The Times "Masses of text and learning games with interesting content and. delightful graphics...designed to fit National Curriculum requirements and excellent value," The Times.

The Daily Mirror "Studying Shakespeare needn't be a bore any more with this interactive CD ROM. Shakespeare has been made more fun for students and easier to understand. If Romeo and Juliet is part of your curriculum you'll need this!" The Daily Mirror.

Alsop High School "There is nothing comparable on the market at the moment. It caters for the entire age range. The program has enormous potential as a learning and revision aid for SATS and GCSE and indeed anyone studying Romeo and Juliet. " Doug Milner-Head of English.

Liverpool Education Directorate "It is well worth English teachers taking a look at this program. It is very flexible and helps to improve reading and comprehension skills as well as encouraging independent learning." Alison Green- English Adviser.

'Challenge Romeo and Juliet ' - Review  By Doug Milner - Head of English - Alsop High School .

'Challenge Romeo and Juliet', has been developed by Challenge Interactive Multimedia. Throughout the development the English Department and pupils at Alsop High School were consulted.

The Department had already been committed to the teaching of Shakespeare to year 7, 8 and 9 classes long before the government insisted on testing students on a prescribed Shakespeare play at the end of Key Stage 3 (SATS). We had developed various teaching strategies, which did not depend solely on reading the text in class, which encouraged students to participate in the dramatic experience. We were therefore enthusiastic when the opportunity arose through Challenge Interactive to explore another way into Shakespeare for our students and both the Department and our students are delighted with the programme. It fulfils a number of important criteria:-

· It strikes just about the right balance between entertainment and educational value with a leaning towards the latter. Students find the games visually attractive, stimulating and fun to play. But, the emphasis is on thinking learning and acquiring knowledge.

· It introduces students to the four key ingredients/areas of the play - the plot, the characters, the themes and the language. This gives students the knowledge and confidence to explore the play more fully and gain more meaning from it in more conventional ways - through group/class discussion, improvisation and ultimately written tasks required for course work and preparation for examinations.

· It caters for the whole ability range. The prose scripts are broken down into relatively small chunks, clearly written with captivating illustrations on each page, which maintain students' interest. The voice-overs throughout each section help those less able readers and in addition enable students to hear how the play, can be performed by professional actors. Each of the areas is carefully levelled and each concentrates on a key point in the play while level scores provide students with affirmation of their progress throughout.

· It allows students to work individually or in pairs within a class situation. In fact most of our students, when given the choice preferred to work in pairs. One student would read the prose the other would listen. One student would read the questions, the other move the mouse after agreeing on the answers. Roles would then be reversed on a new section. Thus, the programme not only develops listening and reading and speaking skills, but also encourages and develops social skills - something not often associated with computers.

There is nothing comparable on the market at the moment. As all year 9 students (aged 13-14) and year 11 students, throughout the country have to be tested on a Shakespeare play - by far the most popular of them being 'Romeo and Juliet'. I feel that the programme has enormous potential not only as a learning aid but also as a revision aid for both SATS and GCSE. English teachers are always on the look out for interesting and genuine ways into the teaching of Shakespeare as are many parents who are keen to help their children achieve examination success. 'Challenge Romeo and Juliet ' is an excellent educational programme and is proving to be extremely effective in introducing children to the world of Shakespeare.

'Challenge Romeo and Juliet' - Review
By Romana A Hussain. Freelannce Systems Consultant and Lecturer at John Moores University .

Romeo and Juliet? Are you interested in this Shakespeare play? I wasn't - I'd had enough of Shakespeare at school...at least, that was until I saw Challenge Interactive's CD-ROM version.

Over the past couple of years, I have seen a great deal of multimedia as I sometimes use multimedia for training and teaching purposes. Most multimedia out there is pretty useless, not particularly easy to navigate or use and often thin on content. Challenge Interactive; however, have lifted multimedia to new heights. Graphically stunning, substantial and highly innovative is how I'd describe this software.

I first saw this multimedia with a friend of mine who is a real technophobe and about as interested in Shakespeare as I was. Nevertheless, even he was dazzled and enthused by this remarkable piece of artistic and technological achievement. Although he is the kind of person whose hand shakes when he touches a mouse, he started pushing me out of the way so that he could be the one to interact with the software!

This multimedia production consists of different levels, tests and games. It has a very high fun factor and I wish to goodness that I'd had something like this when I was studying 'The Merchant of Venice' at school. This really is the modern face of teaching and learning material, without a doubt, this is the best way - the only way to study Shakespeare.

Don't take my word for any of this - see Challenge Interactive's production for yourself. I have never seen such a stunning fusion ofart, technology, fun and literary learning and I can't wait to see their next production.

Snippets............

· "An excellent Product - interesting and stimulating. I enjoyed each section and the fact that they overlap. A very useful product for all ages" Kate Dolmor - Head of English St George of England High School

· "A very useful resource. The variety of activities and impressive production values are obvious" I like the idea of challenging students against the clock!" Mark O'Shaunessy - Head of English - Formby High School Southport

· "A very interesting product - an excellent backup to class teaching" Lyn Griffiths - Head of English "St Bedes R.C. High School - Ormskirk

· "I like the genuinely interactive nature of the CD-ROM" Jeff Logan - Head of English - Rainhill High School - Rainhill

· The games are enjoyable and educational.....I am sure this is the way learning is going." Colin Sellers - Head of English - Rainford High School - St Helens

· "I am normally unimpressed by technological products as aids to study, but I thought this particularly good and academically searching." Kay Bailey - Lecturer in English - Halton College of Further Education

· "I like the variety of tasks, the interactive nature of the format, the closeness it maintains to text and characters and the user friendly (often funny) graphics." Judy Gwilt - Head of English - St Margaret's C.E. High School For Boys

· "Absolutely excellent!" Mrs Kay Jude Head of English - Hartford County High School

· "This really is the modern face of teaching and learning material....A stunning fusion of art, technology, fun and literary learning ....I wish I'd had something like this when I was at school!" Romana Hussain - Former Lecturer - John Moores University

· "Pupils thoroughly enjoy all aspects of this program. We have noticed positive by products of using the CD-ROM. Extra reading lessons, pure excitement when groups of 2 and 3 work together, novel ways of understanding the plot and themes and feelings of achievement. Pupils tell me they don't forget the Acts and Scenes when they work with the CD-ROM." Judith Dickinson- (Senco) Farringdon Community School - Sunderland

· "We have currently received the CD-ROM of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet from you and my class think it's wonderful! They have asked me to contact you to see if you have any further Shakespeare titles in particular: Macbeth and King Lear ." Miss N Isik - Aston County Primary School -Runcorn - Cheshire .

· "An excellent product and extremely useful for literacy hour work. Our children have really enjoyed using the program." Sharon Monks Literacy Co-ordinator- Hindsford CE Primary School- Manchester

Pupils Reviews

· "This is a brilliant program...especially if you're studying Romeo and Juliet. It really does help you understand what is going on, who all the characters are and what the language within the play means... besides this it's good fun. The games, scores and levels help you to test whether or not you've understood the sections and the voice-overs on the language section allow you to know how the play should be read. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in Romeo and Juliet....." Student Aged 15 Belvidere High School For Girls.

· "This is an excellent interactive learning CD-ROM program that gets you thinking about the story. It offers a line to line, scene to scene detailed analysis of the play. The games offer an excellent challenging area of learning, getting you to think about the play and what is behind it" Student Year 10 -Range High School - Formby

· "I found the program really enjoyable. It was really helpful for understanding the characters and plot. I think the pictures are excellent and it is exactly how I would imagine the characters. I would buy it because it is educational and also fun - it is quite addictive! " Student Age 15 Alsop High School

· "I liked using the program, it's very easy to use, the different levels help you to understand the characters, where they come from and who they are related to. I liked the games and the way you are given scores." Student Aged 15 Alsop High School