Visits & Exchanges

Visits and Exchanges Lower-Sixth Geography Field Trip to the Isle of Arran

When we arrived in Arran, contrary to the kit-list and a shock to everyone, it was actually sunny. This was probably the biggest surprise of the trip. We’d expected freezing weather and rain, as Mr Allan had said that every year previously it had rained. The sevenhour journey was helped by fi lms and unlimited Mars Bars. Upon arrival on the island, we took an hour-long journey with a bus full of primary school children on their own excursion to Lochranza. After settling into our ‘accommodation’, we were shown around and introduced to the legend that is John (or Johnny to some!). He was given the task of educating us through our week there and, of course, enforcing road safety.

Over the next few days we developed our geographical skills on the salt marsh in the bay of Lochranza and on the nearby hills, where we went on ‘short’ walks. We studied the halosere by looking at plant-height and species, as well as soil pH and texture. Using the different techniques to measure these was a new and

interesting experience, giving us a deeper knowledge by getting our hands dirty.

Our PGL guides were fantastic. We’ve never met someone as enthusiastic about geology as Becky. Remember: geology rocks! In King’s Cave and the other rock formations we saw this interest emerge, as she told us enthusiastically about how they were formed along with the dykes and sills, and there was input from John and Beth on the history of the cave, ancient art and all. Mrs Hall was very disappointed to miss our soil-sampling. We used a soil auger; however the pronunciation by some was a little dodgy.

Towards the end of the trip, the midges really started biting, leading everybody to slather themselves with repellent. The prize for the most bites certainly went to Nat Green. On the final day we travelled to four different sites over the island, including Brodick, which actually had shops. It was the first civilization we’d seen all week! When we got there we assessed their sustainability and rurality, which Beth was very excited about as she was the only human geographer. Who knew that people-watching could be educational?

After England lost their game, morale was significantly reduced and so the only happy person on the trip was Abdul (he changed his allegiance, now apparently a dedicated Uruguay fan!). However the prospect of a whole two units of alcohol sent tingles down the spines of many people, and everyone was looking forward to a meal at the nearest pub – which, by the way, was a 40-minute walk away.

Thanks to our teachers for a fun and interesting trip!

Laura Carrigan and Joe Copley (LVI)

Economics and Business Studies Trips

Pupils studying Economics or Business Studies have been out and about experiencing these subjects in the ‘real world’. Business Studies pupils travelled into York to visit Crumbs Cupcakery to see the challenges faced in setting up your own business, and discussed key start-up problems facing all entrepreneurs including issues of finance, location and legal challenges, staffing costs, profit margins and production methods.

Meanwhile, Sixth Form economists made the trip to Sheffield University to listen to Tim Harford at the Royal Economic Society’s annual lecture. Tim is the author of several books that budding economists should recognise, such as The Undercover Economist, The Logic of Life and Adapt. His lecture How to run – or ruin – the economy relived the life of Bill Phillips, culminating in failing his economics modules at LSE and building the hydraulic MONIAC model which simulated the workings of an economy. Tim’s talk stretched from the ‘real Indiana Jones of economics’ to Singapore’s World War II campaign, to the A-Team, to removing the fourth down in American Football, and then on to whether randomised trials can help us avoid future recessions. A2 Economists headed to the University of Huddersfield for their annual Transport Economics conference to discuss some of the key issues and problems facing the UK economy in the field of transport. HS2: is it a £50bn vital piece of infrastructure investment or could the money be used elsewhere? Heathrow is at 99%+ capacity – what should be done for the UK’s growing airport capacity problems? How should we solve the permanent gridlock and congestion issues on UK motorways and main roads?

After the AS exams, Economists turned their attention to several essay competitions and both Business and Economics pupils began the production of Peternomics 2014 (copies of which are now available in the Library). At the end of term, a group of Lower Sixth Economists and pupils with aspirations of careers in the

Financial District took in the sights of the Square Mile in the City of London. Pupils explored the Bank of England Museum, covering such aspects as the role of the Monetary Policy Committee and the Bank’s commitment to providing financial and monetary stability to the UK economy. Pupils then received a lecture on the purpose and history of the bank, the stories behind the value of the gold bars hidden away deep underground in the Bank’s vaults (and the one occasion where the vaults have been breached by an outsider!) and the printing and security processes behind modernday banknotes. A tour through the financial district, taking in the awe-inspiring building, such as the Gherkin, the Walkie-talkie, Lloyds’ Tower and The Shard, led us through to lunch in Leadenhall Market then onto the London Metal Exchange. Here we managed to see live floor-trading of a host of key commodities.

Mr Ben White

Bletchley Park visit

On Friday 13 June, accompanied by Mr Trevett and Mr Spencer, a group of students studying history and mathematics visited Bletchley Park, a former military facility, the site of the cracking of the Enigma and Lorentz codes used by the Germans in World War II. Given a tour by a subject-field expert, we learned about the brilliant mathematicians and scientists who together, living at the park, managed to unravel various German plots and military plans thanks to their ability to crack those codes. As well as this, we were given a demonstration of a working Enigma machine, gaining more insight into how it operated. Thanks to Mr Trevett and Mr Spencer, we all had a really interesting day, even for those with a less-than-special interest in maths!

Maciej Psiuch and Jemima Jordan (LVI)

Model United Nations 2013

Sixth-Form pupils in international debate at Model United Nations.

Model United Nations involves debating international issues and building alliances in the role of different UN countries. It has a small but enthusiastic following at St Peter’s and is a significant part of the extra-curricular programme at many other leading schools whom we meet and debate against at conferences, such as MUN Cheadle Hulme (or MUNCH), which we attended in October.

Olivia Anderson takes up the story:

A group of students travelled to Cheshire to represent Spain, in what was for many of us our first ever MUN conference. We were excited but apprehensive and the painfully early start (5.00 am) meant that it was a pretty quiet drive to Manchester. When we arrived we found Cheadle Hulme bedecked with the flags of the countries and buzzing with expectant delegates.

Everything was new and fairly overwhelming but when we split into our respective committees we all felt slightly more at ease. I was on the Human Rights Committee which discussed the issues of the Right to Religious Freedom, Post-Arab Spring Human Rights and the Right to Self Defence. The chairs of the committees were very friendly and encouraged everyone to speak, which was great in getting rid of the initial nerves. I thoroughly enjoyed lobbying for my resolution and making alliances with other delegates, a process during which the persuasive powers of Haribo featured heavily.

Needless to say, by the end of the weekend we were all debating with a great deal more confidence than at the beginning of Saturday. Some of us even found courage to speak in the large Joint Committee, a highly nerve-wracking but very worthwhile experience. Considering that it was our first experience of MUN, we were all very proud of our achievements.

We are looking forward to further conferences in the Upper Sixth.

Olivia Anderson (LVI) & Mr Ben Fuller

Morocco 2014

As we made our final approach into Menara Airport on the outskirts of Marrakech just after sunset, we could see the lights from the gas lanterns filling the Djemaa El-Fna square, and the plumes of cooking smoke spiralling up into the night.

The minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech’s most famous symbol, topped with four copper globes, could also be seen dominating the skyline. The mosque, built of the same local sandstone that makes Marrakech the famous pink city, glowed red with the sunset.

Walking out from the airport and driving to our hotel we got a sense of the chaos and the buzz for which Morocco is worldfamous. It was quite exhilarating, arriving at night with the city still in full swing.

We woke the next day, and piled into our minibuses for our journey to the mountains. As we got nearer to the start of our trek in the High Atlas we were reminded that this part of Morocco has only recently had access roads, enabling cars to get to the remote villages. So many places still have very poor roads and can be cut off during the winter months. We visited several small rural communities during our trek: Agouti, Ait Imi and Arous. After

three days of trekking we arrived in the village of Imelghas, with the gites providing the luxury of a lukewarm shower and a simple mattress on the floor.

Our day working with the villagers was an experience to be remembered. Some had the privilege to paint the inside of the craft centre that the women of the village were soon to occupy. Part-funded by St Peter’s over the last three years, it was great to see the building finally near to completion. Others took to the fields with scythes, to gather grass for the cattle, or they landscaped back yards with picks and shovels.

As has been the tradition on previous trips, the boys from St Peter’s took on the local villagers at a game of football. They were not quite prepared for the physical determination shown by the young Berber men, and were involved in a hard-fought contest. With the game being evenly matched for 90 minutes, it came down to a penalty shoot-out. A win for the St Peter’s team redressed the balance after defeat in 2013.

The remote Ait Bougmez valley is stunningly beautiful in April – with the hint of snow-topped peaks surrounding it against a deep blue sky; villages and a carefully tended patchwork of green fields line the wide, flat base of the valley; yellow and red rock rises on either side, and flowering almond trees line the river. We had spent five days in the mountains and trekked for three days, following our trusty guides Jamal and Housain. We were as remote as we could be, and somewhere that would be hard to find on even the best maps.

As we left the mountains it was time to head for the coast and the famous port of Essaouira. This charming citadel enjoys a prestigious past dating back to prehistoric times, and was renowned for its Tyrian factory which supplied Rome with the legendary purple dye. Essaouira is also well known for its thriving fishing port and market. We surfed, shopped in the medina and rode our own St Peter’s camel-train along the wide expanse of beach, with incredible views across the bay. If we hadn’t quite had our fix of shopping in Essaouira, we had time to explore and hunt for bargains in the souks of Marrakech on the final day. We had a tour around the honeycomb of alleyways hiding souks offering everything from exotic spices to rugs and jewellery. We also had time to soak up the atmosphere in the Djemaa El-Fna square, where the snake-charmers and musicians were entertaining the crowds.

Away from the noise of the square we visited the stunning Majorelle Gardens, a tranquil haven designed by expatriate French artist Jacques Majorelle and previously owned by Yves SaintLaurent.

Forty eight students and five staff from St Peter’s enjoyed a quite magical ten days in Morocco. To those thinking of a trek with the school in the future, it will definitely not disappoint.

Mr Jon Whitehouse

Fifth- and Sixth-Form Music students’ visit to Edinburgh

Reid Collection of musical instruments: flutes, including one disguised as a walking-stick!

In February, the Fifth- and Sixth-Form Music students visited two museums of musical instruments in Edinburgh. Setting off early by train, we saw a collection of early keyboard instruments at one of the museums, and all sorts of other instruments at the other. We even found time to wander around Edinburgh’s beautiful Old Town and fit in a delicious lunch at Pizza Express.

Our first venue was the Reid Concert Hall Museum of Instruments. This museum displays nearly 1,000 stringed, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments from all across Europe and elsewhere, some dating back 400 years. The range of instruments was impressive, and gave us a chance to see how the instrument that each of us plays today has evolved from its mediaeval origins. We even discovered that some early woodwind instruments were designed to double up as walking-sticks! Our afternoon visit was to the collection of early keyboard instruments at St Cecilia’s Hall. It includes 50 of the world’s best-preserved instruments and those of us who didn’t know our clavichords from our fortepianos certainly learned a thing or two. Many of the instruments are in working order and the pianoplayers amongst us had great fun trying them out.

We had a fantastic tour guide showing us around the museums. She and Mr Wright — who could easily have passed for a tour guide himself — told us more about these wonderful, old instruments than we ever thought there was to know. Thanks to both of them, and to Dr Harrison and Mrs Lawrence, for a great day out.

Libby Brown (LVI)

St Peter’s Politicians in Westminster

The Politics department’s summer day in London is eagerly awaited and enjoyed – so much so that several students take part in both Lower and Upper Sixth.

Travelling down at a civilized hour on a Friday morning we were able to pop into the relatively new Supreme Court in Parliament Square to see where our final court of appeal meets, before heading to Parliament itself.

Perhaps aware that Guy Fawkes was a Peterite the security checks were more thorough than before – once in the Palace we had a full, ‘access all areas’ tour of the House of Commons. Students walked through the voting lobbies and stood at the Despatch Box before we headed to the Grand Committee Room off Westminster Hall to take part in a debate on the effectiveness of Select Committees with Marlborough School, St Albans.

We then headed to Downing Street and, once through the high-security gates, installed in 1989 as a protection against IRA threats, enjoyed a peaceful stroll up the street on a sunny afternoon and the chance to take photos.

Staff and students then enjoyed relaxing and shopping in Covent Garden before supper there and a late train home.

Mr Ben Fuller

Third- and Fourth-Form Scholars’ visit to the British Museum, Tuesday 6 May

The precedent was set last year to give the academic scholars and other able and interested students in the Third and Fourth Form a Grand Day Out. The purpose of the day was to just go and see something, and to enjoy learning for its own sake as opposed to exploring any specific links to the curriculum. This year, Mr Trevett and I had the pleasure of taking this year’s Third- and Fourth-Form scholars to London for a day in the British Museum. The main focus of the trip was to visit the Vikings exhibition. This was the first major exhibition on the Vikings at the British Museum for over 30 years. It featured many new archaeological discoveries and objects which have never been seen before in the UK, alongside important Viking Age artefacts discovered in Britain and Ireland. For pupils living and going to school in Viking Jorvik we felt this exhibition was an important and different way of understanding the cultural heritage of their city and its environs. That isn’t all we saw. Here are some additional comments from Rose Gabbertas and Jess Webster:

In May, 20 scholars from the Third and Fourth Forms took a trip to the British Museum in London with Miss Barker and Mr Trevett. Having caught the train from York we walked to the museum from King’s Cross, pausing at a few historical landmarks on the way such as the British Library and St Pancras Parish Church, with its Greek-style architecture, where the teachers shared their knowledge of History and Classics. At the museum, we were given free rein to visit exhibitions of our choice including the Ancient Greeks, Egyptians and other fascinating displays including the history of clocks. At three o’clock we walked back to King’s Cross, our brains somewhat saturated, but still searching for a ‘Cronut’ shop all the way home.

Miss Kat Barker

Pompeii 2013

Last October, members of the Fourth, Fifth and Lower-Sixth Form left school to embark on the best trip of the year. There were two groups departing from school at different times: I was in the first group and left at midnight. The coach was bubbling with excitement and anticipation as we drove to Heathrow and, although it was very late by the time we got to the airport, no one was sleeping! After studying Pompeii all year, we couldn’t wait to finally experience it for ourselves.

We arrived at Naples at midday and the second we got our bags we were whisked away to a coach that drove us to Herculaneum. We caught our first glimpses of Vesuvius on the drive, looming over the bay of Naples even though it is half the size it was before its eruption in 79AD. After refreshing ourselves at a small kiosk outside the historic town, we explored Herculaneum for hours, learning more and more about the lifestyles of the Romans who lived there. When it was time to go, we boarded the coach and drove back to the airport to meet up with the second group. Their flight was delayed by a few hours, but when they finally arrived we went to our hotel in Sorrento to have dinner and get some muchneeded sleep. My friends and I in group one were exhausted after a whole 48 hours awake! We went to bed that night wondering what mysteries Pompeii would have in store for us.

The next morning, 40 half-asleep teenagers slumped down the hotel stairs for breakfast at 7.30 am. We got on the coach after collecting a pack-up lunch and most of us slept all the way to Vesuvius. The few hours’ drive was not wasted, however, as Mrs Newport attempted to teach us Italian. We learned some useful phrases for the rest of the week even though our brains weren’t really working properly yet. When we got off the coach at the foot of Vesuvius, we were more awake than ever and couldn’t wait to start the climb. The slope was steeper than we anticipated, but the heavy breathing and red faces were all worth it as we looked out over the breathtaking view of the Bay of Naples. We also got to look into the mouth of Vesuvius and despite Mr Noy Scott’s teasing, it thankfully didn’t erupt and we made our way back to the coach safely. We drove to Pompeii and ate lunch on the lawns

outside the entrance. Our food attracted a stray dog who quickly became our friend and followed us around all day when we fed it a slice of bread! We walked around the city in a group to begin with, Miss Barker giving us a small tour, until we were allowed to go and explore on our own. It was so amazing to actually be in the city we had been studying but also very spooky to be walking in the footsteps of ancient Romans, especially in the amphitheatre where hundreds of gladiators had been brutally killed. After an hour or two we reluctantly left Pompeii, wishing we could stay all day, and returned to the hotel. Before dinner, we were allowed to explore the small town of Sorrento. Naturally, we went to the supermarket to stock up on chocolate, but also came across many products and brands that weren’t available in the UK. The pasta was multicoloured and shaped in as many ways as you can imagine and there were whole aisles dedicated to Nutella. However we soon had to return to the hotel for a delicious meal, then bed.

The next day we went on a coach trip to Paestrum and the Museum of Naples. Paestrum was a major Greek city and has many temples well preserved today. We walked around the city, the huge temples towering over us leaving us speechless. We then re-grouped and had lunch outside the city and bought some souvenirs in the small shops before driving to the Museum of Naples. We were let loose in the museum and learned even more about the towns we had been visiting all week. There were amazing paintings, sculptures and famous mosaics some of us recognised from the Cambridge Latin books. For example, we got to see the Alexander the Great mosaic, the mosaic showing the riot in Pompeii and many more. That night we explored Sorrento again before dinner and some of us managed to find a café with free wi-fi! We returned there whenever we had the chance and the waiter always reserved chocolate tarts for us. After we had browsed to our hearts’ content, we walked back to the hotel and went to bed after another amazing meal.

On the last day, we got a hydrofoil to the island of Capri. We walked all the way up to the Roman emperor Tiberius’s palace and yet again we were left speechless. The view from the palace was amazing and looked over the endless sea with mist hovering on the water. After walking around the palace, we returned to the pretty bay to do some shopping. There were countless nooks and crannies to be explored and many ice-cream shops with every flavour in the world. When we had got everything we wanted to buy for our families we got back on the hydrofoil and returned to Sorrento. For the last time, we were let out to do whatever we wanted until dinner. That night, after dinner we had a quiz on Italy then went to bed reluctantly, not looking forward to going home.

I had so much fun on this trip and I know everyone else feels the same way. Thank you to Miss Barker, Mrs Newport, Mr Gillies and Mr Snelling who put up with us for a whole five days and to Mr Noy Scott who organised the trip but unfortunately couldn’t come (he was too scared that Vesuvius would erupt). I hope this trip runs again in the future and definitely recommend it to anyone even if you don’t do Latin or Classics. I know I would go again! It was an unforgettable experience and we are all truly grateful for all the effort the teachers put in to make it fun for everyone. Thank you! Emily Kelly (IV)