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The word “Philosophy” is a combination of the Greek words “philos” and “sophy”, which together mean “love of wisdom.” In the case of philosophy, wisdom is defined as coming from knowledge from your own experience. Socrates, one of the first and most influential of Greek philosophers, stated that “Wisdom begins in wonder”. Until the 19th […]

Part of the IGCSE Science, IGCSE Biology and Biology A level courses examine Ecology, Food Production, Deforestation, Soil Fertility, Soil Erosion and Pest Control. The following is an interesting story about one man’s efforts to manage these. Leontino Balbo is one of Brazil’s largest organic-sugar growers. Since 1986, he has been working on a new […]

Boxing Day became a regular tradition in England in the middle of the nineteenth century under Queen Victoria. Celebrated every year on December 26th, Boxing Day was nothing to do with the sport of boxing, but rather the day when tradesmen were presented with Christmas boxes or gifts, in return for good and reliable service […]

International GCSE Chemistry 1g Covalent substances, 1h Metallic crystals Three highly prized gifts two millennia ago given by the three Kings.  A scientific analysis follows of the structure of gold, frankincense and myrrh…and still a little mystery Gold is an unusual metal in that it is bright yellow and so unreactive that it is possible […]

Christmas is celebrated across Europe in a fascinating variety of ways. The word “Christmas” which we use in Britain came from the masses for Christ, held by English evangelists in December: “Christ’s mass” became “Christmas.” In France the word “Noël” is used for the Christmas period, which comes from the Latin word natalis, which means […]

Will Cliff have the Christmas number 1 this year? Who knows, but his Mistletoe and Wine song from 1988 has stood the test of time almost as well as Cliff himself. Here we will learn about Mistletoe’s ecology, and how wine is made. Mistletoe is the Christmas plant hung in doorways to induce passers through […]

One of the most recognisable symbols associated with Christmas is the Christmas Tree. The evergreen fir tree has been used to celebrate winter both pagan and Christian festivals for thousands of years. Pagans used branches of it to decorate their homes during the winter solstice to remind them of the spring to come. The Romans […]

We are approaching christmas, one of christianity’s most  important festivals. But what are the most important festivals for other religions? Britain today is a multicultural society. Being a Christian myself, I am aware of its festivals. Some are celebrated nationally and declared bank holidays. However, other religions have their own holy days and we should […]

Sometimes we can forget that people carried on writing about love after the death of Queen Victoria. So, let’s have a look at twentieth century literature, which gives us many different views on love, and loses many of the certainties we often found in Victorian literature. In doing so, it provides a much less judgemental […]

A seventy  foot, sixty year old Norwegian Spruce has been annually ‘replanted’ every Christmas since 1947 into Trafalgar Square.  The tree had been selected and felled during November at a ceremony in Oslo’s forest attended by the Lord Mayor of Westminster. This majestic evergreen is donated to the people  of London  by the residents of […]