Poem: War

By Priyanka 10T

Coronavirus: What Next?

By Russell 7Y

As Covid-19 continues its deadly spread, the situation gets worse with the UK death toll rising. Now more people are returning to work, the prime minister said a phased return to school would begin with pupils in reception, year 1 and year 6. Secondary schools for pupils in years 7-9 are likely to remain closed until September. 

In Denmark primary schools have reopened with special importance placed on hand washing and keeping groups of children apart. It was the first country in Europe to reopen its primary schools as they had contained the virus early on. Denmark has had fewer than 600 deaths so far. This is in stark contrast to the UK’s 40 thousand deaths.

A father of two said ‘Children shouldn’t go to school as the death toll is still rising, which can add a risk to our children’. Throughout this time, schools have been open to vulnerable students, but this week some primary schools welcomed back more students. With class sizes of no more than 15 people so they can stick to social distancing of being 2 metres away from each other. How easy is it to actually maintain this though?

Covid-19 has changed everyone's lives and puts vulnerable and old people at risk. The NHS doctors and nurses still require adequate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) as they don’t have enough supplies to tackle the virus. There are many companies and individuals who are trying to help our NHS by making the PPE our health care workers need in colourful decorations by using blankets or cloth to create face masks, aprons and other PPE. Some schools have even created protective eyewear. 

People around the UK have been clapping for our carers on Thursdays at 8pm. They did not only clap for them, they clapped for hope so we can all get through this pandemic which has changed everyone's lives.  

Brent is the worst affected area in London. What will happen next for ACS and its community?

Extraction (Hargrave, 2020)

By Vihar Kantilal

All Fight, No Love

Watch Extraction to make lockdown special.

Warning: May contain some spoilers.

A thrilling action film starring none other than Thor’s Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake, a former
SASR operator turned black-ops mercenary. The film starts with the protagonist, Rake, injured
and having a flashback of his dead young son. Rake has been dispatched to Dhaka, Bangladesh,
to retrieve Ovi (played by Rudhraksh Jaiwal) who has been kidnapped by an opposing gang his
criminal father had a dispute with.  After a careless setup, the criminals are all in an alliance with the
cops, and the antagonist Amir Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli) is busy planning a way to kill Ovi and win this
battle. 

The film serves up a harsh blast of blood, bullets and blown-up cars. Rake is painted as a
stereotypical good bad guy, tortured by personal tragedy and restored by his mission. He even kills
and damages some teenage followers in the process. Randeep Hooda plays his foil, a kingpin deputy
whose ruthlessly experienced violence is turned by its own, dull direction of protective feeling. David
Harbour (from Stranger Things) also appears shortly, adding to the film’s lineup of tortured machos.
The fight scenes are flexible and reflecting. Sam Hargrave (who directed the film) mistakes blood for
cool and technical bravery for choreography, disposing of long one-take shots that look like "Call of
Duty" outtakes and video game fights. 

Although producing a global thriller with some established Hollywood actors, much of the dialogue
is in Hindi and Bengali. Bollywood actors - Randeep Hooda and Priyanshu Painyuli as a swaggering
masses chief - boost the ordinary Hollywood expectations by delivering their lines with a hint of
melodrama. They’re a tease for how fun this movie could have been if it weren’t so dark.

This film is for the people who love an action thrilling movie. There is no romance in sight but emotion
is being thrown around like a ball in cricket. Ovi’s lines “You drown not by falling into a river, but by
staying submerged in it” really engaged me more than I imagined. I had goosebumps. So many
unexpected things happen with the characters. Without wanting to give too much away, the last scene
is a tearjerker. Be prepared!                                                                                           

Rating: 9/10. If there was some comedy, it’d be a 10!

Extraction is rated 15 and available to view on Netflix.