Bede's Languages Faculty

From linguistics in China to the opera stage! 🌏🎼 Great to welcome back two fabulous English alumni: Freddie shared insights on language learning live from Shijiazhuang, while Max lent his directing expertise to our rehearsals of our upcoming play: Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I

A wonderful GCSE literature collaboration today with our one-of-a-kind school zoo and the inimitable Mr Jones, who helped bring our set poem ‘Hunting Snake’ right off the page! Another set poem, The Cockroach’, is on the way…@bedesnews

The English department was thrilled to host American poet and professor Donna Masini last week, who joined us online from New York City for an inspiring lunchtime Q&A. Her advice for our young writers? Focus on craft, stay resilient, and keep a journal! @bedesnews

A huge well done to visiting prep students for their brilliant energy and ideas in our first Gothic Day. From exploring the first gothic novel, to penning verse, and devising drama, it was a wonderfully immersive experience. @bedesnews @bedesprep @skippershill @HolmewoodOnline

Students: one week left to enter our ‘life and film’ poetry competition for 2026. Winners will be invited on our London writers trip in summer. Even if you don’t enter, join our live Q&A with NYC poet Donna Masini on 4th Feb. See poster for details! @bedesnews @BedesHead

Superb lunchtime lit session today, as we enjoyed Lilian (L6th) leading a wide-ranging discussion on an off-syllabus gem: Sylvia Plath’s ‘Blackberrying’. Brilliant ideas from a super-talented student group too! @bedesnews

Today, our sixth form students were inspired by ‘Lunch with Larkin’, a thought-provoking re-reading of poet Philip Larkin with Professor Zach Leader! Huge thanks to the academic and former-Pulitzer shortlisted biographer for a brilliant Q&A session! @bedesnews @BedesHead

English week saw five career-focused Q&As on ‘why words matter’. Students heard from a barrister, a marketing strategist, an advocate from an NGO, & two leading journalists in their fields. Their conclusion? From emails to staff meetings, communication is everything. @bedesnews

English week, day 2: a joy to welcome inspirational environmental journalist, Gloria Dickie, live from Thailand, for a wide-ranging Q&A on everything from the writer’s craft to lizards, durian fruit & polar bears. Bravo to our FY prize winners! Thank you @GloriaDickie @bedesnews

We are thrilled to be joined by a different speaker each day of English week, as we consider ‘why words matter’. Students will hear from a lawyer, a Guardian sports writer, an award-winning environmentalist, a marketing manager and a charity advisor. @bedesnews @BedesHead

As part of Languages week, we welcomed @bedesprep students for the MFL Open Mic: we enjoyed singing in Mandarin, & readings in Cantonese, French, German, Polish, Bosnian, Spanish, Ukrainian & Pashto. A powerful reminder of the diversity in our community. @bedesnews @BedesHead

A pleasure to host the lunchtime Lit’ Academy this week, which saw students reading from their best-loved texts: we had speakers on Poe, Shelley, Walcott, Oliver Sacks, Mary Oliver, Sri Lankan proverbs and a wonderful presentation from Miranda on Dracula. @bedesnews @BedesHead

Look what has arrived at the Dicker! A Turtle Dove - famously described in Shakespeare, and by Chaucer as “the wedded turtel with hir herte trew”. A huge well done to Physics teacher Mr Froom for spotting the bird, and for this record shot. Rumour is a second bird has been seen..

On Tuesday, senior and prep winners of the English department’s Eco-Writing Prize met for a writing day at the superb @KneppWildlandFd. We read, wrote and basked in a wonderful wild landscape. Species seen & heard included: Cuckoo, Nightingales and storks! @bedesnews @BedesHead

“Namelessness is the beginning of heaven and earth”. Thank you to Mandarin teacher Mr Collins for providing students with Daoist philosophy and a mood of meditative calm with some calligraphy poems. The perfect antidote exam stress for L6th students. @bedesnews @BedesHead

“Should the NHS use AI bots to give mental health advice?” We welcomed brilliant students from @Mayfieldgirls @WillingdonCS @Hailsham_CC & @UckfieldCollege for a fascinating debates on AI & plastics. A big thank you to Councillor Spiteri for her talk too! @bedesnews @BedesHead

A huge thank you to the wonderful @JohnMcCullough_ for an inspiring Q&A, lively reading and a fab writing masterclass to help us celebrate our poetry competition this year. Well done to our 80 entrants & especially to winners: Immy, Django, Evie, Hiromasa! @BedesHead @bedesnews

This week, some of our Y9 English students brushed up their public speaking skills with debates on the ethics of AI use in law, policing and healthcare. Well done to all for an entertaining lesson! @bedesnews @BedesHead

Today, English classes pitted their wits against our fun (but taxing) English Week Quiz, taking in etymology, grammar, the evolution of language and famous writers. Few students got Q6 right. ‘20,000 words’ is the answer, but what is the question? DM us for a prize. @BedesHead

A huge thank you to writer @Jo_Furniss for such a brilliant Q&A on crime fiction, the enduring appeal of the genre and the writer’s craft. After a teaser reading, we’re all keen to read Jo’s brilliant 2024 novel ‘Dead Mile’. What a brilliant premise! Thanks, Jo. @BedesHead