A group of Year 12 and Year 13 A Level French students travelled to Greycoat Hospital School in Westminster for the first of this year’s French Reading Group meetings. They were joined by pupils from Years 10-13 of this all-girls state school within the Westminster Foundation. The literary extract read in French and discussed by the group was Nobel Laureate Annie Ernaux’ ‘L’Occupation’ and it sparked a vibrant and engaged exchange of ideas, with pupils sharing interesting, reflective and insightful comments. Greycoat’s Head of Modern Languages, Dr Catherine Ames led the pupils through textual analysis to draw out meaning from the language and the tone of the novel, which is a searingly raw exploration of a woman’s obsession with her ex-boyfriend’s new partner. A very useful exercise to help prepare for the literary text on the A Level exam, but also a fascinating discussion of human relationships, jealousy and self-knowledge. We’re already looking forward to the next meeting, which will take place at Emanuel School on 16th November 2023.
Ms Gillian Ni Cheallaigh, SMT Associate & Teacher of MFL