A visit from spellbinding storyteller Katy Cawkwell

Storyteller Katy Cawkwell brought myths and legends to life last Friday, telling traditional ‘Dragon Tales’ to captivated pupils before teaching them how to tell their own spellbinding stories.

Katy has been working as a professional storyteller since 1996 in venues across the UK and Europe, leading storytelling workshops and creating her own solo performances for various major theatres, storytelling clubs and international storytelling festivals. She puts a fresh spin on retellings of traditional material with her own personal storytelling style.

Year 7 and 8 were enraptured by her delivery of the story of the Trojan War. It was a vibrant introduction to the world of Latin as one of the most famous Greek myths, covering the Wooden Horse and the exploits of Achilles and Odysseus. The story itself is told in Homer’s ‘Iliad’, one of the cornerstones of Western literature.

She then spent the rest of the day working with younger pupils perfecting their storytelling prowess. After telling more fun tales Year 5 were split into two groups, with each hearing a different story, and were asked to think carefully about the story’s elements: its plot, the characters, and the message behind it. Pupils were treated to a crash course in being a great storyteller and had the chance to show off their skills by telling Katy’s story to the other half of the year.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed letting their imaginations run wild with Katy and all hope to hear more of her thrilling storytelling soon.