ASL Schools Conference 2026

Offering free CPD in areas of language and literature for teachers of English at Secondary, for BGE, National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher
About this Event

The ASL Schools Conference will offer CPD in areas of language and literature for teachers of English, for BGE, National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher. The presentations will cover drama, poetry, novels, and short stories, in English and Scots, including items on the refreshed specified Scottish Set Texts list.

Please note: this event is aimed at teachers and teachers-in-training, specifically those who are or are likely to be delivering the English curriculum in Scotland.

Programme

• 9:45 Coffee and Registration
• 10:15 Welcome
• 10:30–11:05 Two Short Stories in Scots: Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Thrawn Janet” and Anne Donovan’s “Loast” (Gina Lyle)
• 11:05–11:40 Scotland’s Languages Bill and its implications for Scots in Schools (Panel chaired by John Hodgart with Laura Green and Bruce Eunson)
• 11:40–12:00 Tea and coffee
• 12:00–12:35 John Byrne’s The Slab Boys (Morna Fleming)
• 12:35–13:00 Young Writers Awards
• 13:00–14:00 Lunch
• 14:00–14:35 Refreshed specified poetry texts: Edwin Morgan and Norman MacCaig (Roderick Watson)
• 14:40–15:10 The work of Ali Smith with special reference to her volume Artful (Alan Riach)
• 15:10–15:20 Break
• 15:20–16:00 Meet the writer: James Robertson will speak on his flash fiction collection 365 Stories – the challenge and the craft of writing them
• 16:00 End of conference

Videos of these presentations will be uploaded at a later date to our YouTube channel. Although free printed resources and class sets can only be provided to those who attend in person, we will endeavour to make any materials available as free downloads from our website after the conference.

Bruce Eunson is a writer, poet and a filmmaker, and Scots Language Co-ordinator for Education Scotland. He also helped develop the Scots Language and Culture course for Open University in Scotland.
Morna Fleming is a former Head Teacher, a co-editor of the schools poetry anthology Voices of Scotland, and Vice-President of ASL.
Laura Green is a teacher of English, a member of the Literacy and English CIC Collaboration Group, and the Scots Language Centre's Education Specialist.
John Hodgart is former Principal Teacher of English at Garnock Academy, and Secretary of the Education Committee of the ASL.
Gina Lyle is an Associate Lecturer in English Studies at the University of York. Her research centres on contemporary Scottish fiction.
Alan Riach is a poet and Professor of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow.
James Robertson is an author and poet. His works include The Fanatic, Joseph Knight, The Testament of Gideon Mack, And The Land Lay Still, and News of the Dead.
Roderick Watson is a poet and Emeritus Professor of English Studies at the University of Stirling

ASL gratefully acknowledges the support of the Scottish Government towards this conference.