Formal and Informal Emails

Subject: You'll never guess what happened at the robotics final!

Hi Hassan,

How's life in Alexandria? I hope your new school is treating you well and that you've found someone who laughs at your terrible jokes as much as I do. Sorry I've been so quiet lately – the last three weeks have been absolute chaos. Still, I had to tell you about Saturday, because it was honestly one of the best days of my life.

You remember the inter-school robotics competition Mr Fathy kept talking about? Well, our team finally entered it. There were four of us: me, Ziad, Mostafa and Adam (the new boy who knows more about circuits than our teacher does). Each team had to build a small robot that could follow a black line round a twisting track, pick up three coloured blocks and drop them into the right boxes – all in under two minutes.

The day itself was a roller coaster. We arrived at the sports hall at eight o'clock, and the place was buzzing with nervous teams, beeping machines and parents waving flags. Our first run was a disaster: halfway round the track, our robot, Falcon, spun in a circle and refused to move. Ziad turned as white as a sheet. We had twenty minutes before our final attempt, so we crouched in a corner, opened Falcon up and discovered that a single wire had come loose. Adam fixed it with a hair clip borrowed from someone's little sister. I'm not even joking.

When our name was called again, my hands were shaking so much I could barely put Falcon on the start line. Then it zoomed off, followed the line perfectly and dropped the last block into its box with four seconds to spare. The whole hall cheered. We didn't win first prize, but we came second out of fourteen schools, and the judges gave us a special award for "best problem-solving under pressure". I don't think I've ever felt so proud – or so exhausted.

Next year's competition is going to be held in Alexandria, so you have no excuse: you have to come and watch us, or even better, join a team at your new school and challenge us! Imagine us meeting in the final. I'd let you win… probably.

Anyway, I'd better go – I've got a mountain of maths homework waiting for me. Write back soon and tell me everything about your new school.

Speak soon,

Ali

Subject: Request for permission to hold a charity book fair on Thursday 21 May

Dear Mrs Mansour,

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing on behalf of Class 8B to request your permission to hold a charity book fair in the school library on Thursday 21 May, during the lunch break and for one hour after school.

The idea came from a class discussion about the children's hospital near our school, which has recently opened a small reading room for young patients. The nurses told our form tutor, Mr Ramy, that the room has very few books; most of its shelves are still empty. As a class, we would like to collect second-hand books from students and families, sell them at low prices, and use the money to buy new books for the hospital. We believe this project would also encourage students to read more, which is one of the school's main aims this year.

We have already thought carefully about how the fair would be organised. Over the next three weeks, students would bring books in good condition to a collection box in the library. A team of eight volunteers from our class would sort the books by age group and price them between five and twenty pounds. On the day itself, the books would be displayed on tables in the library, and two students would be responsible for the money at all times, supervised by Mr Ramy. Any books that are not sold would be donated directly to the hospital.

In our opinion, the whole school would benefit from this event: younger students would be able to buy affordable books, older students would gain experience in planning and teamwork, and the school would build a positive link with the local community. Most importantly, the children at the hospital would receive books that could make their long days a little brighter.

I would be very grateful if you could consider our request. I have attached a short plan, including a timetable and a list of volunteers, and I would be happy to meet you at a convenient time to answer any questions.

Thank you for your time and support. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Laila Samir

Class 8B