The new season of Lighthouse Young Writers Workshops has been announced for September, designed to foster creativity, self-expression and excitement about reading and writing.
What are the workshops?
The free workshops are offered in association with ArtfulScribe as part of the DO:Write literature development project in Dorset.
They will begin in September for 11- 18-year-olds split into two groups: 11-14 and 15-18. Workshops will occur weekly at Lighthouse to explore a wide range of written art-forms, from short story-telling and creative non-fiction to script writing and performance poetry.
The workshop leaders
Tabitha Hayward and Lucy Pearce will lead the courses, and judging by the glowing feedback received from the first intake, the two are practically a double act!
“I think it helps that we are enthusiastic and arrived with a lot of energy and passion for what we’re doing,” said Tabitha.
“Not many of the Young Writers knew each other before they came so they certainly bonded and I know the younger group set up a Young Writers Chat on WhatsApp and are staying in touch.”
She continued: “Some kids wanted to share every time they finished a sentence and others less so. One girl would cover up everything she wrote whenever we walked round, and it wasn’t until the final session that she shared anything with the group.
“… what we created was a supportive space in which young writers could share their work, often for the first time.”
Tabitha Hayward is a graduate from Oxford University with a first class English degree, and Lucy completed an apprenticeship as a Technician at Lighthouse as well as teaching on the Young Techs course. Both Tabitha and Lucy noted how several participants grew in confidence throughout the previous workshops while also improving their ability.
“We set out to make the exercises fun and the kinds of things we might like to have done in their position,” says Lucy.
“The workshops went really well and I think the kids enjoyed it and engaged with them really well in terms of how often they attended and what they got out of them.”
Lucy is now in her final year of a Creative Writing degree at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB). Alongside leading the Young Writers workshops, she writes for Tap the Feed music blog and curates I Don’t Want To Go Insane- a magazine showcasing artists dealing with and discussing mental health.
She added: “As part of the degree we have worked with the Kids in Care Group in Poole producing an anthology and also with students at Talbot Heath School- very different groups but preparation for the workshops where we had kids at private school, state schools and home educated as well, with a wide range of needs so the groups were incredibly diverse.”
The autumn intake will benefit from new course strands including bronze-level Arts Award and a performance project in conjunction with Young Producers and Young Technicians at Lighthouse.
To apply or find out more about Young Writers, email learning@lighthousepoole.co.uk
For more on the success of the previous workshops, read out story here.