A REVOLUTIONARY new hi-tech way of studying Shakespeare has been launched.
The Royal Shakespeare Company and Foyle Foundation, joined by leading actors, have teamed-up on the RSC Shakespeare Curriculum, which uses the latest learning technology and innovation.
It is being hailed as the most important development in the teaching of the Bard in a generation, which it is claimed will radically change how Shakespeare is studied and taught in secondary schools not just in the UK, but around the world.
It responds to ongoing concerns from teachers and young people about the way in which the world’s most famous writer is experienced by many schoolchildren, with the aim for 80 per cent of all UK secondary schools to use the Shakespeare Curriculum by 2029.
The first resource of its kind and free to use for all state and SEND secondary schools, it concentrates the RSC’s award-winning teaching approaches into a digital platform for teachers and students to learn about Shakespeare, immersing them in the creative world of an RSC rehearsal room.
Grounded in the techniques used by actors and directors, the Shakespeare Curriculum takes students beyond their desks, unlocking language, character and themes and fostering vital skills for school, life and work.
The RSC Shakespeare Curriculum has been created with major investment from the Foyle Foundation as one of the key projects recently announced for the long-term legacy of the foundation.
Sir Ian McKellen, who has trod the RSC stage many times during his distinguished career of stage and screen, explained: “Actors, better than other Shakespeare lovers, know how difficult it is to transform his words on the page into living, breathing characters on the stage where they belong.
“To expect schoolchildren to grapple with such problems may well put them off Shakespeare for life. Ever since I was at school, reading a troublesome text around the classroom, I have wondered how professional theatre people might help English teachers who too often feel inadequate to the task. Now the Royal Shakespeare Company has come up with an answer, a practical way for teachers to lead students to an appreciation of the plays,not just as written texts but as a starting place to explore the excitement of live theatre.
Approximately 2million young people in the UK study Shakespeare in any given year. From a 2012 study by the RSC and British Council, approximately half of schoolchildren in the world study Shakespeare and his plays each year.
The Shakespeare Curriculum turns Shakespeare’s ten most studied plays into a 24-part creative learning adventure, bringing the RSC’s unique blend of theatre practice, research and digital innovation into schools.
Drawing on thousands of unique archive resources, and decades of world-renowned productions featuring leading actors in defining performances, it aims to put young people in control of their Shakespeare learning.
Launching the curriculum, RSC director of creative learning Jacqui O’Hanlon, said:
“The RSC has worked with thousands of teachers and young people over 20 years and we understand the challenges of teaching and learning about plays that were written over 400 years ago. The Shakespeare Curriculum responds to this challenge.
“Research shows that the combination of Shakespeare’s language and RSC teaching approaches improve young people’s academic, social and emotional development. As well as improved language development, writing and oracy skills, this work improves communication, self-belief and well-being and develops creative problem-solving skills.”
Visit shakespearecurriculum.com for full details.
