Shakespeare to play larger part in school life

The move is part of a new Government-backed campaign by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which says it wants to open up the Bard’s legacy to every child in Britain.

The Trust is launching a new Shakespeare Week, which will take place for the first time between March 17 and 23 next year,the 450th anniversary of the playwright’s birth.

It said that, as part of the campaign, it is setting up a bank of free online materials to give teachers ideas on how to educate children about Shakespeare in lessons ranging from drama and creative writing to cookery and sport. This could include making traditional Tudor dishes in cooking lessons, and presenting the Bard’s plays in drama classes.

Education Secretary Michael Govesaid: “Shakespeare’s language is our language. It is our inheritance. Through Shakespeare Week, many pupils will have the chance to share and enjoy this inheritance.”

The campaign has also won the support of leading academics as well as actors such as York-born Dame Judi Dench. By 2018, it is hoped that more than three million children, their families and schools will have taken part in Shakespeare Week, according to the Trust, which oversees Shakespeare sites in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Ministers have already announced plans for children to study more of Shakespeare’s work in schools.