This week we have played host to a fantastic Primary School event, which celebrates the work of Shakespeare. We have been working alongside The County Durham Ensemble, which incorporates nine local schools including our own, to promote and perform eight of the best Shakespearean plays. The performances were the first to take place in our new theatre.

Participating schools include Crook Primary School, Hunwick CE Primary School, St. Cuthbert's RC Primary School, Sunnybrow Primary School, Willington Primary School, St. Stephen's CE Primary School, Cockerton CE Primary School and Ox Close Primary School, and teachers from each school have joined Mrs Dawson, Teacher of English at King James, in receiving first class training from leading practitioners at The Royal Shakespeare Company.

Over the course of two days, the special event saw pupils perform an outstanding series of trailer productions including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. All were designed to communicate the ideas behind the plays as opposed to giving away the whole plot with a view to inspiring the audience to go and see them for themselves in their entirety.

The project has been an excellent learning opportunity for all students and all have shown great enthusiasm and excitement in their approach to these inspiring and complex texts. We look forward to further collaborative work with our primary partners in the future.