Rehearsal Room Writing

A major research project to explore the impact of Shakespeare’s works and RSC teaching approaches on Year 5 pupil writing, and give teachers innovative tools to improve it.

Rehearsal Room Writing is a major research project, funded by the Department for Education’s Accelerator Fund, exploring the impact of Shakespeare’s works and RSC teaching approaches on Year 5 pupil writing.

We are working with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and the University of Exeter to deliver our learning programme to more than 180 schools across England and evaluate its effectiveness.

Research by the National Literacy Trust tells us that children’s enjoyment and frequency of writing is at a historic low point. In 2023, 29% of 11-year-olds in England left primary school unable to write at the expected level, rising to 43% of disadvantaged children. This project seeks to address this and provide teachers with innovative tools for improving children’s writing.

Two teachers and children seated on the floor working together
Children using our rehearsal room approaches to Shakespeare
Photo by Sara Beaumont © RSC Browse and license our images

What is the Rehearsal Room Writing (RRW) programme?

The programme offers teachers a unique toolkit of drama-based materials and practices. Techniques drawn from our rehearsal rooms are relocated to the English classroom. Pupils study Shakespeare away from their desks and in character, forming a company of actors. Together, they create the world of a play. In using their creativity to produce the sights and sounds of Shakespeare’s texts, pupils make imaginative and interpretive choices.

These approaches are intended to stimulate pupil engagement in, and enjoyment of, classroom activities, including providing pupils with a powerful motivation to write. Teachers consistently report the positive impact of these techniques on reluctant writers and our recent major research project, Time to Act, provided evidence of the impact on pupil writing and attitudes to learning.  

This new study will train teachers in Rehearsal Room Writing (RRW) and assess the effect of this learning programme on Year 5 pupils’ writing ability, their enjoyment of writing and their belief in their writing ability, alongside their teachers’ perception of their ability to teach writing.

The programme, involving around 200 Year 5 classes, is now underway, with results due to be published in 2027. Should you be interested in finding out more information, please contact us at research@rsc.org.uk

Rehearsal Room Writing Programme FAQs

  • How do I register my interest to find out more about the programme?

  • What are the key steps and dates?

  • Is my school eligible?

  • How will schools be selected for the intervention or control group?

  • Can a school enrol more than one Year 5 teacher if it has multiple Year 5 classes?

  • What does it cost to take part?

  • What do the evaluation activities involve?

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