What is an RSC Lead School?
The RSC’s Associate Schools Programme is a long-term partnership programme with
16 theatres and 280 state maintained primary and secondary schools across England.
It uses the combination of Shakespeare’s work and RSC teaching approaches to
improve learning outcomes for children and young people.
King Ethelbert School has been the Lead School in a long-term partnership with the
Royal Shakespeare Company, the Marlowe Theatre and a wide range of schools
across Kent since way back in 2015.
As a Lead Associate School, the RSC team within school work with The Marlowe
Theatre to shape and direct a wide programme of exciting classroom, workshop and
theatrical experiences for our students and for our 11 partner schools across Kent.
What is a Champion School?
Champion Schools is a RSC initiative for schools that have been in the Associate
Schools Programme for ten years or more. We are currently one of only a handful of
schools who will have this special status!
Champion Schools will play an active part in their regional cluster, often taking a
leadership or mentoring role; sharing their years of learning and helping to guide the
development of the programme alongside other Lead Schools and their Associate
Regional Theatre.
Teachers in a Champion School might, for example, act as a mentor to new Lead
Schools; lead practical CPD or co-planning work at cluster meetings; or lead the
Shakespeare Ambassador programme in their region.
What do we do?
Our Kent partnership is quite famous for our stunning and ambitious Playmaking
Festival productions of Shakespeare plays at The Marlowe Theatre and our fabulous
outdoor extravaganza “promenade” performances at Kent locations like Oare
Gunpowder Works, Dover Castle and Dreamland, and even nationally, at Stratford
Upon Avon National Playmaking Festivals, but our core business is in bringing
Shakespeare to life for students in schools and classrooms.
These opportunities and outcomes include a wide programme of teacher INSET
across a rolling 2 year Associate Schools’ partnership to up-skill teachers across our
own and the 11 Kent schools currently in our “cluster”. This important work is carried
out so that our schools can transform the learning experiences of students around
Shakespeare in their English and Drama lessons.
Why is this important, and how are the RSC involved?
The Associate Schools Programme focuses on schools and communities in areas of
structural disadvantage, i.e. areas that are disadvantaged by the way resources are
allocated.
Alongside transformational continuing professional development for teachers led by
RSC practitioners, the Programme includes unique opportunities for students in
performance, leadership and career development.
The RSC have undertaken research to measure the impact of the Associate Schools
Programme on learning outcomes for children and young people.
Their latest research study, Time to Act, makes a direct link between RSC approaches
to teaching Shakespeare and improvements in language development, specifically in
writing, as well as developments in the emotional and social skills of children and
young people.
For more information about this research, visit www.rsc.org.uk/learn/research
And this year, Hamlet: Something Is Rotten at The Marlowe Theatre on 25th June, 2024, alongside our partner schools, followed by Hamlet at The National Playmaking Festival, Stratford Upon Avon, 9th July, 2024.
Cheers for Hamlet - Applause Raises The Roof At The Marlowe!
Congratulations to all of our Key Stage 3 performers who put on a splendid show at The Marlowe Theatre last night in the RSC Associate Schools Playmaking Festival with Hamlet: Something Rotten. 16 talented young people from King Ethelbert wowed the audience with their section of this one hour version of the famous Shakespeare play, which included the famous "To be, or not to be" speech. The applause was deafening.
11 of our Associate Schools cluster performed last night and they were all magnificent and very original in style. Well done all!
