The Acorn

The Discussion - By

Aditya Ravichandran

Tourist Submarine Implodes in the North Atlantic

Deep sea exploration firm

‘Ocean Gate Expeditions’ ‘s new submarine “Titan”, which ran expeditions down to the wreck of the Titanic, has been confirmed destroyed by implosion after a five day multinational search.

The 5 man submarine, carrying a father and son- Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, billionaire Hamish Harding, famous oceanographer Paul Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, was reported missing after losing contact with its mother ship, the Polar Prince, 1 hour and 45 minutes into the dive. This sparked a massive multinationally coordinated search and rescue that ended in the tragic revelation: debris of parts of the sub’s carbon fibre hull and landing gear were found in a debris field 1600 ft from the bow of the Titanic. This begged the question: what exactly caused this disaster?

According to the United States Navy, a sound “consistent with a catastrophic implosion” was picked up by sonar soon after the time when the sub last contacted its mothership. The US coast guard monitoring the search also indicated that the debris found was consistent with the implosion. Furthermore, analysis of the submarine’s design after the disaster found multiple faults that were repeatedly brushed under the carpet by OceanGate. The submarine’s hull was made of carbon fibre. This is an unusual and largely untested material to build a submarine with.

“There’s a rule you don’t do that.”, said the CEO Stockton Rush. OceanGate believed that using carbon fibre could allow them to cut costs.

The submarine’s shape was also unconventional. Most submarines are spherical in shape so all of the pressure exerted on all sides remains the same. The Titan, however, utilised an unconventional ‘cigar’ shape.

According to former employees, complaints about the submarine’s design were ignored and repeatedly brushed aside by senior management. Stockton Rush himself said that the regulations on sub-

See you in September!

As the year comes to a close, all of us at The Acorn want to thank everyone for their continued support and interest. We would love to see even more budding journalists join us in the new school year and wish everyone a very relaxing summer break you deserve it!

To everyone leaving the school, we hope you enjoy whatever part of your journey comes next, and to all those returning marine structure and design were “hampering innovation”. In light of these revelations, the preventability of this disaster has become embarrassingly evident. OceanGate knew their design was unconventional. They knew that carbon fibre is a rarely used material when it comes to constructing deep sea vehicles, and the cigar shape would lead to unequal pressure being exerted on the submarine. Yet, they decided to go through with their design for one motive: cutting costs and maximising revenue. This is yet another example of capitalism run amok. The company, motivated by monetary incentives, deliberately chose to cut corners with the design and exploited the fact that they were operating in international waters to forgo regulations- which ended in tragedy. for the academic year 2023, see you soon! Enjoy some photo highlights from this year on p5!

‘Read as much as you can because it gives you a feel for the way stories are written. [...] Read history, read poetry, read graphic novels, read everything you can.’

House Happenings - By Bea Lowson House Highlights

We have come to the end of the first year of the new house system, which saw us all the way from September and cross country, to sports day on the date of printing. Everyone has embraced the new houses and here are some quotes from students when reflecting on the house journeys.

Y7 student: ”I like the colours.”

Y7 student :”Bentsi-Enchill is the best!”

Y8 student: “My favourite competition was house music - I loved the atmosphere!”

Y9 student: “House competitions have been able to blend both creativity and competitiveness in a great way!”

Y9 student: “I enjoy participating and watching the competitions.”

Celebrity Smash Hits - Livi Randall

Y10 student: “The spirits of the houses have really grown this year.”

Y10 student: ”I love the new house system because the names are from multicultural backgrounds and I feel that this is reflective of our multicultural inclusive school.”

We can’t wait to see the house competitions back in full force in the new school year.

Cressida Cowell: Let’s Talk Dragons

On Wednesday 10th May, nearly 400 students gathered to meet literary icon, Waterstones’ Children Book Laureate for three years running and author of over 20 novels and stories, Cressida Cowell.

The talk she gave, aimed at students ranging from Years 4 to 7, was a hilarious mixture of anecdotes about Cowell’s journey, the challenges of being both an author and an illustrator, and behind-the-scenes access to her latest novel ‘Which Way To Anywhere’. At the book signing that followed the talk, I was lucky enough to speak to Cressida about her life and experiences, an experience that was fascinating.

Having been writing short stories since the age of nine, Cowell’s first unpublished book was about two hippopotamuses that fall in love. Giggling, she recalled how the male hippopotamus’ chat up line was: ‘My name’s Hongo, what’s yours?’ Inspired by that initial story, Cressida continued to write into her teenage years and throughout her time at university studying English, and then whilst completing a second degree in Art. Despite what many may be- lieve, Cowell was aged 30 before her first book was published, and even then, she recalls how she was not a success overnight.

“You have to keep going and be extremely hard working” she commented, reflecting on her journey as a published author. Cowell’s first five books were picture books and it wasn’t until her sixth book that she decided to write for an older audience - a decision that would change her life. Having sold over 11 million copies of the novel in 38 languages, ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ captured the hearts of millions, Cressida Cowell among them. When asked to choose, Cowell identified Kamikaze (from the series) as the character she feels closest to.

Providing children with heroes that they can relate to is something close to the author’s heart, and Cowell commented that she feels tied to the strength of a fierce female protagonist such as Kamikaze because they reflect something of her own character whilst also inspiring the reader.

It was this desire to inspire the next generation that brought Cressida her proudest moment as a published author. She reflected that a Year 3 teacher approaching her in public to thank her was one of the most special moments for her because it was ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ that had got that teacher to love books. Without Cowell’s books, the teacher’s life may have been completely different, and seeing what a profound impact her stories could have touched the author.

As well as teaching people to love books, Cressida spoke about how stories have the power to inspire the next generation of authors and illustrators. When pondering what advice to give budding authors, Cressida said: “Read as much as you can because it gives you a feel for the way stories are written. [...] Read history, read poetry, read graphic novels, read everything you can.”

It was absolutely incredible to be able to meet such a renowned author, and who knows, one of you might just be the next Cressida Cowell! We wish Cressida Cowell the best of luck with all of her future literary endeavours and hope to meet her again.