Over the last two weeks we’ve visited schools across Northumberland as part of our Outreach programme. We were joined by Jack Meggitt-Phillips, author of The Beast and The Bethany series, and covered lots of ground and met hundreds of young readers.
Starting in Berwick we visited Tweedmouth Middle School, Glendale Middle School, Dr Tomlinson Middle in Rothbury, Chantry Middle in Morpeth, Cramlington Learning Village and Seaton Sluice Middle School. The young people and staff gave us a warm welcome and got involved in Jacks presentation which saw them help create a new monster. Jacks dynamic and interactive style meant everyone could get involved. Jack signed books for the students after each event and everyone went away with a head full of ideas for creating their own monstrous stories.
To follow up, we then visited the same schools to lead creative writing workshops inspired by Jacks work. Our facilitator, Tearlach Duncanson, led the young writers on a whistle stop tour of storytelling and character creation, using group work and practical writing to make sure everyone had a chance to contribute. As the students left, they were still discussing their ideas for their own heroes and villains. We’ll be sharing some of their stories here soon.
We are grateful to Jack for his brilliant presentations, to James from Opt Indie Books for providing books and transport, and to all the schools we visited for giving us such a warm welcome. This work is possible thanks to our supporters and funders, and we look forward to expanding this over the next 18 months thanks to our recent Arts Council grant. To find out more about our Outreach programme, click here, or contact sarah@hexhambookfestival.co.uk.
