Freedom to Teach

Leaping across the writing gap: building resilience and independence at KS3

Leaping across the writing gap: building resilience and independence at KS3

The impact of the disrupted nature of the last few years is perhaps most felt on the continuity which is key to progression. It is surely harder than ever to get a sense of just what level students transition...

5 min

Thinking about Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee

Thinking about Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth II. Born Elizabeth Alexandria Mary Windsor on 21st April 1926, crowned Queen of England 6th February 1952. As of 2015, she became the longest reigning monarch in British History. Now – we celebrate her Platinum...

5 min

How past voices can help to shape a more inclusive future

How past voices can help to shape a more inclusive future

The outpouring of compassion by the British public after the refugee crisis following the Russian invasion of the Ukraine has prompted some commentators to contrast responses to white European migrants, with migrants of colour, both now and in the...

6 min

The power of retrieval practice

The power of retrieval practice

During my first five years of teaching retrieval practice has been one of the key strategies that has had the greatest impact on my practice and, as a result, the students’ learning. There are so many benefits of retrieval...

5 min

Beyond the traditional boycott narrative – time for change, action not words

Beyond the traditional boycott narrative – time for change, action not words

In December 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat when asked. All the other Black people on the bus complied but she did not. The image of a quiet respectable old lady sits comfortably in the...

5 min

Scandal and storytelling in The Picture of Dorian Gray

Scandal and storytelling in The Picture of Dorian Gray

‘The love that dare not speak its name’ is generally understood to be a euphemistic reference to homosexuality. The phrase is commonly associated with Oscar Wilde; indeed Wilde was cross-examined about it by the prosecuting counsel Charles Gill when...

7 min

Forging creative connections in King Lear

Forging creative connections in King Lear

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...

6 min

Secure Science for GCSE and get students back on track

Secure Science for GCSE and get students back on track

Ever wondered how on earth you will fit all that science into the time you have left with Year 11? I had that same thought for years as a Head of Science, with the turbulence of the past...

6 min

Black history is British history

Black history is British history

Simon Henderson and Teni Oladehin, authors of the new Collins Black British History KS3 Teacher Resource Pack, explore how you can integrate Black British history into your KS3 curriculum.  

6 min

Exploring childhood in Hard Times

Exploring childhood in Hard Times

‘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...

5 min

Considering Dracula and the supernatural: teaching tips

Considering Dracula and the supernatural: teaching tips

Gothic literary texts can take so many different forms, but they share a preoccupation with the crossing of boundaries: between life and death, the past and the present, ancient and modern, good and evil or more generally, between what...

5 min

Mapping a more diverse English curriculum

Mapping a more diverse English curriculum

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...

4 min