The High Master and Little Billy Clough is a humorous short story written by John Waddington-Feather (born 1933), a British author who belongs to the West Yorkshire 'school' of writers.

Set in North Yorkshire, the story not only tells about a twelve-year old boy placed in a ‘select’ school to iron out his accent, but also provides a great opportunity to explore the role of accents in British society.

Level: Intermediate

Age: 14+

Jackie Kay's story My Daughter, The Fox gives the reader an unusual view of the mother/child relationship. As the title suggests, the narrator's daughter isn't human, but the feelings generated between mother and daughter are universal and so the scene is set for the paradox to be played out.

To find out more about the Britlit writing team in Russia and watch an interview with the team, click here or follow the link below:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/britlit/britlit-russia-meet-team

About the team

My Daughter, The Fox is the first in a series of four kits written by school and university teachers from Russia, under the guidance of Alan Pulverness and co-ordinated by the British Council, Russia. This collaborative project was the direct result of a course run by NILE (Norwich Institute of Language Education) in 2011 in which two of the Russian teachers were enrolled and which Alan taught. The teachers involved in the writing of the kit based on My Daughter, The Fox were:

Katya Toroptseva (group leader), Mikhail Mamaev, Yulia Klimenova, Ludmila Borbotko, Nina Skitina, Ekaterina Mikhailovskaya and Ludmila Talsi.

Alan and members of the project team can be seen discussing the work and their involvement in this video made by the British Council, Russia.

Giffen is an unpleasant man who is always on the lookout for ways to trick money out of 'suckers' and his amazing glue seems to be the perfect way to do this. Until he come across Flinty, that is.

Strap Box Flyer is from the pen of one of Australia's most popular writers for children, Paul Jennings.  This kit was assembled - without using any glue - by teachers from India, Portugal and Turkey on a NILE (Norwich Institute of Language Education) summer course.

A young Sri Lankan woman needs some advice. Her mother wants her to marry a rich man that she has never met, but what does her boyfriend think?

‘Billy Elliot’ is the story of a boy from a coal mining family who decides to be a ballet dancer.

David loves football, but his mum can’t afford to take him to see his beloved United play. One day he sees something over the garden fence that doesn’t look right. What should he do?

A fourteen year old finds himself in trouble with the school Principal – again. This time, however, he has a genuine excuse, but is he likely to be believed?