SCREEVER
THE DECEMBER ISSUE
Welcome to Screever! It’s that time of year again! The nights are getting darker, its cold outside and the first issue of Screever has appeared, just before Christmas. To the A2 students, welcome back and to the AS students, welcome to High Pavement. This issue of Screever is jam-packed, with everything from winter fashion on a student budget, how to create a successful university application, to a John Green book review and ten words you didn't know existed. There is a festive short story as well! We hope you enjoy reading Screever as much as we have writing it. We wish everyone good luck in mock exams and have a merry Christmas! Editors- Becky Hill and Yasmin Johal.
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Contents 3) Remembrance 4) The waves of Feminism 6) Dating Fantasy Vs Reality 7) Learning to love yourself 9) Is this the first time Sam Pepper has objectified? 10) Are Youtubers the new Celebrities? 11) Winter fashion 12) Supernatural Christmas Story 13) Copy Cat Killers 14) 10 words you didn't know existed 15) UCAS and Universities 17) Lets talk about: Cystic Fibrosis 18) Embarrassing moments 20) Trip of a life time short story 22) Review of Smash Bros 24) Looking for Alaska book review 25) Poem– The Cycle
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Great Uncle Charlie
Remembrance 2014
When great uncle Charlie woke up one summer morning,
On remembrance day nineteen eighteen
his head was filled with the sound
great grandmother opened the door,
of his mother’s mourning.
two officers stood on the porch with heads bent as she slid slowly to the floor.
Her eyes were filled with sorrow as she turned to look at him
Charlie now lives in France,
said, ‘they’re going to invade our home!’
his home, beneath the ground covered with clay
with her face set grim.
for our tomorrow, great uncle Charlie, he gave his today.
The days passed quickly as the men prepared to leave. Charlie sat at the window sill and watched the women grieve.
As great uncle Charlie walked out one evening, shouts of ‘coward’ were hurled at his face. They threw him a white feather which landed at his base.
He was tall in stature but was no more than sixteen, it was not this fault that he inherited his grandfather’s genes
This November 11th marked the centenary of the First World War. As we all witnessed, the country once again came together, as we remembered the soldiers who sacrificed themselves for our freedom. The poppy memorial at Tower of London captivated us all and made us think about the loss thousands suffered a hundred years ago. However, its important that we also remember those who have sacrificed themselves for us in all recent conflicts that Great Britain has participated in over these 100 years., such as World War Two, the Falklands and the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We should also think about the future and the future wars which we will inevitably be involved in . This held a certain significance to me, as I had a family member who died in the First World War. The poem opposite is based on the true tragic story of my great uncle Charlie and how he gave up his life, so that we could all live in freedom.
The next month he left for France
When you go home, tell them of us and say
too young to legally fight,
For their tomorrow, we gave our today.
he was going to do his country proud
John Maxwell Edmonds
he was going to become a knight.
Written By Becky Hill
They put him in a trench the earth was cold and hard. When the guns stopped exploding, he became emotionally scarred.
One cold October night the corporals blew their whistles, out into no man’s land went Charlie but he got caught by the thistles. 4
The ‘Waves’ of Feminism A Clear Description This is the Oxford dictionary definition of what feminism is: “The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.” It doesn’t mean what the nasty stereotypes say that it means. Feminism now is about women (and men) fighting, not just for women’s rights, but for equality for all genders. However, it started off as being solely about women. There have been three ‘waves’ of feminism. First-wave feminism is referred to the nineteenth and early twentieth-century women who fought for our right to vote. Millicent Fawcett founded the National Union of Women’s Suffrage* in 1897 but was slow in her progression of any change. However, in 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst set up the Women’s Social and Political Union along with her two daughters, Christabel and Sylvia. We know this union now as the Suffragettes. They used violence within their protests, with the most wellknown act being when Emily Wilding Davison threw herself under the King’s horse at the June 1913 Derby. Firstwave feminists were concerned with education, employment, the marriage laws, and the way in which intelligent, middleclass, single women were treated. Unfortunately, the concerns of working-class women were not of importance to first5
wave feminists; these women were upper/middle-class, white women, and their wave of feminism was a retaliation to the way that they specifically were being treated. Nonetheless, first-wave feminism introduced key ideas to society. They made many great achievements:
Girls were able to partake in formal national exams,
Higher education was opened up to women,
Married women had some rights recognised in the Married Women’s Property Act of 1870.
The second-wave of feminism in the late 1960s and early 1970s sparked a “new social movement”. The main goals of second-wave feminism were to raise awareness and recognition about: sexism and patriarchy, the want to legalise abortion and birth control, the want to attain equal rights in political and economic realms, and to gain sexual liberation. This was a big leap from first-wave feminism; it was more understanding and liberal-thinking. Some second-wave feminists used greatly publicised activism, such as the protest against the American Beauty
Contest in 1968, whereby 400 feminists tossed a collection of feminine products (including false eyelashes, mops and pots) into a rubbish bin on the Atlantic City boardwalk. This demonstration was set up by the New York Radical Women group. Second-wave feminism wasn’t unified how it is today. Different groups emerged within, including black feminism, lesbian feminism, liberal feminism and social feminism. In Britain, secondwave feminism was focused more strongly on working-class socialism, how the bourgeoisie exploited the proletariat. The 1968 women workers strike at the Ford car plant is an example of how they fought back. The accomplishments of second-wave feminists are as follows:
The Equal Pay Act of 1963, whereby it became illegal to make genderbased wage discrimination,
Definition: The right to vote
The publishing of The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan in 1963.
concerns that were not acknowledged by second-wave feminists, such as women working in the sex industry, were addressed by third-wave feminists. Hopefully this gives a good understanding of the time-line of feminism. Be sure to do your own research into feminism to find out the current issues we are facing.
By Shakti-Rose Das
Third-wave feminism is closer to where we stand today; it began in the 1980s and 1990s. Middle-class women wanted to keep the agendas of secondwave feminists, whilst attempting to create a new project that focuses more on issues of race and sexuality. Around this time there was also a resistance to feminism; third-wave feminists fought this backlash. The wide-range of feminist ideologies was incorporated into their way of thinking. Young women became more engaged with feminism, and even became involved in activist work. New 6
Dating; Fantasy vs Reality By Natarika Jantawong As many people are in relationships these days, the expectations and “relationship goals” are becoming more and more unrealistic. Whenever I am going through social media, I always see someone posting about their perfect relationship and I constantly think to myself, it’s never going to happen. It may sound depressing but that is the harsh truth. Real life is not a fairy-tale and a Prince Charming isn’t going to save you on his white horse. I mean it may happen to someone, they will get there happy ending but there is no such thing as a perfect relationship. Relationships are hard work and stressful and people need to realise this before they get their hopes up. Nevertheless relationships can be rewarding and I completely understand that having someone there is comforting and assuring but people are setting up these ridiculous ‘relationship goals’ that is so silly that it is intoxicating the minds of society. For example recently I saw on Twitter, someone tweeted their relationship goal and it said something about being woken up at 3am to go on an adventure with their partner. To some people, they might find it romantic but to me, this is just stupid because firstly I would not like to be woken up at 3 am and if you do wake me up, I would not be happy. And secondly that “adventure” would probably be going for a drive to the closest drive-thru and eating junk food in the car. I mean that might sound perfect to some people but to me, it would be pointless. All these “relationship goals” are setting up boundaries that real life people cannot reach and this will mean you become disappointed. When you’re dropping little hints expecting your partner to surprise
you with a present yet that’s not going to happen unless you tell them; they are not mind readers. Overall I am not saying that relationships are bad and that you won’t be happy however it just means that you would have to work hard for it as relationship are difficult but can be pleasing. Likewise I am not saying that you shouldn’t want a relationship and want it to be amazing but you shouldn't get your hopes up, there’s more to life than love, set yourself life goals that are realistic and work hard for them which will mean that you will get somewhere in life and succeed in whatever you want. But seriously stop making impossible goals and actually work on making the relationship work and last.
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Learn to Love Yourself By Natarika Jantawong As human beings, we have a lot of emotions. Some  are stronger than others, and a lot of those feelings are love and hate. I know from experience and from myself, many people love/hate certain things about themselves. It's such a big contrast between everyone and I feel like we need to learn to love ourselves because if we don't love ourselves, then who will? I am still learning to love myself and still getting my head around the fact the I am different to everyone else but here are a few things you can do to learn to love yourself and in general, to have a better view of life: 
Stop comparing yourself to others. I know what it's like to compare yourself to others because I do that all the time. I could be on  the street and see a girl and think "Wow, she is so pretty. Why can't I look like her?" or I could be on Instagram and see so many beautiful girls and it makes me sad that I don't look like them. But everyone is different, no one looks alike and what looks beautiful to you could be the opposite for someone else. You are beautiful and no one is like you, you are special in your own way and don't you forget that.
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Be grateful for being healthy and alive. You might be thinking about all the wrong and bad things in your life but take a moment and think about all the good things. Be grateful that you are healthy, strong and alive because not a lot of people are given the opportunities that you have. Never take anything for granted because you are very lucky. I know I'm grateful because I have a happy life and I get so many opportunities to do something worthwhile with it. Once you think about all the good things in life and how lucky you are, then I promise you, you will be happier. Don't care what others think of you. I discovered this myself a couple of months ago and honestly, I am happier because I get to do the things I love and be the way I want and not caring what others might think is such a relief. I could be in college or in town and I will do whatever I feel doing; I will dance around, I will laugh my head off, it doesn't matter what I do because I enjoy doing it, I like to be free. And people will look at me weirdly but I don't care, their opinions are invalid because it won't impact my life, it won't change the way I am. Their opinions don't matter because they don't know me and it won't stop me from doing what I want.
Laugh and smile as much as you want. Naturally I am a very happy person, I will laugh at everything and anything. I don't know why but smiling and laughing just makes me feel so much better and I have at least one laughing fit a day. In my opinion, laughing and smiling will make your day so much better and it feels good. It makes you think of the happy times and all the good memories. Also it makes you appreciate the life that you have and how good it feels to be you.
These tips might not work for everyone but for me, they do. You should give it a shot, it might change your perspective of life. If you want to read more posts like this, visit my blog where I write posts about a variety of things. Check it out; itsnatarika.blogspot.com.
Surround yourself with positive people. This is very important, you need to be around good, positive people who will bring out the good side of you. They will help you and be there for you and they will bring a positive vibe that just makes everything feel better. I've been around people who are so negative and are always thinking of the bad things and honestly, it is draining and boring. It just ruins my vibe. Don't get me wrong, I love to moan and be grumpy but when it's all the time, it just ruins my mood. I guess it's different for everyone but to me, being positive is the way forward. Being around good people makes life so much
“Be gentle with yourself, learn to love yourself, to forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude towards ourselves can we have the right attitude towards others.” Wilfred Peterson
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By Harriet Nichols Harrietnichols@blogspot.co.uk
Is this the first time that Sam Pepper has objectified in front of the camera? Former Big Brother contestant and YouTube star Sam Pepper has caused controversy over a banned YouTube video ‘fake hand prank’. After the release of his ‘prank’ video, his female majority worldwide fan base quickly shared their disgust on social network sites primarily: YouTube, Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #reportsampepper. Later, the prankster pleaded innocently that he ‘staged’ the video and wanted to use it as a ‘social experiment’ to see the reactions of both sexes being touched; a handful of females who starred in this video, publically tweeted denying his claim. In this particular video, Pepper is seen touching girl's bottoms whilst distracting them by asking them for directions.
least one scene where a girl looks uncomfortable, whilst slowly trying to awkwardly edge away from the pressuring, in your face cameras, whilst Pepper laughs and trails behind. How can this be classed as entertainment ? Soon after the release of the vloggers video, several accusations of rape have been published in the form of a YouTube video. People such as Laci Green (a sex education vlogger) and other anonymous people have made allegations against Pepper. Some people are calling this a cry for attention and they are using this to get more viewers for themselves but I don’t think that this is the case because each case has it’s own set of believable evidence.
Do we really need people demonstrating these acts to see that it’s wrong? People are accusing Pepper’s video of containing sexual harassment, however, if you watch other videos from his channel, are they not just as bad? “Easiest Way To Get A Number”, “My Sexual Fetish” and “How To Pick Up Girls” are only a few titles of his published videos, which have been watched by just under a million viewers, however they all have one thing in common. Girls. Girls. Girls. In fact all of them contain at
All of this has lead to a downfall and decline of the YouTuber’s popularity and demand, as he has lost an advertising deal with the chewing gum company Wigley’s, lost viewers and subscribers, been dropped by his manager and has lost respect from fellow YouTuber’s such as Tyler Oakley.
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ARE INTERNET CELEBRITIES THE NEW In 2014, the gap between normality and fame is smaller than ever. Celebrities aren't what they used to be, and these days the red carpet is full of reality stars and YouTube gurus. Youtube and most mainstream blog sites have been around for about 10 years now, but it's only in the last 3 or 4 that the people behind the channels and the blogs have really started to become known to us. The two tend to go hand-in-hand, and the Youtube and blogging world is full of primarily young people, 16-25, who may post anything from fashion, beauty, comedy, to just snippets of their lives. In 2014, we're living in a digital age. Teenagers are constantly accessing the internet, and for this reason, media is changing drastically. We're less interested by beauty and fashion magazines, and more interested by blogs and Youtube channels that give us similar information but make it more interesting and varied. Fashion & Beauty vloggers (video bloggers) will post hauls of their shopping, show you how to style clothes, and give reviews and tutorials of new makeup, all whilst acting in a personable “older sister” manner. They're always very happy and positive, and this tends to be just what teenage girls are looking for, which makes them ideal role models. As this is the internet generation, they're also much more easily accessible than other celebrities, so young people will focus on them knowing it's more achievable to meet these idols than, say, their favourite actor or singer. These bloggers have created a name for themselves, some even going further than that and turning themselves into a brand. Leader of the beauty blogging pack is Zoella; 24 year old Zoe Sugg from Brighton. With over 6 million subscribers, she's now branching out from the blogging world and has her own cosmetics line and fiction novel, and has appeared in magazines such as Vogue and Elle. Her boyfriend Alfie Deyes, also a Youtuber, and the rest of their circle of friends have now become
the “elite Youtube group”, and they're making an extortionate amount of money from simply filming videos of them all hanging out like regular young adults would. They're regularly given amazing opportunities such as trips all over the world, red carpet movie premieres, even their own festivals. So, the most frequently asked question regarding famous Youtubers is “why?”. Why are they famous? What makes them any different to you and me? And the answer is...not a whole lot. I think that's the point. They're regular people just like the rest of us; many of them were bullied at school, or have anxiety, or come from broken families. They just happen to make videos or posts; whether they're comedic, or about beauty, or gaming, or travel, and we like to read them. Just as it's always been. However now, as we're living in an age consumed by the internet, they're seen as the new “celebrity”. They're the leaders of this generation because they're the people giving us the content that we read or watch so frequently, in a similar way that writers and actors etc have always done. And most of all, they give us hope that we could be like them some day. Knowing that they are genuinely just ordinary people posting about their lives or giving advice and guidance on a topic that they're knowledgeable on makes us realise that any of us could do the same. Written by Yasmin Johal
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WINTER FASHION, THE STUDENT EDIT: From the catwalk to the corridor, I will be bringing you all the winter looks fresh from the catwalks, all on a student friendly budget, from shops that all offer a student discount. Ever dreamt of coming to lesson with your bed covers? Well, now you can! (Well, kind of anyway) ‘Blanket capes’ were a large staple of this year’s Burberry’s winter show, and while Burberry is unfortunately well out of the price range of most students, they have for fortunately inspired many high street and online retailers. Here are some of my favourite student price range appropriate blanket capes:
Nothing else quite screams winter essential like some nice cosy knitwear! You can never go wrong with a nice snug jumper, especially as there’s always that one person who insists on the classroom window being opened despite it being the middle of winter and minus a billion degrees outside. Now comfortable can also be affordable and bang on trend. Here are some of my favourite knitted picks the high street has to offer this season to keep you warm, as pneumonia is definitely not fashionable.
(From left to right: ASOS (£40.00), Burberry and Boohoo
Left to right: New Look (£22.99), H&M(£14.99), Boohoo (£12.00)
To flop or not to flop- not exams! Hats! The perfect way to disguise that just got out of bed running late to your 9 o’clock lesson hair. Sported by many celebrities this season, from Kim K to Lindsay Lohan, they have all been loving a bit of floppy action! Now it’s your turn to look A- list cool on a student budget.
By Claire Morrison
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A Supernatural Christmas
flirtatious banter going on with my neighbour – who is completely and utterly gorgeous- and now that is all gone. Gone, like I’ve lost a half of me that was pure. Now I have to move back to Romania, which I am happy about, but I’m going to miss New Orleans, I’m going to miss my new life that I created. Even though I do miss home quite terribly.
Short Story Who knew my life could get turned upside down by one, single, simple issue. Who knew this could happen to me? Me? I hardly did anything and now I have to start my life all over again. Because of one simple mistake?! If only life had a pause button, and rewind. So then I could start my day all over again and keep my life the way it is. But unfortunately, that’s not possible. Why me, of all people? Me?
Read more next time…
I never wanted this to happen. My life was fine until this happened. You guys are probably thinking ‘Oh no! She got raped’ or something like that. Don’t worry. That didn’t happen. Just my life got turned upside down because now I’m in the transition of becoming a supernatural creature that most of you will have heard of. Guess what? It’s not a vampire. Well I could be if I wanted to, but no. That’s not for me. Of what I’m transitioning into, think of a big dog and anger issues. You guessed correctly. Werewolf. I didn’t know this could happen, but as it turns out... it can. All because my great grandmother decided to fall in love with one. Now the werewolf bloodline links to me and I’ve just triggered this transition. Want to know how? Okay. I killed one of my best friends. I bet now you’re all thinking ‘Ooh shit’s going to go down’ No. It was an accident. At some point I will tell you how, when, where it happened, who and why I killed, also what persuaded me to do it. But that’s a whole other story for another day.
Written by Holly Smith- Hayes
Today I’m going to tell you about what happens now in my life to get me through the transition and how my new life is going to be planned out. First and foremost (as you know) I killed one of my best friends, which I was obviously hysterical about at the time, I still feel horrible about what I did and the outcome of it is not the best thing to tell someone I just met. So let’s properly start with an introduction shall we? My name is Tessa Vanquilez, I’m 16 (almost 17), I’m from Romania (which I’ll be getting into soon) but currently live in New Orleans, USA. Things were going so well here, I had so many new friends, I had a great job, a beautiful house, some 13
Copycat Killers– Can It Be PreventGory, scary and often explicit. Horror films and games have a huge impact on many of those who endure the genre: often resulting in a fear or phobia. For example after watching Chucky, many gained a fear of dolls.
about people who get a kick out of murdering people should not be showed legally to such a young audience. The murderers in natural born killers were considered to be “heroes”. This may have influenced the younger audience to believe that if they kill someone they would become heroes just like the couple in the film.
Although, that is not the main problem. The media have a colossal influence on how people react to the horror genre rather than the subject itself. An example of this is when two young girls (Anissa Weir and Morgan Geyser) invited their friend, Payton Leutner, to a sleepover. At the time everything seemed normal. Until Payton’s two friends viciously stabbed her 19 times hoping to impress the fictional character slender man.
Many of the copycat killers, whose inspiration was this film, were often the younger audience. I believe that this proves that ratings on such films are too low. I think slasher films such as natural born killers should be for a more mature age group as they are less likely to re-enact what they had witnessed in the film.
“In an official police report Weier said Slender Man is the 'leader' of Creepypasta, and she needed to kill to show their loyalty. She explained Geyser told her they needed to slaughter their friend to become 'proxies' of Slender Man and gain access to his mansion, which they believed was located inside northern Wisconsin's Nicolet National Forest.” – The Daily Mail
Although the majority of the public do not act on the events that take place in films, increasing the age in which it is advised to be watched may prevent copycat killers. What is wrong with increasing the age rating when at the same time it may in fact save someone’s life?
This brings me on to the point as to whether or not ratings for films and games are too low. For instance, R rated film ‘Natural Born Killers’ is about a couple who travel, conducting mass-slaughters, not for money, not for revenge but just for kicks. The film itself has influenced many ‘copycat killers’. An example is the decapitation of a 13 year old girl by a 14 year old boy who wanted to be “famous like the natural born killers”. Surely a film
Written By Emily Swinscoe
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10 WORDS YOU DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED The English language is full of irrelevant, unorthodox and peculiar words. I don’t expect you to read a dictionary from cover to cover; so I’ve picked ten dandy words you never knew existed. Perhaps you could slip one of these words to a friend or colleague or maybe even win the heart of a guy/girl by impressing them with your ability of the unknown English language (you can thank me later).
7. BONDOGGLE Forever/a long time, out of nowhere, random. “We spoke until the bondoggles of the morning” 8. STERNUTATION The act of sneezing. “She sternuated so loud her dad jumped out of his skin”
1. FERRULE The protective point at the end of an umbrella. "He jabbed the man in the neck with the ferrule of his umbrella"
9. ZARF The cardboard holder surrounding a cup. “my coffee is too hot, Joe throw a zarf for me!”
2. ARMSAYE The hole your arm goes through in a piece of clothing. “Jenny was particularly impressed by the armsaye on her shirt”
10. MONDEGREEN A misheard lyric in a song. “Obamas elf” “dude that’s a mondegreen, it’s all by myself”
3. SQUEE A noise made by an over-excited fan girl. "The new hunger games book came out, OMG SQUEE SQUEE" 4. GLABELLA The gap between both eyebrows. "Some people don’t realise I have a glabella"
Written By Emily Swinscoe
5. CLINOMANIA A person who stays in bed all the time. “All my friends must have clinomania” 6. SNOLLYGOSTER somebody whose actions are motivated by self-interest. “That snollygoster just might become president if he lies and cheats enough!”
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UCAS and Universities By Becky Hill
A new year, a new term, a new start and a new group of 17-18 year olds applying to University. Whether you are an AS or A2 student, UCAS applications are an unavoidable challenge if you want to go to university. The application process can be long and tiring, and can sometimes even put you off attending university. It can leave you down hearted as your tutors rip your personal statements to shreds and make you re-do and re-do the whole thing countless times. Remember though, your tutors do this to give you the best chance of attending university and to fulfil the potential that you all have. As an A2 student myself, I know how frustrating the UCAS application process is. I can’t tell you how many hours I searched University league tables and the UCAS website for courses and how often I wanted to bash my head against the keyboard as I found more and more courses I wanted to do.
pect of the UCAS application. In these 500 or so words, you have to sell yourself. You have to show each and every university the reasons why they must give you an offer. If your personal statement is bad, universities won’t give you the time of day and your application will be binned. You have to take your time, make sure this statement is positive and interesting and shows that you are committed to the subject you wish to study. I know my personal statement has taken a long time to perfect, but because I have worked hard on it, I also know it is going to give me the best chance of getting into a good university.
UCAS is not a walk in the park. You have to be committed to fill out the application form and on top of starting new courses, it is a lot of work. The personal statement is the most important as-
Below are a few tips to make the UCAS application a little easier. Remember, this doesn't just apply to the A2 students! AS students will be in the same boat next year and hey, it doesn't hurt to start your personal statement early.
Start your application early! - Universities offer places as soon as they receive applications. In some, it’s first come first serve. Start your personal statement early and not just before the deadline.
Keep checking though your personal statement - It’s so important that you keep checking and rewriting your personal statement. Get friends, family and tutors to read it though and make changes based on those comments.
Sell your self– UCAS is like a cattle market. Universities will only pick the best students that stand out. Show off your skills, commitment and passion of the subject as well as any out of college activities which can make you different from others. Grades are not everything. 16
As I said before, I’m an A2 student. This means that at this point in time, I have competed my personal statement and my UCAS application is now in the hands of the five universities I have chosen. Perhaps, at this very moment, you are reading this, the universities are reading mine or even yours! Scary thought that! So, how should you start off your application? Well, you need to log onto the UCAS website and create an account. A password will be asked for and your tutors should have (or will) give them to you. Once you have created an account, you can now start to fill out an application and search the UCAS website for courses. University league tables are the best way to compare different university of entry requirements, student satisfaction and how they are ranked in the country. It’s important you check these, you don’t want to go to a university that’s not right for you. Remember– The right university for your course is more important than the city. Of course, location is important as you may be living in that city for three years, but don’t pick a university just because you like the city. You're attending university to obtain a degree, not just for the nightlife (although that is a very important part of student life!)
tober time. After your application has been sent off, it’s up to the universities to decide whether to accept you or not. You can track your offers online via UCAS. You will either be accepted, declined or offered on a conditional basis, meaning you must gain certain grades or UCAS points to gain acceptance. On results day, which is August 13th, you will finally find out if you have been accepted to the university of your choice. Some universities will e-mail you to say if you have been successful or not, others you may have to wait until after you have received your results. There are plenty of additional support from college and the UCAS hotline if you have not managed to get into a university on results day, so don’t panic! Clearing is the main route many students go through if all has not turned out as planned. More information of this will be provided later on in the year by your tutors. Hopefully all goes well for you all and you all manage to succeed . The UCAS application process is long and stressful, but it will get you into the best university for you. I am sure that in three or four years, we will be throwing our black caps out into family and friends, diplomas displayed proudly in our hands.
Try and attend as many university open days as you can. This allows you to look round the universities, talk to lecturers and look around the cities. Getting a good feeling for your university is important. Open days tend to happen around September– October time every year but others happen in June if you have been accepted. Each university's website has a list of open days which you can book yourself onto. Don’t worry if you don’t manage to get onto one. Most websites offer virtual tours and information about courses can be found on the websites. The deadline for your applications is usually January. This academic year, it is January 15th, so you must have your application in before this date for your application to be given to the universities that you have chosen. If you are applying to Oxford, Cambridge or any medical degree, then applications are due in Oc-
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LET’S TALK ABOUT: CYSTIC FIBROSIS In this article I would like to talk about a disease that is very rare and rarely talked about. That disease is Cystic Fibrosis, also known as Mucoviscidosis, which is not really heard of (if you cannot pronounce Cystic Fibrosis here is a way to think of how to pronounce it ‘Sixty Five Roses’ - a term many children use).
Earlier this week I found out there was music video in charts at the moment about a boy named Bryan Warnecke who has Cystic Fibrosis and continues to live his life to the fullest, much like me. The song that includes him in the music video and is also a great song dedicated to him called ‘I Lived’ by OneRepublic. Bryan is a bicycling enthusiast who cycled over 1,200 miles raising more than $300,000 this year alone (imagine how much more he could raise over the years or has previously risen over the years!) Bryan has shown us in this music video that sure, he has a life threatening disease but that’s not going to stop me from trying to live my life, as if I am a healthy person trying to live their life normally, but takes some very expensive medicine every now and again during my day.
I have this rare genetic disease (as you may have learnt in science lessons at school) and it affects the lungs, pancreas, liver and intestine, but mostly the lungs. This disease also affects many other aspects of the human body that others cannot see. If you looked at me you wouldn’t be able to tell that I have this life -threatening disease because it’s not visible. Breathing to us is like breathing through a straw (which is tough). There is no cure for Cystic Fibrosis, yet. Many people have survived to a good age while fighting through the conditions of Cystic Fibrosis, however there are many others who have died at a young age or barely lived a life because of this life-threatening disease. When I was born on the 23rd of December 1997, I was diagnosed with this disease and on Christmas Day 1997 I was sent into the operating theatre because my bowels were not working. I almost died from the incident. However, thankfully, the doctors in the operating theatre saved my life, and since that day I have had to go into hospital for appointments and admissions many times over the years and I know that in the future there will be more. I know that at some point I have got to have a lung transplant and I know that it is likely I could die at a young age as well as. Thankfully, right now my life expectancy is somewhere in my 30’s and keeps getting higher every annual assessment. My childhood was spent mostly in a hospital room so I haven’t got a phobia of going into a hospital or doctor’s area or a phobia of needles because over the past couple of years I have been a pin cushion and have many scars on my body to prove it. Cystic Fibrosis impacts many aspects of our lives. We have to take hundreds of medicines per day and have to fit that into our days around family, friends, social plans, education, travel plans, etc. because we need these medicines to stay alive. 18
To find out more about Cystic Fibrosis go to http://www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk/ to learn more about this Written disease and what you can do to help.
By Holly Smith– Hayes
HOW TO RECOVER FROM EMBARRASSING MOMENTS We all have those moments. You know the ones I mean. Whether its in front of a crowd or just your friends, we all do embarrassing things. However, one thing we don’t all do is recover from it well and make it work for us. It’s become something of an art form. So here is your own little guide to make sure you turn the moment from embarrassing to fabulous. THE TRIP This is clearly the classic. It can happen anywhere, there is no escape. You could be walking up the stairs, down a straight path or across a classroom and it will strike. You lose your footing and you fly forwards (or in more extreme cases, you face plant the floor). A key example is when my invigilator in my GCSE French exam tripped over the stereo and thus fell like a plank to the ground (people were more concerned for the stereo). So what do you do in this situation? If it’s a simple stumble, never try to just walk on. It only makes it more obvious. I suggest pretending that you are breaking into dance. Nobody will suspect a thing. Alternatively you could strike a pose to make it seem purposeful. If you accidently dive to the floor, pretend you were being superman, or if you’re feeling evil, say someone near you pushed you over.
THE SPIT This salvia shower happens to everybody at one point or another. Saying it instead of spraying is not always avoidable. In this situation, it’s not best to deny it (after all you did just spit all over their face). What do I propose? It’s simple: pretend that there was a bit of food or drink on their face that you were trying to get off. THE BUMP This all comes down to lack of communication. When you try to move out the way, they do the same. You don’t speak because we all want to avoid the dreaded moment you have to talk to somebody. Even if you don’t move, expecting them to move, they mimic you. You’re caught in a infinite loop until you miraculously make it past. Well then, what do you do? Merely grab the other person and burst into tango. Hum the music to make it less weird of course. Then when you have satisfied your inner dancer, just stop and walk off.
TALKING TO SOMEONE WHO ISN’T ACTUALLY THERE No matter who you are, this happens. You can be the most intellectually advanced human ever and you’ll still do it. One minute you’re talking to someone, the next they walk off without telling you and you’re just left chatting to the air.
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A similar situation is when you start talking to yourself or singing to yourself but you don’t realise it. You could be rocking out to your favourite tune in your head, but in reality everyone now knows your anaconda don’t want none unless you got buns, hun. The solution is simple. If there isn’t somebody there, make somebody up. Pretend there’s somebody there who they just simply cannot see. If passers by see you having a conversation with what they assume to be nothing they’ll definitely avoid laughing. In fact they’ll probably go the opposite way altogether. If you’re singing to yourself, pretend you’re serenading the person, but only if it fits the song. This is dangerous and only meant for the skilful as this could lead to a whole load of trouble. Singing song lines like “we don’t have to take our clothes off to have a good time” will raise a few eyebrows. Once mastered however, this technique is unstoppable.
FLICKING LONG HAIR IN SOMEONE’S FACE Unfortunately I cannot say this advice comes from experience. I can only imagine what its like to have long hair but I won’t let that stop me solving this problem. The nature of long hair is that it is rebellious. It is independent and does what it wants. On occasion what it wants to do is let out its frustration on the nearest person. The best thing to do in this situation is to keep hitting the person. Eventually after some time, the person will either fall asleep or lose consciousness. Next wait until the person wakes up and convince them that the amazing story of being beaten by your hair was all just a dream. It's fool-proof.
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DROPPING FOOD/SPILLING DRINKS Imagine the horror as you watch that last chicken nugget which you’d been saving until last fly out of your hand and fall in slow motion. A single tear rolls down your face and lands in the pool of your spilled drink. It’s a horrible time in a persons life and nobody deserves it, and yet it happens.
There’s very little you can do about this one. You could always try and drink the spilled liquid like a dog drinking from its bowl but this opens up a new problem altogether. The best thing to do in this situation is to take one of your friends nuggets or share their drink. After all what are friends for. And if you’ve got no friends ? Well… good luck!
By Louis Ingle
Trip of a lifetime Short story
“Lara are you ready or what?” Nathan shouted impatiently from the driver’s seat of his 4x4. He was always this impatient. God knows why, we’re only going on a camping trip with his old friends, what’s the need to get so worked up? “Do I ever let you down?” I joked, slinging the last bag into the boot and hopping in the seat next to him. “Only frequently” he smirked and started the engine. This was going to be one hell of a weekend; Mr Moody and myself, who simply could not be bothered.
I woke with a start. The car was still. Something was clasping me to the seat. The car was cooking me alive. Smoke filled the scene outside, allowing me to be blind to my surroundings. Nathan was nowhere to be seen. “Nathan?!” I screamed as loud as I could. No more than a second later, the door flung open and Nathan’s grinning face came close to mine. “Hello sleepy head, what’s all the shouting for? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” He laughed, reached over and undid my seat belt. That’s what was holding me down. “I put the heating on for you because it’s pretty cold down here, but some of the guys have started a fire so you should be okay.” That explains the heat, the smoke and him being gone. God I’m such an idiot, this place is completely safe. “How long have we been here?” I asked, sleepily, taking his hand and gingerly stepping out of the car. “Only about half an hour or so. I would have woken you sooner, but you looked so cute and peaceful” He smiled and kissed my cheek. Nobody would believe we were just friends. But oh, how I wanted to be more.
Nathan’s friends consisted of four guys and four girls, coincidently making ten of us, each with a ‘match’ or so one of the guys said. Being matched with Nathan would be pretty great for me and hopefully for him too. Judging by how red he went when that was said, I can only hope he feels the same way. Maybe tonight would be the night. “Lara?” I snapped out of my daze and turned my attention to the girl sitting next to me. “Beer?” I smiled and nodded, taking the cold bottle from her grasp. This could help. A few bottles later, everyone had loosened up a little and we were chatting as if we’d known each other for years. I particularly seemed to notice a girl getting a bit too friendly with Nathan; high pitched laughing and getting all up close to him was not good. I excused myself from the slightly boring conversation with a guy called Eli and made my way over to them. “Hey Na-” I was cut off by the girl flinging herself onto him, her lips pressed against his. I stood still, shocked, waiting for Nathan to make some sort of response. He put his hands on her tiny waist, closed his eyes and slowly pulled away. I could hear my heart beat in my ears. Did he enjoy it? Did he want her to stop? What was he feeling? “I, erm...well, I wasn’t expecting that” he mumbled, his face vaguely confused. The girl giggled, still sat on his lap, leaning forward so he could see straight down her tight-fitted top. He turned to face me, going red with embarrassment, probably wondering why I was stood right in front of them, mouth open, staring. I blushed and turned on my heel—if he wanted that sort of girl, then he could have her.
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“Lara, wait!” I heard a cry behind me. Ignore it, ignore it Lara, just keep walking. I listened to my thoughts and made my way back to Nathan’s truck. But before I could open the door, a hand grabbed my waist and spun me around, with such force, I could barely figure out what was happening. “Lara I’m sorry, I didn’t want that to happen, I don’t want her. I want you”. His breath tickled my face, he was so close, his body pressing me against his truck. “Nathan you’re drunk, I don’t want to hear it.” I tried to make the words sound powerful but they came out as a whisper, I was so weak under his touch. “No, no I mean it. Just stop talking.” Before I could respond, his lips were against mine and we were kissing. Passionately kissing, he had one hand caressing my cheek and the other holding my waist, his thumb stroking the material of my shirt. I was in the best possible place, kissing Nathan, the guy I had always loved, what could possibly go wrong now? Everything was perfect.
After a little while, he pulled away and looked at me fondly. A huge smile spread across my face. “Nathan, I-” Before I could get the words out, an agonising, high pitched scream came from the camp. “Guys?!” Nathan shouted, his voice hoarse. We waited. No response. Panicked glances were exchanged between us. “Stay here” he commanded and took off running through the trees, to camp, to the scream. I stood still, waiting for some sort of signal to break the silence. It seemed too quiet. I could hear my heart beat in my ears. I couldn’t take this any longer, I had been waiting far too long. I made my way silently but quickly through the trees, only just being able to make out the camp fire on the other side. As I emerged from the trees, another scream rang out, this time male. I spun around, shaking, my eyes darting from object to object, but nothing could be seen.
This was really starting to creep me out now, where the hell was everyone and who was screaming? “Nathan?” I whispered, my voice shaking in fear. Again, no response. My only source of light was the fire. I pulled out my phone and shone the torch around the camp. I stopped. I could just make out a faint shape over near a bush. “Nathan?” I said again, only louder. I cautiously stepped over the sleeping bags and empty bottles, towards the bush. As I got closer, I could see it was Nathan, curled up into a ball, completely still. My heart hammered against my chest, I quickened my pace and bent down next to him. “Nath-” He jumped up and grabbed me before I could speak, laughing and laughing. “What the hell?” I was furious, “what are you playing at?!” Everyone else suddenly emerged, also laughing hysterically. “We got you! You should have seen the look on your face!” They could hardly speak from laughing so much. How could they do this? I scowled at them and walked away. I didn’t need this. “Hey guys you can all come out now!” Eli shouted over his shoulder. Nobody else appeared. “Where are Rachel and Joe?” Nothing was said. Nobody knew. I sighed, probably just another prank. “I’ll call Joe” Nathan said, sheepishly pulling his phone out of his pocket. A male scream, identical to earlier filled our ears. “Come on Joe, quit it now, she knows!” one of the guys shouted into the trees. Nathan sighed, annoyed and went back to calling Joe. But before he could get much further, a girl screamed, shocked. I followed her gaze and locked eyes with Rachel. Rachel? Surely not. She had a deranged look on her face, staring straight at me. Blood soaked her white t-shirt and sweat dripped from her face. Something was gleaming in her hand. I stepped closer, wanting to see what she had, why she was looking like that. I ignored the screams to stay away and stopped next to her. “Rachel?” I whispered, my eyes going down her arms, to her hand. Now I knew why I needed to stay away. A knife dripping with blood. Written By Chloe Gibb 22
Super Smash Bros. for 3DS Do you even smash bro? Smash Bros is like the Nintendo’s Olympics. It crams all those beloved characters like Mario, Pikachu and Kirby, into one game and forces them to fight it out for supremacy. With the recent instalment of the series being released on 3DS and the Wii U version coming December 5th (just in time for Christmas), Nintendo is set for a successful holiday season. based on the series its taken from. In the Lumiose city stage you fly around on a platform stopping at various places to fight it out whilst taking in the sights. A stage based on mute city from the F-Zero city has you battle it out on 8-bit cars and platforms.
New Fighters Every time a new smash bros. is released, the same question is asked; “what new characters are there in it?”. In this version we have got a huge 49 character roster of both new and returning fighters. Compared to the Original Smash bros. for the Nintendo 64’s 10 Character roster, its amazing to see how far the series has come. New fighters include the Animal Crossing’s Villager, Little Mac from Punch Out and even Pac-Man . No addition feels out of place; they all fit in. Seeing the innocent Villager chop down trees so they fall onto unsuspecting foes is strangely satisfying and watching Little Mac splat against the screen as he’s sent flying is hilarious.
Furthermore, the music is also nostalgic. Background music for each stage is taken from the series and either kept true to the original or remixed. Personally I’m more partial to the remixes. The remix from Mega Man 2’s Dr Wiley stage is amazing; it’s been revamped to make it more epic and exciting whilst still staying true to the original. Several songs follow this pattern. All of this reminds players of the times they spent playing the games and all the memories they have.
Nostalgia One aspect of this game is clearly the nostalgia factor for long time gamers. Character move sets are like little history books. For example, look at Mario. He shoots fire balls like he has a fire flower, he has F.L.U.D.D with him to help hose foes away and his cape from Super Mario Bros. 3. Even his jumps are based of the games, complete with sound effects. Even the stages are nostalgic. Stages are taken from all eras of Nintendo. One is based off the 1985 NES game Balloon fight where as another is based on Lumiose city from Pokémon X and Y for the 3DS. Each stage has a unique mechanic to it
Gameplay The only real downside to super smash bros. for 3Ds is that there is no story to the game. This is very disappointing as Super Smash Bros. brawl for the Nintendo Wii had a lengthy 10+hour campaign for one or two players yet smash bros. for 3Ds doesn’t really have anything like that. But frankly, it doesn’t need it. The amount of game modes in this game is amazing and more than compensates this.
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The main game mode for this is Smash and is a staple of the series. In this mode, you choose you characters , choose the difficulty of your computer controlled foes and then fight it out for victory. There are two main forms of matches that I’ve found to be most common; survival and time. In survival each player is given a set amount of lives and they must try and eliminate every other players lives. To eliminate your opponents lives you must send them flying of the screen (otherwise known as a KO). Whoever survives longest wins. In time, you have an infinite amount of lives but a set amount of time to fight. Each KO you get is worth one point and every time you get KO’d you lose a point. Whoever has the most points win. There is also a local multiplayer option for you to fight with your friends. A new mode introduced is called Smash Run. In this mode, you go around a map, beating up various enemies and characters from Nintendo series. Each time you defeat an enemy you get items that boost your stats. For example, the green boot boosts your speed and the yellow wings boosts your jump. All your efforts are then put to the test in a 2-minute challenge. It may just be a timed match or a race to the finish. Maybe you have to fight with one hit defeating you or only have a set amount of health. Not only does this add to the nostalgia, but it helps to add diversity to the game. It even has a multiplayer mode so you can play with your friends. The game also has good online functionality which is split into two modes; ‘for fun’
In ‘for fun’, you battle it against people on random stages with all items on. Your wins and losses aren’t recorded so as the name suggests it’s just for fun. In ‘for glory’, you battle on the final destination form of stages. Final destination forms were a new feature that was added for competitive players which basically makes all hazards and platforms vanish, leaving just you and your opponent(s) to battle it out on a flat stage. This is probably my favourite of the two. Without the random items, it’s a true way to test your skill against players around the world. Wins and losses are recorded in this mode making it even more intense. Both ‘for fun’ and ‘for glory’ have 3 separate forms; smash, where u fight 4 people at once, team battle, where you team up with somebody to fight another team and 1 v 1 , where you its just you verses them.
Cusmove sets
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This is the biggest new addition to the game. Now instead of having being restricted to just 4 special moves per character, you can now choose between 12 moves, 3 for each type of special. You unlock these moves by collecting special parts playing smash run and other modes. This adds a new depth to each fighter. However this is one downside. Custom move sets are not available in online play at all, only in local multiplayer and single player. It’s disappointing as it means that it can seem pointless to change the move sets as they won’t be useable online but at the same time it does help to maintain the balance between characters. Overall Super Smash bros for the 3Ds is an unbelievable game that has upheld the legacy of the previous games. If the Wii U version is half as good, Nintendo is in for a smashing year. By Louis Ingle
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Looking For Alaska A book review The heart-breaking writer of The Fault in Our Stars has broken us once again. Well, I say that, but Looking For Alaska was actually published in 2005, way before Gus and Hazel’s time. John Green’s work became much more popular after the release of the TFIOS book, and later on, the film. “In the dark beside me, she smelled of sweat and sunshine and vanilla and on that thinmooned night I could see little more than her silhouette, but even in the dark, I could see her eyes - fierce emeralds. And not just beautiful, but hot too.”
Looking for Alaska is not your typical boy-meetsgirl story, oh no, it is entirely different. It is a lot more realistic, it shows how love isn’t as shallow and easy as it seems. The best thing about this book is the fact that it doesn’t hide anything, it shows how growing up and young love is brutal and John Green doesn’t sugar coat it. This honesty shines through the pages and allows the reader to engage with the story and really feel like it means something. Green is incredibly talented at doing this in all of his books, e.g The
When Miles Halter leaves for boarding school, he goes to seek what dying poet Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps". Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, self-destructive and dead sexy,
I read Looking for Alaska just over a month ago now and I have to say that it was honestly one of the best books I have ever read, apart from The Fault in our Stars, also written by John Green. Looking for Alaska is the ultimate teenage/coming of age book; it covers drinking, sex, smoking and bad language so is definitely only recommended for teenagers. This is why I found it so entertaining and couldn’t stop reading; I recommend this book to anyone looking to read something interesting and touching.
Now sadly, there is always something bad to talk about when reviewing a book. As much as I love Looking for Alaska, I found the book rather hard to get into at first. Patience was not on my side and I did once or twice think about giving up; but I’m so glad I didn’t. Once you get past the first chapter, you will not be able to put the damn book down, trust me!
Enjoy!
“If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”
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The cycle A dim wash of violet-blue spreads across the sky. Soon the trees come alive with birdsong, while the undergrowth stirs with the rustling of waking creatures. A worm rises, pushing through the thick damp earth hydrated by the morning’s dew. A thrush hungers, its caressing grip soon to be tearing into the little worm’s delicate body and crippling it, before devouring it. The sun has now risen, engulfing the earth into a prime bright palette of carmine, vermillion and burnt sienna, so fierce that you would think the sky was drowned in oil and set aflame. Eyes half close at the sight of such vivid and unrelenting flames, while bolts of golden thunder stretch from heaven’s gates, hidden behind gentle clouds, and into one’s very soul. Soon, almost as swiftly as it arrived, it is gone, and the godly star sets once more. A sweeping, endless expanse of indigo covers as far as the eye can see, hiding shades of gentle tangerine and soft rose behind faded pastel blues. Flourishing pink petals scatter across the canvas, sharing time and space with cotton like clouds tinted with a wash of watery lavender. A mellow coeruleum covers the sky, cloudless, endless, and seamless. It is afternoon now; an old woman’s terrier basks in the sunlight, its tongue lolling effortlessly from the side of its mouth. A young girl sits painting the scenery, a fine lick of light blue paint above a deep, rich emerald green. It is calm, peaceful and serene. Nothing in the world could possibly disturb the utopia that comes with the afternoon breeze and the lamp like light, bringing to life endless shades and shadows. Yet soon, it will pass, the sun will fall and this blissful day will turn crisp, cold and menacing. The moon begins to beam and gleam through a blanket of cool, smoky brush strokes while the sun fades away until another day, like a candle, faintly flickering before its charred wick sinks into a burning, aromatic bath of liquid wax. Soon darkness arrives. A shadow casting itself across the land, spreading, amalgamating from every angle, every tree, every paw step of a mouse. It engulfs everything. It is a pestilence so ravishing and suffocating that it chokes the last breath from daylight’s lungs until the spirals of bright light behind its electric blue eyes cease and the very reflection of the moon, so dominant and so grand… is all that remains. Slowly, silently, soothingly, midnight’s shadow creeps into its soul and in its place lies a motionless, hollow figure, as though the slip of a brush stroke had tainted an array of passion and romantic colour with a thick smudge of hellish lamp black. Soon, dawn will return again, and with it a rush of life back through the tainted, jaune veins of daylight. Molly Oneill
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