About this day
For A-level students of the AQA A specification
This inspirational study day will provide comprehensive support for all students tackling the AQA A A-level option ‘Love Through the Ages’. Outstanding speakers will enthuse, inform and entertain with a diverse range of talks on poetry, prose and drama. This programme will give students the vital information, insights and confidence to achieve maximum examination success. The day will be chaired by former Chief Examiner Stella Canwell MBE.
Programme & speakers
Carol Ann Duffy Carol Ann Duffy DBE, Poet Laureate

Carol Ann Duffy will read from her collections of love poetry, including Rapture and Love Poems, taking questions from the audience.

About Carol Ann Duffy DBE
Dame Carol Ann Duffy is Poet Laureate and Professor of Contemporary Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her award-winning poetry collections include ‘Mean Time’, ‘The World’s Wife’, ‘Rapture’ and ‘The Bees’.
Choice of Genre Jon Rich, A-level examiner and teacher

This lecture explores the opportunities offered by the genres of poetry, prose and drama and suggests ways in which students can exploit their knowledge of the three different genres.

About Jon Rich
Jon Rich taught English for many years. He has been a Senior Examiner for over thirty years and is also a Moderator for NEA and Examiner for Classical Civilisation.
An Examiner's Perspective Jon Rich, A-level examiner and teacher

Jon Rich discusses how students should read questions, how to extract guidance given in them and how best to address the Assessment Objectives. There are no “right” answers but there are “right” ways to address tasks and support your ideas.

About Jon Rich
Jon Rich taught English for many years. He has been a Senior Examiner for over thirty years and is also a Moderator for NEA and Examiner for Classical Civilisation.
Representations of love in Shakespeare's plays Adrian Noble, Theatre Director

Adrian Noble will explore how Shakespeare presents and stages love in relationships across tragedy and comedy using examples from Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, Measure for Measure and The Winter’s Tale. There will be an opportunity for questions.

About Adrian Noble
Adrian Noble is a Theatre Director and was Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company for 13 years. He has received over twenty Olivier Award nominations for his theatre and opera work.
Reading narratives of love over time Michael Meeuwis, University of Warwick

Michael consider how love is shaped by social, political and historical factors. He will draw on Tess of the D’Urbevilles, The Great Gatsby and Persuasion and highlight a range of issues which students can apply to their own course texts.

About Michael Meeuwis
Dr Michael Meeuwis is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Warwick. His research interests include nineteenth-century British literature, Romantic and Victorian poetry and nineteenth-century drama and performance studies.