Barnhill Excellence in Literacy Week

In honour of National Writing Day, Mr Devereaux-Ward organised our Excellence in Literacy Week, to celebrate the power of words and how they bring us together for empowerment, creativity and connection. To help, Mr Potts and the Enrichment team brought in celebrated children's author Philip Womack, and performance poet Breis.

Both authors worked with a select group of pupils from years 7, 8 and 9 whose achievements in English had been recognised by their teachers, and they had a chance to write poems, speeches and short stories to improve their self-confidence, their self-development and ultimately to enrich their imaginative faculties.

Breis also performed for all of Year 7 and the importance of reading and overcoming hardship which students responded to very favourably and it was lovely to see how despite their diverse backgrounds they understood how important literacy was in being part of a community and working together for the betterment of society.

The theme of the week was ‘The Future: A Time of Optimism and Hope’ to encourage students to use their voices for positive change.

Mr Devereaux-Ward commented "As we know, literacy is absolutely key to future success and the aim of the event was to promote a love of reading for our students whose futures we attempt to broaden through exposure to a range of works that inspire, motivate and engage. I look forward to more of the same in the future."

Philip led a session on the transformative impact of language, reading and writing with years 8 and 9 who had an opportunity of honing their craft and academic skills and to discover how versatile and pliable words can be to create meanings in their texts.

Students found the Excellence in Literacy Week to be incredibly impactful as they developed a real sense of personal agency and resilience as well as having fun in the writing process!