Einstein once said: “The only source of knowledge is experience”. The English Department at Oriel High School in Crawley have surely applied this piece of wisdom to their students’ educational experience by offering them the chance to participate in the English and Media Centre’s emagazine Literature Conference in London 2017.

Taking place on the 23rd November at Friends House in Euston, London, the conference invited students from many different schools to listen to enriching and interesting lectures about a wide range of literary works and concepts. For the entire day, the atmosphere was full of curiosity at the prospect of listening to talks delivered by renowned speakers in the fields of English and Media.

Mr Peter Myson, English teacher at Oriel High School, gives more details: “The Literature Conference felt like a very successful day on the whole. It was really interesting to listen to such a wide range of speakers, from university professors to published authors and actors too”.

“Highlights of the day included a very grim and murky exploration of death in the works of Shakespeare, and a panel discussion which explored the different sorts of novels that A Level students should be reading alongside their studies.”

The event was mainly aimed at A-level students studying English Literature, however the Oriel High School team have also encouraged students in year 10 and year 11 to attend the trip.

“We took a large group of students from years ten to thirteen and everyone seemed to get something from the conference”, affirmed Mr Myson. “Many students purchased books and got to speak to the authors of those books, asking them about their ideas and the topics that they choose to write about.”

7 speakers, almost 6 hours of lectures, and countless new thoughts and ideas about English Literature. Looking forward to the next year’s conference already?

By Ioana Staicu, Oriel High School