On Sunday 5th February, several groups of  pupils from schools in the North East and Birmingham started their journey to Ypres, Belgium to take part in a World War One Battlefields trip to commemorate World War One.

When we got to Kent, our first stop, we took part in team building exercises to break the ice and make new friends. We were also given a WW1 soldier to research; they gave us each a soldier from where we lived or had some kind of connection to us.

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Overview:

– From December 2016 to January 2017, RMT and ASLEF (two rail workers’ unions) led several rail strikes in the south of England, which disrupted several services operated by Southern Rail.

– Two months later, on the 13 March 2017, RMT once again led conductor strikes.

Here is a table showing the value of Go-Ahead as of the 15 March

Impact:

Widespread disruption occurred across Surrey, Sussex and Kent due to the strikes. Go-Ahead (which owns 65% of Southern Rail) has plummeted in value by 15%.

Alex, Year 7

The average new tenancy in England, Wales and Scotland fell by 0.6% in the year to February, to £921 a month.The latest figures for the year 2017 showed that rents for private tenants across the UK had risen by 2.2%.

On the other side of the coin, Countrywide said that in February this year there were 10% more homes available to rent then a year ago. But the agency expects this apparent over-supply of rental properties to disappear in the coming year, with average national rents starting to grow again after that.

“Rents are growing in most of the country but falls in London and the South East are dragging down the national growth rate,” said Countrywide research Director, Jonny Morris.(BBC news)

Josh and Josh, Year 7

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Arsene Wenger could be facing the sack after a humiliating 10-2 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. He has been at Arsenal for over 20 years and has won 9 major trophies.

However, after exiting the last 16 of the Champions League for a 5th time in a row, he could face the sack.

I asked an Arsenal fan for his opinion on Wenger. He said, “Wenger is a good manager but he isn’t good enough for our club.” I also asked him if Wenger should go. He said, “He should stay because for all he’s done good for the club and his tactics I really like.”

Of course the fans want him out. They hold banners that say ‘Wenger out’ or ‘It’s time for change, Wenger out’. Is Wenger’s time up? And if so, who will take his place as manager?

By Will, Year 7

Mr Morton used to be a teacher here at Chantry Middle School, but sadly passed away on 1st March 2016. In memory of him, Mrs Skinner and the Gardening Club planted a flowering cherry tree, two weeks ago. They are still awaiting a plaque for the tree.

At the moment 12 students from different year groups attend Gardening Club on a Tuesday lunchtime. After Easter, it will be on an extra day as there will be more work to do around the school.

At the moment, the Gardening Club is busy at the front of the school making it look nicer by planting flowers that are good for the wildlife. The garden round the back of Chantry is home to many creatures such as minibeasts and butterflies. Also, in the garden they grow vegetables (which they donate to the kitchen).

At the end of the year, there is an awards ceremony where Mrs Skinner gives out a ‘Gardener of the Year’ award. The award was donated by our old deputy head Mrs Alcock and is a wooden plaque with a metal trowel and gardening fork attached.

By Amber and Abigail, Year 7

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1 Before NETBA: Before the North East Teenage Book Awards (NETBA) at the Centre for Life in Newcastle, some very funny things happened when we had gone for pizza with Mr Shields.

We asked Grace Coffey to recount what had happened:

“Well, Mr Shields asked me to go and get his salad. Since we were at Pizza Hut, to get salad you go around the salad bar. Mr Shields was too lazy to get up so he sent me to get his. Little did he know that he was expected to like spicy things. This is because when I was at the salad bar I went around and put everything in the bowl until it was spilling out. I then added lots and lots of hot sauce. I took it back to our table before realizing that I forgot three VERY important things: Coleslaw, jalapeños and extra hot sauce! I took it back to the salad bar and tipped three very large spoonfuls of jalapeños on top. Then I added coleslaw. Then came the extra hot sauce. I got the bottle and tipped it upside down until it was empty. Much to my disappointment it was all over my hands. I took it back to Mr Shields with it dripping down my arms. I then said, ‘I hope you like your starter!’ Unfortunately, Mr Shields liked hot things! Soon after this, my friend Ellie tasted a jalapeño thinking it was a pepper! I can’t imagine what the staff thought of us.”

Written and edited by Grace and Stephanie, Year 8.

The Danish girl is a film I have recently watched. I think that it is great because of how the scene is set in the early 1920s, and how all the actors do a fantastic job. Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne are excellent in their roles. What I liked most about the movie is how it pulls you in to make you feel like you are in the movie with them all. This is one of the things I enjoyed most about the movie.

I would definitely recommend this movie to other people. It is about a man and his wife and the man decides he wants to live his life as a woman. Some very sad things happen and it is worth a watch.

Ellen, Year 8.