Case study

The play's the thing! As Year 9 students at St Andrew's School, Bedford discover with Cambridge School Shakespeare

Whether you are a confident, experienced teacher or nervously approaching teaching Shakespeare for the first time, it can be daunting as well as exhilarating getting students to respond to Shakespeare. But the wonderful thing about Shakespeare is that students will respond in many different ways - just as every production of a play varies with actors' and directors' own interpretations.

Cambridge School Shakespeare helps students to access the script from many different angles: through story, character, themes, language, drama and staging. At St Andrew's School, the Head of English thinks the Cambridge School Shakespeare approach is very supportive to both teachers and students, as she explains, "I had used the series before in other schools and because I found it very good it influenced my decision to introduce the series to St Andrew's. We have now been using the series for a year mostly with our KS3 classes and the results have been very positive."

Shakespeare's plays were written to be acted, so to make Shakespeare accessible and relevant to students Cambridge School Shakespeare encourages teachers and learners to treat the plays as plays! The series offers an active approach to classroom Shakespeare, enabling students to inhabit Shakespeare's imaginative world in creative ways. As these photographs testify, the Year 9 students at St Andrew's School exploring Twelfth Night have very much enjoyed the active, creative approach!

Cambridge School Shakespeare is the result of the research and development work of the Shakespeare and Schools Project under the guidance of Director, Rex Gibson. Rex is renowned for his non-patronising advice to students and as the Head of English at St Andrew's confirms, "the series supports student's learning by expressing ideas in accessible language in a clear and concise manner."

She goes on to explain how the treating the play as a play benefits her students, "using the active approach advocated in the series, even with a class of 20 to 30 students, I can ensure that everyone is engaging with the play." And she has found that "students co-operate and I have seen them grow in confidence and self-esteem by overcoming their inhibitions about acting in front of their friends."

With Cambridge School Shakespeare, the dramatic experience lies at the heart of the rationale. Teachers at St Andrew's acknowledge that the series accomplishes this "by posing sensitive and thought provoking questions, which urge the students to an independent evaluation of the play and by offering suggestions for further investigation or individual study to encourage the development of a student's own critical thinking."

Shakespeare's language and characters come alive for students and support their learning in a number of ways. The Head of English at St Andrew's explains that one of the key features of the series is "the very accessible way the books are designed. By setting the commentary, activities and glossary to face the relevant section of the play text the students can really get to grips with reading and understanding the play."

But not only that, the series offers background knowledge to enhance learning such as "informative notes on the sources and historical context of the play" and "addresses issues that are currently in vogue with exam boards: stagecraft, alternative interpretations and Shakespeare's use of language."

With Cambridge School Shakespeare students are given the confidence to create their own meaning rather than passively soak up information. As the Head of English at St Andrew's concludes, "the series supports and enhances the teaching of Shakespeare by providing a book of pleasing and robust quality, with clear text, useful notes and thoughtful use of images."

Shakespeare has attracted and entertained audiences for over 400 years. Through Cambridge School Shakespeare you can support your students to enjoy and understand Shakespeare for many years to come!