Sixth Form Mercury Wilson’s School’s newest student-run publication
Volume 1, Issue 2 - September 2010
September:
Borneo 2010
Vishnu goes to India Ladyman’s Corner What’s the hardest job in football? Photo Credit: JC
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From the Editors
It is with great pleasure that we publish the second edition of the Sixth Form Mercury and it is pleasing to see that so many people are interested in having their writing in print! It has been somewhat hectic in publishing this issue, with UCAS deadlines looming and the chaos associated with the start of term, but we have managed it and are, as always, on the look out for those who want their work published; please get in touch if you have anything to contribute. Our apologies go out to those whose articles would not fit in this issue but we can assure you that they most certainly will find their way into the next issue in two weeks time. Tom Sutherland and Matt Tijou
[email protected] [email protected]
Examination Success! Max van Oudheusden
Another year at Wilson’s School has yet again been met with an outstanding set of results, both at GCSE and A-Level. The current Lower Sixth managed similar success in their endeavours with close to 80% of the year group achieving 8 or more A* grades, well above the national average. Last year’s Lower Sixth, whose performance at AS Level was equally pleasing, narrowly missed out on topping last year’s AS examination performance. Not forgetting to mention the high-calibre of this year’s leavers, many of whom will be heading to the country’s top universities in the near future. The recently departed Upper Sixth managed an astonishing 71% A*-A grades at A-Level, a feat that the current Upper Sixth will do well to build upon. All-in-all a sincere congratulations to everybody in the Sixth Form is in order and we wish everyone good luck and success for the coming year.
Sixth Form Mercury - September 2010
Vishnu Premachandralal’s
Trip to India
During the summer of 2010, I took a month-long trip to Chennai, India to volunteer at a local state school. I was there to help teach English. Initially it was mostly for the benefit of my personal statement, but as time progressed I realised it was a truly worthwhile thing to do. Stepping off the plane, the pungent smell of cows, contrasted with welcoming faces, greeted me. Being in a rural area meant that there was open sewage running along the sides of every road I walked down. The aroma wafting into my hostel every morning from these beautiful mosquito breeding hot spots took a while for me to get used to. Despite this, India began to feel just like home. I arrived at the school early on my first day and saw my first Indian school run, which basically involved piling as many members of the family onto a motorcycle (six was the record) as possible. Each day began with a prayer and pledge to India which was said with a lot more pride than I expected. After my first day, I could see that the language barrier was not as much of a problem as I had initially thought. All of the lessons were taught in English so their understanding was greater than I had expected. In the following weeks I observed and taught lessons to see both sides of how the school worked. From speaking to the students, I found out that almost all of them came from very poor backgrounds. Their lack of money would mean that it was very unlikely that any of them would go to university. Nevertheless, they still worked as hard as they could. Whilst at the school, I also learned about the issues that the schools were faced with. Due to the corruption in the education system, the school needed to raise just over £11,000 in order to gain status as a Matriculation School immediately, and this money is just for bribes! Overall, the experience was very enriching. Both the students and the teachers were
What’s Inside?
Article From the Editors Examination Success! Vishnu Premachandralal’s Trip to India Borneo 2010 Ladyman’s Corner The Men in the Middle Adam’s Noticeboard
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INTERESTED IN REACHING AN AUDIENCE OF 300+ 16-18 YEAR OLDS
(AND THEIR PARENTS)? We are looking for sponsorship to help make this magazine financially viable. If you are interested, please get in touch for a quote: Telephone: 020 8773 2931 and ask for the Sixth Form Office Email:
[email protected]. sch.uk Fill in the blanks so that each column, row and diagonal adds to fifteen, with each number (one to nine) only appearing once. very welcoming and easy to talk to. The experience has given me the chance to see a completely different world and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. If I had the chance, I would brave the bowel eruptions, the bottled water and the stifiling weather to go again.
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Sixth Form Mercury - September 2010
Feature
Borneo 2010 Johan Rekers
After an uncomfortable night’s sleep in the common room, and then an even more uncomfortable seven thousand mile journey from home, we arrived at our destination of Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo. The city, no bigger than Croydon, was to be our headquarters for the next month. No real culture shock here; staying in a typical backpackers’ hostel and eating local food was as uncommon as it got in Kota Kinabalu. With the short and easy orientation ‘phase’ out of the way we moved on to the mountain. Mount Kinabalu, at four thousand and ninety five metres, is the first or fourth highest mountain in South East Asia (conflicting reports). Two days of warm up treks around the bottom of the mountain were required prior to the summit climb giving the group the chance to explore the unique plants and wildlife. Equipment and paperwork sorted, we proceeded to climb, later than scheduled. The trek under the jungle canopy was easy enough for the first half kilometre, but as we ventured further and higher up the mountain the terrain became less forgiving. The seemingly never-ending path and monotonous landscape slowed the group, but with a final push we dragged our tired legs into the Laban Rata lodge, after starting three hours before. After a meal and a short rest at the lodge, we were woken at 1am to complete the final 2.5km of the climb – at night. The cooler temperatures and the aid of three friendly mountain guides made the final leg much easier, despite a steeper route (which in some parts required the use of ropes) and obvious visibility issues. The group reached Low’s Peak in time to
Photo Credit (including cover): Jordan Childs
witness a spectacular sunrise. Within twenty four hours we were on the road again, this time to our project. We arrived at our village, Kampong Kuala Monsok, the following day. Greeted by dozens of children we were ushered into the community hall, where we met our host families and went over our schedule for the week. Each night we ate with our host families, tasting some of the local delicacies; wild boar, snake, fish... chicken nuggets. We immediately started work on a notice board for the school and a cabinet for the community hall. When not working there was the chance to take time out with some of the local children, who introduced to traditional Malaysian games. Each evening, the group took on the locals at a game of football. Kitted out in fake England shirts we had bought from a small bazaar in Kota Kinabalu, we looked and played the part. After retreating back to our houses for dinner, we all had the chance to sample a local favourite, rice wine. With hilarious consequences. On the final day we presented our notice board to the local school and bid farewell to our host families and the local children. Some were noticeably emotional and others less so as we headed back to Kota Kinabalu after our fun and rewarding experience with the villagers. By now we were virtually half way through the trip. A short stay at Miki’s Jungle Camp, which taught us how people survived before real civilisation, was followed by a trip to the island’s most famous tourist
attraction, the Sepilok Orangutang Sanctuary. Even though the orangutangs had been distinctly underwhelming, we were able to see the neighbouring proboscis monkeys, who were more willing to make a show of things. We spent the final few nights on Sapi Island, ten kilometres away from Kota Kinabalu. A tropical paradise, swamped with Japanese tourists, litter and monitor lizards during the day, was all our own at night. It was the perfect way to end a month which had been as much hard work as it had been rewarding.
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Sixth Form Mercury - September 2010
Review
Ladyman’s Corner READING FESTIVAL 2010
Day 1 Pulled Apart by Horses - 4/5 Mumford & Sons - 4/5 Queens of the Stone Age - 4/5 LostProphets - 3/5 Perhaps one of the best rock bands of our time, Queen of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme treated us to some of their best. Opening with Feel Good Hit of the Summer the crowd were loving it from the off. Homme showed his respect for his fans by constantly calling them beautiful. Their set finished with the crowd pleaser Song for the Dead. Their appearance was meant to be a warmup act for the Friday headliner: Guns ‘n’ Roses. However the crowd weren’t shy at showing their dissatisfaction with the highly anticipated headline which, after showing up an hour late, proved to be quite poor. Day 2 Gallows - 4/5 Crystal Castles - 4/5 Giggs - 4/5 Dizzee Rascal - 3/5 Gallows were the secret band of the weekend, under the alias The Rats on the festival’s website. As the front man Frank Carter said: “it was one of the worst kept secrets at Reading.” The turn out was massive and the fans knew exactly what to expect. During the relatively short set, Carter managed to crowd surf to the end of the venue as well as encourage the creation of a humar pyramid, a wall of death and a mosh pit the size of the whole tent. With Gallows, the music isn’t necessarily key as for a lot of it Frank was swallowed into the crowd without a microphone. However, this set probably had the best atmosphere of the acts of the weekend. Day 3 Limp Bizkit - 4/5 Kele - 4/5 The Drums - 3/5 Los Campesinos -3/5
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the weekend was the ex-Bloc Party front man proving that he’s still got it. He opened his solo set with a few smaller songs before getting the crowd jumping. Half way through, Kele teased fans that he had another band and went on to play a variety of Bloc Party hits. From this medley to the end of the slot, the crowd never stopped singing or jumping. A highlight was his solo single, Tenderoni, which he performed brilliantly. He finally ended with Bloc Party’s Flux. Kele managed to prove to all his fans, old and new, that he can still create the same atmosphere and energy that he is famous for.
Photo Credit: Alex Ladyman
Adam’s Noticeboard
Adam Worsley
Summer 2010 was full of major disappointments; Guns n’ Roses’ set at the Reading Festival and of course, the World Cup. I’m aiming to not make this column a fortnightly bitch but unfortunately I’ve not found anything of note that I can write about in a positive way, so I’ll continue to blast Apple for their failings as an ‘innovative’ company. This time, the new iPod Nano is the subject of my displeasure. You can’t even use it as a watch because it doesn’t have Bluetooth. It’s a tiny square with a screen that you can barely fit your thumb on; what’s the point in using multi-touch technology other than to push up the price or to advertise as a gimmick?
Comment
The Men in the Middle Nick White
Most civil football fans would agree that these guys have the hardest job in football. With every decision highly scrutinised and being the subject of tens of thousands of football fans’ banter and abuse for ninety minutes, they are expected to not only spot every foul, every offside and every handball, but the modern game has now deemed it necessary to spot every petty off-the-ball incident between Premier League quality ‘idols’ who are supposed to conduct themselves in a gentlemanly manner. Instead, every choice the referee makes is greeted with roaring protests from the players; hordes of tall, well-built men surrounding him and demanding that he brandish a yellow card. Despite all this pressure, young referees who have barely experienced the game are thrown in at the deep end and suffer the consequences. Take Stuart Arwell for example; he is seen as one of the country’s emerging officials. He started in the Championship, unheard of and with a clean slate. Suddenly he becomes the subject of a wave of publicity as he awards the infamous ‘ghost goal’ at Watford. But yet again, his criticism was overshadowed by the ‘need’ to implement goal-line technology in the game. Instead of that, how about producing experienced referees who won’t make juvenile errors? And to add insult to injury, we now find Mr Arwell officiating in the country’s top division where he is inundated with yet more criticism. My opinion? Bring back the golden days with referees such as Paul Durkin and Graham Poll. Sure, they were subject to supporters’ banter and made the occasional mistake, but they were professionals and they earned the players’ respect, unlike the referees of today. This is one of the modern beautiful games’ major flaws, which needs to be ironed out.
