As we celebrate Flair Week across the school, the English department thought it would be a great opportunity to remind all of our students of our former Head Girl Amira Izhar, who herself always showed great flair and initiative in her studies, especially in English. Amira is now studying English Literature at Mansfield College, at the prestigious University of Oxford. Many of you will remember Amira’s inspirational speech which she gave at last year’s virtual Rewards Evening, and in pre-Covid times, she was also kind enough to drop us a line with some advice for other BMS students looking to follow in her footsteps…

1. What tips would you give students for effective English study/revision?

Reading widely, whether that be news articles, poems or novels, is always great exposure to new techniques and new ways of thinking. In a similar manner, I would definitely recommend asking peers in your class to have a read of their notes/essays for inspiration to look at concepts in a different way. In terms of revision, practise definitely makes perfect! Writing as much as possible is the best way to hone your skills, and the more you write and give to your teachers, the more feedback you receive in order to start improving.

2. What did you read while you were studying for your A Levels that was useful for you?

My A level texts were: Othello, The Great Gatsby and a ‘Love Through the Ages’ poetry anthology for Paper 1, The Handmaid’s Tale, A Streetcar Named Desire and Feminine Gospels for Paper 2 and I studied A Doll’s House and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man for coursework. What I found particularly useful was reading other works by the same authors of my set texts. For instance, I tried to expose myself to more of Shakespeare works by studying him for my EPQ, and I read some more of Atwood and Williams in order to create a richer understanding of these writers’ styles and contexts. Again, reading widely is key, but also revisiting the works you study multiple times – a new reading will reveal something you didn’t notice before.

3. What is a typical ‘day in the life’ of an Oxford English student?

Typically, my day starts with lectures in the morning (horrid, I know, but a good excuse to drink coffee walking past beautiful buildings). Sometimes lectures are recorded but it’s much nicer to go with friends and get the handout, too. After a very speedy lunch at the Crypt (my college cafe), I go to my 1pm class with my lovely Old English Tutor (her office is at the top of the tower and she has the most extensive tea selection you could dream of! Think female Dumbledore!)

I usually try to work during the mornings so I can have the evenings semi-free, a bit like school, but alas my long, long reading lists never allow for too much relaxation. After a few hours of studying in our beautiful college library, I go to the Chapel for dinner – luckily my college always has amazing vegetarian food! Very worn out, I usually return to my room, put on some music and read if my eyes can stay open any longer.

4. What are the main differences between studying English at school and university?

Easily the workload. The largest book I studied at A level was The Handmaid’s Tale, and going to studying that for about a year, to 3 or 4 books like that per week is a massive step up. Additionally, doing lots of research and secondary reading such as finding journal articles on books in order to develop your argument for essays isn’t something done at school. As opposed to having a fixed marks scheme with boxes to tick off such as wider reading, critics etc, we’re encouraged to shape our essays around our own research which tends to be overwhelming. Also, the depth of study. I got to study Othello for about 2 years in total, really getting to develop my ideas about him and the characters as I wrote multiple essays about the text. Conversely, I only have a few days to write about all the books I read for an essay every week, meaning I sometimes feel my ideas aren’t as developed as they could be. The individual tutorial system was daunting at first, but it’s lovely to build a rapport with one of the most renowned academics in their field!

Clearly, Amira is loving her time at university, and it’s obvious from her advice that developing independence and initiative in your studies at school is really important in ensuring that you achieve success later on in your education. We are so proud of Amira and everything that she has managed to achieve so far, and can’t wait to hear more of her future successes!