The Story Works are September’s winners as they are a perfect fit with the month’s theme of International Literacy Day on September 8th.
Formed in 2021 and based at Bournemouth University, The Story Works runs story writing and creative workshops for local schoolchildren aged between 7 -18 years old. They provide a safe and creative space that encourages and enables children to tell their stories in their own way, free of any national curriculum restrictions.
The sessions are also designed to bring children on to a university campus. To introduce children to an environment they may not have been aware of and to encourage them to see it’s a place they could attending in the future. The Story Works have Bournemouth University and Arts University of Bournemouth (AUB) students as their volunteers, as shown in the attached photograph.
Each child who attends a session will take away a small booklet they have helped to produce. This booklet will contain their written story together with artwork provided by one of the AUB illustration students.
During February and March this year, 280 lucky pupils took part in The Story Works workshops. They were ably assisted by more than 10 Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth students who volunteered their time to help the project. 99% of the pupils said they would recommend the workshops to their friends.
The Story Works also offer workshops to community groups and not for profit organisations.
The groups select their preferred choice of workshop in advance from the Workshop menu, with choices ranging from Super Heroes or Cosmic comics, to Word Karaoke and being a Sports Journalist for a day.
Michael Rosen is patron of The Story Works.
Dee Hughes, Head of Trustees for The Story Works says:
‘As Michael (Rosen) says, stories are how we find our place in the world and make sense of the world. We just hope to help the children we meet begin to discover who they are and where they fit in a world that is becoming more and more complicated for young people to navigate.’
Dee Hughes from The Story Works was on Hope FM talking about their work. Listen here
To find out more about The Story Works contact hannah.rees@can100.org