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Contents Cliffe Edge ......................................................................................................................................... 2 Student review of our first volume .................................................................................................... 2 Cover story........................................................................................................................................ 3 At Earlscliffe ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Student council.............................................................................................................................. 4 Good deeds ................................................................................................................................... 6 Movember..................................................................................................................................... 8 What are you reading? .................................................................................................................. 9 In Folkestone................................................................................................................................... 13 Morrisons.................................................................................................................................... 13 Review: Chinese restaurant and takeaway in Folkestone ............................................................. 14 Problems? We are here to help! ...................................................................................................... 17 Gallery: winter scenes ..................................................................................................................... 19 Guest submission ............................................................................................................................ 23 I am my own wife ........................................................................................................................ 23 A card to a penpal........................................................................................................................ 24 WE NEED YOU!! The start of the New Year didn’t go very well for Cliffe Edge. We have been struggling to compile this issue by writing it up ourselves. We also lost our photographer, Mustafa, which means that we won’t be updating ECFC news in the future. which is such a shame but we wish him the very best in the future. Lorenzo, Renjie and Kate are all from Year 13 and soon they will part with us to chase their dream. We would like the magazine to continue to offer a platform for our students to have your voice heard. Please help us by submitting your work for us, even for a term/issue would be of great help. Your English will definitely improve and you will learn some valuable skills: interviews, reviews, report writing, negotiation and artistic appreciation. You will learn how to use word processing at a higher standard, including referencing and typesetting. It is very satisfying to see the cycle of small-scale publishing You will be rewarded with house points according to the amount of effort you put into it, including submission. Thank Mr Carrion for the last-minute proofreading. 1

Cliffe Edge Welcome to Cliffe Edge, 2nd issue. Congratulations to you for surviving the darkest season in the UK! British people are reminded of the end of British summer time by changing the clocks. This is followed by the late autumn orange decoration of pumpkins, along with children walking in the first darkest encounter of the season. Every slight dim of light in the dark hours brings another promising destination for more sweets, as the trick-or-treating goes on. The long-lasting rain through the SAD depression was accompanied by the fireworks on Guy Fawkes Day, followed by the Folkestone Christmas lights being swtiched on. The reindeer were not disturbed by huge crowds, munching their way till the end of the programmes. No matter how much Mr Johnson tried during Movenber to raise funds for our Bros, he could not warm up the cold-hearted people with his donation box. Still, it did indeed spice up the miserable month. By the 5th of January. British people see the New Year in by packing away not just Christmas decorations, but the darkness and sorrow they accumulated the previous year. We have packed in a good selection of stories and photos in this issue. Hope you enjoy it. J Wang Magazine club coordinator Student review of our first volume What do you think about our school magazine? “What are you talking about?” Y12 Male “School Magazine? Does “Congratulations for the it exist...? I’m just joking, article on Head girl” the cover looks nice” Business Diploma Male Y12 Male “I like it” “You guys speak the Y13 Female truth” Y13 Male Thanks for the feedback. You can access the hard copy from common rooms and receptions in school buildings, and all contributors will be given a hard copy. An e-magazine will be released at the same time as the printed version. 2

Cover story Thanks to Kate for designing the cover of this issue. We can see that she can’t wait for summer to come to Folkestone as she has put on some sunglasses and canvas boots. Folkestone is lucky to be host to a rather rare type of seagull - the Mediterranean Gull - which is found in larger numbers here than anywhere else in the UK1. Mark Dion’s mobile seagull provided information on these unloved birds during the Folkestone Triennial. A new film, Seagull, shot entirely in Folkestone in 2019, by Folkestone resident Jessica Hynes, had its premier in October 2019. You can find the trailer here: https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/kent-town-inspires-new-film-214550/ 1 https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/artists/mark-dion/ 3

At Earlscliffe Student council Head Boy interview At the beginning of the conversation, I asked Ollie to recap all the things that he has done over the past couple of months. He obviously went on blabbing to explain all the things he had done via the committees. He then said “students (in these committees) were actually debating what should be changed in the school…\". I then made my move by interrupting him with the question: \"what changes have actually been made?\". A beautiful attack! Unlike the last time, he came prepared. Ollie claimed that we now have a more comprehensive range of vegetarian food for the grass eaters vegetarians/vegans and that he is thinking of make breakfast more diverse, so people don't have to eat the same thing every morning and can have more choice. He has contacted the kitchen staff who have patiently explained \"the things we can do and those we can't\". The committee has also proposed something that the school does already: a food questionnaire. I think the name itself is enough to make you understand what that's about. He also told me some ideas to promote a more eco-friendly school. THEN we touched on the holy topic about student uniform and non-uniform day. It seems that nobody likes the uniform at all ( youngsters, you'll get used to this!). But we managed to get you guys to wear boots so be happy already! As for the non-uniform day, what concerns the school is that the school’s image could be damaged if students are not wearing the uniform. The school said: “If you don’t wear the uniform it shows that you don’t want to be a part of the school” and they gave us the following options and asked us to choose one: 1. The frequency is still limited to once a week but increases the credits awarded exchanged for a non-uniform day. The idea behind this is simple, any economists can explain it to you with ease: if there is a shortage in the market, just put the price up so only the richest can afford it. In this case, the well-behaved students. It should be noted that the credits are inflated due to generous teachers, and not to mention the mysterious hundreds of points given to each individual at the end of the last term. (but this has been voted against by many incompetents who don’t understand economics) 2. The non-uniform day would only be allowed on a Friday. Friday is the only day when the agents wouldn't bring visitors in, so we can do whatever we want and not be afraid to damage the reputation of the school. Hence, it's okay if we are in our casual clothes showing less respect to the school on that day. 4

3. Increase the number of non-uniforms allowed on the same day for bigger Houses. If you have a better idea, please contact the Head Boy or Head girl. Finally, I asked him if he had achieved any goals that he has previously promised where he answered, “Not really”. CheckMate Head Girl Interview She is the one who got you guys boots. The best Throughout our brief conversation I managed to find something that Ollie didn’t tell me and that’s the fourth option of non-uniform, actually this is not even an option, but a direct policy change proposed by the Head Teacher: - Cancel the option of exchanging credits for non-uniform and only allow it once per TERM (that’s a dozen weeks (12ish)) where you would also need to pay to do it. The money would obviously go to a charity. Which, thank god, it didn’t happen. PS: Due to unforeseen circumstances, my appointment with the Head Girl was brought to an abrupt halt after a series of incidents such that we could not proceed as scheduled. In the end, I managed to grab 5 minutes before the term finished. Editorial note: You might have noticed that the Head Boy’s interview is 3 times longer than the Head Girl’s. We would like to declare that we do not discriminate gender and the uneven length of interviews were purely based on information given by the hear boy/girl themselves However, this is in line with the proportion of the male/female ratio of students enrolled at Earlscliffe. 5

Good deeds Environmental Society Why did we do the beach clean-up? To protect Sealife. Sealife has recently been greatly affected by human activity, especially littering plastic. Beach- clean-ups are very important. Trash on beaches and in the oceans can easily affect animals because they can mistake the trash for a certain food source. For example, sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jelly fish. On the day On a rainy Sunday morning, 13 of our students plus Miss Boyle, Miss Potter and Molly the dog, took part in the beach clean-up. Together they had the powerful will of making an impact on the planet’s problems, but mostly sea life. Look how much rubbish they collected. 6

We will be planning more events in the future. Keep your eyes peeled! After the shameful incidents of our students dumping banana peels and fruit skins in neighbours’ garden last term, we are very pleased to see most of our students do care about the environment. Bananas are still on the banned list and we will try to persuade the school to provide them again. 7

Movember Mr John submitted this photo to us for his support of the fundraising in November. He raised £268. However, someone pointed out that he shaved his moustache too early—he was supposed to keep it until the last day of November. Let’s keep our eyes on in 2020. Unfortunately, we did not receive any photos or details from others who took part. We are glad that some of our female staff were helping out by sticking on a fake moustache. Don’t they look lovely?! 8

What are you reading? During the Folkestone book festival, we invited teachers to tell us what they were reading. Some teachers confessed that they were not involved in reading activity at that moment but suggested books they thought are amazing; some teachers offered brief comments, either of the information of the book, or where they got it. Here are the titles they read/recommended and you can find them in the school library. Reader Book Comment Mr Baker One of my favourite novels is Le Grand Meaulnes, surely one of the great European novels about adolescence! Mrs Maher I am reading a classic, which I picked up from a Mr Cleaver charity shop! Mr Dalidovich: The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. It’s about the life story of a poor farmer Wang Lung at the turn of the century in China, who becomes rich. Beautifully written in English with a Chinese twist. The author won the Pulitzer prize and it has been turned into a film in 1937… Nine species that changed the world – and humans, who have tamed them all. For readers of Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens, Alice Roberts’s groundbreaking new book, Tamed, reveals how taming our most important animals and plants changed these species – and us – forever. - From the Publisher While the Soviet space program, that repository of Party and national pride, provides Pelevin the setting for his satire of Communist-era Russia (see Omon Ra, above), he takes on contemporary Russia by employing one exquisite metaphor for post-Soviet 9

Mrs Dyal This is a really inspiring and insightful read, both for me draw upon on a personal level and as a Mrs Brissaud teacher. Highly recommend!! Mr This author relates here his walk across France Richardson- after a life changing fall in Chamonix, which has Perks left him partially paralysed. Best physio therapy and way to regain mental strength. Mrs Lorigan An amazing philosopher and adventurer at the same time. He has explored best parts of this planet on foot, on a bicycle, on a horse etc. I am a Grisham fan! Wonderful story telling! 10

Mrs Hastings I am reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Dr Davis ... beautiful book. Mr Harding ‘ Mrs Cox Review from Amazon: It's a giant thought experiment that's also a cracking good read about gender (Neil Gaiman) Ursula Le Guin is a chemist of the heart (David Mitchell) A rich and complex story of friendship and love (Guardian) Colours and Years’ by the wonderful Hungarian author Margit Kaffka. An amazing feminist text from the early 20th century with some wonderful insights into the final years of the Habsburg Empire. THE INTERNATIONAL AND SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER All leaders are constrained by geography. Their choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Yes, to follow world events you need to understand people, ideas and movements - but if you don't know geography, you'll never have the full picture. (an extract from Amazon) 11

Mr Johnson Feared and admired in equal measure, Mary Ms Wang Midgley has carefully yet profoundly challenged many of the scientific and moral orthodoxies of the twentieth century. The Essential Mary Midgley collects for the first time the very best of this famous philosopher's work, described by the Financial Times as 'common sense philosophy of the highest order'. (an extract from Amazon) Gentle, intimate and witty, this quintet is marked by a haunting theme: the struggle to keep alive a sense of life’s romance, even as one gets older, relationships flounder and youthful hopes recede. (an extract from Amazon) No matter what you write-essays, reports, short stories, poetry, reviews, or just giving an opinion, you need to read, so you know how to manipulate words and make good choices. The more you read, the more places you will go. 12

In Folkestone Morrisons We have a quick glimpse of the night before the opening of Morrison’s. There is not that much difference compared with the old one before it was burnt down. But some eco initiative ideas were added to the new store. The addition of see-through plastic door on the fridges is an eco-choice to save energy. The most impressive improvement is the installation of the top range of Dyson taps with built in hand dryers. According to Dyson, these taps cost £1500 each and there are at least 8 installed in Morrison’s Folkestone. We are glad that Morrison’s is back to continue providing excellent service to the community. Drop by for a nice all-day breakfast if you are fed up with school brunch. It is very affordable, delicious and the deep fat fryer2 is under control. 2 This was where the fire started in 2018. 13

Review: Chinese restaurant and takeaway in Folkestone December 2019 Renjie Wang I grew up eating mostly Chinese dishes and I am passionate for GOOD Chinese food -I am such a lousy cook that, I can even screw up pot noodles by adding too much water. I have been living Europe for a long time, so I understand the taste European and Asians have on Chinese food, so trust me, you won’t go wrong with my recommendations. I think it is only fair if I spite (? We do not understand what Renjie is referring to…) the reviews into takeaways and dining restaurants as the experience are totally different in essence (you value more the service and environment for dinner in restaurants and you often need to pay a bit more). Dining restaurants (the dual fight-competition between two) Living in Folkestone, you won't get much choice (should be obvious) and therefore the only two that stand out as good for me are Zen Kafe and Hop Kweng. All the rest is pretty much takeaways. I am personally not a fan of buffets. As far as I know, the two buffet restaurants aren't great, with various complaints about the quality of the food. Hop Kweng The restaurant has a long history in Folkestone, and it is certainly one of the most popular places to dine for many students. It offers a range of very delicious Cantonese food, nothing else, which is one of the reasons why I like it. Overall, all of its food tastes great , good, traditional and memorably favoured food. They mainly serve meat dishes, though, so it can be hard if you are a vegetarian. Figure 1 All photos are taken by myself while visiting here. The price can be a bit expensive if you are a hungry 17-year-old boy like me, it cost can about (£20-30) each time. The service is quite nice and friendly. The environment is unique as well and gives you a cosy and warm feeling with very traditional Chinese decorations. However, it was rated 1 by the Food Standard Agency in October 2019. The main criticism was that it is lacking in system or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in the future (Major improvement necessary). Zen Kafe3 The restaurant serves not only Chinese food, but also Asian food as well, which can be a plus (not for me). Although it does offer a bit more vegetarian dishes, they still mainly serve dishes containing 3 Under new management before this review published. 14

meat. The overall taste of the food Figure 2 photo from their Facebook page there is good, but in my personal opinion, a bit less well-flavoured than Hop Kweng. The dining environment is modern with an open layout, with fewer Chinese decorations than Hop Kweng. However, Zen Kafe does have a more reasonable price (£15-25 a meal for me) Moreover, you are less likely to get sick, as it has a food hygiene rating 4 by the Food Standard Agency (good and satisfactory on levels). Takeaways There are more Chinese takeaways than restaurants in Folkestone. I have to say that I haven't been to many of them. reviews taken online are marked, from google reviews. In rating from Worst (1) to Good (5) Golden Wing (internet) Golden Gate (internet) Taste-3 Taste-4 Price-4 Price-3 Service-3 Service-4 (no delivery, collection only) Hygiene rating -5 (Food Standard Agency) Hygiene rating -4 (Food Standard Agency) Golden Wok (internet) Ho Ho Taste-3 Taste-4 Price-3 Price-4 Service-4 Service-4 Hygiene rating -5 (Food Standard Agency) Hygiene rating -3 (Food Standard Agency) Taste of China (internet) Lo Lo (internet) Taste-4 Taste-3 Price-3 Price-3 Service-3 Service-3 Hygiene rating -4 (Food Standard Agency) Hygiene rating -4 (Food Standard Agency) This is the end of the review; I will review more on different types of restaurants if this one is well received. Although our choices can be limited, we do have to be careful of the choices we make (be more informed) and to encourage some of them to do better – that is my ultimate goal of these reviews. 15

Problems? We are here to help! We decided to start a “problems?” column after receiving this love letter addressed to an unknown student (at least we thought so…). Dear Jane Doe It's a long winter break for me, you seemed happy in social media, I guess that is enough for me. I want to write to you, a reflection of what is happening to myself after I fell in love with you. It is like one of those things where you do it not for the sake of it but for killing some time for me to see you again. Before, I always used to complain about the things that are not quite going my way. I used to complain about the cold weather, the coats never seemed to be warm enough for me. Now, I knew it is because my heart was cold. Before, I used to complain about how short school holidays are for me. Now, I wish every day of this holiday can be shorter, so I can get to see you again. Every time, after the parties, the socially accompanying cheers and laughs, I think about you, as I seemed to forget why I found these activities fun before. I used to question what, my priorities are in life are, now, I am certain that my priority is you. I seemed to be more motivated now. I get up of bed every morning as soon as I woke up, just so that I can recall the moments when I dreamed about you. For me, homework in school seems minimal, compared with the future I dreamed about us together. I got hooked on fitness, after the dream about how I can be more attractive to you If I am better shaped. I wonder if I look weirder now in other's eye. I start to laugh more, as I keep thinking about you, and the fun times that we had together. Then. Almost suddenly, I feel worst for not able to spend more time with you. I don’t have the courage to say these words to you directly. I am afraid that I might lose a friend instead. I often tell myself that it will be enough privilege and joy for me if we can maintain our relationship like this of the rest of our lives together. However, I don’t want to hide, my affection and love to you. I want to face my situation and desire more directly, so you understand my heart is and will always be with you. Can’t wait to see you next year With all the best seasonal wishes 17

As did not provide a name, and we did not dig out whose email it was used to send this letter, we would like to offer some advice for the admirer and the admired. FOR THE ADMIRER: Proofread your love letter before you click “send”. Poor quality of writing would not win anyone’s heart. Your writing requires improvement and no affection has clearly been conveyed. We suggest you enrol on a creative writing course to sharpen your writing skills. This might as well help with your UCAS personal statement. Your behaviour on social media used to be called “a stalker”, but now is rephrased to “follower” which gives you the right to continue monitoring the life of this person you love. Stay the way you are for now, you could be taking the final exam in the summer and you don’t want to mess it up. If you are not taking any exams this year, please remember that there are tons of fish in the pool of university. Be patient and you’ll find one that you follow in real life, not on social media. FOR THE ADMIRED: Do not try to find out who is by observing who laughs, let the stalker remain as your follower. Checking who is working out at the gym is also not necessary. All we know is that this person is no longer a moaner. No matter what your gender is, please do not assume that this letter is addressed to you as this would cause a great suspicion among students, it would affect your daily life and concentration on your studies. FOR OUR READER: Although we believe this is from one student to another, but it’s also possible from one teacher to another, or a teacher/student to a student/teacher. If you would like to work out the maths, please consult the maths department for possible combinations; if you want to be a detective, please see the psychology teacher to formulate more theories before your deduction. For others, please work hard and play hard. We look forward to more problems! Drop us a note in the “Problem” box located at School House where you sign in. 18

Gallery: winter scenes Figure 3 by Renjie Wang Figure 4 By Renjie Wang 19

Figure 3 The Magic Christmas Tree Figure 4 first hour Figure 5 two hours later Figure 6 after 6 hours 20

Figure 7 Folkestone Christmas light switch on outside the Town Hall Figure 8 Reindeer meeting people in front of Folkestone town hall 21

Figure 9 Peaceful moment-Cemetery opposite Morrison’s Figure 10 This is winter—Canterbury City centre outside Fenwick 22

Guest submission I am my own wife Based on a true conversation, written by a ghost writer Eventually I was relieved from the stress of early dissertation deadline and glad it was done and dusted. This year, I decided to go home for Christmas for the first time since starting university. Living independently for two and a half years, I kind of enjoy staying home for a short break. Mum always welcomes me with lots of homemade food (and some to take away when I go back to uni) and there is no exception this year. Those days when the dishes were done by the dishwasher, fresh laundry in the drawers, clutter free floor, and no bin days, are back for me during my stay. I woke up late one day and mum was already doing some washing up. Although we have a dishwasher, there are certain things you can’t put them in, like the wooden chopping board she was washing up. There was more washing up waiting for her in the sink. “I want a wife”. Mum suddenly said as she continued her washing up. I did not know how to respond to that remark. I always know that she hates dad but did not see this coming. After a good 10 seconds, I went, “Why?”. “Well, they would have finished the washing up before I get out of bed; the bin would be out, and the breakfast would be ready, by now.”. She paused to put the washed chopping board in the drying rack. “Do you mean “a maid”?” I asked, trying to correct her as her English is not always perfect and she sometimes uses the wrong words—although she has a master’s degree in modern literature…… “No,” She seemed a bit irritated: “ I have to pay a maid but don’t have to pay a wife.” I started to wonder what I should address mum’s wife: a stepdad or a stepmum? I was brave enough to encourage further conversation. I need to know where this is going. “But you have to have that kind of relationship with a wife, don’t you? “ I am glad that she is most open to this type of questions so now I can ask without hesitation, just need to use the right wording. She stopped scrubbing a burnt pan and turned around to look at me, I thought she was going to shout, but she sighed: “I know, that’s why I can’t have a wife. You see, I don’t want to pay a maid and Alexa doesn’t really do much apart from setting up timers and forecast the weather. I definitely do not need a husband because useless is their second name,” she sighed, “I am my own wife!” She turned back to face the half leaded sink, carried on washing up. I was glad that “I want a wife” issue sorted itself out in 10 minutes, and my anxiety of a life change crisis went with it. The concept of having a “wife” seems like a good investment since it sometimes could last a life time. Maybe it is not such a bad idea to get one. Earlscliffe alumni, currently a 3rd year university student 23

A card to a penpal It might seem outdated to send a Christmas card to a pen friend, not to mention a hand-made one. Here this boy, from the Harvey Grammar School, spent two evenings to make this card. He is going to meet this friend in February. He is never confident in his artistic skill therefore would prefer remaining anonymous. Thank you for the lovely card. Your friend would love it. 24