Abingdon Boys School

Abingdon Boys School (stylized as abingdon boys school) is a Japanese rock band fronted by Takanori Nishikawa.

Formed in 2005, the band shares a name with the British independent school Abingdon School, in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, the all-male school where the rock band Radiohead was established.

Biography

Formation and influences

Abingdon Boys School began in 2005 when Takanori Nishikawa, known for his pop music as TM Revolution, decided to return to his rock roots in Luis-Mary with guitarist Sunao. They were introduced to guitarist Hiroshi Shibasaki (ex-Wands) and continued to discuss forming a band until an offer came to record a song for manga series Nana. The three presented a demo to producer Toshiyuki Kishi who became the fourth member of the band.

The origin of the name comes from a combination of Nishikawa's love of cars' anti-lock braking system and the resemblance of the initials to the pronunciation of the Tokyo district Ebisu where the band practiced. When searching on the internet for a backronym Nishikawa discovered Abingdon School and the connection to Radiohead, whose members are of the same generation. A.B.S are also all from the same generation and each fell in love with music when they were in school, so they thought "it would be cool if we could go back to that feeling again."

Abingdon Boys School (album)

Abingdon Boys School (typeset as abingdon boys school) is the self-titled debut album by rock band Abingdon Boys School.

Overview

The initial release date was for October 10 but the album was delayed so the production staff could better promote the album. It was released on October 17, 2007 through Epic Records Japan. There are two versions, a standard edition and a limited edition, the latter containing a DVD of music videos and live performances. The album features their three previous singles, as well as a remix of b-side, "Lost Reason" featuring Micro of Home Made Kazoku. It also features a song used on a tribute album for the Nana manga as well as a cover of a Buck-Tick song, entitled "Dress" (ドレス, Doresu).

Music Style

The music is mixture of hard rock guitars and drums and electronic/techno beats. The lyrics of the songs are a mixture of English and Japanese, with the exception of Rebirth + Reverse which is an instrumental track. Athena, Via Dolorosa, Howling, Nephilim and Innocent Sorrow are sung in Japanese, except for occasional English vocals.

Single-sex education

Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, is the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools. The practice was common before the nineteenth century, particularly in secondary education and higher education. Single-sex education in many cultures is advocated on the basis of tradition as well as religion, and is practiced in many parts of the world. Recently, there has been a surge of interest and establishment of single-sex schools due to educational research.

History

Before the 19th century, single-sex schooling was common. During the 19th century, more and more coeducational schools were set up. Together with mass education, the practice of coeducation was universalized in many parts. In 1917 coeducation was mandated in the Soviet Union. According to Cornelius Riordan, "By the end of the nineteenth century, coeducation was all but universal in American elementary and secondary public schools (see Kolesnick, 1969; Bureau of Education, 1883; Butler, 1910; Riordan, 1990). And by the end of the 20th century, this was largely true across the world. Wiseman (2008) shows that by 2003, only a few countries across the globe have greater than one or two percent single sex schools. But there are exceptions where the percent of single sex schools exceeds 10 percent: Belgium, Chile, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Israel, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, and most Muslim nations. Recently, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in single sex schools in modern societies across the globe, both in the public and private sector (Riordan, 2002)."

Boys' School

Boys' School (Les Disparus de Saint-Agil in French) is a 1938 French drama film by Christian-Jaque based on the novel of the same title by Pierre Véry.

Plot

Shortly before the war, strange things happen at night at the School of Saint-Agil. Students begin to disappear... Three students of Saint-Agil, Beaume Sorgue and Macroy, have created a secret society to prepare leaving for America. One evening, one of them, Sorgue, sees a man through a wall in the natural sciences class. He then disappears after having been sent to the principal's office. When Macroy vanishes in turn, the whole institution is in turmoil. The last member of the secret society still at school, Beaume, might be expelled as well after the yearly school party. During this party, Lemel, the alcoholic art teacher, dies after a fall when a power outage leaves the school in the black. Everyone believes in an accident but Beaume decides to investigate. He chooses to disappear as well and, with the help of the mysterious and spooky English teacher, he manages to discover the counterfeiting business at work in the school insides.