Secondary

Thursday

2nd Oct 2025

Do schools need a Year 8 reading test?
The DfE plans to introduce a new reading assessment for Year 8, but how useful would this be for schools? Reading researcher Jessie Ricketts gives her view
Year 8 reading test

Tuesday

23rd Sep 2025

How to answer questions about controversial topics
Politicised debates around events like the assassination of Charlie Kirk can prompt difficult questions in class. Safeguarding lead Thomas Michael sets out how teachers should respond
Glass question mark

Wednesday

10th Sep 2025

The ‘next epidemic of sexual violence’ and what it means for schools
AI is creating new threats to girls, and teachers will be on the frontline of it, argues a PSHE lead at an all girls’ school, who shares her advice on how to help keep students safe
Mobile phone misogyny

Monday

8th Sep 2025

How to use exam results to improve teaching and learning
As heads of department get to work analysing the summer’s GCSE and A-level results, Mark Enser offers his advice for making the process productive, rather than tedious
Analysing Exam results

Monday

1st Sep 2025

Can ‘short reading’ boost reading for pleasure at secondary?
Research suggests that regular reading sessions of just five minutes can make a big difference for young children, so one English teacher decided to trial the same approach with her key stage 3 classes
boy reading by lake

Thursday

7th Aug 2025

Teaching secondary literacy: a reading list
Developing literacy doesn’t stop at primary school, so where can secondary teachers and leaders turn for support on continuing to build this crucial skill?
Girl with key to a book

Wednesday

16th Jul 2025

4 ways to ensure GCSE English promotes reading for pleasure
The common practice of studying texts through small extracts has been blamed for a decline in reading for pleasure. Zofia Niemtus asks the experts what secondary English teaching can do to inspire a love of books
Illustration of teenagers lying on books reading

Monday

14th Jul 2025

How The Beatles help me to teach Shakespeare
Communicating not just how but why GCSE students should engage in textual analysis had always been a challenge for Sarah Ledger, until a book on The Beatles offered a new model
Beatles statue with skull

Thursday

10th Jul 2025

Why we shouldn’t rely on acronyms to help students write
Acronyms like PEE and AFOREST, designed to help students structure their writing, don’t come close to capturing the complexity of learning in English, writes Zoe Enser
Girl writing in a forest

Thursday

3rd Jul 2025

How a ‘community of practice’ can transform teacher CPD
This approach can help teachers to strengthen links to their wider subject communities, boosting professional development in the process, says psychology teacher Lyndsey Hayes
Illustration of figures thinking and sharing ideas

Monday

30th Jun 2025

GCSEs: What are the National Reference Tests?
The National Reference Tests are sat every year, but what are they for and how are they used?

Tuesday

24th Jun 2025

How ‘digital nutrition’ can help keep students safe online
Rather than debating mobile phone bans, schools should be encouraging young people to develop healthy habits in their digital consumption, writes Margaret Mulholland
Digital drawing of an apple