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First Story

England's leading creative writing charity for young people

  • Bookshop
  • News
  • Login
  • Donate
  • Programmes
    • Young Writers Programme
    • Young Writers Festival
    • Summer residential
    • Folio mentorships
    • National Writing Day
  • Writers
    • Our ambassadors
    • Who we work with
    • Becoming a First Story writer
  • Schools
    • Partner schools HUB
    • Classroom resources for partner schools
    • Free Festival Toolkit
    • Free writing resources
    • BBC Teach x First Story resources
    • Becoming a First Story partner school
  • Locations
    • North of England
    • East Midlands
    • Greater London
  • About
    • About us
    • Our impact
    • Staff and trustees
    • Vacancies
  • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Make a donation

Supported by our Programme and Partnerships Manager in Nottingham, local writers work with young people in secondary schools across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.


First Story has become an integral part of our school and the benefits of involving our young people in creative writing and poetry are immense.

Alison Brannick, Head at Landau Forte, derby

East Midlands
partner schools

Click on the markers on the map to see which schools in the East Midlands currently offer our provision.

Filter by

East Midlands programmes funded by

East Midlands Advisory Group

We’re grateful to benefit from the breadth of regional knowledge and expertise provided by our volunteer advisors in the East Midlands. The group, representing arts, education and youth perspectives, meets quarterly to inform our work in the region.

Nicky Shore

Educationalist, Researcher in Residence at The Priory Federation of Academies

Priya Gill

Undergraduate student and founder of Chill Entertainment

Jane Dodge

Freelance journalist

Sarah Elliot-Maher

Development Lead (Secondary) at Teach First

Jon mcGregor

Writer and Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Nottingham

Tammy Elward

Director of the Spencer Teaching School Hub and Derby Research School at Spencer Academies Trust

Alumni voices

Priya Gill, Derby

First Story has been and continues to be an incredible benefit not just to me, but my peers too.

Priya took part in our Young Writers Programme at Landau Forte College in Derby in 2019/20. She then won a coveted Rathbone’s Folio Mentorship, working with poet Kathryn Maris. Priya is a poet, a First Story Ambassador and Derby’s Deputy Youth Mayor.

Read Priya’s storY >

East Midlands stories

Six Word Story 2021 shortlist and winners announced

19 January 2022//  by First Story

The 2021-22 academic year went off with a bang with the Six Word Story Competition! Inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s six…

Six Word Story 2021 shortlist and winners announcedRead More

Category: Competitions, East Midlands, News

Young writers exploring higher education through Connect events

20 December 2021//  by First Story

Held during the autumn term, our region-specific Connect events are designed to connect young writers with each other and with…

Young writers exploring higher education through Connect eventsRead More

Category: East Midlands, London, Outcomes and Impact, Partnerships

Announcing: Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships 2021/22

3 November 2021//  by First Story

This is the fifth year of our partnership with the prestigious Rathbones Folio Prize, through which talented First Story students…

Announcing: Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships 2021/22Read More

Category: Alumni, East Midlands, News, Partnerships

WATCH: Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships 2020-21 Showcase

27 October 2021//  by First Story

Now in its fifth year, our exclusive partnership with the Rathbones Folio Prize offers a unique opportunity for talented First Story alumni…

WATCH: Rathbones Folio Prize Mentorships 2020-21 ShowcaseRead More

Category: Alumni, East Midlands, News, Partnerships

Young Ambassadors programme pilot

7 July 2021//  by First Story

We announced First Story’s new Young Ambassadors programme with much excitement in autumn 2020. At that time, we had no…

Young Ambassadors programme pilotRead More

Category: East Midlands, National Writing Day, North of England, Young Ambassadors

Kate Clanchy supports our CPD provision for teachers

27 November 2020//  by First Story

Developing the creative writing skills and confidence of teachers is integral to First Story’s mission. For our work to have…

Kate Clanchy supports our CPD provision for teachersRead More

Category: East Midlands, News, Teachers

Creative Writing and Social and Emotional Learning

23 July 2020//  by Jess Tickell

After reading the National Literacy Trust’s tenth annual literacy survey, published earlier this month, First Story’s programme manager for the…

Creative Writing and Social and Emotional LearningRead More

Category: East Midlands, Opinion, Outcomes and Impact

First Story partnership with Unislam

18 June 2020//  by Jess Tickell

For the past year, First Story has been working in partnership with Unislam, the National Slam Poetry Festival, to place…

First Story partnership with UnislamRead More

Category: East Midlands, News, Partnerships

Regional Writing Stars – Autumn term

3 March 2020//  by First Story

This autumn, First Story ran a fun new bi-annual competition called Regional Writing Stars. This competition is designed to highlight…

Regional Writing Stars – Autumn termRead More

Category: Competitions, East Midlands, News

Six Word Story 2019 shortlist and winner announced

10 December 2019//  by First Story

It’s been another great year for our Six Word Story competition. With the sheer variety and ingenuity on offer, shortlisting…

Six Word Story 2019 shortlist and winner announcedRead More

Category: Competitions, East Midlands, News

Six days in Lviv ‘where every third person is a poet’

30 September 2019//  by Jess Tickell

I’ve recently returned from six days in Lviv, Ukraine’s cultural capital and one of Nottingham’s sister UNESCO Cities of Literature.…

Six days in Lviv ‘where every third person is a poet’Read More

Category: East Midlands, Opinion


Get in touch

Pippa Hennessy
Programme & Partnerships Manager,
East Midlands

Pippa oversees relationships with partner schools, writers and delivery partners across the East Midlands, from her base in Nottingham, where she has lived for over 35 years. Pippa, who also co-runs an independent publisher (Five Leaves Books), oversees First Story’s writer development programme. She is determined to give as many young people as possible the opportunity to write, having seen the difference it makes to their confidence, prospects and enjoyment of life.

Email Pippa >

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44 Webber Street
London
SE1 8QW

020 7481 7777

info@firststory.org.uk

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