Dhruv - Year 9 Student Editor's note: Year 9 student Dhruv writes here about his personal experiences of coronavirus lockdown. He talks of missing the joys of summer and playing cricket, but comes to realise the value of social interaction, time spent with family, and even time spent in the classroom. This is Dhruv's third … Continue reading Lockdown Life
Jack - Year 12 Student Editor's note: Tasked with writing a short story entitled 'Imprisoned', Year 12 student Jack's work really stood out for its effective use of deliberately crafted paragraphs, varied vocabulary, and the way in which it shows, rather then tells, the reader the story. CPD/KLK Imprisoned I was standing in the chamber … Continue reading Imprisoned
Aqib - Year 11 Student Editor's note: GSAL student Aqib, now in Year 12, provides the context for this wonderful poem in his own words: "I have been greatly inspired to write just a short poem on a topic that I feel strongly about: this, of course, is the racial tension ravaging the world today. … Continue reading United amidst adversity
Alexandra - Year 9 Student Editor's note: I could have submitted at least two handfuls of answers in response to this task, but this one really stood out. Alexandra, now in Year 10, wrote the following in response to the task at the bottom and it really made me go 'Wow': sophisticated, concise, and yet … Continue reading Why do people fight?
Vicky - Year 13 Student Editor's Note: This essay forms part of a collection of student works published in the 2020 edition of Salutaris, the GSAL Sixth Form academic journal. It was originally published here in The GSAL Journal. References are available upon request. CPD Lavender: A Flashback ‘I was unsettled when I was little, and spent a great … Continue reading Lavender: A Flashback
Emily - Year 9 Student Editor's Note: Are you the new Blake? Many of us have been going for daily walks if able to do so. Borrowing poet William Blake's form, Emily Y9 has written her own poem about her recent wanderings. Her poem ends in an uplifting manner; the bit of cheer that we … Continue reading Wandering
Eva - Year 8 Student Editor's Note: This short piece of excellent fictional writing was completed by Eva Y11 as part of her studies in English. CPD The darkness, streaked with moonlight, creeps up on us. The calamity is as foreboding as King Marold’s empty eyes. I shiver, but not because of the midnight chill. … Continue reading A Short Story
Kartik - Year 10 Student Editor's Note: Written as part of his studies in English Language, the sense of threat and the lack of opportunity for escape comes across really strongly in this edited version of Kartik’s longer piece. The phrase ‘New Assignment’ may also strike fear in the hearts of those posting them during … Continue reading ‘New Assignment’: the evil, soul-destroying message
Spencer - Year 9 Student Editor's Note: Spencer (Year 9) wrote the following in response to pick-and-mix tasks consolidating two poems, one of which was Alfred, Lord Tennyson's famous 1854 narrative poem The Charge of the Light Brigade. Spencer's chosen task asked the students to turn the words shown below into another poem or a … Continue reading The Charge, crunched
Archie - Year 10 Student Editor's Note: Year 10 English Language students were tasked with writing descriptively about the room in which they were working; this gem comes from Archie. MJP Upon a hill in North Yorkshire, there sits a house half swallowed by nature. Behind the coarse stone and scratched glass, there is an … Continue reading The Room I’m Working In
