Last weekend, we had the opportunity to compete for the Regional Air Squadron Trophy. We were competing against 12 schools from the South West in 5 categories - Drill, Military Knowledge, Command Task, Shooting, First Aid and Aircraft Recognition. We came 2nd in the whole competition that included a 2nd place in First Aid, 3rd place in Drill and joint 3rd in Command Task.

We left Reading School on Saturday morning, to travel to Blandford Forum in Dorset. On the way there, we stopped at the Army Flying Museum in Middle Wallop, learning about the history and uses of different aircrafts over time.

On Wednesday 10th January, we had the opportunity to travel to Oxford University to participate in the Top of the Bench competition, a challenge designed to put practical and teamwork skills into action whilst inspiring excitement about Chemistry.

We spent the day at the university’s world-renowned laboratory and were able to use advanced equipment, such as a UV-vis spectrophotometer! The challenge required us to use our understanding and knowledge of Chemistry to attempt the challenges set for the key stage higher than ours.

On Friday 8th December, a group of A-Level Geographers had the privilege of attending a Model UN conference at Reading Town Hall, representing the USA and Brazil.

The conference kicked off with an inspiring talk from the Mayor of Reading, who spoke about the importance of stopping climate change and protecting the world for future generations to come. This was followed up by a keynote speaker who then set the ground rules for diplomacy and officially called for the conference to begin.

On the 4th November, I competed in the 50th Wado Kai European Karate Championships in Strasbourg, along with 450 other competitors from all over Europe and emerged with a Silver medal in the individual category and a Bronze from the team category, despite only having two days to practise with my team members. In preparation, I attended extra weekly training sessions with my sensei and even politely requested some assistance from an ever so slightly-unwilling older brother.

On 12th December, students studying GCSE German had the opportunity to go to Reading University for a 'German on-campus day' to discuss migration and identity in Germany. 

We started the day by discussing how we would define identity and what many people may feel when they have mixed ethnic backgrounds. We then learnt about the ‘Wirtschaftswunder’, also known as the economic miracle, where, shortly after the Second World War, Germany invited many people from Turkey to join their workforce to help revive their economy. These Turkish workers were known as ‘Gastarbeiter’ (guest workers).  We watched a film, Almanya (2011) which followed the life story of a ‘Gastarbeiter’. The film illustrated his struggles to get used to German customs and how his successive generations tried to find their individual identities.