Magna Carta Anniversary: 2015
Last year I visited the fascinating Magna Carta exhibition at the British Library. It was certainly very captivating
and thought-provoking, explaining not only about the Magna Carta itself, but how it has caused so many
important historical events, and affects us even today.
Sealed in 1215 in Runnymede by an unwilling King John, it was created by the Barons as John had been raising
taxes heavily for his war in France. The Barons wanted to stop him abusing his power as king in the feudal system,
and the Divine Right (which was the belief that the king was advised by God) to take money. They therefore
decided something had to be done, and tried to negotiate with John. When this was unsuccessful, civil war broke
out, but John was forced to sign the Magna Carta when the Barons seized London.
The exhibition explored this by explaining contemporary sources (such as part of the ‘Chronica Majorca’ written
by monks at St Albans Abbey), using the opinions and explanations from historians, and showcasing artefacts from
the time. Seeing the original manuscripts and articles was really captivating, and drew us into the remarkable
document and legacy we were being told about.
Although the Magna Carta did not serve its purpose back then, as John did not abide by it, three clauses still
remain in today’s English law. One defends the right of the Church, another the customs of cities and towns,
and the third, which is the most influential today, gives all freemen justice and ‘lawful judgement’. As only a
small proportion of the population were actually freemen, it did not make so much of an impact then, but it
forms the basis of so much today including the American and English Bills of Rights, The American Independence
Declaration, the American Civil Rights Acts, and the UN Human Rights Charter and much more. It was truly mind-
blowing, walking through the exhibition and looking through the displays of so many events influenced by this one
seal, from the tea trade in India to the Suffrage movement.
For me, going through this exhibition helped me understand how influential the Magna Carta still is to this day
and how something made way back in history is relevant in modern times and I hope that it has done the same
for you.
Anisha Mehta 9A
Little Staffroom of Horrors
Have you heard of the pot plant on the staffroom win-
dowsill?
It seems to look quite harmless, but in fact it will kill.
Teachers who dare venture near its resting place
Will soon disappear, and leave not a trace.
The attacks started small, when one poor teacher
Lost what she considered to be her best feature:
Her toes, which had suddenly gone missing
And all she remembers was a hair-raising hissing.
Soon Mrs Decagon, the teacher of Mathematics,
No longer could pursue her passion of acrobatics,
As her limbs had been bitten and brutally abused
And now her shiny leotard remains unused.
Before long, entire teachers seemed to magically vanish,
Including the unfortunate teacher of French and Spanish
Who came in after school to collect her couture coat,
And found herself slipping down the repugnant crea-
ture’s throat.
Once, as the Geography teacher made tea and sat down,
She sensed something wrong and gave a worried frown.
Alas! It moved more quickly, and she was far too late,
Both she and 9A’s sparkly books, the cruel plant ate.
Upon a pile of marking an English teacher slept
On such an excellent prospect, the evil plant leapt
With joy of devouring a full-flavoured feast
Not a sole piece of its victim was left by that green beast
So, if all the teachers run away screaming or disappear
We should be very anxious and have reason to fear
It will come after us instead - hungry for more
So watch out for green tentacles reaching round the
door!
Poets Laureate
Senior Poet Laureate:
Lara Farrow 12C
Dear Politician
Can you wade through the water
Of sorrow and strife you sanctioned?
As now we are both stuck in the mud,
And there’s nothing to stop us both drowning under
A great torrent of tears and dirt and sludge.
Perhaps you thought you could walk on it.
When it was a drizzle we all just accepted it,
A little rain for us is nothing new.
But then it just wouldn’t stop!
So we’d check the weather warnings daily,
And they didn’t say we should start building our arks.
With our new water beds made of puddles
We try to live our lives as best we can,
And reasoned Leeds isn’t so far from Venice after all.
So now at 3 o’clock sharp I pick the kids up in the family-
Canoe, and row them back to the mainland for tea.
The ground is now saturated with false promises,
Had you not realised from last time John Stevenson MP,
That water cannot be tamed
With dishonesties and crocodile smiles?
Those tactics work only in your debates.
Our minds, swimming with worry, must turn to you now,
Since the sandbags and tin foil blankets no longer can
shelter
Our suffering from the media. The world. And from you.
And so we paddle astride our right for you to help us,
Hoping you won’t wash your hands of us again.
So will you lift us above the waters
Or drown us under your now soggy pride?
You must make a decision and make it quick
Because there are only three floors in our house,
And the loft gets terribly cold in the Winter.
Middle School Poet Laureate:
Anisha Mehta 9A
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