Primary School Spooky Stories English Workshop
Run by the English Department at King's Worcester the primary aim of the 'Spooky Stories' initiative was to engage local primary schools, support their primary school curriculum specifically for English and to work with the staff and pupils to stretch imaginations and abilities.
Initial feedback from the schools has intimated that the pupil benefit was significant not only helping pupils to develop their writing skills but also setting their imaginations a light!
Aims
Local primary schools from across Worcestershire were invited by the Head of English at King's School Worcester, via the Partnerships team to attend a 'Spooky Stories' English creative writing workshop.
The workshop aimed to give local primary school children access to specialist English teachers from the King's School Worcester and for them to benefit from their expertise.
The immediate beneficiaries being the 100+ children who attended the workshop.
Background
The 'Spooky Stories' workshop initiative consisting of a series of spooky stories read by costumed English teachers in Worcester Cathedral’s Undercroft followed by a masterclass in creative writing was the brainchild of the Head of English at the King's School Worcester. The activities were designed to support the English curriculum.
Having run the event with the King's Worcester Prep Schools it was evident that children from local primary schools would benefit from such an experience. Whilst the event has been running for King's Prep School pupils for a number of years the event ran for the first time with local primary school pupils in October 2023.
Resources
King's School Worcester facilities, as well as those of Worcester Cathedral were utilised for this initiative. Whilst the readings took place in the atmospheric Worcester Cathedral Undercroft, the workshops themselves were delivered in the English Department classrooms.
The majority of the English Department teaching staff were involved in the delivery of this event alongside the Partnerships team for administrative and logistical support.
Local primary school children arrived in their school groups either via King's School Worcester minibuses, their own minibuses or on foot. Arriving at 10.30am visiting pupils departed at 1.30pm having had lunch provided by the school.
Financially, the King's School Worcester contributed in the region of £150 which covered giveaways, prizes for the writing competition as well as refreshments.
Impact
Following the event the King's School Worcester received a number of positive comments both verbally and via email. They included comments such as
"A huge thank you for organising the fantastic workshop. Our children and staff thoroughly enjoyed their day, particularly the experience of going into areas of the Cathedral they hadn’t been in before! Also thank you for organising the minibus and staff to collect us. This is usually a huge barrier for us as the cost and availabilities make our plans extremely limited, so again, thank you."
Pupil Involvement
Whilst the King's School Worcester do use it's own pupils to support in the running and organisation of it's outreach and partnership activities they were not required for this particular initiative.
Pupils attending the event were a mix of boys and girls in Year 6.
Frequency
Following the success of this initiative, it is likely that the King's School Worcester make this an annual event in the Autumn Term.