Written by Eleanor, Year 13
Between 29th September and 1st October, Year 13 English students took the unique opportunity to spend a weekend immersing themselves in the settings that inspired their set texts.
Our first stop was Jane Austen’s house, where we enjoyed dressing up and reading ‘Sense and Sensibility’ in the apt surroundings of Jane Austen’s gardens. Then we walked to Chawton House where we learnt about the colourful lives of its occupants and were amused by eighteenth-century names, such as Bulstrode Peachey. We especially enjoyed seeing the Chawton House library which has a large collection of rare works written by female writers from the 1660s to the 1800s.
One of the standout moments of the trip was the Friday evening walk to the river Ouse, the location of Virginia Woolf’s death. Gathering on the bridge in the darkness provided the perfect setting for reading ‘Heart of Darkness’. The experience was topped off with mugs of hot chocolate back at the Youth Hostel.
On Saturday, we witnessed an impressive performance of Hamlet by some Year 13s in West Firle Church before heading to the much-anticipated Charleston House, the country meeting place of the Bloomsbury group and house of artist Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf’s sister.
The immense and wacky decoration of the house made this a memorable stop on our trip and inspired many students to create their own artwork in response. Our Bloomsbury immersion was completed by a visit to Monk’s House, where Virginia Woolf lived and wrote. There, the informative tour guides provided us with interesting and useful information about Woolf’s life and relationship with her husband, Leonard.
In preparation for the trip, we prepared our own anthologies where we compiled literary extracts that explored themes of ‘Identity and Belonging’, as well as writing our own pieces. Similarly, a highlight of the trip was sharing these anthologies on the Saturday evening. I found it very interesting to read other people’s anthologies because of the personal nature of the work as well as the creativity involved in the presentation of the anthologies. Receiving feedback on our own works was also extremely rewarding.
On Sunday we enjoyed a walk at Birling’s Gap, where we appreciated the beautiful view of the sea, as well as the sunny weather. It was the perfect place to end the trip with some relaxing creative writing, inspired by our surroundings.
