A Week at PGS, 7 February 2025

The Council of Portsmouth Students met this week at Trafalgar School. This is a city-wide event which incorporates eleven secondary schools from across the city. Pupils discuss with their peers the problems which schools and young people face, alongside building communication and presentation skills. PGS pupils presented on topics such as why their interests should be included in the planning processes of the city council. A talk was given on excellent communication by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the day, and gained valuable insight which will support their learning and confidence in the future.

On Monday afternoon two of our Year 12 linguists, Alfie and James, represented the school in the Independent Schools French Debating Competition at Charterhouse. The competition attracted 17 teams debating on motions relating to the impact of immigration on French cultural identity, banning children from social media, and freedom of expression – all entirely in French.

"You don't find many opportunities to speak at length (in French) during the school day", said Alfie. "So it was a nice way to learn and improve." 

"We enjoyed beating the hosts, Charterhouse but unfortunately lost to KES and Winchester", said James."

The judges were highly impressed by the quality of the debating and of the language, as pupils used their French with a real sense of purpose and enjoyment. The PGS pair more than held their own, just missing out on progressing to the semi-finals in a very competitive event. 

A good number of Politics students turned out to hear a fascinating and lively presentation by Dr Lee Sartain from the University of Portsmouth. His talk focused on the 2024 US election and covered a range of angles and some intriguing facts not least about VPs and facial hair!  Dr Sartain ended his talk by inviting a comparison between the Trump vision of the USA for today, and 1890s America, the 'Gilded Age' when the robber barons held sway and America expanded her boundaries by taking over places including Hawaii and Cuba (briefly). A fascinating intersection of both History and contemporary politics.