English

‘Legally Brunel’ - Year 9 English

Year 9 students channelled their inner ‘Elle Woods’ during Thursday’s English lesson, by debating the controversial idea of genetically modifying babies. After critically engaging with Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the class have been focused on developing ideas within creative and non-transactional writing.

Students were given a newspaper article by Richard Alleyne in regards to the idea of genetically engineered ‘ethical’ babies being a moral obligation. They were then arranged into two groups: for genetically engineering babies and against genetically engineering babies. Each group had to work in a team to create a range of arguments that they could debate on. The planning stage allowed students to develop a variety of their IB attributes such as becoming critical thinkers on the topic and communicating in an effective collaborative environment. The planning stage also created responsibility amongst individuals who shared ideas and helped their teams during the process.

On the day of the debate, the classroom was transformed into a courtroom (albeit a few tables and chairs were moved) in preparation for the debate. Each team eagerly awaited who would start the first round of the debate through the suspenseful decision of ‘rock, paper, scissors’. The rooky mistake of the team ‘for’ starting with scissors, meant the against side began the debate. Both sides provided a debate that was balanced, open-minded and respectful which reflects not only the IB Learner Profiles, but also the expectations of a real life courtroom.

In particular, Timi embodied professionalism through his use of persuasive language and his responsibility for sharing the team’s suggestions. Resilience was also demonstrated within both teams through their bravery to participate in the public speaking stage. These students included: Nia , Johnny, Hussain, Cameron, Robbie and Daniella.

Overall, 9BV1 have impressed both Miss Ritson and Miss Amrat who are now looking forward to hearing their independent speeches for the GCSE Spoken Language Endorsement in Year 10!