Upper Sixth classicist Martyn

Law writes, ‘The 2015

Classics and History trip to

Italy was nothing short of

outstanding. The sightseeing

tour of Sorrento and Rome

was wonderful and provided

such an incredible experience.

Starting on the west coast of

Italy, we visited Naples and,

when not dodging the

infamous Italian traffic,

explored the ancient Roman

settlements of Pompeii and

Herculaneum. The volcanically

preserved remains of these

sites gave an astounding

glimpse into the life and time

of the Romans - standing in

the centre of the large

amphitheatre, walking down

the long cobbled roads and

even seeing the preserved

remains of the last inhabitants

- they were truly amazing

spectacles to behold. We also

visited the Archaeological

Museum at Naples which

housed a fantastic collection

of sculpture from the Classical

period, from statues of

Hercules to mosaics of

Alexander the Great in battle.

From our hotel in Sorrento, we

were able to explore the town

and experience Italian life,

mainly in the form of their

pizzerias and gelataria.

We stopped en route to Rome

to visit Monte Cassino; the

Italian monastery on top of

this rocky hill was extensively

bombed in the Second World

War. Although the current site

is a reconstruction, it doesn’t

fail to create a serene,

peaceful atmosphere when

Awe-inspiring sights give glimpse of Ancient World

walking through the white

marble courtyard or observing

the wonderful views of the

valley below. The monastery is

very much worth a visit, even if

it does take you a while to get

to the summit.

Rome, ‘The Eternal City’, is an

incredible place. It holds some

of the most amazing Roman

constructs and ruins within

and outside its walls, not to

mention the non-Roman sights.

The Monument of Victor

Emmanuel II, known as the

Wedding Cake, is incredible to

witness in all its white marble

glory, as is St. Peter’s Basilica,

home of the Catholic Church,

in the centre of the Vatican

City. Although the latter was a

long walk from our hotel, it was

certainly worth it to see such

an important religious and

historical building. We also

visited the Pantheon, a domed

building and the best preserved

example of Roman architecture

in the world, which was

absolutely spectacular to

behold in all its glory, kept

today as a church. The

fantastic architecture of the

dome and the wide open,

empty space created an

atmosphere similar to that of

Monte Cassino – serene, calm,

and peaceful. The Colosseum

was another dominant

landmark of Rome, an awe-

inspiring sight if ever there was

one.

It was a sad moment when we

had to leave such a wondrous

city and lovely country behind,

but we all left it with happy

memories and fulfilled

experiences. I think I can speak

for everyone on the trip in

saying thank you to Mr Barnsley

for both leading and organising

such an amazing experience for

all of us. It is one we’ll certainly

never forget.’

headlinesheadlinesheadlines The newsletter for Bay House Sixth Form

Issue 31: April 2015

Inside this issue:

Auschwitz commemoration 2

Lord Stoneham Politics visit 2

Young engineers triumph 3

Bafta winner Daisy Jacobs 3

Psychology investigation 4

Geography Award winner 4

Diary Dates 4

The trip concluded with an open-

top bus tour of Rome (the

Colosseum is in the background)

“they were truly

amazing spectacles

to behold”

Page 2 headlines

Bay House Sixth Form recently

hosted a visit from a member of

the House of Lords to boost

students’ understanding of the

political and parliamentary

process.

Lord Stoneham met with Sixth

Form Politics students for an

hour to talk about the work and

role of the House of Lords. This

was followed by a question and

answer session – which

included such diverse topics as

the forthcoming election,

reforming the House of Lords,

university fees, the coalition

and Nick Clegg’s leadership, as

well as various aspects of the

parliamentary process and life

at Westminster generally.

Callum Morling commented,

‘Lord Stoneham didn’t shy away

from questions on his views, the

Lib Dems and his controversial

uncovering of Fred Goodwin’s

super injunction. I enjoyed what

he had to say, and as a man

who knew what it’s like, it was

fascinating to hear of life inside

the Lords, and the political world

in general. As someone who

wants to enter the political

world, it was great to hear from

someone who was part of it all.’

Michael Parker added, “Lord

Stoneham was very informative

and he spoke with reference to

his widespread experience.

Gaining his perspective on

issues that were important to us,

such as student loans and his

forecast for 2015 - which didn't

come entirely without a smidge

of respectful bias - helped us

to not only understand his

position and influence in the

House of Lords, but also to

aspire to connect with more

localised members of

parliament in our own

constituency.’

The visit was arranged by

Politics teacher Mrs Cotton,

through the Lord Speaker’s

‘Peers in Schools’ programme.

70 years since the liberation of

Auschwitz-Birkenau, Religious

Studies student Molly Hudson

reflects on her experience

of witnessing the death camp

and the lessons learnt from

the Holocaust.

‘No one can

ever prepare

you for going

to a place

such as

Auschwitz. On

the outside,

the

concentration

camps look

fairly

harmless. The

red-bricked

buildings

looked

innocently

like barracks, designed for

soldiers; people. It was

certainly not a place where

hundreds of people would be

stuffed like badly-treated

animals on beds of straw. This

was surely not where actual

people worked until they died.

But what was I expecting? It’s

difficult to put into words what

they came out or not,

discovered the hard way what

terrible things the human race

is capable of. For a while the

victims of the Holocaust were

just numbers, but while I was

there I realised that each

individual had a life like yours

or mine. They all had a

personality, colour, interests;

something for the Nazis to

take from them.

We are told time and time not

to pick on people because

they’re different, so much so it

becomes meaningless. But

that day I truly learnt how

quickly dislike and

discrimination turn to down-

right hate and death. We were

urged during the weeks before

the visit, and while we were

actually there, to remember

the individuals who were

made to work and die in this

man-made hell. They were

people. By forgetting this

simple, yet imperative fact, by

forgetting the individuals and

remembering the numbers, we

have let the Nazis win, even

after all these years.’

one expects when they go to a

place of such suffering. There

were cells underground too,

where people were tortured or

‘experimented’ on because

the sadistic Nazi scientists

thought that their victims

weren’t human, and were

therefore

allowed to

do what

they

pleased.

Personally, I

wanted to

leave the

moment I

arrived. Just

like every

other visitor,

I didn’t want

to walk

beneath the

“arbeit macht frei” gate, and

walking into the gas chamber

was the last thing on earth any

of the visitors wanted to do. It

was, and still is, grotesque

that a sane human being,

again like you or me, was

actually planning and doing

this. Every individual that

walked through the gates, if

Religious Studies students visit Auschwitz for 70 year commemoration

Lord Stoneham visits Politics class

“I still believe, in spite of

everything, that people are

truly good at heart. I simply

can't build my hopes on a

foundation of confusion,

misery, and death. I hear the

approaching thunder that,

one day, will destroy us too; I

feel the suffering of millions.

And yet, when I look up at the

sky, I somehow feel that this

cruelty too shall end, and

that peace and tranquillity

will return once again.”

Anne Frank

Page 3 headlines

Former student Daisy Jacobs wins Bafta and Oscar nomination

Former student Daisy Jacobs

(pictured centre), who left Bay

House Sixth Form in 2006,

was delighted to win a Bafta

at this year’s award ceremony

and to receive a prestigious

Oscar nomination.

On her return from Los

Angeles, Daisy visited Bay

House to meet up with former

teachers and talk to students

about her experiences in the

world of animation and what

she had done since leaving

the Sixth Form. Following her

A Levels in Fine Art, English

Language & Literature,

German and Graphics, she

studied at Central Saint

Martin’s University where she

started her career in

animation.

She won her Bafta for the

Best Short Animation for The

Bigger Picture, which features

Daisy’s life-size drawings and

tells a darkly humorous story

of caring for an elderly

relative.

Daisy used a technique that

she learned while at the

National Film and Television

School, which has seen her

win other awards, including

the Fremantle Media UK New

Talent Award at the Women in

Film and Television Awards in

December.

In an interview with The

Guardian newspaper, Daisy

revealed that the eight-minute

film took her a year to make.

All the characters in the film

are painted onto a wall,

slightly larger-than-life, with

3D arms that project out and

large number of interested

parties from junior ratings to

admirals who were all

impressed with their

professional approach. The first

two runs of the vessel in the test

tanks were plagued with

technical problems. Despite this

the team unexpectedly reached

the final. After a very rushed

preparation both team and

A group of talented Lower Sixth

students beat off some tough

competition to win a Young

Engineers challenge at HMS

Sultan.

Daniel Ellis, David Saunders,

Benjamin Barry and Joseph

Mills (pictured left to right) have

spent the last few weeks

designing and constructing a

remote controlled vessel to

clear a simulated disaster zone

of debris.

Forty-two other teams were

involved with UTCs from across

the UK as well as Navy teams

and BAE Systems. During the

day they had to give a

presentation to a panel of

judges as well as answer

questions on their vessel.

Their vessel attracted a great

deal of interest due to the fact

that the students had designed

and constructed it all

themselves and not just

purchased commercial

resources as some teams had.

During the day they spoke to a

vessel performed amazingly well

to clinch a well-deserved victory.

By the end of the day the

students had won the Best

Design and Construction

Award swiftly followed by the

Overall Winners Award!! (and

£400!)

This resulted in them becoming

stars for the day with a queue of

people wanting to interview

them, ranging from admirals

to the BBC. Once again the

students were very

professional and a credit to

their Sixth Form and to

organising teacher Mr Last.

The trophies and vessel are

currently available to view in

the Technology Block.

Young Engineers beat over forty other teams to secure trophy at HMS Sultan

interact with the set. Every

movement, however subtle,

required a complete repaint.

Daisy’s visit to Bay House was

very well-received by sixth

formers who gained a

fascinating insight into her work

and what has motivated her to

succeed.

Friday 22 May

Upper Sixth Leavers’

Assembly and Celebration

Thursday 25 and Friday 26

June

Sixth Form Taster Days

(provisional enrolment on

Friday 26 June)

Wednesday 8 July

Donate-a-Day

Friday 17 July

Last day of term

Thursday 13 August

A Level results day

Wednesday 2 September

Lower Sixth collect

timetables

Thursday 3 September

Upper Sixth collect

timetables

………........headlines was written, produced and designed ‘in house’ with help from students and staff of Bay House Sixth Form………….…..

..dates for the diary..

Daniel wins prestigious Geographical Association Award

Congratulations to Daniel

Sparshott on winning a

nationally recognised award

presented by the Geographical

Association.

Daniel, who is also studying

Biology, English Literature, and

English Language, wrote a

wonderful piece that challenged

the stereotypical images of

poverty in Africa. He examined

the poverty of some of the

white ethnic groups within

South African society, reflecting

that poverty extends

unexpectedly beyond racial

groups. Winning the

competition provided Daniel

with a notable cash prize. ‘This

was the best paid hour of my

life,’ he beamed.

Amy Jackson, who studies

Biology, Chemistry and

Mathematics along with

Geography, was also awarded

‘highly commended’ for her

researched work. She reflects:

‘It will help with my university

applications and CV and give

me a talking point in my

interviews’.

AS Level students have been

learning about one of the most

iconic social psychology

experiments of all time: Stanley

Milgram’s electric shock ruse,

writes Psychology teacher Mrs

Cheriton.

Influenced by the trial of Nazi

war criminal Eichmann, and his

infamous defence line ‘I was

only following orders’, Milgram

hypothesised that the German

people must be ‘wired’

differently to obey authority at

the expense of their own moral

values. It came as a huge

shock when the pilot study

revealed that the American

participants were all willing to

administer potentially lethal

electric shocks of 300 volts.

Milgram’s hypothesis was

clearly incorrect and revealed

the sobering truth: that we are

all capable of betraying

ourselves in deference to

authority. Numerous

psychological studies illustrate

why we are obedient and the

factors that are crucial to

secure obedience; think of

Derren Brown and you’ll be

along the right lines. Students’

reactions to the research and

the associated implications

have been varied and whilst

some accept that they may be

especially susceptible to

authority, others are adamant

that they would disobey an

authority figure when the

commands required them to

act in ways that breached their

personal values and moral

codes. Lower Sixth student

Jordan Clark said, ‘It’s really

made me think about how

society demands obedience

and I wish that I could say that

I’m not obedient anymore!’.

Emily Sparshott added, ‘I’ve

realised how everyone is

capable of being obedient to a

level that they couldn’t even

begin to imagine’.

Could we ever truly know how

we would react unless we were

immersed in such a scenario -

what are your thoughts?

The social psychology unit

heralds a new section of

learning on psychopathology

which involves students

researching mental illness

along with how it is defined,

explained and treated by a

variety of psychological

approaches. A favourite area of

study with students every year

is the psychodynamic approach

and to celebrate this

enthusiasm and curiosity

students have been to London

to visit the Psychology

exhibition at the Science

Museum, as well as the Freud

Museum where they explored

Freud’s home and his rather

unique collection of

‘unusual’ (some might even

say bizarre…) statues and

curiosities that are still laid out

for all to see.

Psychology students consider their susceptibility to the power of authority