Next year our year is going into sixth form. This is a big change in many ways, particularly in dropping most our subjects, we can focus in and enjoy the ones we truly enjoy. While principally my peers and I are excited for the changes and chances to increase our studies, I anticipate a large change in the culture of social groups. Between this year and next, we will have to say goodbye to some of our friends, choosing to attend different sixth forms, but also to our current social dynamics, Year 12’s and 13’s typically choosing to stay and study instead of talking with friends in the playground. While this is a small change to many, certainly this is not to our group, who consider the physical location of meeting not only a happy memory, but a core aspect of group conversation- the corner.

 The eponymous ‘The Corner’(title specified by our sovereign leader) is the far corner of the playground, with rocky relief, characterised by the corner of two lines of stone walls, has been a place of regular conversation since early 2020, founded by the shy Year 7 Shyam Ashokan, thus being 5 straight years of social tradition to meet and socialise at ‘The Corner’. After a slow start, only being the founder Shyam and his (very) few friends, eventually other people caught on to the tradition and started joining in, it being commonplace to just say, ’We’ll continue this conversation at the corner’, and while the friend group became larger, still populated thoroughly by social rejects, the location of the corner stayed constant. Perhaps it is the endearing area of the corner- with inviting trees, being near the astro turf, or the occasional homeless drunk man, speaking gibberish to slightly socially anxious preteens, who would thus return the same exact dialect of nonsense, what it is I, and my peers do not know, but it seems the friend group is inextricably linked to this mundane corner of the playground.

People have a great many memories tied to the corner. For instance, after an extended break due to a fire alarm, we remember creating a proxy river by funnelling a puddle through the crack between the stone lines, digging out mud and watching the flow of water. See, the puddle is an ever-existing part of The Corner, it being on a slight slant, water accumulates over the mud and stone walls, and I guess they decided to let loose.

Last November, founder Shyam and Corner fanboy-fanatic Charles decided to try to commemorate the memories they had shared with the friend group, and The Corner, with a group photo, and while being a pipe-dream at the time, has recently festered and taken root, picking up steam and was into action. To attempt to do this, we had to gain the permission from our Head of Year as taking pictures of school property and pupils is normally not allowed, thus Charles took initiative, preparing his thesis on why the corner is so important to his friend group, and how this photo will be needed to remember it all. It worked. While the original planned day of the last day of term had to be cancelled due to terrible weather, efforts are already revitalised to plan another day, to get everyone together.

Perhaps when looking back at the photo, with the large number of close friends and icons of the corner, founder Shyam and other members will see their personal journey through Wilson’s and the great adventure it has been in building such a close friend group, then look at the scenery of the plain Corner, the place where it happened.