Maths Student of the Week

Harriet 7C - For being a conscientious and helpful student who is always ready to learn. Keep it up!

Well Done!

Emirates Stadium Tour

Last Friday we went to the Emirates Stadium on a trip. The Emirates is the home stadium for Arsenal football club. We entered through the gift shop and were taken up the stairs and shown the area where the important guests sit as well as the diamond lounge where extremely rich people and businesses sit during games.

We were also taken to the entrance that the players come in through when they arrive. We learnt that even before the players step on to the pitch, a psychological battle is taking place. As soon as the players walk in, they see red walls, big arsenal logos and previous trophies won by Arsenal. For the Arsenal players, this is comforting, but for the opposition, it gets in their heads and makes them nervous.

We were also shown the changing rooms. The difference between the home and away team's changing rooms was massive.

We learnt that this also has a purpose. The away team's changing room was small, with plain white walls and a high table in the middle. This is designed to block and disrupt the flow of the players' conversation and minimise discussion. The room that the physio-therapist works in was also very small and behind a door, meaning only 1 of 2 players can get help with the injuries at a time. This also makes it harder for the manager to deliver the game plan. In comparison, Arsenal's changing room was big, brightly coloured and practical. The physio room was big, with space to fit as many as 8 people in at a time and the room was designed as a semi-circle, meaning that all players could see each other when getting ready for a match.

It is not just Arsenal that does this and though it is primarily easier to play in your team's stadium because more of the crowd will be your fans, another part of it may be that the facilities for the home team are much nicer than those for the away team.

The trip was extremely fun and we learnt a lot. Thank you to Ms Devine for taking us and Abbey and Bex for running a football club.

Ava 8M

Assembly Speaker - 23 September
PC Zhane ST.HILAIRE Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Service

As part of Black History month, PC Zhane St.Hilaire from Kentish Town police station came to deliver an assembly for us. She outlined that ethnic minorities are still under-represented in the police force and gave us some sobering facts:

5.2% of police officers are from a black or black heritage background, even though they make up 15.9% of the general population

• 61% have considered leaving
• 58% hide attributes of race/ethnicity in the MPS
• 50% feel excluded because of their race/ethnicity
• 50% experienced discrimination in the MPS

She also told us that black people are 3.5 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people, and 2.5 times more likely to be arrested. Zhane outlined that she and her colleagues are working very hard to tackle these issues.

In terms of her own career journey, after getting a degree in fashion and retail from Middlesex University she worked in the commercial industry, working at Burberry and Apple, but then decided she wanted to do something that would make a more fundamental difference. This led her to the police force, which she has been a part of for 5 years. Some of the reasons she and others join the police force are to be the change we all want to see, understand legislation, show more diversity and help to implement change.

Zhane outlined that she has been part of the new Met for London Plan which is focused on enhancing public safety to reduce victimisation and the impact that incidents and crime have on black people. Also, to improve representation so it is reflective of London’s black communities and, above all, to create a service that is fair, respectful and equitable in all its actions and interactions.

Zhane discussed her pride as someone serving her community and, although there have been challenging scenarios, particularly being part of a response team to suicides and public breakdowns, her experience in the police force has been positive. She highlighted multiple initiatives which the police are currently employing in order to increase help to the vulnerable.

Their general aims are for more trust, less crime, and higher standards.

One such initiative is VAWG [Violence against Women and Girls], which focusses on identifying practical solutions that will make a tangible difference, such as the creation of a new domestic violence unit.

Overall, PC Zhane St.Hilaire was highly informative about police practices and her experience and was an engaging speaker.  Furthermore, to celebrate Black History Month, Zhane and a colleague will be holding an African & Caribbean dance workshop on Tuesday 15 October which I’m sure many of us will attend.

Maya 
Sixth Form Head Girl

1956 Starters Lunch