Year 6 produced a marvellous ‘team write’ in a recent English lesson. Our Set 1 pupils used Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness as inspiration, focusing on his descriptive passage of the journey up the River Congo. Whilst we don’t have a river at Lockers Park, ours boys made the most of the shrubs in this piece!
A Journey Through the Shrubs, By Year 6 Set 1 Pupils
Striding through the murky shrubs was like adventuring into a dense jungle, where trees wound along the paths, taking us to the treacherous hill. The ground was littered with multi-coloured leaves, illuminated by the flickers of sun creeping through the blanket of treetops.
Scaling the ‘bum burner’ was like climbing Mount Everest. The slippery slope was a leviathan towering over us, as would a hungry dog approaching a bone. The snapping of a twig broke the chilled stillness as we ventured into the heart of the jungle. Squirrels scurried slickly as we penetrated the majestic woodland, feeling like a giant in this overgrown world. Behind the curtain of trees, lived moles mischievously scuttling around the base of the wooded giant’s foot.
Tribes emerged as we ascended the perilous hill. Their faces, embroidered with mud, showed no mercy. Devious eyes, peering at us as we cautiously fumbled through the misty forest floor, coated in slime-like mud of many shades of brown and green. Battle ready and a hint of weapons glistening in the moonlight, they stood statuesque as we threaded by.
At night, the silvery banks of the bum burner would be crowded with badgers. As darkness approached, we could hear the rolling of drums beating like a thousand terrified hearts. We stood frozen in the sluggish air, rooted to the ground as we considered our next move. We waited for the sunrise, maybe even a bigger adventure beyond.