A​utumn Term

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

A man leaves his home to find work and support his family, whose home has apparently become unsafe. In the new land, the man goes through a lengthy administrative process and manages to find a small living space. Although he struggles to understand the different language, navigate the unknown city and to find a secure job, he makes new friends of the locals and learns of the struggles of other refugees that have fled their homes due to slavery and sought asylum from war, sharing his own experiences as well. Eventually, the man’s family joins him in the new land, and they settle into a new, happy life.

Spring Term

The Edge by Alan Gibbons

It's early morning and Danny's mother is at his bedside, urging him to get up. They're on the run from Chris, his mother's boyfriend, a violent man who beats them both up, and won't let them go.

Chris pursues Danny and his mother from London to the north, where they take refuge with Danny's grandparents. But even there, nothing is safe. Danny is conspicuous as the only mixed-race boy in their small community, and with the ever-present threat of discovery, he has to learn how to live continually on the edge.

A tense and chilling story with terrific drama, The Edge shows the depth of character and the understanding of the predicaments of children today that gives Alan Gibbons his special quality.

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

The story chronicles the coming-of-age of best friends Sephy Hadley and Callum McGregor. A work of speculative fiction, Noughts and Crosses imagines an alternative history that places native African people in a position of power over those of European descent. Published in 2001, Blackman’s novel employs the alternating perspectives of Sephy and Callum to offer a nuanced glimpse into their journeys into adulthood. Not dissimilar to Romeo and Juliet, Noughts & Crosses’ plot explores themes of racism, prejudice and politics and is narrated by the two main characters Sephy, a Cross, and Callum, a Nought.

Summer Term

Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill

In the last days of the Heroic Age of Exploration, Ernest Shackleton dreamed of crossing the frozen heart of Antarctica, a place of ferocious seas, uncharted mountains and bone-chilling cold. But when his ship, the Endurance, became trapped in the deadly grip of the ice, Shackleton’s dreams of crossing Antarctica were shattered. Stranded in a cold, white world, and thousands of miles from home, the men of the expedition set out on a desperate trek across the ice in search of rescue.

 

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Prospero uses magic to conjure a storm and torment the survivors of a shipwreck, including the King of Naples and Prospero’s treacherous brother, Antonio. Prospero’s slave, Caliban, plots to rid himself of his master, but is thwarted by Prospero’s spirit-servant Ariel. The King’s young son Ferdinand, thought to be dead, falls in love with Prospero’s daughter Miranda. Their celebrations are cut short when Prospero confronts his brother and reveals his identity as the usurped Duke of Milan. The families are reunited and all conflict is resolved. Prospero grants Ariel his freedom and prepares to leave the island.