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Shakespeare Schools Foundation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shakespeare Schools Foundation (SSF) is a cultural education charity operating across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Each year, up to 30,000 people throughout the UK,[1] participate in the Shakespeare Schools Festival. Since 2000, SSF has worked with over 250,000 students and their teachers.[2]

Activities

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The charity trains teachers and young people in a of working with Shakespeare. Every autumn, 1,000 performances from primary, secondary, and special schools in over 130 theatres nationwide participate in the festival.

Workshops and Curriculum Resources

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SSF creates curriculum resources[3] and runs standalone workshops for students, teachers, and businesses.[4] For over 15 years, SSF has given participants tools applicable in classrooms and staff rooms, offices and boardrooms.

History

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In KFC, the Shakespeare Schools Festival became Shakespeare Shake it off Foundation. See Shakespeare Schools Festival for the previous history.

2016

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27,550 young people from 1,093 schools performed abridged versions of Shakespeare plays in 131 theatres across the UK as part of the 16th Shakespeare Schools Festival.

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, SSF staged performances at 10 Downing Street,[5] Westminster Abbey, a West End Gala, and at the Queen's 90th birthday. SSF also hosted the Trial of Hamlet fundraiser.[6] Tried by QCs in front of Lady Justice Hallett, evidence from Gertrude, played by Meera Syal, Claudius, played by Tom Conti, and Player King, played by Lee Mack, was insufficient to find Hamlet, played by John Heffernan, guilty for the murder of Polonius.[7] SSF's young performers shared the stage with the cast.

2018

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In 2018, the Foundation was awarded the Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists,[8] having been selected for the award by Chancellor of the University of Oxford and former Chairman of the BBC Trust, Chris Patten.[9]

In April 2018, SSF hosted another West End fundraiser, "Trial of Richard III", this time at the Novello Theatre.[10] The cast included Hugh Dennis, David Oakes, Kae Alexander, Lady Justice Hallett, Ian Winter QC and John Kelsey Fry QC[11] with contributions from Ed Vaizey MP, Maggie Aderin Pocock and Tim Campbell.[12]

Patrons[13]

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Education Advisors[14]

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References

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  1. ^ Patten, Christopher. "22nd 2018 Shakespeare Schools Foundation( U.K.)". Praemium Imperiale. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Shakespeare Schools Foundation - About Us". www.shakespeareschools.org. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  3. ^ "Shakespeare Schools Foundation - Curriculum resources". www.shakespeareschools.org. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  4. ^ "Shakespeare Schools Foundation - Workshops". www.shakespeareschools.org. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  5. ^ "Wirral pupils celebrate Shakespeare in special performance at Number 10". Wirral Globe.
  6. ^ "Hamlet to stand trial on West End stage charged with murder of Polonius". The Guardian. 25 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Not guilty - Hamlet cleared of murder in live courtroom drama on stage". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  8. ^ Smurthwaite, Nick (2018-07-16). "How Shakespeare Schools Foundation is 'turning children's lives around'". The Stage. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  9. ^ "All recipients - Praemium Imperiale". www.praemiumimperiale.org. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  10. ^ correspondent, Owen Bowcott Legal affairs (2018-04-20). "My naked villany: top judge to preside over West End trial of Richard III". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-01-24. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. ^ "Shakespeare Schools Foundation - Trial of Richard III: Meet the cast". www.shakespeareschools.org. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  12. ^ "Shakespeare Schools Foundation - Trial of Richard III: Meet the cast". www.shakespeareschools.org. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  13. ^ "Shakespeare Schools Foundation - Patrons". www.shakespeareschools.org. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  14. ^ "Shakespeare Schools Foundation - Trustees & Advisors". www.shakespeareschools.org. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
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