UCL (University College, London) has a useful set of reading lists on their website. If studying English at university appeals to you then it's worth taking a look. If studying English at university doesn't appeal to you then it's still worth taking a look.

Language use in the General Election

Listen to this abbreviated version of Gordon Brown calling the General Election and pay particular attention to the words he uses. Is there anything here that reminds you of Churchill? Any thoughts on why he finishes in the way he does?

We're not going to comment on the parties' policies or tell you how to vote but we are interested in how politicians use the English language. I had a leaflet through my door, for example, which said: Vote Yellow Get Brown (That's Vote Yellow Get Brown if the colours aren't showing up on your screen.) Which party would have used that slogan? What does it mean? How effective is it?

Now look at some of the other slogans the parties have used and think about the way they use the English Language: the Liberal Democrats; Labour; Conservatives; Plaid Cymru; the Scottish National Party. And, just by way of contrast, what on earth were the UK Independence Party thinking of when they created this poster?

A week is a long time in politics and the slogans have changed as the election has gone on: what do you make of this picture, for example? If you can, compare what you have seen here with the election material that has been coming through your letterbox. And if you have been struggling with some of the terms that have been floating around over the last few weeks, click here for a jargon buster.

Great Political Speeches

With the general election coming up, now is a good time to analyse what makes a good political speech. Listen to this speech by Barack Obama given when he was just a warmup act to John Kerry at the Democratic Party Convention in 2004. Whatever you think of Obama's politics you can still be impressed by his oratory. As you watch and listen, try to work out what it is about his choice of words, his delivery and his gestures which makes it so impressive. Here's the transcript.

Now compare this speech with one of the great speeches from an earlier pre-TV age. Families used to gather around the wireless to listen to Mr Churchill and though his style now seems dated, there is no doubting the power of his words 70 years on. Here is a partial transcript of this speech and some other great Churchill speeches.

But don't worry if you have to give a talk: a speech doesn't need to be delivered with great passion to be successful. One of the most powerful political speeches I have ever heard was Geoffrey Howe's resignation speech which effectively ended Mrs Thatcher's time as Prime Minister. It was devastating precisely because it was delivered in so under-stated a manner. If you think it's boring then ask yourself whether it's better to live in a world dominated by soundbites.

Similarly, one of the most important speeches of the 20th Century was Nehru's speech on Indian independence which was heard on millions of crackly radios across the subcontinent. It now has iconic status but it was delivered with none of the obvious passion of an Obama. It's still well worth listening to though.

Year 9 Reading List

With the Easter holidays rapidly approaching what could be more pleasant than a little trip to the library? Here are a few suggestions of what to get out:


The Stuff of Nightmares - Malorie Blackman

Exodus - Julie Bertagna

The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly

Bog Child - Siobhan Dowd

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

The Red Necklace - Sally Gardner

Against the Storm - Gaye Hicyilmaz

The Dream Merchant - Isabel Hoving

The Secret Countess - Eva Ibbtoson

Life on the Refrigerator Door - Alice Kuipers

Lost Riders - Elizabeth Laird

Just Henry - Michelle Magorian

The Declaration - Gemma Malley

The Kite Rider - Geraldine McCaughrean

Blood Ties - Sophie McKenzie

Ways to Live Forever - Sally Nicholls

What Was Lost - Katherine O’Flynn

Life as We Knew It - Susan Pfeffer

The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett

How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff

Creature of the Night - Kate Thompson

The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

Broken Soup - Jenny Valentine

The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak

St Mary's and Wordfest

Cambridge Wordfest 2010 is about to arrive and with it a whole host of famous writers. We are delighted to be sponsoring the Writing History event on Saturday 10th April. Some of our 6th Form will be there with Man Booker Prizewinner Hilary Mantel and Rebecca Stott, a previous visitor to St Mary's. Check out the programme and book your tickets before they all get snapped up.

Right, get writing!

Did I forget to mention that there's money to be won? The Transition Tales Writing Competition, for example, is offering £750 in prizes for a story about Cambridge in 2050, while the Young Writers' Mini Sagas Competition is offering up to £1750. And there's the simple pleasure of writing well. And the added benefit of possibly seeing your work in print. And the joy of breaking rules like not starting sentences with 'and'.

If you want some advice about how to write well you could do worse than try out these pages from The Guardian newspaper or these ones setting out the Ten Rules for Writing Fiction.

weRead

There are also useful reviews and discussions about a whole range of books on the weRead site.

If you want to find out more about the The Carnegie Medal and Kate Greenaway Medal for children's literature then check out the website. We will be shadowing the shortlisted books at St Mary's.

World Book Day

World Book Day is coming this Thursday. To discover more, see videos, read extracts and find out about competitions click here.

Meet an Endangered Language

It is important to remember that English is not the only language spoken in the UK (or in England for that matter). Unfortunately some languages, including Manx Gaelic, are under threat. To find out more you might want to look at the website of the Endangered Languages Week at SOAS. According to SOAS, half of the world's 7000 languages are under threat.

Kipling and Indian Literature

There was an interesting discussion yesterday about Rudyard Kipling on The Today Programme. The BBC describe it in this way:

British author and poet Rudyard Kipling is known for his love of India, but his reputation in the country remains controversial.

Plans for a museum commemorating Mr Kipling's Mumbai home have been shelved over concerns that it would be politically unpalatable, as he was a renowned imperialist, fierce opponent of independence and a chronicler of the British Raj

Andrew Lycett, Mr Kipling's biographer, and Aravind Adiga, and Indian journalist and author who won the 2008 Man Booker prize for his works The White Tiger, reflect on Mr Kipling's relationship with India.

Websites - Books: Books - Websites

Want to find a good book but don't know where to look? You might want to check out these websites from Booktrust, Oxford University Press and the Guardian

International Links

Year 9 have been trailblazing our new partnership with Alfrink College in the Netherlands. In the video above you can see the equivalent class at Alfrink (with whom they have been corresponding) saying hi and in the video below St Mary's response. Rest assured, their correspondence has been more sophisticated than that.

Great Expectations

There have been numerous adaptations of Great Expectations. I would like you to compare the opening of the novel with the openings of these two (rather different) adaptations: David Lean's classic 1946 film and the much more recent BBC version. Try to ignore the rather irritating subtitles!

In your files you should write up to a side of A4 explaining the differences between the two versions, the aspects of the original novel they emphasise, and any aspects of the novel they seem to neglect.

Charles Dickens

If you have finished looking at the previous post on Great Expectations you might want to look at this animation about the life and work of Charles Dickens.

Now have a look at this animated timeline to fill in a few more details. If you have time create a timeline of your own.

Robert Burns

Just in case you're preparing for Burns Night and are looking for a grand, wee poem ...

Authors' websites

An awful lot of authors now have their own websites. So if you are interested in Stephenie Meyer, J.K. Rowling, Judy Blume or Terry Deary you might want to check out their sites.

Obviously, as an English teacher, I'm also going to point you in the direction of some less populist authors. Why not look at the website, for example, of the poet Michael Symmons Roberts or the novelist Ian McEwan?

Year 9 recommends ... Agatha Christie

In Five Little Pigs Hercule Poirot is called to take up a murder which happened 16 years ago and find the real culprit; will he manage it?

Death in the Clouds is a thrilling murder mystery/crime book in which, Hercule Poirot, a distinctive Belgian detective, gets on the trail of a murder committed practically right in front of him. It happened, peculiarly, not on the ground but up in the air, on a flight from Paris to Croydon. Because the murder was committed on a flight, it appears that there are not many possibilities to have committed a murder but as time goes on, the reader can suspect anyone and the possibilities become infinite. Poirot must solve the mystery and bring the murderer to justice.

This book was published in 1935 and is very much written in an old-fashioned style but is very easy to read and understand. The author uses some unusual phrases but they are not hard to decipher.

The book is written in a series of short chapters which keep the reader interested and intrigued as many of the chapters end on cliffhangers. There are also many twists in Death in the Clouds so that just when Christie leads you to fully believe and suspect one person to be the murderer they are cleared and when the murderer is revealed the result is so unexpected that it leaves you in awe of the amazing talent that Agatha Christie had.

This was a gripping tale of suspicion and suspense and I highly recommend it to anyone of about 11 years old and upwards.

Writing Letters

Dear Readers,

             Today we are going to cover letter writing. Or should that be...

Dear Readers

Today we are going to cover letter writing???

See what the BBC thinks by clicking here for a simple, interactive exercise. Then get some useful advice from the people behind the Oxford Dictionaries by clicking here. If you need a sample letter then click here.

Yours sincerely (or should that be faithfully ... or lots of love ... or with my warmest regards ...?)

Who was the author of 'Alice in Wonderland'?

Charles Dodgson or Lewis Carroll? The Oxford Mathematician or the reclusive writer? To find out more about this fascinating man you might want to look here or here.