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Sixth Form MercuryWilson’s School’s newest student-run publication
Volume 1, Issue 1 - July 2010
July’s featureSports Day 2010
Photo Credit: CLB
Should Britain ban the Burka?
Interview with Ms Daly
Towers, Talks and Teamwork
Sixth Form Mercury - July 20102
From the editorsHi, welcome to the very first issue of the Sixth Form magazine, Mer-cury. We hope that you find some-thing entertaining to read and we’d like first to thank Mr. Mulcahy, Mrs. Mitchelmore and Mr. Shaw for helping us in various ways. Also to everyone from whom we have bor-rowed photos and to all those who contributed to this first issue: Mark Fuller, Jordan Childs, Adam Wors-ley, Johan Rekers, Stephen Brown and Alex Ladyman.
We really want for this to become a platform for people in the Sixth Form to express their opinion and get their writing published, so if you are interested in writing for us, or simply responding to something someone else has written, please do get in touch. We try to exert as litle editorial control as possible, to leave the platform open, and so ar-ticles are the views of their authors and not necessarily those of Wil-son’s School or any other associ-ated body.
Matt Tijou and Tom [email protected]@wilsonsschool.sutton.ch.uk
What’s Inside
To those leaving
Wilson’sSadly, a number of teachers are leav-ing Wilson’s this year and so we would like to extend our thanks, on behalf of the Sixth Form, for all of the hard work they have put in during the time they have been here.
At the end of the year, we will be say-ing farewell to Mrs Burton, who em-barks on a new career as Deputy Head of Nonsuch; Ms Daly, who is mov-ing to Wallington Girls as the Second of English, Mrs Sharma, who after many years of teaching Mathematics at Wilson’s will be retiring. Also to Ms Cullen, Mrs Henderson, Mrs Kowal, Mr Saxon, Mr Smith, Mr Birch, Mr Bunton-Cole, Mrs Raymond and Mr Hatchard who will all also be leaving the school.
We wish them all the best for the future and hope to see them again soon!
Article PageLetters 2Greencoat to Victory (once again...)
3
Should Britain Ban the Burka?
4
Ladyman’s Corner 5The Last Minute Inter-viewer
5-6
In Search of Identity 6Adam’sNoticeboard
7
Towers, Talks and Team-work
8
Paul the Octopus: The real winner of the World Cup?
8
INTERESTED IN REACHING A TARGET 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 293 and ask for the Sixth Form Office
Email: [email protected]
As of 2010, 92 nuclear bombs
have been“lost at sea”
Have a good summer!School starts for the
Upper Sixth at 11am onThursday 2nd September
2010
FeatureGreencoat to Victory (once again…)Mark Fuller
As the Greencoat house captain, the fact that my house won Sports Day fills me with joy; the fact that such an unsporty house captain can lead a house to victory is, I think, remarkable.
The day had a different format to that of previous years, with the entire day committed to sport. Whereas in previ-ous years the enthralling field events such as javelin and discus were done on separate days, this year was dif-ferent. All of the events (bar the high jump) were completed on sports day itself, providing gripping sport-ing activity… for the entire day! Joy.
The day was scorching; many people got horrifically burned, myself in-cluded. The heat meant that the long distance races were made incredibly difficult, but it did not hinder the short distance events; an invitation 4 x 100 metre relay team, consisting of Sam Ajayi, Jake Lawrence, Dara Obakin and Ryan Thomas, broke the school record which had stood since 1968.
Prefects and A level P.E students helped out all day and also competed. Sam Agayi, Ryan Thomas and Daniel Mur-ray ran the 100 metre invitation sprint with Ryan Thomas narrowly missing out on he school record of 11.44 sec-onds. A special commendation must also be given to Max Kurn who wn the 800 metre invitation race. The house captains also had a team in the 4 x 100 metre relay including myself, Tom Sutherland, Wilson Lou and Aksel Green. Other representatives included a Hayes House team with a combina-tion of staff and sixth formers, a P.E. students team and a ‘top floor’ teamwith a barefooot Mr Franklin. The stu-
dent teams came 1st, 2nd and 3rd with the teacher teams trailing far behind.
Perhaps the greatest memory of the day was where myself, the Deputy House Captain and Form prefects were en-couraging the tug of war teams by basically screaming in their faces. Unfortunately, our efforts were not rewarded, in the case of Year Seven at least, where Greencoat came in last place. This frankly poor result was countered by success in the three other competing years; Year Eight taking first place, Year Nine taking second place and Year 10, again, taking first place.
I am sorry for being so self indulgent in this article, but I would quite like to revel in the fact that I, with no sportingexperience, led Greencoat to triumph thorough enthusiasm and the help of the Greencoat Prefect team - it was by no means the individual talents of pu-pils in the house.Well, I like to think so.
Sixth Form Mercury - July 2010 3
Photo Credit: ECR
Individual Awards
Winner
Best Year 7 Jacob Veerapen
Best Year 8 Jake Field
Best Year 9 Sandeep SajiBest Year 10 Daniel Searle100m invitation Ryan Thomas
800m invitation Max Kurn
Position House Points1st Greencoat 643
2nd Camberwell 6153rd Southwark 5854th Brecon 5495th Hayes 546
DebateShould Britain ban the Burka?Jordan Childs
Those of you who follow politics will be aware that when the Conservative MP, Philip Hollobone, followed suit from the French and called for a ban of the Niqab, there was outrage by some liberals (ideologically speaking, not re-garding the party necessarily) as an at-tempt to breach religious tolerance and freedom of expression but surely the security of the British society should be at the foreground of the debate? May-be the most torn people in this debate would have to be the liberals, surely as they believe everyone is equal despite race, age and sex, this would also make them feminists (granted not the radical feminists of the second-wave) but what about the repressive aspect of the veil? I am by no means an expert in Islamic culture and so it would be unjust for me to get involved in any speculation of whether women are forced to wear them, but if this is the case, how can liberals support freedom of expression but also support the equality of the women at the same time?
Disregarding this, the main crux of this debate resides upon the divisive and damaging consequences the wearing of a Niqab has upon society and the established culture. I am fully aware that Britain is a multicultural place, but would, for example, countries such as Saudi Arabia and Yemen allow an in-vasion of the British culture on a mass scale? No. If someone from the west-ern world were to choose to holiday in such a country it would simply be dis-respectful, rude and totally un-British not to respect their religious culture by having their face on full view. So why, I ask, are we allowing our culture to be imposed upon? Belgium, The Nether-lands and France are all countries that
are not letting this happen and are, or are planning to place a ban on the wearing of a Burka, so why are we too scared of being politically incorrect to follow them? When the French debated it in their parliament, the vote carried in the lower chamber, 336 votes in sup-port of the ban, and the total number of votes against... One. Even as someone backing the ban this number is truly as-tonishing; maybe a reflection of mod-ern Western views.
As yet I have not even touched upon some of the truly worrying aspects of the face veil, mainly the actual physical reality of it on others. It is simply com-mon sense that the Burka is a barrier between cultures and against integra-tion. Do not mistake my view for being anti-immigration as there are several benefits to it, but one necessary condi-tion for immigration surely has to be not to upset and damage the balance of society; in other words, in order to re-main united as country, integration has to happen. The Niqab just seems a bar-rier to this. A majority of Britons feel that the Burka can be threatening and also discourages the mixing of races, as quite often communities containing woman wearing the religious dress are separate from others, having the only consequence of segregating society. In a recent survey, over half of Brit-ons would ban the Niqab on security grounds, especially in public areas of high security such as banks and airports. At current bikers have to remove their helmet upon entry of a bank as primar-
ily it is intimidating to staff behind he counter as they cannot see the person they are dealing with and it is also im-possible for CCTV cameras to see who the person is, so in the case of a rob-bery the CCTV footage cannot be used in evidence. So why should the Burka be any different? “But it’s completely different situation, it’s for religious rea-sons,” is the outcry given in response to this argument strand. Yet, here lies the problem, how can people justify workers being banned from wearing a small cross around their neck and when it comes to the Burka, be too scared to speak out in fear of being politically in-correct?
Some women, however, like to wear a Burka. One reason given is “Cover-ing one’s face from the view of others is a way of protecting one’s anonymity. The right to anonymity, if there is such a right, is closely linked to the right of privacy that is guaranteed by the French civil code and by the European Convention on Human Rights”
All things considered, I say yes: Britain should ban the Burka.
Do you agree with Jordan’s argument? Could you come up with something to counter it? Please get in touch with us to have your opinion published.
Sixth Form Mercury - July 20104
“Britainis a multi
culturalplace ”
On a lighter note...
ReviewLadyman’s CornerBig Boi Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
After months of delay,sneak peaks and labeldramas, the Outkast man’s solo effort is finally out, and it is well worth the wait. It is one of the most inventive and daring rap albums of recent times. Each track is unique, but Big Boi has managed to maintain some traditional elements of Outkast at the same time which works well. He has kept a certain slickness to his voice, complementing his excellent lyrics.
It will probably be the best rap album of the year and is by far up there with the best of the last decade. 4/5
Sleigh Bells Treats
Every now and then acompletely unknown andoriginal sounding bandcomes out of nowhere; recently that band is Sleigh Bells. They are the lat-est addition to M.I.A.’s N.E.E.T. label, and it is easy to see what the singer/producer saw in them. It is very hard to compare them to any other band; their genre is known as ‘Noise Pop’ What the hell is Noise Pop!? Having listened to the album, you will understand what it means.
The album opens with the band’s first single: ‘Tell ‘Em’. This song opens with a synth blaring at full volume; a sound that continues throughout most of the album. Derek E Miller’s guitar and bass are distressed to the max through most of the record– especially my ‘Tune of the Album’: ‘Crown on the Ground’. The contrast of lead vocalist Alexis Krauss’ calm voice is an unorthodox mixture that works.
Be warned that this album isn’t for the faint-hearted, but if you want to listen the most exhilarating and loud new band, buy this album. 4/5
Eminem Recovery
Eminem’s return hasnot been a triumphant one. His last al-bum Rehab was met with bad criticism and poor sales. Unfortunately this album is also utterly rubbish. Even Eminem admits new track ‘Talkin’ 2 Myself’ that he thought about ‘dissing’ Kanye or Lil Wayne out of jealousy, but was thankful for not doing so as he would have got “his ass handed” to him. That sounds about right.
Maybe if you follow the charts you will like the unoriginal, albeit catchy, ‘Love The Way You Lie’ featuring Rihanna, but that’s about it. 2/5
Kele The Boxer
After the surprise hiatus of Bloc Party last summer, Kele Okereke has decided to go solo. No one knew what to expect, so no one saw this coming: he has taken a turn to dance music. There is rarely a guitar in sight. Kele has managed to in-volve his sexy lyrics over a dance beat quite successfully. However it is the dullness of certain songs that lets him down.
Sure he has been daring in this, but at times you get the feeling he doesn’t know what he is doing. What he can be proud of though, is being a stranger to the dance genre he manages to deliver one of the biggest dance drops of the year on song ‘Rise’. 3/5
MF: Ms Daly, we are sorry to hear you are leaving. Why is this?
NGD: I have really enjoyed teaching at Wilson’s, but I need a new challenge, to do new things and I’m also getting a promotion. I am looking forward to implementing new ideas and working with new people.
SB: You have been offered the posi-tion of Second of English at your new school. What school is this?
NGD: Wallington Girls, just up the road.
MF: What would you say you have found the most enjoyable part of teach-ing at this school?
NGD: The boys here are very creative and this allows us to have much more in depth discussions and push the bound-aries of aspects of literature. I particu-larly enjoyed the creative writing as-pects of the ‘A’ Level course which I know that Steven (Brown) particulala-ry enjoyed. The debate in Stratford on ‘King Lear ‘with the Upper Sixth was probably the pinnacle of my Wilson’s career.
NGD: My sixth form class have im-proved my insight into new ways of thinking about literature.
SB: Will we ever be able to see you again in the future?
NGD: Oh, of course. I’m like a bad penny that always turns up and I’m just down the road. I plan to be in on A level results day and you’re welcome to come and see me any time.
Continued overleaf
The Last Minute InterviewerMs Daly
Sixth Form Mercury - July 2010 5
Stephen Brown
The Ambassador’s Mission, by Trudi Canavan is the start of a new tril-ogy by the acclaimed author of The Age Of Five series. Set as a sequel the author’s earlier The Black Magi-cian trilogy, her latest release feels unsure of where it stands; something new or a continuation of the old.
The Ambassador’s Mission tells the story of Sonnea’s son, Lorkin (the main character of the previous series) as well as continuing the story of nearly every character from the previ-ous series. Lorkin becomes assistant ambassador of Sachaka to Lord Dan-nyl, another former main character. References back to previous books by Canavan means it is quite obvious early on where this story is going.
We are also told the story of Cery, now a master thief, as he searches with Sonnea for the killer of his fam-ily. However, bereft of the main plot, Sonnea seems present only due to her popularity with the public. In many ways, the story would have been better served set away from any characters we know, or places we’ve visited so as to avoid the rereading old material.
On the positive side, I can’t say that this book is bad. It’s well written, with a crafted universe that ties in well with the author’s previous series and the standalone prequel: The Ma-gician’s Apprentice. The land of Sa-chaka is fascinating, with a very alien culture in contrast to our own. Certain ideas and parts of the story also work well with the attempted assassina-tion, adding some much needed mo-mentum to a novel that is much more character-driven than action-driven. However, a general trend is that the first of a series is slow moving: and this is no exception. It is disappoint-ing that with some good ideas and an excellent author, what looked like a promising novel has failed in my eyes. With poorly developed char-acters (let’s send the son of the per-son who prevented Sachaka’s vicory into Sachaka) and lack of true drama (even the death of Cery’s family lacks weight), I cannot recommend this to any but fans of the original se-ries, or those who are looking for a mediocre fantasy novel to read. 2/5
ReviewIn Search of Identity...
Continued from previous page
MF: You often talk of being incredibly busy with university; could you tell us some more about that?
NGD: I was a mature student (at 19) when I did my first degree. I am now doing an MA in English which is es-sentially ‘post colonial literature’ from early Persian to Suburban American Literature… I still have my disserta-tion to do over the summer.
SB: Vishnu wouldn’t allow me to not ask this question; have this year’s low-er sixth class been your favourite?
NGD: Of course you are my favourite class.
MF/SB: Thanks for your time.
Ms Daly will be leaving at the end of this term to begin a new career at Wal-lington Girls. She embraces experi-mental teaching techniques, the most enjoyable of which was the Lower Sixth poetry writing workshop in Bed-dington Park with a picnic. We wish her all the best in her new position and would like to thank for her all of her hard work and dedication over the past few years.
Sixth Form Mercury - July 20106
Sudoku BreakRating: Easy
Got something to say?Submit your article ideas to ei-ther Matt or Tom however you can to have your work published and read by hundreds!
Sixth Form Mercury - July 2010 6
Towers, Talks and TeamworkStephen Brown comments on the 2010 Management Conference
Management Conference 2010, on the 27 – 28th June saw a real com-bination of Wallington Girls and Wilson’s for both skill building and fund raising. Whether our manage-ment skills were tested is debatable but we undoubtedly had some fun.
Our first day at Wallington Girls was a rather nervous one with it feeling a bit like a Year Seven dis-co, the girls on one side the boys
on the other. Split into groups with both boys and girls we didn’t know, it was hardly surprising that the ice breaker was initally like a toothpick against an iceberg. The ice slowly thawed as we began interview-ing and making posters about our facilitators. One of the best ideas was one group cutting a hole in the folded sheet and presenting their facilitator’s head as their poster.
Tower building was next. Told to put our team name in our tower we made our tower a hexagon to fit with our inspired name of Team 6. Of course this structure was quite weak and one thing led to another… Other towers did a lot better with several towering over the room be-
fore slowly bending to their inevita-ble demise. By this point, we finally got to know one another properly as we were required to work to-gether closely to make things work.Finally we started the task proper. We raised funds for St Raphael’s Hos-pice whilst others did HomeStart, a charity helping single parents with large families, for example. To make money we settled on face painting and portraits at Wallington Girls’ School Fair raising a respectable £115. Of course we couldn’t com-pete with Julian Regan’s team, Flare, who raised £700 with bagpacking.
With over £2500 raised, we can safely say the fund raising was a success. As for the day itself, well it was better than first feared by some.
The video of the Wilson’s side of the event can be viewed on YouTube.
Sixth Form Mercury - July 20108
If the endearing memories of this year’s World Cup are of a football that was ‘too round’, a plastic horn that caused a multitude health problems and a psy-chic octopus, then Africa’s first attempt at hosting one of the greatest sport-ing spectacles has been a huge failure. Charlize Theron, David Beckham and a host of vaguely familiar sporting stars set off an eagerly anticipated count-down to the World Cup when the draw was made in Cape Town in December last year. Group G, which matched then ranked the world no.1 team, Brazil, against the likes of Portugal and Ivory Coast, fizzled out into nothing more than a formality as each of the afore-mentioned teams muscled their way past a pugnacious but ineffective North Korean side. Germany and Argentina, who had been slated to be of the big na-tions to fall at the group stages, carved
through oposition whilst playing some of the best football at the tournament. Italy perished without much of an ex-plosion but were humiliated by Slova-kia and New Zealand, the former par-ticipating at its first World Cup Finals.
However it was England who grabbed the award for laughing stock of the tour-nament. Playing an outdated and rigid 4-4-2 formation, England’s lack of pace, ingenuity and flexibility counted against them as they grew less and less confi-dent with each shambolic performance.
Germany games aside, this World Cup failed to serve the mouth-watering fest it should have been. Fifa’s woeful handling of the World Cup, meant that only locals and com-mercial giants were able to buy tick-ets intially. When opened up to the
wider global audience the demand was low. FIFA waited for the fans. Patrick Vieira’s perfectly spherical head and Egdar Davids’ insistence on being un-able to agree with any other pundits added some comedy value to proceed-ings. The World Cup Final was aired by both ITV and BBC, with 83% of viewers choosing to BBC’s offerings.
In a World Cup of villains, the un-disputed hero of the World Cup was Paul the octopus. Psychic or lucky? Paul managed to predict all 7 of Germany’s games plus the final be-tween Spain and the Netherlands. The lack of atmosphere,lack of action and alack of enthusiasm ledto a World Cup withoutenergy, verve or anysense of satisfaction.
Paul the Octopus: the real winner of the World Cup?Johan Rekers
