RSC CONFERENCE SHOWCASES IMPACT OF SHAKESPEARE ON LITERACY, CONFIDENCE AND WHOLE SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Friday 22 June
Leading educator Geoff Barton will join world renowned voice coach Patsy Rodenburg at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) first conference for Headteachers and curriculum leads on Friday 22 June 2018.
‘Raising Achievement and Aspirations through Shakespeare’ will explore how Shakespeare and the RSC’s approach which uses the same techniques its actors use in rehearsals can improve language skills, confidence and SATS and GCSE English scores.
Taking place at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, the event is inspired by new research into the positive impact of the RSC’s Associate Schools Programme which is led and developed in partnership with schools and regional theatres nationwide.
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), and Patsy Rodenburg, one of the world’s leading voice teachers and coaches and a renowned authority on Shakespeare’s language, will both make keynote speeches.
Delegates will also hear from Headteachers across the country about the impact of the work on students, staff, whole schools and wider communities. They will also discover how to use the RSC’s approaches to teaching Shakespeare in their own classrooms to engage children of all ages and abilities – from the very youngest in reception to disengaged boys and lower-level learners.
The symposium is for Headteachers and curriculum leaders and takes place in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre on 22 June 2018.
Those attending will:
- Learn how this approach can improve student confidence, language skills and results
- Explore how the work can inspire lower level, disengaged and ESOL learners
- Understand the latest research into the value and impact of this work
- Take part in practical workshops introducing RSC rehearsal-based techniques
- Take away practical skills and ideas to use instantly in school
- Discover how the programme’s unique partnership model offers a cost-effective and highly impactful way for schools to give pupils access to the arts.
Jacqui O’Hanlon, Director of RSC Education, said:
“Many schools are experiencing a perfect storm of pressure to get results, alongside cuts to budgets and staffing. As a result, we are seeing the arts being squeezed out of the curriculum. This is incongruous when you consider the demands of the 21st century workplace and mounting evidence that creativity and the arts, as part of a ‘rounded’ education, can help hone vital communication and critical thinking skills.
Our own recent research by the University of Warwick has shown that when you teach Shakespeare using our rehearsal-based methods, children’s spoken and written language skills improve at the same time as their confidence to use that language and contribute ideas and opinions in the classroom. Primary and secondary schools report a direct correlation between the work that they do with us and improvements in SATS and GCSE English scores. We want to share this evidence with more schools so that they can also experience this impact.”
The RSC’s approach has been commended in partner school Ofsted reports and has been the focus of research by the University of Nottingham and the University of Warwick showing the positive outcomes of the work on raising aspirations and attainment across the curriculum.
The symposium is delivered in partnership with IVE, a social enterprise that is working to ensure a more creative future for businesses, teachers and young people. It supports the development of creativity as a transferable skill to improved employability and productivity. They aim to inspire the next generation of creative and culturally literate entrepreneurs.
Tickets £100 RSC Education Members / £110 non-Members. Book two places from the same school before 31 March 2018 for just £65 per person RSC Education Members / £75 non-Members. To book email education.boxoffice@rsc.org.uk or call the Education Ticket Hotline on 01789 403434 (between 8.30am and 5pm Monday to Friday term time only).
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For further information contact Jo Hammond on 07739 330294 or jo.hammond@rsc.org.uk
Notes to Editors:
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and THE KOVNER FOUNDATION
About the Associate Schools Programme
The RSC Associate Schools’ Programme is the RSC’s long-term partnership programme with over 500 schools and 10 regional theatre partners nationwide that aims to immerse teachers and students in a new approach to teaching Shakespeare, based on the techniques RSC actors use in rehearsals. Over the past decade the programme (and its predecessor the RSC Learning and Performance Network) has reached an estimated 1,320 teachers and 690,000 students.
Any state maintained primary, secondary or special school can apply to become an RSC Associate School. Schools sign up to work with us for a minimum two year period with the option to renew thereafter. Based on a hub and cluster models, schools can also become Lead Associate Schools and recruit their own local network of between 10-20 ‘cluster’ Associate Schools.
The Associate Schools programme is supported by PAUL HAMLYN FOUNDATION, THE POLONSKY FOUNDATION and THE ERNEST COOK TRUST
Further information can be found at www.rsc.org.uk/education/associate-schools-programme
Keynote Speakers
Geoff Barton, General Secretary, the Association of School & College Leaders (ASCL). He is a Founding Fellow of the English Association and writes for a range of newspapers and journals. He has worked with various organisations, including the Department for Education, on leadership and literacy. Geoff was a longstanding member of ASCL Council, former chair of its Pedagogy Committee, is Patron of the English and Media Centre, and a ‘Leading Thinker’ for the National Education Trust. He became General Secretary of ASCL in April 2017.
Patsy Rodenburg has been Head of Voice at the Guildhall School for over 30 years and until recently at the National Theatre. She trained in Voice Studies at the Central School of Speech and Drama and is recognised as one of the world’s leading voice teachers and coaches, and also as a renowned authority on Shakespeare.
Patsy has worked regularly with the best-known actors of British theatre, including Judi Dench, Ian McKellen and Daniel Day-Lewis, as well as many of the biggest stars of film and television including Nicole Kidman, Orlando Bloom, Hugh Jackman and Natalie Portman. She was previously in residence with the Royal Shakespeare Company (where she was appointed as a Board Member in 2013) and has worked with the Royal Court, Donmar Warehouse and Almeida Theatre. Patsy has also worked extensively with many international theatres such as the Moscow Art Theatre and Comedie-Francaise.