Year 10 Find Their Voice in Poetry Discussions
As part of their GCSE English curriculum, Year 10 students are currently studying a range of poetry from 1900 onwards focused on the themes of ‘Power and Conflict’....
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As part of their GCSE English curriculum, Year 10 students are currently studying a range of poetry from 1900 onwards focused on the themes of ‘Power and Conflict’....
Posted by Amy Druce
Prefixes of the Week: PRO & OMNI This past fortnight, we have introduced two more powerful prefixes:  PRO – Meaning for or forward. Examples: Promote (to support or encourage)...
Posted by Amy Druce
Prefixes of the Week: DIS & CON This past fortnight, we have introduced two more powerful prefixes:  DIS – Meaning not or opposite of. Examples: Dislike (not liking)...
Posted by Amy Druce
This term, we’re diving into prefixes—word parts added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. Over the last two weeks we have explored two powerful...
Posted by Amy Druce
Have you ever thought about how many words start with AUTO? This root comes from Greek and means “self.” You see it everywhere—from automobile (a vehicle that moves by...
Posted by Amy Druce
Word Root of the Week: Port This week’s word root is port, which means “to carry.” You may not realize it, but port shows up in many words you use every day. For example,...
Posted by Amy Druce
This week at Bushey Meads, our students have been stepping up their vocabulary skills with the Latin root GRESS, which means “step.” As we work together in the daily...
Posted by Amy Druce
Posted by Amy Druce
Last term, our Word of the Week journey culminated in the December end-of-term quiz. Congratulations to the 15 groups who achieved 100%, with special recognition for our top...
Posted by Amy Druce
Our Word Root of the Week this week is RUPT, from the Latin meaning ‘burst‘. Students explored other words with the root RUPT, and learned how to remember the double...
Posted by Amy Druce
As part of their GCSE English curriculum, Year 10 students are currently studying a range of poetry from 1900 onwards focused on the themes of ‘Power and Conflict’. Students in 10En Hardy have been exploring the poems through student-led discussion circles, helping them engage more deeply before moving on to teacher-led annotation and analysis.
Each new poem begins with a student-led discussion, giving pupils the space to share first impressions and explore meanings collaboratively. Roles are assigned to help structure the discussion: a Discussion Host leads the conversation, a Summariser feeds back key points at the end, and a Talk Detective observes group interaction. The teacher listens in from the outside, allowing the students to take the lead.
To support these sessions, students co-created a set of discussion guidelines:
This structure has helped create a respectful environment where all students are encouraged to contribute.
Over time, students have grown more confident in expressing their ideas, asking thoughtful questions, and grappling with ambiguity in the poems they study. Their analytical thinking is developing, and so too are their communication and collaboration skills – valuable tools both in and beyond the classroom.
81% of us don’t feel that we spend enough time as we would like reading. To celebrate National Read a Book Day on Monday 6th September, classrooms around Bushey Meads School fell...
Tuesday morning started with a visit to see Mrs Seed, SENDCo, teach her Year 11 English class. The students were actively preparing for their forthcoming exams, doing past paper...