, perhaps to himself even, his complex emotions in a simple manner. It is a declaration of his conflicting emotions in such a simple yet thought provoking manner that it has gone down as perhaps his best work, despite its brevity.

JAMES HIRST brings the Classics up to date in exploring the extent to which the characters of the Iliad are portrayed accurately in modern film and literature, his focus on Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles (2010) and Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy (2004): The most notable omission of characters is the gods from the film ‘Troy’; however I do believe having them in the film would only have served to complicate the plot. The heroes of the Iliad are portrayed very accurately in terms of their characteristics; however when it comes to the reason that they fight sometimes it is more relatable to the audience if they are fighting due to the fact that they are patriots rather than the fact that they are fighting for glory and items. The gods are very open to interpretation

when it comes to their physical appearance as Homer doesn’t particularly go into any detail other than a few stand out symbols like Apollo’s bow or Athene’s grey eyes; this leaves the rest of the physical appearance open to interpretation for modern writers and directors which Madeline Miller really took on with her ‘otherworldly’ view of the gods. Other than the physical description the base characteristic of the gods are the same in both modern film and literature and the Iliad itself; they are terrifying presences and they are ultimately powerful and that is the main idea that Madeline Miller and Wolfgang Petersen try to get across even if they are omitted.

Shifting our focus back to the present day, in his investigation into alternative fuel sources TOMMY HINE asks ‘Petroleum fuels are running out; how will we keep our cars running?’ In doing so he makes a clearsighted appeal for new thinking, setting out and evaluating the potential represented by biofuel, hydrogen, solar power, aircompressed cars and electric vehicles: The Earth has finite resources, and crude oil is no exception. Used vastly, throughout every single continent, crude oil contains the building blocks for all the fuels we take for granted, which includes ones such as methane, petrol, diesel and many others. Buried under millions of cubic metres of water, in the ocean bed nears areas such as the Arabic states or the Russian coast. It is extracted using enormous oil rigs that drill deep into the ground to harvest this crude oil. These fuels are not only used for their abundances, but for the large quantities of energy they can produce. First discovered in 1859, people thought that crude oil was the gateway to new technological advances, and it was. Ever since its discovery, crude oil has been used in almost everything, from running engines to flying planes and taking humans into outer space. We all know it won’t last,

and with crude oil being such an integral part of our society, some people are beginning to question whether we could continue to function, as a society, if we run out.

Also issuing a call for action, THOMAS STEWART explains why we should all be worried about viruses. He sets out a strong rationale for his study, giving us an insight into new the research skills students have gained through the BSIP programme: The reason why I chose this topic is because I have a strong passion for medicine related topics. I approached this investigation by first deciding on what questions appealed to me and that is how I arrived at my chosen question: why we should all be worried about viruses? My research question relates to existing knowledge on the topic as currently in Biology we are studying the immune response, therefore I thought it would be a good idea to look in more detail into a topic that effects millions of people each year. The main reasons I chose this topic was because viruses have had a massive effect on the lives of many around the world this year with the main case being the Ebola virus. It was ultimately for this reason that I chose my BSIP title because I wanted to understand more about why viruses in general are such a huge threat to human survival. Other reasons into why I chose this topic and felt it was worthy of investigation was because I was curious into why HIV has not had a cure found for it and the reasons behind this. Also, I wanted to understand why antibiotics work on bacteria but do not work on viruses where instead we rely on vaccinations which are having a diminishing effect and what our future plans will be to fight of viruses.

DUNCAN KEYWORTH is interesting on ‘The Cannabis Revolution: An investigation into the medicinal and industrial benefits of 103

Hemp and Marijuana in the modern world’: With the growing legalisation of recreational cannabis and its counter parts in both the USA and the UK I thought it be appropriate to address the possible uses of the naturally abundant plant that has made up such a minute proportion of cultivated crops in recent years despite the plethora of medicinal and industrial uses it provides. Although often seen as a key benefactor to the hippy movement that has in my opinion created such a negative and uneducated general public view on Cannabis, I believe that this should not be the most prominent association with Cannabis as it is more than just a recreational drug, it is a sustainable crop that offers a multitude of benefits to today’s society. Cannabis has a significant potential for a multitude of applications that will become clearer, more efficient and safer with the growing legality of it combined with research done around this plant that has existed for thousands of years but is only recently started to be applied to its full potential.

Pushing the boundaries yet further, ROHAN SANGHERA produced a truly outstanding and fabulously well-resourced literature review entitled ‘Space Medicine: The Future of Medicine, and what we can learn from Space’: With the recent scheduling of deep space manned missions, such as NASA’s Orion mission, the value of space medicine as a means to monitor and help sustain life in space is becoming increasingly important. This literature review investigates the effects that the environment of space, primarily microgravity, has on the human body. The review found that microgravity had primarily negative effects on the human body, especially on the musculoskeletal and neurovestibular system, whilst also causing immune impairment. However, space medical research in these fields helped correlate the 104

observed measurements to clinical symptoms. This could potentially allow for new modern treatments by reverse engineering the principal biological influences which microgravity has on the body to cause these symptoms. Yet microgravity shows promise in the treatment of neurological disorders, such as psychosis and schizophrenia, by increasing the emotional and rational cognitive response. However, for deep space missions the personalisation of medicine as a means of preventative care may be more suitable than traditional treatments, but a method of producing artificial gravity would negate almost all of the negative effects of microgravity.

For all this, CALLUM FENTON brings us back down to earth (apologies) in asking whether any human can be truly wise. The initial prognosis is not good but then a more nuanced note is sounded, something to hold on to if we fail to heed the warnings of scientists posited above: Despite being the only species we know of that pursues knowledge with such endeavour as we do, we are ill suited to such a cause. Emotion, ideals and morality stand in the way of our endeavour to gain more information. I stress that this is no negative attribute to hold; it curtails some of the less than moral scientific exploits and forces us to accept the idea that some things must not be tampered with for they are inherently wrong. We contain brains capable of rationalising away any immoral act should we so wish yet we refuse to use them for such purposes; while this may hold back our research and scientific advancement it allows us to become a richer and more fulfilled people. It also opens up an entirely new area of knowledge of us to explore. Rational beings would be bores; they would always do the expected regardless of emotion yet as humans our chemical imbalances, souls or divine sparks open up a

new area that holds a wealth of information. The Greek motto “Know Thyself” echoes here as it eloquently surmises the necessity and challenges that come with exploring oneself.

Of contemporary relevance during this footballing summer, WILL BARRETT asks ‘Are footballers paid too much?’ He begins with the case for the defence: The average working life expectancy of a footballer is only 8 years whereas a doctor would normally practice for 40 years and their relative earning capacity over this much longer period is therefore significant. Footballers are also often offered short contracts with very little job security beyond the next 3 or so years of their current contract. This isn’t something that is regular practice in most other professions. By the very nature of their profession, footballers put their bodies under huge physical demands and are consequently subject to injuries, which can dramatically shorten their already short careers. Relatively common injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament damage can cause the player’s career to end prematurely. There is an increased incidence of osteoarthritis in the hip joint of retired players meaning that the physical demands can often affect footballers in later life too.

An unusual and tremendously engaging and readable piece, fully in the BSIP spirit with some bold critical analysis and revisionist thinking in evidence throughout, was HARRY MARKS’ essay on the process of ‘dowsing’ and what it can tell us about human nature: Almost all of the scientific experiments available seem to dismiss the technique as a pseudoscience, that is, a pretend science with no evidence of any real scientific fact. Most of them have been focussed on proving the technique is based on nothing more than chance findings. However, having seen the

reliability of the technique first hand, it seems to me that they are missing the whole point. Consider some of the famous known dowsers in history like Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Leonardo Da Vinci. These inspirational men may have used dowsing to prove some of their theories like gravity or quantum physics. Perhaps modern scientists have dismissed the effect purely because it is unexplainable. Albert Einstein said on the subject: “I know very well that many scientists consider dowsing as a type of ancient superstition. According to my conviction this is, however, unjustified. The dowsing rod is a simple instrument which shows the reaction of the human nervous system to certain factors which are unknown to us at this time.”

Finally, brutalism. Two fascinating essays were submitted on urban architecture. ANTHONY TAI was shortlisted for his study of Le Corbusier and his impact on the modern city, concluding: Le Corbusier developed a totally new idea towards architecture, and he changed the cities we live in today. He inspired the relationship between humans and architecture, and also the architecture itself with its surrounds. All of his projects are clean and simple, they can blend into any atmosphere and interact with greenery playfully. This is how Le Corbusier made changes to the mode of living and is still influencing the world after fifty years. Without Le Corbusier, the cities that we live in today would not be the same.

JACQUES BELL hits upon similar themes in his investigation into the aesthetics and functionality of brutalist architecture in the contemporary urban landscape: Brutalism, which developed during the post-war recovery, is well known for its bold rough concrete structures that have been considered to be ugly and bland. 105

The architects themselves who built these buildings have been referred to as murders’ of cities and landscapes. The word brutalism is derived from the French word ‘brut’ for raw and was used by Le Corbuiser (pioneer of modern architecture) to describe the choice of material as ‘béton brut’ (raw concrete). Brutalism is also known as an internal style of post modernism but regardless of the internal style, the fundamental modernist principle remains in which ‘form forever follows function’. Brutalist buildings are very unique and very recognisable. They usually consist of repeated modular shapes that are grouped together to form a distinct form. The majority of Brutalist buildings are made of concrete for its raw and unpretentious honesty but then contrasted by the structures highly refined modular shapes. The cast concrete surfaces are made to reveal the basic nature of the construction alongside other harsh materials such as rough hewn stone and steel. Another common theme in Brutalism is the exposure of the buildings functions which can either be their structure or perhaps their function. This is what gives brutalism its hidden beauty that many people do not see and is why I believe brutalism was one of the most iconic movements in architectural history. To find beauty in the design of Preston Bus Station is a proposition that will challenge even the most enlightened reader, but Jacques makes a compelling case for us to look again at the architecture of the 1960s and in challenging orthodox thinking in this way symbolises much that is exciting about the work produced this year. Well done to all involved for your excellent efforts. A summary of results: The winner of the BSIP Essay Prize is Rohan Sanghera, who submitted a wonderfully well-researched piece entitled ‘The Future of Medicine: A literature review on the effects of space on human biology and the potential medical applications of such research.’ Several excellent essays were shortlisted and the following boys are 106

commended for their work: Ted Hicks, James Hirst, Harry Guthrie, Logan Jones, Matthew Diemer, Anthony Tai, Harry Marks and Harjeet Sumal. Running parallel to this, we held a Presentation Evening towards the end of the summer term and the overall winner of this year’s BSIP Presentation Prize is Angus Watson, who spoke on Mycenaean Warfare. Recognition also goes to Runner-Up Zahan Bharucha, who presented on youth politics and participation, and to Highly Commended finalists Harry Guthrie and Logan Jones. These boys have set the bar formidably high and I look forward to reviewing what I hope will be the equally ambitious work of next year’s cohort.

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