BRADFORD College is the first college in the country to be given “lead status” by the Royal Shakespeare Company, meaning it will take an active role in teaching the district’s young people about the Bard’s work.

The college is one of ten places nationwide that have been given the title as part of the RSC’s Associate Schools programme, and it is the first higher education college to be awarded the status.

It will see the college working with Bradford district schools and the Alhambra Theatre to show young people how the internationally-acclaimed theatre group approaches and performs Shakespeare’s 400-year-old masterpieces.

Teachers from the college will work with theatre practitioners from the RSC and The Alhambra to adapt techniques for the classroom, and help young people bring the often difficult to understand plays to life.

The partnership will last for an initial two years and the college will have the opportunity to renew after that time.

Lisa Edwards, course leader for FE Performing Arts at Bradford College, said: “The project will allow the students to take creative risks and challenge their expectations when working with the set texts. As a staff team we are excited to see how the next academic year will be inspired by our work with the RSC.”

Jacqui Vaughan, head of school for the college’s McMillan Faculty of Education, said the college’s position as a key teacher training college was another benefit of the partnership.

The strong links between the Arts and Education Faculties at the College will also provide an opportunity to conduct research into the impact of the project on young people’s attainment, confidence and wellbeing.

The research will be undertaken through the recently formed McMillan Centre for the Arts in Education, and will help to support the delivery of Shakespeare and the arts in schools across the city.

Bradford College’s lead school status comes after it successfully worked with schools earlier this year on a performance of Julius Caesar at the Alhambra Theatre, and last month, at the Swan Theatre in Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the RSC’s National Schools Festival.

Jacqui O’Hanlon, director of education for the RSC, said: “Our Associate Schools programme is based on a simple truth: that schools believe other schools when it comes to what makes the biggest difference to teaching practice, to aspirations and to the lives of the children they teach.

"Lead Associate Schools are full of children, teachers and governors who inspire each other and their local communities with Shakespeare’s work.”

Other schools in the district have also worked with the theatre group. Bingley Grammar School has completed a three year programme with the RSC, which saw it work with schools across Bradford to bring the bard to a younger generation.

And pupils at Samuel Lister Academy took to the Alhambra stage last year alongside professional and amateur actors to perform A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream for a five night run.