To get into the festive spirt, our Literary Society members went on a very special trip just before Christmas. Seren and Kyra tell us all about it.
‘On the 18th December 2021, the members of Literary Society went to King’s House Gardens in Thetford to see a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
We walked around the beautiful gardens to the different scenes. The actors were amazing and the puppets were very realistic. By walking around the different scenes, the play became more familiar in a sense that we were really in the story and that we knew the characters as real people.
The play showed the hardships of having no money in the Victorian Era and as we have learned, Charles Dickens’ stories were not only for entertainment but to bridge the gap between the people of wealth and the poor. Most of his tales are based on his own experiences.
In Literary Society, we have been learning about the story of Sussanah Holmes and Henry Kable, and have been writing diary entries, stories and letters to show what we have learnt about the extraordinary journey they embarked on from Norwich ‘Gaol’ to Australia.
Some of us decided to additionally write as John Simpson, the turnkey/prison officer, and create a story to explain why he was so desperate to help Holmes and Kable.
We even tea stained our paper to give an older appearance and we stamped wax seals on the entries with John Simpson’s initials. We also drew beautiful designs on some of them with metallic pens to create a regal presence.
There is an upcoming trip to see our work displayed in the Guildhall in Thetford.’
Mrs Graves, who runs the Literary Society, commented, ‘We have so many talented writers at Northgate; I see this every single day in the classes I teach. This was my inspiration for our Northgate Literary Society.’
‘The Society is a place for students to read and discuss literature across a range of genres, and then to create beautiful pieces of their own writing to share with others.
Miss Lynn and I have been so impressed by the dedication and talent of our writers. Their pieces on Homes and Kable are imaginative and truly reflect the incredible story of those First Fleeters from Norfolk.
Over the coming weeks we will be working on some sinister retellings of traditional stories and creating some beautiful poetry. We will be publishing our writing on the school website, so watch this space!’
