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Thirds Go Potty For Potter
After a busy first few weeks our Thirds had a week
of fun and excitement as they celebrated everything
Harry Potter. There were different activities on offer
every lunchtime and after school: quizzes, Quidditch,
debating, potion making and a treasure hunt.
House Points became Harry Potter Points as our four Houses
competed eagerly to claim the Harry Potter Challenge Cup.
Lunchtime Quidditch games were competitive to say the least; it
appeared to be an exhausting combination of netball and basketball
played with one hand while “riding” a broomstick with a few rugby
tackles thrown in for good measure, Apparently there were some
rules! Debating whether Snape truly deserved to be sent to Azkaban
was a far less riotous activity, but produced lots of thoughtful and
well considered arguments.
Thursday proved to be the climax of the week. Bancroft’s uniforms
were exchanged for Hogwarts’ robes, although there were some
more ambitious costumes on display such as: a fantastic mandrake;
a Dumbledore or two; a brace of prisoners of Azkaban and a couple
of Bellatrix Lestranges. Eden Falconry visited in the afternoon to
introduce us to their beautiful owls: Mr Forbes; Fudge; Juan Carlos
and Big Alice. The display was full of fascinating facts and, when
asked who wanted to hold an owl, every hand in the room shot into
the air, leaving Head, Mr Marshall, with the difficult task of selecting
just five lucky pupils.
Truly a wizard way to end the half term!
ENGLISH / LIBRARY 11
Visit From Acclaimed Novelist and Poet
David Nana, 5S
On Wednesday 5 December members of the Literary
Society had the opportunity to attend a talk by Sophie
Hannah about her life as a poet and author as well as
receiving fascinating advice which would be particularly
useful to any future aspiring writers or poets.
Her passion for poetry and writing appeared to be something which
ignited at a young age as she often sacrificed schoolwork in order
to spend time practising her hobby. By the tender age of seventeen,
Hannah had already sent publishers a range of her own poems and
crime novels and, although many of her creations were initially
rejected, an essential idea of persistence was conveyed to us after
learning that her first crime story,
Little Face
, had been rejected by
seven different editors before its concept was finally accepted by a
publishing house. This experience of hers unquestionably appears to
abide to the well-known phrase, “Persistence is Key.”
Throughout the talk, Hannah explained how many of her ideas for
novels almost always derive from personal experiences, with one of
her wildest ideas being formulated whilst awaiting the birth of her
daughter in hospital. This idea consisted of switching babies at birth
and resulted in the creation of her first book,
Little Face
. Personal
experiences also tend to be recurring tropes in her poems such as one,
which would be clearly relatable to any Bancroftian who has had to sit
an external exam, about the atrocious marking by external examiners
which was inspired by her husband’s final university exam where his
69.5% was rounded down instead of being rounded up… he therefore
missed his First by a mere 1%!
Overall, the talk was an opportunity to gain a basic understanding
of a poet’s life, the struggles they often face and, most importantly,
a chance to learn something new. For instance, I would never have
guessed that Agatha Christie, for whom Hannah had written several
continuation novels, was and still is the world’s best-selling novelist
who has ever lived outselling even J K Rowling; Christie is outsold only
by
The Bible
and Shakespeare. The experience was certainly a valuable
one for those who attended and we are thoroughly thankful towards
Hannah for such a unique and wonderful opportunity.