As Y10 work hard in preparation for their end of year PPE exams, the students have been looking back over the work they have produced over the past year to review their learning and identify areas they need to develop in order to achieve their very best in the upcoming exams.

In order to prepare for their GCSE English Language exam next year, the students in 10EnSterne have been using picture stimuli to spark their imaginations and write creative descriptions, ranging from battles by Beowulf (the protagonist of the Anglo-Saxon poem of the same name) to secluded mansions in the middle of the countryside. Including adjectives, imagery and a wide range of sentence openings has been particular areas of focus, and I have been very impressed by their focus and enthusiasm to develop these skills in their creative writing.

Here is just a small sample of the openings to fantastic pieces of writing that my class wrote as part of their end-of-unit assessment, based on an image of a spooky, abandoned house in the middle of a forest. I really was spoilt for choice, as everyone in the class did so well!

I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.  Wishing 10EnSterne, and all of Y10, the very best of luck with their upcoming PPE exams!

Miss Farook

The sunlight beams glistening glows on top of the crooked rooftop. The green leaves fall as calmly as a feather. The leaves sit there so innocently on the ground hoping not to be stepped on. The attic windows are wide open, reaching for life because inside is lifeless, dull, dusty and almost broken.

Tall trees stand up with confidence, standing there surrounding the isolated remote house. All the window panes’ glass is shattered pieces and has been laying there for years. The glass is almost that old for it to turn into dust. The windows are bare and the house is open, free without a door nor any windows.

Asma 10EnSterne

The sun parted its rays through the trees as it smiled down on the roof of the remote house. The derelict house stood unstable in the agricultural landscape. Every now and then bits of sycamore would trickle down peacefully onto the roof of this dark apocalypse. The branches swayed with the rhythm of the wind, occasionally reaching for the lower roof that was covering the battered porch.

Walking up the porch steps was no easy challenge. Each one was covered in thick green moss and the supported stilts on either side were leaning symmetrically towards each other. Each floor board would exert pain as every step would pierce the board with shattered glass.

Jackson 10EnSterne

There is nothing anywhere around it, nobody to shout to when you are in danger, nobody to socialise with, nothing at all. Deep into a forest led a passageway that stopped and led to this. There are large dark oak trees blocking off any view from the outside, allowing no-one to see through. The bright sun tried to peek through the large bushy-like leaves but could only look in a little. It peeked through like a child would, trying to listen to other conversations. Bluebells were the only sight of colour to be seen and what a lovely colour they are, the only thing in the area that reminds you of the good side of the world because what stood in front was the complete opposite.

Kai 10EnSterne