The lasting popularity of Arthur Miller’s plays is undeniable. As I write this, there are two Miller productions in the West End: ‘The Price’ (1968) and ‘The American Clock’ (1980). Upcoming productions include the hotly anticipated ‘All My Sons’ (1947) starring Sally Field at the Old Vic and ‘Death of a Salesman’ (1949) at the […]
Read more
Macbeth is often presented as a villain and it is difficult to defend him without taking the obvious route of blaming Lady Macbeth for his actions. In my view, it is not all about her manipulation of him. As I said in a previous blog , I think he has made his mind up to act on […]
Read more
Romeo & Juliet is sometimes perceived as ‘just too silly’. I disagree. In my experience teenage students relate to R&J and enjoy it. Why? Because the themes are themes they understand. Because the characters are people they can to some extent relate to. Because although it’s a tragedy (and I must admit I find the […]
Read more
Banquo – Mr Nice Guy? Banquo, I admit, is a character I have never considered in much detail – any notes, character profiles of him simply present him as loyal, sensible etc. He is Macbeth’s friend, Duncan’s supporter, a sort of all-round good guy who is horribly betrayed and murdered by his bezzie. Rarely is […]
Read more
In my previous blog I outlined our motivations for becoming a Reading School. We were clear why we wanted to do it and the impact we really hoped we would have. We just needed to think of a hook; a way to get the students to buy in to the new culture. We decided the […]
Read more
What’s Lady Macbeth really like? What is her first name? Think about the following questions: Would she take sugar in her tea? Would she run the London marathon?Would she be a good parent? We are often told that Lady Macbeth challenges the stereotype of women. It has become a stereotype in itself to describe her […]
Read more
Last year we surveyed over 1,300 primary and secondary teachers in order to better understand the word gap as experienced within schools and you can read the full report here . As a result of this research, we have partnered with Teachit to develop a downloadable pack of resources and initiatives that can be immediately used in the […]
Read moreJill Carter dispels the popular myth that grammar is boring and explains why she thinks it should be revered by teachers and students alike. In the years I have spent around teaching, one of the main subject-related complaints of English teachers is SPaG. The main complaints seem to be: ‘I wasn’t taught grammar […]
Read moreWithout enough language – a word gap – a child is seriously limited in their enjoyment of school and in their success both within school and beyond it. The Oxford Language Report: Why Closing the Word Gap Matters , which brought together the thoughts of a number of leading academics and practitioners, was based on market research with over 1,300 primary and secondary […]
Read moreThe last few years have seen us, as English teachers, deluged in pre-20th century literature and non-fiction texts. Simultaneously in the 21st century we have been seriously exploring the treatment of women in society – pay gaps and sexual harassment have been major issues – and rightly so. So how can the male dominance […]
Read more
