This focus on experiential learning is designed to engage students with texts in a dynamic way, connecting the words on the page to tangible, memorable events.

For our Year 12 students, this meant an enjoyably excursion to the Laycock Street Theatre to see a dramatic appropriation of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Witnessing the novel’s oppressive world constructed on stage offered a powerful sensory experience, reinforcing their analysis of the text’s complex themes in the lead-up to the Trial HSC.

Year 11 Advanced English students participated in the Othello Symposium at the Seymour Centre, immersing themselves in a high-level academic discussion. This event provided them with direct access to scholarly insights into the construction of Shakespeare’s tragedy, allowing them to engage with the play as a piece of living theatre, analysed and debated by experts.

The value of direct engagement was also clear when Year 9 attended an incursion from Bell Shakespeare. The company’s performance of Macbeth through a contemporary lens allowed students to interact with the play’s characters and themes in an immediate and accessible way, forging personal connections with the 400-year-old text.

This pedagogical approach continues next term. Year 7 will complement their study of ‘First Peoples’ with an incursion from Uncle Tim Selwyn, who will provide a direct and authentic learning experience. Year 10 will also have the opportunity to see their curriculum come to life when the theatrical company ‘Come You Spirits’ stages a full production of Macbeth at the College.

This philosophy of learning by doing was perfectly captured in our second ‘Book in a Day’ initiative. Facilitated by Miss Atayde and Miss Moon, the project challenged students from Years 8 to 10 to become creators, not just consumers, of literature. By composing ‘fractured fairy tales’ in a single day, they actively engaged in the entire narrative process, from conception to collaboration and final composition. A huge congratulations to the following students who took on the challenge: Lorenzo Arango, Daniel Bates, Ezekiel Black, Fletcher Buda, Quinn Burke, Jorge Chavez, Daniel Drury, Joel Eddy, Nate Engelbrecht, Charlie Ercan, Harrison Evans, Tobias Fernandez Pranzo, Logan Gomez, Reagan Gomez, Joseph Hey, Hoi Tin Ho, Riley Howell, Bryce Johnson, Harry Kazoks, Max Klein-Schiphorst, Noah Lockwood, Beau Louie, Christian Naylor Adams, Vraj Patel, Joshua Reif, Joseph Sanfilippo, Luke Spicer, Aibel Thomas, Charles Ure, Cruz Vella and Sangpil Yoon.

Book in a Day