English

Updates from the English Department:

Year 7: Over the past few weeks, we have been reading short horror stories. We analysed Edgar Allan Poe's, "The Tell-Tale Heart" and the students wrote some amazing confessional monologues. These explored the themes of pride and guilt, and the students were able to utilise a broad range of linguistic features to achieve their intended effect.

Year 8: Year 8 are currently reading the play version of, "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". This has allowed us to perform together in class, and they have enjoyed tackling this infamous book. Alongside this, the students have been continuing developing their analytical writing skills too.

Year 9: Now that we have started developing their IGCSE skills, we have begun reading George Orwell's classic novel, "1984". The students have been really engaged with the story's themes: dealing with ideas around totalitarian governments, censorship and propaganda. This has stoked some interesting conversations and debates around the responsibilities of government too.

Year 10: Year 10 have been continuing to develop their poetry analytical skills. The students have even written their own poems which we have displayed in the classroom. Prior to this, the class were studying their set text, Tennessee Williams', "A Streetcar Named Desire". This is a play that deals with some really interesting themes around mental health, class violence and desire. The class were fantastic when sharing their perceptive thoughts on the play.

Year 11: Year 11 have now completed all of their IGCSE exams in both Literature and Language. We are all so pleased with their efforts, and we now look forward to finding out how they each did.