The People’s Portrait is in fact two portraits of Queen Elizabeth II made up of a collage of images sent in by the general public. People were asked to send in a photo and short description or anecdote. We have an A1+-level Ready-to-Use Resource about the portraits for you to introduce the topic to your … Continue reading “Pupils’ Portrait Competition”
How can you portray a nation of 60 million people? The 100 winning “portraits of Britain” gazing down at passers by in streets, shopping centres, stations and airports across the country are as diverse as the population: different ages, colours, activities, locations, culture and clothing combine to mirror the observers. Portrait of Britain is the … Continue reading “Portrait of Britain”
This A1 plus-level article deals with a special piece of art in Greater London, linked to the iconic Queen Elizabeth II. The theme will enable pupils to review personal descriptions as well as the preterite and participate to a fun writing contest, coming very soon. Language points: Vocabulary: British monarchy, family members, adjectives of personality … Continue reading “The People’s Portrait”
A film about Frankenstein author Mary Shelley is being released on 8 August. This B1-B1+ resource allows pupils to explore an interview with Haifaa-Al-Mansour, its director, about Shelley, filmmaking and being the first female Saudi Arabian director. You may want to introduce the topic of Mary Shelley and Frankenstein first with our Ready to Use … Continue reading “Audio Interview with the Director of Mary Shelley”
In the year in which the bicentenary of the publication of Frankenstein is being celebrated, a new biopic of its author, Mary Shelley, turns the spotlight on the young author who has long been eclipsed by a creation which escaped the pages of her book to enter popular culture. Rather like the eponymous Dr Frankenstein … Continue reading “Making Mary Shelley”
For a weekend in late July, the southern English city of Bristol hosts Europe’s biggest street-art festival. The Urban Paint Festival (Upfest) is celebrating its 10th anniversary from 28 to 30 July with a Simpsons theme. Bristol has form when it comes to street art — it is the home city of the mysterious Banksy, … Continue reading “Bristol: The Painting is on the Walls”
The three Brontë sisters lived short, isolated lives in early nineteenth century England, but they produced some outstanding novels, in particular Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. The bicentenaries of their births are being celebrated from 2016 to 2020. To find out more about the Brontës, visit the Brontë Society site, which has information about each … Continue reading “Brontë Family Webpicks”
Being buried in Westminster Abbey is the highest honour a British person can be given. And yet, like so many British traditions, it has developed in an organic way, with no real rules or system. It is sometimes described as Britain’s Pantheon or Valhalla. The Abbey itself, in London, is a thousand years old and … Continue reading “Westminster Abbey: Britain’s Pantheon”
Jean Rhys (1890-1979) lived and wrote about her extraordinary life in the West Indies, London and Paris before producing her masterpiece, Wide Sargasso Sea, a prequel to Jane Eyre, telling the story of Bertha Mason, the Creole wife Mr Rochester married for her fortune, and who in Jane Eyre is portrayed as the madwoman in … Continue reading “Celebrating Author Jean Rhys”
It was a surprise bestseller about a forgotten piece of World War Two history with an improbable title. Now The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is coming to a screen near you. It tells the story of the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands — the only part of the British Isles to … Continue reading “Guernsey, a Book Club and German Occupation”