#247

“As we emerge from lockdown, the power of words to give voice and agency to our stories could not be more pertinent”. 

In 2007 William Fiennes met Katie Waldegrave, at the time Katie was a teacher at a state secondary school and William was the Writer-in-Residence at an independent school. Together they developed a plan, a year later the pair founded First Story. Its aim was to provide high-quality creative writing opportunities for young people in schools in low-income communities, to employ the best UK writing talent, and to better equip our teachers. More than a decade later, their mission remains the same and they have the invaluable support of their patron HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

On 24 June 2020, National Writing Day, First Story launched a simple writing initiative, the #247challenge. Our Year 7, 8 and 9 students keenly took part and produced some stunningly creative pieces of writing. The challenge was intended as a moment of unity, freedom and fun where students and teachers can enjoy writing together and take a moment to simply express themselves. With very little encouragement the pupils delivered some fascinating insights in their own words, a testament to their love of writing.