Ms Hulse, the school’s art and drama teacher, applied for the Bell Shakespeare’s Regional Teacher Mentorship program last year, but was rejected as the scholarship was only available to teachers of secondary students.

However, it was her application that made the organisers open up applications to all teachers this year – and Ms Hulse was accepted.

Her week in Sydney involved specialist training to present Shakespeare through art and theatre skills.

“We worked with arts educators and acts … about how to engage kids with texts, but more specifically Shakespeare through drama and physical theatre,” she said.

Teaching Shakespeare through physical expression gives children the chance to learn about their own emotional and physical control and self-expression.

Ms Hulse now plans to develop a performance of Macbeth for students through expressive dance.

Her ultimate dream is to take students from Ravenswood Heights Primary to the Sydney Opera House.

“It’s not about Shakespeare for literacy, it’s about Shakespeare for cultural capital and letting these kids have a go at something that no one really expects them to do,” she said.

“I don’t really care if they don’t do Shakespeare ever again, but next time they come to something that’s really hard, they can think about what they’ve achieved and go ‘you know what? I just nailed Shakespeare, so I’m going to try this’.”