fter two days of gruelling competition
at the 2015 BBC Knowledge
Magazine School Challenge, the team
consisting of Chloe Young, Christine Chiang,
Deanna See and Swathi Nachiar from Raffles
Girls’ School, some of whom were no strangers
to the BBC Knowledge Magazine School
Challenge, emerged champions having won
over the judges with their depth and scope
of knowledge as well as creative presentation
skills. And their prize was an all expense paid
educational trip to the historical and bustling
city of London.
Accompanied by their educators Mr
Chan Sau Siong and Ms Chia Wei Ling,
WITH RAFFLES GIRLS’ SCHOOL, BBC
KNOWLEDGE SCHOOL CHALLENGE2015 CHAMPIONS
AN EDUCATIONAL TOUR OF
LONDON
the group’s customised itinerary included a
walking tour around London’s Westminster
area exploring Hyde Park, the Prince
Albert Memorial as well the Royal Albert
Hall. They also visited the historical BBC
Broadcasting House where they were given
full access to a working studio belonging to
the BBC’s The One Show, with its iconic
green sofas and colourful backdrops. The
group also saw the inner workings of a
live newsroom and witnessed how news
was produced. Deanna and Swathi also
volunteered their voices to be talents in the
creation of a radio story telling programme.
The rest of the days were spent exploringA
the boundless collections housed within
London’s world renowned museums
including the British Museum, the Natural
History Museum, the Science Museum and
the Victoria and Albert Museum.
No doubt their stay was short but the
experiences and memories of the trip, have
left an indelible mark on the students and their
educators as well. Here are their thoughts...Chloe Young
Somehow in my mind I had
always pictured London as
something like Times Square, brilliant,
new, shining. What I saw during our trip
was perhaps not the complete opposite
but rather something both new and old,
something shining and rusting, something
brilliant and elegant. London is a bustling
city, not unlike Singapore, yet still steeped
in culture that sets it apart from many
other cities in the world. Where Singapore
has torn down countless old buildings,
replaced anything redundant, London has
somehow managed to retain the etchings of
its history; in the markings on post-boxes,
in the thousands of gas lamps, in the people;
even as the world changes. I found the
amalgamation of buildings where famous
figures from even the 19th century lived
and new gleaming glasshouses strangelySCHOOL
CHALLENGE
2016Handling a real fossilized dinosaur
bone at the Natural History Museum
Visiting the Natural History MuseumAt the Science Museum