The English Department Website
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The English Department Website
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Welcome to the English WebsiteCongratulations!Mini-saga competition winners are: Jack Barnett, Gabriella Wilby , Lucy Holt, Ram Dwarakanath and Sasha Mills. Read the winning stories by secondary students below and some other excellent entries here:Heroes of Suburbia, Gabriella Wilby He was knee-deep in mud - thick, treacherous mud, dragging him down as barbed weeds wound about his neck. He battled bravely with the untamed undergrowth, hacking his way through snaring stem and vicious vine - A distant voice called: "When you're done with the bushes, Henry, you can prune the dahlias." 2 mini-sagas by Jack Barnett His body went limp. It wasn’t much trouble packing him into the boot. I remember thinking the air felt cold, the bitter, harsh type of cold that shortens your breath. I should have worn a thicker coat. Why didn’t I wear a thicker coat?! Still at least he stopped twitching… Mr. Paige continued running, he was tired and by now the heat was starting to get to him. He couldn’t stop, if he did he’d never escape. He couldn’t believe his life had become this much of a mess. His wife, his child, his briefcase, all meant nothing to him. 13 Minutes Past Midnight. Lucy Holt Johnny walked up to the old hotel his heart was pounding in his chest. His ribs and arm still hurt from last time. As he opened the door the church bells chimed midnight, he walked into the room that he had hated all of his life. “Ah, Johnny, you’re here.” ________ MELANCHOLY Pedro It’s 3am and I can’t sleep. Too many thoughts fill my mind while my head rests on the cold window, and the breath mists up its surface. Inevitably my finger has started drawing circles…I wish I could clear my way in life as easy as my finger clears the steam. The Story of Stellerville Graveyard Mark Rutherford Steve woke up in a blur. He was in the graveyard down the street. The man was confused. He had fallen asleep in his bed, what was he doing here? He asked a boy that tumbled past him, “Excuse me, but where am I?” The boy replied, “Why, you’re dead.” Run Mark Rutherford The gate has opened. Dash through. Rush across the grass. Slide under the crack. Onto the gray road. Lie down. Feel happy, feel relaxed, feel scared. See the bright lights. Two of them, coming closer. Hear the screams, feel the pain, feel the darkness, feel your eyes closing. Feel nothing. A mini-saga by Charlotte Owens Johnson pulled back the trigger of the gun. His hands were encrusted with warm sweat. He licked his lips frantically. And fired. The noise echoed throughout the offices. He stood, back against the cold door, his hands shaking uncontrollably; sweat fermenting on his brow, his heart beating in his throat. I didn’t ask to be born. Lorina Varga I was sitting in the hospital with Rose, staring at the clock. It had been 5 hours and 38 minutes since the accident; it felt like time had stopped, we waited for so long, worried, scared, impatient…After 7 minutes, a nurse came in, ‘I’m sorry.’ And that’s how it ended. The man who didn’t move. Lorina Varga As I walked out the door to get the post, he was there. When I came back from school, he was there. When I walked out my garden gate with Max, he was there. He was always there. On the bench, or even on the tree. There he was, waiting.
And Thank You to Harry Pearson for selecting the winners, and for all his excellent and entertaining work with students during Book Week. Page
turners and seat fillers Also in the news: The original
political vision: Dissent and emancipation were holy for William Blake.
He could teach Prime Minister Gordon Brown so much about how to be radical. Year 10's latest book best ever film made from a novel by Guardian readers Read the Full List 1. To Kill a Mockingbird Lee's first (and so far only) novel was a literary sensation, scooping the Pulitzer prize and shifting 2.5m copies in its first year of publication. Clearly the screen version strikes a similar chord. This is a film we cherish in the same way we cherish It's a Wonderful Life, or The Wizard of Oz. Sensitively scripted by Foote, To Kill a Mockingbird spins a vibrant,
child's-eye view of adult torments and boasts a career-best turn from Gregory
Peck as the iconic Atticus Finch. Needless to say it could all have been so
different. Legend has it that Peck only agreed to the role after the producers'
first choice, Rock Hudson, turned it down. Xan Brooks
English
at The International School of Toulouse
English
schemes of work in years 7-9 follow the English National Curriculum Literacy
Strategy whilst years 10-11 prepare students for the demands of the IGCSE
exams in English language and English Literature at 16. Years 12 & 13 follow
the A1, A2 and B curricula of the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme
all of which demand a high level of skill in the manipulation of language
and the analysis of its effects. We
encourage pupils to read good literature from the past and the present as this
is a model which shows language at its most effective and helps us to relate to
historical, social and artistic contexts, to encourage empathy and experience of
other worlds. It is also a means of exploring new ways of expression and helps
bring about confidence, awareness, a critical outlook and a greater sense of
personal identity. As English teachers, we see our job as helping students to use language to:
Students learn to do this through:
speaking and listening in different contexts, styles, and forums so that they can present ideas persuasively, respond to others’ ideas and work effectively with others in a team
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