Writing Britain at the British Library is an extraordinary opportunity to see many of the greatest treasures of English Literature – everything from an early fifteenth century copy of The Canterbury Tales to the manuscript of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Best of all, whilst many of us feel a touch of post-Olympics depression, this runs…
The first in a new series for A level students on which I have been musing for a while. More to follow. Those who have suffered my lessons will know that pleasure in reading is rarely something I discuss. Far more likely, I am to be found suggesting (even more likely, pontificating) that texts…
As an English teacher, I am passionate about two things: my subject and the achievement of pupils in that subject. I am concerned, too, that pupils experience the subject in a way which will benefit them in the long run. For many, it will be an A level choice, whilst for some, it will be…
Some of us really do love the idea of libraries and their endless rows of books. Take the National Library of Wales, for instance, with its cavernously inspirational reading room, and when you need a breath of fresh air, uplifting views of Cardigan Bay – it’s hard not to feel one is on the very…
Recently, an article in The Guardian debated the future of the book. Are its days over? Do Kindles and iPads spell the end for reading as we know it? Anthony Seldon, educational guru and headmaster of Wellington College, has apparently removed all but two thousand of the books from the school’s library; the students of…
A level English Literature was criticised last week in a report by Ofqual. According to widespread media reporting, noticeably on the BBC and in The Independent (the latter being quite misleading in my view), A level English Literature has suffered from declining standards. Examination questions, argued Ofqual, have become too predictable, almost formulaic, and there…