As dawn broke on Friday, 5 May, something was in the air. The birds were chirping their sweet song, dog walkers were ambling by, and traffic was racing past as normal. So what was this thing in the air? Something intangible, but its presence could almost be heard. It whispered in your ear: ‘Today is the day’. But what could be happening on the 5th of May to induce this strange feeling? Well, to answer that question we must go back. Far back.

Well, only a fortnight. Miss Cohen had introduced her Latin class to a competition for the ages. Have you heard of Euler? Famous for his many theorems, he has a profound impact on mathematics today. How about Hippocrates? To this day doctors still swear the Hippocratic oath with its resonant words, 'Do no Harm', based on his teachings of medical ethics. For this unparalleled competition, we had to choose a famous figure from the ancient world to bring back from the dead and help in modern society. We had to argue our case and the winning group would be chosen by an Emperor of undisclosed identity.

We walked lugging our fact-filled posters and figure-filled minds along with us into the classroom. Did I say classroom? I meant arena—for this was indeed to be an aggressive battle. Each group took to the stage explaining why their chosen figure was best. It was as if the past, present and future had walked into the classroom. It was tense.

There was role-play, persuasion and maybe even a few tears shed by Miss Cohen herself as she watched her students valiantly defend their cases. In the end, the winner was decided by none other than…Emperor Barnwell! With bated breath, we listened as it was revealed that the winning presentation had introduced us to the glassblowers of Alexandria. Without their innovation, you might not even be able to read this on the device you are using right now! We all had an amazing time and heartily congratulate the winners. Non Sibi Sed Omnibus!

Shayan (Year 9)

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