Celebrating Young Creatives with Write Here, Write Now

This week, some very special guests including David Walliams, Joanna Lumley and Paapa Essiedu came together to read stories written by children to celebrate our Write Here, Write Now graduates. This inspiring project supports local schools in improving literacy, language and communication skills in young children with low confidence and self-esteem.

Using drama workshops and creative activities, Polka worked with five primary schools over the last year to boost their confidence and spark their imagination. These schools are Ashmole Primary School, Malmesbury Primary School, Kings Oak Primary School, Cranmer Primary School, and Poplar Primary School.

As part of the project, all participants wrote their own wonderful stories of which they are justly proud. Our special guests read some extracts from these stories as part of a live-streamed event on Monday 19th July. More of them will be shared as individual posts across Polka’s social media channels over the next few weeks.

All the stories have now been filmed and readers include Paralympian, TV presenter and author Ade Adepitan, actor Cerrie Burnell, children’s author and illustrator Chris Riddell, comedian Joe Lycett, and acclaimed author Michael Rosen.

Creativity can be a constructive tool to combat loneliness, fuel curiosity, encourage self-belief, and improve children’s wellbeing. The project has resulted in a host of exciting creative stories showcasing the full power of children’s literary potential.

‘Write Here, Write Now has been a hugely successful project which has supported literacy development with Year 3 children. We are delighted to be celebrating this project by bringing the children’s stories to life with some wonderful readers including Paapa Essiedu, David Walliams, Joanna Lumley and Ade Adepitan.’ Peter Glanville, Artistic Director

You can watch Monday’s live stream on demand by clicking here and all other readings can be found here.