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"Reflections of a language teacher.
Always learning."


Getting Students Talking: Making the most of role plays in the new GCSE speaking exam
There’s a lot of talk everywhere about the new 2026 GCSE MFL exams and for good reason! The updates are designed to make language learning more meaningful, focusing on real communication rather than memorised scripts and let's hope they will! The part, I would like to focus on in this post is the Role-Play  section in the speaking exam. If you’ve ever taught GCSE languages, you’ll know role-plays have always been around in some form but the new version asks students to use th
Silvia Bastow
Nov 17 min read
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Results Day: Beyond the numbers - How I analyse, reflect and plan for the year ahead
Back in January, I shared a blog on Improving GCSE Performance Post-Mocks  (link here ). Yesterday, I came across a LinkedIn post from...
Silvia Bastow
Aug 135 min read
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Improving GCSE Performance Post-Mocks: A Targeted Approach for Year 11
Mock exams are a key moment for Year 11 students, giving us a clear picture of how they are doing and where they need to improve . For...
Silvia Bastow
Jan 45 min read
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Transforming Reading: Strategies to Master Exam Prep and Comprehension
Preparing for exams that involve reading comprehension requires more than simply answering questions at face value. To truly excel , our...
Silvia Bastow
Nov 23, 20246 min read
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Grade Boundaries 2018-2024 Comparison
Using the spreadsheet shared by Ben Merritt on Secondary MFL Matters, I've completed a comparison for Edexcel. Tab 1 (Picture 1): Â This...
Silvia Bastow
Aug 23, 20241 min read
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