On Monday 14th July The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust will begin the first of five living history experiences in collaboration with local schools. The class of eleven year olds will be put through their paces by spending the day learning the Tudor way! As Tudor children, they will be dressed in replica clothes before walking from Shakespeare’s Birthplace across the town of Stratford, to King Edward VI School. Here, they will learn their rudiments by attending ‘Petty School’ in the Guild Chapel. Children will be tested to see that they have remembered the alphabet, learned the Lord’s Prayer and can remember the Ten Commandments before going off to big school. Girls would not normally be permitted to attend Tudor schools, however for this exercise an exception will be made!

The Tudor School Children will then attend registration, be given their ‘Tudor Persona’ (taken from the Baptisms Registrar at Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried) as well as a guide to manners! They will enjoy their lessons in Latin no less, with some help from Aesop, Ovid and of course Shakespeare himself.

Tudor lunch will be taken in the Great Garden at Nash’s House, before attending Holy Trinity Church to recite The Catechism and prayers (religion played a huge part in the lives of all Tudor families). The last part of the afternoon will be spent in the garden of Hall’s Croft enjoying some Tudor fun and games. Of course, the children all have seen the painting ‘Children’s Games’ by Brueghel! Finally our 11 year olds will return from their experience back to 2008 with a greater understanding of how their Tudor ancestors both lived and learnt!

“Initiatives like this are a real triumph, not only are they educational, but both rewarding and fun at the same time. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is a charitable organisation promoting Shakespeare’s work to the world, and this is just one of the ways we try to make education more inspirational. With some very kind assistance from the Stratford-upon-Avon Town Trust, our ‘Day in the Life of a Tudor Child’ provides a real insight for these five local schools. As the emphasis on practical learning grows, we hope that Tudor School might become a full time feature in our programme of work.”