On Friday the 29th of September the Year 12 Government and Politics students visited the Houses of Parliament. The trip allowed students to bring our studies to life and fleetingly experience what we have been learning in one of our A Level units about the British constitution and the powers of Parliament.

After a short train journey we arrived at Westminster, greeted by the familiar buildings we’ve seen on the news (and in textbooks!). We were then given some time in small groups to explore, eat and compete in a challenge of which group could take the most (and to some extent funny) photos and tweet them to the politics department on twitter (@PresdalesPols). Through this light-hearted challenge, we got to visit a variety of sights, including Downing Street, Big Ben, the Supreme Court and multiple offices such as the Cabinet Office.

After posing with an assortment of notable individuals (unfortunately in statue form) we reconvened to be given a tour around the Houses of Parliament. We were able to view the two different chambers, along with the Queen’s robing room, the lobbies and more. In doing so, we were quizzed on our knowledge from class along with learning more about the history of Parliament and the different duties of the Houses. Following our tours, we attended a debating workshop and learnt about the essentials of debating in Parliament; to put this in to context, we split into two groups and debated the question of ‘Should school uniforms be banned?’ seeing some very passionate responses from each side.

The day was both fascinating and enjoyable, leaving some students with the hope of someday working in Westminster. Consequently, we’d like to thank Mr Spurgeon and Miss Powell for organising such a fantastic trip and hope to see next year’s cohort enjoy it too!

Katie Adamson and Maisie Mautterer, Year 12

106 Year 8 pupils and 12 members of staff recently took part in a very successful and extremely enjoyable four-day French Trip to the Opal Coast.

Two coaches of pupils and teachers left Presdales School early on Monday morning and, after taking the Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais, arrived safely at their destination in Boulogne-sur-mer in time for lunch. In the afternoon, each coach group made a visit to ‘Nausicaa’, a sealife centre in Boulogne which specialises in educational and entertaining insights into the world of the oceans. Pupils enjoyed walking around and looking at the many tanks of freshwater and seawater life.

Once we arrived at our accommodation, we unpacked, settled in and had dinner. Later in the evening, girls grouped together to write their diary entries in French in their trip work booklets, and did some language work in preparation for the next day’s activities. The second day began with a visit to ‘Les Escargots du Bocage’, a snail farm, situated in the nearby countryside. They were firstly given a tour of the farm and then they were invited to sit in the shady courtyard of the farm to taste snail paté on toast, snails prepared in garlic butter and home-made jam, made from a variety of fruit grown on the farm. Despite reservations, almost everybody tasted the snails and many were pleasantly surprised, with some even going back for seconds.

After a picnic lunch on the beach at the beautiful, coastal town of le Touquet, the afternoon was spent completing a town trail. Many of the girls took time to do a bit of shopping, buy ice creams or order a drink in one of the many cafés, taking the opportunity to practise their spoken French.

The pupils were very excited about the planned activities for the third day which began with a trip to ‘Aqualud’, a big water park with waves and slides in le Touquet. The afternoon consisted of a visit to ‘Le Fond des Communes’, a goat’s cheese farm close to the village of ‘Montcavrel’, where they had the opportunity to ‘meet’ the goats and all the other farm animals. They then learnt how the goat’s cheese was made on the farm and even got to taste some in the farmhouse. The girls also made a visit to ‘Leclerc’, a huge hypermarket, where they were each given some Euros to complete a shopping task. This involved buying something typically French to take home and share with their families when they returned. When the girls made their final diary entries in their work booklets that evening, they also did a ‘show and tell’ about their shopping task purchases.

The teachers and the staff at the accommodation and visits were extremely impressed by the excellent attitude and behaviour of the Year 8 girls throughout the trip. The polite and friendly way in which they conducted themselves and their commendable efforts to practise their French during their four day stay in France meant they were a real credit to the school and a pleasure to take.

Madame Rowe

Ciao!

In the (very) early hours of the morning of Tuesday the 28th March, we hopped on the coach and headed to Rome; our journey was just beginning…

After the fun that was baggage reclaim, excitement bubbling in our bellies, we stepped outside and were welcomed with sunny Rome rays! Our first stop was the Trevi Fountain and a cheeky gelato break! We were introduced to the wonder that is banana sorbet! All of the coins thrown into the Trevi Fountain are collected and donated to an orphanage, which is favoloso!

We had dinner at a train station, era delizioso! After we had finished our evening meal, the early start caught up with us and as soon as we arrived back at the Nord Nuova Hotel (which was lovely, by the way!), we fell fast asleep, anticipating tomorrow’s adventure.

The next day, we visited the Colosseum, the Roman Forum (probably the oldest buildings we will ever see – dating back to 81AD!), Capitoline Hill, where we saw some stunning views, and last but not least, a triple-church (three churches built on top of each other). We had a stupendo din dins at a pizzeria.

On our last full day a Roma, we decided to take a journey on the metro to the Vatican City (which was amazing!); era molto bella! We then took a stroll through the beautiful cobbled streets to the Pantheon, where another gelato stop was made! We then got back on the metro and went to dinner – at a cute little ristorante!

Our last day had arrived (cue sad music) and shopping was on our minds! There were shops ranging from sciarpe to cioccolato! We were allowed to choose where we ate lunch, and we (Saf and Alice) found ourselves in a quaint little bar where we ate pizza and pasta; it was truly magical! After purchasing some souvenirs and other items, we ventured to the oldest ice cream factory in Rome; there were millions of delicious gelato flavours to choose from including frutti di bosco, rice pudding, and liquorice!

Our time in Rome was coming to an end, and we couldn’t believe we were leaving after having such a memorable time. We arrived at the airport and said arrivederci to Roma.

On behalf of the students who went, we’d like to thank Mrs Evenden, Miss Jennings and Miss Bray for organising and taking us on this amazing trip; we truly had a fantastico time! (Also we’d like to thank Rome for being so beautiful and historic!).

Grazie and thanks for reading, Un bacio,

Alice Webb and Safia Sipi

On Wednesday 8th March 2017, nine Year 9 students went to Harlow College for an exciting Engineering Workshop with Bloodhound SSC, organised by STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Bloodhound SSC is a British owned and manufactured supersonic car which is attempting to break the World Land Speed Record – they are aiming to reach 1050 mph which means they could break the barrier of sound! The Bloodhound education project, created with STEM, hopes to inspire future generations to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – they host several workshops like the one we attended in Harlow.

When we arrived at the new HAMEC centre – or Harlow’s Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Centre – we were surprised to see the Bloodhound SSC straight away! At first we thought it looked like a small plane or submarine but realised it was the soon-to-be record-breaking car! Shortly after, we were given an interesting and informative introduction to the car and the company by Mike Ford, Bloodhound’s STEM Communicator. What stuck out the most for us was the enthusiasm and encouragement, especially for girls, to aspire to have careers in STEM. Following this assembly, we were sorted into groups and began our activities.

Our first activity was a tour of the Bloodhound SSC itself, led by Mike Ford. We learnt about the science and engineering behind the car: for example, it is powered by a jet engine – the same type used in Eurofighter Typhoon planes – and also that it is made of layered carbon fibre and 3D-printed titanium. A memorable moment of the talk was when Mr. Ford sprayed rocket fuel into a combustion tube and proceeded to light it. What happened a second later made us jump – the lid was now on the other side of the room!

Next, we met Jas Thandi, who is part of the event team, for a design challenge. Our task was to make a plan for the base camp of Bloodhound SSC and its team; it had to include accommodation, security, some way to monitor the weather, how to get water and food supplies, a recreational activity, workshops/garages and storage. After being told that we had to complete this within half an hour, all the Presdales teams set off to a roaring start. There were ideas all around and the teamwork was at its best – everyone was enjoying this challenge! Finally, half an hour had passed, and it was time to present our designs to Jas and the other students. All three Presdales teams had excellent, innovative plans and were very creative – we included a shuttle bus and even helipads to our designs! One Presdales team – consisting of Millie-Anne, Saidhriti and Ayesha – won the challenge.

Our final activity took place after a long lunch break – a Knex challenge led by Chris Rockard, whereby teams had to make cars that would be powered by an air pressure cylinder which they had to be able to support as well as allow the car model to roll. Some teams found it difficult, but others had already made half of their cars! Fortunately, one Presdales team’s car had run successfully and for quite a long distance, gaining a place on the top 3! Two Presdales students were also featured in an interview which was displayed on a TV at the HAMEC open event later on that day.

In our opinion, we enjoyed this event because it was extremely informative and inspiring. We were very happy to see the amount of encouragement given to students to go into STEM careers – particularly girls. On behalf of the nine Presdales students who were given the opportunity to attend this event, we would like to say a big thank you to the Presdales Science Department, Harlow College and the Bloodhound SSC staff for organising an educational and beneficial day.

Saidhriti Siddantham and Ayesha Unadkat, Year 9