Lots of our favourite songs feature scarves, photos, makeup and all sorts of other 'props'. But, why are they there?! What is their purpose... Read More...
PVRIS are back in England (well, almost!!) - and they're bringing the ludicrously brilliant Maggie Lindemann and Charlotte Sands with them!... Read More...
Read Sound of Pen's essay about Maggie Lindemann's 'SUCKERPUNCH' and fuel your own investigations into the literature of love.
MUSIC FOC... Read More...
Think about where your favourite songs are 'located' and develop your understanding of setting within your GCSE and A-Level texts.
MUSIC... Read More...
Bright Star is locked in her manager’s office, Cynthia is locked in a friend’s basement and Ayley is locked in her bedroom. Sound of Pen’s ... Read More...
Read Sound of Pen's essay about Against The Current's 'That Won't Save Us'. The song underlines ideas that will feel so relevant to your A-Level Lit study.
... Read More...
Our brainstorm activities don't so much focus on one idea as collate a whole stack of thoughts - all of which will feel absolutely relevant to one or other of ... Read More...
Following our work on the 'Location, Location, Location' series, the amazing Chiara wrote a truly beautiful song. She thought carefully about the setting and h... Read More...
Read Sound of Pen's essay about Taylor Swift and develop your ability to make interesting points + to address context/typicality + to incorporate critical quot... Read More...
What do pop icon Britney Spears and Tennessee Williams' Blanche DuBois have in common? Uh, how about A LOT! Raised in Southern America, forced to adhere to a r... Read More...
Lots of our texts examine the importance of self-belief. Let's listen to the music of Bush and work out what we'd say if asked to explore that very theme.
M... Read More...
Bright Star is locked in her manager’s office, Cynthia is locked in a friend’s basement and Ayley is locked in her bedroom. Sound of Pen's 'fTrE' novel explore... Read More...
While you may well be working on a Sound of Pen activity at home, I do run classes in school. We are thinking about how to make these live sessions more widely... Read More...
Think about where your favourite songs are 'located' and develop your understanding of setting within your GCSE and A-Level texts.
MUSIC FOCUS: Trophy Eyes;... Read More...
Underneath our number 1 pick, you'll find some vocab activities - read them through and then have a go at sprinkling magic dust on your creative writing!
MU... Read More...
Following our work on the 'Location, Location, Location' series, the amazing Chiara wrote a truly beautiful song. She thought carefully about the setting and h... Read More...
How do the best songs of 2022 help us make sense of the texts we're studying at school? Look at the list of our top 75 tracks of the year - then have a go at t... Read More...
Jay Gatsby (aka James Gatz). Dignified? Desperate? Deluded? Here are the songs to help you make sense of Fitzgerald's most famous character. Okay, so they migh... Read More...
It's impossible to read 'Where The Crawdads Sing' or listen to Taylor Swift's 'Carolina' and not feel inspired! Our aim today is to write a description that so... Read More...
Looking at writers' use of colour is a worthwhile exercise - how many pieces of writing don't refer to a colour of one sort of another at some point?! Today, w... Read More...
In most stories, there's a letter being posted... or a phone ringing... or an email being sent. Characters are communicating and - whatever the era - they're u... Read More...
A lot of songwriters make use of colour in their lyrics - and some of those artists employ blacks, whites, greens, pinks etc. as potently as actual painters. H... Read More...
This is the final part in a series we created so that you can indulge your love for the inimitable Taylor Swift AND develop your confidence with unseen poetry ... Read More...
This is the fourth part in a series we created so that you can indulge your love for the inimitable Taylor Swift AND develop your confidence with unseen poetry... Read More...
This is the third part in a series we created so that you can indulge your love for the inimitable Taylor Swift AND develop your confidence with unseen poetry ... Read More...
This is the second part in a series we created so that you can indulge your love for the inimitable Taylor Swift AND develop your confidence with unseen poetry... Read More...
This is the first of a five-part series which will allow you to indulge your love for the inimitable Taylor Swift AND develop your confidence with unseen poetr... Read More...
Is there anything more fun that writing about the things you REALLY love? And is there anything any of us love more than going to a festival?!
MUSIC FOCUS:... Read More...
Get ready for the best hour of your day. A class soundtracked by the beautiful Years & Years. What more could you ask for?
MUSIC FOCUS: Years & Year... Read More...
Listen to lots of artists inc. Olivia Rodrigo, Maggie Lindemann, MGK, Holding Absence - and secure your ability to analyse any text (seen or unseen) about love... Read More...
If you’re looking to finetune your use of letter sounds, you’re in the right place. This class works brilliantly all on its own, but you might also want to thi... Read More...
If you’re looking to finetune your use of symbols, you’re in the right place. This class works brilliantly all on its own, but you might also want to think of ... Read More...
Special thanks to my Year 8 class for providing the musical inspiration for this class!
Check out their favourite songs here.
You may wish to download th... Read More...
Review writing can be tricky. You might love a record or a film or a book soooooo much - but how do you possibly pack all the positive energy you're feeling in... Read More...
NOTE: THERE IS ONE MOMENT OF SWEARING DURING THE TRAILER.
Review writing can be tricky. You might love a record or a film or a book soooooo much - but how d... Read More...
If you’re looking to develop your vocabulary, you’re in the right place. This class works brilliantly all on its own, but you might also want to think of it as... Read More...
If you’re looking to develop your understanding of allusion, you’re in the right place. This class works brilliantly all on its own, but you might also want to... Read More...
Here's a selection, not just of our favourite songs of the year, but of our favourite similes and metaphors EVER!
If you're looking to finetune your creativ... Read More...
MUSIC FOCUS: Machine Gun Kelly, LOLO, Maggie Lindemann and Proper.ACTIVITY FOCUS: Look at how some of these brilliant songwriters use rhyme and then have a go ... Read More...
Start today's poetry writing class by watching this tribute to the superstar DJ/humble songwriter...
https://youtu.be/FhWDZExRacE
TASK 1
Watch the '... Read More...
Yes, we do know it's the school holidays, but as far as fun activities go, it's hard to think of anything more enjoyable than listening to Creeper, Against The... Read More...
We love Against The Current because they’re fighting the same problems that we're battling with too. In order to ensure we understand this, the band make such ... Read More...
Imagine you're living in the 12th Century, chatting to your friends in Latin and someone uses the word 'monstrum'. You know immediately that they're taking abo... Read More...
The more you read, the easier your life as an English student gets.
And yet sometimes the thought of actually picking up a book which is not on the A-Level ... Read More...
Examiners love students who write with personality and passion. Read the question (in orange) and response (in green) below, then have a go at writing about yo... Read More...
Unbelievably, Billie Eilish's 'Ocean Eyes' song is now more than half a decade old! But it remains as fresh-sounding and relevant as ever...
TASK 1
Read ... Read More...
Bright Star is locked in her manager’s office, Cynthia is locked in a friend’s basement and Ayley is locked in her bedroom. Sound of Pen’s ‘fTrE’ novel explore... Read More...
Swiftogeddon
Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen, Leeds
18th February 2022
Outside Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen, the queue stretches up the hill. T... Read More...
Bright Star is locked in her manager’s office, Cynthia is locked in a friend’s basement and Ayley is locked in her bedroom. Sound of Pen’s ‘fTrE’ novel explore... Read More...
Taylor Swift’s 2020 albums – ‘folklore’ and ‘evermore’ – are like water. In the surface of them, we see ourselves, as vague and actual as we really are. Undern... Read More...
So many A-Level Literature texts deal with what it means to lose out in love. If you look closely at Taylor Swift's 'Exile', you'll realise our favourite pop ... Read More...
Bright Star is locked in her manager’s office, Cynthia is locked in a friend’s basement and Ayley is locked in her bedroom. Sound of Pen’s ‘fTrE’ novel explore... Read More...
Lil Peep knew how it felt to get his heart broken. And because it's definitely way easier to relate to the rapper's romantic issues than it is to those of Erne... Read More...
Hello, GORGEOUS people. It's time to study our list of 2021's BEST albums and EPs. Once you've done that, crank the playlist up loud and get ready to take your... Read More...
Language Paper 2 is TOUGH - in large part because it revolves around extracts written in that more challenging Victorian style. For now, then, let's concentrat... Read More...
Ben is one of the original Sound of Pen student crew. As passionate about music as he is about English, his thoughts on Dave's 'love' songs are both insightful... Read More...
From number 50 to number 1, here are the songs we loved most this year.
50. While She Sleeps, Nervous
49. Doll Skin, Control Freak
48. Creeper, Midnig... Read More...
Once in a while, you read something that takes your breath away. Today is that once in a while! Year 10 student, Ania, wrote this poem and it's BEAUTIFUL x
... Read More...
Being a teenager is hard! But one thing we know for sure - listening to Taylor Swift makes us feel way less alone!
Here's 'Fifteen'...
https://youtu.be/... Read More...
