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A New Leaf for the Looking Glass 2026/27

Dear all, Upon inheriting the Looking Glass from our predecessors, we identified a number of key issues. Firstly, there were simply not enough articles being published, due both to a lack of submissions from the school community and limited responsiveness from the previous Academic Team. Secondly, the Looking Glass had not been advertised or explained effectively enough to the wider school community. As a result, we plan to implement a more consistent and engaging stream of articles on the Looking Glass. As part of this initiative, we are looking to recruit a select group of keen writers from across the lower school who would be willing to produce one high-quality piece of writing, discussion, or media each month for publication on the Looking Glass. We believe this will be hugely beneficial both to the school community, which will gain access to a wider range of opinions and viewpoints, and to prospective writers, who will be able to reference their experience contributing to the Look...
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Recent posts

Economics: How might present day inequalities (for example in income, opportunities, or access to services) be related to colonialism?

Note: The following essay was written by Freddie Parr L6 (20parrf@students.watfordboys.org), and was highly commended in the Rex Nettleford Essay Competition 2026 The persistence of present day global inequality presents a profound paradox. Despite decades of economic growth and the supposed triumph of liberalising markets, the world's richest 1% own more wealth than 95% of humanity (Oxfam International, 2024), while the Global South, home to 79% of the world's population, controls just 31% of global wealth (Behar, 2025). This disparity cannot be adequately explained by contemporary policy failures alone; instead one must move beyond linear causality to analyse the durable institutional structures bequeathed by colonialism. In this essay I will argue that present-day inequalities are actively reproduced through the path-dependent operation of extractive institutions established during the colonial era, which have shown remarkable adaptability in the twenty-first century. Utilis...
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Biology: Does the Loss of Smell and Sight Affect Taste Perception?

The following study was carried out by Lokan Bavisi, L6 (20bavisil@students.watfordboys.org) Abstract: This investigation explored the effect of sight and smell on taste specifically with soft drinks with 16-17 year olds. 20 volunteers tasted the four soft drinks (Coca Cola, Orange Zero, Lemon Zero and Tango apple) with varying impairments - visual and olfactory, visual, olfactory and no impairments. After each sample they were each asked to identify the flavours and the mean correct identification score was 1.45 with the double impairment. This is significantly lower than the expected result of 3 and through Chi-square analysis the probability of the difference being due to chance was determined to be >0.1%. This allowed us to reject the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the number of drinks identified with different impairments. However there were some anomalous results as seen with participants “6” and “17” who correctly identified all the soft drinks wit...
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Technology: The superiority of mechanical keyboards

 Note: The following piece was written by Zolboot Tserendorj, 7B Introduction    Mechanical keyboards are widely known as the cream of the crop, but why do these seemingly normal keyboards have this seemingly endless amount of die-hard fans? To understand, we need to delve deep into the history of these keyboards. In the 1970s, membrane keyboards were the most common type because of their simpler and easier-to-produce design. However, in the 1990s, mechanical keyboards e me rged and were favoured for their durability, but they died out before a resurgence in the 2000s, whe n gamers prefer red their tactile feedback and precision.     Customisation    Another point is the fact that they are heavily custom izable , and they have sep a rate switche s that do different jobs . F or example , red switches are linear (a smooth press from the to p to the bottom) or brown , which is tactile (a small bump in the middle) . T hes e different types suit...
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Classics: What is the role of nature in ancient art and architecture?

Note: The following essay is by Eevan Pennant-Shah L6B (20pennant-shahe@students.watfordboys.org)  In the contemporary era, art is enjoyed inside grand art galleries, often divorced from its original context and detached from its true meaning. However, in the ancient world the location was often seen as a canvas itself, a fundamental element which ancient artists incorporated, aspiring to evoke awe. The topography of the landscape was paramount as without modern tools these civilizations were forced to work with the existing geology. This had the effect of integrating the natural world into the art itself, whether it was through its location, method of production or its experience. Ultimately, the role of the natural landscape was not merely a passive setting, but an active part that dictated the material limits of art while amplifying its effects on the people who are appreciating it. Additionally, the image of natural landscapes itself could be used to try and push a political mo...
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Winning poem: 'Elegy for the poet boy'

Note: The following poem written my Malek Owera L6 (20oweram@students.watfordboys.org) placed in the top 13 out of 1400+ entries in the Tower Poetry Competition, run by Christ Church, Oxford University. . Hama, Syria     From youth, he has a thunderous appetite for the classics: al-Mutanabbi, al-Ma’arri, Abu Nuwas, ibn Shaddad,  ‘We are a people who know no middle ground; for us, it is either the ultimate honour or the grave’ –  al-Hamdani’s truest words rain on him like a charm a plague of hail.  The boy absorbs the aural beauty of Friday’s athan – eventually remembering this compels him to go and pray.  He navigates fearful streets of expired concrete, Eternal Leader ’s smile beating down on every block, Scorns the masjid’s surveillant, armed to the teeth with pen and paper. The list of names looks longer than last week.  The child savours every utterance of every prayer, the pinnacle of this ancient language. Divine poetry. After, chatterings and r...
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