Press Officer Jasper Sodha reports on his new venture, publishing the school’s first student-run online Geography magazine.
I had known that I wanted to study Geography at university for a while, and as I started reading more widely over a year ago I developed a better understanding of just how broad the subject really is. No longer was it just human versus physical geography, but it was economic, political, environmental, demographic, technological – the list goes on. I thought that an online student-led publication was a way to share my learning and reading with others, enabling exploration of such interdisciplinary fields and encourage discussions among students. The name The Cannon Yarder, comes from where the school’s Geography Department is located, Cannon Yard.
Over lockdown, and with more time on my hands, I began the process of designing the website. Chipping away at this project in-between and after virtual lessons, on the weekends and over breakfast, I was soon at the stage where we were ready to begin uploading articles. After building an array of high-quality and genuinely interesting reads, we have now officially launched.
I was determined that the magazine be accessible to those who weren’t specialists in Geography, so began by creating some geographically infused ‘emoji quizzes’, which I can assure you definitely challenge your recall of global cities! The main goal, however, of The Cannon Yarder is to show just how all-encompassing Geography is, whilst making difficult concepts approachable and interesting. It was all about finding the right balance. The best part, without doubt, is that we’ve created an online magazine which gives students the opportunity to write on topics that genuinely fascinate them, be it volcanoes, cities, emerging ideas in academia, or the environment. In essence, it is the screen upon which the diverse geographical interpretations and backgrounds of Eton students can be projected.
The Cannon Yarder also provides a chance for students to develop their research, analytical and writing skills, which are extremely useful for A-Level and university study, and in their later lives.
With help from Oliver, Ned, Fynn as Mr Jennings (Head of Geography), I am confident that we have created an extremely useful and interesting site, enabling readers of any age, and from any location, to appreciate the astonishing breadth, insight and relevance of Geography today.
With articles published regularly on a wide variety of topics, I do hope use the link below to have a browse!
https://cannonyarder.com/the-team-2020-21/
