The initiatives coincide with the unveiling of the final plan for what children will learn in school for the next five years.

BBC Wales' Julie Barton reports on attempts to enthuse schoolchildren with the words of Shakespeare

The Theatr Iolo company is currently touring schools across south Wales with a production aimed at enthusing young people about the work of the bard.

The play is not the only initiative aimed at spreading the word.

More than 1,000 pupils recently attended events in Bridgend around the film version of Much Ado About Nothing.

But not everyone is keen to brush up their Shakespeare.

"Shakespeare's ideas are alien to kids," says teacher Mike Jenkins

At Pen-y-dre High School in Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales, teacher Mike Jenkins said: "It is a fine play but a lot of his ideas are quite alien to the kids in schools, particularly the way he portrays working-class people.

"They are always objects of fun, and most kids, certainly where I teach, are working class, and I don't think that helps."