Highgate Wood School

“We started with a large group of interested pupils, but the lure of stage, music and intensive revision resulted in only the very dedicated able to ward off those other temptations term after term. For the special few, the free boundless page waiting for their ink was the only place to be. Our group of eleven included veterans from last year, sixth formers and many from Years 9 and 10. Two of our group have embarked on impressive novels, and several are talented poets. It is a great mix, as you will see from the stories and poems we have collected.”

Romesh Gunesekera, First Story Writer-in-Residence at Highgate Wood School

I stopped to look at the guitars in the music shop; they hung there looking lifeless inviting me to take them home. The beautiful golden brown wood reflecting my captivated expression, the Hoffner logo carved so beautifully and lovingly into the neck. There is something beautiful about music, what it does to people, you know, the way it makes people act. It gives you power, people look up to you, something no one’s ever done to me. I kept moving down the road towards the record shop and checked in my trouser pocket just to make sure the money was still there. I pushed the heavy door and stepped on to the black-and-white flooring of Joe’s Records. I knew what I wanted. I went straight for it…

An extract from “Nineteen Shillings and Eleven Pence” by Eleanor, a student at Highgate Wood School

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