Never was the expression “all good things come to an end” more true. It was with a bittersweet feeling for me that my year 11 class trooped into my classroom last week for the last time following their final English GCSE exam for a glass of (sadly) non-alcoholic champagne and a slice of cake so that I could bid them a very fond adieu and tell them what an amazing class they’ve been to teach.  […]

Mrs Milner’s Year 7 students are celebrating their first year in secondary school, having had an extremely busy first year at Fyling Hall School. In their final term at school, they have worked on a writing project in which they had to create a ‘space journal’ about being lost in space, they have studied sections of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, and are currently working on learning poems for the annual Daisy Hardy competition.  Phew! The space journal […]

There is a buzz of excitement and anticipation up and down the corridors, in the classrooms, and throughout the hallowed halls at Fyling Hall; the Daisy Hardy poetry recital competition is back!  That’s right, back to her original format at last, the Daisy Hardy competition is coursing through the school breathing fresh energy, vigour, and joy into the hearts of every Fyling Hall student.  Covid, that tiresome and dastardly malady, had hobbled our competition for […]

As we move into the final term of another academic year, I thought I would give you all an update on what we are all doing in English. The Alevel students are looking at their second comparative literature text, ‘Dorian Gray’, and examining Wilde’s language and his aesthetic philosophy. This will be compared to Stoker’s ‘Dracula’, another Gothic text, and we will be looking specifically across the theme of the Supernatural. Our brave year 11s […]

Time flew in Mrs Milner’s Year 9 English class recently when they all decided that Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ could do with a bit of a ‘trim’ so cut out a few lines and attempted what is known in the business as: ‘The 32 second Romeo and Juliet’. They actually dispensed with over four thousand lines and got it down to about twenty!   “Who knows what the Bard would think of Fyling Hall’s slimline version […]

Recently, the Rotary Club hosted a writing competition asking for poems or short stories with the title ‘Environment’ and, true to form, our Fyling Hallers stepped forward to take part. There were several age categories in which we could enter and I was absolutely thrilled with the quality of the work ranging from year 7 to year 11. We also had some excellent submissions from the prep school which have already been written about by […]

We’re looking at a new scheme of learning that focuses on studying and writing a variety of non-fiction texts from journal writing to newspapers to writing about our surroundings. Over the past few weeks, some year 7 students have been stranded on a desert island. But never fear – they are certainly making the best of it. After a plane taking the students to a poetry competition was lost from the radar, students found themselves […]

The end of any school term at Fyling Hall is always a hodgepodge of emotions and this is especially true with Christmas on the horizon; the combination of no lessons for weeks with the anticipated beneficence of St. Nicholas create an excited fervour which is juxtaposed with the parting from friends – sometimes just for the holidays but sometimes for so much longer as our ‘short-stay’ boarders prepare to leave the school, their friends, and their teachers after having enjoyed (we hope) a term in the Fyling Hall […]

This new academic year has seen a bumper crop of fantastic year 7 students and I have been absolutely delighted with the work they have been producing in English. This term we are reading Suzanne Collins’ Dystopic epic ‘The Hunger Games’ which, as well as providing the basis for some stimulating class discussion on various ethical and societal points, has given us a glimpse into the world of Dystopian fiction and some wonderful creative writing […]

Hello everyone and welcome back, English students! It’s Mrs Milner here, reporting live from the English rooms on this beautiful sunny Wednesday lunchtime. I have a few minutes left before the next lesson to let you know what I’ve been up to since my last blog.  Year 7 English Firstly, I’d like to welcome my new Year 7 class to Fyling Hall School. Good to see you all! We are kicking off this half term by reading a Michael Morpurgo novel called ‘Private Peaceful’. We have already learned about the […]

It is that time of year again when I have to wave a fond farewell to students who have finished their studies at Fyling Hall School and are moving on to pastures new. The last two years have been tough on both my 6th Formers and my Year 11 students as both year groups’ final two years, leading up to their exams, have been blighted by lockdowns and uncertainty. Take a look at a few […]

This term, Fyling Hall’s English Department has received a very generous donation of ten Chromebooks from the parents of students Daisy and Oscar Jones – thank you very much, Mr and Mrs Jones.   This new resource will enable students in classrooms to not only access the internet, but will also help pupils who find it easier to type documents to produce high quality work.  Mr Thomas, our Head of English, is very impressed by how this new technology has helped his classes […]

On Good Friday this year 2nd of April at 1.45pm, Fylingdales Church features a video of readings, images and hymns entitled “The Stations of the Cross”. Three of the readings have been done by Fyling Hall pupils Megan (Station 3) Arthur (Station 6) and Oaklei (Station 9). Fyling Hall’s former Headmistress, Mrs White, has also been involved with (Stations 4, 10 and 12) You can access this video at any time after the above date […]

What is poetry and what does it do? Well, I suppose that we all know what a poem is or at least some types of poems and I bet that most of us have had a stab at writing one from time to time; perhaps a witty limerick or a few lines trying to telling someone how much we love them, and I suppose, in their essence, that’s what poems are: ways of writing to […]

It’s funny how these things creep up on one. How one can be aware of something that doesn’t seem quite right and yet not quite able to explain what it is; what’s missing. And on Monday, I worked out what it was that had been buzzing around the back of mind just out of reach of any sort of cognitive perception.   The recent lockdown had been ok; there was certainly plenty of work to do, students were doing […]

Mothering Sunday falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent, and has done so since the Middle Ages. Revd Steve Foster of Fyling Hall’s local parish church, St Stephen’s, Fylingdales joins us once again . . . this time to kindly shares his insight into this special day and invites you to join St Stephen’s Mothering Sunday service featuring Fyling Hall students, Freddie, Olivia and Tomas. Please visit their Facebook page at 10.00am on Sunday, 14th March. Mothering Sunday […]

Well, what a term! Certainly not the start to 2021 that any of us wished for but by Jove we’re not letting the grass grow under our feet as we have taken, every man, woman and child to our living rooms, our studies our dining rooms and our kitchen tables across North Yorkshire and beyond to establish impromptu workstations and study areas that allow us to carry on delivering and receiving great education! Meeting, as […]

It’s Mrs Milner here, reporting from an empty classroom, somewhere in the woods, somewhere by the sea at Fyling Hall. Firstly, happy new year to you all! I hope you have all enjoyed the Christmas break and are now returning to your fitness apps to work off those Lidl’s finest mince pies and that extra helping of turkey curry you somehow found a space for. It’s goodbye to recipes to use up leftover Christmas turkey, […]

As we continue our Christmas celebrations, Fyling Hall students have prepared a short collection of readings and poetry recitals; from the loquaciously descriptive Christmas of Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ to my favourite Christmas story: the truly wonderful and nostalgic Welsh village of Dylan Thomas’ ‘A Child’s Christmas in Wales’ our students take us on a journey through Christmas through the centuries and across Europe that also take in the likes of Wordsworth and Rilke. As […]

It’s Mrs Milner here again reporting live from the English Huts. It’s Remembrance Day as I write this and it’s pitch black outside on a windy Wednesday evening. I’m on prep duty tonight so I thought I’d tell you all about my day. In this afternoon’s Year 10 lesson with Amber, Aimee, Sonny, Cameron, William and Caroline, we looked at WWI war poetry. Although we are currently working on Language Paper 1, I feel it […]

Some say time flies when you’re having fun. Read our English teacher’s comments on her first year at Fyling Hall School. Hello! It’s Mrs Milner here. I’m currently in my classroom, one of the English huts, and I’m looking out my window at a view of Ravenscar and the sea. The sun has been shining up until today but it’s now raining so I can’t see anything as Ravenscar is shrouded in mist. I have […]

At last, we are back at Fyling Hall and the days, if somewhat altered by current circumstances, are returning to a state of near normality. Our socially distanced students work diligently at their socially distanced desks whilst extra socially distanced study areas have been set up in the English block as well as in other places around the school and our focus is fixed firmly on building upon the foundations we laid last year and […]

Mrs Milner’s Book Club is a highlight for many Fyling Hall students. With after school clubs hopefully, returning soon, Olivia shares her thoughts on their last book . . . Over the first month and a half of lock down, Mrs Milner’s Book Club read To Kill a Mockingbird. Overall, most of us book clubbers had a mixed opinion of the book and didn’t enjoy it as much as some of the others we have […]

A long standing tradition at Fyling Hall, we are delighted to that the Daisy Hardy competition, our poetry sharing competition, will continue this year despite the lock-down. Under normal circumstances pupils would take to the stage in our Barn to deliver their poem to a small audience. This year students will record themselves reciting a poem and asked to submit their video for consideration. Judges will still listen to how the pupils bring their poem ‘to […]

Have you ever used a mood board? Mood boards are great tools for collecting ideas. Fyling Hall’s Year 9s are studying the play ‘Journey’s End‘ in English and used mood boards to describe their inspiration from the play. Enjoy this combination of their documents, pictures and videos. You may have noticed that the final piece is Tomas’ explanation of their mood board. Now take a look at their final piece . . . In case […]

The mission: to write a 500 word creative piece on the theme of ‘Isolation’. During this lockdown, Mrs Milner set Fyling Hall’s Book Club a cheeky challenge, which turned into this competition. Well done to everyone who entered. Mrs Milner was so impressed by how talented and creative the entries were she found it difficult to decide on a winner. After much consideration, below are the winning entries by Tomas Richardson, Toby Richardson and Olivia Grace […]

This is a bit of a bittersweet message to write to my Year 11 English boys because this is not how our first and last year together at Fyling Hall School was supposed to end. But I don’t want this note to you to just be all doom and gloom – that was never what our lessons were like. And that is an understatement! I want to start this piece of writing as I started […]

Plans for Fyling Hall’s World Book Day celebrations are underway. With so many of our students out at Eskdale Festival, we thought it only fair to postpone our World Book Day to Friday, 6th March to ensure that all of our students (and staff) can participate. Students and staff are invited to come to school on the 6th dressed as a character from a book and are asking for a £1 donation or a £2 donation […]

A modern version of An Inspector Calls? In an effort to gain better insight into this classic, our Year 10 pupils have been blending it with a “Jeremy Kyle” format. All part of their exploration of the themes of plays. Take a look at their efforts . . . some great modern versions of An Inspector Calls! First . . . a bit of preparation! Take 1 😉

Take a look at Fyling Hall’s English Department‘s Highlights from the Autumn Term. From Y10 speeches, our amazing Y8s, A Christmas Carol presentations and Victorian Detective Genre Study it has been quite a term! We’ll let you guess what our Y12s have been reading 😉

Have you seen Fyling Hall’s Year 7s Lest We Forget poetry? Putting their poetry skills to the test, they went from this . . . To this . . . and produced some fabulous poems in honour of Remembrance Day. Well done Year 7 and Mrs Milner!

Last week, the senior book club met to discuss “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” written by Stephen Chbosky. This time each member of the book club took a turn in explaining what they liked and disliked about the novel and what mark they wanted to give it out of 10. The common theme was one of surprised approval – many students hadn’t expected to enjoy the novel as much as they did. One of […]

This month the Y7-9 Book Club read “Holes” by Louis Sacher. The response was generally positive from the children, but there were a range of queries and clarifications that were voiced due to the novel’s dual narrative and twisting plot style. In particular, the book clubbers discussed the ending and the way that all of the loose ends from the different characters’ stories were tied up… it took a bit of explaining for some – […]

Year 10 are studying the exam text in “An Inspector Calls” and were asked to capture a dramatic moment towards the end of Act 2 in a moving image or ‘gif’ … they were each allocated a role and had to represent their character in a particular moment of drama with their facial expression, body language and a repeated movement. They were only given 5 minutes to come up with these dramatic vignettes – but they […]