Here - Cowbridge Comprehensive School

Print.
2015-2016
Issue 3:
Roald Dahl Special
Print.
2015-2016
Welcome back!
This year the Print team has joined
up with the Art and English
departments to celebrate one hundred
years since Roald Dahl’s birth.
Print 2015-2016 is a showcase of the
liveliest, funniest and most
scrumdiddlyumptious poems and
stories inspired by Dahl himself.
Best wishes,
Print Team.
Want to help us out next year? Contribute or join the team. Email us at:
[email protected]
Keep in touch with us on Twitter:
For updates from the English department, follow:
To find out more about our school, follow:
@printcowbridge
@ccsenglish
@cowbridgecs
With thanks to Will Durrant, Harriet Utley,
Genevieve Kirk, Mollie Groves, Emme Srinivas,
the new Key Stage 3 team, Miss C. Niman, Miss B.
Thomas and the Art and English departments.
Roald Dahl Inspired Art
Year 8 students have been working on an
illustration project based on the work of Quentin
Blake in Art. The project required them to take
photographs of themselves taking part in an
activity of their choice. These were then used as the
starting point for an illustration in Blake's style.
These illustrations formed the basis of a threedimensional caricature based on themselves. The
work on the following pages show some of the
finished illustrations as well as their
three-dimensional work in progress.
Well done!
Some illustration
examples
Welsh Coursework
Nia Sedgwick
Year 12
Branwen
Un bore braf mi welais ferch
Yn gorwedd ar lan yr afon.
Roedd dioddefaint cyffyrddadwy
A thristwch yn ei chalon.
O’i hamgylch roedd rhyw deimlad
Na fydd dim byd eto’n iawn.
Trwy lygaid gwydr edrychodd hi
Ar fyd creulon, anghyfiawn.
Doedd dim byd yma iddi rwan,
Dim ond bodolaeth tlawd;
Bywydau ei theulu ‘di eu dinistrio’n llwyr
Gan law dideimlad ffawd.
Branwen
One morning I saw a girl
Lying on the banks of the river.
There was tangible suffering
And sadness in her heart.
Around her was some feeling
That nothing again would be right
And through glassy
eyes she looked
This poem is about Branwen, a
Celtic Princess married to an Irish
king who mistreats her.
Upon a cruel and
unjust world.
In order to escape she trains a
starling, which she uses to send a
letter to her brother in Wales. Her
brother is a giant who walks, with
his army, through the sea.
There was nothing here
for her now,
When he arrives in Ireland there is
a war to save his sister. Her halfbrother throws her son into the
fire and then sacrifices himself
and destroys the magic cauldron,
which makes people immortal, and
so he dies. The Irish King can no
longer bring his army back to life
and so looses the battle.
Meanwhile, her brother is
decapitated and Branwen flees
back to Wales where she dies of a
broken heart on the banks of the
River Alaw . This poem is about
the circumstances surrounding her
death.
Only a poor existence;
Her family’s lives
completely destroyed
By the unfeeling hand of
fate.
Interview with Mrs Campbell
Cerys Jackson, Year 7
What made you decide to do Into the Woods?
It's a great piece of theatre. The storyline includes lots of well-known fairy tales such
as Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel, so it’s a musical
that can appeal to adults and children alike. Our students know the original stories
so they can relate to the characters.
What were the biggest challenges?
Adapting the play for a school audience, making it a little less gruesome than the
original Broadway musical, was hard. For example the way Jack’s mother is killed
was a little too violent for Cowbridge! The musical score is quite demanding too, so
getting the songs right was challenging.
How did you overcome those challenges?
Lots of hard work! With all our performances we expect the cast to attend
rehearsals and practise over and over again so that the end result is perfect. We
are fortunate to have some very talented students who enjoy the discipline of
theatre and understand how demanding it can be.
What was the most rewarding part?
The teamwork is always fantastic. All the students put in 100% effort, so it’s
rewarding for me that I get back what I ask of them. Everyone pulls together and
works hard so that the shows are professional and unique. There’s nothing like
hearing an enthusiastic audience applauding your performance! That’s reward in
itself!
What involvement did the other departments have?
It’s great that the whole school can come together with our productions. For
example, the Art department made the masks for us and DT are always on hand
for helping with our costumes and scenery. If anyone has a particular talent we’re
always happy to hear about it!
What made you choose specific people for the parts?
Holding auditions is a great way to see people’s strengths and abilities. After the
auditions we know which role would be good for different individuals. Knowing the
play or musical is key as then we know what type of characters and voices we
need. Quite often, the students have an idea of which character they would like to
play.
What is next for the drama department?
The Jabberwocky. It is based on the character created by Lewis Carroll in
Alice Through the Looking Glass. The plot takes the form of a quest, in which
a character searches for the Jabberwock. The mythical nature of the musical
gives us lots of scope for being really imaginative
with our sets and costumes.
Adam Durrant, Year 9
Jo
Author Joanna Nadin has written many novels for children I got told I’d fail my O
and young adults including the Rachel Riley series and the
level English after I got
children’s series, Penny Dreadful. She grew up in Saffron
Walden, Essex, and now lives in Bath. Saffron Walden is an caught reading George’s
enchanting town, ideal for developing the imagination and
Marvellous Medicine
creativity of young, aspiring writers. Having won awards
including the Lancashire Fantastic Book award, Blue Peter
under the desk.
'Book of the Month' and Radio 4 Open Book 'Book of the
Year', she has also been shortlisted twice for the Queen of
Teen award. This year, two of her books are in the Recommended Read list for this year’s
summer reading challenge: Penny Dreadful and Joe All Alone. Eden, her latest novel for
young adults, is released in July, and it promises another enthralling trek through the
imagination of one of Britain’s premier authors of teenage fiction.
What's your favourite thing about being an author?
Getting to live other people’s lives all day, albeit in my head.
At what point in your life did you begin to think about becoming an author?
Not until I was working at Downing Street. I’d spent years trying to have a life that would
be so interesting someone would write a book about it. It wasn’t until I was in an amazing
job working for the Prime Minister, but realised it still wasn’t story-worthy, that I realised
maybe I should write the stories instead of try to be in them.
As a child, were you good at English?
I was a good reader but not so great in class. I got told I’d fail my O-level English (old version of GCSE) after I got caught reading George’s Marvellous Medicine under the desk instead of Silas Marner.
Did you ever dream of becoming a certain character from a book? If so, who was it and why?
Absolutely - that’s what I spent my entire childhood doing. I wanted to be Velvet Brown, in
National Velvet, who raced in the Grand National disguised as a boy.
What was your favourite book as a teenager? Why?
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and ¾ by Sue Townsend. It was the first book I
read that seemed to be written about a normal teenager from a normal town with the same
desperation that I felt to get out of dullsville and do something interesting.
What's the weirdest thing that's happened to you?
The first time I met the Prime Minister (aged 29) I curtsied, because I had a flashback to
my ballet lessons aged 6 when they told us that when you met anyone important like the
Queen you had to curtsey (or bow, if you were a boy).
Who is your favourite author?
Dead: Roald Dahl or Daphne du Maurier. Alive: Frank Cottrell Boyce.
Where did you get your inspiration for your latest novel?
Joe All Alone is part inspired by the film Home Alone and part by my years living in
Peckham when I saw a kid around the age of 10 who’d been sleeping rough, but still
managing to get himself to school every day.
What advice do you have for young people who aspire to become a professional writer?
1.Write as much and as often as you can: blog posts, social media statuses, even writing
essays all help hone your skills.
2. Read as much and as often as you can: that way you’ll work out what makes a good story,
and how they work.
3. Watch people: look at them, listen to them. If you can work out how people work, you’ll
know how your characters will react in any situation, and that’s the secret of plot.
Library Way in New York City has many inspiring and philosophical quotes paved onto the street.
What inspirational quote would you like to see on Library Way?
This quote is pinned to the wall above my writing desk: "Being a good writer means being
able to work on a bad day" - Norman Mailer. It reminds me not to get precious, and to just
get on with the job - because it IS a job, like any other. It’s just a bit more fun than many.
For the original version of Adam’s interview, head over to the English
department’s blog, “The Full English”:
http://cowbridgethefullenglish.blogspot.co.uk/
Here, you can also keep up-to-date with English department news,
reviews and information.
To read more about Jo, visit her website:
http://www.joannanadin.com/
Inspired by Mel Stuart’s depiction
of the
Mr. Willy Wonka, how could you be more wrong?
The way you think you can do things just like that.
Well I’m here to tell you now if you’re small and smaller equals massive,
Then hydrogen and oxygen equals sulphuric acid!
You come up with the most stupid of things like,
“Can I make a gobstopper that’s everlasting?”
Well, I’ve the perfect answer for that!
Are chloroplasts in the cells of a cat?
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!
Mr. Willy Wonka your ‘World of Imagination’ is fake.
Your gum is a one-course meal for the bin!
Your drink that ‘makes you fly’ is carbonated water,
And your horrific lies and clauses,
Are where you most falter.
I couldn’t be in more disagreement with this scandal,
Being an innocent candy-loving child!
This sherbet lemon can’t from me more hair,
Look -W-W-What -but that’s not FAIR!
Oompa loompa doopadee doo,
I have a final puzzle for you!
Oompa loompa doopadee dee,
If you are wise you’ll listen to me!
There’s nothing wrong with being very smart,
It means you can tell the truths and lies apart!
But smart is not just your future graduation,
You still need an imagination!
And no one likes a smarty pants!
Oompa loompa doopadee doo,
If you are enlightened you will go far!
You will live in happiness too,
Like the oompa loompa doopadee doo!
Pheobe Bianchi, Year 7
Cowbridge’s very own
Oompa-Loompas!
"Well," "I suppose I'm lucky to be alive at all."
Abbie Bird,
Year 12
Miss Petal
Anna Stephenson, Year 7
Have you heard of Miss Honey? She was the kindest teacher before she retired to
travel the world and follow her dreams. When Miss Honey came back she met Mr
Petal, the florist, and a few years later they were married. Mr Petal and Miss
Honey (now Mrs Petal) lived happily together in the Victorian manor house
where Miss Honey was brought up by the brutal Trunchbull. Mr Petal and Miss
Honey had a beautiful child called Matilda (after Miss Honey ‘s favourite student)
Tulip (Mr Petal’s favourite flower) Petal. Mr Pratchett, Miss Honey’s sworn
enemy had also had a child. Could there be trouble with the two children from
then onwards?
In a normal town, on a normal street, there was the local sweet shop but the lady
who ran the shop was revolting. She never washed and never cleaned anything.
She was filthy, her clothes were filthy, her house was filthy, but the worst thing
about her was her disgusting hands! Her fingernails were filled with dirt and
grime. Her skin was cracked and mouldy. Those same hands roamed the sweet
jars, like a rat from the sewers trying to snatch some food with its horrid paws.
Her name was Mrs Pratchett…
The shop next door was a complete and utter different story; it was so clean you
could see your reflection in the counter. The shop sold just about anything you
could imagine; cards, envelopes, sweets, stationery, radios, clothing and lots more.
The lady who ran the shop was very pretty just like her mother. She had soft
blonde hair and the most amazing smile. Her clothing was quite plain, just a long
light blue dress and pale green flat shoes. She was extremely kind and caring. All
of her customers liked her. This perfect lady was Miss Matilda Petal.
As Miss Petal walked home after a lovely day at work, something was bothering
her about one of her customers, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
When she arrived home her parents, Mr and Mrs Petal, could tell something had
happened; Miss Petal told them everything.
Over dinner the Petals discussed how the shop was going. When Miss Petal left to
go to bed because she was tired from her long day at work, her parents had
something they needed to discuss without her. The customer that Miss Petal was
describing could well have been Mr Pratchett stealing from the shop when Miss
Petal was not looking. Mr and Mrs Petal were very worried because the Pratchett’s
didn’t like people who stole from them, spied on them and sometimes even kidnapped
them! The Pratchetts were horrible people and they don’t care about anything or
anyone but themselves.
Later that week, Miss Petal was closing the shop when suddenly a hand covered her
mouth and she was slung into a roughly-made sack. Miss Petal was frightened, she
did not know where she was or who had kidnapped her. She shouted as loud as she
possibly could “HELP ME!”
Miss Petal had not noticed that she was moving but all of a sudden she was
thrown back into some sort of wall. It seemed Miss Petal was in a vehicle that had
just suddenly stopped and then a door opened. Miss Petal was grabbed and pulled
out of the bag by an ugly tall man with dirty blonde hair. He wore a black suit that
was full of dirt and grime with shoes covered in mud. His face was always in a
sneer. This man reminded Miss Petal of somebody, but she could not think who it
was. The man tied a scarf around her mouth.
Snow White
Once upon a time in a little rhyme,
there was a fair lovely lady,
who acted sort of shady.
Her name was Snow White,
and she was also very bright,
but one day which was quite grey,
an old woman came to the door and said,
"do you want an apple and you can get some
more?"
Snow White replied, "
I don't talk to old hags."
Jessica David
Cinderella
No matter what people say,
Cinderella is insane.
Her crazy obsession with killing,
she thinks is rather thrilling.
It all started when she'd had enough,
she went to her room and got some hand cuffs.
She reached under her pillows and grabbed a knife,
Molli Maclean
Cinderella
Cinderella is punished every day, but her wicked step sisters are
allowed to slip away.
Polishing, scrubbing and mopping the floor,
Cinderella can't take any more.
Cinderella has had enough,
so now she has packed her stuff.
Cinderella storms out of the house,
in her anger she kills a mouse.
She finds an invitation on the floor,
inviting her to the late night ball.
But she can't be bothered to go to the ball,
as she thinks all the men will be a bore.
Madison Ridley
Jack & the Beanstalk
When he found the magic beans,
he put them in the pocket of his jeans.
He took them home and showed his dad, and he said, "that's stupid,
lad."
and then he threw them in the mud,
and slammed the door with a thud.
He wakes up and sees a plant getting bigger. Nothing could stop it,
not even a digger.
He climbs high and gets to the top,
but there was a giant in a strop.
The giant grabbed him and threw him off,
and went back to cooking a broth.
Alfie Rees
The Mermaid
Deep down in the sea, a beautiful princess you shall see.
"But is she beautiful?" You may ask, or is she hiding behind
a mask?
Her prince awaits up on the land, where it is calm and
bright with sand.
One day the princess swims too high, and the prince spots
her with his eyes.
She wears no mask, she looks so bad, the prince sees this,
and draws her on his pad.
Away she dashed never to be seen, little does she know
the prince is mean.
He has the drawing of her, ugly and bold, but
will her secret ever be told?
Aime Zehnder
Gingerbread Man
The gingerbread man was cooked to perfection,
one which the baker will add to the collection.
To the baker's dismay, the cookie was real, but
nevertheless it was still his meal.
Outside it ran, away from the man.
The gingerbread man got stopped by a lady old
and grey, firm in her grasp the cookie could not
run away.
From its crumbly hands he pulls out a gun,
the old lady dropped him and begins to run.
He shoots the woman with the click of a trigger.
As the lady drops dead, his grin grow bigger.
Cerys Jackson and Ieuan Morgan
Goldilocks went out early,
And came across a bear so big and burly,
He directed her to a small little house,
She crept through the gate as quiet as a mouse.
Minding her step she watched her feet,
And managed to slip on a tiny seat.
She felt this chair was oh so small,
So sat on the big one lent on the wall.
She absolutely hated this one,
So went on the big and bouncy one,
to have some fun,
She heard a noise so she started to run,
She went upstairs and found a bed,
So she could rest her tired head.
When in bed she started to dream,
About a great big bowl of cookies and cream.
The bears came home later that day,
To find their food had gone away.
They went upstairs with a hop and a skip,
To find Goldilocks having a kip.
They looked at each other with a glint in their eye,
In a split second Goldilocks started to fry.
And they all sat down for Goldilocks pie.
Cerys Wood
Artwork by Liv Davies, Year 11
A 500 word story based on “The Gremlins”
Harry Treharne, Year 7
On a cold bitter day in the middle of January, we played the Vale Cup Final in Cardiff
Arms Park. The game was between Cowbridge and Stanwell comprehensive schools
and was set to be a thrilling game. As I stepped onto the immaculate surface the
stadium surrounding me was very impressive.
A sharp whistle and the game started. The Stanwell boys loomed above me and were
determined to beat us. On this particular day, I was playing outside half. Everything
was being performed to a very high intensity and seemed to be going well as Cowbridge
were winning comfortably. Ruben had burst through the defence effortlessly and had
placed the rugby ball immediately on the try line. A roar of chants for Cowbridge
exploded out of the supporters’ mouths. The noise echoed around the stadium and was
as loud as a firework display.
It was my turn to kick the conversion. Nervously, I ran towards the ball. My heart
repeatedly pounded and I held my breath. Suddenly it was as quiet as a graveyard. I ran
up towards the ball, but a huge gust of wind came and the ball tumbled to the ground.
Again, I placed the ball upon the tee and annoyingly the same thing happened again. I
looked up and saw a Stanwell player, suspiciously I stared at him. I successfully kicked
the ball for the third time.
***
Ten minutes later, there was a scrum a player from the opposition hooked the ball out of
the scrum. His arms were muscular and hairy; his hands were as large as trays. He
looked peculiar as he winked and smiled broadly at me. As I sprinted to score a try
having intercepted the ball, the ball began to whistle. It was punctured and as I placed
it down it was as flat as a piece of paper. The crowd began to laugh. Suddenly, the
Gremlin started climbing up the rugby post and started doing acrobatic flips. He was
like a monkey. All of a sudden, he had reached the top of the rugby post and was
completely disrupting the game. Out of nowhere, he gracefully swooped through the
sky and nicked the whistle out of the referee’s hand. This Gremlin had completely
ruined the game especially as Cowbridge were winning easily. Unfortunately, he wasn't
done yet as with his force the rugby post thudded to the ground. It left monstrous marks
and had destroyed the immaculate surface. All that could be heard was the Gremlin
chanting, "this game is abandoned and there will be no winner Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha" he cackled eerily. This Gremlin had absolutely destroyed the match.
A
story
word
500
based on “The Gremlins”
Kaden
1931
Cronick
It all began when I was a young lad. I had heard lots of
gruesome myths about evil creatures called Gremlins that
would make you wet your bed with fear, haunt you in the
shadows of the day, and keep you awake all night. Sounds
evil, huh? Well, wait until you find out what happened to me!
1932. 1937. 1942. As the years went by I, along with the
rest of the world, stopped believing in Gremlins but I guess
we were wrong. The invasion of the Gremlins was upon us!
1945
It was 1945, the closing months of the war. I was walking to
my fighter ship, on a mission, there he was… Woods! I
greeted him with a, “Yo!” expecting one back but instead he
nodded his head and said, “Yes”. A little odd, I thought.
Anyway, I was walking to my ship when I realised my shoe was
gone. M, m… my left shoe! At the back of my mind I knew this
was some kind of sorcery, or ghouls, but I dreaded thinking
it was Gremlins. I got in my ship and started it up. “Off we
go,” I mumbled.
Germany, February 1945 10:07PM
At 2000 feet, some weird stuff started happening. The lights
flickered on and off. The glass froze on the screen and then
the engine went Boom! At 136mph, the wings tore off and we
dropped towards the ground. I quickly ejected from the jet,
it was freezing outside. When I reached the floor I realised
the plane had crashed in the forest at night, in the middle
of nowhere. Well, it was even worse when I realised that we
had crashed in Germany!
I looked up. It was then that I saw it! The monster that made
plants die when it was angry, and bloom when it was friendly,
approached me. I scrunched my eyes together and my face went
pale. But it didn’t attack me! It didn’t even growl! It was
like it had never seen a human before! It was exactly how I
had imagined it all those years before. It was the size of
two apples on top of each other, had razor sharp claws, blood
red eyes, revolting scaly skin and an evil smirk.
It stared at me, so I stared back. It turned around, running
away into the trees, leaving no trace or anything. I followed
it to an underground tunnel and then it disappeared.
What I saw between my eyes was amazing! All the men we
thought had died in the war were there! They had been saving
them. I guess they weren’t so bad after all!
So, my question is this: If they are the good ones, then
Thanks to everyone who entered our “The Gremlins” competition.
The Print. team loved reading your entries and hope you enjoy
reading our winners’ take on Roald Dahl’s first ever
children’s book!
A 500 word story based on “The G
Another day, another flight. Why didn’t anything exciting ever happen on this ‘plane?
I slouched in my seat, the familiar controls surrounded my chair. Each button and
switch had a job, a purpose, like I did – to win the war! As I reached for my seat belt, I
froze. I could feel a pair of eyes staring into the back of my skull. However, as I
shifted in my seat, I saw no-one. Thinking that I had just imagined it, I turned on the
engine. But through the rumble of the engine, I heard something drop to the floor,
and sure enough a spanner lay on the cockpit floor as if it had fallen from the vent
above. Out of curiosity, I peered up the vent and a faint squeal came from deep inside.
The squeal grew louder and louder, until suddenly, a tiny creature fell from the ceiling
and landed with a hard thump. A pair of dark, amber eyes stared back at me. At first
I thought maybe it was a rat or mouse. But this creature had arms and legs like
humans. However, it only reached a height of six inches. I reached down, but the
thing clawed at my hand and I quickly pulled it away.
“Hello,” I whispered, so as not to frighten it.
“Please, don’t hurt me!” it squealed.
“Of course I won’t” I replied, slowly picking it up in my cupped hands. However, it
started to squeal so loudly, so high-pitched. Suddenly, silence fell and for a moment I
thought it was over, but to my great surprise, hundreds of these things came
crawling and scurrying out of the walls, vents and pipes. More and more! In
half- shock and half-amazement, I stood there as they flooded into the cockpit. Before
I knew it, they were crawling up my legs and back. Suddenly, without warning,
something very hard hit my head and there was black . . .
As my eyes finally opened, I saw thousands of these things all over the cockpit,
fiddling with the controls and mechanisms. One of them even had the steering wheel
and there was another, his face close to the big, red, eject button. Realising that my
hand and feet were tied, I started to struggle. With my mouth gagged, I could hardly
utter a word. A loud, clear voice travelled across the bustle of the cockpit.
“I hope you’re comfortable. We don’t often have guests. I hear you’re asking who or
what we are. Well, we are the Gremlins and I am their leader, Greg The Fourth. My
job is to make sure that your kind doesn’t find out our little secret. But it seems I have
a problem – you! I wonder what I’ll do. Should we let him go? I think we should.”
He reached for the big, red button. Suddenly, I was shooting through the sky like a
rocket on its way to the moon. It was just then I started to wonder what had actually
just happened and who were these creatures?
Eve Bird
Gremlins” Key Stage 3 Entries
Tap! There it was again, coming from the attic. But what could it be? Then, suddenly,
the lights started to flicker and there was a ghoulish cackle. The TV started to go black
and white and fuzzy. Sparks flew from the nearby lamp and the kettle started to whistle.
“Oh really!” Bruce exclaimed loudly. He was halfway through watching his favourite programme, Masterchef. He got up off the sofa and went to investigate . . .
First, though, he had to collect a torch from the set of drawers. There was more laughter.
As he crept up the stairs, they started to creak and there was a bump, followed by a loud
crash as a bookshelf spilled its contents out on to the landing. And then, out of the bedroom, emerging from out of the shadows, a small, black creature with red eyes, bat-like
wings and sharp, white fangs appeared. It was doing a sort of dance, hopping from one
foot to the other. It took one look at Bruce, screeched, flapped its wings and ducked in between his legs and ran down the stairs. Bruce couldn’t believe his eyes. That old woman
had told him he’d be looking after a child, not an insane bat-cat-monkey thing.
“Hey!” he shouted, “yeah you, Gremlin!” He’d remembered the name from a local newspaper article. And then, without warning, what was one ‘Gremlin’ turned into two! Twice
the amount meant twice the havoc and chaos and twice the danger. Suppose they were vicious? And, worst of all, Bruce had no idea how or why it happened.
“Damn” he muttered, “stupid Gremlin!” and the Gremlins doubled in numbers again.
Bruce moaned. Now he realized his mistake. The word ‘Gremlin’ doubled the amount of
them. But it was too late now. Also, he needed to check his theory. With regret, he said
“Gremlin” a third and final time. And, sure enough, there were now eight Gremlins in the
living room. It was in a complete state – the curtains were shredded, the lights were off,
the TV was smashed. Two of them dashed into the kitchen and started emptying the
fridge of its contents. Pillows flew across the room and the walls were covered in scratch
marks. Bruce had never seen so much mess. He could only think of one possible solution,
but the town would hardly be happy or grateful to him. His idea was simple - open the
front door, let them out and into the wild.
“Look over here!” he yelled rather pointlessly, as they were so engaged in causing mischief
that they didn’t even notice. He dashed over to the front door and fumbled to get the key
in the lock.
“Here goes nothing,” he whispered under his breath. He pushed the door handle. Almost
immediately, the Gremlins froze and turned around. Then they hurdled over the sofa and
rushed outside. As they made their way down the street, car alarms started and streetlamps flickered. Over the horizon they went. Now his village’s curse had escaped into the
night.
Dylan Andrews, Year 8
A 500 word story based on “
A faint wailing echoed down the dark alleyway. The street asleep and quiet.A bin lorry trundled
down the street, only faintly lit by the yellowish tint of the lamp posts. A rustle in a bin caused a
scattering of feet and a high pitched yelp.
One by one, green heads with boils sprouting from every inch of their pale skin. These peculiar
creatures were called Gremlins.
The leader stepped out, covered head to toe in filth, a mouse tail hanging out of the corner of his
gnarled mouth. He slurped it up like spaghetti and then grunted.
"Find him!" The Gremlins charged around the alleyway, plundering and pillaging the surrounding
bins, boxes and coffins. A Gremlin opened a box and discovered the wailing sound - a baby boy.
He looks around, scared that the others will find him and precariously balanced the box on a fire
escape above him. He then proceeded as usual, ripping apart the alleyway, looking for something.
But what was that something?
That something was the baby which he had previously found. The bin lorry pulled up into the
alleyway and the driver stepped out. He only had a quarter of a second to look surprised until a wave
of Gremlins jumped onto him.
As the sun rose, the Gremlins slept in the same alleyway from the previous night. The sun reflected
off the binman's remains, his bones. As the Gremlins slept peacefully, hid under the mounds of
scraps and garbage, a police van pulled up in the street.
Chief Inspector Grimes stepped into the alleyway, and saw what was suspected to be a homicide.
Confusion was etched across his face as men in forensic suits rushed passed him, closing up the
crime scene.
He kicked a pile of rubbish, and was surprised when his foot hit something hard and slimy. A
Gremlin slowly opened one of his eyelids, exposing his widening iris and yellow eyes.
He sat up suddenly, snarled and jumped towards the policeman, and only stopped when a gunshot
thumped into his chest. A yellow pus-like substance oozed out of the wound, filling the valley with a
sickening stench.
The rest of the Gremlins were already awake by this point, and were all now focused on the
smouldering muzzle of a clock which was hanging limply onto the side of Inspector Grimes. They all
attacked immediately and were eventually forced to retreat up to the rooftops.
Cai Wardough
“The Gremlins” Year 7 Entries
“One
day in 1941, I, Gus Holst, went on a bombing raid in Germany. In the midnight rain, I
saw a huge flash where a food plane was shot down. I heard the shot over the song,
Two Minutes To Midnight by Iron Maiden.
I saw some food land on my wing. Somehow the food stayed there for a while, so I ignored it,
and I heard a creepy voice coming from outside.
Yum, yum, yum, yum." I looked at the on-board clock; 00:05 it read. That was the start of the
biggest mistake of my life - I fed the Gremlins after midnight!
The effects weren't immediate on my return flight. My plane went steeply up on full power.
Minutes later, I was in the outer reaches of the atmosphere and the plane was nearly out of
fuel. I looked at all the surrounding planets going about their day to day life, and just then I
created The Planets music.
Still flying up, it ran out of fuel. The plane started turning. I realized I was hurtling straight towards the landing strip. I had one chance, the landing strip was drawing closer.
I had to jump. Before I knew it, I had pulled the ejector seat. The wind contorted my face as
the ground grew bigger and bigger.
I was extremely glad that we had even basic HALO jump training, I thought, as the parachute
flew out of my back. As it slowed my descent, out of instinct I looked around to check for any
planes.
The next day I went back out to war. This time I made sure that the fuel was full. This time
there was no danger of Gremlin attacks (the time was 12:23) or so I thought. In the middle of
an extremely important defence mission the guns failed. I stared helplessly as my comrades,
friends and recruits were shot down. I had to do an emergency landing to get the menacing
Gremlins away from the guns.
Soon after I was back in the air, shooting down more Germans and Italians than I could
count. The battle waged on for hours, days even. After a day of non-stop fighting, we finally
won.
My memory is a little bad, but I think we lost fifty pilots whereas the Germans lost two
hundred and fifty.
That was one of my last days flying as I was shot under the fuel tank and slowly lost fuel until
the plane stopped. No matter how hard I tried the ejector seat didn't work and I fell a
thousand feet to the ground. Luckily, I only destroyed my legs and broke my arms, I didn't do
anything worse.”
"Is that true?" I asked Gus.
"Yes, every single part is completely true." Gus said.
"Thanks, can I write a book about it?" I asked.
"Yes you definitely can, Roald."
"I will get to work on it immediately." I said, "Bye."
"Bye." Gus replied.
James Hallihan
Design & Technology presents...
...James & the Giant Peach Cobbler
115g melted butter
410g sliced peaches with
juice (2 tins) or
125g self-raising flour
6 fresh peaches
200g caster sugar
prep
10
mins
1) Preheat oven to
200˚C
(gas mark 6).
Grease a 2-litre
baking dish.
4) Stir in milk. pour
this over the
peaches.
1 pinch of salt
cook
35
mins
250ml milk
ready in
45
mins
2) Stir the peaches,
the juice and the
melted butter
together.
Pour into prepared
dish.
3) In a small bowl,
mix the flour, the
sugar and the salt.
5) Bake on the
bottom rack of
oven until lightly
browned (15
minutes). Move to
top rack for 20
more minutes.
6) Serve warm with
cream or ice
cream…
...we promise it’s
not revolting!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Brownies
Ingredients:
Recipe:
85g dark chocolate
1)
Preheat oven to 180oC (gas mark 4).
100g butter
2)
Grease an 18cm2 shallow tin. Line with
baking paper.
3)
Break chocolate and put in a heatproof
bowl with the butter.
4)
Place full bowl over pan of boiling water,
leave to melt, then remove from heat
and cool.
5)
Stir sugars into chocolate mixture with
vanilla.
6)
Beat in eggs and gradually add sifted
flour and cocoa powder. Stir until evenly
blended. Pour mixture into tin.
7)
Bake for 30 minutes until risen but
slightly soft in the middle.
8)
Leave in tin for 5 minutes then transfer to
cooling rack.
9)
Peel off paper & cut into squares.
125g caster sugar
100g light muscovado sugar
100g plain flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons cocoa powder
3 eggs (2 whole, 1 yolk)
Prep: 15mins—cooking: 30mins
10) Enjoy! Yum!
DAHL
chocolate BIRTHDAY
whoopsy-splunkers BFG
CARDIFF
scrumdiddlyumptious
BOYroald
LLANDAFF
Print.
revolting
rhyme
RINGBELLER
gobblefunk
norway
novel