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Year 8 and 9 pupils at Keighley’s Holy Family Catholic School shared a proud moment yesterday at the launch of “Keighley Untamed” – an anthology of their own writing inspired by the town of Keighley. At the launch event, thirteen pupils proudly read from their anthology (which is hot off the press), in the company of Keighley Town Mayor Cllr Peter Corkindale and John Devlin (Executive Headteacher Catholic Primary schools in Keighley) as well as family members and staff from Holy Family Catholic School. The young writers also got the chance to sign their very own copies of their published work.

The pupils worked closely with Writer in Residence Daniel Ingram-Brown on a weekly basis as part of the First Story programme, a national charity dedicated to empowering young writers. Enjoying this special occasion for his school, Headteacher Martin Hings commented:
“I am so pleased and proud of the students that engaged with the “First Story Project”. They have come together as a group who were quite nervous and unsure about creative writing, and are now proud authors of a book being held at the National Library in London. Congratulations to all the students and teachers involved in this project, and many thanks to the “First Story” charity giving children of Keighley an opportunity to work with great authors.”
Also commenting on this fantastic literary achievement, English Teacher Zebun Javed who organised this opportunity, said:

“First Story has been an incredible opportunity for our students at Holy Family to have their own published book. Seeing our students discover themselves and find a voice has been inspirational. These students have been given a chance to develop a love of language by expressing their thoughts freely beyond the pressures of the curriculum. The process has seen them flourish in both confidence and ability.”

As inspiration, the pupils were invited to imagine Keighley as a forest in a fairy tale and the finished book contains colourful imagined characters such as ghostly heroines, fashion junkies, extreme ironers and young people struggling to make their way in the world. The published pupils comprise: Emma Devlin, Frankie McLaren, Gianluca Galluci, Haleema Linder, Katelyn Deblick, Katelyn Devlin, Kayleigh Burrows, Leona Thompson, Rowan Charlesworth, Ruby Simpson, Saif-ur-Rehman, Tawfeeq Hussain and Tia Weighman – Stenson. Keighley Untamed is available to buy online at First Story www.firststory.org.uk at a cost of £10