More than
300,000
young people have taken part in the Festival
Our flagship project is the Festival - the world’s largest youth drama festival.
About our impactEvery year, Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation runs thrilling standalone workshops with thousands of young people in primary, secondary and SEND schools across the country.
Designed to get participants working actively, these sessions will leave your group illuminated, energised and empowered to further explore Shakespeare's words. Find out how your school could benefit from our student workshop offer or book your session today.
Who’s it for?
We run student workshops for primary, secondary and SEND students. All our workshops can be tailored to the needs, interests and abilities of your students.
Read more about these sessions for:
Primary Schools
Secondary Schools
SEND Schools
Storytime Shakespeare
How long is it? A full day with Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation in your school!
Age: EYFS to Year 6.
Which plays can we explore? A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth or The Tempest.
How many young people can take part? We can work with up to 7 classes (usually Reception - Year 6) in one day.
Perfect for: Getting the whole school involved in a day of workshops exploring a Shakespearean story.
What happens?
- Students are introduced to a key Shakespearean text through our fun and experiential approach.
- Our facilitators work with each class, differentiating content and exercises dependant on key stage.
- Students will bring Shakespeare’s characters to life through gesture and voice.
Why book a Storytime Shakespeare workshop?
Storytime Shakespeare helps to:
- Develop collaboration, oracy and communication skills, as students work together as a whole class and in small groups.
- Build students cultural capital, through engaging with a Shakespearean story and text.
- Boost your young people's understanding of Shakespeare, making it accessible before they encounter it later in education.
How much does it cost?
- Storytime Shakespeare is priced at £895+VAT for a full day with a single form entry school.
"It was a brilliant workshop that ensured the children enjoyed the experience and really built on their confidence. The practitioners were excellent; they had lots of different ways of engaging the children and ensured that every child contributed to the play in some way. It was also fantastic that the workshop was delivered in Welsh."
Teacher, Ysgol Gymraeg Brohelyg.
Play In A Day
How long is it? We can deliver either a full day workshop or a half day workshop.
How many young people can take part? Play in a Day is designed to be delivered to a maximum of 35 young people per workshop.
Age: Years 4 to 9.
Which plays can we explore? A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth or The Tempest.
Perfect for:
- For years 4-6 this workshop is an excellent way to introduce Shakespeare, boosting their understanding through a fun and experiential session.
- For years 7-9 this workshop helps to build relationships by getting young people working collaboratively, while increasing their understanding of a key Shakespearean text by taking it from the page to the stage.
What happens?
- Our experienced facilitators guide students through the story, characters, themes and world of a Shakespearean play.
- Using our award-winning rehearsal room techniques, students will take the play from page to stage over the course of one day!
- A full day workshop culminates in a facilitated performance sharing, showcasing the creativity of your young people.
Why book a Play in a Day workshop?
Play in a Day supports students to:
- Improve oracy and unlock language skills.
- Work collaboratively, building on communication and team working skills.
- Develop confidence and experience pride through showcasing their work.
How much does it cost?
- Full day workshops are priced at £895+VAT
- Half day workshops are priced at £545+VAT
“Thank you - it was an incredible experience for our children, and one would definitely hope to involve future year groups in”
Helen Hall, Lea Community Primary School
Play in a Day: Romeo and Juliet
Play In Two Days
“An excellent experience for all the children who have gained confidence, self belief and a growing knowledge and love of Shakespeare.”
Teacher, Thornton in Craven Primary School
How long is it? Two consecutive days.
How many young people can take part? A group of up to 35.
Age: Years 5-9
Which play do we explore? A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth or The Tempest.
Perfect for: A longer workshop, Play in Two Days is an excellent way to celebrate your young people's creativity while boosting their confidence and building cultural capital.
What happens?
- Our facilitators equip your young people with the tools to devise their own unique, site-specific performance utilising spaces within your school setting.
- Over two days students will learn the story and build understanding of the plot through play, getting to know Shakespeare’s characters and bringing them to life.
- Students will work collaboratively to create the world of the play, working with industry professionals to think about how to transform spaces within their school.
Why book a Play in Two Days workshop?
- Students will get the chance to fully immerse themselves in the world of the play, promoting a deeper understanding of the key characters, plot and themes.
- Students take ownership of the story, creating the world of the play within their school.
- Performing to an audience, students end the two days with pride in their achievement.
How much does it cost?
Play in Two Days costs £1540 +VAT.
“The facilitators were fantastic, they adapted their workshops to fully meet the needs of each group so that each group got the maximum they could out of each workshop/experience. When the students put their scenes together the students enjoyed themselves immensely”
Teacher, Sevenhills School
The Rehearsal Room Toolkit – GCSE Drama
How long is it? We can deliver either a full day, comprising of two workshops, or a half day comprising of one workshop.
How many young people can take part? A group of up to 35 per workshop.
Age: Years 9-11
Do you explore a specific play? This workshop uses key text extracts from famous Shakespeare plays, allowing your young people to develop techniques that can be transferred to any rehearsal room.
Perfect for: Elevating your students understanding of key rehearsal room techniques to help build an ensemble and engage meaningfully with all texts, lifting them from the page to the stage.
What happens?
The Rehearsal Room Toolkit has been specifically devised alongside the GCSE drama curriculum and structured with assessment criteria in mind.
During the workshop your students will:
- Learn techniques and exercises to create and communicate meaning and intention as a performer when staging new texts.
- Use Shakespeare duologues and monologues to explore textual analysis, physical and vocal interpretation, character relationships and the use of space and proxemics.
- Rehearse, reflect and refine their work in progress, learning how to independently plan a rehearsal process, taking scripts from page to stage with ease.
Why book The Rehearsal Room Toolkit workshop?
During the workshop students will:
- Work collaboratively, developing key skills that can be applied to any rehearsal room process.
- Build their confidence and creativity through accessible exercises taken from leading professional rehearsal rooms.
- Boost their understanding of what makes a great ensemble in preparation for their GCSE drama assessments.
How much does it cost?
- A full day, comprising of two workshops is priced at £895+VAT
- A half day, comprising of one workshop is priced at £545+VAT
Unlocking Shakespeare – GCSE English
How long is it? We can deliver either a full day, comprising of two workshops, or a half day comprising of one workshop.
How many young people can take part? A group of up to 35 per workshop.
Age: Year 9, 10 or 11.
Which play do we explore? Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet.
Perfect for: Depending on the year group, Unlocking Shakespeare is a great way to either kick start the learning process or consolidate their understanding ahead of an assessment.
“(The practitioner) was brilliant throughout. They ensured that all pupils were engaged and when faced with challenges adapted wonderfully to get the most out of the pupils.”
Rebecca Lunn, Head of English, The Hewett Academy
What happens?
Unlocking Shakespeare has been specifically devised alongside the GCSE English curriculum and structured with assessment criteria in mind.
Over the course of the workshop your students will:
- Engage with the themes and characters of a play in a historical context.
- Break the story down into key events.
- Map characters journeys, using key scenes and quotes as evidence.
- Use evidence from the text to develop their own critical opinion.
Why book an Unlocking Shakespeare workshop?
Unlocking Shakespeare uses rehearsal room techniques to accelerate and consolidate your students' learning. It is the perfect workshop to get your students up to speed with GCSE Shakespeare English content in an engaging, experiential and meaningful way.
How much does it cost?
- A full day, comprising of two workshops is priced at £895+VAT
- A half day, comprising of one workshop is priced at £545+VAT
“On one of the feedback cards we received, one student explained that they now better understood the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. (...) Practitioners had the right balance of fun, clarity and high expectations.”
Teacher, Abbeygate College
Bespoke workshops for SEND Schools
Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation’s active and inclusive approach engages over a thousand pupils with Special Educational Needs each year, proving that Shakespeare is for everyone. Our workshops for SEND schools are always bespoke, built in accordance with individual needs and areas of interest.
“The team at Shakespeare Schools are endlessly positive, imaginative and enthusiastic, showing a genuine and admirable willingness to improvise and adapt according to the complex needs of children with autism and thus enabling them to succeed in many, many ways.”
Headteacher, Queensmill School
How do we work with you?
- Recognising that every setting is unique, we liaise in detail with each school, designing content and choosing facilitators to give every child the best chance to access our work for a fun, playful and memorable experience.
- Our facilitators are extremely experienced working with a wide range of needs, including ASD, MLD, SLD, PMLD and SEMH.
- Our content is varied and flexible, and we are adept improvisers in response to a particular student or group.
“A student who finds it difficult to focus within lessons and doesn't ordinarily stay in class for long periods of time was very engaged in the workshop. He stayed in for the duration of the workshop and the smile didn't drop from his face once. He took part in everything, he loved all of the sensory items that were brought in and was in awe of the facilitators. Thank you!”
Teacher, St Hugh’s School
