The Clyst Mail June 2016 Issue Five Clyst Vale Community College ALL THE SCHOOL’S A STAGE Four hundred years ago, William Shakespeare Steven Spielberg in his direction of ‘The Tem- Twelfth Night”. died of a cause that no historian has been able pest’? Will Miss Mann need maths to calculate to determine. A turn of fate could have caused the complexities of ‘Romeo and Juliet’? And I This festival is not set out to be the average Clyst his manuscripts to be lost and buried, along with think we’re all excited to see how Mr Simpson Vale performance and will offer more of an in- the stories and characters that were so loved and Miss Gilborson will unleash their inner teractive experience for the audience. Various over the estimated 20 years that he was writing. Kanye West with their rapping chorus for ‘Much locations will be used across the school for mul- Instead, for four hundred years his works have Ado About Nothing’. tiple plays to be performed at the same time been celebrated, studied, performed and ad- meaning that the audience will be able watch During these nights of festivities there will also mired all over the world. This year it’s Clyst and enjoy a variety of styles and genres at their be a performance of the tragedy ‘Macbeth’ di- Vale’s turn. own accord. rected by Miss Brotherton, the mystical ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ as co-ordinated by Miss Williams and ‘Othello’, brought to life by Mr O’Brian . Clyst Vale’s Sixth Form performing arts group will also be performing their contem- porary version of ‘King Lear’, with the challenge of multi-roleplaying and self-direction testing their creative abilities. Not only have an assortment of teachers taken on the challenge of a 17th century play, a great number of students spanning across all year groups have shown a keen interest in getting involved. Some older students are helping to On July the 6th and 7th, a Shakespearean extrava- This festival coincides with many celebratory direct, and for some of the younger students this ganza will be taking place at our school which events going on this year across the UK and al- will be their first acting experience! Amelia Hop- will give audiences the chance to experience a lows the whole school to get involved with the kinson from year 10, who previously starred as number of the Bard’s greatest tragedies, histo- beauty of Shakespeare’s classic works. However Cinderella in ‘Into The Woods’, has said that “I'm ries and comedies. This event is being coordinat- a big audience will be needed and at just £5 a taking part in ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘Romeo and ed by the head of drama, Miss Ruscoe, who has ticket for three shows it’s definitely a date for Juliet’, rehearsals so far have been great fun and not only taken on ‘Twelfth Night’ to direct but the diaries! I'm looking forward to playing a more serious has encouraged a variety of other teachers to role as Juliet and a comedic role as Maria in Sophie Ellis get involved. Will Mr Bailey become the next TAKE NOTE OF THE EU VOTE As we have been exploring in our previous is- security in trade. The most significant support former Treasury Adviser under Alistair Darling. sues, the upcoming referendum (which takes that the stay campaign has comes from our own With all of this support, the stay campaign has place on 23rd June) will decide whether Britain Prime Minister, David Cameron. plenty of funding. remains in the European Union (EU), or decides The counter argument to remaining in the EU to ‘Brexit’. With the day just under a month comes from the ‘Vote Leave’ campaign, claiming away, the Clyst Mail examines the two official we need to ‘take back control’ of our country’s campaigns and their successes up to now. money and laws. Their website claims ‘We The campaign hoping to persuade the majority should stop sending £350 million per week to to stay in the EU has titled itself ‘Britain Stronger unelected politicians in Brussels, and spend our in Europe’. Their website outlines their strongest money on our priorities, like the NHS.’ arguments, claiming ‘We are stronger, better off Their main arguments for leaving come from and safer in Europe than we would be out on concerns about immigration, the number of our own,’ and ‘Why we’re stronger in: better countries that are now part of the EU, and the economy, better leadership, better security.’ The PM currently dedicates 2-3 days of his week amount of money that we give to the EU and spreading his pro-EU message around the coun- The main argument of the ‘Stronger in Europe’ how little we receive in return. try. Other key supporters include huge business campaign is that the European Union benefits us and political figures; including Stuart Rose, for- Continued on Page 2... in the UK more than it holds us back. It is a safe- mer Chair of Marks and Spencer and Will Straw, ty net for our economy and means we have IN THIS ISSUE: Endangered Trees ● PCC Controversy ● Leicester FC’s Victory 1

The Clyst Mail 2

Continued from Page 1... with 46% to the stay campaign’s 44%. There is Research has highlighted that older people are still plenty of time for the polls to swing howev- more likely to vote to leave the EU, while most They also feel that British MEPs should have er, and there is no saying how people will vote young people want to remain. Polls have also complete control over what happens in Britain, on the day. shown that voters in Scotland may swing the rather than EU politicians that operate from vote. Despite SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon’s de- Brussels, who were not elected by people in the sire to stay in the EU, most of her supporters say UK. they would vote to leave the EU. Those who support the Vote Leave campaign include former Boris Johnson, This referendum is undoubtedly of critical im- former Secretary of State for Education Michael portance, and the results will have an enormous Gove, and UKIP leader Nigel Farage. impact on the lives of everyone in Britain.

The support for Vote Leave is currently triumph- Neave Cunningham ing in the latest ICM poll, but only by a little way BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE? Currently, only three million hectares of the in Britain. However, are the trees ever actually many problems, as there is a limiting factor in United Kingdom consists of woodland, equating planted? the number of young trees in plant nurseries, to about 13% of the British landmass. The trees and that Countryside Stewardship pays £144 to Currently, our 13% woodland coverage is defi- and foliage of Britain play a vital role in our land- cut down a tree, but only £1.28 to plant one. nitely an improvement after World War One, scape: we can use them as timber; they store when we only had 5%, and the Forestry Commis- carbon; create habitats for the native British sion had to be formed to safeguard the limited species and even absorb air pollution. As hu- population we had. Annual planting levels have mans, we need trees and other plants to convert been at the same rate for the last forty years, so carbon dioxide in our atmosphere into oxygen clearly governmental initiatives haven't caused for us to breathe. the drastic improvement that was promised in 2013 when it was stated that there was scope to increase planting levels “significantly”.

Some pledges, however, have been met by the

Forestry Commission, who announced in Febru- ary that they had managed to plant over 1 mil- There is also not enough vigilance in the upkeep lion trees in just a year, mainly in areas which of the planted trees; they can suffer health and already suffered with low levels of foliage and survival problems after planting. Also, a variety greenery, namely towns, cities and neighbour- of tree species needs to be planted in order to hoods. maintain biodiversity in the woodland areas.

In the 2015 Autumn Statement, Rory Stewart, So whilst measures have been attempted to be Financially, trees are believed to reduce the risk the Environment Minister, promised that 11 put in place to increase the percentage of wood- of flooding, as the Department for Environment, million new trees would be planted during our land areas in Britain, we still have to wait and Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) state that wood- current parliament. He proposes that one mil- see whether the proposals can be met, and hope land areas can reduce the water flow and build- lion of the trees will be planted by schools, and that in the future our countryside and landscape up of earthy matter in rivers. they rest should be carried out by farmers and may be covered once more in glorious trees and Since the presence and function of trees is cru- landowners. A £900 million Countryside Stew- greenery. cially valuable as a resource, many government ardship scheme has been set up to reward the Ferne Kelly initiatives have been pledged to plant large plantation of new woodland spaces. numbers of trees and restore areas of woodland However, this proposal is idealistic and faces EXETER PRIDE’S JOYOUS STRIDE The sun was shining on the 7th of May, when under the sun, a giant pink double decker bus, and classes such as samba drumming and the Exeter held its annual Pride festival, celebrating Morris dancing and a Street Heat samba band! evening music events were attended by large all things LGBTQ+. This was the 8th Pride event numbers of people. held in Exeter after it started in 2009, and was Members of the public were seen lining the High the biggest one yet, with more people than ever Street showing their support with rainbow flags There were also LGBTQ+ specific events, such as gathering on the High Street to join in the party. and other memorabilia. The rainbow flag jour- a safe space and information for those going neyed from the Church, down the High Street to through certain issues. In the neighbouring The festival began at 12pm at St Sidwell’s the Phoenix Art Centre. Rougemont Gardens, stalls were provided by Church, where people of all genders, religions, Pride’s sponsors, meaning it lived up to its repu- ethnicities and sexualities congregated in their The Phoenix has been at the centre of Pride tation as one of the biggest, brightest and safest masses to be part of the parade. Yet it was no celebrations since Exeter’s first festival 7 years LGBTQ+ events in Britain. ordinary parade, as it included a 50m rainbow ago, and this year there was even more on offer Continued on Page 3... flag, people decked out in outfits of every shade for everyone. All events were free of charge, The Clyst Mail 2

The Clyst Mail 3

Continued from Page 2... selves in the festivities, where we carried the Caitlyn Tyrrell flag down the High Street in the parade and The sponsors of Pride, such as and Corn- joined in activities such as circus skills. wall Police, Vaults Bar and Club and Radio Exe, meant that this event could be run for free and Pride is such a valued event. It allows vulnerable the volunteers at Pride truly have the thanks of young LGBTQ+ members gain information, and all attendees for the incredible job they did. the knowledge that they are part of a loving and safe community. It allows like-minded people to Members of the Clyst Vale Sixth Form LGBTQ+ celebrate themselves instead of hiding them- attended the event, many for the first time. I selves away, and is truly a testament to Exeter was one of them, and it was definitely an experi- as a city that it has the biggest LGBTQ+ event in ence I will never forget. We truly immersed our- Devon. A POLICING PREDICAMENT Almost a year after the UK General Election that shaw hailed the victory as ‘a model for the La- Foster and Hernandez have denied the ‘electoral reinstated David Cameron as Prime Minister, bour Party nationally,’ and stated that it showed fraud’ that they are under suspicion of, claiming voters were at the polling stations again on a resurgence in public support after the appoint- that the ‘battle buses’ did not ‘form part of Thursday 5th May in order to elect local council- ment of Jeremy Corbyn as leader. [their] local election expenses,’ and so they did lors, mayors and Police and Crime Commission- not have to register their costs. However, other However, this unexpected Labour hold in Exeter ers (PCCs), in a vote that was used to test the parties have claimed that the expenses should has been hugely overshadowed by the rain cloud public’s support of the Conservative govern- have been assigned to their limited budget. of controversy that has showered criticism onto ment. the desk of Devon and ’s new Conserva- Currently, eight police forces are investigating Although the electorate, all the people who are tive PCC, . the allegations, which are currently plaguing the entitled to vote, were not asked to elect MPs, Conservative Party, and Ms Hernandez states the councillors, mayors and PCCs on the ballot that she will ‘stand ready to assist with any en- paper all belonged to political parties, except quiries.’ Nevertheless, politicians such as Ben from the independent candidates. Bradshaw have said that it is ‘wholly inappropri- ate’ for her to take the ‘Police Commissioner Locally, Labour managed to hold on to their oath’ whilst part of an on-going investigation. control of Exeter City Council, which analysts saw as unstable because of the overwhelming After Hernandez’s appointment, opposition Conservative support in the South West during claimed that her new position, which gives her the 2015 Elections. A year ago, almost all of the the power to fire Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, peninsula was turned blue due to the domi- could allow her to oversee the investigation into nance of Tory MPs, leaving only Ben Bradshaw’s Hernandez, the bookmaker’s favourite, won in herself. This issue was quickly resolved when Labour seat in Exeter to deny the Conservatives the closely contested PCC election on 5th May Devon and Cornwall Police handed over control complete control. against Labour’s Gareth Derrick with 51.1% of of the case to another force. Ms Hernandez the vote. She replaces outgoing PCC , states that this change has removed ‘any sugges- also Conservative, who resigned from the party tion that [she] could influence police action.’ in ‘disgust’ at the Government’s minimal promo- Despite the controversy, Alison Hernandez has tion of Ms Hernandez’s campaign. been formally sworn into the office of the PCC Before her election, Ms Hernandez was the fi- and is currently driving through a major police nancial assistant of Torbay MP Kevin Foster, investment into updating a 15-year-old commu- responsible for formally submitting his election nications system. She states that the new tech- expenses – the extra money that he requested nology, based on the 4G network, is her ‘first from the Conservative Party to support his cam- opportunity to make good on [her] commitment paign. Since then, the media have questioned to invest’ on ‘front line police officers.’ the legality of the party’s expenses nationwide, Erin Santillo Since then, Labour support has grown in the city, amid reports that they breached the official resulting in the largest ever majority for the limits in some areas of the UK, including Torbay, party in the council elections this May. Ben Brad- due to their purchase of so-called ‘battle buses.’ LEICESTER OUT-FOX RIVALS The Premier League 2015/2016 season has The next big story of the year was Jamie Vardy’s ey could have been spent on a better known certainly been the most unpredictable of my record breaking goal spree. The 27 year old player. lifetime, and will probably remain the most Leicester striker had made headlines in 2012 unusual for years, if not decades, to come. Chel- when Leicester paid £1 million for his transition Vardy soon established himself as a decent sea, the defending champions, suffered their from the non-league team Fleetwood Town. striker and was a big part of the Leicester strike worst start to a season since 1978 and only force for the next few seasons. managed to get 11 points from their first 11 This broke the record for the maximum transfer Continued on Page 4... games. This was the first major story of the fee for a non-league player and many Leicester fans were angry as they believed that the mon- season, but was by no means the most amazing. The Clyst Mail 3

The Clyst Mail 4

Continued from Page 3... Even at this stage most people still believed that At one point they went 7 points clear and most they would lose their form due to a lack of expe- of those who had mocked their chances realised However, he hit the spotlight in an extraordinary rience in the top flight. Anyone who voiced the that they would almost definitely win. way at the beginning of this season as he scored idea that they could win the title was soon consecutively in the first 11 games of the sea- laughed at; surely a team that narrowly escaped The title was concluded at the end of an eventful son, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s previous relegation would never win the biggest prize in match between Tottenham and Chelsea. Tem- record of 10 consecutive goals. This was Leices- English football. pers were short as second place Tottenham had ter’s first major story of the season and became to win to have a chance of winning the title. The the start of a season that would end with them match ended in a 2-2 draw, in which Spurs set a winning the Premier League title! new record for yellow cards in a match. Normal- ly a draw would be greeted with annoyance or Last season Leicester were at the rock bottom of maybe a cursory round of applause. Not for this the table in April and needed to pull off a ‘great match. Jubilant cries rang out around the stadi- escape’ to save them from relegation. Somehow um as people realised that Leicester City, also they were able to escape relegation and even th called ’The Foxes,’ had won the Premier League. ended up in 15 place. Many people thought that they would be relegated this season. Perhaps the most amazing part of the title win is the transfer fees for each player. The whole However, against all expectations, Leicester Leicester ‘starting 11’ group costs less than the started the season strongly and found them- best players in the Manchester United, Chelsea selves challenging for the title a few months and Arsenal ‘starting 11’. However, through a later. Their title effort really started to gain mo- In the matches since then Leicester proved themselves superior to all others in terms of combination of hard-work, skill and team spirit mentum about midway through the season they have achieved an extraordinary title win. when they were top of the table. consistency and results. While they did not al- ways win resoundingly, they rarely lost, and Kristian Tyrrell that’s all that matters. What Have You Learnt? Complete the crossword below with facts from this month’s articles.

Answers for May 2016. Hori- zontal: 3. Powderham, 6. Contact, 7. Brasilia, 8. Mos- sack Fonseca, 11. Bisphenol- A, 12. Foulds Vertical: 1. Re- publican, 2. Graham Watson, 4. Twenty Eight, 5.RAFT, 9. Simon Clemison

The Clyst Mail Edited by Erin Santillo and Neave Cunningham 4