Successful Stories Win School Places in Entrance Exams

So, if everyone in an exam gets sixty per cent and fifty in their creative writing, the student who get seventy five for their creative wiring is suddenly, on average, ahead of the pack. I think this could be the possible reason for my student's success. I teach creative writing and therefore my pupils excel. Through teaching them writing skills, their comprehension scores improve as they become aware of author techniques and the writing process encourages them to look at the text with a more thorough eye. This virtuous circle, along with my facilitation and encouragement, sees students growing in confidence in English. The is my view. Like a teaching your child to ride a bicycle, I model best practices, acting like stabilisers, then as we progress, I remove the stabilisers and the individual flies with a new confidence, competence and appreciation of the written word and different texts.

Have a look at some recent work and make up your mind. My email is [email protected]

Some examples:

Rainforest River Adventure

Hot, humid weather greeted the passengers as they stepped off the air-conditioned bus. Above the rainforest, the sky was a cloudy curtain, hiding the sun and brilliant, blue. Towering above the people, the tall trees stood as still as statues, vines snaking around their thick trunks. Colourful parakeets darted to and fro, from tree to tree, chirping happily as they flitted past Rose’s vision. On the ground, putrefying leaf litter surrounded the trees but the clearing where Rose had been dropped was long, green grass, surrounded by other verdant vegetation.

Guiding Rose towards the river, her governess, Miss

led the way, expecting Rose to follow her like a shadow. Attached to the river bank, there was a wooden, boardwalk dock and beyond that the brown water of the Amazon. Rose wondered why it was that colour, not realising the mud below was being stirred up by the currents that flowed through the fast-moving river.

“How much further, is it?” asked Rose, feeling hunger gnawing at her stomach like a rat, “I’m starving.”

“This is the last part of the journey,” explained Miss Hornsby patiently, smiling indulgently at Rose, “we should be at the house for afternoon tea.”

As they passed the rainforest, they could see big, broad-leaved trees, leaning over the water and their reflection in the still surface of the river. Knowing about the maze of rivers, Rose wondered whether she might get lost in the labyrinth if she went out alone. Brilliant birds nested in the branches, toucans with feathers as black as raven’s and beaks as yellow as the sun itself. Red, blue, green and yellow parrots flew in formation, squawking a warning, as the swept over the amazon. Apart from the first row of trees, the jungle was impenetrable and looked like a mass off green sliding past the boat. Cutting through the mirror calm water, the small ferry boat fought against below the surface. Feeling excited about living in such a lively environment, Rose was still anxious about the jaguars, anacondas, pythons, piranhas and spiders that would share her new world.???????

Sooner that she realised, they arrived at the dock that lay in front of the plantation. When they disembarked, there was a lawn between the riverside and the wooden house with its thatched roof. Screeching, howler monkeys played on the trees and chickens clucked from their henhouse and a black and grey tapir tried to eat the worms on the lawn. When Rose was greeted by the family, her stomach rumbled, begging for food. On a white linen tablecloth, biscuits, cucumber sandwiches, with the crusts cut off, and cakes fought for space. Knowing that she would not starve at the house, meant Rose was relieved and she thought for the first time that she might enjoy her life in the Amazon

EXAMPLE:

Rose’s Amazon Experience

?When Rose arrived in the rainforest, the first thing that she noticed was the tall trees with thick trunks and verdant vegetation spreading everywhere, leaves sprouted all over, from the ground, the trees and the creepers that clung to the tree trunks. Trying to harvest light and heat from the sun, leaves spread and intertwined and only the strongest sunlight pierced the canopy. ??

Above all, the jungle was as hot as an oven and Rose felt faint until she drank some water. Howler Monkeys screeched and the constant cacophony of the cicadas clicking became background music. As she stepped forward, she disturbed some macaws, which squawking loudly flew into the blue curtain of sky, hanging over the river that shimmered in the sunlight.

Suddenly, she saw a strange figure out of th corner of her eye.??

“Hi, I’m Rocky, Rodrigues, is my full name but everyone calls me Rocky,” announced a boy of around her own age, appearing out of the foliage.?

“I’m Rose, pleased to meet you. Isn’t this place bliss?” she replied, inhaling the wonderful fragrance of rainforest flowers.?

Rocky showed her to his house on stilts and they became best friends. She knew she would enjoy exploring the Amazon with him.

EXAMPLE

Above the amazon rainforest, there was a blue blanket of sky, but it was impossible to see it as the canopy of leaves only let in the penetrating sunlight that found chinks in the armour of the trees. On the ground, leaves and branches rotted solely, leaving a damp, putrefying smell linger in the still air. High humidity and the heat that built up made moving uncomfortable? for any animal. Parrots squawked and chirping birds flew from branch to branch, hoping to catch insects that flew thickly through the trees.

Cautiously, walking towards the boat that was tied to the dock, Rose was worried about snakes slithering across her path as she struggled with her heavy suitcase. Feeling anxious about actually being in the Amazon because she had read about the anaconda and other dangerous reptiles, she found herself worrying unnecessarily. Following her like a shadow, her governess, Miss Hornsby strode fearlessly ahead, clasping their tickets to the plantation.? The boat, a paddle steamer, was tied to the boardwalk, black smoke gushing out of its steel funnel a is if it were a chimney on fire. The throb of the engine greeted Miss Hornsby, Rose and the rest of the passengers.

Whilst they sat ,waiting for the steamship to leave, they chatted.

“I remember reading that the Amazon rainforest has a maze of rivers,” declared Rose, making conversation, turning and smiling at Miss Minton.?

“Fascinating, a whole labyrinth of tributaries, I do hope our pilot does not get lost,” joked Miss Minton, frivolously, smiling back at Rose to let her know her comment was in jest.

The water was murky and reflected the trees and sky like a mirror. The sky above the river where the treetops no longer reigned was a brilliant, blue curtain and the sun was climbing higher and higher, shortening shadows. It was much brighter away from the dim light that Rose was used to. Sitting back, she enjoyed the feel of the cooler air that the river provided.

As they drifted down river towards the plantation, Rose watched the world go by, trying to ignore the smell of coal burning and the throb of the steam-engine. Brightly coloured parakeets flew past, and she saw two toucans standing on a branches opposite each other and she could not believe how yellow their beaks were. Secretly, she dreaded the piranhas in the river that could strip a body of all its meet in seconds. Panthers also frightened her, and she wondered whether she would be able to sleep.?

When they arrived at the plantation, the house where they were staying had a wooden veranda all around and was on stilts to prevent flooding when the river swelled in a storm. It was also enormous as it housed the family and all the servants. Leaving the boat, Rose and Miss Minton, walked down the ramp and onto the grass of the clearing where the house had been built.?

One of the servants was there to welcome them and carry their heavy bags.

“Good morning, Rose and Miss Minton, I am Miguel, Mr. Peters asked me to take your bags and escort you to the veranda at the northside of the house, where you will find shade.

Miss Hornsby was reminded of the ships that sailed to India, on the outward journey, passenger would have cabins on the port side to shade them from the sun, on the return journey they would have cabins on the starboard side to protect them from the sun. These cabins were more expensive and when loading, they were marked for the side of the ship they would be delivered to: Port outward and Starboard Home, or P.O.S.H. She smiled to herself.

Waiting on the veranda was Mr. Peters, in the shade, holding out two tall glasses of homemade lemonade for the thirsty travellers. Gratefully, receiving her drink, Rose was tempted to down the cool liquid in one gulp but he was too polite.

EXAMPLE:

Overwhelmed by the humidity that flooded the air, Rose sat in the reception of the hotel, wishing that it had air conditioning. Beyond the glass doors, she could see the manicured lawn and the jetty beyond where a paddle-steamer waited for her. When her governess checked out of the hotel, Rose picked up her bag and both of them laden with luggage, walked out of the hotel, the automatic doors opening with a mechanical sigh. A wave of tropical heat him them. It was even hotter outside, like an oven.? As they, strode swiftly towards the steel steamer, they could see black smoke billowing above the funnel and a whistle blew to announce the departure, a shrill sound piercing the rainforest like a high-pitched thunderclap.

As they journeyed down the Amazon, they could hear howler monkeys calling crazily to each other, three parrots squawked noisily before launching themselves from the branches, and Rose spotted the yellow beak of a toucan.

“Look!” cried Miss Maple, her governess, pointing at what looked like a log in the water, “a caiman, that’s an Amazonian alligator.

“It looks so like a piece of driftwood, harmless until it opens its jaws,” announced, “I was hoping to see the river dolphins and I’m petrified of the piranhas.”

“I don’t think I’ll swim in the river,” declared Miss Maple, “especially not with those pesky piranhas and logs that might eat you.

Raising her camera to her face, Miss Maple took some shots of some more wildlife.

When the boat drew next to the pontoon that lay at the end of the clearing where the plantation hose was, Rose began to feel anxious, suddenly she felt cautious and anxious The house plantation had air-conditioning and Rose felt as if she had walked into a fridge, it was cool. They even had a piglike pet animal in a pen.

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