Five go on a writing residential 

Ruby Murphy, Lucy Tiller, Rachel Coates and Ella Roberts and Olga Dermott-Bond had the once in a lifetime opportunity to attend a week long creative writing residential at the Arvon foundation.  This wonderful prize was won by Lucy Tiller, who came first out of thousands of students in the Key Stage Five First Story national writing competition.

Three schools attended the residential and were able to take part in a wide range of exciting and challenging creative writing workshops. There were two professional writers in residence, Adam Z. Robinson and Caroline Bird, who mentored the writers throughout the week.  Students also had the opportunity to enjoy the stunning Yorkshire countryside, and visit the village of Heptonstall, where Sylvia Plath is buried.  

The group created a poetry anthology from work created during the week, edited by Ella, and the forward written by Rachel. The house itself was an inspirational place, with hand written poems by famous writers such as Ted Hughes, Andrew Motion and Mark Haddon scattered on the walls. The house itself was an inspirational place, with hand written poems by famous writers such as Ted Hughes, Andrew Motion and Mark Haddon scattered on the walls.  Lucy Tiller said, “The week was really inspirational and I got so many new ideas for my writing. The group was so supportive and lovely and together we wrote some interesting and original pieces.”