There is something refreshingly pre-millennial about this new series from Hodder amp; Stoughton - no three-dimensional mapping matrix; an abundance of hand-drawn illustrations; and an introduction that dares to own the adjective “progressive”.

Although the blurb claims that the key stage 3 strategy is addressed, there is barely a mention of the word “objective”, and this alone will endear the series to the hearts of thousands of English teachers.

What is on offer here is a structured programme of half-termly units, each of which addresses the same type of material - but with appropriate progression and development - in Years 7, 8 and 9. These include in each case a discrete language unit, (although language points are addressed throughout) a poetry unit, a unit focused on extended writing and a unit about a major literary genre.

The books do not shy away from tackling hefty chunks of literature, including an abridged but unparaphrased edition of The Withered Arm in the Year 8 book, and a unit based on Macbeth in Book 3.

While inevitably some units have less appeal than others, there is originality and insight here; the idea of the Language Factory, a sort of copy-writing workshop where an apprenticeship is served and craftsman status attained, is cannily boy-friendly, and would merit a book of its own.

Sue Hackman’s Fast Forward series works on the principle that since students, in theory at least, progress through national curriculum levels in a more or less linear fashion, it should be possible to focus activities on moving them from one level to the next.

The first volume in the series targeted the vital level 3level 4 watershed, and these latest books continue the pattern for the next two levels.

The concept is simple: ten units per book, each containing half an hour’s worth of material under six different headings, offering 60 single periods’ worth of concentrated skills work. The exercises are snappy, practical and fun, and can be tackled in pretty well any order, although some ideas are developed throughout the book.

A simple grid at the front of each volume allows the teacher to see at a glance where a particular skill can be covered, so that while there is scope to work through the entire volume, it is also possible to dip in and out in response to whatever infelicity has raisedits ugly head that particular week.

Illustration is relatively sparse but these books are very much practical tools aimed at improving student performance. They seem likely to do just that.

Iain MacDonald Iain MacDonald teaches English in Cornwall