English

Lockdown was inevitably a difficult time for some, but with a little encouragement and initiative (and, of course, an enthusiasm for their subject) it also provided opportunities for students to push beyond what would normally have been covered in class. This was nowhere more apparent than in Zoe Blackburn’s reshaping of our LitSoc into an online forum, with weekly presentations from the Sixth Form on subjects as diverse as A Clockwork Orange, Kipling’s poetry, Jericho Brown, Frankenstein and Maya Angelou. Such was the interest generated that discussion often extended far beyond the allotted hour, fostering those skills of research, presentation and critical engagement that will enable students to excel at university.

Having been deprived of the opportunity to visit the Globe Theatre this year, we instead brought the Globe to Churcher’s. On 26 May we hosted Olivia, a practitioner from the theatre, as she delivered a series of workshops to our First Year pupils who have been studying The Tempest. She gave us a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the inner workings of the Globe, a perfect opportunity for pupils to dazzle her with their knowledge of the theatre and the life of an Elizabethan actor and playwright. Following our virtual tour, the pupils then had the opportunity to explore aspects of The Tempest in a lively, practical and interactive workshop.

Once settled back into school, our First and Second Year students learned the art of writing mini-sagas (a short story of 100 words) for a new book to be called Unsolved – Adventures in Crime. With so many budding writers across the two year groups we were able to proudly submit 165 mini-sagas, 149 of which were selected for the book: we now have a nail-biting wait to see if any of our entries will make the final five to be announced in the Autumn Term. Whatever the outcome, the students have delighted their English teachers with their endeavours and we hope that many will continue to keep writing. As Albert Einstein once said, “Creativity is contagious, pass it on...”

Dr D Cave