Explore every episode of the podcast Study Sessions: STG English Revision

In this episode, we explore Stave Five of A Christmas Carol to support Year 9 students reading the novella independently. We follow Scrooge as he wakes on Christmas morning transformed by the lessons of the spirits. From his generosity towards the Cratchits to his reconciliation with Fred and his decision to raise Bob’s salary, Dickens shows redemption through action. This episode will strengthen your understanding of Scrooge’s transformation, the importance of social responsibility, and Dickens’ hopeful message that people, and their futures, can change.

In this episode, we recap the essential plot points, ideas, quotations and themes from Macbeth. Listen to this episode to support and reinforce your understanding of the play as we complete our study of the text in class.

In this episode, we review 12 essential quotations from Lord of the Flies, ahead of your Paper 2 English Literature exam!

Featured quotations:

1. Jack: “We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages.” — Ch2
2. Roger: “Roger stooped… threw it to miss.” — Ch4
3. Roger/civilisation: “Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life.” — Ch4
4. Jack: “The mask was a thing on its own…” — Ch4
5. Simon: “Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us.” — Ch5
6. Narrator: “The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away.” — Ch5
7. Jack: “Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong—we hunt!” — Ch5
8. Narrator: “The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering.” — Ch7
9. Lord of the Flies: “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” — Ch8
10. Narrator: “At once the crowd surged after it… screamed, struck, bit, tore.” — Ch9
11. Narrator: “The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.” — Ch11
12. Narrator: “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy.” — Ch12

In this episode, we explore one of the most central themes in Lord of the Flies: the tension between civilisation and savagery. Given the centrality of this theme, today's short, accessible episode is essential revision ahead of your Paper 2 English Literature exam!

In this episode, I explore the theme of family in A Christmas Carol. From Scrooge's early experiences as a 'solitary child' to the Cratchits at Christmas, this episode is designed to support your revision of an under-assessed area of the text. Best of luck for the 11th May Paper 1!

In this episode, we examine gender in Macbeth. Moving beyond simplistic statements like 'masculinity is presented as violent' and 'femininity is weakness', we look at gender across the play, from Macbeth, to Lady Macbeth and Macduff.

Listen to this episode to support your revision and understanding of the play ahead of your Paper 1 exam on Monday 11th May!

In this episode, we look at the debates around smartphones, social media access and young people. Our new series, The Knowledge, is designed to give you the key information needed for topics that might come up as the focus for English Language Paper 2, Question 5. This episode is designed to be listened to alongside the supporting listening sheet - ask for this from your class teacher.

In this episode, we explore four models of kingship and leadership in Macbeth: Duncan, Macbeth, Edward and Confessor and Malcolm. With detailed quotation analysis and comment, this episode covers a topic yet-to-be assessed in the exam. Make sure you use this episode to revise such a central theme!

In this final episode on minor characters in Macbeth, we turn our attention to King Duncan. Kind, generous and benevolent, certainly - but also naïve and far too trusting in a corrupt world. Use this episode, and the previous two, to ensure you have a good understanding of characters many students wrongly overlook.

In the second episode on minor characters in Macbeth, we turn our attention to Banquo, Macbeth's foil and moral counterpoint. However, is Banquo as straightforward as he first appears? Are there criticisms we can make of Banquo, especially around moral inaction? From his first meeting of the witches, to his ghostly reappearance at the banquet, listen to this episode to learn all you need to know about Banquo ahead of your exam on the 11th May!

This is the first in a series of three short episodes on the 'minor' (but still very important!) characters in Macbeth. We're starting with Macduff, the man responsible for Macbeth's death at the very end of the play, but who plays a subtly important role throughout. The episode covers a series of key quotations, along with detailed analytical comment and links back to the play's central themes of ambition, deception, morality and masculinity.

This episode explores Golding’s central message that human beings possess an innate capacity for evil and that civilisation is fragile. We examine how the island functions as a “laboratory” to test human nature, tracking the breakdown of order through symbols like the fire and the conch, and the rise of savagery through Jack’s leadership. We analyse the Beast as a representation of internal human darkness, before considering the ending, where Ralph’s “loss of innocence” reveals a deeper realisation about humanity - one that carries a profound emotional and psychological cost.

This episode explores Dickens’ central messages, focusing on social responsibility, poverty, and inequality. We track Scrooge’s transformation through key quotations, analyse how Dickens uses Christmas as a symbol of generosity and reflection, and examine characters like the Cratchits, Tiny Tim, and the allegorical figures of Ignorance and Want. The episode shows how Dickens combines emotional storytelling with a clear moral purpose, ultimately arguing that compassion, human connection, and personal change can transform both individuals and society.

In this episode, we explore what Macbeth is really saying about human nature, power, and morality.

Key Ideas:

• Unchecked ambition leads to destruction
• Power corrupts, even the noble
• Disrupting the natural order creates chaos
• Tyranny vs kingship – leadership must be just, not violent
• Guilt is inescapable and psychologically destructive

Core Message:

Shakespeare warns that the real danger lies not in fate or the supernatural, but in human beings’ capacity for moral corruption when ambition overrides conscience.

Key Quotes From the Episode:

• “Vaulting ambition…”
• “I am in blood stepp’d in so far…”
• “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood…”
• “Out, damned spot!”

In this special episode of Study Sessions, we briefly recap the plot of Northern Lights and look ahead of the remaining two books in Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy: The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. Listen to this episode, reinforce your understanding of Book 1 and come back after our Easter break ready to take out a copy of The Subtle Knife from our wonderful school library!

Ralph’s final breakdown in Lord of the Flies is one of the most powerful moments in the novel. In this Baughcut, we explore what Ralph is truly grieving. While Piggy’s death is central, Golding presents a much deeper sense of loss: the end of innocence, the collapse of civilisation, and the recognition of “the darkness of man’s heart.” Through close analysis of key language choices, we examine how grief becomes both personal and collective. Ultimately, this episode reveals Golding’s central idea: that confronting human nature leads not to comfort, but to profound and unsettling grief.

In this episode, released just before your Paper 1 mock tomorrow (4th March), we work through 12 essential quotations from across A Christmas Carol. As with the equivalent episode for Macbeth, these are 12 high-value quotations that can be used in virtually any essay question. Each lends itself to detailed, work-level analysis and links to other quotations and moments across the novella. Listen to this episode, recap these quotations and use them in your mock tomorrow - and the real exam in May!

The 12 Essential Quotations (Chronological Order)

1. “Solitary as an oyster.”
2. “Hard and sharp as flint.”
3. “Are there no prisons? … And the Union workhouses?”
4. “Decrease the surplus population.”
5. “Mankind was my business.”
6. “A solitary child, neglected by his friends.”
7. “The master-passion, Gain.”
8. “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want.”
9. “If he be like to die, he had better do it.”
10. “I am not the man I was.”
11. “I will honour Christmas in my heart.”
12. “As good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man.”

In this episode, we turn to the A Christmas Carol task in your half-term homework/revision Paper 1. The episode provides you with a clear thesis or argument around Dickens' exploration of the suffering of the poor, linking this to the novella's broader message of social responsibility and charity. Use the episode in conjunction with Mrs Colson's video to help you be as successful as possible!

In this episode of Study Sessions, we turn to the half-term Lady Macbeth task: 'Lady Macbeth is a female character who changes'. Using the work of literary critic Marjorie Garber as inspiration, we consider her 'loss of affect' and attempts to eliminate her capacity for feeling, a capacity that ultimately returns with destructive power in Act 5. Use this episode to support your completion of our half-term Paper 1 revision during the February break.

In this episode, designed to tie in with our weekly exam preparation homework, we discuss Wordsworth's poem Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 and how we can turn thinking into insightful reading and analysis. This episode isn't about telling you what the poem means, but focuses on the questions confident and successful students ask of an unseen poem to make it meaningful.

In this episode, we turn to Week 15 in your exam preparation booklet and the poem Eating Poetry. The episode focuses on how to approach the task, how to think like a successful student and then apply this thinking within our generic structure. Use the episode in conjunction with your teacher's guidance and scaffolds to ensure your response is the best it can be!

In this episode, we break down a clear, repeatable approach to the single-poem unseen poetry task in AQA English Literature Paper 2, Section C. Using Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken as our unseen poem, we model how to move from first reading to conceptual understanding, analyse the title, and track meaning across the beginning, middle, and end of the poem. The episode also explains how to select key quotations, interpret abstract ideas such as choice and hindsight, and shape a short, effective conclusion. Use this episode alongside your teacher’s guidance to support your Week 14 exam preparation and to practise writing a focused, high-quality response under exam conditions.

In this short episode, we explore An Inspector Calls and its central theme: social responsibility. Designed to be listened to in a single sitting, we look at key characters, quotations and how Priestley articulates his message of social responsibility, human connection and the wider consequences of our individual actions.

Use as part of your broader English exam preparation and revision.

In this episode, we explore how Piggy’s belief that “life is scientific” reveals his faith in reason and progress, and how that belief leads him to deny responsibility for Simon’s death. By linking this quotation to Piggy’s claim that Simon “asked for it,” the episode shows how rational thinking can be used to excuse violence, and how Golding challenges modern confidence in civilisation throughout Lord of the Flies.

In this episode, we explore the chilling character of Roger in Lord of the Flies and tackle the central question: Does Roger change, or is his cruelty simply revealed? Through close analysis of five key moments — from calling for a vote to the murder of Piggy — we argue that Roger doesn’t descend into savagery… he’s simply unmasked. This is essential listening to support your completion of this week's homework task and for any students preparing for exams or interested in Golding’s brutal vision of human nature.

In this episode of Study Sessions, we take a clear, structured look at Imtiaz Dharker’s Tissue: an overview of the poem’s ideas, an analysis of the title, and a close reading of three key quotations. Designed to support Week 9 of your Exam Preparation booklets, the episode ends with some helpful points of comparison to Shelley’s Ozymandias — another powerful poetic exploration of identity.

In this episode, we walk through the twelve most important quotations from Macbeth that every student should know before their mock exam. Each quotation is explored in play order, with clear context, precise word-level analysis, and ambitious thematic links across the play.

This episode will help you strengthen your understanding of Macbeth’s tragic journey—from heroic warrior to “dead butcher”—and give you the language and ideas needed to write confident, well-structured exam responses.

Perfect for last-minute revision ahead of Wednesday's mock exam!

Featured quotations:

1. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”
2. “Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires.”
3. “Unsex me here.”
4. “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.”
5. “Vaulting ambition.”
6. “Is this a dagger which I see before me…?”
7. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?”
8. “A little water clears us of this deed.”
9. “Macbeth does murder sleep.”
10. “Out, damned spot!”
11. “Signifying nothing.”
12. “This dead butcher and his fiend-like queen.”

A shorter, focused episode exploring Carol Ann Duffy’s War Photographer and the emotional, moral, and psychological effects of war. Includes title analysis, three key quotations with word-level exploration, and comparison links to Remains, Poppies, Exposure, and Bayonet Charge from the AQA Power and Conflict anthology.

In this episode of Study Sessions, we turn to Week 6 and the description of a hot air balloon scene. The episode takes our typical approach to idea generation from the stimulus image, before moving onto the AQA descriptive cycle. Use this episode, in conjunction with your teacher's gold dust on Google Classroom, to produce a highly-successful descriptive response! Handout link here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pPkhtcuDgtbyIeC_q4DtYpWQU5Ea2NbY/view?usp=drive_link

In this episode of The Key Three, we explore the key themes of happiness and joy in A Christmas Carol, considering how they link to Dickens' overall message of social responsibility and compassion. From Fezziwig's warmth and generosity to the Cratchit's familiar love, we trace joy and happiness across the entirety of the key. Use this episode as part of your homework preparation and revision!

In this week's video, I cover some misconceptions around present participles and tense, how to avoid writing a cliched horror story instead of an original description, and how we might plan and sequence our responses. The link to the slides used in this video, including all the sentence scaffolds, is available here.

In this episode of Study Sessions: The Key Three, I'm exploring our Week 5 homework comparing the power of nature in Storm on the Island and The Prelude. In this episode, I recap both poems, their titles and three essential quotations from both texts. Using this episode to support your homework completion will ensure you are practising being successful in your responses. Don't forget that we have our mock exams straight after the October break, and poetry will feature! Rehearsing the approach needed when you're in the exam hall will make the whole experience far more valuable and far less daunting!

In this episode of Study Sessions, we turn to Week 4 and the description of an underwater scene. The episode takes our typical approach to idea generation from the stimulus image, before moving onto the AQA descriptive cycle. Use this episode, in conjunction with your teacher's gold dust on Google Classroom, to produce a highly-successful descriptive response!

Handout link here.

In this episode of Study Sessions, we explore how Shakespeare presents ambition as a dangerous and destructive force in Macbeth. Linking directly to your homework for Week 4, we examine “vaulting ambition” in detail and connect it to three more key quotations across the play: “Stars, hide your fires” (Act 1 Scene 4), “To be thus is nothing” (Act 3 Scene 1), and “Signifying nothing” (Act 5 Scene 5). Together, these moments reveal how ambition tempts, corrupts, and ultimately consumes Macbeth.

In this episode of Study Sessions, we explore Week 3 of the GCSE English homework booklet.

You are tasked with writing a description of a celebration, inspired by a bustling street scene packed with people leaning from balconies and watching a parade below.

We use our metacognitive framework — Observe, Associate, Sequence, Tone — to unpack the image and model how to turn it into a vivid piece of descriptive writing.

You’ll also hear sentence-level scaffolds following the AQA descriptive cycle (Inform → Describe → Reflect → React → Connect), giving you a clear structure to shape four powerful paragraphs:

• Wide view of the street – first impressions and atmosphere.
• Balconies and people – faces, flags, anticipation building.
• Street level and the parade – rhythm, sound, colour, energy.
• Quiet hush afterwards – the aftermath, silence, reflection.

By the end of this session, you’ll have the tools to create a polished, exam-ready piece of writing!

👉 For more support, check your Google Classroom page for resources and scaffolds.

In this Key Three mini-episode of Study Sessions, we explore how William Blake’s London exposes the abuse of power – linking directly to Week 3 of your exam preparation booklet.

This episode focuses on three essential quotations – plus a close reading of the title – to show how Blake attacks abuses of power in the city:

• The title London → the whole city as a symbol of corruption
• “Charter’d street” → those in power control even what should be free
• “Mind-forg’d manacles” → people are chained mentally and physically
• “Marriage hearse” → institutions that should bring hope instead bring despair

The power word for this episode is oppression, explored as the abuse of power. By the end, you’ll see how Blake uses language to reveal how the rich and powerful in London crush ordinary people.

Perfect support for your homework and exam preparation.

In this Study Session, we break down exactly how to approach AQA’s descriptive writing task. Learn how to avoid common errors (like sentence fragments and tense shifts), why third person is your best choice, and how to generate and organise ideas. We’ll plan a descriptive piece step by step using the AQA cycle — Inform → Describe → Reflect → React → Connect — and turn it into a crafted response with forward movement.

The handout to accompany this episode is available via this link.

In this Key Three mini-episode of Study Sessions, we explore the theme of social responsibility in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Designed to help you tackle the homework task with confidence, this shorter episode focuses on three essential quotations – one from the beginning, one from the middle, and one from the end of the novella. We’ll look at:

• Scrooge’s cold dismissal of the poor as “surplus population”
• The Ghost of Christmas Present’s warnings, including the figures of Ignorance and Want
• Scrooge’s final promise to “honour Christmas” and live a life of generosity

By the end of the episode, you’ll see how Dickens uses Scrooge’s journey to argue that society has a duty to care for its most vulnerable members.

Perfect for quick, focused revision – one theme, three key quotations, and a clear path to exam success.

In this episode, we explore Stave Four of A Christmas Carol to support Year 9 students reading the novella independently. We follow Scrooge’s encounter with the silent and terrifying Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who reveals a bleak and lonely future if Scrooge does not change. From the callous treatment of a dead man’s possessions to the tragic death of Tiny Tim, this stave confronts Scrooge — and readers — with the consequences of a life without compassion. This episode will strengthen your understanding of tension, symbolism, and Dickens’ powerful message about personal responsibility and moral choice.

In this episode, we explore Stave Three of A Christmas Carol to support Year 9 students reading the novella independently. We follow Scrooge’s encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Present, who reveals scenes of warmth, hardship, and generosity — from the Cratchit family’s humble feast to Fred’s festive party. We also unpack the significance of Tiny Tim and Dickens’ use of Ignorance and Want to criticise social neglect. This episode will strengthen your understanding of character development, symbolism, and Dickens’ powerful messages about compassion, poverty and the consequences of indifference.

In this episode, we explore Stave Two of A Christmas Carol to support Year 9 students reading the novella independently. We follow Scrooge’s encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Past, who guides him through painful and joyful memories — from his lonely schooldays to his lost love, Belle. We explain how Dickens uses these scenes to reveal the roots of Scrooge’s misanthropy and hint at his potential for change. Perfect for strengthening your understanding of character development, memory, and the theme of redemption in Dickens’ powerful Christmas tale.

In this episode, we explore Stave One of A Christmas Carol to support Year 9 students reading the novella independently. We unpack Dickens’ powerful introduction of Scrooge as a cold-hearted misanthrope, highlight his harsh attitudes to poverty, and examine his chilling encounter with Marley’s ghost. Perfect for helping you build confidence in understanding the opening of the novella and clarifying key moments as you read a stave per week.

In this second episode supporting your independent reading of A Christmas Carol, we take a close look at the key characters and the novella's essential themes: social responsibility, inequality and the possibility of redemption. Make sure you listen to the historical context episode before moving onto this one!

In this episode, we turn to Charles Dickens’ iconic moral tale of poverty, greed, and the transformative power of redemption. Use this episode alongside your reading of the novella to place A Christmas Carol within its broader historical context — helping you understand why Dickens hoped it would strike, in his own words, like a “sledgehammer blow” against social injustice and the moral blindness of the Victorian elite.

In this special episode, a number of Year 8 students share their poetry responding to the Grenfell Tower fire on 14th June, 2017. Thank you to everyone involved and particularly to those students who shared their responses.

In this episode, we explore Seamus Heaney’s The Road to Derry, tracing its depiction of political and personal conflict after Bloody Sunday. Through powerful imagery and restrained anger, Heaney transforms grief into quiet defiance. Use this episode to support your revision of conflict poetry ahead of your end-of-year exams.

🎙️ Ready to test your knowledge? This interactive revision quiz covers key Year 7 English topics — mythology, symbolism, inequality, and literacy skills. Listen, think, and answer — then check how you did! Perfect for practising generative revision and boosting long-term memory. Grab a pen or just listen along!

In this special episode of Study Sessions, we delve into Simon Armitage’s The Manhunt, a poignant exploration of the enduring impact of war on both soldiers and their loved ones. Narrated from the perspective of a soldier’s partner, the poem unfolds as a delicate journey through physical scars and psychological wounds, revealing how trauma reverberates beyond the battlefield. Make sure this episode features in your exam revision ahead of your end-of-year English exams in June.

In this episode, we explore Jack Merridew’s transformation in Lord of the Flies, tracing his evolution from head boy to savage chief. Through close analysis of key quotations, we uncover how Golding uses Jack to examine power, violence, fear, and the fragility of civilisation.

In this episode, focusing specifically on Year 7's end-of-year assessment, we look at Section C of the paper: the Victorian workhouse description. Use this podcast in conjunction with your exam preparation booklet and Mrs Fallon's in-person deconstruction of the task to ensure effective, successful revision!