Worcester Children Take Part in University Storytelling Festival

Children from schools across Worcestershire took part in a host of activities as part of the University of Worcester’s Beeline Storytelling Festival for Children.

Pupils at Northwick Manor Primary School, Nunnery Wood Primary School, Perry Wood Primary School, Pitmaston Primary School and Suckley School, in Worcester, were among more than 4,100 children from 56 schools who attended sessions.

They had the chance to hear from leading authors and storytellers, make finger puppets or take part in an interactive play.

Performers in the Festival included children’s novelists Anne Fine and Alan Gibbons, storytellers Peter Chand, Ben Haggarty and Daniel Morden, poet and comedian Ian McMillan and illustrator Tony Husband.

Bob Harris, English Leader at Northwick Manor Primary School, said: “Without reservation, I would say the opportunity to actually see experts performing their craft, in an environment which is not school, seriously enriches pupils’ learning experiences.

“The value of experiences like this festival cannot be underestimated.”

University of Worcester’s Director of Arts and Culture, Anne Hannaford, said: “I think, once again, it has been a fantastic festival, with something for everybody that celebrated storytelling in all its forms but also entertained and engaged hundreds of children.
“I hope the events we put on sparked the pupils’ imagination and reminded them of the joy and power of storytelling.

“It also gave our drama and theatre students and trainee teachers invaluable real-life experience of running a theatre or of how to bring storytelling into the classroom.”