Writers & Schools

Writers 2011-2012

Rebecca Abrams ∙ Caroline Bird ∙ Clare Brown ∙ Alan Buckley ∙ Kate Clanchy ∙ Laura Dockrill ∙ Ben Faccini ∙ Kevin Fegan ∙ William Fiennes ∙ Salena Godden ∙ Jonathan Lee ∙ Graham Lester George ∙ Eireann Lorsung ∙ Irfan Master ∙ Jean McNeil ∙ Daljit Nagra ∙ Courttia Newland ∙ Marie Phillips ∙ Ross Raisin ∙ Lemn Sissay ∙ Mahendra Solanki ∙ Deborah Stevenson ∙Betsy Tobin ∙ Alex Wheatle ∙ Amanda Whittington ∙ Philip Womack

Schools 2011-2012 

Acland Burghley School ∙ Bulwell Academy  ∙ Burlington Danes Academy∙ Charles Edward Brooke School ∙ Cheney School ∙ Cranford Community College ∙ Ellis Guilford School and Sports College ∙ George Green’s School ∙ Highbury Grove School ∙ Highgate Wood School ∙ Holland Park School ∙ Islington Arts and Media School ∙ Larkmead School  ∙ Loxford School of Science and Technology ∙ Nottingham Academy ∙ Nottingham Children’s Hospital  Nottingham Girls’ Academy ∙ Nottingham University Samworth Academy ∙ Oxford Spires Academy ∙ Pimlico Academy ∙ Queens Park Community School ∙ Quintin Kynaston School ∙ Willowfield Humanities College ∙ Woodside High School 

First Story in your school

First Story Writer-in-Residence Louisa Young with
a student at Queens Park Community School

First Story operates in challenging state schools in the UK.

First Story’s criteria for determining whether a school is challenging are modelled after Teach First’s, with selection tied to economic deprivation and educational attainment. ‘Challenging’ refers to schools in which more than 50 per cent of pupils are considered  deprived according to the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) or in which GCSE results fall in the lowest third of the national distribution.

If you are interested in having a First Story author in your school from September 2011, or organising a one-off writer visit, please contact us at info@firststory.co.uk.

At present all our residencies are in schools in London, Oxford and Nottingham, but in the future First Story hopes to expand into new areas in the UK.

CPD sessions

First Story now offers CPD sessions to teachers run by our acclaimed authors. Please click here for more information.

Everyone at Cranford Community College who heard these students read their creative, surprising, funny, heart-warming, sensitive, tender and emotionally-charged stories was moved by them and filled with admiration for the young writers nurtured by this truly excellent initiative. I witnessed a real sense of inner growth, pride and achievement as a result of the experience, and I have no doubt this will have a lasting impact on the individuals and the school. The Cranford writers created positive role models and a sense that writing can be ‘safe’. I cannot overstate the enormous feeling of pride – for me as Headteacher, for the students themselves and for their parents. Every school could be enriched by partnership with First Story.

Kevin Prunty, Headteacher, Cranford Community College