I hope you have settled into the new term and your classes are working hard in this often most productive time of the year.
This update will direct you to all the support you need this term and hopefully also provide a little inspiration for events to get involved with.
A day to celebrate: World Teachers’ Day: 5 October
Thank you to all the hard-working and very devoted teachers I speak to daily. I hope you will take a moment in school or college to recognise that you’re doing one of the most important jobs in the world and making a difference every single day.
A month to plan action for the whole year: Black History Month
Start by using Bennie Kara’s best books on race, culture and identity.
A competition to enter: The Orwell Youth Prize
Open to UK students in Years 7 to 13, students get to write about what matters to them in their own way on the theme of ‘freedom’. Submit by 5 March to get personalised feedback. The final deadline is 30 April
2025.
British Library resources and events
Discovering Literature's best-loved articles are available again
From Othello to Orwell, Agard to Angela Carter, the British Library has recovered a selection of 100 articles, films and classroom resources, perfect for teachers of Years 10 –13.
Free Black literature timeline and teacher’s resource pack
Check out a brand new resource pack, full of ready-to-teach ideas for using the timeline to celebrate Black history and culture, explore texts in context, and spark reading and writing for pleasure.
Free livestreamed teacher CPD: Othello in context, 4:00 – 5:15pm on 23 October 2024
Get fresh insights, tips and resources for teaching Othello at KS4 and 5, with Professor Emma Smith, teacher and author Michael Donkor, and teacher and founder of 'Shakespeare, Race and Pedagogy', Dr Wendy Lennon.
Don’t forget to check out the training on offer this term for the qualifications you teach. You’ll find exam insights, new to, applying the mark scheme, meeting the assessment criteria and coursework marking training.
Do check out our new Facebook page where we’ll be providing the latest updates about our qualifications and services.
Follow Pearson Edexcel on Facebook
Access reminders on making correct entries for the November 2024 exam series.
Access details of all the new support for teaching 2.0.
Access question summaries for 2.0 including the June 2024 question papers.
Access June 2024 exemplars and at the same location, June 2024 enhanced exemplars. and Grade 4 exemplars.
Optional spoken language endorsement (SLE)
If your students are doing the SLE this year with English Language A or B, do take a moment to watch the SLE refresher course and to access the updated administrative support guide.
June 2024 exemplars
Access the English Literature and Language and Literature exemplars. The Language exemplars will appear shortly.
Watch the ‘all set for 2024-2025 briefing’ which provides details of resources and forthcoming training.
Did you know that the Lit in Colour Pioneers pilot has increased the number of students an exam question by a writer of colour in English Literature GCSE from 50 to just under 5,000 with exam board Pearson Edexcel - a 100-fold increase since 2019?
>Read the report on the impact of Lit in Colour
>Sign up to be a Lit in Colour Pioneer
As always, if you need support in delivering any of our English qualifications, you can contact me using the links in the contact box below.
I hope you have had a mid-term break and are enjoying some autumnal/Halloween fun if you’re in the northern hemisphere.
This update will direct will flag some new resources and training as well as key dates.
