Each Wednesday

lunchtime, I wander into

J2, usually carrying a bag

from Greggs and a

Starbucks. It‟s then the

usual barrage of hellos,

swift goodbyes, hurried

conversation, a quick Q&A,

and then off we trot back

into town. Usually for more

coffee.

I cannot actually believe

what has been created this

term though. I‟ll be honest,

I thought meetings were

too relaxed - nothing

seemed to come from it.

But we‟ve got the biggest

issue we‟ve done, and I

believe it‟s the best too.

What‟s here this term

then? Well, we‟ve had a

rethink, and got some

great new

features

for you

all. The

Head Boy

column,

returns,

along with

Poetry

Corner, our

World

Challenge

spread, and

something

we‟ve called

15 Minutes

With…,

where we

get just

that to interview someone.

Also, there‟s a piece about

ghosts in Hitchin, an

interview with the Mayor

of Stevenage, a review

on European Week of

Languages, an article

about HMS Astute,

budget cuts, something

about money in football,

the Commonwealth

Games, the upcoming

Royal Wedding, and an

update from

the Senior

Football

team.

As well as all

this, there‟s

jelly beans

vs. jelly

babies, an

Back With A Bang

The Chronicle

T h e H i t c h i n B o y s ’ S c h o o l N e w s p a p e r

album

review,

and a great

piece about

a trip to

South

Korea. Oh,

and Max’s

usual

opinions.

You‟ll also spot, along the

bottom of each page,

something we like to call

Sam’s 20-second film

reviews, where Sam

literally does exactly that.

Clever stuff.

So enjoy all our Christmas

snow, and we‟ll see you all

in 2011. Well, a little hope

never hurt anyone...

Happy Christmas!

Adam

Volume 3, Issue 1

Christmas 2010

The Head Boy Speaks 2

Ghosts in Hitchin 3

Nd‟s Words of Wisdom 3

Language Week 4

Mayor Interview 5

World Challenge 2009 6

Strictly 2010 7

British Snow 7

Money in Football 8

Senior Football Update 8

HMS Astute 9

Tuition Fees 10

Battle of the Jellies 11

Budget Cuts 12

Music Review 12

Royal Wedding 13

Commonwealth Games 14

South Korea 15

15 Minutes With... 18

Inside this issue:

Got feedback? Even an article? Email us at chronicle@hbs.herts.sch.uk

Want to join The Chronicle? Flicked through the paper,

and decided you like what

you see? Want to be part

of a growing team, all

enthusiastic about

journalism?

The Chronicle is still

looking for budding

writers, photographers and

reviewers, all of which will

have the opportunity to be

published online, and even

in print!

If you think this sounds

good, you can drop us a

line at our email address -

which is at the bottom of

each page - or just pop

along to one of our

meetings, held every

Wednesday in J2.

Or, if you see one of the

boys with their badges,

just let them know!

Page 2

James Bond: „Like them all. Love Roger Moore. Hate that skiing one.‟

The Chronicle

Editors

Adam Mills

Miss Needham

Deputy Editors

Theo Johnson

Max Reiser

News Editors

Jamie Burton

Josh Massey

Poet Laureate

Martin Coard

Reporters

Conor Black

Dominic Black

Calum Buchanan

Candy Cane

Will Coles

Julian Greenbank

Sam Hammond

Alasdair Kennedy

Michael Luscombe

Tom McNelliey

Peter Saville

Adam Toon

Photography

Rhys Harry

Contributors

Markian Mysko von Schultze

Mr Dawson

Miss Downing

With Thanks To

Mr Brown

Mr Walton

Mrs Hope

Graphix

Picture Credits

Page 3 - Flickr

Page 8 - Football on the TV

Page 11 - Confecto

All other pictures courtesy of

The Chronicle Photography

Team and Getty Images

hardworking. Most

importantly though, get

yourself a job. You get

some spare cash, plus it

looks great on your UCAS

form.

These all separate you

from other applicants, but

what you must remember

is that none of these things

will have any effect if you

don‟t have the grades. So

don‟t sacrifice your grades

for some extra

money.

If you don‟t know

what you actually

want to do yet, you

just have to

remember that the

more effort you put

in now, the better it

will be in later life.

It‟s worth spending

those extra hours

working than just

sitting around, trust

me.

So all in all, bacterial

flagellar motors are

fascinating (and I

highly recommend a

brief five minutes on

Wikipedia) and the

key to doing well in

later life is doing as

much as you can

now.

If you have a

burning question for

Lewis, or any of the Senior

Prefect team, send it to us

using the email address on

the front of this issue.

enthusiasm alone is not

enough to get accepted

into Uni.

So my main point is this:

how are you going to

convince a university that

you are different from all

the others? The best way is

by getting better grades

than everyone else. But

you need something else

to set you apart as well.

So go on World Challenge

– very few people do, and

it proves that you are

independent and

dedicated. Get that Grade

6 at your instrument – you

gain UCAS points and it

shows you‟re willing to

learn. Join the sports

teams – it proves you‟ve

more to give than just

grades. Go and volunteer –

it shows your passion for a

subject and that you‟re

By Lewis Carmody

Lewis is the Head Boy of the

school, and will be writing a

regular column for us this

year.

Bacterial Flagellar Motors

Now this title may not be an

entirely usual one at the

head of a school newspaper

but you will see how it ties

in later on.

As every Year 13 and his

family knows,

now is the time

that we, in the

highest tier of

education at

school, are

applying for

university

through the

ultimately helpful

(but initially

overwhelming)

system of UCAS.

Now for

everyone in the

lower tiers of the

school, I would

guess that you

are thinking

„what does this

have to do with

me?‟

First though, I‟ll

address the issue

of the title. The

bacterial flagellar

motor is a unique

piece of evolution as the

only naturally occurring

axle. It represents a superb

adaption, allowing the

bacterium to which it is

attached to burrow through

its liquid habitat, and for

this reason it absolutely

fascinates me. This love of

natural sciences has led me

to my choice of university

course, Biology. But

unfortunately, sheer

The Head Boy Speaks

Page 3

By Josh Massey

As the town that some of

us like to call home,

Hitchin is the host to a

whole load of ghosts.

You have seen the places

where ghosts „live.‟ You

have walked past them.

Hitchin is host to over 17

ghosts, ranging from cats

to naval sea-men and

beyond. Even some of the

most well-known places in

town are a host to ghosts…

does Woolworths ring a

bell? Yes that‟s right, the

area above the store is

haunted with a lady

smelling of lavender who

suddenly appears out of

nowhere.

And it‟s not just Woolies,

it‟s the area above

Ladbrokes and Hawkins as

well. Some

ghosts even hurl

the shop‟s

products around,

as is the case

with Charisma

Beads on St

Mary‟s Square.

Have a word next

time you‟re near,

if you don‟t believe me.

But, did you know that our

very school, the place we

walk around every day, is

haunted too? The rooms

we have lessons in? Ever

wondered why the door

suddenly opens? No,

seriously, the maths

corridor is said to be

haunted. And I for one can

vouch for that. Walking

through the corridor one

night after SpecTechular, I

happened to glance into

one of the rooms, and a

„ghostly‟ (pun intended)

figure sat on the teacher‟s

swivel chair stared right

back at me. I couldn‟t help

but stand and stare, until

nerves got the better of

me and I doubled back.

Quickly.

So, the thing I‟m trying to

say is, don‟t dismiss the

fact that ghosts are real.

Give it a thought. You

never know, it might be

you seeing the next one.

Hitchin: A Ghostly Town

By Miss Needham

I think I might lose my job.

Look at this thing: 18

pages of pure

gorgeousness. And every

word delicately delivered,

every picture carefully

captured, by the whirring,

well-oiled machine that is

the Chronicle team.

But come to J2 on a

Wednesday lunchtime

expecting to see pencils

being chewed and coffee

being slugged, while

ruffled heads are being

scratched, and the junior

team are running errands,

and you will be surprised:

not a lot actually happens.

What you will see are

about 12 bored faces

(mine included) pointed

towards the door, waiting

for Adam to arrive.

Following his appearance,

we are each roughed up by

a stream of monosyllabic

demands that usually go

something like:

„Know-what-you‟re-doing?‟

„Yeah.‟

„What?‟

„Writing about tuition fees.‟

„Good.‟

And then we say, „Same

time next week‟, and off

we go for our lunch.

Somehow, between times,

the boys make room either

side of homework and

rugby club (well, maybe

not rugby – badminton?)

for researching their

Nd’s Words of Wisdom articles and actually

coming up with the goods.

What I have had to do this

term amounts merely to

the few words you see

here.

Everything else has been

managed without fuss or

complaint, but with

enthusiasm,

professionalism, and good-

humour, by the dedicated

students themselves. This

edition is the best yet, and

a credit to each of them.

I just hope no one realises

that they don‟t need me

any more.

Amelie: „Lovely French girl. Like the subtitles strangely, but yeah…‟

If you like what you

see in The Chronicle,

please feel free to

come along and join

us on a Wednesday

lunchtime, in J2

„...haunted with a

lady smelling of

lavender who

suddenly appears

„out-of-nowhere.‟

“...converse in his

native Dutch. What an

accent!”

Page 4

European Week of Languages By Miss Downing

Once again HBS celebrated

the European Day of

Languages, an event

celebrated every year

across Europe on

September 26th. We

wanted a combination of

events from last year as

well as adding something

new to the proceedings.

Firstly, we decided to

rebrand it, with events

running throughout the

week. Hopefully you all

noticed the snazzy banner

and flags in the Quad!

The various competitions

went down well. Despite

the weather, the annual

Boules competition again

took place. Our new

champions are Toby

Nicolson and Callum

Higgins from Year 9. The

lower school form quizzes

were won by 7Sd, 8Bi and

9Tp. Some tutor groups

took part in our language

events, and special

congratulations go to

11Tm for their outstanding

participation and

attainment winning almost

daily. A great team effort!

One of our new initiatives

was a cooking

competition - a bit of a

gamble, we thought. We

asked people to bring in a

European dish which they

had cooked. We had some

delicious and original

recipes ranging from

tiramisu, boterletter,

houmous to

Austrian torte. It

was a tough job

for the staff to

taste and judge

them but we

managed to

survive. The

winner was

Jonathan

Woodhead from

Year 11, whose crème

brûlées were truly sublime.

Second and third prizes

went to James King and

Roman Turney.

In the Languages

Department we held our

own competition for

students studying German

and Spanish in Years 8-10.

They had to produce a piece

of work which celebrated

languages in some way. A

great success and variety of

ideas, including a

presentation on France in

the 1930s and a comical

role play highlighting

miscommunication. French

students in Years 8 and 9

were taken into the hall on

Friday afternoon and took

part in a carousel of

activities. They were

matching up flags, saying

phrases in different

languages, listening to

songs but the highlight was

the ten minute Japanese

lesson from Kouhei

Mosley in Year 9.

Our tri-lingual assembly

in French, Spanish and

English gave the boys

something to think

about. They were

presented with

sports stars

speaking foreign

languages. Did

anyone know that

Gary Lineker spoke

fluent Spanish?

The assembly

celebrated the vast

number of languages

spoken at this school by

both staff and students. My

personal highlight was

listening to Mr Rombout

converse in his native

Dutch. What an accent!

The week culminated with

a European style

breakfast on the Friday

morning. Over 100

students enjoyed the food

and sampling a breakfast

different from their own.

The choice of soundtrack, a

selection of songs from the

Eurovision Song

Contest, added to the

congenial ambience. Foods

included croissants,

cheeses, and cold meats,

all washed down with

orange juice and chocolat

chaud. Special thanks to

Mrs Sexton for her expert

cutting of baguettes!

Mr Simms and I were very

pleased with the week‟s

events and impressed with

the students‟ willingness to

participate and celebrate

cultural diversity.

Respecting and being

aware that people speak

languages other than

English is important. At

Hitchin Boys‟, we aim to

enable our students to

contribute to society in a

positive and open-minded

way. We thank staff across

the school that supported

and encouraged the

activities. Merci beaucoup,

vielen Dank, muchas

gracias!

High School Musical: „Troy is an idiot. Rubbish songs, but so, so addictive.‟

Page 5

„...we visited Lister

Hospital at

Christmas. Very

special.‟

Gladiator: „Russell Crowe looks awesome in that gear. EPIC!‟

Mayor Michael Downing By Peter Saville

Peter and Oliver Pitts were

given the opportunity last

month to interview the

Mayor of Stevenage, also

Miss Downing’s dad,

Michael Downing.

What does being Mayor

involve?

It involves being available

morning, noon and night,

whether it be meeting

people or being asked to

go to events in schools. I

often have to go to

presentations and visit

projects that I am involved

in.

How did you become

Mayor?

I‟ve been a member of

Stevenage Borough Council

for 27 years and I am one

of 39 councillors. The most

senior councillor is Mayor,

and the second most

senior is the Deputy

Mayor, who will take up my

role once my term is up.

We all take turns to take

on different roles.

Did you want to become

Mayor when you were

younger?

I honestly didn‟t think

about it. When I was

younger I wanted to be a

journalist, or something

like that. Things have just

happened to fall this way!

In your opinion, what

decision do you regard

as your best since you

became Mayor?

Well, on a personal note, I

revived the Mayor‟s cricket

match, an annual match

between councillors and

civil servants, and since

I‟m a cricket fan that really

sticks out for me. Even

though we were beaten!

However, because my role

is largely ceremonial, there

is nothing other than

political policies. I did

manage to stop an

extension of the

motorways and A-roads in

Stevenage through

Fairlands Valley, which is a

very beautiful place.

Do you think the young

people of Stevenage

have a reputation? And

if so, do you think it was

deserved?

Well, people have very low

expectations of the young

people, especially of

Stevenage, but I think this

is undeserved. We should

definitely encourage less

stereotypical views, as

most young people in

Stevenage are very nice. I

rarely see anything

negative myself, but you

can‟t stop the press picking

up the nitty gritty.

What about being Mayor

do you most enjoy? And

what has been your

favourite memory?

I like going to concerts,

and I think the Youth Music

Service is really good. I

also like helping the

community in as many

ways possible, and use my

role to support certain

projects.

My favourite memory

involved within the

Borough Council must be

last Christmas, when I was

Deputy Mayor, and we

visited Lister Hospital at

Christmas. Very special.

By Adam Toon

In our regular World

Challenge columns, we’ll be

telling you a bit more about

the whole event. Adam

went to Costa Rica in 2009

on the last trip.

A regular opportunity the

school, notably Mr Thorp,

has been organising every

two years is the World

Challenge expedition:

experiencing the culture,

taking in the spectacular

views and most importantly,

building up some incredible

friendships, and ultimately

having a good old laugh.

The whole experience

actually begins 18 months

before you fly off to your

destination. The

offer is given to Year

10‟s and 11‟s, and

they then have this

time to prepare for

the trip; raising the

money as best they

can, primarily

without help from

the family. However,

the school helps

arrange fundraising

events for the

students to help them earn

a nice sum towards the final

total. The preparation also

gives the group an

opportunity to get the

correct equipment required

for the trip well in advance,

so that they can feel

confident with what they

will be taking. A final step to

be ready for the journey is to

familiarise yourself with the

World Challenge guide who

will be travelling with you,

the two teachers supporting

you along the way, and, of

course, it is vital to bond as

a group amongst your peers

before setting off.

I myself was fortunate

enough to be a part of the

2009 expedition to Costa

Rica. We were out there for a

month, which was broken

down into four stages - the

acclimatisation, the trekking

phase, the project phase and

lastly the rest and relaxation

period. For the

acclimatisation period, we

went on a few treks with

loaded back-packs, got used

to the climate and

experienced some camping.

The trekking phase was a

period in the rainforest

where we would trek for a

few days in the wilderness,

surviving on rations and

distant from civilization. The

project phase

was inspirational

as we got to help

out a family

living up a

mountainous

range and

building a

storage shed

from scratch for

the local school.

Finally, the rest

and relaxation periods were

times when, aside from the

strenuous work, we got the

chance to mellow and have

some fun - from zip-wiring

down a 1km wire through

the canopy to taking a dive

next to a thunderous

waterfall.

I could talk forever

about every fine detail of

the trip as it was just

incredible from start to

finish. Yes, it was tough

lugging a heavy back-

pack over mile upon

mile. Yes, it was

challenging to raise all

the money in time,

eventually completing

the target. Yes, it was

hard to adapt to a different

culture. However I wouldn‟t

have changed a thing. I

came away from the trip

psychologically stronger; I

had made new friends; I

had built up my confidence

and learned to be more

responsible for my actions.

The views were stunning,

the people were so

welcoming and the food was

delicious.

I can only highly

recommend this to any

student in the years below

to take on this opportunity

when it is offered to you.

Would I do it again? Most

definitely!

A Trip Of A Lifetime

„I came away from the

trip psychologically

stronger; I had made

new friends…‟

Page 6

Shrek: „First was awesome. Second was good. Third was utterly shocking.‟

Page 7

Forrest Gump: „Interesting, entertaining, and fascinating, if not a tiny bit too long.‟

Strictly Come Dancing 2010

„It‟s a simple solution

which apparently we in

Britain are not able to

follow.‟

We also have a new

presenting team. We have

the same Brucey guiding

you through this magical

night, you‟ll be relieved to

hear; however we have got

a new „Tess‟.

Last year was such a

success and this year

promises to be even

better. Where else would

you rather be on a Friday

or Saturday night than

watching us dance like

we‟ve never danced before

for your epic amusement?

That‟s right: nowhere.

We’ll have a full review of

the spectacle that will be

Strictly HBS in our next

issue.

school event of the year.

We‟ve got some brand new

dancers to either make you

laugh till you cry, or just

make you cry, and a brand

new group dance, which I

can assure you is the most

hilarious thing you are

likely to see for a while.

We have a new and

reformed judging panel

made up of teachers and

Head Boys both old and

new. We are also delighted

to announce that our new

Headmaster, Mr Brown,

will also be judging for us.

We are thrilled that he is

taking part, and hope he

enjoys watching us

embarrass ourselves just

as much as we‟ll enjoy

watching him cringe.

By Will Coles

It‟s back. Strictly is back

on your TV screens, but

more importantly, it‟s back

at HBS.

By popular demand, we‟re

donning the tuxes,

whacking on the make-up

and shaving our legs, and

all for your entertainment.

This year it is bigger than

ever - 8 couples battling it

out for the much coveted

Strictly Trophy (essentially

a plastic cup covered in

wine gums). But what

makes this so special is

that we are working with

the Rossco company,

producers of the

SpecTechular shows, who

are providing lighting and

sound to produce the

It’s Snow Joke we don‟t run out again.

They‟ve issued an order

telling schools to remain

open unless absolutely

unable to do so, told

people to be vigilant with

their daily commute. Well,

that will last about as long

as the snow we‟ve seen

here in Hitchin.

What it boils down to is

that we will have to accept

our total inability to carry

on as normal when faced

with adverse weather

conditions. But why do we

have to make such a big

thing of it? Chances are,

we‟ll have more than a

white Christmas. I have a

feeling the snow will be

here for a good long while

yet.

What do you think of the

snow? Email us, or even

send us a picture, using

the email address on the

front of the issue.

So why can‟t we deal with

a little snow? Some places

have a hell of a lot more

than we do, for a much

longer period of the year.

So how do they cope?

Well, for one thing, they

don‟t grit every available

surface. Grit can cause

more accidents than it

prevents – often it just

melts the snow into water,

which then freezes – and

the ice is much more

dangerous. They equip

their vehicles with snow

chains, and have walking

crampons for their shoes.

It‟s a simple solution which

apparently we in Britain

are not able to follow.

What has our government

done to improve upon last

year‟s dismal reaction?

They‟ve ordered a pyramid

-sized mound of grit for

our roads, to make sure

By Max Reiser

So, it‟s that time of year

again when we start to

realise how incapable our

country is of dealing with

weather issues which, let‟s

be honest, we should really

have been expecting.

For the second year

running, most of Britain

has been engulfed by

snow, and in some areas,

it is a genuine issue –

people are snowed in,

truckers are trapped on the

roads for days on end, and

ice is becoming a huge risk

to pedestrians and

motorists.

In places, six inches of

snow fell in as many hours.

But it‟s become a

nationwide drama, and the

merest glimpse of white on

the ground will instantly

send everybody into

uproar.

Page 8

Bambi: „Sad, tiny bit happy in places. Like when the mum died. I liked the rabbit. But yeah, good.‟

„Would winning the

league taste better if it

was earned, and not

bought?‟

Money Money Money By Michael Luscombe

The Premier League is now

a global organization,

broadcast across the globe,

and has become a

playground for the sugar

daddies of the world. But is

this necessarily a good

thing?

The days of British

chairmen are over;

American and Russian

billionaires, and Sheikhs

from the Middle East, are

now well within their rights

to invest their millions into

clubs, attempting and

occasionally succeeding to

„buy the league‟ - does

Chelski come to mind?

To be fair, it is this

investment that has made

the league the best in the

world, and that itself has

attracted some of the

world‟s best players to

apply their trade on our

soil. I appreciate being able

to watch Drogba, Tevez

and Essien, courtesy of

these filthy rich investors.

I admit, as a Liverpool fan,

there was a part of me that

wanted big investment to

gain trophies again - but

getting rid of Hicks and

Gillett was good enough for

me. The Man City project is

fascinating and beginning

to pay off, but does it make

it right? Would winning the

league taste better if it was

earned, and not bought?

The best teams have built

their squads over years,

not bought them in 18

months with stupid money.

Look at

Arsenal.

They

spend

what they

earn, but

bring

quality

players

through

their youth

system. I applaud them.

It‟s just a shame most

clubs now buy most of

their players, and let their

homegrown talent go to

waste.

In my opinion, the teams

that spend masses of

money lose their integrity.

I would much rather win

with dignity than win

because my team is worth

£350m.

At the end of the day

though, you can buy

success, but you can‟t buy

history.

the first game of the North

Herts District League

when we comfortably

beat local rivals, The Priory

School 5-1. A brace from

Jason Ridler after early

goals from Jake McKie and

Ben Morris saw Hitchin

Boys' out of sight before

Jhai Dillion scored the goal

of the game from left wing.

Next up was a challenging

match against Barclay

School. After a gruelling

game of high quality

football, notably in

midfield, the match was

settled by a neat finish

from the industrious Rhys

Waterman, with only 60

seconds remaining. A

100% start to the season

continued when HBS beat

Marriotts School 6-2,

thanks to a battering from

our team. Goals from

Morris, McKie, Michael

Luscombe and a hat trick

from Matt White gives us

3 wins out of a possible 3.

There is now a mid-

season winter break, with

the next game being

against Nobel School in

mid March.

Senior Football Update By Mr Dawson

I report on a superb start

to the season as the team

embark on trying to win the

first trophy since senior

football came into existence

at the school in 2008. With

possibly the most talented

squad of players at HBS

yet, the season began with

some degree of enthusiasm

after some productive

training sessions on the

rugby pitches!

Matthew White of Year 12

was picked to be School

Captain for the year, and

put in a performance

worthy of that accolade in

Page 9

„The Navy can‟t be this

stupid‟

Slumdog Millionaire: „Set in India, which automatically makes it good. Love Danny Boyle.‟

By Conor Black

Whilst working on a story

for the Chronicle near the

end of last half-term, I

needed to look at the BBC

website to do some

research. However, I

immediately noticed that

the main story on the front

page was not that which I

expected – Wayne

Rooney‟s new £250,000 a

week contract at

Manchester United.

Instead, it was a story

concerning something even

more expensive. Yes, this

was the story that the

Royal Navy had

somehow managed to

run their new £1.2

billion submarine,

HMS Astute, aground

on the Scottish island

of Skye.

My first response was

incredulity. „The Navy

can‟t be this stupid,‟ I

thought. „You don‟t

spend £1bn on a

submarine and then

accidentally ground it.

This sub is equipped

with technology that

makes it undetectable

when under water. It can

circumnavigate the globe

without resurfacing, and

contains a reactor that will

never need refuelling in

the submarine‟s 25 years

of service,

but no one

thought to

equip it with

a proper

GPS?!‟

The ship‟s

commander,

Andy Coles,

said this when he took

control of Astute for her

sea trials: „What we have

today is a world-beating

piece of technology, which

gives us a fantastic

capability of huge utility to

the UK over the next thirty

years.’

Not much use to us if you

can‟t read maps, Andy.

Another unfortunate quote

from Mr Coles: ‘We have a

brand new method of

controlling the submarine,

which is by platform

management system,

rather than the old

conventional way of doing

everything of using your

hands. This is all fly-by-

wire technology including

only an auto pilot rather

than a steering column.’

This just makes the entire

thing look even more

stupid. The ship was

on auto pilot, and still

managed to crash.

Another quote I found

online summed the

entire incident up

pretty well: ‘The

thousands of sub-

systems, 100km of

cabling, 23,000 pipes,

over 1 million

individual

components, over 5

million lines of

software code...

And the inability to miss

one, well-charted rock -

which the Navy struck in

2002.’

Yes, not only have the

navy grounded an

expensive sub once on

Skye, they managed to do

it back in 2002 with HMS

Trafalgar. Even better.

P.S. Commander Andy

Coles has now been

„relieved‟ of his duties.

About two months too

late...

That Sinking Feeling

„...will university be the

most prudent option for

school leavers?‟

Page 10

Up!: „Really good film. Old man is cool. Awesome dog. Fat kid.‟

around £43,500. These

debts will have to be paid

unless you choose to work

outside the UK or are

earning less than £21,000

per year. Many economists

predict that, even if

students earn £21,000, as

soon as finish

their degree,

factoring in

interest rates,

the debts will rise

rather than be

paid off. Protest

has also come

about due to the

stance of other

countries

concerning

higher education.

For example, Scottish

students who choose to

study in Scotland do not

have to pay anything

towards their university

education.

It is important to

understand that these

plans aren't set in stone

yet and that cuts are

necessary during these

times of financial

instability. However, even

though universities are

able to offer you great job

prospects, do these

possible debts cancel out

the positives that comes

from higher education and,

from September 2012, will

university be the most

prudent option for school

leavers?

will enable the

universities to

offer more

scholarships

and grants to

lower income

families who

have been

priced out of

higher

education in

the past. On the other

hand, it will lead to many

students from middle-class

families questioning

whether they can afford

the costs or the crippling

debts that will follow after

they graduate.

These proposals have led

to mass protest due to

many foreseeing an

inability to ever pay back

these costly loans. If you

add the living costs to the

tuition fees then future

students could be facing

debts up to £51,000 with

the maximum government

loan predicted to be

By Jamie Burton

Why did the Liberal

Democrats experience such

a surge in support at the

General Election? It was

mainly because of the

widespread student

support they received due

to their promise of

rejecting any plans to cut

higher education.

Fast-forward six months or

so and after selling out all

their values to the

Conservatives, they have

made a complete U-turn

regarding universities. As a

result of this

change of heart,

tuitions fees are

set to rise

significantly and it

will be middle-

class families

bearing the brunt

of these increases.

Up until now there

has been a cap

placed on

university tuition

fees which

currently stands at £3290

a year. However, from

2012, universities are

almost certainly going to

be allowed to set their own

annual fees, likely to be

rising to between £6000-

£9000 obviously depending

on the quality of the

university. The

government claim that this

Tuition Fees

Page 11

„...the orange flavour

was alone in not being

utterly vile.‟

Men in Black: „Kinda cool. Love Will Smith. Aliens scared me as a kid.‟

By Candy Cane

Fruity jelly beans or chewy

jelly babies: which is the

top jelly sweet? Our con-

fectionery correspondent,

Candy Cane, pits the up-

start jelly baby against the

old favourite – the jelly

bean.

The slight crunch as the

crisp, tangy shell gives way

between your teeth. The

fruity flavour that fills your

mouth and leaves you in

ecstasy. The slight re-

sistance of the gummy

centre. For a brief mo-

ment, nothing in the world

matters apart from you

and the contents of your

mouth, and then it is gone.

And you reach into the bag

for another.

Surely there is no sensa-

tion comparable to eating a

jelly bean. What else can

inspire such heights of oral

ecstasy in the consumer?

According to some, 'jelly

babies' is the answer. On

first hearing this answer, I

re-

coiled

in dis-

gust.

Was

this

person

simply

in-

sane,

or did

they

mean

some

other

kind of jelly babies to the

ones I had always been

exposed to? My mind was

in such a state of turmoil

for the rest of the day that

I gave in, buying an over-

sized bag of jelly babies on

the way home.

Ripping

open the

packet,

excited

for the

sweets

that I

had been

told

would be

better

than jelly

beans, I

found my

hands quickly covered in

white powder. Slightly per-

turbed, I brushed it off,

pulled out the first jelly

baby, and bit into it. The

powder covering the can-

died child clung cloyingly

to the roof of my mouth,

sucking out the moisture

like a vacuum cleaner, and

its weak jelly-flesh deflated

in the wake of my teeth

like a soggy balloon. The

texture was all wrong. Too

soft and definitely too pow-

dery.

Vowing to

stay open-

minded, in

the spirit

of scientific

experi-

mentation,

I swal-

lowed the

sticky

chunks of

jelly baby

in my

mouth and

pulled out

a second. It was purple. To

say that eating a purple

jelly baby was the worst

experience of my life would

be putting it lightly. It was,

in fact, the single most

disappointing thing that I

have ever had the misfor-

tune to

be chew-

ing on.

Now, not

only the

texture

was

wrong,

but the

flavour

too? Still,

it was

only one

flavour,

perhaps

others would be bearable.

Ten jelly babies later, I

accepted the truth. The

purple flavour was not

alone in being utterly vile.

In fact, the orange flavour

was alone in not being

utterly vile. Feeling lied-to,

dismayed, and disgusted, I

closed the packet and

placed it, unwaveringly, in

the bin. Eager to rid my

mouth of the powdery resi-

due of those insipid in-

fants, I opened a bag of

jelly beans and sat back,

eager to return to the

fruity embrace of what I

am sure anyone in their

right mind would agree is

the champion of confec-

tionery – the jelly bean.

The Baby Or The Bean?

„...everybody is

tightening their belts,

cuts are necessary…‟

Page 12

Avatar: „Liked it originally. Very long. Cheesy, but awesome!‟

The Big Budget Cuts By Julian Greenbank

So George Osborne,

Chancellor of the Exchequer,

wields the axe as his

decisions descend over the

UK.

The budget cuts are finally

here and no matter what age

you are, they‟ll affect you in

some shape or form.

Education will be cut by

3.4% (a grand total of

£53.9b). For 6th formers,

tuition fees are set to rise.

The ConDems are undecided

on this issue. The Tory party

wants there to be an

unlimited amount of fees.

Nick Clegg and Vince Cable

(Business Minister), followed

by a few Lib-Dems, want to

put a limit on tuition fees of

£9000. Clegg and Cable have

won, for now.

The welfare state that many

depend upon in the UK will

also be cut. The NHS will be

facing cuts of £109.8b in

total. Apart from the NHS,

£9b will be cut from welfare.

Child benefit is another area

to be significantly hit. From

2013, families who are

earning over £44,000 a year

will be having their child

benefit taken away.

The next area, and possibly

the most important is

television! The BBC is funded

by something called the

licence fee.

All people

who own a

television

have to pay

it and this is

why it

doesn‟t have

any

commercial

breaks. It is currently

£145.50 a year and this

fee going to be frozen for

the next six years. This

may lead to a drop in the

quality of programming

over the coming months.

At a time when everybody

is tightening their belts,

cuts are necessary and

have to be expected.

However, when a

government is forced to

make cuts across the

board, nobody will be

totally happy at the

outcome of this budget.

The only option available

to us is to make cuts of our

own, and adopt the good

old British stiff upper lip.

It also includes some

heavyweight guest stars,

such as Snoop Dogg, Lou

Reed and Bobby Womack.

Gorillaz seem to be

evolving from ape to man,

and for once we see the

band as musicians and not

cartoon characters.

The album is, in parts,

stunning. In others,

however, it‟s far from it,

and every song seems to

have some form of sound

that is just irritating. Damon

Albarn must have been

thinking that „annoying =

catchy.‟

Indeed, these songs burrow

into your brain, whether

you like it or not. You may

miss Demon Days, and it

may not be to everyone‟s

taste, but it‟s creative and

unique, and got to be worth

a listen.

Experimental Musicality By Alasdair Kennedy

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

Commencing with an

orchestral intro, my initial

thoughts were that the band

had turned classical.

However, this was just a

taste of the diversity to

come…

Whilst remaining a funky

„chill pill‟ of an album,

there‟s also a lot of

experimentation going on.

Superfast Jellyfish sounds

like an advert jingle, and

Empire Ants sends you into

a trance.

Page 13

„It can‟t be, can it? Is

it? No, surely not? It

is.‟

Toy Story: „Yes, yes, oh yes, oh God yes. Awesome, yeah! I love these films!‟

By Adam Mills

As some of you will know,

I‟m a bit of a Twitter addict.

I‟ll Tweet wherever, and

whenever I can, about

whatever I see. Strange

how it goes…

But on November 16th, I

was wandering back to

school, doing my normal

Twitter check, when

suddenly I was awash with

comments about William

and Kate. It can‟t

be, can it? Is it?

No, surely not? It

is. The official

engagement

announcement is

finally made, and

cyberspace goes a

little bit crazy.

Now since then,

we‟ve had a date

announced, a bank

holiday set, and a

venue booked out.

April 29th at

Westminster Abbey,

for anyone who

cares. And is sad

enough to go.

And before then,

we had the „are

they, aren‟t they‟

debate. I mean, it‟s

been coming for a while,

but the official statement

was released and then that

was that really. Everyone

went into Royal excitement,

and the whole lot was all a

bit blown out of proportion.

Now I understand that they

are the Royal family, and at

some point, William will be

King in 16 countries. But do

we really want to make this

much fuss over something

that happens to a lot of

people across the globe

daily?

Are they not allowed some

privacy? Well no, not when

there‟s an article to be

written…

Besides, have you seen the

ring?! It once belong to

William‟s mother, Diana, as

her engagement ring when

she was getting married to

Charles. It‟s an 18-carat

white gold band, with a large

oval sapphire set into the

middle, surrounded by 14

round diamonds. Bit flash,

don‟t you think?

And we had the fuss over

who would be paying for the

wedding. It was wrongly

reported that taxpayers

would be, but in actual fact,

the wedding is to be funded

by the Royal Family, and Mr

and Mrs Middleton. Bet

they‟re chuffed. Westminster

Abbey can‟t exactly be cheap

to hire out for the day…

It is, however, something for

us all to look forward to.

Even if you don‟t like a

wedding, you‟ll at least get

the day off from it. And

seeing as we have an Inset

day on the Tuesday of

Easter week, it‟s only a 2-

day working week. Top

stuff.

We‟ll be surrounded by

books, plates, cutlery sets,

dog collars, novelty ties, pin

badges, small decorative

bonsai trees - you name it,

it‟ll have their picture on it,

and you‟ll have to

pay top dollar for a

bit of cack that

„commemorates‟

their wedding.

Don‟t get me

wrong, I love a

wedding - especially

a Royal one. I

enjoyed Charles

and Camilla‟s, just

because they

thought it was

amazing, but in

actual fact, it was

one of the worst

Royal Weddings I‟ve

seen. I mean, what

other monarch

would wear sky

blue on their big

day?

But expect the big

names to be rolled

out. Already, you can place

bets on Elton John playing,

and David Beckham gaining

an invite. They‟re even

sending out random

invitations to 10 „lucky‟

British people to go to the

wedding.

I‟m still at the same address

Wills. Pop mine in the post

and we‟ll say no more.

A Rather Royal Affair

„...capturing the history

and culture of India.‟

Page 14

Rambo: „Bhgjnsdfjntre twekjrekmansjo ouierhggashstteg. Bleurgh.‟

Delhi Delight By Calum Buchanan

Sunday 3rd October. 1430

BST. The 2010

Commonwealth Games

kicks off at the Jawaharlal

Nehru Stadium, in Delhi.

The organisers of the

Games were under

pressure to make an

impact, as the security and

the quality of the athletes

village had been under

scrutiny. Several athletes

had already pulled out,

including England‟s Phillips

Idowu, due to concerns for

his own safety.

However, they put on a

spectacular opening

ceremony, capturing the

history and culture of

India. It was a vibrant and

colourful display, which

included fireworks and

around 9000 performers.

England‟s first medal came

from the pool, where

Rebecca Adlington won

bronze in the 200m

freestyle. This started a

flurry of medals, including

Adlington herself,

repeating what she did in

the 2008 Olympics, by

taking double gold in the

400m and

800m

freestyle.

Other

successes

in the pool

included

James

Goddard

winning

gold in the

200m

backstroke and Francesca

Halsall also winning gold in

the 50m backstroke. Also,

England‟s youth stars on

the diving board, Tom

Daley and Max Brick, won

gold in the 10m synchro.

England was not only

successful in the pool, but

was equally successful in

the track and field events.

Mark Lewis-Francis took

silver in the men‟s 100m,

and Leon Baptiste won

gold in the 200m. It was a

clean sweep for England in

the men‟s 110m hurdles,

with Andy Turner winning

gold, Will Sharman taking

silver and Lawrence Clark

gaining bronze. There was

also a double success for

England in the women‟s

heptathlon, which was won

by Louise Hazel, with

Grace Clements taking

bronze.

This was a Games full of

excitement, controversy

and culture, as England

thrived in the heat of the

Indian sun, coming away,

along with the rest of the

Home Nations, with a lot

more medals than

expected.

A Pianist, A Genius

Rapturous applause follows him and at first glance - he doesn't seem like the man to command it and yet, with a certain flourish he sits down and a glimpse of genius can be seen by all. He looks bored fingers at the ready eyes fixed - waiting for cue. His fingers begin to dance producing beautiful melodies until his face changes and he begins to feel the music. His aura is perfect and he polishes his music to this perfection.

Still a subtle dance upon the keys yet now producing the crashing chords of Tchaikovsky his body language as much a part of this drama as it was in intricacy. A beautiful sight to behold pianist and piano in perfect harmony working together - simply for others. He stops on cue seconds of silence - an audience in awe and a faint smile reaches his lips and applause rains down from the heavens once more Martin Coard

Page 15

„...I was in front of

everyone around the

world..

X-Men: „Preferred the second one, because of Night Crawler. But still awesome.‟

By Tom McNelliey

After being selected from

candidates all over the UK, I

was chosen to represent

Great Britain in their 2010

Taekwondo squad, destined

for the World Championships

held in Cheonju, in South

Korea.

I trained with the GB squad

for 6 months, every

weekend in Swindon and

Chippenham. After 4 months

we realised I was slightly

overweight for my category,

meaning I would be

disqualified.

However, help

from my parents,

changes to my

diet, and a run

every morning

meant I just met

the weight

deadline in time

to travel.

We arrived in

South Korea in

late June, and

nothing could

have prepared

me for the extent

of the competition, and the

number of competitors from

all over the globe. For the

South Koreans, this was like

a mini Olympics - the

national sport of the country

just happens to be

taekwondo.

I went to the stadium every

day to support

my team

members. On

the day of my

fight, I felt sick

all morning, as

I knew that

when I stepped

out into the

main arena, I

was in front of

everyone

around the world.

I was up against a boy from

Russia. I knew that with my

coach behind me, and the

fact that I felt pumped up

and ready for the fight, that

the next 5 minutes was what

I worked towards for the last

six months.

The first round finished with

me just in the lead and I was

ecstatic with two minutes to

go. The second round wasn‟t

as good, however. I caught

him and he

was out on

the floor

needing

medical

attention -

only three

minutes is

allowed for

medical

attention and

then you‟re

out. He took

three minutes seventeen to

get up, and at that point

either myself or my coach

should have called time

and he could have been

disqualified.

I had one

minute fifteen

left, and he

caught me with

some good

punches to

gain the lead. I

landed some

good kicks,

until he went

down again,

but this time

he took nearly

five minutes to

get up, and as

he knew he was in the

lead, he took as long as it

needed to get back on his

feet.

When the whistle blew I

knew I had lost. But I had

learnt a lot from the game,

and whole experience, and

I am ready to face the next

World Championships in

Canada 2012.

Have you done something

that you reckon everyone

should know about? Get in

touch with the Chronicle

Team via the email

address on the front of the

issue.

I’m With Team GB

Bridget Jones’ Diary: „Bunny suit and massive pants made me laugh. Hate Hugh Grant.‟

In a new feature hitting

The Chronicle, we’re going

to have 15 minutes spent

with a member of staff, in

which to ask as many

questions as we possibly

can. This issue, we’ve got

Mr Brown, the new Head.

We hear you’re from Man-

chester. So first things

first, are you a Red or a

Blue?

Well, I‟m from the blue half

of Manchester, but over

the last 38 years of sup-

porting them I‟ve often

been red-faced when I

watch them play… Things

are looking up now though.

ED: If I had my way, the

interview would have ter-

minated here…

What was the first album

you bought? And what’s

currently playing on your

iPod?

I‟d love to say it was

something cool like „In the

City‟ by The Jam or The

Clash‟s first album…

Unfortunately it was the

soundtrack to the Sound of

Music, with Julie Andrews

singing „Climb Every Moun-

tain.‟ It was the first film I

ever saw at the cinema as

well - The Gaumont on

Oxford Rd… Ahhh, those

were the days. On my iPod

as I drove in this morning

was The Low Anthem‟s „Oh

my God Charlie Darwin‟;

brilliant modern country

music.

What are you reading at

the moment?

I‟ve just finished „The

Naked and the Dead‟ by

Norman Mailer, a master-

ful psychological analysis

of the misery of war. It

has some good jokes too.

Wagner or Widdy?

Wagner definitely – Tann-

häuser is one of my fa-

vourite operas. And who

could fail to love the Nibe-

lungen ?

Why did you become a

teacher? (We had to put in

some serious questions.)

Because of my daughters…

and a book called „The

Bonfire of the Vanities.‟ I

was in a meaningless,

dead-end financial job, and

in the book a little girl asks

her daddy, „What job do

you do Daddy?‟ He can‟t

explain because it basically

involves buying and selling

huge amounts of money on

the global markets. And it

struck me that I‟d like to

be doing a job that would

make my daughters proud

of me. They wouldn‟t admit

it, but secretly I think they

are!

What did you want to be

when you were younger?

Older.

Tell us a joke. And no, not

Man City.

An Englishman, Irishman

and a Scotsman walk into

a bar and the barman

says, „Is this some kind of

a joke?‟

If a film was made of your

life, who would play you?

James Brown, the Godfa-

ther of Soul. He had a

great team around him

without whom he would

have been nothing.

What is your policy on

snow days…?

I loved it when I was a

pupil, I loved it when I was

a teacher, and I‟m loving it

now - we don‟t have to

close because everybody

else is getting the real

snow.

Here’s a million pounds.

What will you spend it on?

A new building for Hitchin

Boys‟ School. And a dish-

washer for the staff room.

15 Minutes With… Mr Brown

By Dominic Black