“What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.”
(Little Gidding: T. S. Eliot)

The beginning of a new venture (particularly the start of a new academic year) inevitably involves thoughts about the future and thoughts about the past. A quick review of last year’s examination results reflects what a successful year it was for EIC. Last year’s Year 11s could be justifiably proud of their successes, having achieved an array of impressive percentages like 100% A* to C for IGCSE First Language English and well over 50% for A* and A grades in both Language and Literature. AS and A2 classes were similarly pleasing with a wonderful crop of results including 12 A grades. So, our objective obviously was to maintain that positive momentum by setting new challenges for our students this year.

Shakespeare Beats the Clock!

Our first challenge was Poetry Week. Each year we like to give Poetry Week a different slant because, after all, no two poetry experiences are ever the same. As our theme for Poetry Week this year, we focused on the work of our greatest English playwright: William Shakespeare. For those of you who have studied any of his plays, you will quickly realise the link with poetry because in his plays most of the characters speak in blank verse or iambic pentameter. That basically means a line of ten syllables with 5 stresses. He used poetry to convey all manner of emotions: love, hate, lust, envy, joy, sorrow. If Shakespeare were alive today, my guess is that he would be working in films writing screenplays because, after all, he was also an astute businessman. So, with that in mind, we decided to give Shakespeare’s plays a new twist by creating modern, unusual contexts. The challenge was for each English group to adapt and act out one of Shakespeare’s plays in three minutes. Everyone rose to the challenge superbly as the assembly to celebrate the end of Poetry Week testified. We had Hamlet given the Star Wars treatment, Romeo and Juliet from the Bronx and England and France fighting it out in Henry V, armed with croissants and lace handkerchiefs! The only pity was that we did not have enough time to show all of the plays. So we can only dream of such mouthwatering delights as the Year 13 version of Hamlet in the Queen Vic, Albert Square, Titus Andronicus as a cookery programme and The Comedy of Errors as a relay race (with a scroll doubling as a baton). Perhaps we can persuade the Year 13s to take time out from their university courses to entertain us next year; who knows!

Further Challenges, Further Successes!

The Spring Term brought further challenges and further causes for celebration. The Year 12s were the first group to tackle the new AS examinations. Although the changes were quite radical, they were ones that the Year 12 took in their stride. In fact, one of the Year 12 group, Daniella Franken, decided to take Unit 1 of the AS English Literature in January, achieving a mark of 117/120. The mark is impressive enough anyway, but even more so when you consider she had only been studying the course for a term. Well done, Daniella! Of course, a further challenge was the EIC Newsweek. Mrs Howell and her team of budding journalists set about converting the English classrooms and ICT suite into the offices of a daily newspaper. Were they terrified of technology? Were they dismayed by deadlines? No, far from it; they thrived on the pressure and produced a fascinating newspaper as a result. Many congratulations to Mrs Howell and her team!

Tantalising Trips!

Yet another challenge this year involved finding further exciting locations for our residential trips. Some stalwart Sixth Formers accompanied the Year 11 Latin /English group to Mérida to explore the delights of this fascinating town. The itinerary was very full to say the least, including visits to the theatre, the amphitheatre, the circus maximus, aqueducts, the Alcazaba and the National Museum of Roman Art. In the evenings, we had time to relax, however, when Jack McLaren-Stewart became our resident DJ and various weird and wonderful dances were devised to the accompanying strains of Jack’s music collection. Many thanks to Dr. Mike Sutcliffe for joining us on the trip and for helping to make it such a success.

The Year 10 trip to Pompeii has, in previous years, used Naples as its centre. This year we opted to stay in the seaside resort of Sorrento. Our first day involved visiting the site of Pompeii and, in particular, the ruins of the house of Lucius Caecilius Lucundus. Here the students were presented with their Cambridge certificates, in recognition of their splendid progress in Latin so far. During our trip, we also visited the new interactive museum at Ercolano (modern day Herculaneum) where the ancient sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum became virtual realities for us. What an experience: smoke, fire, earthquake . . . and even a leisurely stroll through some Roman baths! So, ciao, Italia! All’anno prossimo!

The Curriculum Challenge

Of course, our main focus has been ensuring that there is sufficient challenge across the curriculum. Although our Key Stage 3 classes follow the National Curriculum, we are able to move beyond this in order to help students to develop their writing skills. At Key Stage 3, our literacy classes continue to support the extended writing tasks that are such a central part of the English experience. At Key Stage 4, each academic year brings fresh texts to study. This year Richard III was on the IGCSE examination paper for the first time. Next year, it will be Journey’s End and the following year Death of a Salesman. This constant change of texts reinforces the essential attraction of English: that there are always new texts to study, new journeys to be made and new discoveries to amaze us. At Key Stage 5, the changes and discoveries, as I have mentioned earlier, were far-reaching. I believe these changes were of particular benefit to the students and helped to reinforce the power of both Language and Literature. We wish the Year 12 students every success in August and look forward to teaching them, as the new Year 13 group, in September.

Fond Farewells

Our Year 13s were the final group to study the Curriculum 2000 courses for English Language and Literature. It is curious to think that when I first started working at EIC in 2000, they were the “new” A level courses. How time flies! The Year 13 students have been a delightful group of young people; students for whom sparkling futures beckon. We wish them every success and look forward to hearing of their literary and linguistic exploits at university. So, we wish the combined forces of the Language and Literature groups the very best of luck: Oliver, Ricardo, Charlee, Chaz, Winston, Molly, Priya, Emily, Jordana, Annie, Clara, Sophie and Dominic, enjoy your time at university!

The end is where we start from . . .

Inevitably, the end of the year often is a time for change. Our colleague, Michelle Dales and her family are moving to Singapore. We wish her every success in her new post and hope that she enjoys working at her new school. We also welcome SJ Avery who has been with us as a part-time teacher this year and now will join our staff as a full-time teacher in September, 2009. Welcome, SJ, we look forward to working with you. So, what will the next year bring? I started with a quotation from T.S. Eliot that you might have found rather obscure. If you focus on the last line, you might begin to see the point I am making. We may have reached the end of a year but we are also facing the beginning of a new one with all its fresh challenges and thrilling discoveries. I look forward to sharing those moments with you because, as Eliot said, “The end is where we start from.” See you next year!

Dr Clare Morris