English Grammar Day 2026
Courtesy British Library, Shelfmark: 12981.bb.46, https://www.imagesonline.bl.uk/asset/32598
The English Faculty is one of the supporters of the 2026 English Grammar Day, alongside UCL, and the British Library. This year's event will be held at the British Library on 29 June from 9am to 5pm. Registration is now open.
Are you sat down or sitting down while reading this? Have you got or do you have a preference for one form over the other? English has a number of ways of expressing the same concept, and with approximately 400 million mother-tongue speakers and an estimated 1.4 billion non-native speakers it has become a diverse, flexible language that continues to adapt, evolve – and provoke strong reactions. You only need to search for #grammar on X to see what we mean!
Developments in the National Curriculum for England have placed grammar in schools at centre stage once more, and divided opinion among politicians, teachers, linguists and journalists, as well as the wider public, on how and whether it should be taught. How have teachers implemented changes to their teaching and learning programmes to adapt to the new syllabuses, assessment criteria and tests? What resources are available for students, teachers and the general public to learn more about English grammar, and how reliable are they? What is or should be the role of English grammar teaching in schools today and why is this so controversial? What do teachers, professionals, academics and the general public feel is the cultural and educational significance of knowledge about the language?
Join us for a day of talks and discussion, and feel free to ask our panel of experts to explore any aspect of English grammar from ain’t to innit.
Presented by University College London, the British Library and the University of Oxford, with the Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas.
Programme
| 09:15-9:45 | Registration |
|---|---|
| 09:50-10:00 | Welcome & Introduction |
| 10:00-10:30 | Tom Freeman (Editor), What’s the point in being right? |
| 10:30-11:00 | Charlotte Brewer (University of Oxford), Giving and taking offence |
| 11:00-11:45 | Coffee break* |
| 11:45-12:15 | Greg Tate (University of St Andrews), H. G. Wells and the Evolution of Grammar |
| 12:15-12:45 | John Williams (University of Portsmouth), Exploring the ‘neighbourhood effect’ in English adverb formation: a historical case study |
| 12:45-13:45 | Lunch break* |
| 13:45-14:15 | Caitlin Hogan (Queen Mary, University of London), Do you speak K-Pop fan? Examining language use amongst fan communities online |
| 14:15-14:45 | Kirsty Bradshaw (Penketh High School), ‘But we don’t have time to faff with the grammar!’ Using grammar as a powerful ingredient in a concept-led curriculum |
| 14:45-15:30 | Tea* |
| 15:30-16:45 | ‘Any Questions?’ panel led by Professor Devyani Sharma, University of Oxford |
| 16:45 |
Close
|
*Coffee/tea is included but lunch is not provided: there are numerous food outlets at the British Library and within a short walking distance nearby.
