English Extension 2 is the capstone of English study in High School, and a shining exemplar of the possibilities of project-based learning. A deeply research-driven enterprise that allows students independence and autonomy, while supporting them with expert advice and mentorship, and allowing them to pursue an area of passion, it is not difficult to see why English Extension 2 is such a thrilling course.
In 2021, more than 88 per cent of the students who undertook English Extension 1 also took English Extension 2, developing, over a period of more than 10 months, diverse and arresting major works in a range of forms, from creative nonfiction to podcasts, poetry, scripts and short fiction. As you will see from these phenomenal works, there are searching and urgent questions about so many wide-ranging topics, truly reflecting the creativity and ingenuity of the students who undertook the course this year.
There are works here that investigate the banality of evil, humanity’s connection to nature, the destructiveness of “cancel culture”, the metaphysics of fictional texts, growing up between cultures, working through the secrets of family trauma, the question of toxic masculinity, the intensity of mother-daughter relationships, “Weird” fiction, existential meaning and purpose, and more.
I commend these works to you, and celebrate the skill, tenacity and inventiveness of the amazing 2021 English Extension 2 cohort.