Teacher Champions

Applications for the Teacher Champions programme for SY25/26 have now closed. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust would like to thank all applicants for their interest in this opportunity and all applicants will hear about the status of their application during the week of the 2nd June 2025.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust are proud to introduce their inaugural Teacher Champions programme for SY25/26.

The Teacher Champions programme seeks to create a peer support structure, developing best practice in both secondary Early Career Teachers and established Shakespeare experts, fuelled by a bespoke programme of mentoring and CPD opportunities from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Successful applicants will receive, for FREE, a year’s worth of mentoring, CPD resources, and other benefits; in return agreeing to work collaboratively with their peers to develop and share innovative approaches to teaching Shakespeare to secondary students - and ultimately sharing their experiences and enthusiasms to the wider educational world.

We are looking for 12 teachers to join a trial year of Champion activity in SY25/26; we are then anticipating Champion teachers will retain the status and a place in the network, while a new cohort receives the intensive CPD and mentoring.

The Teacher Champions programme is completely FREE for secondary teachers but only a small number of spaces are available. Being a part of this programme will require investment from both the individual teacher and support from their employer (such a providing cover for the Teacher Champions Launch Day in July 2025.)

Please note that the application deadline for SY25/26 has now passed. We encourage interested teachers to keep an eye on our website and social media pages for other CPD opportunities with the Trust and to check back in 2026 to apply to the SY26/27 programme.

Further details can be found on the Teacher Champions: Benefits and Expectations page.

For more information, visit our FAQs page, or, alternatively, email your questions directly to Claire Fenlon at [email protected].