10 Things To Do Before You Leave School

10 Things to Do Before You Leave School is the story of Ruby, a teenager whose life fell apart when her father died suddenly: now she's returning to school for her final year, and not sure how she's going to cope. The night before term starts, she finds a list left for her by her father: a list of ten things he thought she should do before she leaves school ...Will she do them? And what will happen when she does?

10 Things is an excellent young adult novel, which deals with serious issues, but is full of humour and insight into a whole range of topics - everyday family relationships, the minefield of teenage social life and love, and ludicrously pretentious student drama among them. It also has plenty to say about school life - including the fabled rite of passage that is 'muck up day' - and that's hardly surprising, because it's written by none other than Bernard O'Keeffe, ex-SPS English teacher and former 8th Form Undermaster. He was kind enough to answer some of the book blog's questions.

Summer Reading

For our final post of the term, Rev Blackstone, Dr Perkins, Mr Boss, Dr Gardam, Ms Padelford and Mr O'Keeffe, all of whom (sadly) are leaving SPS this year, very kindly answered our questions about the books they enjoy.  Here, to inspire you with ideas for summer reading, are their responses.

Frank's Last Invigilation

Today's blog post is a short story by Mr O'Keeffe about Frank, a teacher on the verge of retirement, and the last invigilation session he will ever, ever do.

Not now, Bernard ...

Mr O'Keeffe

There are many books I don't get, but I was surprised last week to discover that I might have been misreading my all-time favourite for many years.

The book in question is David McKee’s Not Now, Bernard, and it's my favourite for several reasons:

1. It features my name in the title

2. I read it to both my children when they were babies

3. I, like Bernard, feel I am often being ignored

4. It features an enormous child-eating monster.

Those four reasons alone are enough to keep it at number one slot for some time. But this weekend I came across another reason why it should stay there.

5. It's not as simple as it seems.

A* for Ian McEwan's Nutshell?

Ian McEwan's latest novel, Nutshell, re-works Shakespeare's Hamlet, from an unusual point of view.  Here's Mr O'Keeffe's response. 

Well, Ian, what can I say? You’ve done it again – out smarted your clever class-mates and dazzled your teacher with a real tour-de-force.

Your classmates chose a more predictable approach. Many wrote as Gertrude (the closet scene being a particular favourite). Some opted for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, despite my warning that this had been very successfully tackled by a former student some years ago. There were a few Horatios, a couple of gravediggers, an Osric, a Laertes, and several Claudiuses. One smart-arse chose Yorick’s skull and another decided to be the arras.

But you, Ian, have outdone them all. You have outsmarted the smartest.

1971

Mr O'Keeffe

Someone once said that writing about music was like dancing about architecture. Whoever it was clearly hadn’t read 1971, a brilliant book which shows that when David Hepworth writes about music it’s like losing yourself on the dance floor to your favourite song or admiring a particularly beautiful building.

Hepworth’s thesis is simple – that 1971, for various reasons, is the greatest year in rock, the greatest not only in terms of the music that was recorded and released in that year but also in the way it marked so many significant transitions.

THE YEAR OF READING DANGEROUSLY - ANDY MILLER

Review by BJO'K

I really enjoyed this. It reminds me of Humiliation, the great game in David Lodge's brilliant comic novel Changing Places. Humiliation is a game played by English Literature academics - you name a work of literature you haven't read and get a point for everyone else who has. It's ages since I read it but I do remember an eminent professor getting into trouble when, in an attempt to win a game, he owns up to never having read Hamlet.