Creative writing workshops in schools

The Writing Workshop runs creative writing activities for all years in schools in Sydney, Australia (or elsewhere by arrangement). School programs are available every school day.

The Writing Workshop offers half-day and full day workshops, workshop series, and short and long-term residencies (one to four days per week). Whilst we have the capacity to provide traditional author visits (all our programs are run by published writers), our focus is on developing children's writing through providing them with a deep, experiential understanding of the writing process. That is, we concentrate on drawing children into writing through their ideas rather than through modelling our own published work.

We regard creative writing as both an art form and a tool for understanding human society and the natural world.

The Writing Workshop will work with any class or small group, and has the experience and capacity to add a creative writing element to other school activities such as museum, gallery or zoo visits. One-off workshops are available on a small group, whole class, whole year or whole school (truly!) basis.

Please use this contact form to request bookings or more details.

Primary School workshops The Writing Workshop aims to switch children onto creative writing. We offer highly enjoyable writing workshops for all years from kindergarten up. Focus with years K and 1 is usually on group story-telling and narrative structure. Creative writing can offer a third way into literacy for late readers as it provides pride-in-(concrete)-work and ownership of the literature. From year 2, we use an exercise-based approach aimed at developing students' own ideas across a range of different literary techniques and forms. Children have the opportunity to write within their preferred genres and to develop and strengthen their own aethetics. Our writing workshops complement all aspects of the primary school curriculum - we use creative writing as a creative approach to measurements of probability; the development of human civilisation; life on Earth and aspects of all school subjects . We specialise in small groups including gifted and talented, and are delighted to work with special needs and priority groups. There are still days available during Book Week 2010!

Sign outside Glebe Primary School during a 2007 workshop series

The Writing Workshop programs for senior high school address creative writing aspects of the NSW Higher School Certificate's "Belonging" unit of study. Courses include setting, character, group values within a setting, narrative development, imagery and (very important!) confrontation with the blank page.

Our junior high school workshops provide practical writers' insights into making and understanding texts: developing relationships among setting, event and a deeper understanding of character to create powerful and engaging writing. Workshops meet suitable curriculum goals and can be customised according to school or student needs.

Extension groups of all ages are very welcome.

Please use this contact form to request bookings or more details.

The Writing Workshop holds appropriate public liability insurance. Details on request.

Funding a creative writing course: Recent series have been funded by schools through P&C allocations for writing and literacy, by local councils (for boys' education), from DET's Priority Schools Program funds, by the Children's Book Council through its Aloud program, through individual user-pays and from general revenue.