Royal Shakespeare Company is heading to Hartlepool to work with schools

The town is one of five locations to benefit from the company’s extended Associate Schools Programme.

An RSC statement said: “Our Associate Schools Programme is to partner with schools and theatres in Skegness, Coventry, Peterborough, Corby and Hartlepool.

“The RSC Associate Schools Programme, aimed at improving learning and opportunities for young people, is expanding, with new partnerships in five towns across the country.

“Skegness, Coventry, Peterborough, Corby and Hartlepool will join 26 existing partnerships across the country in areas of structural disadvantage.

“The partnerships feed into local plans to use arts and culture as a tool for regeneration and boosting health, well-being and opportunities for young people, using a theatre-based approach to learning to help children unlock their full potential.

“Schools who join the programme learn how to use the same techniques that actors use in rehearsals to explore Shakespeare’s plays, and devise bespoke programmes tailored to their local young people.”