More Shakespeare for schools

The number of tickets given to London schools by Shakespeare’s Globe will double over the next three years, thanks to the extension of a partnership between Deutsche Bank and Globe Education. The renewed sponsorship of ‘Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank’ extends the relationship between the two to ten years, with a total value of over £2.5m. Seventy per cent of London state secondary schools have benefited from the scheme to date, through the distribution of free tickets; but over the next three years every school in London will have the opportunity to see a Globe Education production as 72,000 free tickets will be given away to engage teenagers in their GCSE English Literature studies. Free learning resources for students and teachers, linked to a stand-alone interactive web resource, www.playingshakespeare.org, will be available for students unable to travel to the Globe.  The value of the initiative was endorsed by a survey of students who saw last year’s Romeo and Juliet: nine out of 10 pupils said they wanted “more Shakespeare” and six out of 10 felt Shakespeare was relevant to their lives today.
In the revised national Curriculum for English Literature, students will be required to study two complete Shakespeare plays.  In 2014 Deutsche Bank’s support will fund the production of The Merchant of Venice, a set text on the English Literature GCSE syllabus for 2014, and more than 24,000 free tickets will be made available in March. Globe Education will run an additional week of performances with low-cost tickets offering more schools an affordable opportunity to attend.