Hundreds of hours of BBC Shakespeare programmes will be made free to schools, colleges and universities across the UK.
Organisations that hold a licence with the Educational Recording Agency can access radio and TV productions, interviews and programmes ranging from material suitable for primary school pupils through to post-graduate students.
The collection spans more than 70 years and includes classic productions in the BBC Television Shakespeare series, comedies like Monty Python and Upstart Crow, Russel T Davies’ production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Horrible Histories.
Nearly 1,000 items will be available in a searchable archive initially, with more content added as it becomes available.
The move to share them is driven by the BBC’s second purpose, set out in its Royal Charter, to promote education and learning.