Chronicle Summer 2023

25 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

The Jewellery Department By Yukino Watanabe, Lower Sixth

Jewellery has long been a great strength at Teddies and it is one of the few schools in the UK to offer such extensive opportunities in the discipline. Staff in the Department have a great deal of experience and all are specialists in the art of jewellery making. In the Shell, pupils are introduced to the subject, giving everyone the chance to take it further if they wish. The journey starts by learning the basic techniques, such as soldering and cutting out pendants. As pupils progress into the Middle School, they can opt to take the Jewellery Pathway, which is a relatively new course designed by Teddies in conjunction with leading educationalists. It is equivalent to a Jewellery GCSE but it allows pupils greater freedom in terms of choice of project, design direction and techniques employed. They might make use of the 3D printer, for instance, or they might prefer working with their hands. Whatever their project, pupils will carry out independent Romy Hunter writes: In Shell Geography, we spent the Spring Term designing our urban city plan. Our plans included sustainable housing, recreation or facilities, schools, offices, workspaces, transport links and green space. This helped us to develop planning skills, strategic thinking and creativity. Poppy Luttrell-Hunt writes: During the Fourth and Fifth Forms, we learn about our world and community. Fourth Form Geographers went on a field trip to Studland Bay, where we measured the beach profile and recorded the difference in sediment size along the beach. We were encouraged to look out for any construction happening on the beach or any development to stop coastal erosion. The trip was really enjoyable because it was the first time that many of us had carried out research in the field, and it was really good to be involved in group work. Now, in the Fifth Form, I am studying rural environments.

research, develop their sketching skills and delve into the entrepreneurship side of jewellery production. In the Sixth Form, Jewellery is available as an A Level and as a component in Visual Art in the IB. In the A Level course, pupils look in more depth at materials and techniques, and explore the work of a wider range of artists and cultures. In IB Visual Art, pupils have the opportunity to create a piece of jewellery. Studying Jewellery brings many benefits. It helps us to develop technical skills such as craftsmanship and sketching. It also fosters creativity, imagination, problem-solving skills and persistence as well as encouraging self expression. With the facilities and teaching at Teddies, pupils can make a design and fashion a real piece of jewellery. This is an exceptional creative opportunity which we encourage more pupils to take up as they move through the School. Tom Gardiner writes: I am in the Lower Sixth and I study A Level Geography. We have covered population and migration in Human Geography, and hydrology, tectonic activity and weathering in the Physical aspect of the subject. However the Geography Department is not restricted to the classroom. Our teachers organise many talks on a wide range of geographical topics. Recently, Dipo Faloyin gave a talk about his book, Africa is not a Country , in which he discussed the role that colonialism played in the disputes of modern Africa and how countries were created from land stolen from the groups that lived there. He spoke about ‘straight line borders’ and how they split up tribes and groups creating conflict that in many places still goes on today. The second part of his talk made the point that, even if they mean well, depictions of Africa in western media can have a negative impact on many African nations.

The Geography Department Coordinated by Tom Gardiner