Children in Lowestoft have been discovering the power of storytelling in a creative writing programme that has been funded by East Suffolk Council.
Thanks to funding from East Suffolk Council’s Lowestoft and Northern Parishes Community Partnership, three primary schools took part in the Story Worlds programme led by theatre company HighTide which has been designed to support children’s literacy, with 128 children aged between six and nine taking part.
The programme which has been running for the last two years has this spring been supported by £9,256 in funding from the Community Partnership, with support from the Old Possum’s Practical Trust and the Geoffrey Watling Charity enabling the three schools to take part for free.
Supporting the National Year of Reading 2026 which is a campaign being led by the Department for Education and the National Literacy Trust to inspire lifelong reading habits, the initiative also supports the Community Partnership’s priorities to improve mental health, physical health and wellbeing.
During the eight-week programme children from Red Oak, Northfield St Nicholas and Westwood Primary Schools, explored storytelling through drama games and improvisation in workshops, to create characters and scripts for their own Story Worlds. Following the workshops, children took to the stage at the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft on Tuesday 24 March to give performances to share their stories with their fellow participating students and their parents and guardians.
Councillor Paul Ashdown, Chair of the Lowestoft and Northern Parishes Community Partnership said: “As 2026 is the National Year of Reading, we were pleased to support this powerful project that’s giving children the skills and confidence to share their own stories. Sadly, since the pandemic literacy rates have been falling, with disadvantaged children affected the most.
“Thanks to this programme run by HighTide, many pupils were able to step into a theatre for the first time. The Community Partnership were proud to support the programme and watching them build their confidence and have fun with storytelling on stage, with support from family members, was wonderful to see - so thank you to the Marina Theatre for hosting the event. We hope this project ignites a passion within children to improve their reading and writing skills, boost their confidence and give them the freedom to express themselves and I would like to congratulate all the children who took part.”
George Boundy, Engagement Manager at HighTide said: “Every year we start this project with a fresh group of young people, not knowing what they will create or what type of stories they want to tell. What is so rewarding is seeing their ideas emerge, their confidence grow and their enjoyment of storytelling blossom.”