Turnstones 1: an English course for Scotland is the first volume in a series written to match the English curriculum in Scottish secondary schools. The illustrated book is focused primarily on developing writing and language skills, with some excellent knowledge about language integrated into the programmes.

A welcome aspect of the content is its use of modern Scottish writers, as both source and exemplar material, throughout the series of activities. The text also contains a specific section entitled “Pittin it in Scots”, which will please supporters of the language, and the section is usefully reinforced at various stages in the book. It reads as one of the more fun activities included.

With 26 sections in total, the book is comprehensive in its coverage. It is designed to allow teachers to dip in and select the particular activities they wish to focus on, if they prefer not to work through the various writing genres.

Generally speaking, smaller units of writing build towards a more extended piece, although in some units the total of potential writing seemed somewhat onerous and would take a fair amount of time to work through with a mixed ability S1 class. Teacher discretion might be required.

The topics covered reveal the writers’ familiarity with S1 - personal feelings, biography, being bullied - and this strength of the book means that it could be used easily in conjunction with many existing schemes of work.

Towards the end of the sections there are some shorter but important units that are both useful and concise: persuasion, debate and formal writing, in particular.

Overall, the book presents a set of good, and in some cases very good, writing units which have clearly come from classroom practice and an understanding of what tends to work and what doesn’t. They perhaps do not gel together into a single programme as well as they might, but teachers will tend to pick the units they like best in any case and, indeed, the book claims to “allow teachers to choose their own routes, navigating towards flexible yet rational progression”.

There are several references to a supporting CD-Rom of the same title which should be a resourceful tool for extension work in the classroom.

All in all, a useful addition to English book cupboards.

Larry Flanagan is principal teacher of English at Hillhead High, Glasgow