English Focus
I often share that English is the subject where pupils find their voice. By this I mean that English lessons create a space where children have the opportunity to hone their ideas and articulate their thinking, crafting the vocabulary they know into sentences to be shared with listeners and readers. Through the mastery of language, we encourage Edge Grove pupils to express the creativity that they each have: to respond to the world, to their reading and plumb the depths of their imagination. At Edge Grove there are opportunities to do this on paper and with the spoken word and this week, examples of excellence are taken from Year 6.
We held the Edge Grove invitation round of the Year 6 Speaking Competition to select two pupils to go forward to represent Edge Grove at the final at Beechwood Park. Sienna and Alexis were chosen by both pupils and staff; Sienna’s speech below, which she will no doubt deliver with the same sensitive maturity to fellow Year 6 contestants in May, exemplifies the Edge Grove values of empathy and integrity.
This summer, many people, like me, will sadly come to the end of their prep school journeys. This transition has made me nostalgic for the eight years I have spent at my school; the open fields, the helpful teachers, access to books and learning, field trips and ski holidays and the most delicious lunches, well most of the time. Yet, funnily enough, until recently, I didn’t realise just how lucky I was, and I wonder if you too have reflected on the start in life we have been given.
This Christmas, my family and I went to India, the birthplace of my grandparents. It was a magical place full of wondrous sights, sounds and smells. I had an amazing time with my cousins and long meaningful chats with my grandmother. One moment though, stopped me in my tracks.
We were in Bombay in the car on the way to go shopping. Sitting at a red light, there was a gentle tap on my window, and there was a young girl, about the same age as me, her hair as long as mine and her eyes reminded me of my brother’s. She was dressed in rags and looked like she hadn’t washed in weeks. At first, I didn’t know how to react, until she smiled at me and raised her hand to say hello, then put her hand to her mouth indicating she was hungry. I smiled and waved back and asked my father if we could give her some money. Just then, our driver sped off. I turned back to look at her, but she had disappeared among the many cars and tuk-tuks. It then hit me.
Why did I have my life and she has hers? Why am I standing here in front of you, instead of standing in traffic begging for something to eat? Only by the fortune of where and to whom we were born. Neither one of us have done anything to deserve our place in life. Did you know that 1 in 10 children in India live in poverty? Or that only 77% of children in India can read and write? And that 7.8 million children live in slums?
I have a dream. That Godavri, which is the name I have given that girl, after my great grandmother – ensuring that I will never forget – will one day have a life at least as good as mine. How is that you might ask? Because Godavri represents every little child around the world who happened to have been born less fortunate than those of us in this room. I know, not just how lucky I am, but what I should do with the education I have been given. It’s to make sure that Godavri and every other child that comes after her has a future as bright, and fulfilled as ours. I pray that my dream comes true.
Notes by Miriam
As well as encouraging personal reflections and the development of oracy skills, analytical writing in response to literature is a staple of the English curriculum. By Year 6, pupils have been writing in this style for two years. Below Benji L demonstrates excellent understanding not only of Charles Causley’s poem, ‘Timothy Winters’, but also of the social context of ongoing welfare reform after 1945 when Causley published his work in 1957. The formal style which Benji adopts is impressive at eleven years old.
How does the poet Charles Causley present the character of Timothy Winters?
In the ballad, Timothy Winters, Charles Causley paints a clear picture of a young child living in poverty during post-war Britain. Throughout the ballad, Causley makes references to how poorly Timothy is cared for by his family, for example with the play on words, ‘his clothes were enough to scare a crow.’ Causley also demonstrates the poor hygiene of young Timothy; ‘his teeth like splinters’ makes the reader empathetic towards this unfortunate boy who is being cared for by no-one but his alcoholic father and grandmother, whose only response to him being ill was a dose of aspirin (a cheap, widely available painkiller available post-war).
Furthermore, Causley presents how oblivious the headmaster is of poor Timothy’s situation: during morning prayers the headmaster encourages the students to pray for the less fortunate children living under harsh conditions, without taking a single interest in this child in his school sitting right under his nose, who is praying the loudest of all. The only person who wishes for a better future for Timothy is the welfare worker who ‘lies awake’ at night, worrying about this child who desperately needs help. But, according to Causley, “the law’s as tricky as a ten-foot snake” which implies that the government does not want to accept the fact that there are still some children who live in poverty and ill-health.
In conclusion, Charles Causley’s aim is to broadcast the message that when the NHS was introduced post-war, some children fell through the wide net that swept up all malnourished British citizens; although this helped the lives of many, sadly the NHS was unable to care for all.
Finally, creativity and imagination is at the heart of the writing curriculum.
This term Year 6 have been studying the poetic form of sonnets and ballads; here Taylor expertly adopts the form of a Shakespearean sonnet to share her love of football.
Shakespearean sonnets have 14 lines, an ABABCDCDEFEFGG rhyming pattern and are written in iambic pentameter where each line has 10 syllables, with the stress falling on the even syllables. This is very challenging to achieve – which speaks to the brilliant mind of Shakespeare himself!
