Clubs & Societies - Middle School Reading Group

The Reading Group, which started in January of 2024 and continues to thrive under the leadership of Ms Scott, is for Fourths, Divisions and Fifths, meets on Thursdays during The Hour. We read plays and discuss the themes, characters and writers’ methods, expanding our breadth of knowledge beyond the confines of the iGCSE Literature syllabus.

The Reading Group began by exploring the recognised American classic, Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, noting how the play acted as a critique of the old South's outdated attitudes regarding masculinity and race in the late 1940s. Since then, we then progressed to read A Doll's House by Ibsen and Betrayal by Pinter. These plays all differ in style but share some similarities in themes: masculinity and the importance of power in both A Doll's House and A Streetcar Named Desire, and the emotional conflict within intimate relationships in both Betrayal and Hare's Skylight.

The sessions often include vehement and topical discussions with students taking a liking to certain characters within the plays and justifying their views. For example, as we read through Skylight we discussed the complicated father-son relationship between Tom and Edward Sergeant following the demise of Tom's wife, and which character we side with.

Please enjoy what the students have to say below:

Dhylan H

The reading sessions are of great benefit to us, as not only do they provide us with a platform to broaden our intellectual horizons but they also provide us with an opportunity to explore different writing skills, which will prove invaluable for the Writing sections of the English Language IGCSE and beyond.

The group is always looking for new plays to read and discuss, and is also always seeking new members, who share a similar love for Literature. Attending sessions with the Reading Group will provoke much thought and discussion and will give you cultural capital and a familiarity with some seminal literary texts.

Noah W

At the Middle School Reading Club, we enjoy gaining an insightful exposure to a wide range of different texts beyond the iGCSE curriculum. The pieces we read are always entertaining and provoke lots of discussion among our group. We have recently finished reading the play Skylight by David Hare and are looking forward to enjoying other pieces of literature in the coming year. 

Aviral A

For me, Reading Club is a fun group where we meet and read various texts together. I find that it's quite relaxed, and rather than rigorous analysis or structured essays, we spend time taking turns reading  a varied selection of novels and plays, with the occasional light-hearted discussion of what we think as we go. Recently we've read A Streetcar Named Desire and Skylight, both thoroughly enjoyable texts with fun moments and lots to talk about. Personally, I've really enjoyed reading club and would very much recommend it!

Peter B

In reading group, guided by Ms Scott, we aim to broaden our horizons of Literature in preparation for the further delights of A Level English.

We’ve enjoyed reading many texts that would normally be read at A Level. We started with Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. Something I found fascinating was the complex and questionable relationship dynamic between Stella and Stanley; this is one of my favourite texts. Harold Pinter’s Betrayal I personally found bizarre at first, as it is written backwards with the end is at the start, and the beginning is at the end, a writing form that isn’t something I’d seen before.

Rien D

I like the combination of reading the plays & discussing them. I find I can apply the learning to my Literature GCSE texts, which helps with my discussions of the writer’s methods in both the club & my English lessons. I really enjoyed the range of interpretations in our conversations with St Helen’s Reading Group.