I tenuously – and hopefully – suggest that the days of measuring progress in one single lesson are gone. I remember, with pounding anxiety, observers looking for a knowledge check …

A jewel in a ten-times-barr’d-up chest Is a bold spirit in a loyal breast. William Shakespeare: Richard II – 1.1.178-183 As the data comes in on results’ day – or …

A short blog on the whats and the hows of language in decision-making conversations. I am a people pleaser, at heart. I hate disagreements and in my NQT year, I’d …

You’d be hard-pushed to find at least one person in every school who doesn’t describe him- or herself as a ‘research-led’ practitioner. I think you’d find it equally hard to …

Shakespearean English, to some pupils, initially presents itself like an unknown language. I see some children stare at it blankly, sometimes panicked. We all know, though, that more they read …

Comments on Tissue by Imtiaz Dharker, written for my GCSE English Literature students. If you’re revising at home, without your anthology, a copy of the poem can be found here: …

Picture of meerkats from Google Images, labelled for non-commercial reuse. I am now coming to the end of ten years as a Head of English. I’m also in the process …

A post for teachers – especially non-specialists – of GCSE English Literature “Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth in 1812. His father was sent to debtors’ prison when he was …

Firstly, my thanks to Neil for the review copy. It’s taken me a while to find the time to write this, but I have read the whole book, several times. …

This is a personal one. It’s about tenacity and how we can get things right with practice. “A story is told of a king who summoned the nation’s best living …