Sarika - Year 8 Student Editor's note: Year 8 student Sarika's Lockdown Poem was written in response to the Daily Telegraph Teen Writing Competition, 2021. Sarika's choice of topic is highly appropriate, capturing beautifully some of the challenges presented by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. CPD On November 2019, When all was good, Something went wrong. … Continue reading Lockdown Poem
Abi - Year 12 Student Editor's note: Year 12 student Abi produced this excellent piece of work as part of studies in English Language. Mrs Kurczij was suitably impressed and recommended Abi's work for publication in The GSAL Journal. CPD Are you as charming as Moist von Lipwig? Or would Commander Vimes match your grit … Continue reading Which Discworld character would you be, as a student?
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?
Dorotea - Year 9 Student Editor's Note: This wonderful Prezi presentation was researched and created by Dorotea Y9 in response to a recent task set in English (see below). The stimulus for the task was a recent quote from Jonathan Freedland (The Guardian, 2020), "Still, for now, the pandemic has been a boon to the … Continue reading Coronavirus: ‘a boon to the world’s authoritarians, tyrants and bigots’?
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
The GSAL Journal 