We have been very much enjoying the quality of composition and creativity evident in Gothic stories written by Year 8s over the past two weeks.
For their mid-term ‘Key Piece’ in English, each student has been tasked with writing an introductory descriptive paragraph to a Gothic story. The results have been stunning, not to mention sinister, Devilish, ghoulish and creepy. Like this from L. Thompson-Clarke (8T1) who finds ‘the crackling of leaves’ sending ‘a shiver down’ his ‘spine’ as he ‘approaches a dark, gloomy abandoned mansion’ when suddenly ‘a light flickers on’ and he ‘hears light footsteps faintly in the distance’.
There are many fine examples of students using tricks, techniques and structures that will help them develop into confident authors by the time they finally arrive at GCSE. At this stage, though, the students clearly find writing in a creepy Gothic style as much fun as they do hard work. Like L.Cullen (8T1) who finds the ‘breeze is cold and harsh,’ his ‘cheeks numb and ‘his eyes dry’ as he approaches his ghostly mansion, the ‘isolation’ of which ‘he finds unnerving’. He moves ‘on to one of the steps leading up to the door but immediately retreats’ when he hears ‘a loud unsettling creak.’ He then ‘regains his composure’ and heads on into the house to face the horrors within.
These are just two, but there are many such examples of young Stephen Kings in the making, all of them creating a classically scary atmosphere – enough to give an English teacher - tasked with marking them - nightmares!
WELL DONE!
