‘Upper Case encourages me to engage not only with my own creative writing, but also that of others. I have seen how I can strip my writing down to what it really needs to be – a critical skill no matter in what context it’s used. But at the same time, I’ve learnt to appreciate the small things in life and learnt to see the world from a whole new angle.’ Jack, Year 12 collaborating with a group of sixth-form writers from the Charter School at least twice a term. This year, a Year 11 writer was named joint winner of the prestigious Orwell Youth Prize and three pupils were finalists in the Southwark Schools’ Short Story competition, judged by novelist Ali Smith. In the Middle School, Chameleon Creative writers meet weekly in the Wodehouse Library. Upper School students can join a supportive forum which meets weekly to develop writing across a range of genres,
Ruskin and the Nature of Gothic. The Society also undertakes an annual trip to Strawberry Hill, a Gothic walking tour of London, and will be making an expedition to the Carpathians in Transylvania. Afro-Caribbean Society Now in its second year, Afro-Caribbean Culture Society celebrates, debates, and discusses cultural, political and literary matters relevant to the African diaspora and the ways these issues are inflected in contemporary British society. In addition to a termly postcolonial seminar chaired by a member of the English department, the Society has hosted discussions on Windrush, negotiating mixed racial and cultural identities, and the fraught issue of aid in relation to the shifting educational landscapes in East Africa. It has also welcomed artists and writers including Kwame Kwei-Armah, the Director of the Young Vic, novelist Alex Wheatle and Lord Eric Sugumugu of the Master Drummers of Africa. Box Hill Every year in late spring Year 7 visit Box Hill in an expedition run jointly by the English and Geography departments. Classes study nature poetry from a variety of poetic traditions then spend a day orienteering and composing nature poetry, drawing inspiration from their surroundings. The fruits of their creative labours are shared and showcased in class and whole-year anthologies as a celebration of their imagination and creativity, and an inspiration for future ‘budding’ nature poets. ‘In the woods, Mr Glass told us that all things have a natural frequency and that it is possible to hear their sound if you listen closely enough. We emerged onto a hillside, home to a very rare species of orchid, before ending up on another hill with an incredible view, which we rolled down. We left packed with ideas for our nature poetry project.’ Alexander, Year 8
A creative writing workshop in the gardens of Bell House, Dulwich Village. Gothic Society Established to support the English department’s teaching of the genre at A level, the Gothic Society’s members are drawn to the ways this genre constantly re-invents itself in different cultural forms and at key moments of cultural anxiety and change. Meetings have included talks by pupils on the Gothic World of Truman Capote, Gothic influences in Contemporary Pop and Rap, Gothic Notes in Popular Culture and Fashion, Frankenstein and its Afterlife in Film, and
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