Priority booking opens Wednesday 21st October, with an exclusive early-bird price of £480 (saving £70).

​

Public booking opens Friday 23rd October at £550, subject to availability.

 

Creative writing can be one of the most challenging areas of the 11+ to prepare for.

​

Does this sound familiar?

 

Perhaps your child…

• Has brilliant ideas but struggles to translate them into strong writing

• Gets so caught up in the plot that the quality of their language suffers

• Knows ambitious vocabulary but doesn’t use it unless they’re prompted

• Produces lovely description at home but struggles when working under time pressure 

• Finds it difficult to adapt their writing to unfamiliar prompts

• Produces writing that is technically accurate but lacks the flair and sophistication needed to stand out.

​

The answer isn’t to memorise the ‘perfect’ story. It’s to give children a toolkit they know how to use.

 

What will your child take away from the Masterclass?

 

By the end of the eight weeks, your child will:

​

• Have a self-built bank of powerful vocabulary, phrases and literary devices they can draw upon across a wide variety of writing tasks.

 

• Know how to create atmosphere effectively, whether they want their writing to feel tense, joyful, melancholic or calm.

 

• Plan intentionally, rather than getting lost in increasingly complicated plots.

 

• Make deliberate language choices, and understand why one word or technique is more effective than another.

 

• Know how to hook the reader from the very first sentence, using a range of techniques they can adapt to different prompts.

 

• Have a flexible toolkit they can draw upon independently in an exam, rather than relying on memorised stories, phrases or adult prompting.

​

• Write with greater confidence and independence under timed conditions.

 

WHAT WE’LL COVER

 

Week 1 - Hooking the Reader

Hook the reader in from the very beginning using three different, repeatable methods.

 

Week 2 - Building and Sustaining Mood

Use weather, setting, sound and imagery to control atmosphere.

 

Week 3 - Using Literary Devices Effectively

Learn to write original, powerful similes, metaphors and personification without relying on clichés. 

 

Week 4 - Creating Memorable Settings

Move beyond predictable settings and learn how unusual places, historical eras and environments can make writing more original.

 

Week 5 - Effective Planning

Learn how to plan for exam environments, so that you can focus on the quality of language rather than on explaining a complex plot.

 

Week 6 - Interpreting Unfamiliar Prompts

Learn how to unpack exam-style questions, identify exactly what is required and develop an original response while still fulfilling the task.

 

Week 7 - Writing a Description

Create vivid images through precise vocabulary choices and sensory language. Learn how to build structure into descriptive writing, without relying on plot.

 

Week 8 - Bringing It All Together

Tackle a complete exam-style writing task, drawing on all the skills build over the course of the Masterclass.

 

WHY A SMALL GROUP?

 

I’ve deliberately limited the masterclass to just eight children.

 

That means I can hear from every child in detail, read their work, ask them targeted questions, challenge their ideas and give meaningful feedback throughout each lesson.

 

Children also benefit greatly from hearing each others’ ideas and seeing how the same task can be approached in completely different ways.

 

ABOUT THE TEACHER

​​

​​