A room for a quieter lunch

Text A: an original contemporary practice extract.

When our school opened a quiet room at lunchtime, I expected it to feel like a place for people who wanted to be alone. Instead, I found pupils reading, drawing or simply sitting without having to compete with the noise of the dining hall. I could still meet friends there; we just spoke more softly.

The room is useful because lunch does not feel the same for everyone. Some people enjoy a busy space, while others need a calmer break before afternoon lessons. A quiet room gives pupils a choice. It should not replace the dining hall or become a place where people are sent when they have done something wrong.

There are only a few seats, so it can be full. Even so, keeping the room available matters. A short, calmer break can make the rest of the day feel easier to manage.

Text B: an original contemporary practice extract.

The new quiet room is a good idea, but it cannot be the school’s answer to every difficult lunchtime. I tried it once and found it peaceful. I also noticed that the few seats filled quickly, while pupils who wanted somewhere to talk still had the same crowded dining hall.

A calm room may help someone who finds noise tiring. But a school should also ask why the other shared spaces are so difficult to use. If the quiet room becomes the only comfortable place, pupils may feel that they have to choose between silence and a busy lunch with friends.

Keep the room, but do not treat its existence as proof that lunchtime works well for everyone. Improve the spaces pupils already share, and make sure there is room for different ways of spending a break.

Compare the writers’ attitudes towards providing a quiet lunchtime space and the ways they communicate those attitudes. Develop your comparisons using evidence selected from each extract.

In your response, you may consider what each writer values, how their experiences shape their views, and how their endings develop their perspectives.