On Tuesday 11th February 2025, we were delighted to welcome students and staff from Starbank School to our Museums and Schools Guiding Day. 60 children made the trip from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon and undertook a variety of activities throughout the day including: joining the SBT’s Visitor Experiences Team and guiding visitors around Shakespeare’s Birthplace; drama workshops in New Place gardens; and a tour of the town to develop their knowledge and understanding of the Bard as part of their cultural capital.
18 of the visiting cohort of Year 6 children acted as guides for their peers and members of the public from around the world in the Shakespeare Centre and Shakespeare’s Birthplace. This guiding experience, in a real-life culture and heritage setting, cannot be replicated in school and provides the students with opportunities to grow in confidence, public-speaking, leadership, and teamwork while engaging with some of the nation’s most revered and unique history.
Although nervous at first, the 18 student guides quickly grew in confidence in their roles and were soon sharing interesting facts about Shakespeare’s life and times during the 16th and 17th centuries. These children were able to tell their peers and the visiting public, with the use of helpful artefacts, about such things as the quills and vellum Shakespeare would have used to write his works and even about some of the famous names graffitied on the original window that is now protected within the Birthplace. One student guide said:”It was a really good experience because it helped us learn about how things were during [Shakespeare’s] childhood and later life,” with another adding: “It was very good because it helped me grow in confidence when talking to other people. I was very nervous, but it helped me boost my confidence.” The staff team at SBT were glowing with praise about the children’s output on the day, with many commenting on how members of the public seemed to really enjoy and positively respond to seeing the students taking ownership of their knowledge and bringing the space to life.
The children were also given the opportunity to undertake drama workshops during the day - walking and performing in Shakespeare’s footsteps within the gardens of Shakespeare’s New Place. In the morning drama session, the students enthusiastically performed the famous ‘Once More Unto the Breach’ speech from Henry V and, in the afternoon drama session, the students grappled with the supernatural as they spoke the words of the three ‘weird sisters’ from Macbeth. A member of SBT staff reported that the students really rose to the challenge and were very enthusiastic from start to finish. One student performer said: “I loved practising the scenes with my friends and performing with them. My favourite bit was when we surprised the audience with our swords!” with another adding: “while performing I felt a mixture of nervous and confident but mainly confident as time went on.”
“The trip has aligned well with our school values of serving the community, being ambitious, and being respectful - especially of our history. Many of our children have developed leadership skills throughout the day and this trip has allowed all of our children to involve themselves in historical inquiry.”
— Year 6 teacher, Starbank School.
The students from Starbank School were a credit to themselves, their teachers, and their school and we look forward to working with them in a variety of different capacities in the future.
Annually, over 3,500 children from 40 primary schools across the West Midlands engage with Shakespeare’s life, times and works through the diverse programme of funded activity. Our Museums and Schools programme is currently at capacity. However, if you would be interested in joining it in the future, please send an expression of interest to [email protected]. In your expression of interest, please include your most recent pupil premium and free school meal percentages, and your school postcode so we can assess your eligibility.