What's your story, Chorley?

'What's your story, Chorley?' is an annual festival of words based in the market town of Chorley in Lancashire. It is an event for all ages to take part in and enjoy, with various talks, sessions, performances and activities based in venues across the town centre. The Primary English Education team at Edge Hill University and local primary schools work together with Chorley Council and The Creative Network to organise this great event.

The university and schools help to develop the 'Book Bench trail'. Each school involved designed and decorated a bench, taking inspiration from their favourite books, and then these benches create the ‘Book Bench trail’ across the town centre. Trainee teachers from the university dress up as characters and read stories on the benches and help spread the word about the event across the town. Members of the public can take part in the trail by visiting each bench and answering the quiz questions that relate to the book. Also, one bench was left blank to encourage members of the public to get involved on the day and decorate the bench with some of their favourite stories and characters.

When I first heard about this exciting opportunity from a university tutor, I instantly wanted to get involved. As an English specialist, I love literature and reading, but also I have always enjoyed being creative, so this event sounded like something I would really be interested in. On the day, I was able to dress up as Little Red Riding Hood to interact with the public, read stories to lots of children, and experience the event myself, despite the unpredictable British weather!

Reflecting on the day, I found that I became more confident whilst interacting with the public and was able to gain ideas for my own teaching practice from experiencing how engaged and inspired the children were by the event and the literature. For example, it would be fantastic to promote the love of reading by creating a book bench within a school, which could be used for children to share their favourite stories. It would be a lovely addition to a book corner in a classroom or even could be kept outside to be enjoyed at playtimes. Many reading based activities could make use of a book bench, such as book talk, sensory and multi-modal stories. Also, the event has highlighted the importance of involving the whole community with schools, as these types of events or projects can be a fantastic way to work together, raise money, support causes and promote education.

I had lots of fun being part of this event and would encourage others to get involved with similar events and support their local communities. Personally, I will be looking into more events to attend in my local area or any events that I can get involved with through university.

Council leaflet 2017: