News and Field Trips

Boys impress at the Biology Olympiads 2012

Two Sixth Form Biology students impressed in the national Biology Olympiad last term and came away with medals from the esteemed competition. Joshua Chandy won a superb bronze medal whereas Daniel Somervell gained a prestigious gold.

Both students have offers to study medicine this September. Joshua is planning to go to Birmingham University and Daniel has a coveted place at Oxford University in Moreton College.

The Head of Biology, Mr Bonfante commented "I am delighted with the boys' achievements in this competition. The best Biologists in the country compete in the Biology Olympiad and to have two boys achieve medals is a fantastic achievement. The boys should be very proud."

Barcelona field trip 2011

When you say Barcelona, the first thing that springs to mind is Biology. That shining sun, creating the perfect habitat for small river insects, and those miles of golden beaches, just waiting to be analysed for vegetation succession. Therefore, despite the inconvenience of it being one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, home to the best football team in the world, Mr Bonfante decided to bite the bullet and travel to Spain with Year 12.

In spite of the doubters who doubted that it could be better than Chester Zoo, those who questioned the wisdom of going to Spain without anyone who could speak Spanish, and those who said that sand dune management could be done just as easily on Crosby Beach, Mr Bonfante and Mr Schober turned up at Liverpool John Lennon Airport 25 minutes late, ready to greet the lads of MTS who had all turned up on time. It was to be a perfect trip: teenagers studying the intricacies of Biological fieldwork armed only with tree borers and measuring poles (ironically the plot for the next ‘Inbetweeners' movie).

After a mad dash for seats on the plane, during which a few of the smaller members of the party were lost, everyone was seated, ready for a two-hour flight consisting of listening to Mr Bonfante's detailed analysis of Arsenal's throw-ins during the 97/98 season, and debating whether quadrats or transects were the most accurate way of sampling a habitat. As the plane neared Barcelona, and we were reminded that both quadrats and transects could only be used to record plant species or stationary animal species, the excitement built.

Despite the boys' protests the first day would contain no Biology, as Mr Bonfante's professionalism had caved in to Mr Schober's boyish enthusiasm and we went on a tour of the city. Without a doubt, the highlight was the Nou Camp. Seating 100,000 people, it even managed to bring a tear to Mr Bonfante's eye, although he was probably remembering Arsenal being torn apart there a few months' earlier. Mrs Wright and Mrs Dunne also enjoyed the experience, hotly debating the interpretation of the offside rule. The tour was completed with a meal in the city, and a coach took us back to the hotel.

Of course, having woken up at 3 o'clock in the morning, most of the boys were shattered. However, Mr Schober was still full of energy after his lemonade at lunch, and convinced us to head down to the beach for a game of football. What most of us lacked in skill, we made up for with knee-high tackles and kicking Adam Janvier. Mr Schober thought Janvier was good. After the game was called off due to bad light we headed back to the hotel, very excited for all the Biological wonders the next day promised to bring.

After an early start (many of the boys got up even earlier than they were supposed to, reportedly saying it was more exciting than Christmas). After a stimulating seven hours studying the sand dunes, after which Eddie Cheung had to be reminded that visits to the beach weren't always this exciting, we headed back to the hotel. With the temperature getting higher, we were all glad for a swim in the pool, with Mr Schober acting as a lifeguard making sure we didn't dive in/throw balls/drown, and Mr Bonfante posting hilarious blog updates on the iPad. Some evening Biology lessons are always much appreciated, and Mr Bonfante obliged by giving us some insightful points about succession, while Mrs Wright and Mrs Dunne helped us test sand for pH. It was a very emotional time for some of the boys, many of whom hadn't realised how pH alters as you go further down the beach.

After that it was time for another game of beach football, this time joined by some Spanish lads. Despite Mr Bonfante's claim that ‘Catalan's basically the same as Italian' the first 15 minutes was spent with two groups of foreigners shouting ‘dos' loudly at each other with Mr Schober helpfully leaning against a bin thinking about photosynthesis. Luckily Kevin Pinto proved a top negotiator, and the game was underway. Greatest player in the world he may be, but Lionel Messi has never had to try to play football on a beach against a fat seven year old Spanish kid in a string vest and tight shorts chasing after you and shouting in broken English.

The next day proved to be possibly even more exciting, as we investigated changes in a river's channel characteristics and ecological status from source to mouth, a fascinating topic which apparently Brad Pitt used to chat up Angelina Jolie. The third area contained chemicals that could cause open wounds to become infected, and so the two nights of football took their toll as people were laid off left right and centre due to a series of crippling grazes. The highlight of the day was either a demonstration involving Joe Walker's belly-button and a measuring pole, or a glimpse of one of Barcelona's ladies of the night waiting outside a factory at four o'clock in the afternoon. Ever innocent, Mr Schober quietly wondered whether she would be too warm with all that leather on.

Back at the hotel, another afternoon lesson was interrupted by what can only be described as a large hairy man floating above our heads (the bottom of the pool was see-through, and we were below it). That traumatic experience called for a few hours of table tennis and pool while Mr Bonfante consoled Mr Schober.

Nothing much happened that evening.

The last day finally arrived, and it was to be a day of mixed emotions. Despite the fact that we were leaving that evening, we would be doing some woodland productivity study during the day, so everyone was very excited to see how different trees had different girths. After spending a couple of hours wading through plants to measure that all important distance from the string Bara Taufik and Chaz Hudson's legs were torn to pieces, so we decided to call it a day and headed down to Barcelona for some last minute shopping.

The best-behaved boys during the trip were rewarded by being able to have lunch with Mr Bonfante and Mr Schober, while the rest had to struggle on their own. As the coach pulled up, and all the teachers were presented with well-deserved gifts for getting a free holiday to Barcelona, we reflected on a fantastic trip where we had all gained some valuable Biological knowledge which will surely help us in our adult lives.

Chester Zoo Trip March 2011

And so, the most eagerly anticipated date on the school's calendar finally came about. Despite the imminent trip to Barcelona, the Biology Department had decided that despite the current financial climate, money should never be allowed to get in the way of education, and so the departmental budget was stretched to ensure that the annual trip to Chester Zoo went ahead. (Also Mr Bonfante finds the monkeys amusing.)

Ostensibly, the trip was about learning about the classification system and the study of monkey behaviour. After a 45 minute lecture, involving identifying some animal skulls and some live cockroaches (after much debate, we concluded that the cockroaches were indeed cockroaches) we split into smaller groups, and were told to spend 35 minutes analysing the behaviour of our chosen monkey. Unfortunately, it turns out that what monkeys like to do on a Tuesday afternoon is chew on grass and throw sticks at ducks, with the odd scratching-another-monkey-and-eating-what-you-find thrown in. With this vital information gathered, and presumably in the process of being put together as evidence for some professor's thesis, it was time for the highlight of the trip: the tour of the zoo.

According to its website, Chester Zoo is "the UK's number one zoo" and "an all-year round favourite attraction for the young and the young at heart". Luckily, it also beats double Biology with Mr Schober, so everyone got into the spirit of the day. With the meerkats the undoubted highlight (very cute, they also gave us a strange irresistable urge to search for lower deals on our car insurance), we also saw elephants, tigers, and fruit bats (as well as the occasional suspicious-looking pigeon). Having seen all that Chester Zoo had to offer (400 different species, apparently) we headed back to school knowing that, however good the Nou Camp is, Barcelona now has a lot to live up to.

Biology Aberystwyth Field Trip

In the summer term Year 12 biologists went on a three day residential field trip to Aberystwyth University to study rock shore and sand dune ecology. The students performed a number of important ecological field techniques required for the A2 module 4 examination in Year 13.