APS News 28

6 September 2021 AbingdonPrep In School The Year 8R boys enjoyed experimenting in Science for their Bronze Crest Awards (“a scheme that inspires young people to think and behave like scientists and engineers”). The boys worked in pairs to plan and carry out investigations and their projects this year included: • Materials science: testing different materials to see how they affect the drop of a parachute; and designing a boat to test sail capacity. • Reactivity: between metals and acid; sodium bicarbonate and fizzy drinks; and designing the perfect bath bomb. • Ballistics: the experiment that led to most trial and error was our group building a machine for propelling tennis balls out of guttering. After finishing their projects, the boys wrote them up for submission to Crest, and also presented their projects (including some demonstrations) to their parents at a socially distanced event near the end of term. Year 8R Crest Awards The ground was cold. The air was bitter. The blood was frozen. It was the sort of place where birthdays come and then get brutally kidnapped and murdered by demons from the depths of a fiery hell. Two men were there: one small, scared but had fought in many a battle and confused why he was here; the other unafraid, strong and brave. “Why are we here exactly?” said the small, quivering voice. “We are here because we were told to come here,” said the gruff, confident voice. “But for what purpose, Malcolm?” quivered the mouse-like voice. “The purpose, John, is to slaughter the beast hiding here!” Malcolm said with as little fear as a cat walking into a city full of mice. This is the place Death lingers waiting for the next poor soul who happens to wander upon to this place of doom. Legend tells of a being so horrific it makes Death look like a puppy. This being was a tentacle bearing thing, one eye that was so sharp it could slice a house in half, a beak able to crush several tons of obsidian at once and its name is Jagflan-Haroth. Everyone stays away from it whether they can or not. A body was on the floor some feet away from the heroes. It was a mess. Its head was split in half revealing an empty socket. The body’s legs were sticking off in directions that made the worst broken leg seem as bad as a mere graze. The runes on Malcolm’s black sword were glowing a ghostly white, this sword was wrestled off the leader of the 1st legion of the Troll empire. The ground trembled. The tremble that sends dragons flying into space and were never heard of again. The grand beech tree in the centre of the hill launched into the sky revealing a huge hole. A purplish tentacle slithered out from the hole feeling blindly for its target. “Ready yourself John” Malcolm said with much much less fear than he should have done. A brief moment when time seemed to freeze was then broken by a roar that should have been a scream but was somewhere in between, followed by a slowly emerging orange eye. “Charge!” cried Malcolm with so much enthusiasm John forgot his worries. They charged. Swords raised high above their heads aiming at any part of the un- natural being that came towards them. A smell that twisted even the guts of Death oozed out of the beings mouth was followed by that unearthly howl. The men leapt high into the sky the way heroes do in movies, really high in slow motion, only to be grabbed and brought under the ground with as much speed as a flash of lightning. Death raised his scythe to prevent a brutal death, as much as he’d liked to have seen it, and the scythe dropped. There was a moment of silence and then the crows started singing their murderous melody. Henry C, Year 7 A Place of Fear Year 6 grew crystals Year 7 dissected owl pellets