Schools reported better SATS and GCSE English scores after teaching Shakespeare in a similar way to actors in rehearsals.
A study by the University of Warwick, which included 100 schools nationwide, showed that using the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) approach to studying Shakespeare can significantly improve pupil’s language skills and class engagement.
The approach involves theatrical groupwork, exploring characters through voice, movement and roleplay rather than just reading it in class.
95% of teachers said students became more willing to contribute ideas in lessons after using the RSC’s methods.
The same percentage reported a positive impact on children’s self-confidence, helping young people find their voice in the classroom.
83.9% of teachers said the RSC’s Shakespearean methods improved students’ spoken and written language.
CREDIT: AP
The Director of Education at RSC, Jacqui O’Hanlon, said the study “supports what we’ve always known: that the combination of Shakespeare’s complex language and a theatre-based approach to teaching, combine to give children of all abilities the language and confidence to express themselves and their ideas more easily.”
Ms O’Hanlon told the Telegraph teaching Shakespeare to all young children “narrows the gap” between those from disadvantaged families and more well-off households.
Eastbury began their partnership with the RSC in 2013. The Head of English at the school, Jolaine Fox, said “the buzz it creates is palpable.”
English Lead Practitioner, Anita Ark, said Eastbury’s aim with the RSC programme was “developing approaches with teaching Shakespeare to increase academic attainment and enrich the cultural capitals of our learners… It has significantly contributed to the sustained progress in English GCSE attainment.”
Nora Aveston, Chair of The Shakespeare Reading Society, says: “Even young children can appreciate Shakespeare, because the stories, the narratives are very vivid… if children start performing in them, they will totally get it – they are very powerful vehicles and they don’t date.”
“His observation of human behaviour is very acute. For teenagers, the language is very imaginative, but it’s also very precise. I think studying the language is very important, it helps to increase the vocabulary of teenagers and beyond, and encourages them to express themselves, it gives them that confidence,” Nora adds.
CREDIT: AP
Edward Paleit, Shakespeare lecturer at City St George’s, University of London, says: “that’s one of the things about reading Shakespeare, you come away thinking that is the best or most extraordinary way to express that I’ve ever read.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that being exposed to Shakespeare would improve your literacy because his language is rich. His work has shaped the English language, so there’s a circularity there, if you teach Shakespeare, you’re effectively reinforcing the way the English Language is developed”, Edward adds.
Nora said, “There just isn’t anything else like Shakespeare… and all the different ways it feeds the imagination of the growing person. You’ve got to give them rich fodder to feed on, if it’s not nutritious enough they don’t get enough out of it. And they’re plays, you’ve not just got the printed page, you’ve got lots of wonderful recordings to show people.”
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HeadlineDramatic Improvement In School Pupils’ English With Theatrical Shakespeare Programme
Short HeadlineDramatic Improvement In Pupils' English Results With Theatrical Shakespeare
StandfirstThe Royal Shakespeare Company’s theatre-based approach provided children with more confidence and improved levels of written and spoken English.
Schools reported better SATS and GCSE English scores after teaching Shakespeare in a similar way to actors in rehearsals.
A study by the University of Warwick, which included 100 schools nationwide, showed that using the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) approach to studying Shakespeare can significantly improve pupil’s language skills and class engagement.
The approach involves theatrical groupwork, exploring characters through voice, movement and roleplay rather than just reading it in class.
95% of teachers said students became more willing to contribute ideas in lessons after using the RSC’s methods.
The same percentage reported a positive impact on children’s self-confidence, helping young people find their voice in the classroom.
83.9% of teachers said the RSC’s Shakespearean methods improved students’ spoken and written language.
CREDIT: AP
The Director of Education at RSC, Jacqui O’Hanlon, said the study “supports what we’ve always known: that the combination of Shakespeare’s complex language and a theatre-based approach to teaching, combine to give children of all abilities the language and confidence to express themselves and their ideas more easily.”
Ms O’Hanlon told the Telegraph teaching Shakespeare to all young children “narrows the gap” between those from disadvantaged families and more well-off households.
Eastbury began their partnership with the RSC in 2013. The Head of English at the school, Jolaine Fox, said “the buzz it creates is palpable.”
English Lead Practitioner, Anita Ark, said Eastbury’s aim with the RSC programme was “developing approaches with teaching Shakespeare to increase academic attainment and enrich the cultural capitals of our learners… It has significantly contributed to the sustained progress in English GCSE attainment.”
Nora Aveston, Chair of The Shakespeare Reading Society, says: “Even young children can appreciate Shakespeare, because the stories, the narratives are very vivid… if children start performing in them, they will totally get it – they are very powerful vehicles and they don’t date.”
“His observation of human behaviour is very acute. For teenagers, the language is very imaginative, but it’s also very precise. I think studying the language is very important, it helps to increase the vocabulary of teenagers and beyond, and encourages them to express themselves, it gives them that confidence,” Nora adds.
CREDIT: AP
Edward Paleit, Shakespeare lecturer at City St George’s, University of London, says: “that’s one of the things about reading Shakespeare, you come away thinking that is the best or most extraordinary way to express that I’ve ever read.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that being exposed to Shakespeare would improve your literacy because his language is rich. His work has shaped the English language, so there’s a circularity there, if you teach Shakespeare, you’re effectively reinforcing the way the English Language is developed”, Edward adds.
Nora said, “There just isn’t anything else like Shakespeare… and all the different ways it feeds the imagination of the growing person. You’ve got to give them rich fodder to feed on, if it’s not nutritious enough they don’t get enough out of it. And they’re plays, you’ve not just got the printed page, you’ve got lots of wonderful recordings to show people.”
