2020 Leicestrian The 2020 Contents INTRODUCTORY 04 SCHOOL-WIDE EVENTS 06 CORONAVIRUS CLOSURE PERIOD 23 FOUNDATION DAY ESSAYS 38 CHARITIES 52 ART 55 CLASSICS 64 ENGLISH & DRAMA 67 CREATIVE WRITING 72 DT & FOOD TECHNOLOGY 74 HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY & RS 78 MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES 82 MUSIC 85 SCIENCE 93 SPORTS 98 EDITOR Mrs Marlene Higginson SUB-EDITORS Patrick Wang – Charities, Manraj Jaswal – Music 6TH FORM WRITERS & INTERVIEWERS Mila Boersma, Sam Dexter, Alice Dobson, Priya Ganatra Elliot Green, Georgina Holmes, William House, Charlotte Lewis, Emily MacTaggart, Annabelle Onions, Mia Rhodes, Noah Wessel, Vaidehi Samani. 03 THE LEICESTRIAN A Word from the Headmaster Mr Watson he Foundation Essay title of ‘My Favourite Fictional Character’ has perhaps resonated “T with all of us during a period when we may have felt at times that we are playing a role in some very strange fiction! It is doubtful that any of us could have dreamt up the story of which we have been a part over the last few months. Schools closed on 20th March, and a full timetable of lessons, tutorials, children on a daily basis, and the Years 11 and 13 suffered the huge house challenges and assemblies, Design Technology department disappointment of knowing that making very good progress via a worked with some of those they would not have the opportunity blend of videoconferencing and children over the Easter holiday to prove their worth in public independent learning. The last to manufacture an incredible examinations. They reacted with weeks of the Trinity Term, after 11,400 visors for the NHS – maturity, working with their teachers internal assessments, saw online which were very gratefully and engaging positively with a charity, well-being, arts and sports received and which feature on different sort of purposeful educational days, as well as work-related the colourful front cover. provision throughout the Trinity Term. learning and university preparation I have been hugely impressed by the in small groups in school. Our As I write, we have already had to many creative ways in which staff and learning curve has been very reinvent much of what we do and, pupils have made the most of a high- steep, but teachers and pupils rose encouraged by the Government’s quality remote learning experience very quickly to the technological plan to bring all children back in and strong sense of community – challenges, nevertheless missing September, we are therefore well even whilst apart. Fresh challenges the fun of being in school. prepared for the next round of and new Government guidance have planning. The current crisis has frequently come our way, but we have With so many parents in the been all-absorbing but it should been nimble and adaptable in our medical profession, we have not cloud our celebration of the response, sometimes virtually solving provided key worker provision many successes from earlier this the insoluble! Pupils have been offered across the Trust for up to 80 academic year. We recorded some 04 INTRODUCTORY record examination results last summer; we were Curiosity: independence, initiative, creativity, declared ‘Excellent’ in the (only) two categories spark, self-awareness, scholarship of Pupils’ Achievements and Pupils’ Personal Community: equality, service, empathy, compassion, Development in a full Educational Quality Inspection; collaboration, inclusiveness, selflessness we were found fully compliant with the 400 + regulations (most relating to safeguarding and health The warm relationships between pupils, and & safety) by the inspectorate; and we were crowned between pupils and staff, remain key to the East Midlands Independent Senior School of the happiness and success of our school community. year 2020 by the Sunday Times. With Trustees, we Every year sees some fond farewells but we also developed a new mission statement for the Trust, as benefit from attracting some very worthy successors. well as a new set of aims: Of particular note this year is the retirement of Mr Richard Longson, Head of Careers Development, The Leicester Grammar School Trust seeks to be after a remarkable 38 years’ exceptional service to an inspiring centre for co-educational excellence the Trust. He was there virtually from the beginning in academic and personal development, within a of Leicester Grammar School, daily parking his car Christian ethos. over Richard III’s body alongside Leicester Cathedral! In order to fulfil this mission, the school aims to: Very sadly, we lost Tom to cancer in June, after a very courageous battle. He formed a very special ► Promote intellectual curiosity and academic bond with his dog during his illness and, when he excellence. entered end-of-life care, we decided to raise funds ► Provide a broad, balanced and stimulating for Pets as Therapy. The response of our community curriculum. was phenomenal, with almost £21,000 raised in just over a week. Tom was aware of the inspiration ► Offer a rich range of co-curricular he had provided, and we shall be working with the opportunities which enhance pupils’ physical, charity to ensure regular visits to school by a therapy cultural and personal development. dog as a lasting tribute to him. His family remains in ► Equip pupils with the self-belief, our thoughts and prayers at such a painful time. consideration and skills required for a principled and fulfilling life. 2020 is a year that none of us will forget, but I hope our young people will emerge with a generosity of ► Create a happy and mutually- supportive community of learners and staff, spirit which will help them play an important part in in which each individual is encouraged and making our world a better place. They no doubt have enabled to do and be their best. exciting stories ahead of them, where many will be the protagonists who make a real difference to the lives ► Care for the mental and emotional well-being of those around them. We shall continue to have high of pupils, and be proactive in the promotion expectations – not only of what our pupils can achieve, of a healthy lifestyle. but also and primarily of who they turn out to be. ► Welcome pupils of diverse backgrounds and faiths, nurturing their social and spiritual development. ► Foster a generous contribution to charity, community service and society. “The Leicestrian” is no work With pupils, we chose the values which should of fiction. It tells the tale of a inform our planning and underpin all our endeavours: remarkable“ community. Respect: for self, others and our environment; kindness, courtesy, humility, tolerance, care, encouragement “The Leicestrian” is no work of fiction. It tells the tale of a remarkable community, and I am grateful to Mrs Trust: honesty, integrity, responsibility, self- Higginson, her editorial team, our contributors and discipline all our pupils and staff for filling its pages to such Courage: determination, resilience, perseverance, colourful and vibrant effect. commitment, enthusiasm, self-belief, challenge 05 THE LEICESTRIAN A Word from the Head Boy Nicholas Njopa-Kaba I’m not sure which is more unlikely: the fact that I have certainly been pushed out of my comfort zone many of my peers and I will somehow avoid taking over the last seven years: in house events (my blood our A-Levels or the fact that at Leicester Grammar bleeds yellow for Masters), on the rugby pitch, on the School I have witnessed a solar eclipse and played stage, and in the classroom. No matter how much you the saxophone for the President of Malta. How much may hate the thought of something at first, you learn has changed over my time here: many staff come and so much more about yourself when you are out of your gone, a new wing added – completely disregarding comfort zone and I would encourage everyone to take the previous naming scheme – and gone are the days the opportunities that present themselves, preserve when the bell meant the end of the lesson. Nowadays it an open mind and give everything your best. There is more likely just 1:00 pm Monday afternoon. are many feelings I will miss about LGS: getting to the school twitter page, a fire drill interrupting your lesson Having spent seven years here, I have met so many at the perfect time, the first time you play football people, made lifelong friends and had truly life- on the field in the warmer months, and strolling changing experiences. Somehow I have found myself into school after you get the foyer door fingerprint- knee-deep in mud, next to an Irish Fjord, with a music reader to work on the first attempt. Although there is concert later that same day. The Battlefields trip and something sad about saying goodbye, I feel prepared visiting Auschwitz have changed the way that I look at to move on and start to make my mark in the wider life, pushing me to contemplate my own understanding world. It has been an honour to be Head Boy of the of humanity. The staff at LGS make the school what it most exciting, young independent school out there. I is. Every single one of them has great character and am so fortunate to have been able to share my time at has inspired me to be passionate about learning in LGS with the great people that make up my year group general, but I must highlight my personal tutor, Mr. and cannot wait to see the amazing things they go on Allen, without whom my time at Leicester Grammar to do with their lives. I am proud to call myself an Old School would not have been the same. Leicestrian and to be a part of the Class of 2020. A Word from the Head Girl Francesca Jones After five years at LGS, it is remarkable how many opportunities the school has given me, This time from the Singapore and Malaysia sports tour last year when we almost found ourselves trapped the thought in the mall overnight, to picking up a new of being instrument only two years ago.