No one in my house really knows a lot about Shakespeare,
but I do come home and tell my parents about it
and they do think like how good it would have been to do it.
We've been doing the scene (from) Macbeth and
I'm really enjoying it because I like moving about.
I'm getting there but I've still got
bits to learn and bits to get through
but it's really really fun to like say
words that I can't really say properly
I am sick when I do luck on thee puppy-headed flap dragon.
It's really fun because now I'm
not as embarrassed as I used to be.
You are a bootless, toad spotted boar pig.
Every year the RSC's learning team
reaches half a million young people
through resources, workshops, events
and teacher professional development.
A flagship program at the heart of our
work is the Associate Schools Program
a network of 250 schools and 12 regional theatres in areas
of structural disadvantage across England.
And with newly announced
partnerships that number is set to grow.
[sound of seagulls]
The RSC has collaborated with the Blackpool Grand and
primary and secondary schools in Blackpool
for the past 10 years including this one.
These children aged between 7 and 11 learn Shakespeare
through the active approaches
of acting and rehearsal room techniques.
Their teacher has been through a program
of professional development with the RSC
and the Blackpool Grand.
The pupils see an increase in their attainment, self-esteem
and access to an arts rich education.
In this area in Blackpool there is
low levels of literacy with parents.
We have lots of children in care, children who are in
difficult circumstances at home,
have low economic circumstances,
low cultural capital and who really struggle.
So to come into an environment like this and do Shakespeare,
it's breaking that barrier down
and letting them know that they can do that too.
We increase their aspirations for the future.
It's like, "Mrs Ormerod just made Shakespeare fun!"
Really? And it's not boring.
We did Shakespeare as a class and
I was one of the background actors
and when I got picked to be an
actor I felt really confident
and I think that's just boosted my confidence ever since.
Some of the words are like
really hard to understand and remember
so yeah that's what I struggle with.
I think I enjoy drama more than just writing things down
because I think I'll remember it loads.
You just get to be free and do your
own stuff and put your own ideas into it.
Anything can frighten you but I think
once you get used to it it's easier
and I've got these little books
that I read before I do a play
so if I know I'm doing The Tempest
I'll read The Tempest on a kids' version
so I'll be able to get a higher understanding of the play.
I like how we always have a go at anything.
It doesn't matter what it is or if you
just have a go at it you can achieve it.
The work at this school comes through
collaboration with the Blackpool Grand
as part of the Associate
School Programme's partnership model.
The RSC collaborates with regional theatres and lead
associate schools across the country
to develop work that will create
opportunities for children and young people
that haven't previously existed.
Each lead school recruits and leads a cluster of up to 10
further associate schools in that region.
New partnerships in Skegness,
Coventry, Corby, Peterborough and Hartlepool
will start later this year
with more to be announced in 2024.
At the Blackpool Grand the RSC's touring production of
Julius Caesar has arrived for the week
and to mark it, children from one of the partner schools are
here to entertain audience members.
Just one of the opportunities the
young people here have been given.
There's been so many lovely stories over the years of
things that have happened in schools,
reluctant readers who will read
lines of Shakespeare and we then say,
"Oh you've just been reading."
"Well I haven't, I was acting."
I think one of my favourite stories was when the children
came in from break time in one school
and said, "Miss, they were behaving like the Montagues and
Capulets out there, it was chaos."
And I mean I just think that that it's everyday language to
them, they expect Shakespeare to happen.
One of the really great things of the programme early on
was the training and professional
development for the teachers in particular and our staff
who then got postgraduate award in the
teaching of Shakespeare through Warwick University. So for
me what's great about the RSC is that
it genuinely has been on a journey with us and has responded to questions around resource,
around professional development and around understanding
what it really truly means to
kind of look at the local needs and adapt accordingly. It's
a great relationship, fantastic partnership.
Through the work with the Associate Schools Programme we're
able to help raise aspirations in the town.
We definitely are changing lives,
The Royal Shakespeare Company is changing lives, Blackpool Grand is changing lives.
We are making a difference. Young people call this theatre home
when actually home might not be a particularly safe or
happy place, actually this is. And if we're
inspiring that spark we hopefully get that next generation
of people that love live performance
and will be sitting here in this spot talking to you in 30, 40, 50 years time and making sure this
building's here for another 125 years in the future.
The work has been shown to increase standards
in reading, writing and language skills, close attainment
gaps and help children to get along
better with their peers. And 200 miles away on the other
side of the country, leaders in the
small Lincolnshire town of Skegness are excited to see those benefits when they join the programme this summer.
The national average for free school meals
generally in schools is around 24%.
Our free school meal uptake is between 60 and 70% so we
equip them with whatever they may need as
far as we possibly can. One of the other challenges is
seasonal employment so families may come here
moving from other areas of the country. Their housing is temporary, their jobs are temporary
then children are here for a short time then they may leave again.
So while we have them with us
we want to make sure we settle them quickly, we give them
as much as we possibly can, support them
in the best way and then we know we've done our best for them.
If children can leave us having
had access to the highest quality English, literacy, text through Shakespeare through our teaching and
learning that would be absolutely amazing. Working with the
Royal Shakespeare Company in tandem with
the Embassy [Theatre] which is a really exciting prospect for our
children to perform on a stage will allow
them to think of a career in the arts.
We're sitting in the Embassy Theatre here now and with
the partnerships with organisations such as the RSC for young people to be able to see an internationally
renowned organisation, come to their area, do things in
their area, be part of that community
or change things and give completely new perspectives on
what they can only dream to achieve in the
coming years. It will be seismic social change, seismic
educational change, the skills that are
aligned to the creative industries will for once be aligned to this coast in an area that's really deprived.
The options for young people in the future
because of this partnership are untold and hugely exciting.
It feels a little bit like a surreal
sort of dream to have the Royal Shakespeare Company
coming to Skegness. It is a once in a lifetime
opportunity and we really hope that we're
going to be able to put back into the community in terms of helping their education, helping a
little bit more confidence with their life skills and
actually get people realising that you know
literature, the arts, Shakespeare is in our everyday lives.
It's going to be absolutely revolutionary.
Lincolnshire would never have seen this sort of stuff
happening. People would not have actually
thought this would ever be delivered here. We are so
We are so excited about this partnership.
This provides an absolute classic opportunity for us to be able to really
focus on local community now and
hopefully it will prevent that notorious brain drain and
will keep people local because this is
a huge huge opportunity for this local area and one that I
think so many people are going to embrace.
Let's crack on.