English

Creative Writing

Writing creatively allows us to create landscapes, characters and moments in time that readers are invited to share. We must try to ignite the sparks that will fuel readers’ imaginations and evoke their emotions. More than this, though, to be successful, creative writers must use language to guide the reader on a journey that will offer them new perspectives on life.  At St. Andrew’s we have an extremely talented group of young writers who may well go on to be published more widely!  In the meantime, we are proud to offer a selection of stories from these students and invite you to enjoy their creative and imaginative insights

Shouting into the Darkness

Understanding that language use can have inclusive or exclusive social power is vital to the study of English. To this end, our Year Ten students have been studying the ways in which literature can challenge dominant ideologies and foreground the plight of those who find themselves on the margins of society. They have read and deconstructed a range of short stories and have written their own to demonstrate how narrative voice, structure and language can engage and entertain. We invite you to read a selection of these and to enjoy their richness and variety.

Here are a selection of our Year 10 Narratives:

Redemption by Louise Evans

A Transient Smile by Grace Wright

Diritto e Onore by Julian Vidler Ellerton

Don't Look Back by Jess Ryan

Felicity and Charles by Chase Becker

History Forgotten by Harriet Pickering

SS Reluctant by Joshua Pickstone

Whitewashed by Sophie Sievert Kloster

From Socrates to Spielberg, via Shakespeare and Shelley: St. Andrew’s English Department takes students on a journey that offers something for everyone.

Welcome to the English Faculty!

Our mission, like that of the whole college, is to provide a wide variety of opportunities and guide students’ learning so that they can achieve the very best of which they are personally capable. To this end, we offer a smorgasbord of literary and linguistic delights across a range of genres, including narratives, poetry, drama, expository texts and a variety of printed and visual media.

Students study both canonical texts and more contemporary works whose creators aim to challenge readers, viewers and/or listeners to consider the way the world works.  In this way, English at St Andrew’s provides rich opportunities to explore issues, gain understanding and develop a set of individual beliefs, values and attitudes.

Through the study of generic conventions, students are encouraged to appraise texts critically, so that they can make informed and objective choices regarding the ways in which language is used to position them.

In addition, students are taught to use literary techniques themselves when speaking and writing, so that they can develop a facility for language and an understanding of nuance, tone, register and style.

They are taught to use language for the purposes of analysis, argument, reflection, persuasion and of course, to use language creatively and imaginatively.

The importance of using language verbally is a vital principle in the teaching of English. Students deliver a range of oral presentations in order to hone their speaking skills and to develop the self-assurance that comes with this ability.

In a world where the media plays a powerful role, adolescents receive much of their information about the world passively. We aim to make them active, independent learners and to help them engage in a dynamic way with texts of all kinds.

Our curriculum is designed, then, to help students recognise the liberating and empowering abilities of language, to understand how literature has developed over the course of history, and to give them the confidence that comes with linguistic mastery.

Prep to Year 6
The Primary English program focuses on reading, writing, talking, listening and language conventions (spelling, grammar, punctuation and handwriting). The reading program involves the use of Letterland, THRASS and SRA in addition to a variety of other reading activities. Each term, students are explicitly taught and exposed to different written text types including recounts, narratives, procedures, information reports, explanations, discussions, expositions, poetry and descriptions. To consolidate students' spelling skills, the Spelling Mastery Program is incorporated into the Year Two to Year Six English program. To complement the Spelling program within the Primary school, all students in Years One to Six have access to the Spellodrome program. These approaches to teaching English are well established systems for assisting children to read and write and meet the required curriculum guidelines.

Years 7 to 10

In these years, students consolidate their technical skills with a sequenced program of grammar and spelling so that they learn the importance of writing and speaking with precision and accuracy.  They are also introduced to the conventions of

Plays

Short stories

Novels

Poetry

Expository texts

Persuasive texts

Reflective texts

Print Media

Digital Media

and

Film  (both feature films and documentaries).

Students are exposed to a variety of these text types and assessment involves both written and spoken tasks. Over the course of these four years, tasks are designed to complement those of the previous years and to increase in complexity. In this way, students are developing their skills and understanding in preparation for the final two years of their schooling.

Years 11 and 12

The Queensland Studies Authority syllabus for English forms the basis of study for these two years and our Work Program is designed to offer an engaging series of tasks based on a wide range of texts. Students are taught the importance of analysing texts critically, of using their imagination to create texts of their own, and to understand how persuasive and reflective language operates.

We hope to imbue our senior students with an understanding of literary history and of the ways in which literature both shapes and reflects cultural mores. We aim also to teach them to use language themselves to reflect their own developing sense of identity.

An integrated Curriculum

The study of English is essential for students in all subject areas. Their ability to comprehend texts of all types, and to offer responses, both verbally and in written form is crucial to their success.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss any aspect of teaching and learning English at St. Andrew’s, please contact the Head of Faculty, Ms Amanda Wallas.