‘Tis the season to get reading! Why not take a look at our top books for feeling festive or icy adventures over the Christmas break.

There are a few things we’ve noticed over the past few years in our ‘The Whole Story’ courses. Perhaps most importantly is the fact that creativity simply can’t be rushed or forced. Giving the children five days to write just one story often results in them surprising their parents,

We are often asked what makes creative writing (or any other supposedly ‘academic’ subject) any different from school classes when taken as an extracurricular activity. Indeed, there are plenty of extra learning activities out there which precisely recreate the classroom environment outside of school to optimise learning.

Summer has been as much wonderful fun for Chelsea Young Writers as ever, with an all-time high number of courses and classes running. We’ve enjoyed every moment, and once again we must thank our attendees and their supporters for making every session both a joy and a learning curve all at once.

Aimed at children in years 1 and 2, the My First Story course serves as an introduction into story writing by using familiar fairytales and stories as a way of looking at how stories are structured. Let’s see first how we guide children in planning and structuring their stories by using simple but very effective tools.

Once again we’ve been wowed by the ‘young writers’ across all our courses lately, from our youngest members at ‘My First Story’, to older members preparing to take the 11 Plus. In our ‘Master Your Creative Writing’ Kings and Queens series,

Round the table at our holiday creative writing workshop today are twelve bold, bright and courageous spy school students, all eager to set off on a secret mission – the most challenging of their lives so far!

Reading is a past-time that all children, regardless of their ability, should have the chance to know and love. It’s escapism from day to day life, it encourages creativity and imagination, and it strengthens their capacity for empathy too.

“Zeus, first cause, prime mover; for what thing without Zeus is done among mortals?”
– Aeschylus

Imagine being condemned to the back-breaking labour and daily tedium of continually rolling a boulder up a hill, to having your liver pecked at endlessly by a giant eagle,