37 minute read
Features
Culture vultures
Trinity’s first ever Culture Week took place in November, where students celebrated the diverse backgrounds of the school community.
Culture Week was planned and run by the senior prefect team, and focused on competitions and events which explored identity and community. These included the creation of a giant map of the world outside the Concert Hall, where students from across the school were encouraged to place a dot where they have family roots. They were also asked to covered the sea with post-it notes, which described features of their culture they particularly connect with. Many of the usual events and societies were held with a special focus on questions of identity and community, such as a Literary Society talk by Ari Yad discussing diversity in film. Senior prefects also ran a creative competition, encouraging students to share their thoughts and reflections on their roots and heritage. This was celebrated in the spring term with a two-week cultural exhibition in the Shaw Gallery. The walls displayed a colourful array of photographs and drawings alongside poetry, stories, diary entries, letters to past relatives, projected videos of family trips and festivities, and presentations on language, beliefs, food, music and fashion. The cultural map created by the whole school was also the centrepiece of the exhibition.
Head of Sixth Form Ms Antonia Geldeard said she was proud of the prefects for running Culture Week and collating the material for the exhibition.
“It has been wonderful to see so many of our staff and students visiting the exhibition and taking the time to absorb all these fascinating snapshots of our multicultural community,” she said.
“It has given us an opportunity to recognise and celebrate our diverse school.”
Ms Audrey Lenihan
Life-changing reads
“Beware of the man of just one book,” said medieval writer and saint Thomas Aquinas. With this in mind, we asked some of our well-read staff members to share three of their most inspiring reads.
Mr Chris Porter, Sports Club manager
What is your favourite novel?
I think my favourite novel would have to be Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. It was the first novel I read in which I felt totally immersed in the story, and I couldn’t wait to carry on reading after putting it down. The content was quite heavy at times as it follows a British soldier throughout World War I, but by the end I felt a sense of relief as though I had lived through the experiences with the main character!
What is the best academic book you’ve ever read?
Reading Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed was a lightbulb moment for me. Years after reading it, it continues to shape the way I see the world. It predominantly addresses our society’s relationship with failure, and uses examples from the aviation industry to show how failure should be treated as a way to learn and improve, rather than as something negative.
What book changed the way you see things?
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom had a profound effect on me. The book documents conversations between an old college professor and his former student, who are reunited in the final weeks of the professor’s life as he battles with a terminal illness. The text is full of life-affirming quotes and wise words from the professor. The book was given to me after my grandma died, and reading it helped me to come to terms with everything.
Ms Sana Van Dal head of Classics
What is your favourite novel?
I love Circe by Madeline Miller. Circe is the witch who turns Odysseus’ men into pigs in Homer’s Odyssey, where she makes a small cameo as someone who is at first slightly menacing, but later apparently easily overcome by Odysseus’ wits. In Miller’s novel, however, Circe gets the epic treatment she deserves. Here she is depicted as the powerful, not-tobe-messed with character we might expect from someone descended from the sun-god Helios. I love the author’s style, which she calls ‘mythical realism’. Circe’s world is described with so much rich, beautiful detail that I felt very much drawn into the narrative and was able to empathise with her as she embarked upon her many adventures.
What is the best academic book you’ve ever read?
I really enjoyed Antigone Rising. In it, classicist Helen Morales takes a fresh look at the subversive power of the ancient myths in fighting against unjust regimes and providing solidarity for those marginalised in society. Whether it is Antigone taking a daring stand against tyranny; or Caeneus, who was born a woman but later turned into a man by Poseidon; there is so much in this book which inspires me. It was fun to read a classical academic text covering topics as diverse as school uniform and Beyoncé. I found it a reminder of the enduring relevance of the ancient myths and their ability to empower us in the many struggles we face.
What book changed the way you see things?
Edward Said’s Orientalism, which I read when I did my Master’s, really changed the way I see the world. I found it a tricky read, but it helped me to think about the artificial nature of the constructs of “The West” and “The East” and through it I learnt more about the history of the all-pervasive negative stereotyping of the so-called “Orient”. Said traces the phenomenon of “Orientalism” right back to the Greek tragedy The Persians by Aeschylus, something which enabled me to see that, rather than being a recent development, this way of seeing the world has been engrained in us for thousands of years.
Ms Sara Ward, Deputy Head
What is your favourite novel?
This would be The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. She interweaves a mysterious death, a doomed love story, dystopian sci-fi, and the brutal power struggles of a once wealthy family. The narrator is a very elderly woman looking back over her life, and there is ambiguity about who many of the characters really are. It is exciting, tragic, dark, twisty, and totally intriguing, but also deeply philosophical – she asks whether humans can actually be happy without pain and death: doesn’t never-ending joy or love actually lead to a deep, corrosive boredom? I think it’s an actual work of genius.
What is the best academic book you’ve ever read?
My favourite is Drugs and Human Behavior [sic] by Palfai and Jankiewicz, a psychopharmacology text book from my university days, which explores the use of psychoactive substances by humans. It fascinates me to consider how chemicals we ingest affect our nervous system, mimicking or blocking the action of neurotransmitters. Alongside this are stories about the history of medicines: many modern psychiatric and “recreational” drugs were initially used for something else (eg antipsychotics were for sedation after surgery, anti-depressants treated tuberculosis, amphetamines kept soldiers awake). It also makes you think about why witches really put toads in their cauldrons!
What book changed the way you see things?
Not one book, but many: as a teenager I read the second wave feminists, including Gloria Steinem, Andrea Dworkin, Angela Davis, Germaine Greer, Catharine MacKinnon, Betty Friedan and Susan Brownmiller. Although that is a long time ago now, they opened my eyes to the idea that “the personal is political”, and allowed me to notice the way that casual, systemic sexism is embedded in society, to the detriment of women, and men too. This philosophy is also helpful to understanding systemic racism, and the importance of economic and political power for marginalised groups.
Mr Oliver Benjamin, head of German
What is your favourite novel?
Growing up I enjoyed fantasy fiction, and in particular Harry Potter and the Discworld series were a key part of my teenage years. As an adult, I prefer books which find the funny in real life – things like The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole or even Bridget Jones’s Diary. A German novel I really enjoyed recently is called Glennkill (Three Bags Full in English). It’s set on a farm in Ireland, inspired by the author’s time in the country, and is told through the eyes of the sheep. They discover their farmer has been murdered, and it’s up to them to investigate who did it, and why. What struck me was the sheep’s very simplistic understanding of the farmer’s emotional backstory, which leaves it up to the reader to fill in the gaps.
What is the best academic book you’ve ever read?
This is Lingo by Gaston Dorren. Dorren is a Dutch linguist and the book explores European linguistic diversity and history. He deals with around 60 different languages and dialects, exploring various grammatical or linguistic quirks. Some of these have really stuck with me: for example, the syllables in Spanish tend to be shorter, which means they take less time to pronounce and thus give Spanish speakers the impression of speaking quickly; in Luxembourg most people are trilingual as a result of their education, which starts in Luxembourgish before progressing into German and then French. Despite being an academic book, it’s an engaging and really easy read.
What book changed the way you see things?
Over the last three years I’ve challenged myself to read at least one book a month, and a few of the non-fiction books I’ve read in that time have been eye-opening. Sway – Unravelling unconscious bias by Pragya Agarwal was a thought-provoking read and has made me fundamentally more aware of issues around implicit prejudices. In the same breath, Outraged by Ashley Charles was an interesting exploration of how outrage on social media is not necessarily how to instigate wide-spread societal change. More recently, I read This is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay – again, principally a humorous take on everyday life, but one tinged with very real trauma that has made me all the more appreciative of the NHS.
Mr Alastair Doyle, head of English
What is your favourite novel?
Martin Amis’s The Information eyed me from a bookshelf in Provence in the mideighties, and I’ve returned to it often since then. The “information” the novel communicates is the truth which we all know but still manage to forget or ignore: that we’re going to die. In the novel, Amis exposes that tragic truth, but offers a very amusing take on his main character Richard Tull’s attempts to deal with it. It’s darkly comic and the language of the novel crackles and fizzes with energy. The information about the human condition may be bad news, but Tull’s attempts (and our own) to respond to it can be highly amusing. We are reminded, if we adapt the words of a hit country song, that we could have missed the pain, but we’d have had to miss the dance.
What is the best academic book you’ve ever read?
Literary theories create conflicting arguments about meaning in literature. And yet magically, when we read, we do feel we have shared responses. M. H. Abrams’ The Mirror and the Lamp is a sensitive and beautifully written study of the metaphors of romantic literature, reassuring us that texts can express meaning we can all relate to. It captures the imagination and emotion of romantic texts, that sense that perfection – perfect beauty, perfect happiness, perfect love – is always present, but tantalisingly just out of reach. Scott Fitzgerald captures this in the closing lines of Gatsby: “His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it… tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further… And one fine morning…”
What book changed the way you see things?
Every GCSE student (before Michael Gove’s ban on American texts) used to be familiar with the image near the end of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men of the little water snake who innocently and fatally dares to poke his head out of the water, only to be gobbled up by a waiting heron. That image of the innocent being destroyed by powerful, unsympathetic
forces is developed on a social level in Steinbeck’s greatest novel, The Grapes of Wrath, which tells the story of the Joad family in 1930s California. It makes very clear how the social and economic forces controlled by the rich and powerful exploit and oppress ordinary people. That is a lesson that has stayed with me.
Ms Anastacia Long, head of Girls’ Games
What is your favourite novel?
My favourite novel is the spy thriller I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes, because it was so hard-hitting and at times difficult to read. I love books that give me an insight into a world I have never experienced and that help me understand the challenges some people face. It was totally “un-putdownable” and gripping, which kept me engaged and always wanting to know more. It was incredibly fast-paced and what made it most exciting was that the plot could potentially have happened in real life.
What is the best academic book you’ve ever read?
It was How to talk so kids will listen, and listen so kids will talk by Faber and Mazlish. I found this book so interesting as it encouraged me to become a more active listener. It challenged me to always consider my body language, where I place myself in relation to the person I am communicating with, and also taught me to be comfortable with silences. Having worked in a very challenging Behaviour Support Unit at my previous school, it allowed me to look beyond the behaviour and understand that children, their opinions, and their perceptions of the world are very important to them and they need to feel listened to, heard, and that they matter.
What book changed the way you see things?
Untamed by Glennon Doyle, because it was a real eye-opener on how much our views of the world are dictated to us by societal expectations and stereotypes. Doyle is a revolutionary writer who challenges women to break free from the norms put upon by our friends, family and wider
society. So much of her writing is relatable to experiences we have all had, and she challenges us to be “untamed”, break free from our cages and “become a cheetah”.
Down to the bones
Sixth Form student Surya Vijayanand created a life-sized skeleton from pieces of an old piano, as part of his Art A Level work.
The theme was “Fractured” and the entire standing skeleton is made from the internal components of the piano. The keys make up the bones; the strings, the nervous system; and the hammers make up the spinal cord, hands and feet.
“I wanted to explore the idea of deconstructing objects and transforming them into something new,” Surya said. “Upon opening the piano, I felt inspired by the arrangement of the keys, strings and hammers. These, to me, looked like the ribcage and vertebral column of a human skeleton and so I decided to take it apart and build a lifesized one.”
Surya broke the construction process down into individual body parts beginning at the spinal, making it as rigid and sturdy as possible to support the weight of the rest of the body. He then moved onto the ribcage, each of the limbs and, finally, the skull. He then used the strings to replicate a rough representation of the nervous system.
“As I started taking things apart, I discovered tiny mechanisms that I didn’t even know existed and I realised just how complex the engineering behind this instrument was,” he adds.
Last year, Surya constructed a bionic hand from scratch as the artefact for his Extended Project Qualification. He hopes to pursue Design Engineering at Imperial College, London. Ms Audrey Lenihan
Back to the nineties
A time capsule from 1996 was opened in school in the autumn, revealing throwback items such as video cassettes and an Argos catalogue from the time.
The year 2021 marked the 425th anniversary of the John Whitgift Foundation, and for the 400th anniversary in 1996, the school community buried a time capsule in the grounds to be opened 25 years later. The students from that time collected a wide range of artefacts that they felt best captured life in that period – these included music, magazines, an uncut student film on video cassette, and an Argos catalogue. The contents have been put on display outside the library. In addition to the items, they made a number of predictions about life in 2021: Blue Peter and Coronation Street will still be running, we will have a cure for AIDS, we will have an orbiting space station, buses will still be late, Take That will be back together, everything will be better, and so on - they were right in most cases.
The school has put together a new capsule to capture life in 2021, with items suggested by current students, along with their predictions for 2046. Mr Al Kennedy
We are the champions
Trinity’s 1st XV rugby team were crowned the winners of the 2022 National Cup in March after overcoming Kirkham Grammar School at a nail-biting final at Twickenham.
The match took place in torrential rain, with the physical Kirkham team giving the Trinity players a hard battle for the trophy. Trinity took the lead from the early stages with tries by Khalil Alleyne, Finn Kennedy and Josh Bellamy. Kirkham fought back in the final stages of the game, and seemed close to taking the title, but Trinity held on for victory and the match ended 15-10.
More than 300 Trinity students watched the match at Twickenham alongside alumni, teachers and parents. Various planned chants were led by Upper Sixth student Isaac Croucher, the media manager for Trinity Sport.
Mr Paul Roberts, Head of Rugby, said the event was “amazing” and the team had a “special culture” that carried them to victory.
“The team and their peers are as closely knit as any team I have ever been a part of, and they had to show that once again in the final,” he said.
“Whilst we would have loved to be playing in dry conditions at Twickenham, in some ways toughing it out in the rain was the perfect ending.
“To see them win difficult conditions against such tough opposition, with the support of their fellow students, parents and alumni in the stands, will be a memory that lasts a lifetime.”
The season started the previous July with more than 50 students attending preseason sessions at Sandilands.
Director of Sport Mr Ian Kench said the school strives to get as many people involved in sport as possible, and give everyone a chance to grow as people.
“As a senior rugby programme we set out to create special memories and to provide
a vehicle to make better men. I really feel that this group have achieved this goal,” he said.
“It was fantastic to see the boys perform and manage themselves in what was a highly pressured environment. As a group they kept their composure, worked incredibly hard and as a result got a fantastic win.”
Captain Archie Pearson said that lifting the trophy was “unforgettable”.
“It was an unbelievable experience to play at Twickenham and the perfect end to an incredible rugby journey at Trinity,” he said.
“In tough conditions, which didn’t favour the running rugby which we always aim to play, we hung on right to the end, with the whole team putting in a performance to be proud of.
“The second try was the major turning point in the match, as we were finally able to convert pressure and possession into points, which were all vital given the standard of opposition. At the final whistle, the celebrations were immense.”
Isaac Croucher called it an “amazing and emphatic victory”.
“The fans were amazing and created a loud and positive atmosphere which encouraged the players on to secure the victory,” he said. “It’s an amazing achievement for the players and especially the school. Hopefully more silverware to come!”
Headmaster Mr Al Kennedy, whose son Finn scored one of the critical tries, congratulated the squad for their skill and determination.
“We must also thank the coaches who have guided them, and all our supporters at the ground who got behind the team in just the right way,” he said.
“We will enjoy this moment enormously, but as Mr Kench and Mr Roberts have said all along, we must enjoy what we do most of all, and make sure we become better people through it.”
Ms Audrey Lenihan
Applauding innovation
The week-long Festival of Ideas kicked off at the end of June; with events ranging from lectures and workshops to debating and cookery courses, and the chance to help build a life-size statue of Icarus.
The theme of this year’s festival was “Innovation”, and the final full week of the school year was awash with yellow banners and activities designed to challenge students in creative problem solving. One of the most visible symbols of the week was the wooden statue of Icarus in the Trinity Circus created by the DT and Classics departments, which now stands proudly in the TCH Circus. In the Greek myth, Icarus’ artificial wings were made by his father Daedalus to help them escape imprisonment, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and perished. The statue, created by the First Years, is a symbol of human ingenuity but also hubris. They worked on it during DT lessons and wrote key words of the story on individual “feathers” in Classics, which were then hung on the statue’s wings. A series of lectures in the Mitre Theatre included talks from psychology expert Dr Edward Millgate and video game music composer Andrew Barnabas, both Trinity alumni; as well as from CEO of computerised banking group Hi55, David Brown. This was in conjunction with our Conference on Innovation where students heard from Dr Anu Obaro (RadReach co-founder), Sophie Dunster (Gung Ho Design, Founder) and 2002 alumnus and Change Please founder Cemal Ezel. Fourth Year academic scholars organised a series of competitions for younger years, including a Kahoot quiz made by Alex
Middleton. During form times, students were also treated to visits from Sixth Form students who have completed Sixth Form Projects and Extended Project Qualifications, who gave 10-minute talks about their huge range of selfchosen research projects. The topics ranged from how to clean water using nanotechnology, to the effect of music on the brain. Festival of Ideas co-ordinator Mr Harry Petty said he was “thrilled” with the way students joined in.
“I hope that every student was inspired by something they saw or participated in during the week, and who knows, maybe they had an idea that one day will turn into a reality,” he said.
Third and Fourth Year students chose to take part in off-timetable workshops designed by staff, the most popular of which were French and Spanish cooking courses. Selected students also learned the nuances of Parliamentary debating from Exeter University’s debating team. Mr Harry Petty
Joining the debate
Two Exeter University students of Politics, Jack Barwell and Logan Paterson, came to teach us about the British Parliamentary debating system and to run a competition.
Sixth Form students Henry Bishop and Ben de Sousa were on the judging team, with Fourth Year Semiloore Bankole promoted to the rank of judge for the finals. We debated the death penalty, the role of religion, the royal family and the war in Ukraine. The level of argument was exceptionally high. The award for best speaker went to Anna Brovko and the award for best finalists to Fourth Years Finn Evans and Dhyan Ruparel, whose teammate from earlier rounds, First Year Arlo Murray, also made the final. Guru Dhamodaran from the First Year was awarded most impressive team player. It proved to be a fantastic celebration of collaboration across the year groups. Fourth Year Jared Thompson said of the event: “I really enjoyed being in such an energetic, constructive atmosphere. It was inspiring and opened up a new way of thinking to me.”
Ms Rebecca Petty
Zooming to the rescue
Edward Molony in the First Year was the voice of a character in Ricky Zoom, which started airing last summer and was shown on Channel 5 and Nick Jr – one of many voiceover projects he has been involved in.
When I was seven, I was confirmed for the role of Buster Bunker in the Nickelodeon and Channel 5 animated TV series Ricky Zoom – he is the grandson of the police bike in the show. It was a really fun series to work on, because of the hilarious plots and, the very friendly people – especially the voice director Tracy (who was a bit zany!). When I was ten, I was asked to re-audition for a second series. This time, it was a lot tenser. Was my voice too low now? Did I still sound cute enough? Did I still have what it takes? Thankfully, I got the role and work soon began on my second series. Although Tracy was still there, there were a lot more friendly people to meet, we were at a different studio and Buster was more of a major role, so it was like a new job altogether. I was too old to do the third series, but it was still a brilliant project and I have amazing memories. Since Ricky Zoom, my most recent voice job was as Trevor (a bully) in an audio book called Hilda and the Great Parade. Because I had never played an antagonist before, this was an entirely new experience, but a great challenge all the same. Edward Molony, First Year
An evolving game
Lower Sixth Form student Aarush Wangoo set up a successful cricket coaching business last year.
Aarush decided to launch his own company after noticing a lack of technology use in grassroots coaching for young people, as well as low levels of participation among girls. Evolve uses a secure website to log videos, photos and write-ups for children and their parents after every session, giving them more records and insight into how to improve technique.
“My aim is to help everyone ‘evolve’ into the best version of themselves. At the moment, this may just be in terms of their cricket, but I have strong aims to do the same for other areas in the future,” he said.
Aarush first started playing cricket when he was 11 and has represented Surrey and Kent at county level. Currently, he is part of Trinity’s 1st XI squad.
He said the school has been a significant contributor to his success, through its facilities and the example it sets in terms of all-round mentoring. Aarush also gave a talk in Economics Society this year, where students were able to ask him about starting a successful business.
“Seeing so many willing to learn from me, and being able to advise others and help kickstart their own ideas, gives me a lot of joy,” he said.
Ms Audrey Lenihan
Neverland in Vancouver
For seven months up until the summer of 2021, Fourth Year Alexander Molony was in Canada, filming his starring role as Peter in Disney’s new live-action version of JM Barrie’s famous book Peter Pan.
Peter Pan and Wendy was mostly filmed in Vancouver. I am still bound to terms and conditions stopping me from sharing any of the actual details of filming, but the time spent in Canada was a great experience.
I arrived in Vancouver on 9th January 2021 where we spent the first two weeks in quarantine. The apartment was on the 24th floor of the building, with the balcony overlooking False Creek and Science World. It took a while to adjust to the time-zone differences. After waking up early once with not much to do, I ended up joining a Maths lesson via Teams at 6am!
When not at the studios for at least eight hours most days, I enjoyed hanging out with the other cast members at restaurants and exploring the fantastic Stanley Park. I do not regret the many slices of key lime pie that I ate at the Cactus Club Café! There was so much to do in and around Vancouver, for example the brilliant Grouse Mountain, home to Grinda and Coola, two rescued grizzly bears. We were lucky to witness their birthday, when they were treated to a special fish, jelly, and whipped cream cake. A few hours outside of Vancouver is the famous ski resort, Whistler. Despite being banned from skiing by paranoid Disney lawyers, I still managed to enjoy the area. I sampled some fantastic foods, kayaked down The River of Golden Dreams (I crashed multiple times), and viewed bears of varying shapes and sizes, on a bear safari. Those were some memories I will never forget.
Despite the positives, things weren’t always so great. One night at 3 o’clock in the morning we awoke to a wailing siren. My mum and I joined the stampede down the massive flight of stairs, but we got lost in a maze of maintenance tunnels, with doors that locked behind you. After what seemed like hours of panic, we burst out of the building, into the snow. While we stood there freezing, waiting for the building to be deemed safe, we found out that an illegal Covid-risk party had been taking place in the building and a tenant had hit the fire alarm. We watched the partygoers in handcuffs being pushed into police cars. On the subject of snow, the climate swung between cold and incredibly hot. It barely snowed, and when it got hot there was a heatwave which reached news channels in the UK. After a battle with immense heat, we eventually gave into a portable air-conditioning unit that reeked of rotting vegetables. The smell was bad, but it was worth it. Meanwhile on set, the child cast members and some of the more fun adult crew members had water fights to cool down. Teams were created, alliances were formed, friendships were broken, and almost military-standard water weaponry was brought in! For the last few weeks of filming, some cast and crew members flew out to Newfoundland to shoot on location. It was absolutely beautiful. There were rugged cliffs, swirling mists, nice cottages to stay in; it was like a fantasy paradise. I will never forget the evenings that the cast spent in the bar of the Sheraton in St John’s playing Empire (apologies again to the staff, for the amount of noise we made). Overall, it was a great experience, and I feel so lucky to have been a part of it all. Obviously I can’t write about filming, but hopefully when the film comes out, I can! There is no release date yet, but watch this space.
Ingenious
Student-produced science magazine Ingenium published its third annual edition in May this year. Current editor, Fourth Year Ansh Shetty, explains the publication’s concept, and in an article originally published in Ingenium he writes about why weight loss is so difficult.
Ingenium started as an idea: an idea to pursue science beyond the syllabus. It was a step towards inspiring students at Trinity to start looking outwards. Ingenium hopes to enrich your minds with the beauty of science across all fields, whether it in biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, or psychology. These are all integral to our understanding of the universe, and without them, this planet would be an empty void. Science is the study of truth, the engine driving humanity forward. As we are part of the next generation, it is vital that we push ourselves beyond the boundaries of school syllabi. Ingenium provides an avenue for this pursuit of knowledge, and our team of writers and editors have gone above and beyond what is expected of them. The latest edition introduces its readers to topics such as why chameleons change colour, what lies beneath Pluto’s ice, how neurons work and what the nature of consciousness might be. Ansh Shetty, Fourth Year
“Why is losing weight so hard?”
Losing weight may appear straightforward, but in reality, it is challenging. Many who attempt to lose weight are unsuccessful or gain their weight back. It’s not just the late-night pizza and the lack of exercise that prevents weight loss, though - our bodies actively fight back.
All over our body, we have a connective tissue that consists of lipidrich cells (adipocytes) that store energy, known as adipose tissue, but more commonly recognized as body fat. Your body can use this to fuel your cells; it acts as a reinforcement if your body requires extra energy. A popular strategy for weight loss is to try and force your body to burn this fat for energy. However, your body is resistant to losing its extra energy supply. When you restrict your diet by cutting calories, leptin, a hormone produced by your fat cells, alters your food intake and your energy expenditure. The larger your fat cells are, and the more body fat you have, the more leptin is produced; and losing weight causes your leptin levels to drop. This signals starvation to the body. Your hormone secretion is controlled by the hypothalamus, located at the middle of the brain. In starvation mode, the hypothalamus tells the body burn less energy and eat more. The stomach alerts the brain by increasing levels of the hormone ghrelin, causing you to have a larger appetite. Simultaneously, your pancreas secretes less insulin, which regulates your blood sugar levels, causing high blood glucose levels; and less amylin, which signals fullness. This hormonal change increases your appetite, your cravings, and the pleasure you receive after eating. Your body also becomes more energy efficient, and relies more heavily on glucose solely from foods and uses less body fat. This results in a lower resting metabolic rate (a measure of the number of calories burned at rest), as well as a decrease in fat loss.
What’s worse is that even after you stop restricting yourself, your hormonal starvation signal continues: Your brain still thinks you are starving, even if you gain your weight back. In 2016, the televised weight loss competition “The Biggest Loser” studied 14 contestants and their weight loss journeys. After 30 weeks, the participants lost a mean of 58kg. However, they later gained back an average of 41 kg but without higher metabolic rates, leaving them burning 500 fewer calories per day. For people that have lost weight before, consuming a regular intake of food would ultimately increase their weight because of the disrupted roles of leptin, the hypothalamus and ghrelin.
However, losing weight gradually at a safe rate of 0.5 to 1 kilogram each week deceives our body into thinking we’re eating normally. Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Donald D. Hensrud writes, “The concern with fast weight loss is that it usually takes extraordinary efforts in diet and exercise — efforts that could be unhealthy and that you probably can’t maintain as permanent lifestyle changes.”
In conclusion, your body doesn’t like too much change at once. A gradual decrease in weight is more beneficial for you both mentally and physically – the solution is sustainability.
Ansh Shetty, Fourth Year
Mentor de force
It has been a tremendous year for mentoring at Trinity. After being unable to meet in person in recent years due to Covid restrictions, mentors were able to visit forms again, much to the delight of the younger students.
It is clear that many of the lower school see their Tuesday form visits from their mentors as the highlight of their week. Hearing the older students’ advice on a range of school issues has been invaluable, and as a result, the programme is being expanded. Students from Junior to Fourth Year will all be assigned mentors at some stage of the next school year. Peer mentoring also recommenced, enabling students to spend one-to-one time with a trained Sixth Form mentor once a week. This opportunity allows students the chance to speak with an older member of the community about any issues they are facing, building their confidence and providing a friendly face around the school. There are currently 66 Lower Sixth mentors, which will be doubled by Christmas when the current Fifth Year are trained – a record number at Trinity! They have all been excellent ambassadors for the school and an absolute pleasure to work with. Mr David Lydon
From mentors and mentees:
“As a peer mentor, my role felt rewarding, as I could engage directly with my mentee to discuss school and his hobbies, as well as assisting him in handling any issues he was facing.” - Ben de Sousa, Upper Sixth “With form mentoring, I was able to guide the J-bugs in their start to school, and we were able to form a dynamic as a small group. Especially with peer mentoring, being able to say hello to my mentees just made my school day even better, because they are always smiling and happy to wave!” - Ella Sullivan-Martin, Upper Sixth “Mentoring helped me learn how to tackle struggles, socially and academically, but it has also really helped me to get my things organised such as homework and revision. I really liked my mentor, Joe Marvin, as he was really nice to me and made it a very enjoyable Tuesday morning every week.” Daniel Farrell, Second Year
Neutrally beneficial
This academic year saw the COP26 UN conference in Glasgow, where world leaders gathered to try and agree measures to slow climate change. At Trinity we are aiming to lead our own grassroots action, with plans to make our school sustainable and carbon neutral.
Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting millions of the world’s most vulnerable people with extreme weather events. Our school is only a small part of the big picture, but collective action is the only way to achieve big goals. Trinity undertook a Carbon Footprint Report in summer 2021, which gave ambitious recommendations for change. They range from off-setting Trinity’s emissions to gain carbon neutral status, considering alternative transport options for school trips, re-greening and rewilding parts of the school site and trialling meatfree Mondays in the canteen. The school wants to reach carbon neutrality in the coming years. Major contributors to Trinity’s carbon footprint were gas usage at 44 percent, and flights, which at the time analysed accounted for 32 percent of our emissions. Deputy head Mr Tuki Rounds explained that in terms of travel, we are aiming to be “more strategic” about long-range trips, even as global travel becomes available again in a post-pandemic world.
“We will consider more UK alternatives, encourage the use of less carbon-heavy transport such as trains, and offset the carbon from flights,” he said.
Electric charging points have also been installed in the car park, although a move to more hybrid and electric minibuses has been delayed until these are more commercially available and viable. In terms of energy usage, the solar panels on the roof provide a third of Trinity’s annual electricity needs. In the last four years, the array has saved 254,582Kg of CO2, the equivalent to planting 11,653 trees.
“However, on cloudy days, we still have to move to our gas boilers,” Mr Rounds said. “We are looking into getting more solar panels in the future to increase the amount they generate, even on cloudy days.”
Trinity is also trying to change the gas dependent areas of the school: for example the swimming pool, which can’t use solar power even on sunny days. Our new music building and pavilion both have air source heat pumps, which compress air and then circulate the heat generated. The school hopes to move to more of these smaller “eco-systems” of air source heat pumps and also heat recycling pumps, which would be ultimately powered by the solar panels. Beyond this, the school is increasing biodiversity on site and increasing planting, and working on upgrading insulation and less efficient windows. The Green Council of students from across the school is also leading on issues such as recycling and the initiative of “meat free Mondays” – which launches in September to reduce the carbon footprint of our food. The council have led on the introduction of crisp packet recycling and hi-tech water filling stations which indicate how many plastic bottles have been saved – more than 37,000 so far.
Mr Andrew Magee, who has helped run the Green Council along with Ms Georgina Webber, said he was proud of the actions of the school, which should gain its Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation soon.
He also praised the “fantastic work and passion” of the Green Councillors. “They are helping create a sustainable vision for the school and have shown that the future is in good hands,” he said.
Green Councillor and Second Year student Freddie Leadbitter said he hoped all students would buy into greener choices. “We believe that it will take a collective effort to ensure that we all play a role in the fight against climate change,” he said.
