Text A: an original contemporary practice extract.

The school opened the small courtyard at break time after pupils asked for somewhere to sit outside. On the first morning, I took my lunch there and found a bench beside the wall. It was quieter than the dining hall, but not silent: two friends were comparing revision notes, and someone at the far end was drawing in a notebook. I liked that nobody had to explain why they were there. The courtyard had made a little space for different kinds of break.

By the end of the week, I had begun to recognise the regulars. A pupil who usually ate alone waved me over, and we talked about the plants growing beside the path. The courtyard had not turned us into a club or solved anyone’s problems. It had simply made it easier to sit near other people without having to join a conversation. I still sometimes choose the busy dining hall. Having another place to go is what matters.

Text B: an original contemporary practice extract.

I tried the new courtyard because I thought a break outside would feel different from another crowded lunch queue. At first, it did. There was room to sit, and the open sky seemed to make the school day less enclosed. Then groups began to claim the benches. They did not mean to keep anyone out, but I found myself looking for a spare corner before I had even chosen where to sit.

The courtyard was not a bad idea. Some pupils clearly enjoyed being there, and the plants made the walk past it more pleasant. But a space can be open and still feel difficult to enter. I would rather see a few more small tables, so someone arriving alone could sit without seeming to interrupt a group. I went back to the dining hall the next day. At least there, I knew where to queue.