English Department trips are designed to support the English curriculum, enriching the girls' contextual knowledge of literature and contemporary theories. Key to interpreting any literary text is an understanding of Historical, Social, Political and Economic issues at the time of writing. As modern, multicultural readers, we can then add our own values and belief systems to the mix, impacting on our appreciation of the text.
Working with other departments to provide a variety of co and cross curricular experiences, demonstrates to the girls how subjects should not be seen in isolation, but as inter-connected and educationally supportive. For example one should consider the historical context of Shakespeare's theatre in the light of Elizabethan expansionism and post Reformation Anglicanism; or the impact of Galileo on the poetry of the Metaphysicals and the Theories of Darwin and Marx on Victorian and Fin-de-Siecle Literature.
The above programme should help to bring alive some of the texts and periods we study in English. Whilst we hope that the programme will be adhered to, there may be unavoidable changes to it during the year. Letters will be sent out for each individual event. Additionally, some of the above events take place in school and are designed to develop the girls' skill sets more broadly in reading, writing, speaking and listening, adding to the research skills developed by the trips programme.
