On Tuesday 6th May, the English Department welcomed Dr. Beth Kandemir from Kingston Grammar School to share her expertise on the life and work of the English writer Angela Carter with our A-Level English students. This was the second such exchange between the two schools this year, with Dr. Byers having visited Kingston Grammar School in the autumn to deliver a lecture on the Irish poet Seamus Heaney for the benefit of their A-Level English cohort.
In her lecture, Dr. Kandemir provided fascinating insight into Carter’s biography, literary career, and influences, as well as the historical, literary, and psychoanalytical contexts of her work. As Year 12s are currently studying Carter’s seminal collection of short stories The Bloody Chamber, and Year 13s are revising the text ahead of their exams, Dr. Kandemir’s visit was a timely one and greatly appreciated by staff and students alike.