Once again, as part of our longstanding working partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), we have hosted the annual Primary Shakespeare Festival. The event saw hundreds of local primary school pupils perform "The Tempest' alongside our Year 8 English Literature students.

Organised by RSC representative, Barbara Gentles, this excellent event gives pupils the opportunity to discover the wonderful works of Shakespeare through group performance. Ten local primary schools took part in the two-day event, each performing an allocated scene from the play in front of an appreciative audience of family and friends.

Before attending King James, pupils worked in their own school to interpret, cast and rehearse their scene; they also designed their own props, hair, make-up and costume for the performance. Not only did our Year 8s give an outstanding interpretation of their allocated scene, the event also gave some of our older students the opportunity to utilise their skills in costume design, hospitality and stage and events management.

The work of Shakespeare is an important part of our English Literature programme and one which students enjoy immensely each year thanks to the hands-on approach we take to teaching the subject. We are pleased to announce that our dedication to the RSC has now been rewarded with official RSC Associate School status; this reflects our working partnership with the RSC, Newcastle Theatre Royal and Crook Primary School.