14+ Academies students bring creative writing to life in new book anthology

A group of students from our 14+ Academies have embraced the opportunity to express themselves beyond the world of social media, putting pen to paper in a new creative writing anthology.

The novel titled ‘Colour’ combines creative writing submissions from learners who were tasked with producing a range of short stories, poems and self reflection pieces across a variety of formats and genres. 

They explored hard-hitting topics in their writing such as mental health and identity. 

One of the students who participated in the project said: “I really enjoyed creating something which can be viewed and enjoyed in the real world as opposed to being strictly digital.” 

Another student added: “I like listening to what other people have written because it helps people understand real life situations in a different format.

“Hearing what it means to everyone is really nice.”

Their submissions were then reviewed by 14+ Academies teacher, John Davison, who edited the book and categorised their work into different themes based on colour. 

He said: “I’m so proud to celebrate our students being able to produce creative writing at their own cognitive level, but also accepting support and pointers from the editing and proofreading process which has at times taken their works to what I regard as a professional standard. 

“You could see some of these writers being published in much wider circulated volumes in the future. I have high hopes for our students and what they will do in the future.”

The cover art and illustrations in the book were produced by Graphic Design students at our Quarry Hill campus – home to the departments of Social Science and Creative Arts – including specialist facilities such as digital suites, darkrooms and creative studios. 

Staff and students from the 14+ Academies came together on 29 September to celebrate the launch of their creative writing anthology, with 83 students’ work getting published in the book.

Niki McKenna, Head of 14+ Academies at Leeds City College said: “I am incredibly proud of every learner whose work has been published in Colour. Seeing our young people become published writers is a fantastic achievement and a real celebration of their creativity, confidence and hard work. 

“The collaboration with our Graphic Design students at Quarry Hill makes this even more special. I hope every person involved with this project, including staff, feels a huge sense of pride seeing their work in print and recognises that their ideas and voices are worth sharing.”