Award-winning Scottish writer Alan Bissett proved to be a bit hit when he worked with students at Spartans Community Academy’s Alternative School at Fet-Lor Youth Centre recently.
Allan delivered a workshop and heard about the raps the students have been writing at Fetlor Youth Club, on 15 December. The S3/4 students are referred from City of Edinburgh Council High schools and attend a part time alternative provision at Spartans Alternative School for part of their week. The focus of this provision is to improve their literacy and numeracy attainment and develop the employability and personal skills required for the workplace.
The event was joint-funded by The Spartans Community Football Academy and Creative Scotland’s Live Literature Funding, which is managed by Scottish Book Trust. The fund exists to bring the work of Scottish fiction writers, playwrights, poets, storytellers to every corner of Scottish society including schools, libraries, writers groups, additional support needs organisations, community groups and literary organisations. The scheme subsidises up to 1,200 writer events around the country each year, reaching an average annual audience of over 50,000 people.
Manager of the Alternative School, Emma Easton said: “We were delighted to welcome Allan and his visit was a huge success. One student said: ‘I didn’t think it’d be fun but he made it fun’ and two are now motivated to enter short story writing competitions – especially the ones with cash prizes! So that’s our next target.
“It is important for their voices to be heard, and for them to find books and other texts that will capture their imagination. Live Literature funding is a very valuable resource for The Spartans Community Football Academy’s Alternative School as it enables us to increase our young people’s ability, confidence and enjoyment in reading and writing and encourage them to extend their world view, empathy and access to books.”
Spartans Community Football Academy gifted the students with a signed copy of Allan’s novel, The Incredible Adam Spark, at the session.
Caitrin Armstrong, Head of Writer Development at Scottish Book Trust, said: “By subsidising events featuring writers, illustrators, and storytellers throughout Scotland, Live Literature funding encourages organisations of all kinds to include authors in their programmes. The scheme also widens the audience for contemporary writers and storytelling by increasing the amount of literary activity and by providing financial support in such a way that groups pay the same per session whether they are based in Orkney or Edinburgh.”
Pictures: Anna Moffat annamoffat.com
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