Invicta Vlogs
Are we listening?
Are we listening?
No doubt in the time between me writing this and it being published on the school website, there will more dramas about Brexit and further defeats faced by Theresa May. May has just scraped through a vote of no confidence, while continuing to be attacked from all fronts about her Brexit plans. It seems that people are quick to criticise these, her leadership and her place within government altogether, and yet we hear far less of anyone else offering to step in, to offer solutions and make us feel secure that we are making the right decision. Every day we hear new arguments, criticisms and concerns that it makes me wonder – are we even listening anymore?
British politics, or the media’s depiction of it, has become such a farce that I cannot help making parallels with Lanthimos’ critically acclaimed production of ‘The Favourite’. While we as the audience delve into the manipulative tirades of two women desperately trying to control the vulnerable and isolated Queen Anne, her role and responsibility demeaned as her government have just as much screen time arguing about the French War, as they are racing ducks or throwing fruit at each other. Is this black comedy a nightmarish exploration of those in power and their lack of care or connection with the people they rule over – or do we fail to question the film’s motivations at all?
At Invicta, we hope that all of our students take an interest in the world around them and question it. We aspire for them to be interested and interesting members of wider society, for without this we may never have gained a right to an education or to vote; to hold people and institutions in positions of power accountable for their actions, or to demand equality and tolerance towards all. In this week alone, we have entrepreneurial projects being run by our Interact society, Year 13 students taking part in a model UN in Geneva, senior debating teams signed up and preparing their motions for their competition next month and Dr Tom Crawford from Oxford delivering a lecture about sport and Maths. For our students, the onus is on them to make the most of the opportunities available to them, in whatever pathways they wish to explore.
We hope that our students will be the ones who create a new artistic film movement, be the pioneers of new unimagined technological advances, or fight for the rights of those who are being persecuted. We hope that instilling our students with a love of learning, developing their knowledge of the world around them and providing them with opportunities to express themselves, that we can help them become a generation who listen, question and care.
Mrs Harrington
Assistant Headteacher – Sixth Form
