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Screenshot 2023-04-30 at 19.33.29
Christ Is Risen...Alleluia!
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Easter Message
Therefore, despite our difficulties we remain optimistic for the future and think about the positive aspects of this
year. The rollout of vaccines in the UK has been a tremendous success thus far and is already having an effect
and slowing down the rate of virus transmission. Most of us have had the opportunities to learn new things and
develop our independent learning skills. We have had the benefit of more time with our families and have learnt
to appreciate our friends.
We are focused in school at getting back to routines and ensuring that all our pupils are safe, sound and ready to
learn. We are grateful for some extra government funds that will enable us to put on extra ‘catch-up’ lessons for
many of our pupils. We are prioritising examination groups and have given the message that ‘it is all to play
for’ and are supporting pupils to ensure they get the opportunities to show the level of attainment they are
reaching.
Cardinal Vincent has written to schools asking us to continue to strive to create a society that is more
compassionate, less marked by inequalities, more responsive to needs and deprivation. We have been collecting
Easter eggs for the Oak Lodge school, the North London Hospice, local charities and foodbanks and for those
who would otherwise miss out. We are also, planning a non-uniform day on the last day of term, in aid of
The Catholic Children’s Society.
Thank for you generosity and your prayers as we mark the end of Lent and move into Easter. We wish you and
your family a happy and Holy Easter. We look forward to welcoming pupils and staff back to school on Monday
19th April, as normal. 18
Samuel Yu
10 Fisher
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Keywords:
To furlough means to “lay off or suspend temporarily, in this case employee’s do not go to work but the
government still pays their wages”.
1. Government Furlough Scheme Extended Until October 2021 – Instead of the employer (who may not
be able to afford to pay your wages) the government will pay your wages. So far this has cost the UK
government around £14bn (£14,000,000,000) for every month – this is as much as the monthly expenditure
on the National Health Service. IMPACT: This will help employees to keep their jobs and receive their
monthly wages i.e. households will continue to have money to spend.
2. Bounce Back Loans and Interest Rate Payments Halved – The government is giving businesses money
(loans) to help them pay extra costs the business is experiencing due to COVID-19. IMPACT: Government
loan helps business to not run out of money.
3. Mortgage Holidays – People who own their own homes do not have to pay their monthly mortgage
payments. IMPACT: Home owners do not fall behind on their payments and can keep their house i.e. the
bank will not force them to leave their house.
4. Discouraging Non-essential International Travel – A £5,000 fine for anyone in England trying to travel
abroad without good reason is due to come into force next week as part of new coronavirus laws. IMPACT:
This will decrease the transmission rate and help the UK economy recover faster and prevent a damaging
third waves of COVID-19.
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Business Studies
COVID-19 Vaccine Roll Out is an International Success Story
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Children will start getting the Covid vaccine as early as August under provisional government plans to push for
maximum immunity from the virus, The Telegraph can reveal. Safety data on the critical child vaccine
study being run by Oxford University – on which ministers are waiting before making their final decisions – is
expected shortly, with its conclusions due in June or July. It comes after Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, received
his first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine on 19th March. Mr Johnson urged the public to keep faith with
the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, after regulators ruled the jab is safe and its benefits "far outweigh any risks."
Pupils have continued to learn about Careers through ‘Startprofile’, the school website through which pupils can
explore different possible jobs and learn transferable skills.
Twenty-three live events took place over the National Apprenticeship Week and National Careers Week,
including applying to University with UCAS and live Q & A with apprenticeship providers. A large number of
Bishop Douglass pupils have attended six of these live Careers fairs over Careers week and used this opportunity
to engage with employers and future universities. We encourage all pupils to think about their futures early.
Pupils have been offered a range of summer programs and we are delighted to have applicants to
Imperial College Medical and STEM Summer Schools in Year 11. All Year 11 and Sixth Form pupils are
offered a Careers session with a professional advisor on a rota.
There will be no work experience this year but there will be provision for all Year 10 pupils in careers education
to prepare them for the world of work, including a wide range of activities.
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Computer Science & ICT
The Year 12 have been developing a news round video, covering a range of topics impacting today’s society.
They have been learning a range of project management skills to help them complete the project efficiently and
learning a range of tools in Adobe Premiere to help them create and edit their video. Premiere Pro is used by
professionals across the world for every type of production from marketing videos, music videos, documentaries
and feature films. By the end of the course students will be able to utilise their skills in the real world .
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Clubs
Throughout the Sixth Form there have been a wide 4. Melt the butter over a medium heat in a saucepan
range of events with UCAS in preparation for slightly larger than that used for the macaroni. Add the
flour and stir to form a roux, cooking for a few
University, including a number of preparatory talks minutes.
for Oxbridge and Russell group candidates.
5. Turn down the heat. Gradually whisk in the milk, a little
at a time. Cook for 10–15 minutes to a thickened and
smooth sauce.
6. Remove the sauce from the hob, add 175g of the cheese
After two exhilarating debate competitions during and stir until it is well combined and melted.
school closures, students have returned to Debate Mate
7. Add the macaroni to the sauce and mix well. Transfer to
in school, albeit in a new format. Students enjoyed a deep suitably-sized ovenproof dish.
learning to develop and present their arguments
articulately effectively whilst arguing the motion of 8. Sprinkle over the remaining Cheddar and the Parmesan
whether violent video games should be banned. We and place the dish under the hot grill. Cook until the
look forward to in-person sessions coming back after cheese is browned and bubbling. Serve straightaway.
Easter!
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Drama
The Drama department wanted to share some love and positivity by sharing The Happy Newspaper with the
students at Bishop Douglass. Year 7 Drama students journeyed across the school reading out their favourite
articles to their peers. From widowed otters finding love in lockdown to goat Zoom calls to raise money for a
local farm.
The Year 11’s continued to practically explore the use of space to communicate
relationships between characters. 11D explored the play, A Monster Calls,
focusing on the themes of grief, denial and love. Groups created freeze frames to
develop their understanding of characters, after watching the performance over
lockdown.
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Drama
Papatango Workshop
15 students at Bishop Douglass
are soon-to-be playwrights.
Students explored monologues
and scriptwriting with BBC 3
writer, Karis Halsall. Over
Zoom, students learnt how to
construct the perfect story. Their
monologues will be published
and performed by professional
actors in April.
Well done to all that took part!
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English- World Book Day
In true Bishop Douglass fashion, our World Book Day
plans were not derailed merely because we were
working from home! In fact, never ones to miss the
opportunity to dress up, we simply decided to make it a
virtual event and dressed as a selection of our favourite
literary characters.
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I am sure you will agree Miss Lowdell and Miss McCrone both looked tremendous, as did all staff who
participated in this event!
On the day itself we ran a number of Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 quizzes. Student participation was excellent
and the lucky winners in Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 were announced in assemblies upon our return to school.
There were prizes given - a book of the students' choice, of course, for 5 lucky winners.
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Eco- Schools
Pupils were asked to research any actions to reduce the impacts of
climate change in one of the countries involved in the Eco-Schools
project and to write a message to share with them to show their
support.
Manchester- Keep Britain Tidy
Climate change affects England as the amount and frequency of
rain changes. There are longer and hotter summers and wetter
winters. There will be increasingly more local flooding as well as a
result to climate change and global warming. Global warming
causes glaciers to melt and thus causing floods. As I mentioned,
there is a significant change in weather between summer and
winter.
In 2008, there was a climate change act which nationally binded the country in cutting greenhouse gas
emissions. Improvements to energy efficiency and the amount of carbon dioxide a vehicle releases. Actions to
save forests have also taken place to help prevent this. Eco-schools have helped out in ensuring that less harmful
things are exposed to their surroundings.
Many projects have been put in place that help the environment and reduce its dangers and risks. This consists of
things such as “(Re)Love our gadgets” which reduces e-waste in a way that benefits members of the local
community. Another project named ,”(Re)Love our stuff,” focuses on the fashion industry and how it is
responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions and so trying to recycle them.
Poem:
Join us to protest,
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Because we need to change the rest,
Who nestle cosily in their nest,
Not caring about the Earth and its best.
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Eco- Schools
The climate is changing
1. Reduce
2. Recycle
- Flatten cardboard boxes so that you can fit more recyclables into your bin.
- All plastic bottles can be recycled, from water bottles to salad dressing, so put all of them in
your recycling container.
3. Reuse
- Reuse the water you used to wash your vegetables.
- Bring reusable bags when going shopping or packing food
or leftovers.
4. Rethink
- Do you really need this product? 18
5. Repair
- Can the products you are going to throw can be repaired?
The letters were written by 9 Campion as a response to World Wildlife Day. We will be sending these off to
No 10 Downing Street.
Dear Mr George Eustice, Secretary of State for the Environment, and Mr Boris Johnson, PM,
We are all well aware of the current situation of our effect on biodiversity and how our need for human
resources is slowly destroying the environment around us. Yet I’m still writing this letter to perhaps present to
you a little wider picture on the importance of the forests and wildlife. Now I know this topic has been
mentioned many times, and this is neither the first nor the last time that you will hear this.
Since around the 2000s, the number of trees that have been cut down has drastically increased, and many forests
ended up being destroyed by deforestation. And it is more important than ever, now that our planet is being
contaminated and global warming is becoming more and more of an issue, to preserve the forests and keep them
safe as they produce, not only resources, they also allow us to live.
Trees not only provide us with resources such as wood, saplings, fruit and resin, but they are also home for many
animals, since they can be found in almost every habitat and are commonly used by animals. As humans, we are
on top of the food chain and therefore we forget about the lives of the ones below us, yet just because we are
more evolved than those animals, doesn’t mean we get the right to destroy their homes by cutting down forests.
IF we indeed are expecting civilisation to survive and keep on getting wiser, we would need 6 times the number
of forests to supply everyone for their lifetime. So, it is crucial that we spare any tree we can to make sure that
the planet will last even longer.
The communities that support forests also need more appreciation: these people are trying to save the trees and I
believe there should be more opportunities for the voices of these people to be heard; for more people to
contribute and join them. And while politics are fundamental to the stable economy nowadays, ironically,
humans forget to care about the very thing that started their
existence: nature. So, if we just make that extra bit of effort to
make sure that we aren’t contaminating nor toxifying the air so
much, making sure we don’t use more energy than needed and
checking that we don’t irrationally make decisions that lead to
thousands of trees being cut down.
Yours sincerely,
I am writing to you in order to direct your attention to this highly relevant and significant matter that is the
current state of the world – regarding its environmental aspects. What with World Wildlife day having
occurred on the 3rd of March, it has recently and increasingly come to my concern the deterioration of the
world’s natural side, and I believe that it is vital to highlight these issues to you so better action can be taken
for a better world. And that’s what I’m here to do.
Currently, we are living in the Anthropocene: the age of humans, the modern day, the current age, the now that
we are living in these very moments. And we have lost our balance with nature to the vastly increasing
population and consequently increasing demands. Precisely what has been happening in the world? Here’s
what: we have cleared 3 trillion – that’s right – 3 trillion trees; we have cultivated half the Earth’s land; animal
population has decrease by 60% in the last 50 years; we have domesticated 96% of mammals and 70% of birds.
The wild of the world is being taken away. By us. And if we don’t take action, then the world’s biodiversity
will cease, inflicting instability onto all its inhabitants, and the age of humans will be cut short. Right now, the
world is in a state of catastrophe with global warming causing increased temperatures (causing ice caps to melt
and seal levels to rise) and climate change (wreaking more frequent and severe natural disasters and more).
But things have the potential to change – even this worldwide tragedy. For starters, people have been having
less children, so the population growth rate has begun to take a noteworthy dip and start to slow down. What
this means is that the demand for resources will slow down and our planet won’t be exhausted as quickly! It is
critical that we reduce our impact by ensuring that what we can do now, we can do forever. We need to be
certain that our lifestyles are sustainable. So, having heard that… what more can we do?
We can replace fossil fuels and convert to the far eco-friendlier alternative – renewable energy resources: solar
energy, wind energy, hydro energy, tidal energy, geothermal energy, biomass energy. This can reduce our
carbon emissions, meaning less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This can slow down global warming and the
acidification of the ocean and allow for cleaner air for everyone.
We can increase the efficiency of food production and encourage a more vegetarian diet. Less agriculture
means less deforestation and furthermore, less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
We can advance our management of the ocean. If fishers stopped overfishing and the ocean was better taken
care of (for example, removing litter), it would enable marine life to reproduce more and reintroduce life to the
oceans, and by extension allow for more to be fished out and sold and eaten.
We can re-wild our planet. Encourage nature wherever possible: in the ocean, in land we no longer require,
even in our cities. Invite our citizens to brighten their homes with more greenery.
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We can save our planet and regain the balance we once had with nature. But that will only happen if the
world’s current disintegrating state is acknowledged and the aforementioned steps are taken. Will you take on
the lead and play your part to save the world? I hope you will consider this.
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Humanities
Year 7 have been writing some beautiful poetry about the negatives of deforestation.
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By Jackline Kuol, 10
Ward-
Presentation on Mumbai
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Humanities
Other exemplary work produced this term:
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The Year 7’s had an in depth re-enactment of the This term has seen Year 12 Politics students learn all
feudal system. 7 Fisher and 7 Ward did a spectacular about the different electoral systems available;
job of arranging themselves into the feudal system which the UK use and when; and the positives and
and explaining how the feudal system works. It was negatives of these. Students have also learned about
a fun and interactive way to start history back at
school. the factors which affect how people in the UK
choose to vote. Students are also encouraged to
make full use of additional resources to benefit their
learning including the News, BBC Parliament,
podcasts, in addition to the course work. See below
some exemplary work.
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Maths
Maths
The NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) host an annual Number Day nationwide.
This is a mathematical fundraiser that children and young people of all ages can participate in to support the
NSPCC. This year the event took place on the 5th of February 2021.
I find it to be important because this fundraiser makes money that gives children who are not so fortunate the
opportunity to have a better childhood and a better life. This day allows both students and teachers to have fun in
an event that can make a difference in the lives of many children.
Here at Bishop Douglass, we are provided with a range of different activities. Despite COVID-19 preventing us
from meeting in person at school, Bishop Douglass still created a quiz for all students as well as a competition
between teachers and students. This competition consisted of four year 8 students and four staff members. There
were 11 questions, though normally being 10, with the last one deciding the tie breaker which ended with the staff
winning by one point. This ended up being a fascinating and thrilling experience for both students and teachers.
In addition to the teachers winning the staff vs pupil quiz, 7 Fisher won the form tutor competition and Cristiano
De Freitas Escorcio , 9 Campion was the fastest pupil to answer all the questions on the school quiz
correctly. Well done!
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Modern Foreign Languages
Pupils have been studying food and drink this half term and were asked to design their own restaurant menu.
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Music
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Physical Education
We sign off this term for the PE department with an optimistic glance ahead to our summer programme.
Despite the challenges of lockdown, the pupils returned to school with renewed energy and zeal. We have had
large numbers attending our lunch and after school extra-curricular programme, details of which can be found
below.
We look forward to starting our Summer activities in May, which will include a full Athletics programme,
Softball, Rounders and Tennis.
Please continue to check the parent bulletin for weekly updates of clubs and important PE news.
I hope you all have a restful Easter break and we look forward to seeing you all soon.
Mr O’Brien
We will be continuing
extra-curricular football
club after school.
Please check the
timetable for the
relevant year group.
We will be conducting
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inter-tutor tournaments,
for each year group, in
both football and
basketball. The teams
will be a mixture of
single sex and mixed
from each tutor class
competing against each
other.
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A Easter Message
Ryan’s Ramblings……..from the Chaplain’s Desk………Easter 2021
My Dear Friends,
This is not an anniversary I wish to celebrate. So many things cancelled and so many
interruptions to our daily lives in school, at home and in our places of worship.
However, it is really great to have our children and staff back in school. That is
something I was beginning to think was not going to happen. Is the light at the end of
the tunnel coming closer? Let us hope and pray that it is. Mr. Toal, a great hero
throughout this pandemic, called me the other day to tell me that the delivery I was
expecting had arrived. A delivery had arrived but not the one I was waiting for. What
actually arrived was the box of Palm Crosses and the Easter Candle! That filled me
with hope and joy. Yes! This year we will celebrate the Passion, Death and
Resurrection of the Lord. Perhaps this was a sign of things to come.
We are very busy at this moment preparing for the Great Event. Reconciliation services go ahead with all the
restrictions of the pandemic. Students stay in their bubbles which helps protect everyone. Reconciliation takes
place during R.E. This Lent I see more clearly than ever that the virus is a destroyer. The Coronavirus is “a killer;
destroys lives; keeps us apart; keeps us afraid; ruins people lives.”
We began Lent in the desert with Jesus struggling with the attempts of Satan to derail the Plan of God. Satan did
not succeed. So we learn that evil can be overcome. With the power of God that is in each of us we too can say
with great force “get behind me Satan!” We will not allow evil to triumph. It takes hold and control and
debilitates our thinking and feeling. At the same time, we also need help. Just as we need medical help with any
virus through medication. We also need to take all the precautions we can to avoid sin. Face masks and hand
sanitizers, social distancing and so on, all help us fight the virus. Equally so the Sacrament of Reconciliation
helps us put an end to sin! We need all the help we can get. So acknowledging our faults and our failings, being
honest with ourselves is also a great help. Honesty is the best policy! Sin clouds our hearts and minds. It can
distort our vision. It can isolate us from our family and friends. Hence, in our reconciliation services we ask God
to help us overcome our demons by being less selfish and more kind to others. The more space we can give to
God in our hearts and lives, the less space there will be for “false gods” off greed and selfishness, hatred and
bitterness and so much more.
As we journey towards Easter, then let us stand strong and stand together working for the greater good of all our
brothers and sisters. If we use our school prayer with a deeper meaning giving flesh to those beautiful words, we
can truly make this world a better place where sin has no place. Just as we strive to make our school Covid-19
free so we pray to make our school sinless by being the best persons we can be as we are God’s children first.
May the Risen Lord free us from all harm. 18
Every blessing to you and yours!
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RE - Catholic Life of the School
Father Kevin has been visiting each RE class throughout Lent to lead them in the
sacrament of reconciliation and will be taking our pupils through the Stations of
the Cross during Lent. Over the past few months we have been delighted at the
attendance of our virtual masses including a special half-term service to celebrate
Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. For many of our pupils and staff these
have been the only masses they have been able to attend.
We are collecting Easter Eggs for the Easter Egg appeal throughout Lent and will
be delivering them to the North London Hospice, Oak Lodge School and
foodbanks. We ask that every pupil brings in an Easter Egg to support the Catholic ethos of giving and putting
others first.
Religious Education
Once again Religious Education has continued to be a popular and successful subject throughout the school.
Pupils have continued to study online throughout this time and pupils have returned eager to continue their
studies of Religious Education.
Pupils in Year 7 have been studying Sainthood and the Early Church in Britain including key Martyrs, such as
Saint Alban. Year 8 have studied prayer and are now looking at vocation – what our calling is in life. Year 9
have finished studying moral and ethical dilemmas as well as philosophical problems such as proving God and
explaining the existence of Evil. They will now begin an introduction to Judaism.
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Year 10 pupils have continued their full course GCSE with a study of Catholic Christian sources of wisdom and
authority such as the Magisterium, Conscience and Natural Moral Law.
Year 11 pupils have been consolidating their studies in preparation for the internal assessments. We remain
confident in our pupils who engaged really well in their online studies and have ensured every pupil has the
revision resources they require to do well.
Year 12 pupils have been studying the Trinity and other key Christian beliefs in detail and Year 13 have been
revising for their internal assessments.
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Sixth Form
Our wonderful Sixth form students never cease to amaze us. Last
week, parents of prospective Year 7 students left here singing their
praises as they led a series of guided tours and really sold the
school! This week, they were all hard at work, with record numbers
staying in Evening Study and proving their commitment to their
own education and ambitions for the future.
One of the most gratifying things to note during lockdown was how
our Sixth form students, who, of course, are young adults,
responded collegiately to the situation and really put into practice
their leadership skills. They embraced the challenge of online
lessons with exceptional attendance – the best in the school and
topping 99% some days!
Much of this excellent work over lockdown has also fed into our
ongoing peer mentoring programme that is led by Sixth form
students working with students across the lower school. These
weekly sessions are an opportunity to students in Years 7-11 to get
help with organisation, academic studies, or simply to get some
advice that they might need from students who have navigated the
journey they are on, more recently.
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Sixth Form
It is no surprise that due to team-work and rigour, our Sixth form students had an attendance hovering around 99%
during lockdown… Perhaps it is a little-known fact that we have an incredible team of student ambassadors
working within the school who were also a part of this success. Our Sixth formers are very lucky to have this
dedicated team of incredible student ambassadors working with them to help them get the best possible grades!
Mr Sawhney
Finished Bishop Douglass last year with A*, A*, A at A-level in Maths, Chemistry and Biology. Whilst deciding
whether Medicine or Economics will be his degree subject, he is tutoring students taking A-Levels in one of his
own A-Level subjects.
Ms Capitelli
Bishop Douglass alumni (A*, A, B in English Literature, History, Sociology) and History graduate of the
University of Southampton, Ms Capitelli is tutoring students in English Literature and History as well as
delivering incredible seminars to students. They seek her out even when they are not timetabled to be with her!
We look forward to her training as a teacher here next year.
Mr Young
Cambridge graduate (Economics) Mr Young tutors students in A-Level 18 Economics and Maths GCSE. His
sessions are incredibly popular and in huge demand because he is so affable and Maths GCSE has never been so
popular amongst our Sixth form!
Ms Hopwood
This Bishop Douglass alumni graduated with a 1st class degree in Media! Now she is using that creativity and
expertise to work with Media A-Level students hoping to follow this path in the future.
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Term Date 2020/2021
N.B: All dates are correct at time of going to press. They are ALL subject to change.
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