English
7th October 2023
Year 7: For the past few weeks, Year 7 has been analysing poems and also writing their own. After wandering around the school grounds, the Year 7s selected a tree that they found interesting. Their aim was to write a poem using personification to help bring the tree and its personality alive. I look forward to the students reading us their finished poems next week.
Year 8: Year 8 has been focusing on social and political protest poetry: from the civil rights movement to the fact that we often take fresh water for granted, the students have been exploring how they can analyse the works of these amazing poets in great depth. Most recently, we have been enjoying reading Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise". The students have also been writing their own identity poems too. (I have attached one that is on the wall in the classroom).
Year 9: Dystopian fiction! This term, we have been reading "The Wall" by William Sutcliffe, a dystopian vision of the future where a city is divided. The students have been learning about the conventions of the dystopian genre, and they have also been thinking about the power of language in relation to propaganda. We shall find out how the novel ends next week!
Year 10: Year 10 has been developing their analytical and annotation skills of late. For the IGCSE, we have to study 15 poems in total, and so we have been making our way through the anthology. Whether exploring the painful grief in Auden's "Funeral Blues" or the theme of power and its doubtless demise in Shelley's "Ozymandias", the students have been exploring and articulating their own personal thoughts on these great poems. (I've included some of their amazing work and annotations).
Year 11: This week, Year 11 has been analysing the poem, "A Consumer's Report" by Peter Porter. In order to do this, they have had to get their heads around the differences between capitalism and socialism and reflect upon the benefits and issues of each. The poem has also led to some interesting and lively chats about the "meaning of life," which is an integral theme within the poem.
