SHREWSBURY SCHOOL

ENTRANCE EXAMINATION
(Fourth Form 14+ entry)
2016

ENGLISH
(1 hour)

Instructions to candidates:

 Answer ALL the questions in SECTION A and ONE question

from
SECTION B.
 Always write in full sentences, paying close attention to
spelling, punctuation and clarity of presentation.
 The quality of your answers will be assessed and you should
think carefully before writing.
 Marks are shown in brackets at the end of each question, and
should be used as guidance for the length of time to spend on
each question.
 Answer on lined paper.

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Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions below.

They were on their way to school when it happened.

They were walking along by the crossing when the fire engine went past and Jonah said, “Come on”
Let’s follow it! Let’s find the fire!” and he pelted off down the road. Joe Langley ran after him,
shouting, “No, no, we’ll be late for school! Come back!” 5
But Jonah didn’t, so Joe had to run after him as Jonah chased after the fire engine and the fire engine
disappeared over the hill.
“We’ll never catch it!” Joe shouted.
“It might stop at the traffic lights!”
“Fire engines don’t stop at traffic lights. The only thing they stop for is fires.” 10
It was a ludicrous idea and Joe knew it was, even if Jonah didn’t. Jonah saw something, he wanted it,
after it he went. The impossibility of achieving his ambitions never entered his head. He always
wanted what couldn’t be had, yet even when he didn’t get it he didn’t seem disappointed. He just
focused his mind on something else equally unattainable and pursued that instead.
“Let’s get the bikes!” Jonah shouted. “We might be able to keep up with it if we get the bikes.” 15
But Joe couldn’t keep up with Jonah. He had a stitch in his side already and the effort of running
was starting to hurt, the deep breaths of air searing his lungs. Anyway, how could they get the bikes?
They’d have to go home first and that would take even longer. By the time they’d done that, the
fire engine could be anywhere. And what if Joe’s mum was home and she saw him back for his bike
and not in school like he should be? He’d be up to his neck in trouble then. 20
“Come on!”
Joe could feel himself slowing.
“Jonah! There’s no point! Be realistic.”
But realism wasn’t Jonah’s strong point.
And besides, so far as trouble went, there was more than one way of getting into it. If they went on 25
running after the fire engine, they’d be late for school and get into trouble that way. That was the
thing about trouble – it had lots of entrances, but not many exits. In fact, trouble was a one way
street.
Joe stopped, out of breath, hot and winded, and filled with a sense of pointlessness. He’d had
enough. 30
“Jonah! Come back! We’ll never catch it. Come on. Let’s go to school.”
But Jonah ignored him and ran on. He looked back once from the corner of the road, his mouth a
wide grin, his eyes full of all the fun, defiance and sheer delight of it.
“Come on, Langy!”
Joe stood where he was, out of breath, panting, worried and afraid of trouble – just like always – 35
cautious and holding back.
“No, Jonah! Come back! Let’s go to school!”
“Well, if you’re not coming, don’t tell ‘em where I’ve gone, all right? Don’t tell ‘em! Promise?”

Joe nodded reluctantly. Jonah grinned and waved and then turned and ran on, haring off in the 40
direction of the fire engine, which could still be heard if no longer seen. Its screaming siren
announced its route and Jonah ran after it like a dog after a rabbit. He was gone from sight, away
into the warren of back streets and alleys, up to the Five Ways roundabout and then finally out into
the surrounding countryside. He saw the engine again, a streak of red, far away up on the hill.
Going to the country, Jonah thought. Must be a farm, a barn maybe, a hayrack on fire. 45

He ran on. It would stop soon and he would catch it up. He was quite convinced of that. As he
ran he looked to the horizon, searching for some telltale plume of smoke that would give the
location of the fire. He could see none. Maybe it was a false alarm, or an exercise to keep the
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firemen on their toes and stop them getting bored. Maybe it wasn’t a fire at all. Maybe it was an 50
accident, a pile-up on the motorway. They sent fire engines to road accidents, he knew that from
the news. You saw pictures in the papers. They’d be there spraying foam on to dangerous
chemicals that had spilled from tankers, or they’d be getting people out of the wreckage of cars.

Even if it was an accident and not a fire it was still worth seeing. So on he ran. He’d forgotten all 55
about school now, about the trouble he’d get into for being late, about what his gran would say –
about him being a handful and too much for an old woman to bring up on her own. He’d forgotten
about Joe, about Miss Robertson, about mid morning break, about lunch, about games, about
everything. All he could think of was getting there, and seeing what there was to see, and then he
could picture himself telling everyone afterwards – “I saw the fire!” They’d all be wishing they’d seen 60
it too, but they wouldn’t have done, because they didn’t have it in them to run after the fire engine
as it screamed by with sirens blaring. They’d never have thought of it, or, if they had, they’d never
have done it. Having ideas was only part of it; putting them into practice was the real thing.

On he ran. The town was behind him now and farms were ahead. The siren had faded or maybe 65
even been turned off. But it couldn’t be that far away, could it?

Anyway, he wasn’t going to school now, no matter what. He couldn’t. Even if he turned back, he’d
never get there in time. It was easier to take the whole day off now than to go in late and make
excuses which nobody would ever believe. He’d get a note from Gran for tomorrow or just write 70
one himself. He could say he’d been sick. There was only Joe who knew that he wasn’t, and he
wouldn’t say anything. Joe might even do him a favour and put a tick in the register later when Miss
Robertson wasn’t looking. She’d never remember. She always had too much on her mind, what
with class sizes being as big as they were, so she was always saying.
75
Jonah seemed to be leaving everything behind him, not just this Tuesday morning and the usual ways
of passing it and of doing things – not jus the town either. He was leaving more than that. He felt
as if he were running to paradise and abandoning everything he had ever known in exchange of a
better life. It was as if the fire engine were a Pied Piper, and its siren and lights its song of
enchantment. As if it were leading him away from Hamelin to a place where life would be better 80
and happier and full of interest and excitement. It would be a shame not to see Gran any more of
course, and Dad on his rare visits, and Joe too and the rest of his friends. But something had to be
lost for something else to be gained. Gran was getting old now anyway, and always complaining
about her creaking joints and not having enough money and how she shouldn’t be bringing up
children again, not at her time of life. 85

She was all right though was Gran, in her way. It was just that her way was an old, slow, boiled-
cabbage-and-too-many-cats sort of way. It wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted something light and
airy and full of freedom.
90
So Jonah ran on.

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 Section A: Comprehension (45 minutes)

Having read the passage above, answer all the questions below:

1. What does Joe think is the only thing that a fire engine would stop for? 1 mark

2. a) What does Jonah suggest they do to keep up with the fire engine? 1 mark
b) What does Joe feel is wrong with this idea? 2 marks

3. What sort of character is Jonah? Give reasons for your answer taken from the entire 8 marks
passage.

4. Re-read the description of the siren and Jonah’s pursuit of it in lines 40-45. Select three 6 marks
powerful words or phrases from this paragraph. Your choices should include imagery.
Explain how each word or phrase selected is used effectively in the context.
1 mark
5. What is the name of Joe and Jonah’s teacher?
2 marks
6. What sort of friendship do Joe and Jonah have?
2 marks
7. What is unusual about Joe’s family situation?
2 marks
8. Why do you think Jonah “ran on”?

[Total marks: 25]

Section B: Essay (45 minutes)

Answer one question from the choice given below:

1. Choose two of the following and write a descriptive paragraph about each:

 an actor about to walk out onto the stage

 the doctor’s waiting room
 a dog awaiting the return of his owner
 a passenger on a city bus
 a treasured belonging
 a perfect storm
 a fireman

2. Write an article for a teenage magazine entitled: Things can only get better!

3. Write a speech in which you argue for or against the proposition that “Television is the leading
cause of violence in today’s society.”

4. Write a continuation of the story in Section A.

[Total marks: 25]

[Total marks: 50]

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