On Thursday 30 January, a group of 46 students ventured to Southampton to watch Stephen Daldry’s acclaimed production of An Inspector Calls at The Mayflower.

The play, written by J.B.Priestley in 1946, is a set text for the English Literature GCSE. It tells the story of a wealthy family in 1912 and their involvement in a young working girls life and her subsequent desperate suicide.

The students felt that the staging was symbolic and the use of the house on a higher level represented the theme of social class within the play. 

It was also felt by the students that the lighting used on stage helped to represent the theme of social responsibility within the text; the bright light appearing once the inspector arrived highlighted the interrogation of the Birling's morals. 

One student said that, ‘watching the play has really helped me to understand the play and its themes better.’

Another student simply said, ‘I will remember what happens more clearly now.’

The students were impeccably behaved and a credit to Carisbrooke College. Thank you to all the staff who made this trip happen.