We engage...
- We engage with schools in the City of Swansea – Primary, Secondary, Pupil Referral Units.
- We engage with artists from the local community and across Wales. These include: Storytellers, Visual Artists, Illustrators, Animators, Comic Writers BeatBoxers, Musicians, Spoken Word Performance Artist, Poets…
- We engage with diverse communities within our local area, providing alternative-based literacy activities in school holidays where families can participate.
Schools Engaged So Far
Many local schools have come to us for our day-long workshops, including:
- Brynmill Primary,
- Sketty Primary,
- Blaenymaes Primary,
- Cadle Primary,
- Cefn Hengoed Community School,
- Bryniago Primary,
- Trallwyn Primary,
- Tre Uchaf Primary,
- Morriston Comprehensive, and
- Gowerton Comprehensive.
Dylan Thomas Community School.
What do teachers say about Storyopolis workshops?
“Organisation on the day was fantastic. The amount of information given to myself and the pupils was just right. The set up was spot on and was perfect for our boys” – Emma Varney, Year 9 Teacher
“It was great for the children to see Tom and Helen revising and editing our story. This process is something that we often find quite difficult to teach – especially with younger children” – Emma Jones Year 4 Teacher
“Everything was prepared before the session, the venue was great, the presenters were welcoming and engaging. Creating a whole story in one day was very impressive” – Rhodri Evans, Year 8
“A unique experience for our young people to engage with the creative process and benefit from meeting inspiring, published authors” – Lis Roberts, Year 12 Teacher
“The ideas flowed, and the children were engaged. Pre-editing the writing was a great idea, and so different from the way we teach. There was no red pen! The ideas from the children were fantastic because of the process, and we’ll definitely use them in school.” Clare Harvard, Year 4 Teacher.
What do young people say about Storyopolis workshops?
“It was amazing” – Year 4 pupil
“Always put your mind to the limit” – Year 6 pupil
“It is successful because it is cool” – Year 8 pupil
“I got to write a book!” – Year 4 pupil
“I think it is an amazing idea to do” – Year 4 pupil
“Making a story is powerful” – Year 4 pupil
Festivals and Events
We also host public workshops both as part of larger festivals and our own. As part of Swansea’s Troublemakers Festival, our workshops included typewriter poetry installation, several comic making sessions and Tuneopolis – a concert of singer/songwriting performances. Our own week of public events – Summeropolis – comprised Beatboxing, Science, Flash Fiction, Fantasy & Sc-Fi, creative writing and text collaging.
2023 saw us partner with Save The Children, Swansea University’s Cultural Institute and Cover To Cover Bookshop for Swansea’s inaugural Children’s Literature Festival.
www.swansea.ac.uk/cultural-institute/events/childrens-literature-festival-2023-in-review/
Almost 3,000 people turned out to see more than 30 renowned children’s authors from Wales and across the UK in this free festival of storytelling, magic, music and drama with sessions held in both English and Welsh. Storyopolis was present throughout, running fringe workshops, a printing table, signing up festival goers and promoting our work and Saturday Club.
