OCR’s new online set text surgeries for GCSE English Literature aim to facilitate teachers linking up, no matter where they are geographically, to share successful classroom strategies and pedagogical hints and tips. An OCR English subject specialist will manage each online session but these are driven by teachers for teachers. As well as taking away some practical and creative ideas for helping students to find pathways through their set texts, the hope is that teachers will feel enthused and reassured that they are indeed ‘on the right track’.

The idea for the set text surgeries first came about in response to a teacher’s request to link up with other schools teaching Great Expectations for OCR’s new GCSE English Literature. Subject Specialist Kate Newton explained: “I put the teacher in touch with another school that I knew had tackled Dickens’s classic with their Year 10 students, with some success and, dare I say it, even enthusiasm. It was fantastic to read the candidates’ feedback, thread through as it was with enthusiasm and genuine appreciation of Dickens’s storytelling powers and vivid characterisations.” 

"Kate continued: “While there’s no substitute for face-to-face contact, the reality is that we’re increasingly looking to embrace online technologies to meet customer needs. Teachers are work heavy and time poor – so logging on for a free hour long webinar at the end of the school day can be an appealing alternative to negotiating time off timetable and dipping into the precious departmental CPD pot to travel to an external training or networking event.“

You can sign up via cpdhub.ocr.org.uk for the following free online set text surgeries, all held from 4-5pm:

• Modern texts - 6 December
• Poetry anthology - 19 January
• Shakespeare - 28 February