The Great Shakespeare Debate

The Great Shakespeare Debate is a unique project which combines the debating know-how of the English-Speaking Union with the Shakespearian expertise of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

During the two day competition pupils will get the opportunity to explore the world of Shakespeare through dynamic discussion and lively debate.

Pupils will also get the unique opportunity to access some of The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s archive material and chat with leading academics in the field of Shakespeare which will expand knowledge and understanding of Shakespeare’s works and will be relevant to the motions debated.

Students will also see King Lear, performed by the RSC and visit Shakespeare’s birthplace.

This competition is open to any pupils in 6th form who have not attended The Great Shakespeare debate in previous years.

How to enter

The Great Shakespeare Debate for 2009/10 entry stage takes on a new format. We want your team to post a video response to our entry video on YouTube.

The video should contain the following three points:

• How have you used Shakespeare’s work in school in the last two years
• What do you enjoy about studying Shakespeare
• A 2 minute discussion about one of the four themes
• Love
• Ambition
• Appearance vs. reality
• Fate

The video can be shot in any style and must showcase ALL 3 SPEAKERS in the team.

Please make it very clear in your video the school which you are representing.

The total length of the video should be no more than 4 minutes long.

There is no charge for entering the selection phase but if your school is one of the twelve teams invited to the final then a contribution of £100 is required to go toward the cost of accommodation in Stratford for the three students and accompanying teacher.

The closing date of the competition is 7th December 2009. You will be informed by 14th December if you are one of the 12 successful schools to win a place at The Great Shakespeare Debate.

How to upload your video

• Once you have shot and edited your video, you will now need to upload it onto YouTube. Create a YouTube account here If your school does not already have one.
• Go to your new YouTube account > my videos and click New Video Upload.
• Once your video has uploaded, go to the British Debate channel on YouTube, click Video Responses > Post a Video Response and follow the online instructions.

If you have any specific questions about entry, please contact Alasdair Wallace or call 020 7529 1572.