Almost 1,000 Pupils across Greater Belfast participate in a Literacy Programme brought by Electric Ireland NI and the Lyric Theatre Belfast.
With an amazing response to the Shooting for the Stars writing competition last year, we recently worked in partnership with the Lyric Theatre Belfast to create an educational Literacy Programme. The scheme, which took part from December to January, facilitated 991 pupils from 23 schools across Greater Belfast. Each pupil participated in a two-hour literacy and drama workshop facilitated by the Lyric’s literacy outreach programme.
The programme was delivered in partnership with the Goliath Trust, a company that aims to help address educational underachievement in Northern Ireland’s most disadvantaged areas. Using the winning children’s book from our 2021 Shooting for the Stars competition, The Dancing Footballer, written by nine-year-old Sarah Dickson, we addressed issues such as gender equality and inclusivity using dance and sport.
This initiative was a new departure for our ongoing Game Changers NI campaign, allowing us to support both arts and education by using sport as a vehicle.
Clare McAllister, Northern Ireland Residential Manager, Electric Ireland said “The Dancing Footballer book, written by nine-year-old Sarah Dickson, deals with issues such as gender equality and inclusivity using dance and sport and spans important curriculum areas across literacy, PE and art. It is wonderful that the book now forms the basis of the Lyric workshops and I’m excited for the stories that this project will produce, and that we are in a position to help young people understand their value and worth.”
Following the workshops, teachers encouraged Primary 7 pupils to put their new skills to the test by writing a short story between 250-400 words. To add further incentive, the six pupils with the best short stories will get the opportunity to participate in a special workshop session with a high-profile children’s author – how exciting!
If you took part in our Literacy Programme, we hope you had a great time, and we can’t wait to read all your short stories. You can follow the conversation at #GameChangersNI and learn more by visiting: https://www.electricireland.com/gamechangers