Bethany Appleton, Schools Manager at Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, explains why Shakespeare Schools Festival is the perfect arts participation programme for young people of all ages…
Each year, Shakespeare Schools Festival gives thousands of young people from hundreds of schools opportunities to perform abridged Shakespeare plays on professional theatre stages.
About me
Bethany Appleton is Schools Manager at Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation
Who is the Festival for?
Shakespeare Schools Festival is for all young people aged 8–18. From Inverness to inner London, we work with students of all backgrounds and abilities across primary, secondary and SEND schools, state and independent.
How does it work?
Our Theatre Festival gives teachers all the resources they need to put their students onstage. We begin by supplying schools with a wealth of award-winning curriculum resources and abridged scripts to support the teaching and performance of their chosen abridged play.
A CPD day for teachers based on rehearsal room practice brings educators together from across the region at a local hub, to develop their directing skills, and provide them with tools for their wider teaching practice. This is followed up by a workshop with a professional theatre-maker in school, giving young people a thrilling creative experience.
After more rehearsals in school, the performance day arrives and your company take to a professional theatre stage, in an exhilarating evening performance in front of an audience of family and friends.
“Our programmes support young people to develop the confidence, oracy and essential skills they’ll need for life.”
What impact does it have on young people and teachers?
Our programmes support young people to develop the confidence, oracy and essential skills they’ll need for life. At the end of every Festival, we ask our teachers to tell us about the impact of the programme on their students. Here’s what they say:
- 100% of teachers say their students have pride and confidence in themselves
- 99% of teachers report students are more able to work effectively as a team
- 80% of teachers tell us their students’ academic attainment has improved
The process also develops the teachers who take part. Helen, a teacher in Bourne, told us: “I can see how these approaches fit into my teaching practice. The facilitator was an excellent trainer; very knowledgeable and engaging.”
Tim in Cambridge described our CPD and wider work in three simple words: “Refreshing, uplifting, inspiring.”
What do our young people say?
Every year, we hear from young people who have flourished through having the opportunity to take to the stage. They tell us of the exhilaration of performance, the confidence gained in overcoming a mighty challenge and the pride in receiving the applause of their community.
As one nine-year-old boy from Old Catton Junior School, Norwich, told us, stepping off stage, “It was the best day of my life. I felt like I had just conquered the world.”
Give your students that “just-conquered-the-world” feeling. Call Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation on 020 7601 1800, email outreach.ssf@coram.org.uk or visit www.shakespeareschools.org to find out more.
- Your students perform abridged Shakespeare on a professional theatre stage
- Participation starts at £1,379 +VAT per cast for UK state schools
- Suitable for primary, secondary and SEND schools
