A-level English

Forging creative connections in King Lear

31st Jan 2022

Any teacher introducing King Lear in the classroom, whether for the first, or even the 20th time, can’t but help feel daunted by the sheer philosophical and emotional heft of Shakespeare’s most-studied tragedy. How do we convey the significance and complexity of its over-arching themes, such as power, loyalty and… Read More

Exploring Childhood in Hard Times

1st Oct 2021

‘If we can only preserve ourselves from growing up, we shall never grow old and the young may love us to the last,’ declared Dickens.  This call to protect the magic and wonder of childhood concluded his New Year’s Day essay, published in his magazine Household Words, almost exactly a… Read More

Mapping a more diverse English curriculum

28th May 2021

Quite rightly, schools are taking steps to ensure that their English curriculums are more representative of the diverse country that we live in. Many students, regardless of their background, still feel isolated from what they have been learning in their lessons. As teachers, we need to ask two questions before… Read More

Top tips for exploring Hamlet’s key themes

1st Sep 2020

Year 12 students returning to school to begin their AS and A-level courses are probably feeling rather like Hamlet at this moment, their heads ‘a distracted globe’ filled with conflicting thoughts. And Hamlet can be a daunting play at the best of times. But it doesn’t have to be –… Read More

Lively activities for teaching Wuthering Heights

10th Oct 2019

Wuthering Heights is an epic, sweeping, iconic Gothic novel that is ideal for AS and A Level teaching. With its tragic love story, it can’t exactly be called light reading so here are some thoughtful ideas for lessons that enable students to become involved in close textual analysis through creativity and drama. Read More