The Arts and Design Newsletter – Student Blog – Ravensbourne- Department of Production

Department of Production | Ravensbourne

Ravensbourne’s Department of Production students have been collaborating with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) on the RSC Schools’ Broadcast series since 2013.  Broadcasting a catalogue of RSC productions including King Lear, Othello and The Tempest to schools across the UK, they have also worked on international broadcasts to schools in the U.S. and Asia, helping pupils learn more about the English language and English literature.

Shakespeare is a major part of school curricula across the UK and around the world. This collaboration allows institutions without the resources to take students to the theatre, to experience Shakespeare from the classroom. The broadcasts reach everyone from primary school children right to college-level. The Schools’ Broadcasts include a Q&A session, encouraging pupils to email questions to be answered live by the cast and crew, helping promote creative study and a deeper understanding of Shakespeare. Ravensbourne also include a sign-language stream so deaf-children are able to benefit from the broadcasts.

As well as benefiting schools across the UK and beyond, the collaboration gives Ravensbourne students the opportunity to work on a live, professional standard broadcast, in roles mirroring those in industry.

Speaking on the collaboration, BA (Hons) Broadcast Technology graduate Joe Skelly said: “I was able to test myself in a live environment and get a better understanding of what the live television industry is like. The project gave me confidence in my technical ability which led me to work on live sporting events around the world.”