Edexcel is proud to be sponsoring the 45th annual National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) conference.

NATE uses its yearly conference to highlight issues and opportunities facing those teaching and being taught  English.  This conference has as its subtitle ‘Voices Across Borders: Language, Culture and Identity’.

The conference takes place Friday 4 April until Sunday 6 April and includes speakers and entertainers from academics to poets.  Warwick University is hosting the event, which will look back at the last year in English teaching and even the possibility of using Shakespeare to teach Personal, Health and Social Education (PSHE).

The poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan is one of the keynote speakers.  His work is varied and his poems and  broadcasts on BBC Radio, have treated subjects as vastly different as cricketing legend Fred Trueman and controversial MP George Galloway.

Edexcel’s vision is ‘Advancing learning changing lives’ and it is hoped that by supporting events such as this conference, the awarding body will continue to demonstrate its commitment to helping those who wish to learn.     

On the final day of the conference the Royal Shakespeare Company will also be making a presentation.  The teaching of English would surely be a much poorer thing had it not been for the Bard, and the RSC hopes to bring the contribution of one of the finest exponents of the English language in its illustrious history to the widest possible audience.