Initiating and building on conversations between schools and universities – between academics and A-level teachers- is currently one of the most important areas in the Subject Centre’s remit. Clearly there are, in Ben Knights’s words, ‘pressing reasons for urging more intellectual and pedagogic commerce across the sectors’ (1). We have recently published Andrew Green’s report Four Perspectives on Transition: English Literature from Sixth Form to University (2) and are currently in the process of commissioning a guide to English AS/A2 level qualifications. Meanwhile, the Subject Centre is playing an increasingly significant role in the continuing debates about the future of secondary school qualifications. The Subject Centre Director, for example, is convening a QCA group to investigate the feasibility of a secondary school qualification in creative writing.
At a more immediate, short–term level, the exceptionally positive feedback to a Subject Centre Chaucer day hosted earlier this year by Steve Ellis at the University of Birmingham highlights the value of face-to-face contact – of events that enable teachers from both sides of the secondary/higher ‘divide’ to meet and talk together about literature. ‘Teaching Chaucer Today’ was attended both by university lecturers and by A-level teachers, with more than twenty schools being represented. The range of topics discussed and the liveliness of the debate forcefully demonstrated the vitality of Chaucer teaching at both HE and secondary level, in the face of all institutional obstacles.
Proceedings began with a stimulating tour d’horizon from Steve Ellis on ‘Recent Developments in Chaucer Studies’. Later in the day, two valuable presentations were given on digital resources. In the afternoon session, David Wallace (University of Pennsylvania), President of the New Chaucer Society, not only gave an excellent talk – flagging up the current shift in Chaucer criticism towards ethical and oral approaches – but also issued an open invitation to school-teachers to attend the New Chaucer Society’s 2006 conference in New York. The bulk of the day’s business, however, came in two sets of parallel Canterbury Tales workshops, the first focused on critical approaches to set texts, the second on pedagogical strategies. These highly enjoyable sessions gave teachers and lecturers an exciting opportunity to discuss Chaucer with each other on equal terms. The day ended, after a plenary session exploring possible ways to build on the obvious success of the event, in a glow of satisfaction – with many people hoping that ‘Teaching Chaucer Today’ might run again, perhaps on a biennial basis. For one participant, the day had been ‘the best possible use of my time’. The Subject Centre is keen to build on the success of the Chaucer day and would like to support more events of this type: please contact me (jonathan.gibson@rhul.ac.uk) if you would like to collaborate with us.
Notes
1. In the introduction to a set of pages on ‘English Across the Sectors’ on the Subject Centre website (http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/resources/transition/index.php).
2. URL: http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/resources/transition/report.php
