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Year-Long Partnerships
approaches to learning
Our Schools Partnership Programme offers practical and experiential approaches to learning using drama practice and the theatre to enhance every child’s learning across the year. Each child will participate in a drama-led project through the year, which broadly focus around three strands:
-Using a drama-led pedagogy to explore an aspect of the curriculum.
-Enhancement work around seeing a production.
-Using the theatre and it’s resources to explore aspects of theatre making such as playwriting.
Our current year-long partner schools are: Badger Hill Primary, Bootham Junior School, Knavesmire Primary and Clifton Green Primary.
Download our schools brochure here for further details.
RSC Associate Schools
BRINGING SHAKESPEARE TO LIFE
Through this national programme we work together with the Royal Shakespeare Company to change the way children and young people engage, experience and take ownership of Shakespeare in schools. The programme is funded to support children in areas of structural disadvantage and to help level the playing field for all children.
We work with a cluster of local and regional schools who are passionate about exploring Shakespeare actively and through rehearsal room approaches. The programme offers extensive teacher training in the RSC’s pedagogy, which is taken back into the classroom and explored practically with students. Our programme focuses on a different play each year, which culminates in a performance festival on our Main House stage. The project showcases the RSC Stand Up For Shakespeare manifesto, with its call to action for children and young people to do Shakespeare on their feet, see it live and start it earlier.
Our current Associate Schools are: Clifton Green Primary, Brayton Academy, Applefields School, Selby High school, Amotherby Primary, Vale of York Academy, and Acomb primary.
Interested in taking part? Contact schools@yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
NT Connections
Working Nationally
Each year the National Theatre commission ten new plays for young people to perform – 300 young companies and over 6,000 young people aged 13-19 years from across the UK take part. We play host to many of these companies in our Studio theatre. Interested in taking part next year? Our festival runs in the Spring in our Studio theatre. Contact schools@yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
Playhouse
new plays for primary schools
Playhouse is a national collaboration between Theatre Royal Plymouth, Theatr Iolo, Landmark Theatres, Birmingham Rep and York Theatre Royal.
The organisations work together to commission professional playwrights each year to write short plays specifically for large casts of young people aged 8 to 11 years to perform. This culminates in festivals performing new plays in late Summer term across the UK.
Interested in taking part next year? Contact schools@yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
Workshops and Tours
ONE-OFF VISITS
For primary and secondary schools, we offer workshops and tours throughout the year. The central focus of our workshops is story and narrative – how a story or production is made and told is as important as what it is about. We aim to develop children and young people’s critical and creative abilities as well as stimulate an interest and understanding of how drama and theatre can enhance and challenge their learning experiences.
Download our schools brochure here for further details.
Work Experience
Opportunities
We offer a number of weeks in Spring and Summer for young people undergoing their Year 10 work experience weeks to come and experience working at York Theatre Royal. We offer an open application process but prioritise those with least access to arts and cultural opportunities outside of school hours. Through the week we offer a range of insights into the various roles, responsibilities and skills used across our different departments.
Applications for 2025 are now closed and we have selected our work experience candidates for the academic year. We will begin accepting applications for Spring and Summer 2026 from Monday 08 September 2025. Please do return to our website then to find out how to apply.
To find out more, please email youththeatre@yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
