I hold a Doctorate in Philosophy in English Literature from the University of Oxford. I worked as a secondary English teacher for thirteen years, before becoming the Professional Officer for English with the National Curriculum Council of England in 1990. I have worked in higher education for fifteen years, first at the University of Hull and latterly at the University of York. My particular interests are the pedagogy of secondary English teaching and the teaching of literature and drama. I am also very interested in teacher training (I am course leader for our secondary English teacher training programme at York). My most recent publication is a co-authored book entitled 'The Art of Teaching Secondary English'. This was published by Routledge Falmer in 2004.