The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), in partnership with the Foyle Foundation and leading actors, has launched the RSC Shakespeare Curriculum, a groundbreaking approach to teaching Shakespeare. This new initiative aims to transform how secondary school students across the UK and worldwide experience Shakespeare’s works by combining cutting-edge educational technology with theatrical practice.
Designed to address long-standing concerns about how Shakespeare is taught in schools, the curriculum targets implementation in 80% of UK secondary schools by the 2029/30 academic year. It offers a free resource specifically for state and SEND schools, aiming to engage young learners more deeply and creatively with Shakespeare’s plays.
A New Era in Shakespeare Education
The RSC Shakespeare Curriculum reimagines Shakespeare’s ten most studied plays as a 24-part interactive learning journey. It draws on the RSC’s decades of experience in theatre production, research, and archive materials, inviting students to explore the texts through performance techniques used by actors and directors. This experiential approach moves students beyond traditional classroom study, helping them unlock Shakespeare’s language, character development, and themes in a way that connects with their lives and futures.
With significant funding from the Foyle Foundation, this curriculum is a major educational investment intended to leave a lasting legacy. It offers state and SEND secondary schools free access to a platform developed alongside Charanga, a company specializing in digital arts education technology, ensuring the resource is both innovative and user-friendly for educators and pupils alike.
The curriculum is structured around the rehearsal process familiar to theatre professionals, giving students the opportunity to engage directly with the creative choices actors and directors make. This hands-on approach aims to bring the dynamic energy of theatre-making into the classroom, encouraging active participation and creative problem-solving.
The full curriculum is now accessible online through shakespearecurriculum.com.
Voices Behind the Curriculum
David Hall, Chief Executive of the Foyle Foundation, expressed his pride in the long partnership with the RSC, stating,
“Our relationship with the RSC has extended over a period of more than twenty years, culminating in the development of the Shakespeare Curriculum. We are immensely proud that this will be a legacy for future generations of the work we have done together and honoured to be able to play a part in supporting the extraordinary achievements of the RSC.”
Renowned actor Ian McKellen highlighted the challenges Shakespeare’s texts present for students and teachers, saying,
“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.”
Jacqui O’Hanlon, RSC Director of Creative Learning, detailed the benefits this curriculum offers to pupils:
“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. Through the RSC Shakespeare Curriculum, all state secondary and SEND schools will have free access to this transformational way of teaching and learning about Shakespeare’s plays.”
Actor Helen Mirren, serving as an RSC Honorary Associate Artist, emphasized the collaborative nature at the heart of the curriculum:
“Rehearsal rooms are places where we explore possibilities; where we look at a play written 400 years ago as if it was new, with the ink still wet on the page. In a rehearsal room we are questioning, experimenting and bringing our own experiences and interpretations to Shakespeare’s stories. That spirit of collaboration and creative enquiry sits at the very heart of the RSC’s new Shakespeare Curriculum: bringing the energy of the rehearsal room into secondary schools across the country, turning classrooms into places where inquiry, co-operation and creativity flourish.”
Adjoa Andoh, RSC Associate Artist, spoke directly to students who have previously struggled with Shakespeare:
“If you have found Shakespeare boring or confusing or not relevant, if you have been made to feel like you’re not smart enough, or you can’t concentrate enough, or people don’t think you’re worth bothering with, that’s other people’s fault not yours – with the Shakespeare Curriculum all this is about to change. It is about giving you the chance to get up on your feet and deep dive into the crazy, heartbreaking hilarious, thrilling world of Shakespeare’s stories – stories you will recognise as things you have experienced in your own lives, as things that are happening in the world around you today, and you’ll feel it, you’ll understand it and you’ll get to live it out in rehearsals. Shakespeare is relevant yesterday, today and tomorrow – and yours for the taking. Come join us, breathe out, dive in – Shakespeare can change your life – he did mine!”
UK government Arts Minister Ian Murray praised the initiative’s role in enhancing accessibility:
“All the world’s a stage, and all children can be players! Learning with Shakespeare is a perfect way for young people to build confidence and language skills, and I’m thrilled to see the RSC supporting pupils across the country with this programme. I want theatre and the arts to be accessible to every child, all across the UK, and this is a wonderful step towards that.”
Shaping the Future of Shakespeare Learning
The creation of the RSC Shakespeare Curriculum represents a significant shift in how Shakespeare is introduced to young audiences, moving away from passive reading to an active, creative engagement with the material. By involving students in processes similar to those used by professional theatre practitioners, the curriculum not only helps demystify Shakespeare’s complex language but also nurtures important skills like communication, teamwork, and creative thinking.
With backing from influential actors such as Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren, along with dedicated educators and supporters, the curriculum is positioned to become an essential resource in classrooms throughout the UK. Its free availability for state and SEND schools removes barriers and ensures a wide-reaching impact, addressing past educational challenges around Shakespeare’s relevance and accessibility.
As the RSC Shakespeare Curriculum rolls out over the coming years, it promises to reinvigorate the study of Shakespeare, inspiring generations of pupils to see his works not only as historic texts but as vibrant stories still alive on the stage and in their lives.
