Student Report
6
SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION AT WATFORD GIRLS
M
any of us noticed the recent installation of
solar panels in the school. Situated on the
roof of the Sports Hall, which is free from
shade (and being fairly new will be able to support
their heavy weight), the installation of 199 panels is in
our eyes, simply enormous and very exciting.
The photovoltaic cells inside the panels directly convert
sunlight into electricity. How? Photovoltaic cells are
made of two layers of semiconducting material, such as
silicon. The first layer is ‘doped’ with phosphorus, which
makes it electron rich (negative), and the second layer
with boron, which makes it electron poor (positive).
These two layers are known as N-type and P-type
semiconductors and an electric field is established
between them. When a photon (particle) of light strikes
the cell it ‘knocks’ electrons from the N-type layer, and
because of the electric field they travel to the P-type
layer, creating a current. This electricity can be used
around the school, meaning we will need to purchase
less of it. However, the time of the year when it will
produce the most energy is during the summer months
of July and August when we are on holiday, leaving
nobody to utilise it. Therefore, we also expect to sell
lots of electricity back to the national grid.
Our solar panels have a system size of almost 50 kW
(kilowatt peak). This could produce enough power for
eight homes for a whole day. Usually this figure is 15-
20% lower in most cases, but nevertheless we will still
be producing our very own electricity! These days, it
is becoming increasingly important to use sustainable
methods of electricity generation, with non-renewable
resources quickly running out and the combustion of
fossil fuels fuelling not only our homes but global
warming too. Thus, these photovoltaic cells are a
brilliant way for us to help reduce this, with potential
generation being 44,000 kWh per annum and annual
carbon dioxide reductions over 23,000 kg. This will
help us reduce our carbon footprint too – as well as
being a great financial benefit for the school.
As they are positioned so high up, it is difficult to view the
solar panels themselves (believe me when I say this - we
tried absolutely everywhere), but that does not mean
that we cannot see what they are doing. In the foyer
of the sports block there is a display board showing
us various figures about their activity. For instance, at
around the end of January they had generated a total
of 1462 kWh of energy and saved 833 kg of carbon
dioxide! Despite only being active for a month, they
were already saving energy and reducing the carbon
dioxide we expel. The power being generated when
we noted these figures was 3.48 kW, which being just
enough to boil a kettle, was certainly not sufficient for
the whole school but with such large potential it’s sure
to go up, especially on a sunny day when the panels
have heated up. Make sure you take a look at the
display board when you next pass by, and perhaps
take time to compare what you see today to sometime
in the summer.
Certainly the solar panels are a wonderful addition to
the school, and we should all be very excited. Imagine:
right now they are probably busy generating electricity
(providing you are reading this during daylight hours)!
Thank you to SolarTech Ltd for the forecasts.
By Anisha Mehta and
Maya Harji 9A
The Grandad Tree & The Wedding
Tahirah Azmat 11C
M
y uncle’s wedding took place in my Grandma’s house in Pakistan. I
was six years old at the time and it made a great impression on me.
The weather was very warm and sticky, so I went to the huge ‘Grandad
Tree’ and sat underneath it as it was very shady. My parents, aunties,
uncles, Grandma and other relatives were having second thoughts about
the huge ‘Grandad Tree’. They wanted to cut it down because there was not
enough space for the wedding to take place. The reason it was called the ‘Old Grandad
Tree’ was because my Grandad planted it when he was a little boy. He passed away, but I
will never forget him, and the ‘Grandad Tree’ was a memory for me which will always stay
in my heart. The thought of cutting it down made us cry, because he was very caring and a lovely person. Nobody wanted
to cut it down, but as there was not enough space we had to. We took a picture of it and laid beautiful flowers on top of his
grave. Then we put the ‘Grandad Tree’ photo on top of the scented flowers. Between twenty men and ten women tried to cut
it down, but in the end they had to pull it down. Everyone was very upset.
While this was happening the bride was getting ready and so was the groom. The photographer came to take photos of
all of us. My siblings and I were happy because we liked him taking photos and everyone had a chance to be in a picture.
When the groom came in, he was wearing a white suit with red and white beads on the arms and a red scarf to represent
their love symbol. He wore long, red trousers and white shoes. When the bride came in with her bridesmaids and her father,
she was wearing a red and white dress with beads everywhere. She wore red, high-heeled shoes and had bridal make-up
on. The bridesmaids wore yellow and green dresses and white sandals. When everyone was ready to congratulate the bride
and groom, the bride and groom exchanged rings as a symbol of love and the photographer took photos of them.
After this, everyone went towards the dining area to eat their food. The food consisted of brown rice, sweet rice, chicken curry,
chicken wings, samosas, kebabs, pakoras, vegetable curry, chapatti, traditional sweets, and other traditional dishes.
When everyone had eaten they went home to change as there was a big party later in the evening. The bride wore heavy,
white jewellery and a white beaded dress and the groom wore a white beaded suit. We all watched the beautiful fireworks
and talked late into the night.
Venue and Facilities Hire at Watford Grammar School for Girls
Lady's Close, Watford, Hertfordshire WD18 0AE
Telephone: 01923 223403
Email:
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