English News

2021 has seen the English Faculty at Ballarat High School embrace the return to teaching and learning in the classroom environment.

In addition to class activities and coursework, many students across all year levels are taking advantage of the opportunity to work with our English tutors to receive extra support in meeting the goals of their Individual Education Plans. The tutors have been working closely with classroom teachers to ensure that students are receiving the help they need in focussed small group and individual lessons.

JOURNALISM

In March, The Ballarat Courier featured an article on the Year 9 Journalism elective, interviewing Ms. Mawer and some students (Audrey English, Ruby Clifton, Matilda Ginn, and Claudia McKenzie) on the appeal of this subject and also discussed the important role that news plays in society. 

DEBATING

It has been pleasing to have seen the return of Debating and Public Speaking competitions after competitions were cancelled in 2020. The first debate team for 2021 headed out last term to compete in DAV heats. Elise Slade, Taryn Simmons and Remee Simmons from Year 8 were a little nervous but did a great job against older, more experienced students from other local schools. This week, another group are off to compete in the second heat. 

Later this year, Rachel Field and Isabella Louw will be participating in the Legacy Public Speaking Competition. Good luck to all competitors.

Public speaking is a great way to develop confidence, group work and persuasive writing skills; plus, it is pretty fun! If you are interested in being involved with programs such as this, please contact Mr. Groth.

On May 10th and May 11th, Ballarat High School will be visited by the ‘Complete Works Theatre Company’. They will be performing a production of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to Year 10 students, while Year 11 Students will be shown a performance of ‘Macbeth’ in the Robinson Centre Theatre.

Year 12 students will be shown a performance of Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman’s ‘The 7 Stages of Grieving’ as a part of their VCE English program in Term 3.

Mr. Patrick Stewart

Head of English