Case Study: After-School Workshops

Caelin & William

Caelin is in year 5. The Workshops have fed his literacy and writing skills as well as his creativity.

Caelin Su, aged nine, started at The Writing Workshop at the beginning of 2019 and is excited for many more terms to come. He and his father, William, have both noticed the difference weekly workshops have had on Caelin’s creative writing skills and overall literacy.

“He’s more confident now,” says William, “before it was a bit stressful and he was a bit directionless on how to proceed with a writing piece.”

“Once you find something that your children love, I think just keep on doing it — it will help them in the future regardless of what direction they take.”

The structure of the workshops initially helped Caelin to build on his fundamental writing skills, and since then, he has taken the opportunity to explore his creativity.

William noted that creative writing was something he, as a parent, couldn’t help Caelin with as much as he would like. “With English not really being our strong point, sometimes it can be stressful,” he said.  “It’s good to have someone who is professional in teaching children and can enhance their skill through enjoyment rather than force.”

With many fewer students in the workshops than in a typical class at school, William feels that Caelin benefits from the greater attention paid to individual students.

“The kids in general really bounce ideas off each other,” says William.

Since starting at The Writing Workshop, Caelin has also noticed an improvement in his writing and attributes this to his engagement with the workshops.

“I really enjoy the examples and stories Bernard gives at the beginning of the workshop,” he says. “They’re always clearly explained and sometimes quite funny.”

One of Caelin’s favourite topics was on coincidences where his character “meets his uncle at his shop and nearby there is an auction selling a painting of his dad’s shop.”

Caelin’s younger sister, Katie, is also a keen student at The Writing Workshop, and both are excited for more terms to come and the different writing tasks they bring.

Caelin and William spoke with Emily Gibbs.

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