GCSE

Theatre Masks

Identity and Disguise in Twelfth Night

We are living in a time when identity, particularly gender identity, has become a highly topical issue. How we identify others and identify ourselves has become a key concern, with whole websites established to help people. It’s constantly in the news, from Billy Porter’s appearance on the Oscars red carpet… Read More

The importance of effective planning for the GCSE 9-1 English exams

In my experience of both teaching and marking GCSE English papers, you can quickly recognise from the first few sentences a response that has not been planned. I completely understand the temptation of students to feel that they are under time constraint and it’s quicker just to get straight to… Read More

Chemistry goes to the Moon

In July 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the surface of the Moon.  It was the climax of the American Apollo programme.  A further ten astronauts (all men unfortunately) walked on the Moon. The success of the Apollo moon landings was the result of the bravery of the… Read More

Three things I’ve learnt from teaching Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is probably the best known of Shakespeare’s tragedies. The play has universal themes with an enduring appeal: community conflict, generational conflict, the blurred lines between love and hate… Little wonder that students find studying Romeo and Juliet a relatable and rewarding experience. During my decade or so… Read More

Considering Macbeth’s Soliloquies

Crime drama is one of the most popular genres on television and one that students are familiar with. Just look at the success of shows like Sherlock, Line of Duty and Luther, which attract massive audiences and clouds of online comment. One of the features of such shows and key… Read More

Lessons learnt from the GCSE 9-1 Maths reform

Wow! Where has the time gone.  It only seems like 5 minutes ago that the GCSE reforms were announced, and here we are – 4 sittings later (don’t forget November!) with the 5th just around the corner. Having been through many reforms/changes/tweaks/updates over my 15-year teaching career (that has also… Read More

GCSE 9-1 English: Two Years In

Naomi Hursthouse It is two years into the cycle of teaching and examining the GCSE 9-1 English course, but what have we learned in that time? In education, we are used to a high turnover in specifications. In my 15 years of teaching, this is the third reinvention of GCSE… Read More