Over the half term break, sixteen students joined Ms Shevah and Ms Deblue at The Hurst, the Arvon Foundation’s lovely house in Shropshire which was once the home of the playwright, John Osbourne. Our two esteemed tutors, Colin Grant and Sheena Wilkinson, led us in excellent and fun writing workshops in the mornings, and in the afternoons, we read, wrote, walked, cooked, and had 1:1s with the tutors. After the meal, cooked in teams, we sat in the large sitting room for readings, first by the tutors who read from their books; once from our guest, the music journalist, Jude Rogers, and on the last night, by the students themselves, who read from the work they’d done that week. It was a magical setting; we very much enjoyed walking in the woods, being surrounded by cows and sheep, writing at the large tables or in our rooms, and being together in a world of words. An amazing time was had by all; we came back inspired, buzzing and full of ideas.

I really enjoyed Arvon in Shropshire because I learnt so many different writing techniques. These exercises have really helped me to be more creative and to try out a variety of writing styles. Some of the exercises included creating characters and writing from present to past. We also got to listen to talks from our tutors and a guest speaker, which I found very interesting. 

Amaya C, Year 9

Before I went to Arvon, I was nervous to go but now I’m counting down the days to go again next year. I enjoyed everything about Arvon – the beautiful setting, the writing, the readings from authors in the evenings, the food and the house itself.

Fiona S, Year 8

I loved the trip to Arvon and I found the workshops really useful for my writing. We left different people to the ones who arrived. Overall it was a fun week and I really enjoyed going for walks in the countryside.

Sonia K, Year 8