23rd April has special resonance in England. It’s St George’s Day (England’s patron saint) as well as the traditional date on which to celebrate Shakespeare’s birth and death. Lesser known, however, is the fact that since 2010 it has also marked The United Nation’s English Language Day. The U.N.’s Language Days seek to, ‘[…] entertain […]

What is Maths? People often talk about maths as if it were a great mystery. ‘I can never understand maths.’ ‘You can do maths! You must be brainy.’ ‘My mind goes blank when I see some maths.’ Do you remember the last time anyone gave you some help with the process of learning maths? Not […]

About the author: David Breakspear was released from prison in June 2017. While there, with the help of funding through organisations like The Prisoners’ Education Trust, David was able to access distance learning courses from The National Extension College and Open University. Since his release, David has forged a career writing and campaigning for prison […]

To celebrate April Fools’ Day we’ve been looking back on some of our favourite pranks and hoaxes. Here are 5 of the best: BBC Spaghetti Tree report Perhaps the most famous April Fools’ Day joke, and for good reason. Around 7 million homes tuned-in to Panorama on April 1st 1957, to learn of the ‘Spaghetti […]

Today’s guest blog celebrates World Poetry Day and is written by NEC tutor Tracey Jones.  World Poetry Day is a celebration of poetry in all its forms. Started by the United Nations in 1999 as a way to encourage people to write, read and teach poetry, World Poetry Day has inspired thousands of people who […]

In 1893, HG Wells would publish his first book. It was not The Time Machine or War of the Worlds. It was a textbook: Text-book of Biology, published by the University Correspondence College, the predecessor to the NEC. Wells would not become a novelist until he was 34 years old. Originally, he planned to be […]

How are you celebrating Valentine’s day? Spoiling your loved one with gifts? Flowers? A romantic dinner for two? Or maybe you’re thinking of stretching yourself a little further – a poem perhaps? If you are looking for inspiration, look no further than the Romantics. The Romantics you may think, you can’t get more romantic, can […]