Flipping Fantastic Jane Langford SYNOPSIS

Flipping Fantastic by Jane Langford is a story about twin brothers and their mother. Tristan is an outstanding, brilliant and a capable boy but James is shy, nervous and lacks confidence. Both of them are about to finish their primary education at Peter Hill Primary soon and plan to begin their new school term in two different schools. Their mother decides to enrol James in Highfields and Tristan who is physically challenged and wheelchair bound, in a special school (Chesterlea Grange). Both brothers are confused over the thought of being separated as they have never been apart from each other. Since they rely on each other, the twins are concerned about how they are going to cope in their new school environment. The mother wants the twins to be independent. She is confident that Tristan would be able to cope well at Chesterlea Grange. However, she worries about James and wonders how he is going to manage all alone at Highfields. Tristan changes his mind about Chesterlea Grange, in order to be with James. Besides that, the school is far away from home and he would only be able to see James once a week. On the other hand, James manages to persuade him by reminding him of all the facilities and activities in his new school that Tristan dreamt of. Knowing James cannot cope himself alone, Tristan calls on their friend Kiara Jones to help James in Highfields. The twins at last realise that they have made the right decision and their new school environment is flipping fantastic.

SETTINGS
Peter Hill Primary: Tristan and James are finishing their final year in this primary school. They perform in a play entitled The Adventures of Tom Sawyer which is the last activity in the school. Chesterlea Grange: This is a residential school for students of special needs situated far away from Tristans home. Tristan looks forward to be enrolled in this special school which has all the facilities that he has dreamt of such as a drama studio, games room, swimming pool and a paddock. The school also has sports activities such as basketball tournament, archery contest, wheelchair games and so on. Highfields: This is the school that James is going to be enrolled in when the new school term begins. At the end of the story, James feels excited about his new school as most of his schoolmates are there including Kiara Jones.

CHARACTERS
Tristan and James : They are the main characters in the story. They are twin brothers who are dependent on each other. Tristan is more confident and outstanding than James. James is shy, nervous and has a low self-esteem. Mum: She is the mother of Tristan and James. She is determined to send her sons to different schools so that they would be independent and confident about their own abilities ______________________________________________________

Answer these true and false questions.

1. James is nervous about the thought of being alone in Highfields without Kiara Jones around. 2. James is quite happy about leaving Peter Hill Primary because he doesnt have to take part in school plays anymore. 3. Chesterlea Grange has all the facilities that James like. 4. Tristan agrees to go to Chesterlea Grange to please his mother. 5. Tristan plays the role of Tom Sawyer in the school play. 6. Mr. Sewell is Tristans favourite Maths teacher. 7. James persuades Tristan to go to Chesterlea Grange. 8. James dislikes drama. 9. Mum thinks that it is a mistake choosing different secondary schools for her sons. 10. Jessica Parker is the twins classmate Answer these question to help you understand the story. 1. Who is the writer of the short story,"Flipping Fantastic"? 2.Who are the main characters here? 3. What do you think is the approximate age of the two main characters? 4. What is physically wrong with Tristan? 5.What does Tristan enjoys that James dislikes? 6. What games does James like to play? 7.Which secondary schools would the boys be going to after the summer holidays? 8. What is the main difference in the characters of the twins? 9. How does James describe his new school? 10. How does Tristan describes his new school?

THEMES
Fear of the unknown: James dreads being alone in Highfields without the help of Tristan. Although Tristan feels excited about his new school, at times he feels confused at being alone and far away from home and his brother in the new school. Motherly pride: Mum takes pride in her boys ability. She admires Jamess courage to perform on stage despite being an introvert and appreciates Tristans great performance. as Tom Sawyer in the school play. Other themes/ sub-themes: independent, brotherly love. a caring society, being

VALUES
Independence, concern, gratefulness, appreciation, consideration, helpfulness