Year 9 students have been studying gothic fiction and reading extracts from ‘Coraline’ by Neil Gaiman. We have been learning about conventions of the gothic and gothic creatures. Students have been planning their own descriptive paragraphs. They chose a creature to focus on based on the images above.

An example includes:

The gruesome gargoyle sat proudly on top of the museum. Bat like wings sat on the creature’s back spread out ready to fly at any moment. Its jaw hung low stuck in a deep grin that reached from ear to ear. It was a very muscular thing. Even from high up, I could see its veins pulsing out of its muscular arms and legs. I walked further on but couldn’t help but look back. It moved. I shook my head in pure disbelief. I must have imagined it. Of course I did, statues don’t move. Or do they? I had to look back again. It moved. Again. Its head was now further turned toward me with one foot forward.

At KS4, we have been working through the expectations of a GCSE Language Paper 1. Students have read different extracts and have displayed their information retrieval skills – these include identifying key facts they have learnt from the extract. We are now working on their analytical skills – concentrating on language and structure. Students are finding examples of interesting words, phrases and devices and writing about why they are engaging. Structural features and key terminology have been introduced/revisited so they can plan a response asking why a text has been ordered/structured a certain way.

An example of a Y10 response:

The writer uses movement when describing the boys’ journey. The verbs ‘ran’ , ‘chased’ and ‘stopped’ shows how fast they were moving and suggests they have done something wrong.

The boys’ journey sounds scary, ‘we were being chased.’ This suggests the boys were feeling frightened, petrified and anxious.

The KS5 students have been working towards their Functional Skills qualifications. They have been using past papers to refine their key skills but have also been preparing topics for the speaking and listening exams.

Subjects for discussion include:

• should facial recognition cameras be allowed in public spaces?
• Should age restrictions be re-thought?
• Is AI going to impact the job market?