The Praise Wall: Lockdown Edition 1st – 12th February

Ms Hughes’ English Stars

Ms Hughes writes,

Year 7: Before half-term, we completed our assessment looking at how Sherlock Holmes was presented as a complex character. Here is a brilliant response from Honor McMahon:

Sherlock Holmes is a friendly character. “Good-morning, madam,” said Holmes cheerily. “My name is Sherlock Holmes”. This suggests that Sherlock is welcoming to anyone who he speaks to. The adverb ‘cheerily’ suggests he is happy to hear the details of a new case. The reader might initially like the main character as he seems kind and eager to help.
I think Sherlock is an angry character. This is shown in the line “Holmes shook his head like a man who is far from being satisfied”. This shows us that Sherlock is not pleased with something and he is disappointed. The adjective “satisfied” has connotations off happiness and being impressed, however Sherlock Holmes is being a little bit moody and unhappy. The reader might feel worried because Sherlock is upset and therefore something bad might happen.

Also, Haseeb Ahmed has been working tremendously hard on his comprehension skills and I would also like to praise Abi Lonsdale, Ithar Hussein, Patrick Gibbons and Grace Gee for giving 100% effort in every lesson!

Year 8: Before half-term, we completed our assessment looking at how Sherlock Holmes was presented as a complex character. Here are some snippets from a handful of our amazing responses:

Bella Candler:

Sherlock Holmes is also presented as a very curious character here’s my evidence “There are a thousand details which I should desire to know before I
decide upon our course of action”. This suggests he wants to know everything to be fair and to hear all sides of the story. This could also suggest that Sherlock is a hard-working character. The noun ‘details’ shows that Sherlock is quite obsessive as he needs to have all of the knowledge for the investigation. This might make the reader feel like Sherlock is a very good detective because he covers all bases before he decides.

Arzoo Khan

Sherlock Holmes is also shown as a big-headed character. This is shown in the line ‘fancy him having the insolence to confound me with the official detective force’. This shows that Sherlock is annoyed and insulted at being associated with the police because he thinks he is above them. The verb ‘confound’ suggests that Sherlock is angry with being confused with the police force. The noun “insolence” emphasises that Sherlock is rude and he finds it offensive and disrespectful to be associated with the police. This might make the reader question whether they like Sherlock Holmes because he is coming across as a selfish person.

Yusuf Naveed:

Sherlock Holmes is also shown to become foul tempered really quickly if he does not get everything right. This is shown in the quote “Holmes shook his like a man far from being satisfied”. This suggests he has a mixed personality and he can become from a happy detective to an annoyed detective very quickly. This also shows he has a short fuse and can get angry very quickly. The adjective “satisfied” emphasises that Sherlock wants to feel good about his work all the time. The reader might feel confused with Sherlock because he seems to have a mixed personality and we don’t understand what type of person he is.

Year 9: Before half-term, we completed our descriptive writing assessment looking. Here are some snippets from a handful of our amazing responses:

Jess Butterworth:

Clouds drift peacefully across the azure sky in different directions like they are playing a game of tag. It’s calm and tranquil and the animals are minding their own business and getting along. Slowly, the tiger orange beaming orb rises along the horizon making the bold blue sky now a peaceful peach. Trees wave in the gentle breeze cooling them slightly from the scorching weather. It was just a normal morning for the animals of all shapes and sizes. They all were willing to be friendly and get along and didn’t want to start any trouble.

As the animals dive into the murky, rippling water, a ghastly cloud of darkness appears beyond the horizon. It seemed that the contagious darkness was submerging the sun. The animals did not take notice of the catastrophe occurring in the distance as if it was ready to destroy anything in its way. It was a monster. It was colossal. It was nightmarish. There was fear in the air, but still the animals didn’t seem bothered. What was it? It looked like more than just a dark cloud. It looked powerful. It looked harmful.

Alfie Howarth:

The distant sun slowly retreated from the snow like sky, the glistening watering hole was surrounded by all types of animals waiting to sip on the water GOD sent down from heaven. You could hear the weeping of some animals and you could smell the blood that burst out of the unfortunate victims. The trees were glazing at all the animals while they slaughtered each other without a tear or mercy.

Lurking under the glass layer of the watering hole where crocodiles are waiting for the next poor animal to step foot into his domain of DEATH. The blood of the innocent splattered over the rocky land almost making it rain. On the other hand, the zebra was gulping the water but along that was fear. The utter second the animals went to drink they have to watch their every corner as predators are getting hungry and patience is not enough food for them to devour. As fast as Zeus’s lightning bolt, the deer leaped with fear engraved into his eyes while the monstrous crocodile lunged at its neck piercing it with its hell forged teeth. Even though carnage was summoned upon these fragile creatures, some of them stuck together and helped each other to achieve their goals.

Year 10 –

I would like to give shout-outs to the following students for always giving 100% in every session, getting involved in our class debates and continuing to develop their analytical writing even in such uncertain times:

Leighton Eden-Jones, Ellie Fielding, Taylor Hart, Gizem Hasanova, Rachel Heyes, Tom Hotchins, Jodie Jackson, Aleena Mir, Bronte Naylor, Alix Parsons and Maddie Smethurst.

Well done!