Billy Elliot
c Pearson Education Limited 2007 Billy Elliot - Teacher’s notes 1 of 3
Teacher’s notes LEVEL 3 PENGUIN READERS
Teacher Support Programme
About the Author
Billy Elliot is originally a British film (2000) directed by
Stephen Daldry. The screenplay was written by Lee Hall
and then adapted as a novel by Melvin Burgess, who is a
popular and prolific writer of young adult fiction. Some of
his works are Junk, Bloodtide and Doing It.
Summary
Billy Elliot is the son of a poor coal miner in Northern
England who is very different from all the other boys: he
prefers dancing to boxing and he wants to become a ballet
dancer!
Chapter 1: Billy, whose mother has died, stays at home
taking care of his grandma, Nan, while his father and
brother are on strike on the picket line fighting for the
coal mines not to be closed.
Chapter 2: Billy’s father, Jackie, worries about his country
and about the future and particularly about his son, Billy,
because he is different from other boys. When Jackie sees
Billy dancing round the boxing ring instead of fighting, he
gets very angry.
Chapter 3: After taking his boxing lessons, Billy sees the
girls in Mrs Wilkinson’s class across the hall. As he watches
them, he starts making the same ballet moves and he soon
ends up in the ballet class learning how to spin and even
wearing ballet shoes himself.
Chapter 4: Jackie worries about his two sons. Tony is
always angry and acting crazy trying to start a fight with
the scabs, since they want to break the strike. Billy spins
round in circles saying he is practising a boxing move
but he looks like a ballet dancer. Jackie learns Billy has
not taken his boxing classes for months and has kept the
money.
Chapter 5: Jackie sees Billy taking ballet lessons and gets
furious. They both argue and Billy runs away to Mrs
Wilkinson’s house. She tells Billy that he should audition
for the Royal Ballet School and that she will teach him.
Chapter 6: Billy visits his friend, Michael, who is wearing
his sister’s clothes and lipstick. Billy tells Michael that he
wants to be a ballet dancer in London. They both realise
that they are different from the other boys of their age in
their town.
Chapter 7: Billy starts practising for a ballet audition and
gets very nervous as it gets closer. Jackie and Tony have a
fight and Tony runs away. One night Billy sees his dead
mother, Sarah, and feels that she wants him to dance at
the audition.
Chapter 8: Tony attacks a policeman’s horse and ends up
in jail. Jackie and Billy go to court to fetch him and Billy
misses his audition. Mrs Wilkinson gets furious and tells
the Elliots what has happened. Tony can’t believe that his
brother wants to be a ballet dancer.
Chapter 9: Michael, in a dancing skirt, and Billy, in
his ballet shoes, stand in the boxing ring. While Billy is
showing his friend some ballet moves, his father enters the
hall and sees them. Billy jumps, spins and dances for his
father, who leaves the hall upset but very surprised with
what he has seen.
Chapter 10: Jackie wants to help Billy audition in
London and he knows that he needs a lot of money for
that. He sells Billy’s mother’s ring and decides to go back
to work in the mines although he will become a scab.
Chapter 11: Tony is shocked to see his father inside the
bus entering the mines. He tries to stop him but Jackie
tells him in tears that he is doing it for Billy’s future.
Tony persuades his father not to work in the mines and
they both ask George, Billy’s former boxing teacher, for
help. They soon organise a raffle to raise money for Billy’s
audition.
Chapter 12: Jackie and Billy go to London. Billy is
very nervous and feels he doesn’t belong there. When he
finishes the audition, he is sad and hits a boy. The teachers
call Billy and Jackie into the audition room. They tell Billy
off because of what he has done and they also ask him
some questions.
Chapter 13: All the family is nervous after the audition
and, when the letter from the Royal Ballet School finally
arrives, they are all gladly surprised to learn that Billy has
got into the school. However, there is no party because the
strike ends on that day and the workers have to go back to
work because the bosses have won.
Chapter 14: Billy leaves for London and says goodbye to
Mrs Wilkinson, his friends, neighbours and especially his
mother.
Chapter 15: Time goes by and Jackie and Tony go to
London to see Billy on his first night as the main dancer in
the Royal Ballet Company. Billy dances wonderfully and
they are all proud of him.
Melvin Burgess
