Last year, our average point score this year was the highest of all the core subjects; and we got over 10% more students to a Grade C or higher - a record improvement and wonderful news especially for those who desperately needed that magical C grade to get into their chosen courses at 6th Form College.
But there was NOBODY who achieved an A or A* grade in English - high B grades yes, but not a single A or A*. Why? Well, not enough of the most able students were producing enough timed essays; not enough were really stretching themselves; and not enough were making sufficient use of the wikis and blogs at their disposal. BUT I would say the BIGGEST reason was that not enough of the most able students in last year's Year 11 were reading - and I mean really reading - like their lives depended on it.
Reading is the answer. And, unlike much exam preparation, reading is fun. Choose the right book, and it simply doesn't feel like WORK at all, as you are whisked away to a parallel world and wrapped in a mesmerising narrative.
All members of the English Fast Track should be reading for a minimum of 45 minutes EVERY night. This should become part of your daily routine, something you would not miss out any more than you would eating dinner or cleaning your teeth in the morning.
And this BLOG? Well, I would like to hand it over ENTIRELY for book reviews. WHENEVER you finish reading a book, just spend 10 minutes or so writing a brief review of it on the Fast Track BLOG, so that other people can learn from your experience.
At the end of each term, there will be a £10 prize for:
- The BEST book review of the term;
- The MOST book reviews written.
To help you, members of the English Department will also post regular reviews of books we have read and enjoyed.
And you can also find a detailed reading list by clicking here and getting your parents to register. Not only will you then be able to download excerpts from ALL the books listed, but you will also be able to buy them at a special discounted rate, if you choose to do so.
So get reading straight away!
And we look forward to reading the first book review in the very near future.
The George Mitchell English Department
3 comments:
fnkx 4 adding me
I like to recommend a book and film called 'Carrie' by Stephen King. Here is my review on the book; the book is about a girl called Carrie White, who is no ordinary girl. She has a gift called 'Telekinesis' this enables her to do things with her mind. The story starts off with Carrie in school in the school showers, something unusual happens, all the girls mock her. A girl called Christine Hargensen was the main ringleader and the starter of all the other girls mocking her. Another girl called Sue Snell who was part of this shame felt sorry for Carrie. Later in the story Sue Snell asks her boyfriend Tommy Ross to ask Carrie to the school prom. This is Carries dream, she rejects at first then she finally agrees. She tells her mother, her mother is an absolute freak she is so religious. And throughout the story you would learn that on several occasions her mother has sent her to a tiny cupboard, which she calls the prayer cupboard. Carrie begins to prepare for the prom; she makes her own prom dress. Only of she knew the prom would take a decidedly macabre turn on that horrifying and endless night. Christine Hargesen and her boyfriend Billy Nolan switched all the prom winners’ cards to make Carrie and Tommy win prom king and queen. When they were going up to the stage, Christine and Billy were hiding underneath the stage with a rope in their hands leading to a bucket on the ceiling full of pigs blood, the blood splattered all over Carrie. Everyone started to laugh; to their horror she stood up using her gift she locked all the doors and windows of the prom hall. She set the entire hall on fire causing everyone to scream for his or her lives. After everyone was burnt Carrie left, leaving a trail of pigs blood. As she was going home she was causing destruction all the way. She went home destroying everything as she entered; her mum was sitting in the kitchen with a knife. Carrie told her mum she was going to kill her, her mum said lets pray and began reading religious things. Carrie killed her mum then took her body to the prayer room and the whole house collapsed upon them.
In my opinion Stephen Kings imagination is vast, he knows how to engage the deepest sympathies of his readers. This book is a horror book, and it can truly make the flesh creep and cringe.
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