The texts we study are so full of dreams. Which sounds lovely. But - like love - dreams are complicated, unwieldy things. Here are the ten songs you should lis... Read More...
Walls aren't simply walls. They're symbols of power, traps within which we confine ourselves - and that's not all. Our favourite artists are here to help us in... Read More...
When YUNGBLUD hit Wembley, he showed everyone exactly how to put on an arena show! Stadiums next, surely?!
MUSIC FOCUS: YUNGBLUD.ACTIVITY FOCUS: Explore the... Read More...
Glastonbury! Exactly the kind of important event we should write about when asked to write about something important!
MUSIC FOCUS: Glastonbury Festival.ACTI... Read More...
Let's spend today's session thinking about exactly why we would love to live at Glastonbury Festival FOREVER AND EVER - and why we would rather never go to Gil... Read More...
The first in a series of sessions looking at the range of skills we're aiming to show off in our final pieces of writing. Before starting any essay, the first ... Read More...
Ellie Goulding lights up February with a kaleidoscopic show at Camden's KOKO. We cannot wait for the new album!
MUSIC FOCUS: Ellie Goulding.ACTIVITY FOCUS: ... Read More...
Ellie Goulding is BACK! And, like so many of our course writers, she is OBSESSED with love. Which makes her the perfect person to lead a study of our favourite... Read More...
MUSIC FOCUS: Yellowcard; Kids In Glass Houses; Underoath; Charlotte Sands; Creeper; Boston Manor; Trash Boat; The Menzingers; Maggie Lindemann; Enter Shikari; ... Read More...
MUSIC FOCUS: PVRIS.ACTIVITY FOCUS: Review an album or live show and practise writing about structure!
PVRIS, Hammersmith Apollo
PVRIS have never bee... 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...
Lots of our favourite songs feature scarves, photos, makeup and all sorts of other 'props'. But, why are they there?! What is their purpose?! Let's find out, s... Read More...
PVRIS are back in England (well, almost!!) - and they're bringing the ludicrously brilliant Maggie Lindemann and Charlotte Sands with them!! Life hasn't been t... Read More...
Read Sound of Pen's essay about Maggie Lindemann's 'SUCKERPUNCH' and fuel your own investigations into the literature of love.
MUSIC FOCUS: Maggie Lindemann... 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: Calvin Harri... 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...
Read Sound of Pen's essay about YUNGBLUD - and prepare to get very excited about the links between 'weird!' and Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 116'!
MUSIC FOCUS: YUN... 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
