This week we look at the Writing Club Co-curricular activity. Two Year 8 students Esther Kipchumba and Alana Clements tell us why they chose this co-curricular and what they get out of it.

Esther Kipchumba writes, “The Writing Club gives us an opportunity to expand our creative writing skills through sessions in which we focus on learning different techniques to become better writers. We are given time to work on and develop our own pieces. The thing that interested me most, I think, was just the general idea of a writing club, since I’ve always been interested in writing. I think it’s wonderful to have the time in a school week to just sit down and write, especially during exam week or other stressful times. It helps to know that I can have that time to wind down, and not lose sight of the things I love to do amongst all the chaos of school life.”

“We use many different skills during Writing Club. Collaboration is a great one and one that I’ve been working on improving for essentially my whole life. During Writing Club, we are sometimes assigned group activities, in which we work together to produce a short piece that focuses on one topic or skill. This requires a good sense of teamwork and collaboration, which I feel like I have been both using and improving during my time the club. And, of course, it wouldn’t be creative writing without creativity! We all harness the creativity within us when writing. An example of one of our group activities was writing stories from prompts that we are given and writing our own stories – long or short.”

Alana Clements said, “What interested me most about choosing this co-curricular activity was the ability to just sit down and be creative whilst writing. It gives you the chance to connect with your writing and share ideas with other girls. During the creative exercises which happen every second week, there is so much to learn and lots to do. I remember one time; we went out onto the grounds of the school and we just sat within nature and wrote about a special place in the school. It was great because instead of just sitting in a classroom, we went outside and let our minds be creative.”

We asked Alana if she would recommend this to other students. “I would recommend this co-curricular to other girls because in English when you have to write essays and stories, sometimes it’s hard to get a creative idea and expand your vocabulary, but creative writing is a great addition to your English skills. Sometimes after a long day of school, it’s nice on a Wednesday afternoon to sit and creatively write a story with no limits. With the teacher’s guidance, inspiring peers and a positive atmosphere, creative writing truly helps you become a well-rounded English student.”