Booking for groups running from the school year 2022-2023
Groups are now on sale for groups beginning in September 2022.
Our groups are meeting in person, with the exception of the two online groups that we are maintaining post Covid.
You will find all our groups in two sections: Junior aged young writers (school years 3-6, roughly equivalent to 7-11 years old) and Teenage writers (school years 7-13, roughly equivalent to 12-17 years old). Click on the relevant button below for the groups available to that age range.
We are offering two different types of groups:
In-person groups will start meeting in-person from September in 14 different locations across the region.
Online groups will meet online all year using Zoom, whatever restrictions are in place.
Spark Young Writers groups meet monthly from September to June/July (10 sessions a year), for 2 hours on a Saturday.
In 2022 – 2023 the cost is £90 for the year (£9 a session) and you can pay by annual card payment, or automatic monthly card payment. We also offer a taster session for a one-off £10 payment so you can see if your child likes it.
Groups are divided into school years 3-6 (junior aged children), and school years 7-12 (secondary or high school aged children.)
Please contact the office if you would like to discuss other options for payment – we have free places available if your young person is eligible for free school meals, or pupil premium. Please email Emma Boniwell if you have any questions. You can see the eligibility criteria here.
Spark Young Writers groups are writing groups for children and young people interested in any kind of creative writing.
Each group is:
- fun! We laugh a lot during the sessions
- friendly and informal
- small – max. 15 children
- led by a professional writer along with an assistant
- varied – your child will do all kinds of writing, from fiction to poetry to playwriting
- working on creative writing rather than spelling or punctuation
- a chance for your child to develop their creative writing
- a way to grow their confidence in their writing
- not assessed – your child will get feedback and suggestions, but no “grades” or “attainment levels” are given
To keep up to date with everything that is going on, including reminders about submission deadlines for our termly online magazine, you can sign up for the Young People and Schools mailing list.
If you have any questions about Spark Young Writers, please have a look at our Young Writers FAQs page.
There are occasional opportunities for group members to share their work at events for family members and friends as well as more public events. In previous years, members of the groups have shared their work at the Birmingham Literature Festival, Ledbury Poetry Festival, Coventry Mysteries and Wenlock Poetry Festival. Several have also been involved in publications and regularly submit to Spark Young Writers Magazine.
School years and ages
Year 3 (age 7-8), Year 4 (age 8-9), Year 5 (age 9-10), Year 6 (age 10-11) – Key Stage 2
Year 7 (age 11-12), Year 8 (age 12-13), Year 9 (age 13-14) – Key Stage 3
Year 10 (age 14-15), Year 11 (age 15-16) – Key Stage 4
If you have any further questions about the Spark Young Writers’ Groups please have a look at our Young Writers FAQs page. If you have a question that isn’t on this list, please email emma[at]writingwestmidlands.org. If you would prefer to discuss the groups, you can call Emma on 0121 246 2770 (option 2).
Young Writers’ group Supporters
For more information about the supporters on sponsors of our Spark Young Writers’ Groups please click here.