Head of English, Ms Anna McKenzie provides a summary of the year that was Senior School English 2024. 

English and EAL welcomed a new Study Design in Year 12 in 2024. One that offers more opportunities for students to make connections with their own lives, and a chance to experiment with writing as a process.  

The course yielded wonderful examples of writing from our students who examined the idea of ‘play’ and its role in development and socialisation as well as reflecting on its influence in their own lives.  

Students presented their ideas in forms as diverse as expository essays, speeches, plays, and narratives. With these changes, the most significant seen in English and EAL for some time came excitement but also the need for innovation and adaptability.  

I thank the English and EAL Team for their hard work in creating new courses and resources in response to the new Study Design that allowed our students to show their full writing potential and enjoy both the process and the product of writing. 

Changes at Year 12 have been supported by a focus on writing across the English and EAL curriculum. In particular, students have been encouraged to recognise the link between reading and good writing and given the opportunity to refine their skills in both.  

This year: 

• Year 7s read World War 2 fiction 

• Year 8s learned about Gothic and detective genres 

• Year 9s worked through protest texts 

• Year 10s focused on coming of age 

• Year 11s read about surveillance 

The use of wide reading lists challenged students to broaden their choices and consolidate their understanding of writing for context, audience, and purpose. In years 7 and 8 the reading curriculum was supported by the Game of Loans, an initiative of the Nocholas Library, which saw classes compete to read the most books and earn a pizza lunch. 

In 2024, students in Years 9, 10, 11, and 12 had the opportunity to study Literature alongside their studies in English or EAL. Literature classes allow students to explore the way texts represent the complexity of human experience. Students examine the evolving nature of texts, the changing contexts in which they were produced and notions of value.  

This year Literature students studied Taming of the Shrew, Pygmalion, Frankenstein, Picnic at Hanging Rock, and The Winter’s Tale, among others. 

Thank you to the Literature teachers who provided our students with the opportunity to analyse and enjoy rich and challenging texts. 

Head of Nicholas Library, Ms Anita Dammery provides a summary of the activities undertaken in the Library in 2024.

“I discovered me in the library. I went to find me in the library.” Ray Bradbury

The Nicholas Library is one of the most continuously busy places in the School and we are proud to provide a welcoming space for all.

Our Library is used for a wide range of activities: regular classes, Independent Learning Tutorials, one-on-one tutorials, private study, meetings for Clubs, student orientations, Open Mornings, and events of all kinds.

This year has seen the return of the IT Department to the Library, which has enhanced the provision of services and ensures that enquiries and questions of all kinds can be answered in a single location.

The Library staff have continued the successful collaboration with the English Faculty to create a reading culture in the School. Our main event, the Game of Loans Reading Challenge, focuses on increasing reading in Years 7 and 8.

Each English class competes within their Cohort to read the greatest number of books and win the coveted pizza lunch prize. To earn extra points, students are also encouraged to complete a Book Bingo Card which requires them to read a range of genres. The positive feedback from the students is testament to both the academic and wellbeing value of regular reading.

Term 3 was the high point of our year, with the celebration of Book Week. We commenced the week with a Lucky Lunchtime reading competition where students were invited to spend a cosy lunchtime reading to go in the draw for a mystery prize. The literary themed escape room proved very popular again this year. With only 10 minutes to solve puzzles, decode messages and find clues, the girls’ lateral-thinking skills were put to the test. Costume day was a lovely opportunity for senior students and Year 1s from Barbreck to share their love of their favourite books and have photos taken together.

As we head towards the end of the year, Nicholas Library is becoming increasingly busy with students preparing for assessments and exams. This is always a special time, when the culmination of the year’s learning approaches and there is an increased sense of purpose and anticipation of the challenges ahead.

Whatever the activity or purpose that brings people to our space, we hope that, like Ray Bradbury, they discover themselves in the Nicholas Library.