Jane Austen at 250 - secondary assembly

Educational calendar

Aim

To mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen in 2025; to celebrate her contribution to storytelling and consider celebrity.

Video summary

Three young poets / spoken word performers perform short pieces inspired by Jane Austen and her works. The first is Emily Kate Groves, who writes about Austen's creation of strong female characters. The second contribution is from Casey Bailey, who considers how Austen's works include acute observation. The final contributor is Lizzie Lovejoy, who focuses on writing about 'what you know' and Austen's focus on her particular social class.

A written verison of the poems can be found on the assembly framework PDF and in the PowerPoint below.

16 December 2025 will mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen - one of the most celebrated writers in the English language.

Jane Austen was born in a small village in Hampshire in 1775. She was one of eight children - part of a middle-class, largely unremarkable, family. She began writing in her teens.

Austen's reputation is built on a comparatively small body of work: just six published novels, two of which were not published until after her death. Her first novel, Sense and Sensibility, appeared in 1811. Her next novel, Pride and Prejudice - which she described as her 'own darling child' - followed in 1813. Mansfield Park was published in 1814, then Emma in 1816.

All of Austen's novels were published anonymously, so she achieved comparatively little acclaim during her lifetime and enjoyed only modest financial reward from her work.

In 1816, Austen began to suffer from ill-health, probably due to Addison's disease. She travelled to Winchester to receive treatment, and died there on 18 July 1817. Two more novels, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey, were published posthumously and a final novel was left incomplete.

Austen's work is characterised by social commentary, irony and wit. She created strong female characters, and showed that the inner thoughts and feelings of her characters - rather than action - was suitable material for a novel. She is unusual in that she is revered by both critics and readers alike. She is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

Austen's works have been translated into more than 40 languages. They have been the source for countless adaptations for stage, TV and screen and the blockbusters 'Bridget Jones's Diary' and 'Clueless' were both based on her works.

In 2017 Austen became the face on the reverse side of the £10 note.

• Who do pupils think are the most famous writers in English?
• Why do pupils think great writers - like Shakespeare - are so revered?
• What do they know of Jane Austen? Can they name any of her novels? [Pride and Prejudice is a GCSE set text].

• Jane Austen is the face of the £10 note (ie the side that is not the late Queen / current King). Would a great footballer ever be given that honour? Or the inventor of a video game? If not, why not?
• If it was their choice, who would pupils put on the £10 note?
• What qualities of Jane Austen's writing do the spoken word performers celebrate?
• What does it mean when we say 'Write what you know'?
• Jane Austen's novels are 'By a Lady'. Why do pupils think that Austen published her works anonymously? Do they think a writer or other artist might choose to do that today? [Emily Kate Groves' piece makes reference to the anonymity at the end].