English

English classes have been focused on developing the key skills of reading and writing. Students in Years 8, 9 10 and 11 each have a class novel. Please encourage your child to read this at home before the end of the term.

In response to their reading, students have been writing in several forms and styles: Year 9 a formal persuasive essay; Year 10 a reflection about a Macbeth performance; and Year 11 an imaginative piece in response to their reading of fiction this term. Some extracts of Year 11 students’ writing is shown below:

Taking small, deliberate steps, she approached the bookshelf. It was old and basic, and scratches could be seen in places. Her eyes fixed on an aged book. The fragile pages became snowflakes in her hand. Aileen’s mind flashed to a cold winter day, book in hand and a hot chocolate in the other. Directly across from her he’d sat, his nose inches from the paper. A slight smile swept across her face. 

Chelsea Haggar

It is as if God has adjusted the colours of the world in a split second; like it’s as easy as the flick of a switch. The sun sinks lower in the sky, until the light of day is completely drained, giving way to the shadowy, black night. Everything feels darker than it should be; the road is not grey but a sleek river of black and the street lamps are dim and lifeless.

Charlotte Tait

Opening my eyes, I admired the shades of blue, green and magenta pirouetting on the surface of the stained glass. ‘What peace the silence brings,’ I thought. There was something about how it twirled above me, a spirit watching over me. I kicked my feet up onto the pew in front of mine, slouching slightly, and closed my eyes again.   

Octavia Coleman

The vaccine contained inside the box represented victory, vengeance and vindication for everything Evelyn had endured and sacrificed. The moment had come to lift the lid on the evil that was unleashed back in 2019 and to start making things right again. A nervous grin spread across Evelyn’s face as the interior of the box was opened to the light revealing a lone, slender test tube filled with a violet liquid resting inside.

Erica Hewitt

Mr Shaun Ellis | English KLA Leader