Anxiety is the 2021 Oxford Children’s Word of the Year. Find out about children’s evolving use of language and analysis from Oxford University Press.
2021 Oxford Children’s Word of the Year: Anxiety
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Blog posts for: Age 11+
Talking about Climate Change at home
Advice and guidance on how to start talking to your child or children about climate change at home, with practical ideas and suggestions.
Supporting a child through GCSEs and A Levels: A parent’s perspective
A Parent’s perspective: Lionel Bolton shares his experience of navigating A Levels and GCSEs
How to help your child bridge the word gap between primary and secondary school
Students with a limited vocabulary – or word gap – struggle to understand what is being taught at school. Find out how you can help your child at home.
How to support your child during GCSEs – what to do and when
As your child starts studying for their GCSEs, Aaron Wilkes gives his advice on navigating the new exams and encouraging good study skills.
Get number confident on National Numeracy Day
Get involved with National Numeracy Day 2021 and help your child’s confidence grow, with our top tips and free maths activities.
Book of the Month: Amber Undercover
Win a copy of Amber Undercover, a novel which sets out to challenge the way that adventure and intrigue are too often reserved for the boys. (April 2021)
Building kids’ resilience and confidence
How do you help build your child’s confidence and resilience? Teacher and child psychologist Jean Gross CBE shares her tips for helping children believe in themselves, and discusses how you can encourage them to be determined and enjoy challenges.
Top five tips for creative writing at Christmas
From storytelling games to alternative Christmas stories, encourage your child’s creative writing during with our top tips for creative writing at Christmas.
Money skills in a digital age
How to develop an understanding of money and healthy money habits in our children when there are fewer opportunities for them to see the real and physical exchange of cash.
Reading for pleasure: Ten ideas to inspire your child to read more
Reading for pleasure is so important in developing vocabulary. Use these ideas to inspire your child to keep on reading as they get older.
500 Words: Black Lives Matter – how are British children responding to the emerging themes and issues in their writing?
Almost 6,000 children entered the writing competition in July 2020 and Oxford University Press’ analysis shines a light on children’s insight, empathy, and imagination when writing about race. Find out more.
Moving on up (to secondary school)!
This year, the uncertainty around schools reopening could make moving up to big school even more daunting than usual. Here are our top tips on how to prepare.
Inspire the author in your child with the new 500 Words: Black Lives Matter Competition!
Oxford University Press is proud to be partnering with the 500Words: Black Lives Matter story-writing competition. Our language experts collect and analyze every story received to better understand children’s language and inform learning, so get your pens at the ready!
2020 Oxford Children’s Word of the Year: Coronavirus
Coronavirus is the 2020 Oxford Children’s Word of the Year. Find out about children’s evolving use of language from analysis of stories from BBC 500 Words 2020.
2019 Oxford Children’s Word of the Year: Brexit
Brexit is the 2019 Oxford Children’s Word of the Year. Find out about children’s evolving use of language from analysis of stories from BBC 500 Words 2019.
Overcoming maths anxiety and being #PositiveAboutNumbers
Derry Richardson talks about combating maths anxiety and becoming #PositiveAboutNumbers, with helpful practical tips for parents.
How to edit your 500 Words story
Finished a first draft of your short story and not sure what to do next? Read Christopher Edge’s top tips for polishing your story to perfection.
How to write your 500 Words story
So you’ve got your idea, and you’ve planned the plot. Now comes the hardest (but most rewarding) part – actually writing your story. Here are Christopher Edge’s top tips on how to get started.
Why does your child need a dictionary?
Dictionaries are great for developing your child’s vocabulary, but not just any will do. Publisher Sam Armstrong explains how Oxford Children’s Dictionaries can support your child.
How to plan your 500 Words story
Author Christopher Edge shares his top tips on for planning a top-tier tale for the BBC 500 Words short story competition.
Story sparks: find inspiration for your short story
When you look down at a blank piece of paper, inspiration can seem a long way away. Here are Christopher Edge’s top tips for coming up with story ideas.
Stories from the road less travelled – children’s books that celebrate diversity
Every child deserves to see lives like their own represented in powerful stories. Cerrie Burnell shares her favourite children’s books that celebrate diversity.
Harriet Muncaster’s creative writing challenge
Harriet Muncaster gives her top tips on how to write a story, from developing the characters to designing the plot.
Spooky reads for 9+ year olds
Embrace Halloween with our recommended spooky reads for 9–11 year olds, including Flood and Fang, The Dark is Rising and Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror.
Non-verbal reasoning
Parents with children in Year 6 will probably hear about non-verbal reasoning a lot. But what exactly is non-verbal reasoning?
The new GCSEs explained – what’s changed and how the new grades work
Teacher and writer Aaron Wilkes explains what the new 1–9 GCSE grades mean, how they will be used, and how they map onto the old A*–U GCSE grades.
2018 Oxford Children’s Word of the Year: Plastic
Plastic has been revealed as the Children’s Word of the Year by Oxford University Press for the BBC 500 Words Competition. British children have once again shown themselves to be fabulously inventive, funny and socially astute.
The word gap: How to build your child’s vocabulary at home
Oxford University Press surveyed over 1,300 teachers who reported that the word gap is not only affecting children’s achievement at school but also that it can have a damaging impact on self-esteem and children’s ability to make friends. Find out what you can do to encourage language development at home.
How to write your best story ever!
Christopher Edge, author of ‘How to Write your Best Story Ever!’, shares his top 10 tips to help your child write amazing stories.
Tom McLaughlin’s top 10 hilarious books
Children’s author Tom McLaughlin picks his 10 favourite funny books for children and teenagers, from classic stories to non-fiction to comic books.
Ben Davis’ top 10 funny books
Children’s author Ben Davis chooses his top 10 favourite funny books for children and teenagers, from old classics to brand new series.
4 fun ways to develop characters for a short story
Every story needs a star! These four fun activities will help any aspiring author dream up some page-turning protagonists.
4 top tips for writing great plots
Top tips for helping children develop great plots in their creative writing.
4 tips to inspire children’s creative writing
Coming up with a great story idea can be tricky, which is why we’ve gathered together four fun activities to inspire your child’s creative writing.
How to support your child as they start secondary school
Teacher and writer Jill Carter takes us through her tips for helping your child cope with the transition from primary to secondary school.
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