The Blog at 10: A Decade of Discussion, Discovery and Diversity

by James Burkinshaw

Ten years ago today, on 7th February, 2012, PGS pupil, Julia Alsop, published the first article on Portsmouth Point blog. Her piece explored the work of the Greek scientist and philosopher, Thales, in the 6th century BCE. Shortly afterwards, George Neame posted the second blog article, his review of Emeli Sande’s debut album, Our Version of Events, which had only been released the day before. Thus, from its birth, the blog has reflected the impressive range of PGS pupils’ interests: from the historic to the contemporary, the scientific to the artistic, the analytical to the creative.  

The biannual Portsmouth Point magazine had been launched three years earlier, by Mr Elphick-Smith, and, of course, continues to flourish today. Beginning my own stint as editor at the end of 2011, I wanted to introduce, in addition, an online forum that would allow pupils to share their ideas, opinions and enthusiasms on a regular basis, inviting mutually respectful debate and discussion. I was lucky to inherit a committed editorial team, including Daniel Rollins, then in Year 11, who had the dynamism and dedication to design the blog and then to become our pioneering Senior Editor.

The response among pupils was extraordinary and immediate - we went from 4 articles published in February to 45 in March: focusing on a dizzying range of subjects, from a live-blog of Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget to coverage of the racist killing of Trayvon Martin in the USA, war crimes in Syria and Afghanistan, 'hacktivism', the UK 'cash for questions' scandal, and proposals for a third runway at Heathrow, as well as a celebration of mathematical equations as an art form, reviews of poetry, novels, music and films, an investigation of the psychological impact of fashion, a reflection on whether or not Titus Livius was a moral historian, and a farewell to bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs.

The blog has not looked back since. Indeed, this is the 4,357th article published to date. Year after year, month after month, day after day, Portsmouth Point has continued to offer a platform for the PGS community to engage with the world beyond the Arch. 2012-2022 has been a dramatic decade and our editors have been there to record it all: transformative cultural change relating to race, gender and sexuality; the rise and fall of Donald Trump; the causes and consequences of Brexit; looming environmental disaster; the exponential development of social media; scientific and technological revolution, from CRISPR to the discovery of the Higgs-boson 'God particle'. And, of course, COVID. During the pandemic, Portsmouth Point blog published unprecedented numbers of articles and reached new heights in terms of its readership. We also worked with PGS Archivist, John Sadden, to publish a unique record of the school community's response to the pandemic - 'We Are PGS' - with contributions from members of the PGS community across the globe.

Of course, even at moments of political, environmental, social, cultural, scientific and economic upheaval, Portsmouth Point editors have continued to write about so many other things besides: sharing recipes, reviews, poems, short stories, puzzles and personal reflections; exploring history, literature, art, philosophy, drama, religion, psychology, fashion, music, technology, film, TV and travel. And, under the energetic leadership of our Head of Photography, Mr Stone, and his dedicated team, we have consistently showcased inventive and beautiful photography, from pupils and staff, including regular contributions from PGS Marshal, Mr Hicks:

It has been a joy and a privilege to work alongside hundreds of enthusiastic, committed, enquiring and creative editors and contributors over the past ten years. Here's to another decade of discussion, discovery and diversity at Portsmouth Point.