Our English Homepage
Contents
* Where are we?
- Pinpoint us on the map.
- Join us on a
virtual tour of our school premises.
* What is it like? A typical day at
our school
* Sample questions on set books
We are an average-sized Belgian coed secondary school - rather like an
English comprehensive school or an American high school - with an enrolment of
roughly 550 students an a staff of about 50. Some of us are getting a commercial
or vocational education but our school
is mainly academically oriented.
In our neck of the woods we have to go to school till were 18,
so we all go to secondary school for at least 6 years. Those 6 years are split
up into 3 grades, each of which takes at least 2 years. We have to pass loads of
tests and exams every year and if we fail them - Perish the thought! - we may
have to take resits and, if the worst comes to the worst, repeat the entire year
with a younger class.
You will find heaps of detailed information in English about the Belgian education system on the official education site of the Flemish government.
Take a peek, wont you? Dont forget to come back though.
By the way, we are a Catholic school, so we are not state-run. Were
governed by a board of governors - the Dean is one of them, actually. Mind you,
it is the Headmaster and the Deputy Head who
are responsible for the day-to-day running of the school.
* Can you pinpoint us on the maps
below?
Were in Western Europe and we like to believe that our capital is the
capital of Europe as well.
Were in Ronse, a small town 10 km to the southeast of
Oudenaarde. Were situated bang on the language boundary between Flanders and
Wallonia. Most of us speak Dutch - or Flemish as some prefer to call it -
but quite a few have French as their mother tongue. Anyway, were all
bilingual and, naturally, we study English and a little German as well.
* How about a virtual tour?
All aboard! Destination: photo gallery
| - | A typical day starts at
8.15 a.m. with the first bell ringing throughout the building. |
|
| - | There are four 50-minute lessons in the morning with a 15-minute break
after the second. |
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| - | The lunch break is from 11.50 to 13.10. Hot meals are available in the school canteen but most students bring sandwiches and many of them choose to eat them in the nearby park (or pubs). Quite a few go home for dinner too. On Tuesdays and Thursdays youll see some nerds and newbies heading for the Internet classroom. | |
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| - | When the weather is nice we can all sit in a circle and chat. This photograph was taken in the playground during a lunch break. There are three trees (Try saying that ten times in a row!) in the middle and its sheer bliss to sit in the shade (Try saying that ten times too!) and have a good gossip | |
| - | 13.10! Another damned bell! Lessons recommence and seem to last ... forever, i.e. until 15.40 (or 16.35 for the less fortunate ones). |
What's
cool about our school?
* Extracurricular activities:
Two years later we went to de Hoge Venen (= les Hautes Fagnes), a
nature reserve in the east of the country, for a good hike. We had to be very
fit because we had to walk the whole day. We trudged for miles and miles through
a lot of sticky mud and, on top of that, it was sweltering hot, so you could get
blisters and sunstroke into the bargain. We were all tired out but happy when we took a
break.
Last year we went to Paris for three days. That was definitely one of
the highlights of the year. During the day we did a lot of sightseeing. But when
we got back to the hotel we made fun till early in the morning. Too bad we had
to rise and shine at 7 a.m. for another excursion. That was very difficult! Have
you been to Paris?
*
Parties
This year well also be giving a lot of parties. Were particularly
looking forward to our 100
dagen, our 100 days, our Seniors day, if you like. About 100
days before we break up for good we are allowed to have our fling (a bit like
the slaves in Ancient Rome). Instead of following lessons we stage a funny show
to which the whole school is invited. Afterwards we do a lot of eating and
drinking and dancing, all night long.
Are you a party animal too? Check out our Students Page for our party
info. We could do with some original ideas. Any suggestions? Lets swap.
*
Most of our teachers are very friendly. We give them nicknames like
Teletubbie, Zombie, Lambik, Snoopy etc.
*
School drama
| - | The Students Page, of course, and the Photo Gallery, the Sports Page. |
| - | Theres also a pupil who has her own Poetry Page. |
| - | We really pride ourselves on our fabulous collection of External
Links.
On-line translation help is available there from Woordenboeken. |
| - | Should you get bored with all this school stuff and feel like taking a
breath of fresh air in our splendid surroundings,
click
the Ronse
or Vlaamse Ardennen Youre in for some
breathtaking scenery (in a manner of
speaking). |
One Day in the Life of a KSO Glorieux Junior
It all began early in the morning. At about 7.00 o clock my radio alarm started to play, but it was no use, the music was no match for my tiredness. When my eyes opened at about 7.45 a.m. I realised I wasnt going to make it. I jumped out of my bed, threw on some clothes and ran downstairs as quickly as I could. After my usual cup of coffee and bowl of cereals I rode downhill on my bike, trying to avoid obstacles such as primary school kids on skateboards. When I finally arrived at school, someone from the office told me I was 1 second late and I had to go and show my diary to a secretary (or whatever they are called these days). When I got there, they asked me what my excuse was for being so late. "Hmm", I said, "let me think." When I was riding to school, I suddenly noticed a cat in despair, she was stuck in a tree, and I got it out. And I would have made it on time, if it hadnt been for those Witnesses of Jehovah who stopped me in the middle of the road to preach the one true religion, and I had to be polite, so I stopped and listened. But when I got rid of them, I was just 1 second late." And they believed me. In the hallway I ran into Mr. De Witte, our principal who said to me, "Brecht, I have a job that needs to be done, and you are the only one who can do it for me." "Of course", I said, "what do you desire me to do?" "I want you to go and find the toilet fresheners," he said, "but be careful, because the road is long and dangerous, and there are many people who want to steal it." So I went on a long search for toilet fresheners and when I had found them, there was some guy with a light sabre standing next to me. "Give me the toilet freshener!" the man said in a dark voice. "No, NEVER!" I replied. And I heard a voice inside me saying: "Use the force, Brecht". And I got out my light sabre and we fought bravely, but I won. And brought back the toilet refreshers to Mr. De Witte. And then, finally, I went to class. I had a few tests that day, I went home and told my folks about my stories at school, but nobody seemed to care
By Brecht
Verstichel
5WW
29-05-2002
Jurassic
Park 
1) Write about the picture on the extra sheet (= p 56) .
Who is this man? What is his name? What does he do?
What is he doing? Where is he going? What is happening?
2) Yes,
said Grant. But how did InGen make these apatosaurs? Where did they get the
dinosaur
DNA? You need DNA to make a living thing. You cant get DNA from fossils. No
one has ever found
a whole body of a dinosaur. So how did they get dinosaur DNA?
You are Hammonds chief geneticist!
a) What is your name?
b) Explain to Grant how you got the
dinosaur DNA and why you need CRAY XMP
computers
Taste
and Other Tales 
These are the titles of the stories that you have read:A Swim, Taste, Mrs Bixby and the Colonels Coat, The Way Up To Heaven, The Sound Machine, The Leg of Lamb, Poison.
Which title is missing?
Now write the correct title under each of the following extracts. Two of them are from the same story.
The man went over to a drawer and fetched
a ticket and put it on the table.
Its probably right under our noses.
She looked around quickly and saw sailing
past her through the air this small man dressed in white shorts and tennis
shoes, shouting as he went.
She felt extremely strong and, in some
strange sort of way, wonderful. She was a little breathless with it all, but
this was more from pure astonishment at what she had done than from anything
else.
Its no good lying, Doctor, he
said. I know what it means. Its going to be the same all over again.
The little Indian was using all his
willpower to keep him quiet.
You dont know these pawnbrokers, my
dear.
Dont be stupid! Its all too silly
for words. I refuse to be offered like this.
I am so sorry
but it will heal
it will heal.
Wuthering
Heights 
We got here after sunset. Your old fellow-servant brought out a light, gave me an ugly look, and took away the horses. Heathcliff stayed to speak to him, and I entered the kitchen, a dirty, untidy hole. I dare say you wouldnt recognise it: it is so changed since it was in your care. By the fire stood a rough-looking, dirty child, rather like Catherine in the eyes and about the mouth, whom I realised must be .I tried to make friends, but he first cursed, and then set a dog on me.
I wandered round the yard, and knocked at a door. It was opened by a tall man, very untidily dressed, with masses of uncut hair He, too, was like our Catherine .It was her brother. He let me in and shut the door. I saw I was in the huge room that used to look so bright and cheerful when I visited it years ago. Now it is dusty and uncared for. I asked if I might call the maid and be shown to a bedroom. Mr Earnshaw did not answer. He appeared to have forgotten my presence, and seemed so strange and unwelcoming that I hesitated to disturb him again.
I remembered that four miles away lay my delightful home, containing the only people I love on earth; yet there might as well be an ocean between us!
At last I repeated my question.
We have no maid, said Earnshaw. You must wait on yourself.
Where must I sleep, then? I wept. I was tired and miserable.
Joseph will show you Heathcliffs room, he replied. Be so good as to turn your key and fasten the door.
But why, Mr Earnshaw? I asked.
( ..)
Wouldnt it be wiser to order him to leave the house?
No! shouted Earnshaw.
Why not?
b) Answer the I-narrators questions.
Brave New World 
Alternate Thursdays were Bernards Solidarity Service days. After an early dinner at the Aphroditaeum (to which Helmholtz had been elected under Rule Two) he took leave of his friend and, hailing a taxi on the roof, told the man to fly to the Fordson Community Singery. The machine rose a couple of hundred metres, then headed eastwards, and as it turned, there before Bernards eyes, gigantically beautiful, was the Singery. Flood-lighted, its three hundred and twenty metres of white Carrara-surrogate gleamed with a snowy incandescence over Ludgate Hill; at each of the four corners of its helicopter platform an immense T shone crimson against the night, and from the mouths of twenty-four vast golden trumpets rumbled a solemn synthetic music. (Chapter V, §2)
* Describe the Solidarity Service that Bernard
attends in this chapter. How does it end?
* What is Bernards friend like (to look at / as a person)? What does he do?
* What have Bernard and his friend got in common? How do they differ?
* How is the immense T to be accounted for?
* How does the Carrara-surrogate typify Huxleys portrayal of the New
World? Find a similar phrase
in the paragraph above that helps to prove your point.
BONUS What does the abbreviation V.P.S. stand for?
We would really appreciate it if you would
just take a few minutes to mail us:
We will reply promptly.
Cool school!
