School & Career

What is The Point in Learning Biology?

Last time we looked at uses of English, both in day-to-day life and in careers. Today we will focus on Biology – the study of life and living organisms in more detail that you could ever think necessary. So how is Biology useful in our day to day lives? How can we put the skills learned in Biology to use?
Here is where to find BIOLOGY … every day and everywhere

Read More...

Sports

Our ContiReporter Ailsa – Video Report from U17 Championship

 

Check out our ContiReporter’s fantastic video report from the Women’s U17 Championship, and tomorrow you can read her final report from the last day of her trip. 

If you missed part one and two, you can catch up now!

Ailsa went to the Women’s U17 Championship thanks to the kind support of Continental UK.  

 

 

 

 

 

Read More...

Science, Nature and Tech, Written By You

What Is a Raspberry Pi… and How Does it Work?

You may have heard of a Raspberry Pi – a credit card sized computer that plugs into your keyboard and monitor – but exactly what IS a Raspberry Pi, how does it work and what can you do with it?
12 year old Elspeth takes a closer look at the mini-computer and explains how even young kids can use it to learn how computers work and how to code.

Read More...

Art & History

Who Was Maya Angelou?

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson, in St Louis, Missouri, in 1928. Her brother could not pronounce her name properly and called her Maya, the name that she came to be known by.
She had a difficult childhood – after suffering abuse when she was eight years old, she stopped talking for five years.  She later wrote her autobiography, describing overcoming her childhood trauma, and growing up in the segregated south of USA – when people of colour and white people were not allowed to mix. She was committed to the civil rights movement, which aimed to break the segregation and allow people to live freely.

Read More...

Art & History

Falconry and the Tudors

Falconry and the Tudors

When you write a book that is set in a particular period of history, it is important to get the details correct. This means that writers of historical fiction have to do a lot of research.
The first scene of Katharine Edgar’s novel, Five Wounds takes place on a hillside in sixteenth century England, where her heroine, Nan, is hoping to see her young merlin falcon make its first kill. Katharine had find out all about falconry and the Tudors – the keeping and training of falcons, and other birds of prey.

When I showed the first scene of Five Wounds to some writing friends, some of them asked a question I wasn’t expecting. ‘How rich is Nan’s family? They live in a big house so why does she need to hunt for food?’

Good question!

Read More...