We’re thrilled to announce the start of the British Academic Written English Secondary School (BAWESS) corpus project! As a team of seven passionate researchers, we’re delighted to share our journey and first updates on this ambitious, funded initiative aimed at improving teaching and learning outcomes at secondary schools.
Supported by an exceptional advisory board of internationally recognised experts, our project aims to break new ground by developing the first discipline-specific corpus of secondary school student written texts in the exam years. This invaluable resource will be made publicly available online, empowering teachers, students, and researchers to explore learner writing in preparation for high-stakes examinations such as GCSE, IGCSE, A Level, and the International Baccalaureate (IB) across the curriculum.
Milestones Achieved So Far
We’re excited to share that the University of Bath’s Social Science Research Ethics Committee has approved our project, enabling us to begin engaging with schools for data collection. The response from schools has been encouraging, with several institutions—both within the UK and internationally—expressing interest in participating. Among our growing network are diverse schools, trusts, and independent organisations, united by their commitment to enhancing secondary school learner outcomes.
Get Involved!
The success of the BAWESS project lies in collaboration, and we’re currently welcoming new schools to join this exciting journey. If you’re interested in participating or know someone who might be, we’d love to hear from you! Please complete our online form or contact us at bawess@bath.ac.uk to learn more about how you can contribute to shaping the future of learner writing research.
Stay Tuned!
We’ll be sharing regular updates as we progress through this innovative research. From data collection milestones to insights from our findings, we’re looking forward to keeping you engaged every step of the way.
You can read more about our project here.
Let’s create something remarkable together!
The BAWESS Research Team
