You might be aware of C.S. Woolley’s work with Foxton Books, modernising the classics and simplifying them so that those learning English can enjoy reading the complicated narratives even when they know only a small portion of the language.

Well this is not the only way that she is working to help education. She has produced a pilot work scheme that is centred around Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. The aim of the work scheme is to bring those children that have failed Key Stage 2 and are entering Key Stage 3 to not only pass Key Stage 2 but get up to the desired Key Stage 3 level in a single term.

This is accomplished by the use of workbooks that contain a modernised version of the Merchant of Venice, written by C.S. Woolley, that matches with the original text, line for line. Along side the text there are a series of assessments and writing frames that include phonics, prepositions, verbs and adverbs, conjunctions, recall and expansion of ideas. The workbooks have an accompanying Teacher’s Guide which contains the Key Stage 3 assessment criteria, the answers to the assessment questions and definitions to help with teaching grammatical tools such as prepositions and conjunctions.

Each of these items is for sale separately through Amazon or as a work scheme package through the Mightier Than the Sword UK online store. The work scheme package includes 24 workbooks and a teacher’s guide for the price of £80. The scheme is still in the pilot stage and feedback on it is appreciated, and there are plans to roll out similar schemes for all of Shakespeare’s work across all Key Stage levels and adding workbooks that cover both the subjects of History and English.