Day 7 (9th June): London Day Tour

On the 7th day, we did some last minute packing, ate our breakfast, and got on the bus that would take us to London. It took us about an hour or two to reach Stratford in London, before we stopped and our tour guide got on. She was extremely friendly and her vast knowledge on London astonished us. 



The bus driver drove us around the Olympic sites in Stratford and so we managed to see the different buildings that they've built specifically for the 2012 Olympics. 


Also, we stopped by the Buckingham Palace, which is where the Royal Family lives on most days. We were able to get off the bus here, take a pictures of the palace and learn more about the history of the place. 


After that, we drove around London to look at the other various tourist attractions, such as the Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and the Big Ben. Unfortunately, we were unable to witness the changing of guards at the Buckingham Palace as the celebration for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee caused it to happen at another place. Not only did we just take photographs for memory's sake, but our tour guide explained many important historical and interesting facts about the different places we visited, which captivated our interest. 


After the short but exciting tour, we went to Covenant Garden for some shopping and to have our lunch. There was a performance in the centre space of Covenant Garden and we stopped to watch it. One of us (Daryl) was even asked to assist the person in his act! The performance was quite interesting. 

After having our lunch and doing some shopping, we got onto the bus again. Some of us headed to a theatre to watch the musical, 'Les Miserables' while some of us went to the National Science Museum. The group that we were in watched the captivating musical based on the French Revolution many years ago. All of us can safely say that the musical was one worth watching. We enjoyed it thoroughly! The actors' and actresses' singing was absolutely amazing and the story line was extremely inspiring yet sad at the same time. They could potray their various characters tremendously and some of us even cried whilst watching the musical. 













After the musical, we went to the airport. Overall, our day in London was quite different to what we experienced in Cambridge. For example, being one of the more popular places in the UK, London was much more crowded with possibly hundreds of people crowded around a certain place whereas Cambridge was a quieter place. There were also more tourists in London, what with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the upcoming London Olympics 2012, and it was a much more cosmopolitan city, as compared to Cambridge. 


We mostly saw students in Cambridge, since Cambridge had 32 colleges, but we could see a lot of people from all the different age groups in London. 


All of us were really reluctant to leave the UK as we had a great time there, gaining new experiences, enjoying the cool climate and making new friends. 


The one week seemed far too short and some of us were even hoping that the plane would be delayed! But as they say, all good things must come to an end.


- Sisyena, Claudia, Kristin (Cedar)
 

Day 6 (8th June): Science and Astronomy Lesson, Farewell

The second day of learning science with Reach Cambridge began with a recap on yesterday’s practical. The practical was basically about running diluted protein mixed with 3 solutions and one of which gave the mixture a bluish colour, depending on the concentration of protein. We then calculated the protein by running the coloured mixture through a spectrophometer which tells us the absorbance thereby allowing us to measure the amount of protein present after comparing it to a standard curve. 


Mr Saroj Velamakanni praised us for an excellent attempt as we had done a Year 2 undergraduate biology practical. From there we covered a topic on Antimicrobials. We learnt various bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal agents discovered by various scientists. For example, we learnt how Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered the bacteriocidal agent called penicillin. 


We ended off with learning about Malaria and HIV. After a short break, we proceeded on to gene cloning which was an exceptionally interesting topic.

- Ahmad (VS)

The final lesson on Astronomy was very intriguing. The formulas used to calculate distance of stars and such was a bit too over whelming for me personally but interesting nonetheless. It was even a bit exciting, not exactly the first word that comes to mind when saying "Astro Physics". Learning about the Universe was like a journey on its own and made us realise how insignificant we are on Earth compared to the rest of the Universe. 


On top of that, it was just beautiful- the swirling galaxies, 'young and hot' blue stars and all. I never thought you could calculate light intensities of stars either, or the speed at which a star moves (220 km/s for our very own Sun!). We also learnt how galaxies could clash together and combine into bigger galaxies. It was a short but a very educational lesson.

- Lokkesh (VS)

The day ended off with pizza being brought straight to us by the lovely Mr Daniel Strange. Everyone gathered around and was able to talk outside their usual circle of friends, with some boys talking to the girls and vice versa. After eating the brilliant pizza from Papa Jones, Daniel went on to present our certificates to each of us. 

Everyone looked really happy to receive them but there were some who also felt sad at the same time, knowing that this trip is coming to an end. 

Both schools ended up cheering to show how much school spirit that we Singapore schools have. In the end, everyone was able to get along with one another. We all managed to pull through grueling and mentally stimulating lessons through out the past week. 

Personally, I managed to make new friends along the way. Everyone widened their circle of friends as well.

I felt that this trip was very fulfilling as I managed to open my eyes to how different the teachings are in Cambridge compared to Singapore. I still remember the first day that I arrived in London, walking out of the airport with much excitement, and the sudden urge to go to the toilet when we reached our living lodge in Cambridge. As a final note, others should really join this course and go through this memorable and fun experience.

- Dylan (VS)

Day 5 (7th June): Science Lessons, Practical Lab session

Dr Saroj leading the discussion

During the morning session at the Castle, the teacher covered the definition of a good scientist, Green Chemistry, and a debate about the advantages and disadvantages of antibiotics. Although the definition of a good scientist was a minor segment of the morning session, I was deeply struck by the questions asked by the teacher, especially one where we were to state what sciences we would want to study in Cambridge. In the process of of answering this question, I suddenly felt riled up, and believed that if I did put in the extra effort, I could actually make it to Cambridge and have a chance to study my preferred field of Science. This has made me realize that it is possible to dream big, and aspire even harder to attain my goals. In Green Chemistry, we learnt more about what is being done to reduce our carbon footprint, and how we can play our part to reduce global warming. The debate on antibiotics challenged us to argue whether antibiotics are a boon or a bane to mankind. The lesson and discussions allowed me to look at Science on a global scale and that in the real world, it is not always possible to attain a win-win situation with the pros and cons to consider. 

Practical lesson at a Cambridge University Science Lab

In the afternoon, we went to the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge where we had a practical lesson in the science laboratory. My jaw literally dropped when I saw the facilities in the laboratory. The practical session was fun although I could not help but feel somewhat disappointed when my group's results did not achieve what was expected. Despite having a science background, the complexity of the task shocked me at first and made me realize that there is so much more to the sciences than what I have learnt in school. Overall, I feel that the Science course today has been a real eye-opener for me since I actually got to experience it in a different way.

- Ching Siu (CGS)

Sir Isaac Newton

What does it take to be a good scientist? That was the question that started off today’s lessons. A good scientist needs to have a natural curiosity about the world and have many different viewpoints on the same experiment. Marie Curie, Watson & Crick, Isaac Newton… these are just a few noble scientists that graduated from Cambridge University. After this, we touched on a piece of green chemistry. To be honest, I had never heard of green chemistry before today’s lesson. Learning how Green Chemistry will benefit the environment made me more conscious on the different environmental problems in the world. We also had a debate on the pros and cons of antibiotics. From that, I learnt that stopping medication of antibiotics halfway even when the illness is cured could lead to bad consequences. This was extremely intriguing to me as I am interested in the medical field.  

Watson & Crink:
Discoverers of the structure of DNA

Following this, we did an experiment on protein biochemistry called Protein Determination. We had to find out the amount of protein needed in each sample by comparing it with a control sample. By doing this experiment, I gained more insights on using the different laboratory tools and also what to use to create the sample for the experiment. This was something we have not done in Singapore before so I really enjoyed it. The huge lab, which was almost twice the size of the labs in Cedar, also enchanted me and having the chance to do an experiment in a Cambridge University lab was something not everyone would have the chance to. So that made me enjoy the experience even more.

Practical lesson at a Cambridge University Science Lab

Compared to the English lessons we had in the previous days, I was more interested in the science lessons today since in general I prefer Science to English. For Science, we got to experiment things we have never learnt before. Also since I’m more interested in the medical field in Science, I would be looking forward to the following lessons where we would be learning about gene therapy, drug discovery and anti-cancer drugs which are related to human health and medicine. 

- Geraldyn (CGS)

Science class today took us through what makes a good scientist, a debate on superbugs and antibiotics, a lesson on green chemistry and an experiment to quantify proteins. Relating the Science class to the English class, I found that a striking similarity between two is the need to view a subject from multiple perspectives. During English Class, the idea of modernism in art and writing requires one to look at something from different depths simultaneously in order to understand better. Similarly when learning science, we learn to view an outcome from different angles and come up with multiple explanations. 

Another common element is the need for an open mind to analyze and explain the world around us.

Dinner at The Giraffe

However, I feel science is also different from arts. In science, we deepen our understanding by expanding our knowledge of a certain field- discoveries are made everyday while in English we deepen our understanding of a text by discovering clues within the text itself. You could simply compare imagism and cubism with superbugs and green chemistry. In imagism we condense poetry to convey meaning more subtly while in Cubism, we observe how different shapes within a drawing interact with each other. Scientific discovery is very dynamic as chemicals, such as DDT, make problems come full circle and scientists are constantly creating new antibiotics to overcome superbugs. 

- Laura (CGS) 

After breakfast, we headed to the castle for our first science lesson. We met our Science lecturer, Dr Saroj, who introduced us on what makes a good scientist. Dr Saroj is a research Fellow from the Department of Pharmacology. Firstly we learned that scientist should never claim absolute knowledge as it is always open to falsification and that they always test hypothesis. Secondly, we learnt that the main criterion for good scientists should be that they should always extend their knowledge. Thirdly, they need to have a natural curiosity about the world in order for us to question everything we see and not take it for granted. They also should have an appetite to learn as for scientists it is a life-long learning process. They also should also have an ability to see things from many different perspectives so that they have alternative explanations. Then, they also should have an exceptional imagination in order to perceive how the world would be in the future. Last but not the least, they should have exceptional mathematical skills. These days, scientists are mainly judged through their publication record in scientific journals. Scientific journals communicate the research of these scientists. Most scientific journals cover a scientific field and publish research from within that field. So, the higher the number of times he has his researches published, the better a scientist is he.

 After the introduction we had a quiz in order to test our general knowledge. After the quiz, each of us was told to introduce ourselves and answer some questions based on our personal opinions. Some of us have similar personal opinions on who were the best scientists from Cambridge University such as Watson and Crick and Isaac Newton. Most of us also said that the most important discovery made in Cambridge is gravity or DNA. In my opinion, this lecture had enlightened me more about the job of the scientists and what they do. It is really useful and I enjoyed learning more about the job of a scientist.

After that, we had a lecture on Green Chemistry. We learnt that the definition of Green Chemistry is the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products. We also learnt that Green Chemistry is about reducing waste, hazard, materials, risk, the prominent part of our daily lives. The second reason is that chemical developments also bring new environment problems and harmful unexpected side effects, which result in the need for ’greener’ chemical products. Green Chemistry also looks at the pollution prevention on the molecular scale and is also an extremely important area of Chemistry due to the importance of Chemistry in our world today and the implications it can show on our environment.  Then we learnt the 12 principles of Green Chemistry such as Prevention, Atom Economy, Catalysis Designing Safer Chemicals, Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries, Design for Energy Efficiency, the Use of Renewable Feedstocks, Reduce Derivatives, Design for Degradation, Real-time Analysis for Pollution Prevention, Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention and Less Hazardous Chemical Synthesis. So, the major uses of Green Chemistry are Energy, Global Change, Resource Depletion, Food Supply and Toxics in the Environments. In my opinion, the Green Chemistry lecture was really useful as it taught me many ways where we can conserve a lot of things such as energy so that the Earth would be a much cleaner and greener environment.

After the lecture on Green Chemistry, we had a debate on whether antibiotics are a bane or a boon to mankind. One of the banes of antibiotics is the overuse of antibiotics which has a potentially serious effect on health. It is a contributing factor to the creation of “multi drug resistance bacteria” informally called superbugs. Relatively harmless bacteria can develop resistance to multiple antibiotics and cause life-threatening infections. Another bane of antibiotics is that some antibiotics induce hyper-sensitivity and cause allergic response. This can cause rashes or even skin diseases such as eczema. These banes of antibiotics are really serious issues that would affect the health of the individual if he does not take his medication properly with care or if he misuses them.

One of the many boons of antibiotics is that it is simple to use. When we use antibiotics, we just need to take the pill once or twice a day by swallowing the pill with a glass of water. Thus, the drugs can be used broadly by all age groups. Another boon of antibiotics is that it does not create any problem in tissue and intracellular penetration. Thus, these antibiotics would just kill the bad bacteria or virus in our body. At the same time, they would not cause any serious problems to our body. So with proper use of the medication, antibiotics would only cure our diseases without affecting our health.

Then, we thought of ways of how to reduce the misuse of antibiotics. One of the answers that had been given by us was to educate the public to complete the antibiotics. We also talked about mainland China and India where the misuse of drugs are common as the people living there are quite poor and so, they stop taking their medication in the belief that they are cured. For example, tuberculosis requires a 6 month therapy. However, some of the poor people in mainland China and India would stop their medication after a week or two when most of the symptoms would go away. However, the bacteria are only dormant in our body and have not fully left yet. So when they stop taking antibiotics, these bacteria would become active again but this time, they would change their shapes so that the original antibiotics used by the patient would be ineffective against these bacteria. In my opinion, I found the debate highly entertaining and exciting.

Most of us were able to voice out our opinions about the reasons why antibiotics are a boon or a bane. I really enjoyed the debate as it taught me many things which I did not know at first. This is a really great and unique experience for me as we looked deeply and analyzed the solutions for the misuse of antibiotics and also the boons and banes of these antibiotics. Then Dr Saroj introduced us to protein biochemistry such as SDS-PAGE and Protein Determination. He also told us important information such as the fact that bigger proteins on a gel will run slower as they have a higher molecular mass when compared to smaller proteins We also learnt that amino acids, which makes us proteins, are either positively charger, neutral or negatively charged. Lastly, we learnt that protein separation depends on either their size or charge. After the protein biochemistry lecture, we went to the Cambridge city centre to get lunch and buy some souvenirs. 

After lunch, we headed to the Department of Pharmacology for our Science Practical Session. We were introduced to Dr Saroj’s colleagues and were also told to be quiet as exams were still taking place in the university. Dr Saroj told that the experiment that we had done was mostly commonly done by second year medical students. The experiment was about proteins, and we felt very excited and that the lesson was fun as it was the first time that we had lessons pitched at such a high level. It was a wonderful and unique experience as it is such a rare opportunity to do what second-year Cambridge students are doing. In my opinion, the practical session was really fun and entertaining as I was able to learn and experiment with things that we would never get a chance to do in Victoria School. We really enjoyed it very much and I really hope that I could do more of such in the future when I go to university.

We then had dinner at the ‘Giraffe’ restaurant where we met Joshua and Calvin, two Cambridge students who graduated from Victoria School in 2004. They told us about how they got into Fitzwilliam College of Cambridge University through scholarships and that it was extremely enriching learning at the University. YOu have to learn how to be independent as you are away from home for a long time, and you have to do things such as doing the laundry and cooking meals on your own. They also told us there aren’t really any CCAs so if we wanted to play a sport or start a club or society, we could get together a group of friends who share the same interest as and just do those sports or activities together. They then told us the process of applying for a scholarship. For his PSC scholarship, Calvin shared how he was interviewed by a panel of 12 high-ranking officers, some of whom were clad in military uniform. He also had to endure an intense 4-hour test with a Psychologist. He told us about the wonderful experience he has had studying in Cambridge, such as the privilege of having friends living next door, so that when you have a question that you do not know how to answer, you can simply knock on the door of your neighbor and ask him for help. We also learnt that you are able to choose your own courses after you get the scholarship. That was not what I expected to hear as I thought that you would be given a course once your application for the scholarship is successful. 

Through this talk with Joshua and Calvin, we were  motivated by what our seniors have achieved. They told us that we have to take the initiative to attend the lectures by the professors as they would not bother to hunt us down if we skip any of them. They are also able to choose when they want their supervision sessions with their professors to be. Most importantly, we learnt that we have to do our best to achieve our goals, regardless of what they are. In my opinion, this talk by Joshua and Calvin had given me more confidence in being able to aspire of going to Cambridge University in the future. They also gave us their e-mails so that we would be able to ask them any questions in the future.

Overall, we had a wonderful time. It was really exciting to explore things that we have not learnt in school. I especially enjoyed the Science Practical Lessons in the Department of Pharmacology. It was our first Science day in Cambridge and it was a really unique experience. 

- Alvinn, Joshua, Darryl (VS)

Day 4 (6th June): Taming of the Shrew, St John's College, Fitzwilliam Museum

We had watched a movie last night in Chesterton towers. It was called “10 Things I Hate About You” by Gil Junger. It is a modern adaptation of the play written by William Shakespeare “Taming of the Shrew”. As mentioned, it is a modern adaptation of the play, hence not every element of the play was transferred over to the movie. 

Today’s morning session was a open discussion of elements that are brought over into the film and those that are not brought over. The premises for such actions were also discussed. I feel that this is a very good activity as this lesson not only applied to adaptations of plays but also movies adapted or based off books. Movies are largely only two hours long, hence much content from books must be cut out in order fufil the length requirement. Hence, directors need to know what is to be cutout and what is to be kept in order to make sure they produce a good film. What was discussed in the lesson were not only elements that were brought over and the premises for them, but also references put into the play and the themes being discussed in the play and movie. What was interesting and somewhat amusing were some of the references to Shakespeare about the movie; such as the naming of the father’s name to be Mr Stratford, and Stratford-upon-Avon college being the college that William Shakespeare had attended. Also, the classes that were featured in the movie were English Literature classes specifically studying William Shakespeare, the original play was set in Padua, Italy and the movie being set in Padua High School, in USA. The most thought-provoking session of the lesson was where we talked about the themes being discussed in both the play and the movie. 

Despite the play being written in 1623, themes such as women rights, power relation and control
were being discussed at that time. These themes were also brought over in the movie which was produced in 1999. These themes, in my opinion, were brought over as they are still largely relevant in modern day society. The themes such as domestic violence and torture from the play were not brought over into the movie as it would make the movie irrelevant to be watched in the current society and it would make the movie a unpopular one. The theme that struck me the most was control. In the play, Katharine was a uncontrollable, vulgar and blunt woman. Yet, when she marries Petruchio, she is obedient to his words and loyal to him. Hence, the title of the play being the “Taming of the Shrew”. While in the movie, the control being discussed is the control that Mr Stratford has over his daughters. Mr Stratford had strict rules such as  “ No dating until you graduate “ which shows the Mr Stratford wants to have control on almost everything, even their relationships and personal life. There have also been conflicts about Kat’s education choices and Mr Stratford’s education choices. I feel that despite the movie being only a modern adaptation of the play, there are many events in the movie that can be interpretted as metaphors. One I spotted was that Petruchio was in search of wealth, so he married Katharine. While, in the movie, Patrick had first tried courting Kat because of the monetary incentive he received. 

After the intensive session of discussion, we had a task of converting a scene in the play to a movie production of our own, with details such as camera movement and sounds.  Its was a very meaningful experience as we realised how challenging it was to translate Old English to modern English. Soon, we had lunch at Cambridge City Centre and I found an artisan candy shop, Hardy’s, where I found a really interesting Spicy Chocolate branded by Tabasco. 

We carried onto the Fitzwilliam Museum where we were specifically told not to touch anything, letting us realise the significance and age of the pieces in the museum. There was a diverse variety of art in the museum, such as modernist pieces, 18^th century pieces and even Chinese artifacts. One that particularly caught my eye was the drawing called “The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse” which I found in the section of 18^th century art. We had the task of writing an imagist poem after finding artpiece in the museum that we really enjoyed. At the end of the day, we had a hearty and rather spicy meal at the Thai restaurant, Sala Thong Thai. Putting a great finish to a great day.

- Keith Lau (VS)

Reflection on Fitzwilliam Museum 

The visit to Fitzwilliam Museum was what I felt was the highlight of the day. There was a massive art gallery plus some aincient Greek and Egyptian artifacts and a touring exhibition of Han-era Chinese artifacts. The Chinese gallery had some very interesting artifacts, inccluding bronze weapons and ware. However what I felt was the most interesting was the jade artifacts, including a giant life-size jade burial suit and a jade tomb. These were pretty shocking as it showed the level of intricacy and skill in craft already achievable thousands of years ago. In the jade suit, each jade plate was connected together by a gold pin, and they were all put together in astonishing accuracy and symmetry. 

After that, we went to the main art gallery. In the first room, there were printed works, done by a technique known as printmaking. In printmaking, the artist basically cuts from a material then colours it then ‘prints’ it on paper. It amazes me that artists are able to achieve such a level of artistic detail on this medium. After that, we saw artwork from different periods, from the 16th century to the 20th century. There were huge collections of Rennaisance and post-Rennaisance work of varying subject matter, from still-life paintings of fruit to huge panoramic landscape paintings. There were also impressionist paintings from the late 19th century and early 20th century. I was pleasantly surprised that there were works by famous paintings like Claude Monet on display. 

- Ang Zhen Yi (VS)

St John's College

Yesterday night, we watched the movie “10 Things I Hate About You”, which is a modern adaptation of the Shakespearean play “The Taming of the Shrew”. One main thing I felt about the movie is that it seemed more like a teenage love flick than an adaptation of a Shakespearean play. The actual play focused on the torture inflicted on Kat by Patruchio, while the movie focused on how Patrick made Kat fall in love with him with less brutal means. Shakespearean plays all tend to have a very dark atmosphere to them, involving grosteque themes and events such as war, poisoning, assassination, death duels and torture. 

Jerry, Keith and Zhen Yi

Such themes probably would not receive much welcome from a modern audience, especially due to the rise of feminist ideas. This is especially true in the case of “The Taming of the Shrew” as it involves the torture of a woman, breaking her will and changing her mindset. The entire play shows how a woman is changed by her interactions with a guy and the methods employed by the man are far from acceptable to the majority of the modern audience. The idea of “10 Things I Hate About You” having a modern school setting appeals to the younger generation as they too are going through this school life and may find that they can relate to the characters and circumstances in the movie. Despite the large change from ancient Shakespearean times to modern school days, the film retains many aspects and makes many references to Shakespeare and the original play throughout the entire movie. Some parts are good for creating a humorous effect, such as one of the characters being named William S, after Shakespeare himself. There are also times when other characters show relations to the Shakespearean time period, and they all combine together to bring about a slightly comedic effect to the movie. 

Elizabeth and Jerry

This morning, we had a session on adaptation “From Print to Screen”. During this session, we discussed the differences and similarities between the original play and the modern adaptation of “The Taming of the Shrew”. This short activity allowed us to gain greater insight to the way adaptation works and how directors try to retain the main idea of the whole show while changing it to make it enjoyable for a modern audience. We also discussed the themes present in the movie and found that there were many underlying themes which were not very easily detected as they became slightly more abstract thanks to the adaptation. One of the themes which struck me greatly was power relations. This is a theme which is also present in the book that I am studying for my literature class in school, The Crucible. In the book, there is a shift in power relations from the adults having more power, to the adolescent girls wielding majority of the power. In the case of ’10 things I hate about you”, there is a shift in power from Mr. Stratford to his daughters. All his life, Mr, Stratford has been trying to put himself in control of his daughters’ lives. As his daughters eventually grow up, they both realise that what their father wants, they do not want. One wants to experience love while the other wants to be a unique individual. With their actions, they eventually wield more power and control over their lives than their father as they get rebellious and make their own decisions on their own. In the end, their father realises that his daughters have grown up and that he should no longer attempt to restrict their lives. 

After the intense yet enlightening discussion, we had an activity where we had to change the script of “The taming of the shrew” to a modern adaptation in a creative yet effective way. This taught us a lot, especially because it helped us realise how difficult it was to change something from Old English to Modern English. 

"Cold death sneaks up on
The frailty of human life
Attempting to steal"

- Jerry Lim

Following the session in the morning, we went down to the Cambridge City Centre for lunch as well as a visit to the Fitzwillem Museum which housed many impressive artworks. While the majority of the exhibits were artworks, there was also a small section showing ancient Chinese artifacts. We were also instructed to craft a short poem or haiku about any exhibit in the museum. I went around the museum with Elizabeth, and with her help, was able to create a decent haiku. Once we were done with our trip to the museum, we proceeded to have dinner at the Sala Thong Thai Restaurant. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable for me as I could not take spicy food, so together with Ue Tsz, had to order something completely different from what our friends were eating. At first we thought that we would be going hungry as we might not get to change our meal choices, but Dan reassured us that he would let us get something we could eat. So quickly, yet another lovely day of this trip has passed by.

- Jerry Lim (VS)

At the streets edge

You lie only paces away

A land of eden resource

Only for those with the dough  

- Keith Lau (VS) 

Day 3 (5th June): Print vs Screen, Fish n Chips and Movie night

Reflections of Day 3 by Alvinn (VS)

Today, we ate a traditional English breakfast at Acorn Guest House. Then we proceeded to the Castle for today’s lesson. Firstly, we discussed on the books we read and how we read them. Various answers by us were textbooks, fiction books, newspapers and online articles. I also learnt that we read for information, learning, imagination and communication. Then we discussed the differences between reading books and reading on the screen. For reading, various learning that we provided were that it was leisurely, addictive, absorbing, thought provoking and enjoyable. For reading on a screen, various answers such as entertaining, informative, convenient were provided. From this activity, I was able to really distinguish the differences between reading books and reading on a screen.

Visualising the past 

We also learnt to understand the differences between reading and scanning too. Reading is when we digest information while scanning is when we skim through it as though we are looking for something. Then we did another activity where we closed our eyes and tried to remember past enjoyable memories of reading. I wrote of the time when I I was 7 years old when my mother read to me about Queen Elizabeth I during my first visit to the library. I also remembered that the main reason I asked my mother to read to me that book was due to its wonderful illustrations.

After this activity, we did a timeline from the first time someone read to us till our reading habits in the present. We also discussed a little about the fact that of people living in the past were called “People of the Book” but now we were called “People of the Screen”. “People of the Book” rely mostly on books, magazines or newspaper but “People of the Screen” rely mostly on computers, laptops, Ipads or their phones to access the Internet in order to read newspapers, books or magazines.

We also watched a video called “Is a magazine a broken iPad?”.

The video was about a one-year-old toddler who was more successful in using an iPad than a magazine. Then, we gave the girl a name (Virgil) before comparing how much things might change in 15 years’ time and the present. So, we were supposed to imagine that it is 2027 and the girl is a teenager. Thus, we were supposed to tell her how we used to read books during our time but now during her time, everyone is using their iPads or laptops.

After this activity was over the class was split up into two groups. We were supposed to debate about the advantages of reading through a screen against the advantages of reading on a book. Our group was a pre-screen and so we were supposed to support reading through a screen. So, we discussed all the advantages of reading though a screen and disadvantages of reading on a book.

Lunch at Tesco

 After that we took a 15-minute walk to the Tesco superstore and we ate our lunch at the café there and also did some shopping at the same time.

After lunch, we had our debate. It was quite interactive and engaging. Most of us were able to voice out our opinions about the reasons why reading books or reading on a screen is better. After a long, tiring and really entertaining debate, our group managed to convince Mr John that reading on a screen is better. I really enjoyed the debate very much.

Then, Mr John told us to do a paragraph of a narrative essay and expository essay each about a blind or deaf man. I really think that this essay was very useful as it teaches us how to describe objects better and also to be more flexible in the way we think so that it would be easier for us to put ourselves in the shoes of a blind or deaf man and feel how they feel about their condition. Each time we finished an activity Mr John would ask us to read our work aloud. Overall, he told us he was quite impressed with our work and the amount of effort we put in it.

VS VP, Mr Chow, with a Reach Cambridge Inspector

After the debate, Mr John gave out an article about the third annual Bulwer-Lytton Contest which was held in 1984. The aim of the contest was to see who is able to write the worst possible opening sentence for a novel. After reading the article, we were supposed to write our very own bad opening sentences for 5 genre: Crime, Horror, Romance, Adventure and Fantasy. In my opinion, it is quite difficult to write a bad opening sentence as we would need to know all the things that make it sound bad in the first place such as the anticlimax,wordiness, parody and a few other aspects. 

Relaxing outside The Castle

Lastly we are supposed to write an essay on our journey from Singapore to Cambridge. However, due to a lack of time, we were not able to finish it. Mr John also gave out the synopsis of “The Taming of the Shrew” so that we could read it before watching the movie “Ten things I hate about you”.

Then, we ate a traditional English dinner of Fish and Chips at the Castle and it was delicious and mouth-watering.  Then, we watched “Ten things I hate about you” which is a modern retelling of “The Taming of the Shrew”. The show was really meaningful, romantic and humourous at the same time. It was a really wonderful movie and we also ate some snacks such a popcorn and biscuits. I really enjoyed the movie very much. On the whole, I really enjoyed today’s lesson a lot as it was very interactive and exciting due to Mr John’s vigour and wonderful teaching style.

- Alvinn Philips (VS)

Reflections of Day 3 by Jaslyn, Cristalle, Elizabeth (CGS)

Yesterday we learnt about the different elements that make up a good essay which includes style, structure, focus and answering questions. Mr John emphasized structure and ‘hitting the point’ when writing essays. For example, he thought us how to use the road-map method to plan our essay well. This method is useful for our planning of essays because it allows us to think about each point in depth and to make sure it does not go out of point. Personally, we felt that he could have elaborated more on the method as it is a useful tool for our essay writing. After that, we had an activity on the condensation of texts which can help us in making our essays more concise and to the point. We enjoyed this activity because we were able to clearly see the importance of using simple key words to make our pint easily understood. At the end of the lesson, we were instructed to write a summary of what we have learnt, which helped us reinforce what we have learnt. On the whole, we find that this lesson was effective because we could understand his teaching. 

Today we started off with thinking about our reading habits – how wand why we read the way we read. There was a short activity when Mr John got all of us to close our eyes and recall what we had read when we were younger. After that, he got us to draw a time-line of our reading experiences. This helped us realise how our reading habits have evolved over the years. For example, when we were younger we would only read picture books, however as we have grown older, we have progressed to reading more complex texts which require more in-depth thinking and have turned to even using technology. For example, sometimes, we use our phones or computers to read e-books instead of paperbacks. This has also affected the content we read. Reading using our phones or the computer enables us to access texts with a greater diversity of content. However, it also means that we pay less attention to the minor details of a story or article. Personally, we found this activity very enlightening for us as we became more aware of how our reading habits have changed as we mature. After that, we compared reading on a screen to reading on print, and we realised how different they are. Reading books is more of a personal activity/ experience. We do it at a more leisurely pace and enjoy the process. Reading books opens up a whole new world and we are able to empathise with the characters in the story.

On the other hand reading on screen is more interactive and informative, for usually when we read on screen, we are often searching for something specific to complete an assignment for example. However, when we read on screen, we are not always focussed, and we get distracted easily. After lunch, we had a debate on the different mediums – whether books or computers are better. It  was rather exciting and ironic because the team supporting books in fact used computer screens to present their argument. We ended off concluding that what matters most is the content, not the medium, so long as the authors continue writing stories that are good, the method of presentation does not matter much.

For the next half of the lesson, we focused on creative writing. We had a friendly competition on bad introduction for novels which benefitted us a lot, as we were able to understand what makes a good introduction and what does not. Next we were told to write an exposition and a narrative about how it would be like if we lost either our sight or hearing. This forced us to write while being more reliant on and explore our other senses, allowing us to greatly improve our descriptive writing skills. As readers, we read books that interest us, so we should know what it takes to catch the attention of a reader. Hence, through the exercise we also learnt to picture ourselves as the readers of our essays so as to make the content more interesting.

To sum up what we have learnt, reading and writing are an important part of our everyday life. This course really made us see the importance of such skills because being a good writer does not make you a good reader neither does being a good reader, a good writer. In order to be good in both reading and writing, we realised we should read deeply and not simply scan through the texts we read, so while doing so, we will gradually be influenced by other writer’s styles and ideas which will in turn improve our writing skills. We found Mr John’s teaching style more engaging compared to our school teachers and that’s probably the reason why we were able to absorb most things that he taught us. However, we feel that he could have spoken more slowly so that we can process the information more easily.

- Jaslyn, Cristalle, Elizabeth (CGS)

Reading in the 21st Century: an overview of the technological innovations of contemporary society and how they change the process of reading and writing

The lesson was on how reading has changed, literally. Now, we have phones, computers, Facebook, Twitter and of course blogs! Right now, the world is in a state of transition. Who knows in a few years time, books may suffer the same fate as the Dinosaurs – they become extinct. In the past, humans have been dubbed “People of the book”. Now, humans are called “People of the screen”. Many humans, especially the young people prefer watching a movie of the book rather than reading the book. This shows how much have changed since the past when books were considered the best form of entertainment.

(Here's a reflection done in class by Jeremy Loh on his reading experience)

"I traveled back to a recent time when I was really engrossed with reading, probably a year or two before 2012. My brother showed me a book about magicians – My favorite! I’ve always loved fantasy and science fiction and I was so caught up in the Black Magician Trilogy Series by Trudi Canavan that I had wished for the series to never end, something I never did before. 

I felt like everything was so real in the book. The Kingdom of Kyralia, the characters like Rothen, Lorlen, Dannyl, Akkarin and Sonea. Sonea was the main protagonist and the way the book was written made me feel like I was her, living her life, feeling her experiences and emotions. From an outcast to a well known and respected magician, falling in love with the High Lord and being exiled for learning the forbidden Black Magic just to save the kingdom from an incoming invasion which no one believed. 

I cried whilst reading the ritual of her exile as it was written in a way that I could see it happening before me. The pain in her heart for disappointing her mentor and close friend and being forced away from the country when war was just days away. I have never felt that connected to a book or character before in my life! 

When I finally closed the book after reading the final chapter, I just had mixed emotions. I was sad because the series ended, happy at the brilliance of the writing, pitiful for Sonea as her lover died and hopeful as a new sequel to the series would be written and released shortly. The book really gave me a new perspective on reading, as it was the first series that I had really thoroughly enjoyed and was actually addicted to it. ‘The High Lord’ was the most impactful of the series as it really brought out feelings in me that I never felt before. After all, guys are supposed to only shed blood and not tears." 

Today’s lesson also had an activity on debate. It was about whether reading printed text or reading from the screen was better. We were to defend reading printed text and worked with our other members to gather points that will help turn the tide to our favor. In the process of the debate, there were both pros and cons to both mediums of reading.

Debate: Print vs Screen

For example, printed texts are cheaper yet they are inconvenient to carry around. Reading from screens is more diverse but the reader is easily distracted as they are constantly bombarded by various pop ups and advertisements which disrupts their flow of thoughts.

The debate gave everyone a different perspective on each matter and our teacher John O’Conner Gomez stepped in now and then to give his own input into each matter as well as carry on the flow of ideas by adding his own.The debate got quite heated near the climax as both groups exhausted every point they had to try to win others to their side.

Personally, we feel that screens are just means to disseminate information while printed text is for deep and detailed reading during one’s private time. Even though using screens to read is more entertaining, instantaneous and diverse, they should only be turned to when there is no better alternative because once you’re in the zone of reading, you’re in the zone and nothing can disturb your one-on-one time with the book.

- Jeremy Loh and Chong Kia An (VS)

Reflection on Dinner at The Castle, and movie night

Fish n Chips dinner

The classroom turns into a private cinema

Today, I must say, is one of the most memorable days among the past few days. Dinner served today was traditional fish and chips, in Singapore, fish and chips served came in plates. However, today's dinner came in paper packets. Mr Dan Strange then explained to us that this was the traditional way of wrapping fish and chips. This had a strong impact as I could now understand the different cultures and tradition between Singapore and England. I must say that England obviously has a richer culture and tradition than Singapore, judging from the unique way of their food packaging. 

After the sumptuous dinner of English Fish and Chips, came the movie "10 Things I Hate About You". It is a touching movie adapted from William Shakespeare's play "The Taming of the Shrew".  As a romantic comedy, the director really brought out the meaning of love, the mutual love that is the important factor in the show, instead of puppy love. A character in the movie named Patrick Verona, was an outcast in school and he was deemed a hooligan. However, because of his love towards Kat, another high school student, he was willing to turn over a new leaf and quit smoking for the sake of the girl. After watching this movie, I was really touched at the movie plot. It was well written as it brought out the elements of true love. Overall, I can say that today was very memorable, with the knowledge of English tradition and the little enlightenment of true love.

- Ernest Ng (VS)