THE YEAR IN ENGLISH

Like a good book, the English Department strives to hook students with engaging ideas, introduce a range of colourful characters, create a range of stimulating settings, and throw in the odd ‘twist’. The result is hopefully memorable and moving.

Highlights:

World Book Day - the annual literary cosplay included Alice in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Goole, and many more.

Year 8 were present for the world première of The Valley of Fear at Sale Waterside - a never-before adaptation of a Sherlock Holmes classic tale.

Sixth Form Book Club read contemporary fiction such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Fight Club, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Wide Sargasso Sea, and The Crying of Lot 49.

Theatre trips are a frequent treat: Year 11 enjoyed An Inspector Calls at the Lowry while Sixth Form students saw a timely adaptation of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, and a stunning production of The Glass Menagerie. English Speaking Union competitions are a high-stakes challenge: Churchill Public Speaking for Year 10 and 11, Mace Debating for Year 12 and 13, and Performing Shakespeare for Years 7-9.

LAMDA workshops and Year 7 drama lessons introduce students to the excitement and challenge of action

Miss Littler organised a Year 12 trip to Laurus Cheadle Hulme to lead presentations on Atwood’s ‘The

Handmaid’s Tale’.

Guest speaker Harry Proudley gave an introduction to careers in marketing and PR while Nick Fore enthused students with his work on developing and writing screenplays.

Poetry Live is a much-loved staple of the GCSE calendar, featuring electrifying performances from poetry giants including John Agard and Simon Armitage.

AGORA:

A spark of an idea arrived in my inbox in the summer of 2021. Why didn’t AGSB have its own student-led newspaper? That enquiry came from Tom Coates and in the blink of an eye, he swiftly set about organising a top team of dynamic editors and tech wizards: the online AGORA newspaper was launched.

Agora is an Ancient Greek word meaning an open gathering space for the citizens of a city. Much like the Agora of the classical era, the aim for the newspaper was to create an open space for students to voice their opinions and perspectives on affairs inside and outside of school. It’s been a delight to see these students work together, iron out teething problems and spread the word of the AGORA. The editors have not only submitted articles themselves, but they have encouraged, commissioned and welcomed articles from students in all year groups on far ranging topics – engineering to the environment, football to F1 and Pele to politics. The founding fathers of the AGORA - Tom, Bertie, Giulio, Jayden, Tom, and Sulay - passed the baton on to a new wave of Y12s this year, helmed by the energetic and ambitious Hugo.

New editors Will, Nat, Raph, Ben and Tom have been appointed; the newspaper continues to build readers and contributors. In fact, Hugo made it his mission to join journalistic forces with AGGS this year which means we now have an even broader range of voices represented.

To find out more, follow the link on the Student page of the school website.

Creative Writing Club:

What started as a Year 7 club last year, has expanded to become a creative forum for both Year 7 and Year 8 students this year. We meet on Friday lunchtimes for discussions about books and writers we are inspired by and then channel this passion into our own creative writing.

This year, we have written poems about animals, created worlds inspired by newly discovered authors and devised characters every bit as grisly as our favourite Roald Dahl villains. It’s the perfect end to the week - we get to meet in a relaxed environment to write, chat and of course eat biscuits! Our members all contribute ideas for future sessions and we have plans for comics, a scrapbook, a literary zone and a summer showcase before the end of the year.

New members are always welcome. See Mrs Haines for more information.

M Davies and H Haines