This year, the 6th June marks the 75th anniversary since the D-Day landings in 1944. Operation Overlord is one of those events in history which many students will have at least an understanding of what it was, but may not know the full picture. The 75th anniversary also gives us the opportunity to reflect on […]
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Summer exams are almost here. It is a time for cautious optimism, but also a little teacher anxiety, as we will our pupils on to succeed. Worried questions race through our minds: what if they don’t understand the question? What if a word in the question trips them up? What if they give up? Each […]
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These three words have been on the lips of many school leaders during 2019 and now will continue to be at the forefront of every school’s agenda. 14th May saw the latest OFSTED framework finally published with only minor changes from its draft form released earlier in the year. The one significant change being the […]
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‘It’s dollars and cents, nickels and dimes; war and peace, it’s nickels and dimes, what’s clean? Half the goddam country is gotta go if I go,’ All My Sons, Act 3 Arthur Miller’s All My Sons (1947) has been attracting audiences with two major revivals: Sally Field and Bill Pullman star in the acclaimed Old […]
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May brings lots of exciting opportunities, but the highlight of the calendar for me has to be the Historical Association Conference . This year it is taking place on the 17th-18th May in Chester – a city steeped in History, which should inspire your teaching from Key Stage 1 through to A Level. Every year, I doubt that the […]
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In September, upon joining a new school (and thus a new department) I decided to give myself a target: to make sure that departmental meetings were meaningful, insightful and valued. In short, I wanted to ensure that our Geography departmental meetings were more than just a discussion of admin or a list of discussion points […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Exams are just around the corner, and your students are probably hard at work revising. We asked you to send us some of your top revision tips earlier this year – we loved them so much that we thought they’d be useful to share so that you can pass on to your students. Here are […]
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