We're so excited and proud to be shortlisted for this award in a category with so many brilliant initiatives 🏆🤞 @timeshighered.bsky.social

Outreach initiatives such as ‘School Tasking’ help academics connect with young learners and make higher education feel approachable, write Ali Struthers and Alex Horne: www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/snail... #Academia #HigherEd #AcademicChatter #AcademicSky #EduSky

We wrote a thing! But, perhaps more importantly, this @timeshighered.bsky.social article contains an exclusive on whether @alexhorne.bsky.social considers Jaffa Cakes to be cakes or biscuits... 👀

New article in @timeshighered.bsky.social by @dralistruthers.bsky.social & (Dr) @alexhorne.bsky.social on the importance of being playful in outreach with children 🤩 www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/snail...

Nudging this one. A big thank you to those who have already donated or entered the raffle.

Took littlest to the gorgeous children’s bookshop, How Brave is The Wren, in King’s Heath this afternoon to see one of her favourite people, @alexhorne.bsky.social, & collect 50 copies of the @thehornesection.bsky.social’s super Make Some Noise 🎼🎶 #SchoolTasking prizes for 25-26 sorted!

School trips just got even better… @taskmasteredu.bsky.social × @englishheritage.bsky.social = chaos, history and creativity combined. Teachers - we've created a special set of tasks to use during your trip. www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/school... @taskmaster.tv @alexhorne.bsky.social

Some things are exciting even when you work for #Taskmaster 🏆

You can make your own Little Little Alex (or Greg) using the patterns available in Triin's online shop at below link 🧶 Tiny versions of yourself are also available (though @dralistruthers.bsky.social would like it to be noted that the Tiny Ali was a gift & she's not, in fact, an egomaniac)

These Little Little Alexes have been the School Tasking project mascot for 4 years now & are made by the unbelievably talented Triin Lane (Crafty Estonean on Instagram). Looks like Little Little Alex is getting his 15 minutes of fame on the show tonight!

To celebrate #Taskmaster day, I've woken up my Etsy shop (after being asleep for six months 😅). Just a couple of Alexes in there for now but hopefully more soon! www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Felt...

Whilst we're on the subject of #Taskmaster, our 2024-25 impact report is now available: taskmastereducation.com/sites/defaul... We're so proud of the fact that last year we worked with schools in some of the least-advantaged areas across the UK & Ireland. And the kids really enjoyed the project 🤩

OOOH! Happy #Taskmaster day to all those who celebrate 🎉

Whilst looking for a specific photo, we stumbled upon this absolute gem from the #SchoolTasking Champion of Champions.

Hello! I’m fundraising for SHOC. Here’s my JustGiving page, if you’d like to donate: www.justgiving.com/page/littlea...

And just to kick off the season with a lovely piece of news, we've been shortlisted for the @timeshighered.bsky.social Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year for 2025! 🏆 Check out this piece by @dralistruthers.bsky.social & @alexhorne.bsky.social that featured in THE last year 🤩

We've been super quiet over the summer with the whole team having a well-earned rest, but #SchoolTasking action is ramping up once again for the start of the 2025-26 season! Are you a university keen to find out more? Now is the time to reach out for an initial chat. It's LOTS of fun, we promise.

And here are a few more of them - a small proportion of the fabulous OG #SchoolTasking cohort that took a punt on the project 3 years ago 🎓

It's been a bit of a whirlwind starting #SchoolTasking 4 years ago & then ending up seconded to Avalon for 2 days of my working week co-running #TaskmasterEducation. I stumbled across Maisie Parkes on Instagram & loved the little clay houses she made, so decided to commission a little memento 🤍

It's graduation season & the per'ect time to revisit the 'unniest hon grad speech o' them all 🎓 #SchoolTasking

Only managed to round up a few of them but I'm so pleased to be celebrating this graduating cohort today 🎓 These are the OG #SchoolTasking students: the ones who took a punt on my hare-brained scheme back in 2022 & have been the most brilliant team ever. So proud of what they've achieved 👏

And if you're not so minded to read an academic paper (let's be honest, they're not widely regarded as light reading), then Ali & Alex wrote this snappier version last year about why #SchoolTasking runs in the way that it does for @timeshighered.bsky.social, so you could always read that instead 😉

When: - you know Alex to be a lovely & multi-talented human; - your youngest is his biggest fan; & - your eldest is a reluctant reader, it's really an obvious purchase to make. And from an independent bookshop too 📚 We're looking forward to reading it - congratulations @alexhorne.bsky.social 🎉

If you're wondering why we run #SchoolTasking in the way that we do (big if) then please do have a read of this article, where we talk about the importance of: - Early intervention for university outreach work; - How gamification can make this work genuinely engaging for younger learners.

I loved this day…

Last month more than 800 little Taskers descended upon the Warwick Arts Centre for the School Tasking Champion of Champions 2025, and you can recap the madness in this lovely video below 👇

It's here! Our amazing #SchoolTasking Champion of Champions video from Lightyear Films 🤩 Please watch & enjoy our wonderful, chaotic day celebrating these brilliant kids taking centre stage alongside @alexhorne.bsky.social 👏 Also, the end quote from Da Nuggets is just 👌 😂 youtu.be/rDy0kNIXKOg

And well done to Martha who was a sterling representative for the student team at today's awards 👏 Will be sad to see my OG #SchoolTasking cohort graduate next week, but also looking forward to celebrating with them 🎓 What a team!

We're celebrating our student team today who have won the Student Social Mobility Champion Award at the Warwick Awards for Public and Community Engagement. We're so proud to work with such a dedicated and brilliant team. Well done everyone!

And, actually, finding your tribe anywhere is pretty amazing. This gang ♥️ #SchoolTasking

A few new universities have expressed interest in joining #SchoolTasking for 2025-26. If your institution isn't yet involved, but you'd like to find out more, do come along to an introductory call happening tomorrow at 2pm. Please DM or email [email protected] to get the link ✉️

Please can we take a moment to appreciate what was happening behind me as I was being filmed for this video...🦆 (thanks for the footage, @philjemmett.bsky.social 😂)

Have stolen this little video from the University of Warwick's social media 🏆 When Alex said the 'Taskmaster Education' day, we all know he meant 'School Tasking' day, of course... 😉 There's definitely no confusion between these two things. Nope. None at all... 😂

Well done again to Da Nuggets from Pirniehall Primary in Edinburgh 🎉 www.law.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...

Happy International Pineapple Day to all who celebrate 🍍

Eagle-eyed amongst you might have spotted the #SchoolTasking mascot, crocheted Little Alex Horne, in tonight's episode 🤩 Made by the brilliant Triin Lane (Crafty Estonean) 🤍

Following the staff Away Day on Tuesday, that's officially a wrap on #SchoolTasking 2024-25 🎉 And we've already started planning for 2025-26! 40 universities taking part (our biggest year yet) & Champion of Champions date locked in 🏆 Want your university to be involved? Get in touch ✉️

I simply couldn't be prouder of my 28-strong #SchoolTasking student team 🤩 Fresh off the back of their impressive Law Works Award, they've only gone and won the Warwick Institute of Engagement's Warwick Award for Public and Community Engagement in the Student Social Mobility Champion category! 🏆

We say this every year (on platforms that Alex isn't really active on, because he gets embarrassed when people say nice things about him out loud...) but he gives so much time and attention to these kids, making their day just so special ✨

Special shout out here to @philjemmett.bsky.social who, every year, takes the winning trophy from the Champion of Champions Prize Task & makes it into the real trophy for the next year of the competition. Here is Phil with last year's trophy & the real trophy that the children won this year 🏆

Huge thanks to Kimberley @nocontextcolouring.bsky.social for generously giving us some fab colouring pdfs for our VIP area yesterday. There was a really lovely moment when the kids were all colouring in Alex's face (on the drawing page) then looked up to see the real Alex Horne at their table! 💌

School Tasking Champion of Champions was an absolute blast! #Taskmaster

It's such hard work putting on a show on this scale & I really couldn't do it without the help of the best team around. I think we get a little bit better at it each year. But each year I also struggle to put into words just how much I appreciate the support & dedication of these people ♥️

WHAT A DAY! 🎉 Congratulations to Da Nuggets from Pirniehall Primary in Edinburgh - our #SchoolTasking Champions 2025! 🏆 The kids today were all absolutely brilliant! And a huge thank you, once again, to the always wonderful @alexhorne.bsky.social for making the day so special for our kids 🤩

Champion of Champions preparation is going very well. #SchoolTasking

Getting all the important work done today #Schooltasking #Taskmaster

Feedback from Kirsten & Suyi is that Alex was an absolute nightmare. Smashed their teacups in a rage, yelled at the staff, swept everything off the table & goodness me, the swearing. All the swearing. (disclaimer because, you know, Bluesky: this is a joke based on a recent episode of the show...)

The lucky winners of the #SchoolTasking raffle, Kirsten & Suyi, visited the #Taskmaster House yesterday & had a fabulous time enjoying a tour & having a cuppa with @alexhorne.bsky.social 🫖 Thank you all again for supporting the raffle, which made such a huge difference to the project this year 🎉