Upper School
h s i l g n E
The English curriculum is designed to allow pupils to explore the wonderful world of literature and to encourage them to foster a lifelong love of books. The girls are encouraged to think critically about the texts that they study and they are given countless opportunities to develop their creative skills through tasks linked to various themes and characters. This year the girls in the Upper School have been inspired by an array of texts ranging from ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare to ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ by C.S. Lewis. From role play and art, to letter writing and play scripts, the girls have learnt to explore a range of genres and they have allowed their imaginations to take them to new and exciting places. Creativity is the key ingredient in every lesson.
This year, our Glendower Handwriting Competition required the girls to write a poem based on the topic of ‘Truth’. Our annual Poetry Recital, judged by staff from South Hampstead High School, City of London and Wycombe Abbey, brought out the performer in us all. Our Creative Writing Competition based on ‘The Future We Want’ took us on an array of wonderful journeys. Opportunities to perform, recite and debate have allowed the girls to develop their ability to address an audience with confidence and express their opinions maturely and articulately.
Year Four Year Four have delved into many different styles of writing: from instructions and diaries to travel writing and the adventure stories, to mention a few! The girls have been exploring poetry and used ‘Hold Fast to Your Dreams’ by Langston Hughes as a framework to write their own, based on the theme of chasing your dreams and never giving up. We also studied the poet Lemn Sissay and created our own versions of his poem ‘When I’m Older’.
The curriculum comes to life in a multitude of ways at Glendower. Shakespeare’s life and works have been explored during Shakespeare Week and through a range of workshops and role plays. School trips have taken the girls to many inspiring places – Year 6 have traced the steps of Charles Dickens by visiting the Dickens Museum and they witnessed ‘A Christmas Carol’ coming to life on the stage at the Old Vic Theatre. Year 5 had great fun at the Sky Skills Studio filming and editing their own trailers. Visits from animated storytellers and wonderful authors, such as Jeremy Strong, allow the girls to delve into the world of literature and learn from the very best. These special experiences enhance the curriculum and give the girls wonderful memories to treasure.
As ever, the termly set texts were received with open arms and the girls enjoyed the fantasy story ‘How to train your dragon’ at the start of the year. This is always a fun and exciting way to begin Year Four, as we start to pick-apart the vivid characters and learn about inference. ‘Pig-heart Boy’ by Malorie Blackman is another well-loved text which allows the girls to explore more mature themes of moral dilemmas, poor health and ultimately, death. The move to online learning offered girls the opportunity to play with the formatting of their writing and was extremely useful when creating their explanation texts. The girls produced some factual and wellconsidered explanations of alien adaptations to different planets in our solar system. We also had some hilarious examples of how our home appliances really work. Did you know that the dishes in your dishwasher are actually licked clean by cats? Well, you do now!
It has been a busy, productive and exciting year in the English Department! Here are a few of the tasks that the girls have completed this year. Mrs Cadenhead Head of English
42
