Over the last 20 years, we have worked directly with primary, secondary, and SEND schools up and down the country offering bespoke opportunities to learn, create, and work together. In recent years, countryside communities have faced financial shortfalls with a lack of funding reaching rural schools.

However, through our 'Off-Grid' project, supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, we were able to give four schools in rural North Yorkshire a unique chance to explore Shakespeare's timeless stories. Working on their performances gave these students a chance to develop crucial life skills such as confidence and empathy. They also furthered their key language skills that they will need for later in life. And, through Shakespeare's vibrant worlds and characters, they learnt more about what it means to be human.

A number of rural schools in Cumbria and Somerset are now in their second year of the project with one teacher at a Cumbria school saying: ‘Rarely have I seen such noticeable improvements throughout the curriculum following an intervention or project’.

It was a brilliant week filled with pizazz, neon lights, and of course, SHAKESPEARE!