A WORD from the English Team

Welcome back to what we hope is a settled and full year of classes at our College. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the current and new Saint Ignatius College families and give the first of the years’ brief tips, insights and acknowledgements from the English team.

My name is Gemma Etherington and I am the Learning Area Leader for the wonderful English team here at Saint Ignatius College. I have been at the College in this role for the past eight years and have been fortunate to teach many of our students across all year levels. In my time at the College, the most frequent question asked of me by parents and guardians is “how can I best support my child with their English studies?”, with my consistent answer always being- ‘read with and alongside them’. 

Students need to see the value of reading; not just at school, but in their homes as well. A great place to start is by also reading the set English texts when your child is studying them. It is an invaluable opportunity to engage in academic discussion, share ideas and interpretations and consolidate knowledge and understanding for your kids. Yes- this is something that will occur in classes, however the more exposure to literature and different perspectives a student can get, the greater their understanding will be.

At all year levels, students study a variety of texts. The texts listed below are the ones which appeared on the booklist for purchase. Many year levels are also supplemented by short texts supplied by the college.

2021 English and Literature Texts:

• Year 7- Finding Audrey (Sophie Kinsella), Crow Country (Kate Constable)

• Year 8 - Between Us (Clare Atkins), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)

• Year 9 - Road to Winter (Mark Smith)

• Year 10 - Macbeth (William Shakespeare)

• Year 10 - Literature: Medea (Euripides), Animal Farm (George Orwell), Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)

• Year 11 - I am Malala (Malala Yousafzai), A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)

• Year 11 - Literature: Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank), Year of Wonders (Geraldine Brooks), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Tennessee Williams)

• Year 12 - The Lieutenant (Kate Grenville), The Dressmaker (Rosalie Ham), The Crucible (Arthur Miller)

• Year 12 - Literature: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Tennessee Williams), The Anchoress (Robyn Cadwallader), Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen), A Hunger (Petra White).

Gemma Etherington  Learning Area Leader: English