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Every young person deserves to reap the benefits of a rich creative education. Your donation will ensure more underserved young people get fairer access to transformative opportunities.
We’re a small arts education charity with big ambitions. From a 2008 pilot project in one west London comprehensive, we now have hundreds of young people, from Hounslow to Hull, taking part each year in our flagship Young Writers Programme.
Our mission is to assist young people experiencing disadvantage to advance in life and realise their potential, by providing extracurricular support and enrichment activities that foster their creativity, literacy and talent, while developing confidence, skills and cultural capital.
What we do has had a profoundly positive impact on the lives of thousands of young people — thanks to the support we receive each year from trusts and foundations, companies and generous individual donors.
Please make your contribution today – a gift of any size is incredibly valued and will make a huge difference. Thank you.
How your support impacts young people’s lives…
Baran’s Story
After completing the Young Writers Programme during 2021 at Commerce House, a PRU in Haringey, North London, Baran received his GCSE results and enrolled at the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London. Read Baran’s poem ‘Baran in Wood Green’ >
Habiba’s Story
Habiba studied English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Huddersfield, where she was Student Ambassador. In 2018 she was selected to attend Penguin Random House’s WriteNowLive event. Since graduating she has held roles at Vintage, Waterstones and the Bradford Literature Festival. Habiba is the Co-Founder of Fox and Windmill Books, an independent publishing …
Priya’s Story
Priya completed the Young Writers Programme in 2019–20 at Landau Forte College in Derby, working with the Writer-in-Residence, Joe Marsh. The following year she was awarded a coveted Rathbone’s Folio Prize Mentorship, working with poet Kathryn Maris. Priya is a poet, a First Story Ambassador and also Derby’s Deputy Youth Mayor. She was commissioned to create …
Weronika’s Story
Weronika completed the First Story Young Writers Programme at John Leggott College in Scunthorpe during the 2019–20 academic year, working with the writer Joe Hakim. She was one of five alums who participated in the prestigious Folio Prize Mentorship programme where she worked with the novelist Nikesh Shukla.
Nidaa’s Story
Nidaa took part in the Young Writers Programme as a student at Nottingham Academy, working with poets Jim Hall and Ioney Smallhorne. Afterwards, she stayed in touch with the First Story group by supporting and mentoring younger students. Nidaa was one of five alumni who participated in the prestigious Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships programme in …
Alice’s Story
Alice completed First Story Young Writers Programme at Hull College during the 2019–20 academic year having never written creatively for pleasure before. She won a place to attend the virtual summer residential course, alongside fifteen other talented students and is also one of four alums to be picked for the prestigious Rathbones Folio Mentorship. Since …
Aisha’s Story
Aisha took part in the programme at Judgemeadow Community College. She was awarded a fully-funded place to attend Arvon, Lumb Bank in 2019 and continues to write creatively alongside studying.
Diana’s Story
Diana completed the Young Writers Programme at Co-op Academy Grange in Bradford, during the 2018–19 academic year. She lives between worlds: not just between her old life in Liepāja, Latvia, and her current life in Bradford, but also between the worlds of page and stage of poetry and prose and of writing, directing and acting. …
Abigail’s Story
Abigail completed First Story’s intensive creative writing programme at Melior Community Academy in Scunthorpe, during the 2018-19 academic year. She then won a place to attend First Story’s week-long residential course in the summer of 2019, alongside fifteen other talented students, at Arvon, Lumb Bank.
Sally’s Story
Sally participated in First Story’s intensive programme at Hull College during 2018-19, working with writer Joe Hakim. Home-schooled for most of her life, Sally joined Hull College for Year 10. By her own admission she can be quite introverted but says her confidence has grown since becoming involved with First Story. Sally discovered her passion …
Elizabeth’s Story
Elizabeth took part in the First Story programme at Hull College in 2017/18. She has gone from being someone who, prior to First Story, never wrote creatively, to someone who now attends spoken word and poetry events, where she shares her writing with audiences of 50 and more. Since leaving college, she has been appointed …
Imaru’s Story
Imaru took part in the First Story programme at Highgate Wood School in London. He was also selected to attend our summer residential and later entered the Rathbones Folio Prize.
