2020 JULY 2020 the student magazine in this issue... WHAT A YEAR! LIFE BEFORE LOCKDOWN: ART AND SKI TRIPS GREEN BRAMPTON EXTREMISM: LUCIANA BERGER AND MAAJID NAWAZ IN CONVERSATION the student magazine CONTENTS Note from the Editor 3 My 2020 14 Coronavirus: a positive view 4 Green Brampton 16 Duke of Edinburgh Gold 5 Extremism and the Election 18 Art students inspired in Venice 6 Teacher hot-seat 20 Ski-Trip! 8 English Club 21 Quarantine Photography 10 Acing it: professional tennis while studying for A levels 22 Jsoc 13 Front cover photo by A level Photography teacher, Javier Thomas. The back cover is by Erin Kovacs, A level Photography student. Erin Kovaks: “Fond hope” This project was initially based around plants and flowers. Each week I was photographing new flowers, experimenting with different lighting and post-production techniques. As we went into lockdown I continued to photograph the flowers as they decayed day by day. Because I was unable to go out and get new flowers for each shoot, my project took a turn. The decaying flowers have become a representation of people’s feelings through this uncertain period and serve as a metaphor. I began to add different objects: face masks, a half eaten orange and glove fingertips. These all add a subtle personal narrative turning these still lives into a makeshift quarantine-diary. Lodge House Lodge Road, Hendon London NW4 2BF Tel 020 8203 5025 bramptoncollege.com Admissions: Pam Glenville [email protected] 2 the student magazine NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Dear reader, I’m delighted to share our Brampton College magazine for the year, 2020 @BC. I’d like to thank our contributing authors who are all students at the College. From articles covering what’s happening in college life to personal interest stories or views on topical issues, together we’ve created a rich hybrid of content. I’m very proud of this issue and we all hope you enjoy reading it! Thanks, Ben Arkus Editor @BC contributors Ben Arkus Kesha Grigorev Kaitlyn Sellar-Elliot Zaid Al-Badawi Muskaan Iqbal Eve Jacob Lucy Abrahams Asha Persaud Sheena Shah Cynthia Wambui Waweru Alex Hess Hoor Al-Saleh Erin Kovacs Noa Ben-Menahem Mila Ivanov 3 the student magazine CORONAVIRUS: TURNING AN OUTER NEGATIVE INTO AN INNER POSITIVE As it appears that we are now opportunity to expand your at the apex of the coronavirus academic capabilities or to learn pandemic in the UK, this is as a new skill. Personally, I have set good a time as any to reflect myself a few goals, including to on how quickly and drastically learn how to code (python), to everybody’s life has changed. read 60 books this year (7 down, One day you’re getting up at 53 to go), and to meditate and 7am with one eye open, stuffing work out every day. To some, this your burnt piece of toast in may sound daunting (and for me your mouth (washed down with it definitely is), but I aim high in Kingdom than we were before the a badly made cup of tea), and order to achieve as many of these outbreak. Forget political and racial then running for the bus. The ambitions as possible. I highly differences, we all have a key next day, your school’s shut, recommend you choose at least part to play - now more so than you get an extra two hours of one goal that’s unique to you. ever. I believe most people will sleep and lessons take place in One of my goals, meditation, is very appreciate this, and I have faith the comfort of your bedroom. grounding. It keeps me aware not only in myself, but in the fact This virus is very serious and of the beautiful, existentialist that eventually, the country will shouldn’t be taken light- dimension of this crisis. My emerge more unified, whether it be heartedly; it is deadly generation is deluged with in everyday life or in a time of great and that’s why it is so new information every need such as this. important to stay at minute of the day. For Please stay at home. Believe home during these me, being able to shut me, I’m not happy that I’m trying times. Although off mentally as well forced to stay home. For one, I’m obviously I am not in as physically is very missing my favourite jerk chicken a position to preach, beneficial, and a great restaurant. But this virus is deadly I would like to share a use of my time. and if it infected the (arguably) couple of personal thoughts on My meditation practices have most powerful person in Britain, how this may just be the perfect also enabled me to ponder how the Prime Minister, then it is able time to turn a negative in to a everything in our societal system to infect anyone. positive. For me, there are two can be put on hold at the snap conceivable perspectives on this: By Ben Arkus, student of someone’s fingers. I’ve also one is to view this time as an become much more aware of extended school holiday, how the human race is one, and where you can sit around that in this lockdown we must all watching join together to stop this deadly zombie infection. I believe we will all pandemic realise that there is value in being movies. united through Another this mess, which option is to see this might just lead to as an unprecedented a greater United 4 the student magazine DOING THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH GOLD! Having already completed bronze use DofE as an opportunity to do and silver DofE at my secondary something I’d been meaning to school, I chose to take it up a for a long time - doing so had the notch (even though silver was added benefit of improving my probably tough enough) and fitness ahead of the expedition. complete a gold DofE. This is one of the many positives of DofE; it can push you to get Alex Gym Setup Being a student who wishes to on with something that you work in the finance sector (which would never have got round to is very competitive) I wanted to expedition otherwise. For my volunteering, stand out from other candidates itself more fun and interesting. I chose to join the charity by being able to write about the Unfortunately, due to coronavirus, committee at Brampton College benefits of gold DofE on my CV; I have yet to do the expedition but and finally for the skill, I joined the experience is both physically hope to do it as soon as possible. the Young Enterprise programme, and mentally demanding, and Doing gold DofE has pushed me both of which are experiences that teaches you a great deal about to do new things, taught me a lot taught me a lot about teamwork. working with others. On top of the about working with others, and is expedition itself, which the DofE To switch things up a bit, I plan to going to be a great addition to my awards are best known for, there do my gold DofE expedition on a CV - I highly recommend it are 3 DofE sections/activities which mountain bike instead of hiking By Alex Hess need to be completed as well, in (which I’ve never done before), order to qualify for the award; a which should physical activity, a volunteering make the activity, and improving a skill. You have to do one section for 12 months and the other 2 for 6. Choosing to start going to a local gym 2-3 times a week as my physical activity meant I was able to 5 the student magazine ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY STUDENTS INSPIRED IN VENICE My favourite aspect of the 2019 also with my teachers. One of the Her inspiration Art and Photography Venice photographers I was particularly is said to come Trip was making new friends. intrigued by was Zhanna Kadyrova. from her home This trip was a good opportunity She is a Ukrainian artist who has country, Ukraine, as it allowed me to make new been exploring the relationship which has a long history of ceramic relationships as I came from a between architecture and tile production. different school. mosaic. She often uses cheap Overall, I’ve personally taken a lot tiling for mosaic, combined Although the gelato and different from this trip including learning with heavyweight construction Italian delicacies were by far the about the different aspects to materials such as concrete and most enjoyable aspects on the art and photography. It has been cement. Her work, ‘For Market’ is trip, I learnt a lot about different a great introduction to my first displayed in the Arsenale. It is a artists and photographers and year as I was able to base my food stall equipped with everything was intrigued by their different November assessment on Zhanna a street trader needs, and she backstories and how they came Kadyrova’s work. It was truly makes sausages and salamis to be. This included the Giardini inspiring. I hope to incorporate from concrete and natural stone, where we learnt and explored all elements of the style from the and fashions fruit and vegetables the different kinds of cultures of different artists I encountered on – bananas, watermelons, art from different pavilions from the trip into my own work in the pomegranates, aubergines – in all around the world. coming months. chunky mosaic. This was definitely my favourite piece! By Muskaan Iqbal The version of Second Hand, which is another one of her works, is on view in the Central Pavilion at the My personal favourite was the Giardini in which she repurposed French pavilion as it featured a ceramic tiles from a hotel in very experimental film by Laure Venice to construct Prouvos, which transported me to items of clothing a different state of mind and made and linen.