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Anthony Cockerill

@thecockerill.bsky.social

Blogs and writes about writing, the written word and education. Director of the National Association for the Teaching of English. www.anthonycockerill.com

384 Followers  |  461 Following  |  16 Posts  |  Joined: 11.08.2024
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Posts by Anthony Cockerill (@thecockerill.bsky.social)

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Become a NATE subscriber and join our community Once in a while, we share updates and resources, as well as links to news and blog posts we think you’ll find useful. Sign up today and receive a curated selection of our most recent writing and resou...

This weekend, become a NATE subscriber and join our community. Every so often, we’ll send you useful resources, updates from our work and links to our latest articles. Sign up today and we'll send you a curated selection of our most recent writing. #NATE
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07.02.2026 12:36 — 👍 4    🔁 5    💬 0    📌 0

From what I gather, several people were ‘onboarded’ as contractors but only two were actually asked to do the work.

27.01.2026 21:56 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
Suppliers appointed to the ECSC Framework - Lot 10 - Curriculum Subject Drafters - Contracts Finder

This list was shared on another social media platform last week. Scroll down to ‘More information’ then click the attachment. tinyurl.com/r85b8525

27.01.2026 21:49 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 2    📌 0

Great. I am pleased about that. Please let me know if I can help in any way.

Something else to add- neither of these colleagues have any experience in language development/oracy as far as I can tell. Very worrying.

27.01.2026 19:18 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

It’s afoot for sure. @natecommunity.bsky.social is concerned about the breadth of experience two people can bring.

27.01.2026 17:58 — 👍 6    🔁 2    💬 2    📌 0
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Jamie Tahsin and Matt Shea speaking about their careers in journalism and documentary making, as well as their experiences behind the scenes with Andrew Tate.

23.01.2026 14:11 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Teaching is about conveying knowledge. That's simple. But it is also about bringing pupils into a particular relationship with that knowledge. That's not so simple.

24.01.2026 09:28 — 👍 10    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
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Calling all English teachers. Do these two things.
1. Go to www.nate.org.uk.
2. Tap to share and add to home screen.
You can now explore some of the best long-form writing about English teaching, optimised for seamless reading on your phone. #NATE

23.01.2026 16:55 — 👍 14    🔁 10    💬 0    📌 1
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Join NATE, the UK’s leading subject association for English teachers. Get inspiring resources, stay up to date with the latest thinking in English education, and join a supportive community — from just £5/month (£1 trainees, £3 ECTs). mailchi.mp/nate.org.uk/...

24.01.2026 11:08 — 👍 8    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0

Have finally left X.

The golden years of eduTwitter are long gone, although I've continued to gain a lot from being on the platform, even recently. Now I think it's time to invest in this one properly.

05.01.2026 20:15 — 👍 31    🔁 2    💬 4    📌 0
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💡Bob Cox (@openingdoors.bsky.social) and I both sharing in our enjoyment of reading the latest issue of @natefeed.bsky.social 'Teaching English' magazine!

💭 Great minds thinking alike!

@thecockerill.bsky.social @suepinnick.bsky.social

#EnglishTeachers #InitialTeacherEducation #EduSky

01.12.2025 13:31 — 👍 6    🔁 4    💬 1    📌 1

Nice examples & modelling of how to engage students with Eng Lang P1 Qu 4 from @thecockerill.bsky.social

Analysing film openings of King's IT is also a good way to discuss structural techniques, then compare back to the text.

03.10.2025 17:54 — 👍 6    🔁 5    💬 0    📌 0

What the National Curriculum Review needs to get right about grammar to avoid the repeating the shortcomings of the previous reforms.

My blog for NATE 👇🏻

#English #EnglishGrammar #Education

10.09.2025 18:16 — 👍 6    🔁 2    💬 1    📌 0

@thecockerill.bsky.social
@theliteracyleader.bsky.social
@raesnape.bsky.social

10.09.2025 16:44 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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Why don’t we teach more Queer texts in the English classroom? - National Association for the Teaching of English I want to start with a story. It’s 2007, or 2008. I’m sat in my favourite classroom: the Drama Studio. My drama teacher, a man I near idolise for his...

Why aren’t more Queer texts taught in English classrooms? 🌈 Matt Ingram reflects on representation & introduces NATE’s new LGBTQ+ Working Group—supporting teachers, leaders, exam boards & publishers to diversify curricula with Queer voices. www.nate.org.uk/2025/09/03/w... #NATE

10.09.2025 16:47 — 👍 4    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Honoured to write this.

29.07.2025 11:37 — 👍 8    🔁 4    💬 1    📌 0

Great to be representing @NATEfeed.bsky.social at English: Shared Futures today. I’ve led a workshop in York’s Guildhall on teaching creative writing through moving image. Looking forward to @barbarableiman.bsky.social with Andrew McCallum, Kate Bomford and Thomas Karshan this afternoon.

05.07.2025 09:55 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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How can the process of storyboarding film help our students write compelling prose? - National Association for the Teaching of English By borrowing structural and visual techniques from film, students can plan and draft prose with greater clarity, control, and creativity — making their writing more structured, immersive, and compelli...

By borrowing structural and visual techniques from film, students can plan and draft prose with greater clarity, control, and creativity — making their writing more structured, immersive, and compelling, says Anthony Cockerill. www.nate.org.uk/2025/05/23/h... #NATE #illumiNATE

23.05.2025 09:51 — 👍 6    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0

It's been a privilege to publish some fabulous articles for our illumiNATE series in the last few weeks. Here's an awesome contribution from Jessica De Waal: Ted Hughes, poetry, creative writing. Can't recommend it highly enough.

02.05.2025 17:35 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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Coming this Friday in illumiNATE: what does it mean to ‘capture’ an animal in poetry? By using the work of Ted Hughes, Dr. Jessica De Waal explores the ways students can be empowered to create their own vivid descriptions that powerfully evoke the natural world. #illumiNATE #NATE

28.04.2025 10:54 — 👍 3    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
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Why a thematic curriculum is brilliant for Key Stage 3 English (and why it’s also great for your GCSE students too) A thematic curriculum allows us to learn about those important touchstones of literary study alongside cultural totems of our time. Why a thematic curriculum? Spoiler alert. In the excellent film A…

With all this talk of how to structure curriculum for KS3 English, it’s a good time to reshare: ‘Why a thematic curriculum is brilliant for Key Stage 3 English’. anthonycockerill.com/2019/05/24/t...

07.04.2025 08:15 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Why a thematic curriculum is brilliant for Key Stage 3 English (and why it’s also great for your GCSE students too) A thematic curriculum allows us to learn about those important touchstones of literary study alongside cultural totems of our time. Why a thematic curriculum? Spoiler alert. In the excellent film A…

Absolutely. I suggested one a few years back in this blog post - sharing as an antidote! anthonycockerill.com/2019/05/24/t...

06.04.2025 14:01 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Absolutely!

22.03.2025 10:57 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Many thanks Andrew, and it's good to hear you've enjoyed my first issue. Thank you for your excellent contribution on behalf of @engmediacentre.bsky.social!

14.03.2025 11:10 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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To celebrate @worldbookday.bsky.social at NATE, members of our team want to share what they’re reading. Sue, our Vice-Chair, says: ‘I'm reading Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano, who captures the voice of a traumatised 12 year old boy very convincingly.’ #worldbookday

05.03.2025 07:47 — 👍 2    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
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To celebrate @worldbookdayuk.bsky.social at NATE, members of our team want to share what they’re reading. Anthony, NATE’s Director, says: ‘I’ve been reading Charles Portis’s novel True Grit: a fabulous story told in the idioms of the American South - evocative and unforgettable.' #WorldBookDay

05.03.2025 07:46 — 👍 4    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0
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illumiNATE, Issue 101 When Year Eleven students read: ‘Are there no Prisons?’ said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. ’Are there no workhouses?’ in A Christmas Carol, their GCSE text, they…

Through role-play and hands-on activities at Ripon’s Workhouse Museum, Sarah Geary’s Year Eleven students gained a vivid understanding of Victorian poverty and the harsh realities of life for the destitute.👇#NATE #illumiNATE #teamenglish

28.02.2025 12:39 — 👍 3    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
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Anthony Cockerill - Director of the National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) - York The Leading, Language and Literature Podcast · Episode

Great to hear @thecockerill.bsky.social talking to Chris Jordan about curriculum, themes and concepts — and thanks both for the lovely words about the NATE community and membership! #NATE open.spotify.com/episode/4HFB...

06.02.2025 16:57 — 👍 4    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0
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Last week Beyond the Secret Garden by @darrenchetty.bsky.social + @ksandsoconnor.bsky.social got the launch it deserved at a wonderful event. A must read for educators everywhere! www.englishandmedia.co.uk/publications...

04.02.2025 10:57 — 👍 9    🔁 6    💬 0    📌 1