Year 12 A-Level English Students Learn More About Shakespeare

On Thursday 15 June 2023, our Year 12 English Literature students were treated to a day immersing themselves in the life and times of William Shakespeare. 

After travelling to Stratford-upon-Avon, the students attended a lecture hosted by Dr. Nick Walton at Harvard House. Here, students were enthralled and enraptured by Dr. Walton, a highly-acclaimed educator and academic on Shakespeare and his plays. Students gained an insight into Shakespeare’s Othello, considering in-depth critical responses to the play.

From there students headed to New Place, the site that was William Shakespeare’s family home for 19 years, from 1597 until he died in the house in 1616. New Place was brought into the Trust’s ownership after a ‘crowdfunding’ initiative by none other than Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Students participated in the First Folio exhibition, seeing first-hand one of the original First Folios. The book, often referred to as The First Folio, was published in 1623, seven years after the death of William Shakespeare. Without the First Folio, half of Shakespeare's plays would have been lost to us today, as they had not previously been published in quarto form.  

Finally, students ended their day with a visit to Shakespeare’s Birthplace. Here, students travelled back in time, dressing up in Elizabethan outfits and experiencing what it was like to live in Shakespeare’s childhood home. Students were treated to tales of Shakespeare’s family life and got up close to objects from the Trust’s world-class collections, discovering how the extraordinary playwright continues to shape our lives today.