Nature's effects on the youngest rock on earth have shaped Iceland into the country known as "the Land of Ice and Fire" - so where better for 25 geographers from years 10 to 13 to explore the impact of volcanic activity on the planet?
"Iceland owes its formation to the North Atlantic Ridge, which is slowly forcing the North American and Eurasian plates apart," say Emma Jones and Eleanor Arscott from year 13. "Fresh magma and volcanic material rise up between the plates to the surface and cool to form new land."
Iceland's geology affected hundreds of thousands of travellers, including dozens of St Paul's students and staff, in April when ash clouds from Ejyafjallajökull disrupted European airspace for days. The Icelanders, say Eleanor and Emma, have learned to benefit from so much natural energy just beneath the ground - "The geothermal power from Iceland's volcanoes and its natural hot springs power and heat Icelandic homes and produce hot water for bathing and heating."
No clouds - of ash or water vapour - were in sight when the group flew into Reykjavik during a heatwave on 18 July and headed straight for the Blue Lagoon to experience the world's best outdoor bath. "The lagoon is a naturally heated pool of seawater that sits in the middle of a lava field," say Emma and Eleanor. "We all enjoyed relaxing in the hot water with warm mud oozing between our toes. Over the next few days, we visited waterfalls, took some stunning pictures and hiked up the Eldfell volcano, a whopping 205 m high."
The group's last two days in Iceland took in some of the island's most historic attractions - the waterspout that gave its name to the world's geysers, the site of the first Icelandic parliament held more than a thousand years ago and the "surprisingly small" city of Reykjavik. "It was a great way to end our amazing week," say Eleanor and Emma, who will both start geography degrees in September, "and definitely the best St Paul's visit that we've been on."
Eiffel off me bike!
July 2010
Director of sport Marika Lowe's cycle ride from London to Paris has raised nearly £4,000 for Alzheimer's Society. Marika, and her husband Adam, rode the 500 km in four days in July aiming to heighten awareness about this condition with which Marika's mother was diagnosed two years ago. Marika notes, "The ride was genuinely tougher than we expected with "proper" cyclists in our midst (all the gear!) a ridiculous amount of hills and dodgy-surfaced roads." Further sponsorship can be made through Marika and Adam's Justgiving page.
St Paul's musicians on BBC's The One Show
July 2010
Paulinas old and new combined forces at the very end of term to be filmed for The One Show, illustrating an article about Gustav Holst, our first director of music. The piece highlighted the hymn I Vow to Thee, My Country, the tune of which (Thaxted) was taken from the 'Jupiter' movement ofThe Planets by Holst in 1921, setting words of a poem written before the Great War by diplomat Cecil Spring-Rice. Our choir and orchestra, dressed in camera-friendly shades of blue and green rather than the usual concert black, were augmented by a number of former Paulinas and members of staff to ensure a powerful performance, one which had to be repeated over and over again to allow different angles to be filmed. Interviews and spoken links were fronted by Gyles Brandreth, father of former St Paul's student Saethryd. Gyles, and Holst expert Ian Lace, enjoyed poring over the Holst manuscripts curated by our archivist Howard Bailes. The piece aired on BBC 1 at 7pm on Thursday 15 July.
Being here 