Beyond Words

Welcome

Welcome to Beyond Words, one of Cheltenham Festivals’ year-round Education programmes which unlocks the talent, enriches the lives and illuminates the career opportunities for young people in Gloucestershire and beyond.

We are really excited to be working in collaboration with Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service (GHES) and the writer Sue Mayfield to increase the wellbeing and literacy levels of 14-16 year olds in Gloucestershire who are medically too unwell to attend school due to either physical or mental health needs.

Up to 20 students will work face-to-face with the writer through three extended writing sessions in inspiring venues. A further cohort will access tailor-made workshops via the GHES digital learning platform, supported 1-to-1 and in groups by GHES teachers. A one-off workshop at Gloucester Royal Hospital will also enable those students who are in hospital to have direct feedback on their writing from Sue Mayfield.

During the course of the programme, students will have the opportunity to work with Illustration undergraduates from the University of Gloucestershire to develop the art work for the front cover of the anthology.

The students’ creative writing will be published in an anthology by students at The National Star College, and launched at The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2016.

Beyond Words has been kindly supported by The St James’s Place Foundation. We are very grateful to them for their commitment to the project.

Ali Mawle

Director of Education

Cheltenham Festivals


Outcomes and Evaluation

The outcomes of the project are for:

Students to:

Increase confidence, imagination and aspirations

Improve writing skills and use of vocabulary for clarity and expression

Improve engagement with education

Write for pleasure

Experience improved health and well-being

GHES to:

Increase the value they place on and the impact they gain from creative

writing e.g. embedding some of the teaching techniques

Raise GHES profile nationally and within the community

We will use pre- and post- teacher, writer and student surveys to measure the impact of the project against the stated outcomes.

We will use the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) to ascertain levels of well-being.

Photographs from the 1st Beyond Words Sessions Autumn 2015 (Manor By The Lake)

Contacts

Cheltenham Festivals

Ali Mawle
Director of Education

Cheltenham Festivals, 109 Bath Road, Cheltenham, Glos GL53 7LS

Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service (GHES)

Annalise Price-Thomas

GHES Head of Service

Kathy Heathfield

GHES English Subject Lead

Gloucestershire County Council, Hospital Education Service Outpatient Team Base, County Offices, St George’s Road, Cheltenham, Glos GL50 3EW

Writer

Sue Mayfield

Manor By The Lake (project venue)

Claire Nelson

Customer Journey Manager

Manor By The Lake, Hatherley Lane, Cheltenham, Glos, GL51 6PN

The Wilson Cheltenham Museum and Art Gallery (project venue)

Polly Robinson

Learning and Access Team Leader

The Wilson, Clarence Street, Cheltenham, Glos, GL50 3JT

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