The last of the series of MUSE Project masterclasses hosted by the MMU Assocation for Creative Writing & English (ACWE) was held on June 21st in the Geoffrey Manton building. The masterclasses have seen 53 people from 26 schools and 5 LEAs come into MMU to attend workshops in prose, poetry and script writing with novelist Paul Magrs, poet Linda Chase and dramatist Julie Wilkinson.

Poetry Masterclass with Linda Chase

Organiser Kaye Tew says “feedback from the masterclasses has been very positive and we hope to re-run the programme in the Autumn term”. Continuing Professional Development courses in creative writing and in teaching creative writing are also currently being developed and it is hoped that these will run from January ’06.

Also on June 21st, the first of the MUSE Project creative writing workshops for pupils was held at Parr’s Wood school in Didsbury. Sophie Hannah read from her work and led a workshop with Year 10 pupils.
Also on June 21 st, the first of the MUSE Project creative writing workshops for pupils was held at Parr’s Wood school in Didsbury. Sophie Hannah read from her work and led a workshop with Year 10 pupils. Teacher, Emma Lashley said “The workshop was wonderful, all of the children fully enjoyed it. Quite a few of them said they were going to expand on what they did with Sophie for the competition”. The second of the workshops was led by dramatist Julie Wilkinson and took place Thursday 23 rd June at Cedar Mount High School in Gorton. Teacher Julie Graham also said her pupils really enjoyed the workshop and said “The variety of styles and skills that these collaborations offer is certainly very beneficial to our pupils and such contact with the University makes the idea of going to university seem so much more real and possible for them.

Drama Workshop with Julie Wilkinson

Twelve other workshops will run over the next month in schools in Manchester and across the North West. These will be led by Sophie, Julie and various other writers connected with MMU and ACWE, including novelist Sherry Ashworth and poets Mandy Coe and Elly Rees.

These workshops (for pupils) and masterclasses (for teachers) are all part of the ‘MUSE Project’, a creative writing competition for 14-16 and 16-19 year olds, which has been funded by the Arts Council England, North West.