Hamlet in 40 minutes and an arabic presentation, 8S are full of "Words, words, words."

Hamlet in 40 minutes and an arabic presentation, all in the same morning; 8S are full of "Words, words, words."

Hamlet
As part of the post exam programme for 8S we have presented them with various challenges, one of which was to use their English lessons to put on a performance of Hamlet from scratch. They cast themselves, organised staging and costumes, learnt their parts and worked out to present the play with only minimal input from staff: they threw themselves into the task admirably and, as the photos attest, enjoyed themselves greatly. Well done 8S.
Mr Edwards.

Click here to see the photographs in our Flickr album

Arabic

8S pupils, whose exams had finished, were thrust into the “Arab World” as part of their extension studies. Learning a new language is a challenge and Arabic is doubly so because of the lack of similarity with the Romantic languages, particularly in script and a number of the letter sounds. However, undaunted, 8S threw themselves into all things Arabic received an introduction to the language as well as Arab culture and traditions.   

After a well deserved half term break 8S delivered a short presentation to an audience of parents and staff during which they ably demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of Arabic greetings and basic questions as well as social traditions. The presentation involved a number of short sketches including a mathematics lesson, verbal and non-verbal communication, Arab etiquette, ordering food and a bartering sketch that would have readily challenged Monty Python's! The food and drink at the “al mataam al mumtaz” (The Marvellous Restaurant!) was well received by all and the interactive nature of the presentation kept the staff and parents on their toes much to the amusement of 8S.

The aim of teaching Arabic as an extension topic was to provide a fun, worthwhile and positive experience that would spark an interest allowing the pupils to build on it at some point in the future – from Day 1, the pupils of 8S were like eager sponges and as a result the aim was most certainly achieved several times over. So, to 8S congratulations, many thanks and goodbye until we meet again (mabrook wa shukran jaazeelan ya habibi wa ya habibiti min 8S, ma9 salaama wa bashoofak bukra al mishmish)!
Mr Docherty (Abu Yussef)

Click here to see the photographs in our Flickr album

A quote from a member of the audience:
"A huge thank you for putting on such a wonderful performance. The children were really impressive and had my father and me enthralled, and at times quite moved. My father is a Shakespeare aficionado so it was a real treat to watch his granddaughter transform into Hamlet".