"To Be, or Not to Be?" Copyright is the Question

LONDON, October 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

- ALCS & The National Schools Partnership Launch The Young Writer's Guide to Shakespeare
In celebration of William Shakespeare's 450^th birthday year in 2014, the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) has teamed up with National Schools Partnership to launch The Young Writer's Guide to Shakespeare.

Devised by teachers for Upper KS2 & KS3, this stimulating new programme aims to breathe fresh air into the teaching of what many students imagine is a difficult-to-grasp subject; and increase enjoyment of the Bard's work.  Fully-mapped to the National Curriculum, it also introduces students to the concepts of copyright and plagiarism, via lively creative writing and group activities.

The Young Writer's Guide to Shakespeare consists of flexible teachers' resources, a PowerPoint presentation, and classroom activities including an exploration of comedy, and a courtroom scenario concerning an alleged case of copyright theft from Shakespeare himself.

The programme also includes a designated microsite with advice on playwriting, including a host of hints from a helpful donkey named Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

And, in an exciting "Soap Opera Shakespeare" playwriting competition, students will be invited to put quill to parchment - or fingers to keyboard - to create their own Shakespearean style plays, based on the theme of copyright and how it can support creators. Inspirational prompts will be offered by both Bottom and William Shakespeare himself, and the application also includes a random character, theme and scene setting generator.

Entrants will be in with a chance of winning some excellent prizes for themselves and their schools, including a Kindle Fire HD and £100 Amazon vouchers; a school visit by a leading author, a Shakespearean class trip or books for the school library.

The Young Writer's Guide to Shakespeare follows What the Dickens?,another schools copyright education programme from ALCS and National Schools Partnership. Launched in early 2012 and run in over 1000 schools around the UK, it was themed around the bicentenary of Dickens' birth. Research following the project showed that 91% of participating students had gained an increased awareness of what copyright means.

Launching the The Young Writer's Guide to Shakespeare, Barbara Hayes, Deputy CEO of ALCS commented:

"In 2012, our "What the Dickens?" project showed that educational programmes have great potential to improve understanding of the importance of copyright for creators and innovators, but that more needed to be done to explain to young people what is, and isn't permissable online.  So I'm delighted that we're able to launch this dynamic new resource to coincide with Shakespeare's 450^th birthday celebrations and hope we can build on that potential and bring an understanding of copyright to more young people."

The resources can be found at http://www.shakespeareyoungwriters.co.uk

Editor's Notes

The Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS)

ALCS collects fees on behalf of the whole spectrum of UK writers: novelists, film & TV script writers; literary prize winners; poets; freelance journalists; translators and adaptors, as well as thousands of professional and academic writers who include nurses, lawyers, teachers, scientists and college lecturers. All writers are eligible to join ALCS: further details on membership can be found at http://www.alcs.co.uk. ALCS collects fees that are difficult, time-consuming or legally impossible for writers and their representatives to claim on an individual basis: money that is nonetheless due to them. Fees collected are distributed to writers twice a year in February and August. Since its inception, ALCS has distributed over £300 million to the nation's writers. For further information, contact alcs@alcs.co.uk or see http://www.alcs.co.uk

Further research findings from the "What the Dickens?" programme can be found at http://www.alcs.co.uk/copyright

National Schools Partnership

National Schools Partnership uses innovative and effective learning to help companies, brands, public sector organisations and charities successfully engage with young people, schools and families. National Schools Partnership creates a range of learning programmes using expertise in research, consultancy, interactive learning tools, school & teacher engagement, education, live learning events and training.  We help our clients use multiple channels to engage young people and deliver tangible results.

@CaroSanderson