Category: General

A group of pupils enjoyed a trip to The National Museum of Computing in Bletchley Park as part of their studies. The Museum is an independent charity housing the world’s largest collection of functional historic computers, including the rebuilt Colossus, the world’s first electronic computer, and the WITCH, the world’s oldest working digital computer. The museum enables visitors to follow the development of computing from the ultra-secret pioneering efforts of the 1940s through the large systems and mainframes of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and the rise of personal computing in the 1980s and beyond.

The museum runs a highly successful Learning Programme for schools and colleges and promotes introductions to computer coding amongst young people, especially females, to inspire the next generation of computer scientists and engineers.

Pupil Voice

The guides were very informal and friendly. When they found out I was in sixth form they talked in more detail to me which was very good and I was able to see some extra parts of the museum. They explained all the information in detail and the activities, for example coding on the old and new computing, were very interesting and engaging.

– Bethany, year 12

I enjoyed the Bletchley Park trip because it combined history and computing. We were able to see what is inside computers and how they have evolved since they were invented. This was interesting as we could see the computing behind the programmes that we use in lessons.

– Emilia, year 9

On Monday evening the 21 finalists of this year’s #700STEMChallenge writing competition gathered to hear the final placing of their entries. We had even more entries this year, from schools across the country and so the judges had a hard decision to make as we had such a phenomenal range. The pupils had the choice to write around 700 words on any topic within Science, Technology & Engineering or Maths and then the entries were shortlisted into under 14, under 16 and under 18.

The evening kicked off with a fabulous presentation from Cyprian Njamma, Director of SEI Investments, discussing his path from school in Nigeria, through to Oxford University and how his passion for maths transferred to physics and then on to finance. He talked through the importance of maths to the financial industry and his passion for its universality, transferability and power in communication and was asked several probing questions about his role. Our year 12s launched a table quiz to test the STEM knowledge of pupils, parents and staff and we heard from our second judge, alumna and airline Captain, Olivia van Lieshout who spoke about the life of a pilot, from training through to receiving command and the decision making involved on every single flight that simply can’t be replaced by autopilot! She also shared easyJet’s campaign to encourage more women to train as pilots and how the airline now has 16% female pilots compared with the industry level of 5%. Her message was clear: if you’re interested, try a flying experience – you’ll catch the bug! As she had to fly early the next morning, she then presented her awards for the Technology & Engineering category. Our final judge, alumna, Consultant Cardiologist and Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Professor Diana Gorog spoke about her journey to Medicine and how she chose to focus on cardiology & the importance of combining compassion and strong communication skills in her work. Final message: do what you enjoy & reach for the stars!

Nominees and essay titles
(listed in alphabetical order by surname)
Science
U14:
Radiocarbon Dating The Shark That Time Forgot
– Emily Boland, Streatham & Clapham High School
The Discovery of a New Microscopic Vessel in the Leg Bone
– Gabrielle Hobson, Sheffield High School
What is changing as the Moon moves further away?
– Maya Vyas, Streatham & Clapham High School
U16:
Stress: its effect on the brain – Ashwini Garneti, Sheffield High School
The Periodic Table – Julia Grzywacz, Wimbledon High School
Why is glass transparent? – Asiya Qureshi, Northwood College for Girls
U18:
LIGO: The ultimate streaming app for Black Holes
– Samar Al-Haddad, Notting Hill & Ealing High School
Will doctors ever become extinct due to the existence of artificial intelligence?
– Madhulika Joglekar, Norwich High School
Neglected Tropical Diseases – Darcy Quist, Sydenham High School

Technology & Engineering
U14:
Is teleportation possible? – Tiffany Igharoro, Sydenham High School
Wind Turbine Rap! – Lara Kerr, Wimbledon High School
The Highs and Lows of Supersonic Passenger Planes – Elodie Owens, Sydenham High School
16:
Light activated robotic stingrays: – Ella Bolland, South Hampstead High School
Virtual Reality: A giant leap for medicine – Aditya Chougule, Wilson’s School
Quantum entanglement and teleportation – Constance Harris, Norwich High School
Has the film industry accurately portrayed space? – Samah Mughal, Wimbledon High School

Maths
U16:
About Right – Eleanor Roberts, South Hampstead High School
Mathematics: The Order and the Chaos – Amia Guha, Oxford High School
What is the most beautiful equation? – Morgan Lee, Sydenham High School
U18:
Journey of the number zero – Elena Gupta, Wimbledon High School
Quantum computing – Joshua Soyke-Pinon, Dulwich College

For the results please read our Finalists Magazine 2019

Wednesday morning saw the official launch of Black History Month at Sydenham High, with a fascinating assembly by Lolita Chakrabarti on the subject of Ira Aldridge.

As a RADA-qualified stage and screen actress and writer Lolita developed a passion for this previously forgotten actor and set about researching him for over 20 years. She produced a play about his life entitled Red Velvet, which premiered in 2012, and she explained that he should be considered one of the most important actors in British theatre’s history. The play won her the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the 2012 Evening Standard Awards, Most Promising Playwright at the Critics Circle Awards and the AWA Award for Arts and Culture in 2013. Red Velvet was also nominated for an Olivier Award in 2013 and Adrian Lester was nominated for an Olivier in 2016 for his portrayal of Ira Aldridge. He said of the actor:

For Ira to have achieved so much at a time when society thought so little, is a testament to his tenacity and hard work.

As the UK’s first black Shakespearean actor he was honoured in 2017 with the unveiling of a blue plaque in Coventry, the city where he had been manager at Coventry Theatre after impressing the people of the city with his acting during a tour in 1828 aged just 21. The impression he made during his time there is credited with inspiring Coventry’s petition to Parliament for the abolition of slavery.

Lolita told us about his life story, from his humble beginnings in America in 1807 to his travels to the UK given the difficulties for him being a black actor during the time of slavery, and on to his many travels throughout Europe. She described his profound impact on reviewers as a phenomenal actor but explained that he was written out of history because of the hostile environment that he was performing in.

Outside of London, he played to crowded houses, but was boycotted by the West End stage. Undeterred by the hostility he faced, he became the first black actor to perform at Covent Garden, playing the role of Othello for two nights. Sadly he was hounded by a racist campaign and it is thought that the theatre reviewers were bribed to tarnish his reputation. He never performed at Covent Garden again and, in 1852, Aldridge and his family sailed for Europe.

After his death in Poland in 1867, he was given a state funeral – such was his standing in the community across Europe. Lolita also told us that he lived on Hamlet Road in Crystal Palace with his wife and children and that his youngest daughter, Amanda, gave elocution lessons to Paul Robeson in 1930 when he was preparing for his first appearance as Othello in London.

To find out more about this fascinating man please visit the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s online exhibition.

Our Political Awareness Club, led by year 13 Maddy Gowers, was delighted to host Ellie Reeves MP for Lewisham West and Penge at their first meeting of the year on Wednesday 3 October.

Ms Reeves described her journey to becoming elected in 2017, after a whirlwind campaign during the snap election, when her local seat became available after 25 years. Prior to becoming an MP, she qualified as an employment law barrister and had started a business from home offering employment rights advice to women and families, but had always been an active member of the Labour party. She explained that usually it is not so quick a route to becoming an MP and takes years of campaigning but now that she has her seat she is very keen to talk about women in politics and ensure that the profession is not off-putting.

The group heard about her observations from the last 18 months and her ideas for reform towards a more modern, family friendly parliament, from the old fashioned language and processes (such as the system for registering in voting lobbies, which she feels ought to be available electronically as an alternative) to the time that MPs are expected to sit, she explained that she is campaigning for change. Despite the leaps that have been made so far, she feels that much more can be done. An interesting topic was that of MPs who have children whilst in post and the fact that, currently, there is no formal arrangement for women who take time off when they have a baby, but merely an informal arrangement where MPs ‘pair’ with another member from the opposition who will abstain from voting in order to cancel each other out. Of course, this is not transparent and can break down but she feels that there will imminently be an official arrangement for ‘baby leave’ such as a proxy vote. The more women elected, the more likely change will happen.

Ms Reeves explained that she is currently on conference recess and is therefore able to meet with constituents from pensioners to school pupils to local businesses and how much she enjoys her job as it is so varied and rewarding, despite its challenges – especially in the current Brexit climate!

As an aspiring politician, it was amazing to be able to hear from a real life MP about what it’s like to work in the House of Commons and be able to participate in and handle the responsibility that comes with the representative democracy that we are a part of.

– Maddy Gowers, year 13