The

Twyfordian

December 2016

The Team News and Views Adam Carruthers - 12D Hannah Eagles - 8T Joshua Kwamya 9Y Karen Macaraig - 7C Freddie Maude - 9T Nicola Shepherd - 12R Film & Theatre Thomas Rooney 13Y Chris Vialls 13C What’s on Your Mind? Rebecca Heath - 11F Shaheena Uddin - 11Y Book Reviews Celine Elias - 11W Max Carruthers - 7F Hanna Eagles - 8T Gallery Maya Berglind - 13F Joel Luther-Braun - 13F Olivia England - 12Y1 Isabelle Farr - 12F1 Holly Humphrey - 12Y2 Gabriel MacKie - 13F Finlay Moores - 12W1 Helena Pribyl - 12C Blu Selby - 12R Elin Taylor - 12W2 Creative Writing Charlotte Mountford - 7R Amy Harpley Gebbles - 7T Science Daisy Sassoon - 12Y2 Sharika Sundar - 12F2 Gabriella Btyant - 12F1 Music Jade Read - 13C Rachel Thomsen - 11D Sport Rose Simonds - 12F1 Houses House Captains

Welcome Revd Daniel Natnael’s Reflection

‘Fear not!’ Christmas For many people around the world, this Christmas is not “a Merry Christmas” but “a Scary Christmas”. 2016 has been a tough year for millions of people here and around the world. The news outlets have been busy reporting some of the things that are causing people to fear – including, the biggest refugee crisis in recent history, terrorism, civil wars, heightened racial tension, the outcome of the EU referendum and the US presidential election. Foodbank use remains at a record high in the UK as the numbers of people hitting crisis are still far too high. So ‘cheer’ is not what many people feel this Christmas but rather an overwhelming feeling of fear. ‘Fear’ is not the word we associate with the Christmas story but we find the command ‘do not be afraid!’ repeated four times to various people by the angel of God when he announced the coming of baby Jesus: • To Zechariah who felt let down and disappointed for not having his own child, the angel said: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard”. • To Mary, who felt inadequate to be the mother of Jesus the angel said, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. • To Joseph, who felt ashamed because of his fianceé’s pregnancy, the angel said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. • To the shepherd, who felt unworthy to witness the glory of the Lord shining around them, the angel said “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. In fact, the most frequent command given in the Bible, again and again, by God, by angels, by Jesus, by prophets and apostles is not ‘Don’t sin’ or Be good’ but rather ‘Do not be afraid’. So how can the ‘do not be afraid’ message of Christmas be a comfort to all those who are afraid this Christmas? I wonder if the answer lies in the words of hope that the angel gave to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds following the command ‘do not be afraid’. I wonder what this Christmas would be like if we were to totally trust and claim the promises of God that: God has heard our prayers and we have found favour with God and we have received from Him through the Holy Spirit a Saviour who is Good News that brings great joy to all people. Wishing you a ‘fearless’ and ‘joyful’ Christmas. Revd Daniel Natnael - Chaplain

Editor Miss Marshall Design and Production Editor Mrs Welch

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Front Cover: Year 12’s trip to the McLaren Centre to find out about the fight against malaria (see Science article on page 13) Back Cover - Isaac Sunderland 12W1

Dame Acclaim!

News & Views

Nicola Shepherd interviews Dame Alice about her honour The news of Twyford’s Executive Headteacher receiving the honour of becoming a Dame is not only a privilege for yourself but also the school, what does it feel like to be referred to by the new title Dame Alice?

Obviously, you were given this honour due to your work and impact on the education system. How do you think this will affect the way people view head teachers and teachers? I really hope it will make people realise that being a teacher is a really worthwhile job, because it is. In my own opinion, it is the best job in the world. In fact, I rather miss being a proper teacher myself and having that interaction with children as it is good fun. Whereas telling people off and having to deal with routine Head teacher jobs can be less creative. So, yes recognising public servants is really important. I think that people who are in public service (making things work for ordinary people) need to be noticed more.

The feeling is not surprisingly rather odd because your name is personal to you. I liked my name before – it was a present from my parents and I’ve kept it for over 50 years, so having it changed in this rather grand way takes a bit of getting used to. The letters from the palace were the first to use the new title, & they had elevated my name. The daunting thing was that something was being recognised through me, so this new title is something I have to constantly live up to and help me strive to do more good. How did you decide on the name your students would call you? This was one of the difficult parts, as teachers are always referred to by their surnames. That’s a rule we have to stick to, as the first names of teachers are private to them. The division between students and teachers marked by the students respectfully calling their teachers by Sir or Miss. So, what was strange about allowing the students to call me Dame Alice was a possible blurring of that boundary. However, since my official title ‘Dame Alice Hudson’ is an honour for the school as well, I knew I should be called Dame Alice by the students and it would be part of their respect for the school, that they would do this properly and politely (which they have).

How did you feel when you received the letter informing you?

Have you been treated differently because of your title?

These are one of the many moments I wish I could have captured. I was utterly surprised and completely overwhelmed. The letter had to be read several times before it really dawned on me, not only because of the shock but also because of the flowery language used.

The answer is most probably no. However, I do hope it will mean I may be able to be more influential outside of school. This may also lead to Twyford and its Trust being noticed more and leading us to go out, and to do more good which has got to be all of our aim.

I was then challenged with the question of whether or not I wanted to accept this honour (it did not take much time to decide that one), and then having to reply back just as formally.

How was The Queen, what was she like?

How long did you have to be quiet about receiving the news?

Her Majesty was absolutely lovely. She does her homework and has read up on why each person has received the award and asked interested questions in a really impressive way.

I proudly sat on the secret for six weeks. Obviously, I did tell my husband but that was all. I didn’t tell my children, Miss Barrie, nobody at all – and that was because the letter said this is to be treated confidentially. So it was a hard rule I knew I needed to follow.

The scariest part was following the rule that you are never allowed to turn your back on The Queen. Walking away from her backwards and remembering to curtsey while not unbalancing the overlarge hat was almost the biggest challenge of the day. The Twyfordian |Autumn 2016 2

News & Views Memorable visit to Maciene

Year 12 student Adam Carruthers 12D reflects on his memorable visit to Twyford’s link school in Maciene, in the south of Mozambique Resting between the rock and the hard place. Where the two choices available on the ballot paper are really truly bad, and how it helps politics work. At the end of the last school year I had the great pleasure of visiting Twyford’s link school in Maciene, in the south of Mozambique. The experience was incredible, the people were so enjoyable to be around, and just that ‘I’m abroad’ feeling was fantastic, under a solid blue sky. Whilst there we did the touristy things, visited the market and haggled, went to the (shark-infested) beach and toured the capital, Maputo. But almost everywhere lurked evidence of the troubled but fascinating history and politics of the country. Mozambican elections appear to only offer the electorate grim choices. Across the developed world, currently many people also feel the options available on election day are loselose (Tory-Tory Lite or Hillary-Trump for example). However, Mozambique shows us how a nauseating electoral choice actually maintains a fragile democratic equilibrium. The past offers some insight. Mozambique was a Portuguese colony until 1974, where independence was won following an almost decade long war by el Frente de Libertação de Moçambique, FRELIMO. FRELIMO was, like many African independence movements, strongly communist. The President of the newly independent republic, Samora Machel, decided to allow Robert Mugabe’s rebel forces to attack Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from Mozambique. As a result, Rhodesia and its neighbouring white minority run country, South Africa, sponsored the creation of an insurgency filled with anticommunists, Resistência Nacional Moçambicana, RENAMO 3

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A statue of Samora Machel in front of Maputo City Hall - Credit: Bulawayo 24 News

What followed was an ugly civil war, 1 million dead from starvation or fighting, 5 million displaced in a country of 14 million. RENAMO employed horrible tactics including pillaging, forced child labour and institutional rape. FRELIMO was less barbaric, but still enforced collectivisation and forced labour. Political enemies were murdered. The trigger of the end of the war? Both sides lost funding when their sponsors fell (South Africa and the USSR) and a peace deal was reached in 1992, 15 years after the war started. Democracy was established. Nevertheless, colonisation then 25 years of war impoverished the country. 24 years later, it is still near the bottom of the Human Development Index. How are things progressing? From some perspectives, quite well. GDP growth has consistently been at around 7% since 2004. Staff members on the trip pointed out to us that a lot of tarmac road we travelled on around Mozambique was not there the last time they had visited. Sections of the city have shot up at an incredible pace. Even the rural areas we visited had mobile internet coverage (to my relief). Hearing this you might think the government somewhat competent. It isn’t. The foreign aid that makes up around 50% of the government’s budget is currently suspended over misuse of government funds centred around loans worth about $2.2bn.

That’s 15% of Mozambique’s GDP or almost half a year of government spending. The first fishy loan was to establish a fishing fleet that barely put to sea. The second was a loan hidden from parliament, donors and the IMF. Mozambique became the most indebted country south of the Sahara. Combined with low natural gas prices, there are fears the country could default. The IMF is refusing to help until it gets to scrutinise the bad bonds, the government is dragging its feet, almost certainly because it would expose the corruption present in the high levels of government. In the face of such incompetence and greed, how has FRELIMO remained in power for 24 years? The answer is RENAMO.

Figure 2 - Incident map of Mozambique between 01 January and 12 August 2016 – Credit: Rhula Intelligent Solutions

RENAMO, under the peace deal, became a ‘peaceful’ political party. Whenever elections do not go their way, or the FRELIMO keeps too much natural resource money for themselves, RENAMO direct their militants to terrorise parts of the country. At the moment there is a serious increase in incidents, with RENAMO using assassinations of FRELIMO officials, kidnappings, armed conflict and vehicle attacks to intimidate

citizens and to get the government to pay up. Healthcare is an important FRELIMO policy so RENAMO have attacked health centres. Donors and voters know FRELIMO is corrupt, but they put up with it because of the alternative.

Year 9 inspired by “Dreaming Spires”

There we see how the bleak situation seen today came about. When a Mozambican goes into the voting booth, he picks between the incompetent, corrupt, formerly communist party that has ruled the country non-stop since independence, or the violent movement prone to holding the country hostage. Not to mention that feelings about both parties are tainted by the civil war. I asked an English teacher in the south what he thought of RENAMO, and he described their massacre of children. Northerners likely have similar feelings about the government. In the west we complain about who is on the ballot paper, we perhaps underappreciate what we have.

On Wednesday 2nd of October 2016, 35 Year 9s were chosen to take part in a trip to Oxford University, led by Miss Lewis-Barned, Miss Fancourt and Miss Hamilton.

The situation in Mozambique is displeasing. However, for a developing country, having a government that keeps free and fair-ish elections is a rarity. Mozambicans should be relieved that the self-interested people heading the country and the opposition have a balance of power that preserves some democratic accountability. Hopefully it will allow Mozambique to grow into a prosperous state in the future. Adam Carruthers - 12D

Adam and his fellow students during their memorable trip to Maciene, Mozambique

When we arrived, we were all fascinated by the historic buildings that made up the colleges of the university. We spotted the main building of the Bodleian Library, one of the oldest libraries in Europe and one of six copyright libraries in the UK; the Sheldonian Theatre and some of the newer buildings, such as Blackwell’s music and bookshop. Next, we entered Lincoln College, Oxford’s ninth oldest college (1427), where we were given information about university life, the lectures and tutorials students go to and A-Level grade requirements to get into the university in the first place. As we learnt more about life at Oxford, I began to feel that all of the work needed to apply would certainly be worth it. At the end of the talk, we were split into three groups and were introduced to three current Lincoln College students, who then gave us a tour around the college. I really enjoyed hearing about life in the university from the students who were experiencing it right now.

News & Views famous for featuring in the Harry Potter films, as the ‘Great Hall’ at ‘Hogwarts School’. Not only did the dining hall feature in the films, but so did the main staircase leading up to the hall, making the experience only more enthralling. However, as we were prised away from the dining hall, we all came to appreciate the beauty and grandeur of the college: the incredible buildings and amazing student accommodation, some of which had private balconies overlooking the vast park and lake beyond. All in all, I think that this was a fantastic trip; we all had so much fun and also learnt so much more about life at the university and probably at all universities across the UK. I really enjoyed the trip and hope that we will go on a trip of that sort again sometime soon. Freddie Maud 9T

After lunch, eaten in the stunning 15th century dining hall, we departed Lincoln College and made our way to the famous covered market, where we spent much time browsing the small shops for souvenirs and food to eat, before carrying on to Christ Church college, one of Oxford’s largest, oldest and most renowned colleges. This was possibly, for me and for most others in my group, one of the most exciting places we went to on the trip; the Christ Church College dining hall is The Twyfordian |Autumn 2016 4

In the News Comic Con

Today I went to Comic Con, a convention where people off all ages cosplay and share there love for gaming, anime and comics. Cosplaying is dressing up as fictional characters. Comic Con is a great place to meet other people who share the same passion as you. The atmosphere was great! It was a very welcoming and friendly community. I was able to take loads of pictures with other amazing cosplayers. I went to a big Zelda photo-shoot where Zelda fans were able to see each others’ cosplays and take group pictures with some pretty out there characters. It was so nice meeting people who shared the same interests as you and it was also lovely to give and receive compliments on our cosplays. A lady we were talking to who was selling some of her amazing art saw me and said “Oh, are you Medli? I recognize you from Windwaker, a game I used to play as a kid”. It was really nice getting a compliment from someone who loved the character as a child. I heard things like “aww, so cute” and the occasional “woah, sick Zelda Cosplay”. Overall it was a superb day: I met some awesome fans, bought loads of merchandise, and I took some great photos. I can’t wait to go again next year! Hannah Eagles - 8T

My Summer Holiday My parents arrived from Debenhams carrying 2 cabin suitcases, my mum and dad talking at the same time to my brother and me, giving instructions but none were very clear. My mind was already focused on the day ahead. It’s been 4 years since I last visited the Philippines, the country where my parents come from. I can’t wait to see the whole family again, my cousins, uncle and specially my grandparents whom I call Lolo and Lola. A rough shake on my shoulder from my brother has brought me back to reality. “You’re having the green one,” he said, and without knowing what it’s all about I just shook my head and said okay. He then rolled the green suitcase to me with a big grin on his face as he thought he got the better one. I was awoken by the noise from downstairs, the clinking of the glasses and scraping of the cutleries on the plates; the dry air I’m breathing which seems to be occupying the whole room. I can feel the damp and wetness of the clothes I am wearing; I am sweating all over and I couldn’t bear the hotness. Then a voice cut through the air, a warm voice which I recognised clearly. “Breakfast is ready!” yes that’s my dear Lola, my grandma, and then I realised that I am in the Philippines, the home of my dad and mum, my home. During my stay in the Philippines, I enjoyed every moment of it. There’s been a lot of changes in the past 4 years. The changes are for the better, but the way things changed scared me. “Look what Duterte has done again! It’s all over the news,” my parents would say. The family likes following the headlines on what’s going on around the country under the new elected

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President, Rodrigo Duterte. Some say he’s the best that ever happened for the country and some says he’s the worst; and this is only the beginning for more unimaginable scary things to come.

Duterte declared war against illegal drugs, and he ordered the police to use all things needed to put an end on the use and selling of them. The newspapers and televisions were filled with blood-covered news every single day. The president’s strict rules against drugs has cost a lot of lives, police and villains alike. Police are searching houses of every person on their drug list. If they don’t cooperate, they’re getting killed on the spot. It’s a very scary scene. As a family, we followed certain rules, we go to bed at around 9 pm every evening. We have a secure home and live in a safe area, so we’re sure that we would never come across any trouble. But that was not true. Every night, I woke up at one in the morning because I wasn’t used to the time difference. In the room, there’s a window overlooking the kitchen when the blinds are up. That night, the blinds were closed. I sat up on my bed and stared at the window. The soft rays of light eased its way through the blinds and created a dim light within the bedroom. Then there was a shadow, moving around ever so slowly. Suddenly a crashing sound of pots and dishes echoed through the night. My heart froze and I almost jumped out of bed, then I felt fingers grasping onto my arm. I looked down and it was my cousin. Her eyes staring at me and whispering,

“Just go back to bed, it’s very late Karen.” My cousin lived in this very house before they migrated to Canada. They’re here as well for a holiday. She mentioned before there are unexplainable things that occur every night in the house. However, my mind is not fixed in some ghostly stories, my head was thinking of what’s happening out there in the real world. People dying in connection to drugs; innocent or not if they resist the law then they’re getting punished. My eyes grow heavy; I can’t even tell if I’m still awake or am I sleeping. The hot weather does not help at all; I am scared and my body was frozen solid. Who was out there in the dark? Why in the middle of the night? I kept asking these questions to myself until I finally fell asleep. The next day I’m still weary and I don’t know what to do, A small puddle of red sticky liquid spread on our doorstep. I look around, no sign of anybody. Am I dreaming? I pinched myself and it hurts, I’m awake. Then a sudden gut crunching feeling covered me. What happened last night? Who came in the house? Where is everyone? Karen Macaraig - 7C

News & Views

Black History Showcase On Thursday 20th October 2016, I had an amazing opportunity to read out the Ghana independence speech by Kwame Nkrumah at our Black History Month Showcase. Whilst reading the speech, many thoughts had circled my mind, as I realised how many Africans had to work and put in extreme effort to fighting for independence and freedom. This idea made me feel proud to be an African. In Nkrumah’s speech, not only does he acknowledge the hard work of those in authority such as; chiefs and soldiers, but also thanked all women and farmers who contributed to this fight for freedom. Kwame Nkrumah’s speech is one of

Chaplaincy Leadership Team News O! come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant! Certainly, it has been a “joyful and triumphant” year, especially with the very successful Sixth Form. “No Costa”, where over 400 cups of free coffee, tea and hot chocolate were served, acting as a great opportunity for the Sixth Formers to get to know each other and to find out about the chaplaincy activates on offer. Junior and Senior TFG are still running on Tuesday and Wednesday lunchtimes, as well as the addition of Question Time on Thursday lunchtimes, so whatever your background it would be great to have you along to casually discuss local or world issues, or frankly anything that interests you! Creative Worship, which runs Wednesdays after school, still remains a colourful favourite among the younger years and this term has a sweet twist, with the focus being fruit, which stemmed lots of beautiful artwork. Voluntary communions on Thursday morning are also successful with over 30 attending regularly.

many reasons behind reshaping the destiny of not just Ghana, but the whole African continent. Nyame, we thank you! Joshua Kwamya 9Y

We would like to thank everyone who has helped in both voluntary and year communions. Also, huge thanks to the Chaplaincy reps and ambassadors for their continued support particularly during assemblies and communions! We have an Easter Celebration to look forward to, where the question of how amazing it will be still remains a wonderful secret. The Senior TFG Weekend, genuinely a once in a lifetime opportunity will be between 6-8th January, with the theme “Created on Purpose for a Purpose”, so make sure you are purposeful and join, to enjoy the exuberant worship, compelling teaching and exhilarating activates including pool party & indoor/outdoor games. The Junior TFG weekend will be in April, more details coming soon, but keep your diaries marked! We look forward to another successful year, and if you have any questions or suggestions, please talk to Pastor Daniel or one of the Student Chaplaincy Team, and for now we wish you good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year! The Twyfordian |Autumn 2016

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Film & Theatre

Cinema

2016 is almost over. It has been one of the worst years on record; many celebrities have died, Donald Trump has been given nuclear access codes, we voted to leave the EU and new releases have been quite a mixed-bag this year. We have had several big movies release which have been a bit of a disappointment, though on the bright side, we have had some outstanding ones too. Let us give you our highlights, and some “lowdarks” if you may, of this year in cinema.

THE GOOD Finding Dory

Train to Busan

It took 13 years for our favourite aquatic beings to return to the big screen, but the resultant product was an experience definitely worth waiting for. Forgetful Dory decides to undergo a quest to find her long-lost parents, however her unfortunate short-term memory loss isn’t the only obstacle she has to overcome; she goes on a fairly wild ride in her travels, to say the absolute minimum, as do Marlin and Nemo in their quest to find her. After the phenomenal Inside Out in 2015, Pixar have yet another winner on their hands here; packed with quality humour, emotion and excitement, you’re guaranteed to have just as good a time with Dory as you did with Nemo all those years ago. 7

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You probably won’t have heard of this one; it’s a Korean-language horror thriller drama (take your pick) about a businessman and his young daughter who are suddenly caught up in a significant zombie infestation in the country, one part of which is localised in a high-speed train they are riding. It’s taken Korea by storm, and with good reason; with plenty of tense, exciting action sequences but also some genuine heart and emotion to anchor the spectacle. Train to Busan will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout its runtime, and quite possibly leave you emotionally devastated by the end as well, resulting in one of the best films to have come out all year.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Released last year, but we had to make an exception to include it. Honestly, there is not much to say

about this. I am just glad they finally were able to make a decent Star Wars movie. Which did not have ‘Jar Jar’ or atrocious CGI in it or “midichlorians”.

Kubo and the Two Strings

This incredibly charming Japanese style movie is definitely one of my highlights of this year, the plot follows Kubo when he accidently releases vengeful spirits from the past, and must face the old enemies from the past. Honestly, it is a masterpiece. Beautifully well crafted and well thought of. The animation style is mostly real-life physical animation, with very little Computer Generated elements being used. It has some

great and sometimes humorous moments which top it off to be one of the best kids films of this year.

THE BAD London Has Fallen

A typical “America is best country in the world” movie, it is so bad you could make this into a Team America sequel and it would be a pretty good sequel - for Team America. Honestly, it was a joke and was so typical: easternised terrorist, Police/

Film & Theatre

psychological thriller it turns into a compilation of inappropriate jump scares and clichés which turn it into your average found footage horror movie. Even the “found footage” part of the movie doesn’t feel legitimate, they invent technology which does not exist to make it a found footage movie, not even

unnecessary, leading to a movie that is unfortunately more dull and irritating than it is fun and exciting.

THE EXCITEMENT Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The Star Wars hype train continues to roll, and this time it takes us way back in the saga’s timeline. Set before the events of A New Hope, this follows a young rebel by the name of Jyn Erso, who is recruited by the Rebel Alliance to infiltrate the newly-formed Galactic Empire and steal the plans for what will become the now-iconic Death Star.

trying to make it look like it was not professionally filmed. If I am honest just watch the original Blair Witch, not this imposter pretending to be a horror movie. SAS/Special forces killed like they have no training, America saves the day cliché and every world leader is pretty much the national stereotype of that country. This movie almost feels like it is condoning the wars in the middle-east by western nations, something which really is no longer appropriate in this day and age with increasing criticism of the policies of George Bush and Blair on their policies around the Iraq War.

Blair Witch

Not to be confused with The Blair Witch Project released in 1999, which is a far better movie than this ‘sequel’. Whilst The Blair Witch Project is an interesting and original movie which is legitimately scary at points, this is barely a shell of what the original was. Instead of being a

Suicide Squad

Disappointment Patrol is probably the better name for this. The hype that I had built up from watching the admittedly quite amazing trailers was let down and then some upon viewing the final product. Some genuinely great performances, particularly Margot Robbie and Viola Davis, are let down majorly by the clunker that is the movie’s script; the poor attempts at humour just seem shoehorned in and some of the scenes (and the entire character of The Joker) are wholly

Helmed by Gareth Edwards, the man responsible for 2014’s mindblowingly awesome Godzilla, and featuring an excellent cast including Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker and the return of James Earl Jones, Rogue One seems like it will almost certainly continue the string of quality Star Wars. Christopher Vialls (13C) and Thomas Rooney (13Y)

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What’s on Your Mind?

Brexit?

Rebecca Heath questions the future of Brexit

I have a question (for you)‘Did you vote for Brexit?’ If you did, this speech will tell you why I disagree with you. Brexit is the result of a referendum held on June 25, 2016 where British citizens voted to exit the European Union. This referendum roiled global markets including currencies which caused the British pound to fall to its lowest level in decades. Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage led the campaign to exit the EU and David Cameron led the campaign to remain. In the end the vote was very close however Brexit won with 52% of the popular vote and 48% voted remain. Majority of Wales and England voted leave, however some big cities like London voted to stay/remain. Most of Scotland voted to remain as did Northern Ireland. A lot of the people who voted were from the older generation and many voted for Brexit. What they didn’t

realise is how much this decision will affect the younger generation. Firstly, it limits them from living abroad in Europe. As a result of leaving, we may now need a visa to go into Europe to live or work there. The Guardian have said ‘restricting movement means finding a job abroad becomes much harder for young people’. This means it is now more likely for this generation to be unemployed. Researchers at the Centre for European Reform (CER) have noted that if ‘unemployment were to rise, it would be the under 30s who would be most vulnerable’ and the young and low-skilled who will suffer the most. Secondly, it will restrict people from studying abroad. In Sweden and Denmark they don’t charge EU nationals for education, however figures from the OECD have shown that undergraduates in England pay the highest tuition fees in the world at £6,000 a year. As a result of this, some young Britons have chosen to study at significantly cheaper European universities, particularly in the Netherlands and Germany. University tuition fees in England can and will rise to £9,250 per year from 2017.

The inflation linked rise represents a 2.8% increase and if that continued it means that fees can and will rise to above £10,000 in the next few years and for my generation that means our parents may end up spending/ paying £10,000 and more per year just for us to go to university. One of the reasons many voted Brexit was ‘getting control of our borders back’ which is a polite way of referring to immigration. Immigration can mean many different things to many people, but the one thing concerning many was/is the influx of low skilled workers who fill the low skilled positions and are cheaper to employ, however this causes wages to drive down for everyone. The problem facing the future of Brexit is how will the economy survive without these low skilled workers? The reason I chose this topic is that I can relate to it but also other people can as well. Brexit means something to everyone. But the big question is ‘What even is Brexit’? Well even our current prime minister wouldn’t be able to tell you. Rebecca Heath - 11F

Dr Rupa Huq MP, Ealing Central & Acton visits Twyford On Monday 7th of November, our local Labour MP Rupa Huq paid a visit to our school. As a part of her stay, she gave an informative assembly on her upbringing and what her role as an MP for Ealing Central and Acton entails. Year 11 & 12 were given the fantastic opportunity to ask her some questions of their own – which were conjured up during tutor time. They were very keen to know her impressions regarding the current educa9

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tion systems in place as well as her opinions on current affairs such as Brexit. Next, she was given an insightful tour around the site and commented on how well Twyford was doing as a school. She was even kind enough to agree to sit down for an Interview for the latest Twyford Podcast which I had the great pleasure of contributing to. This involved touching on topics as broad as Education to Climate Change.

Overall, her visit was a momentous experience and certainly a valuable one, in which students were given the chance to truly connect with political agendas on a new and exciting level. Shaheena Uddin - 11Y

The Gallery A small sample of some of the excellent art and graphics work by our talented Twyford students

Gabriel Mackie - 13F Elin Taylor - 12W2 Blu Selby - 12R

Holly Humphrey - 12Y2

Finlay Moores 12W1

Isabelle Farr - 12F1

Maya Berglind - 13F

Joel Luther-Braun - 13F

Helena Pribyl - 12C

Olivia England - 12Y1 The Twyfordian |Autumn 2016

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Creative Writing Year 7 Poetry

Tough Decisions - Explored by Year 7s in Poetry. Here are two of the best. Down the road, I strolled on my way home my light rucksack hung from my shoulders and my hands were casually stuffed in my pockets. I swung open the gate and trudged to the door. I knocked – nothing. A surge of apprehension Rushed through my mind. It was Accompanied by a wave of confusion. The light was on inside so someone, Must’ve been inside. I knocked again – nothing. I rifled through my bag for my keys. I listened hopefully for their distinct jangle, but it never came. An argument was taking place In my mind – whether I should wait or go. I knocked once more – nothing. I fled.

I walked through the door The vibrant colours hit me The silent, but not awkward sound reached me And the smell of new books tingled inside my nose. The heat from the library warmed my chilled hands I looked at the vast selection of books I reached out and touched them I knew this would be a hard decision. I could choose a classic, a romance, a murder mystery I choose a Charlie Higson, a Michael Morpurgo, a Bill Bryson I hesitated, I thought, my eyes scanned the room Amy Harpley Gebbles (7T)

Charlotte Mountford (7R)

Book Reviews ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’

as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.’ I’m not going to tell you what the book is about if that is what you are looking for. There is a blurb for exactly that reason. I want to tell you more than that- why this book is famous and infamous, why it is ingrained in my mind, and most importantly, why Morrissey, lead singer of The Smiths, loves Oscar Wilde so much (Faith Eden: ‘You should include a picture of Morrissey reading Oscar Wilde’s books.’).

Oscar Wilde’s most famous book was also quite infamous in the late 19th century. The ‘immorality’ was shocking at the time, what with the disreputable behavior, the murders, the satanic exchanges, the homosexuality. However, I cannot say it better than Oscar Wilde himself stated in the preface: ‘There is no such thing 11

The Twyfordian |Autumn 2016

Whatever you want in a book, it is most likely already here; it has it all. The language is beautiful, ‘the rich odor of roses’ and ‘the sullen murmur of the bees’ being almost tangible. The stupendous plot twists are edge-of-your-seat, bounce-offthe-walls, smack-your-lips thrilling. The characters are viscerally lifelike:

they are everything from innocently fascinating to hysterically mad. Whilst the book is thrilling, it also has benefits to reading it. Fellow Jekyll and Hyde readers of Year 11, listen carefully. ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, published in 1891 has many parallels to ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, published in 1886. They share gothic elements, themes of duality, the reputability of the Victorian Gentleman, and homosexuality. All of these elements create two books ahead of their time, deeming them infamous, as I mentioned before, and targets to harsh critics. However, what I find particularly incredible about Wilde’s novel, as opposed to the lack of it in Stevenson’s novella, is that it perhaps reflects his own life (the feeling of being trapped in his body as a homosexual himself, like Dorian Gray is trapped inside his own body). ‘The artist can express everything.’

Book Reviews After everything I have said, I have hardly skimmed the surface of what the book is about, the author and the context of the book, all of which are highly entertaining to read and talk (or ramble) about. If Eliza Durham, loyal and faithful member of book club, says that she ‘would recommend it’ then you know you have to read it. Celine Elias (11W)

Tragic is beautiful

Have you ever thought before an exam that you have anxiety because you were nervous? Have you ever thought you were depressed because you failed your exam or thought you had OCD because you were organized or that anorexia is a good way to lose weight? Throughout daily life in school with friends and on social media, mental illness is romanticized, is hyped up, as if it is something you should aspire to have. Mental illness is not a personal attribute that will make you stand out from the crowd or make you unique, nor is it something that should be used, as if it would make you more desirable. ‘Tragic is beautiful’. This is a quote I found online from Tumblr and its connotations are ugly. Eating disorders and self-harm and bipolar disorder aren’t ‘beautiful’, and Tumblr posts of cuts and bruises up you arms or pills or quotes of depression in a cute font are insensitive to the people actually suffering (and the key word here is ‘suffering’) from these illnesses. Recently I read a non-fiction book on depression called ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’ (I highly recommend this 70 page book that enlightened me on what depression actually is because it is really not how you think, especially with the distorted view of this suicidal illness nowadays) and I realized how badly it affects a person’s life. Matt Haig, the author, explained that ‘To other people, it

seems like nothing at all. You are walking around with your head on fire and no one can see the flames’. If he was scrolling through Tumblr and saw that people admire depressed people because they are more artistic or whatever the reason, he would likely feel angry at the unawareness of some people. What with our generation being the technology, smartphone, Netflix generation, many of you would likely have heard of the youtuber Eugenia Cooney. Mental illness: anorexia. Role model for young people: absent. Unhealthy and on the verge of death: definitely. Anorexia is an emotional disorder where someone refuses to eat on the basis that they are too fat whereas often they are skinny or even emaciated - at least that is how I would describe Eugenia: a skeleton, a pile of bones. This issue, filled with pathos, is not something anyone should try to imitate and I very sincerely hope that no one reaches this youtuber’s level. If you are reaching that level, get help, and if you see the symptoms of anorexia in someone else, help them. After ranting on for the past four paragraphs, I just want to step back and make it clear that I am not saying everybody sees mental illness in this light, but this is a message for those of you who are: mental illness is pain, and beauty, dictionary defined as ‘a beautiful or pleasing thing or person’, has nothing to do with it. As for the rest of you, do you really know what OCD is or what bipolar or depression are - just to name a fewand how they are caused and what people actually suffer through, or do you ignorantly diagnose yourself whilst not really knowing about these illnesses? If you don’t know, then learn. Celine Elias (11W)

Bone out of Boneville

Bone is a graphic novel about 3 bone cousins called Fone Bone, Phoney Bone & Smiley Bone (each with completely different personalities). They are kicked out of Boneville and have to find somewhere to go. Unfortunately they get separated and now have to find each other in a whole new world. Each one enters a deep, mysterious forest filled with wacky and wild creatures. On their way

they meet new characters such as the beautiful Thorne and the menacing Grandma Ben. I recommend this novel, as it is not only full of adventure but it’s also very funny. The dynamics between the characters are really interesting and well presented. Hannah Eagles (8T)

Death Note

Death note is a manga all about a boy called Light who happens to find a death note on the ground dropped The Twyfordian |Autumn 2016

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Book Reviews by a Shinigami, a God of death. This note book has the power to kill anyone you want by writing their name in it. Light makes it his mission to rid the world of evil and use the death note for good. But when someone is presented with such power, there is a danger that one is controlled by it. I highly recommend this manga as it has a thrilling storyline which is paced very well. It is perfect for anyone who is new to manga. Hannah Eagles (8T)

Super Freakonomics.

A very interesting and peculiar book, I recommend reading it not only to help your journey to become an economist but also to understand the world around you. The authors take you on a passage through the time and across the globe to demonstrate that statistics have power. I think the main theme, though, is people respond to incentives and the trick of being a good economist is understanding those incentives. Here is an example from 1847 about how the answer isn’t always obvious but can be found through investigating. Many women in a famous Viennese hospital were dying after childbirth due to puerperal fever (a raging fever where shortly after contracting it you die) and no one knew why. One researcher looked into the subject and found that many more 13

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Science women were dying in the doctors’ ward than in the midwives’ ward. After investigating the differences between the two wards, he realized that the women were dying because the doctors came straight from carrying out autopsies to tending to the labouring women without washing their hands. Once he found this out, the mortality rate dropped from 9.9% to less than 1%. The lesson learnt from this is that by studying the data you can find the solution even if it isn’t clear to you from the outside. Going to 2001, here is an example of how much the media affects us. In the summer, a young boy was brutally mauled by a shark. The media portrayed it as part of a rapid increase in attacks and named it ‘Summer of the Sharks’. However, the number of shark attacks that year was standard. In reality, sharks only attacked 68 people and only 4 were fatal. But if the headlines were ‘Shark attacks around average’, the magazines would certainly not sell. Elephants, however, kill 200 people a year. So why aren’t we petrified of them? Maybe it’s because they’re so far from media centres – poorer parts of the world - or because movies portray them as huggable and kind. If you just have a wider perspective of the world, you realise the media has a huge influence over our perceptions. The authors of Super Freakonomics demonstrate that you have to challenge your assumptions by looking at the numbers- just like an economist. I think this book is for more mature readers but if you understand it I think you’ll take away a new-found respect for economists and their approach to information. Sometimes, the most super-freaky solution is the simplest. Max Carruthers (7F)

Year 12’s fight with Malaria On the 24th of November, a selected group of 10 geographers/ biologists from Year 12 were given the opportunity to spend the day at the McLaren Centre to attend an event hosted by GSK and Comic Relief about the fight against malaria. During the day we participated in a series of activities designed to expand our knowledge of the disease and inspire us to take on the vicious killer- needless to say it was a great success! We started the day by being greeted with refreshments by the enthusiastic staff at the McLaren Centre, who persuaded a few of us to be interviewed by the cameramen, about what we already knew about malaria and what we hoped to achieve from the day. Shortly afterwards, once 9 other schools had arrived we were divided up into 5 groups, named after 5 regions wherein malaria is a prominent issue (Mozambique, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Greater Mekong Region). Within our groups we had to find a potential solution to try and end the devastation caused by malaria in our separate countries, taking into account factors such as Infection Control, Data logistics, Innovation and others. It was interesting to see how ideas varied from region to region, which enabled us to see the range of problems malaria is causing worldwide and how there is no one solution to ending the crisis. Each of the small workshops were very informative and provided us in depth understanding of the disease and its Next we were brought back into the main room and were excited by a beautiful array of food for lunch which we were all looking forward to, and whilst eating, we took pictures to post to snapchat using

Science the #fightmalaria filter which they had made for us. This was to spread awareness for the issue. After lunch we were then brought into a room filled with technology. There were multiple pieces of technology to encourage us to participle in the group debate which was taking place. We presented questions to a panel of well known figures, who are in some way related to malaria, and they presented questions back to us which we answered using the technology. This was an excellent chance to hear expert responses to many burning questions which we had been gathering all day. Overall the day was thoroughly enjoyed by all the participants, helping us to understand more about the current methods of prevention of malaria and also what future implications there may be. By Daisy Sassoon (12Y2) and Sharika Sundar (12F2)

Gabriella Bryant and Modular Arithmetic

On 28th September around 30 maths A-Level Students took our first steps into the world of modular arithmetic. It isn’t as frightening as it sounds, I promise. We were lucky enough to be able to take part in this interactive lecture by Vicky Neale, a tutor at Balliol college, as part of the TAP programme.

in two circles around the clock.3am is on the same point of the clock as 1500pm even though they aren’t the same time. The fact that there are only the numbers 1 through to 12 on a clock means that 12 is the modulus. From then on, any hour in the day can be related to a point on the clock related to mod (12).

After reading about Vicky online I found that she has taken part in many programmes on BBC Radio 4 and has led masterclasses, lectures and projects.

Once we got to grips with this we set about experimenting. The things we found were thought provoking and prompted us to want to research more at home and to discover extra findings.

At first, I wasn’t too sure what I had signed up for and was worried that it was going to be rather frightening. Luckily, I was wrong. The whole session was engaging and thoroughly enjoyable. Once we understood the concept we were able to apply it to a range of problems and find patterns in our findings. Everyone I talked to about the event spoke highly of it and explained how fun it was to be able to tackle something as complex as modular arithmetic. In addition, we left without feeling completely confused and overwhelmed. In a nutshell, modular arithmetic involves wrapping numbers around upon reaching a certain value. Take an analogue clock for example. The 24 hours in a day can be wrapped up

Wider learning of any sort is an amazing thing to do and in this case it reminded me why I do maths. I do Maths because I love that feeling when you understand something that you never thought you could. You understand how it works and you go on to be able to explain it to other people. Being able to say I understand things like modular arithmetic is pretty incredible, considering I had only been doing Maths A Level for five weeks. I cannot wait to attend many more lectures and wider learning events over the next 2 years. Gabriella Bryant (12F1) The Twyfordian |Autumn 2016

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Music

Glassroom

A group of Year 13 Music Tech students produce their first album.

EP coming out this winter (Thoughts Before Noise) completely separate from the A-level course is a crazy achievement and it’s all down to everyone’s ambition to make sick music.

Rarely do you come across a subject so heavily driven by genuine student passion. Music Tech isn’t just an A-level course, it’s a community of authentic, talented musicians who all share the dream to have a musical life. The album, ‘In this place’ by Glassroom, is an echo of all the music ever made in CM1, from composing to jamming to producing polished tracks. Although ‘Glassroom’ is named after the glass walls of the recording studio, it describes more than just the room. It sums up the idea that whether we recorded in a classroom or a massive, expensive studio it

will still have that energy and vibe that is only there due to everyone’s insane love of music. No one does music tech because they have to, they do it because there is just such an atmosphere that you want to be a part of, that makes you strives to be a better musician - a feeling you won’t find in any other subject. To produce a 9-track album with an

Glassroom all comes down to Mr Ahira who mixed and produced the whole album. It wouldn’t have been what it is without his ideas and genuine encouragement. Check out ‘In this Place’ by Glassroom on all streaming services now. (Glassroom are: Lorenzo StanfordVaughn, Casper Miles, Mazin Mohammed, Richard Hayibor, Patrick Wilson, Holly Harrigan, Jade Read, Ollie Morley, Kyal Kapoor, Jospeh Kwaw, Amy George, Jesse Mantey, Rosa Iamele-gosling, Victor Hokey, Daniel Stewart)

The Popular Music Competition

Rachel Thomsen (11D) Enjoys the PMC thoroughly!

Twyford’s annual Popular Music Competition (PMC) provided a showcase of amazing talents ranging from year 10 to 13, presenting some of the best musicians in our school. The acts included a selection of soloists and groups performing songs they have self-composed and groups showing their renditions of songs, after they had scored a high enough score from the Acoustic Café auditions to compete. The evening began with Twyford’s spectacular house band performing. The audience were then thrown in to the evening of musical talent, hosted by Music Reps Holly Harrigan and Jade Read, and judged by a panel containing music producers and, our very own, Mr Stekelis. The high-energy soloists entertained and engaged the audience, and 15

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the slower songs left the audience applauding and cheering the performers, especially Cara Murphy who came first in the solo category with her own song: Quick Sand, and Leah Bradshaw who came second.

supported all acts and produced an incredibly professional set up for the performers. The acts that followed left even teachers ranging from Maths, such as Ms Major, to Drama, Miss Adams, dancing in their seats.

After a quick refreshment break, provided with carefully crafted songs from the music teams new album- In This Place by Glassroom – which is now available on Apple Music and other streaming platforms we were brought in to the bands category performances. Mr Ahira’s A Level music class and Mr Ahira himself can now be heard on their more recent second album Thoughts Before Noise, which is also available on all streaming platforms, and their music video is on YouTube.

The band that stood out among the brilliant, Piano was well-deservingly given first place with their version of Toxic by Britney Spears, and the second place in the Bands category was given to the amazing and intelligently named Algorhythm.

The evening’s high quality performances were emphasised by the amazing work of the Tech Team, who provided an outstanding light sequences and sound execution

Overall, the evening was just one of the many examples of all the talented students Twyford contains, and this evening is a great way to get involved, whether it is performing or being part of the audience. I encourage you all to get involved! Rachel Thomsen - 11D

Music

And the Winners are! Here Rachel interviews two of the success stories of the PMC Tyler Davis, Y12 Part of band: Piano First in band category

1. How long have you been in a band with them for? 4 weeks 2. Does your band have any certain inspiration? Took inspiration from the original and mixed it with different genres to make it different 3. Any upcoming concerts? Christmas Cabaret TBC, assemblies, plan to continue 4. Do you have any advice for auditions or taking part in these music competitions? Go for it. You can change it a lot after the first audition (acoustic café). 5. Any own material? Not currently, focusing on mash ups of other songs to meld it to own design and way

Cara Murphy - Soloist First in solo category

1. What inspired you to get into music? I’ve been doing music since I was young so I can’t remember exactly how I got into it but I do remember watching my older sister playing piano when I was around four years old and wanting to play myself, so I started lessons. 2. How long have you been singing for? I’ve been playing and singing since I was 9 - I have a lot of old songs that I wrote when I was young which are pretty bad! 3. Why did you choose your own song? I chose to sing one of my own because I thought that it would be distinctive to do an original instead of covering someone else’s song. I also liked what

the added drums and bass contributed to the song because it helped bring the song together nicely and sound more like how I had originally envisaged it. 4. Do you prefer original material or covers? It is definitely scarier to perform an original song than a cover in public because it’s a personal thing to share but I think that originals stand out more than covers because there are millions of amazing singers and their songs in the world but writing your own stuff involves a longer, harder process. 5. Do you wish to continue pursuing music in the future? I definitely want to continue music when I’m older! I’m hoping to do Music and I’d like to go into music psychology after that.

Last term we brought you Year 7s and 11s reflecting on their first and last sponsored walks. Rachel Thomsen continues the theme by asking students from Year 11 and 7 to reflect on their last and first PMCs After the PMC I was able to talk to Joanna Ried in 11T and Billy Kimbell in 7T. For Joanna this was the first PMC she had been to and she was able to go due to the fact she is a part of the tech team, which she highly recommends as you can go to loads of events like the PMC. For Joanna her favourite act was Algorythms as she loved how personal their song was but she liked the act and

especially how different they all were. One thing she really liked apart from the performers was the amazing lights and set up. ‘I’m definitely going next year’ said Joanna and she recommends you do too. For Billy this was his second PMC as he was at last year to watch his sister Rose Kimbell win with her group the Humming Bird. One difference Billy noticed from last year was the

amazing lights and effects done by the Tech Team, he also loved how no act was the same and everyone was different in one way or another. Billy’s favourite act was Bilaal as he was a great singer, very interesting and Billy loved his song. Like Joanna, Billy will definitely be going to the PMC next year and would love to take part in it soon too.

Sport

Athlete of the month awards

Congratulations to all the winners of the Athlete of the Month Award. Athletes have been selected by the PE department for their attitude and commitment to PE, their sports performance and commitment to improving Twyford sports opportunities. SEPTEMBER

Niamh Oldfield 9F Joanie Easton 9R Olivia Baily 9D Ossama Aslam 11D

OCTOBER

Theo Williamson 7W Corrina Watts 8C Zak Sturge 8C Joy Choufar 10D

NOVEMBER

Tommy Svanidze 8Y Keziah Ansah 8F Nathaniel Anteryki 12F2 Chole Osborne 13T1 The Twyfordian |Autumn 2016

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Sport Sport in Twyford has been thriving this year so far. The sports department is extremely proud of all of the achievements in netball, football, rugby and all other extra circular activities. At the start of the year there were many trails for all the different teams and first few fixtures were organised. Teams and extra circular groups have been training extremely hard for future matches to make Twyford proud! So far this year all of the A, B and C team have been selected from Year 7 to Sixth Form.

Netball

This year there has been an extremely high turnout of players for netball meaning the standard for each of the teams has been set very high. There have been many success in matches and tournaments. • Year 7 won 9-1 against William Perkin. • Year 8 won 17-1 against William Perkin and won 7-2 against Ellen Wilkinson. • Year 9 lost 8-12 to Elthorne, lost 6-11 to Dormers and won 12-8 to Ellen Wilikinson. • Year 10 lost 9-7 to Ellen Wilikinson. Sixth Form won 22-1 against Featherstone and won 16-6 against Elthorne. There was also a Borough Tournament in which the Sixth Form

A team came 2nd, the Sixth Form B team came 3rd and the Year 11 team came 5th.

Rugby The girls’ rugby teams have made an extremely strong start to the year with the Year 8 team winning 10-5 against Court School Richmond and winning 15-10 against St. Helens School. • The Year 10/11 team beat Burlington Danes 15-10. There have also been many successes in the boys’ rugby. • Year 7 lost 35-5 to Fulham Boys, won 35-5 against City Academy and lost 40-10 to Orleans Park. • Year 8 lost 32-17 Orleans Park, lost 55-0 to Fulham Boys, but beat William Ellis 26-25. • The Year 10 team won 22-0

against Harris Beckenham, won 27-24 against Cardinal Vaughan. • Year 11 have done Twyford proud by winning 70-22 against Vyners School, winning 12-5 against Burlington Daves and beating Burlington Danes again 28-15.

Football

The football teams have been busy playing and preparing for matches against local schools. • Year 7 played Wetherby Prep B & C winning 8-0, 12-0, lost to Elthorne High 2-3, drew with Drayton Manor 1-1 and won 6-2 against Fulham Prep. • Year 8 have drawn against Dormers Wells 2-2 and beaten Fulham Prep 6-1. • Year 9 lost 0-7 to William Perkins and lost to Drayton Manor 1-6.

House System

Below are some updates on what our houses have been up to this term! Truro has had a very successful start to the school year. From interform sports competitions to house music it has been a busy term. House music proved that Truro is full of talented musicians- special mention to Poppy Sutch for heading the team up! In particular well done to Nancy in year ten who held the group together with her piano. Looking forward to next year, we have a busy autumn term- from our enterprise day (20th January) and a full term of interform events! Thank you to everyone who has taken part in interforms, music and other house events- it has been greatly appreciated! 17

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It’s been a very busy term for Wells, and we’d like to thank you all for your participation! In sport, we want to congratulate 12W1 for reaching the semi-final in Interform Benchball, and 9W for reaching the semi-final in Interform Football. In music, on behalf of your Music Captain, we’d like to thank everyone who participated in House Music with a big shout out to Mr Bradley who was awesome on the piano! And let’s not forget about Enterprise Day! We had an awesome day selling hundreds of cakes baked for us by all of you — thanks must go to the Learning & Inclusion Department who were kind enough to give us

some gorgeous samosas and other baked goods, and to the Year 12s who assisted with the tea and coffee service during the day. Thanks to everyone who attended the Lip Sync Battle: we hope you all loved it as much as we did! We managed to raise a lot of money (totals to be revealed in the next house assembly) which will all be going to the National Autistic Society! It’s been a slow but promising start for York this term with all of the York members achieving many positives and all doing their bit in extra – curricular activities. York have very exciting things coming up such as our joint enterprise day with Truro where

we can hopefully raise a lot of money for our chosen charity, Breast cancer UK. Do pencil in the 20th of January in your diaries – we expect to see you all there raising money and having a great day! And of course, York also has the great success of winning Year 10 football interform – well done! We really hope that the rest of York can follow 10Y’s example and win some more events. There was also the house music competition, with our exceptionally talented music captain Maria Ghaly, organising our wonderful performers. Unfortunately, we lost out on the winning title to Canterbury, but a huge well done goes to those who participated in the competition as it was undoubtedly a great success. Fountains enterprise day entailed raising lots of money for our chosen charity: Barnardo’s. The main event was the lip sync battle between the R.E, Humanities, Science and English departments in the performance centre, which the R.E department won with the song Wannabe – Spice Girls. Thanks to you guys, we sold out of cakes and Krispy Kremes. House Music came soon after, where a large group of year 11’s and 12’s sung Love Never Felt So Good – Michael Jackson. Thank you to Amber (our Music Captain) who organised the group. Congratulations for coming second, it’s always nice to let others have a chance. Year 7, 10 & 11 did amazingly well in their football interform, and participation across the year groups has been incredible. We hope to see this contributing to our positive point total at the end of this term.

extracurricular activities. Four out of the five Ripon forms are in the top two in terms conduct points in their year. Well Done Ripon!

House System

The House Music Competition was a brilliant example Ripon’s musical ability. Thanks to participants from most of the forms in the house we were able to perform an excellent rendition of With or Without You by U2. In the end we came third just losing out to Canterbury and Fountains. Special thanks to Victoria Scott who made that great performance possible. Ripon has also had a sporty term. We’ve taken part in every interform and although our results are not always the best the energy and excitement of Ripon is intense and powerful. There are many more inter-forms coming up for all of you, so good luck. The Autumn Term has been very exciting for Durham. Already we have had our enterprise day which was a great success and led to us to raise lots of money for our newly chosen charity SANE. The day included a lip sync battle between the subject departments in the performance centre, a raffle for the teachers and of course our bake sale. Thank you to all the people who helped by baking cakes for us and everyone else for buying them. There was also the House Music Competition where Cara, our Music Captain, organised our performance of Eye of the Tiger. We had great

participation from many year 7s, 8s and even Mr Dadson joining our band in singing. Our excellent performance rewarded us with third place! Other Durham success occurred in interform competitions such as in the Sixth form bench ball competition where Durham made it to the final but narrowly missed out on a victory.

Canterbury’s purple has reigned supreme over Twyford this term, with the house finding success in its every endeavour. The various Interform Sports Competitions have given Canterbury’s budding athletes the chance to shine, with the most notable success coming as a fired up 12C bench ball team swept away the opposition to claim victory in the first competition of the year. However, the highlight was House Music. Canterbury’s top musicians from across the year groups came together to perform a rousing rendition of Take That’s ‘Shine’ that won the hearts of the judges and the crowds with Team Canterbury being crowned champions. The term also gave us the opportunity for Canterbury to choose a new charity to support and this year we are proud to support Meadow House Hospice. On the 3rd of February, Canterbury’s Enterprise Day will give us a wonderful opportunity to raise funds for this worthwhile cause and make a real difference to the care of their patients and their families. Get involved and long may purple reign!

Latest House Points

This term Ripon has been a prominent figure in Twyford life in both curricular and The Twyfordian |Autumn 2016

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The Christmas Concert Photography by Isaac Sunderland 12W1

What does the PTFA do?

Acts as a vital link between school and parents, helps your children by raising money for the school, puts on exciting events for you and your children, and helps promote and enhance a sense of community

What does the PTFA give you? An opportunity to make friends and a real sense of camaraderie. Please get involved, it is fun and rewarding

Twyford PTFA c/o Twyford C of E High School. Twyford Avenue, London W3 9PP [email protected]

An Easy Way to Help Us Raise Money

Did you know that you can support us and raise money for Twyford PTFA every time you shop and it doesn’t cost you a penny? Sign up today! www.easyfundraising.org.uk/ causes/twyfordcofehigh/

Our 50/50 Club gives away two cash prizes regularly. If you want to join in please [email protected] You’ve go to be in it to win it Following the very successful “Family Quiz Night” in November in which we raised over £900 for the school we are having another Adult Quiz Night on Saturday March 4th. More details to follow in the New Year. Please write it in your diaries and come along and have fun whilst supporting your children’s school.

Printed by Hill & Garwood Printing The Twyford Church of England Academies Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales. Registered number: 07648968 Registered Office: Twyford CofE High School, Twyford Crescent, Acton, London, W3 9PP