PUPILS at a Keighley school are displaying their creative talents.

Students in years eight and nine at Holy Family Catholic School have seen their work published in a book.

You Are Not Alone is an anthology of their individual writings about Lottie, an ordinary girl forced to leave home and move to a new town.

The pupils worked closely with writer-in-residence Daniel Ingram-Brown on a weekly basis as part of the First Story programme, a national initiative designed to ‘empower’ young writers.

Workshops focused on character creation using objects.

And the students were encouraged to use their own real-life experiences to construct a fictional world.

English teacher Zebun Javed, who organised the project, said: “First Story has been an incredible opportunity for our students to have their own published book.

“Seeing the pupils 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.

“The pupils were invited to use drama techniques and oracy to create a shared story – inspiring their individual writing using diaries, poetry, description and narrative. They were asked to think about a series of props, making connections and working out who the objects belong to and what their story might be.”

Headteacher Sharon Mather said: “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 Mrs Javed, Daniel Ingram-Brown and First Story.”

The published pupils are Archie Spiller, Casey Weighman-Stenson, Emily Hopkins, Evie Whitehead, Faith Kay, Finn Godfrey, Jack McLaren, Karolina Pompova, Martha Davies, Olivia Davies, Paula Talarek and Thomas Devlin.

And You Are Not Alone is available to buy online from First Story, at firststory.org.uk, priced £10.

Holy Family students have also displayed their talents in a competition organised by Keighley Creative.

Pupils from schools across the area were invited to take part in the creative writing contest, based around images of Keighley.

“There were two ‘guide books’ – one poetry and one narrative – to work through to get the students’ creative juices flowing,” said a school spokesperson. “One was based on a picture of a room in Cliffe Castle, while the other was an aerial view of Keighley looking over the mills and what is now the Shared Church.”

A selection of the work created is currently on display at Cliffe Castle.

And some of the writings will also be displayed at Keighley Library and the Keighley Creative gallery in the near future.