Sixteen budding writers had a wonderful week in the beautiful Shropshire countryside at the Arvon Foundation over half term. The Hurst, once home of award-winning playwright John Osbourne, is a large 19^th century house full of books, huge round tables for writing workshops, and a sitting room with multiple sofas for the author and attendee readings in the evenings. Our students fried eggs and pancakes for their breakfasts before enjoying the inspiring workshops every morning led by our excellent tutors Colin Grant and Anna Wilson, read, wrote, had one to ones with the tutors to develop their writing and went on stunning walks in the 26 acres of Shropshire Hills woodlands in the afternoons, and cooked dinner in teams before settling in to hear the tutors and the fascinating visiting radio producer Polly Weston talk about their work in the evenings. Huge thanks to our librarian Ms De Blue for accompanying us on this trip. We have already booked our spot at Arvon for the same week next year.

‘It was a magical week with amazing opportunities. The tutors gave me so much inspiration for story writing and character building.’  – Sonia K, Year 9

Ms Shevah, Head of Digital Literacy and Communication, Teacher of English and Writer in Residence