South Cumbria school children's comic story workshop

The fun-filled activity saw Year 4 students from Cambridge and Vickerstown primary schools, located in South Cumbria, design not just comic characters but also stories based around their own lives.

The Comic Potential initiative was made possible through the efforts of Sabba Khan and Sim Leech, who led the children in this creative pursuit.

Mr Leech, a former teacher, was particularly gratified by the workshop's impact on the children.

He said, "Children are more likely to pick up a comic than a novel.

"A lot of people think comics are about super heroes but we are encouraging them to write about what is important to them."

The Cambridge Primary School pupils got stuck into creating comic characters. (Image: South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust)

He noted that this method also involved the children using their typical day as inspiration for the characters they created.

Funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation's Arts-based Learning Fund and delivered by the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Comic Potential is designed to enhance both reading enjoyment and a host of other educational outcomes.

The workshops are part of a two-year project that also operates in George Hastwell on Walney and Sandgate School in Kendal.

MORE NEWS: Young scouts 'on a mission' to provide new homes for wildlife

Macie Gorbik, one of the Cambridge Primary pupils, said: "I have enjoyed doing the characters where someone does the head and another the body and another the legs, it makes me feel happy because I can design them."

Cole Major, a classmate, also echoed these sentiments stating quite simply that the experience had been "very good."

Rachel Ritchie, a teacher at Cambridge Primary School, is another who attests to the workshop's positive influence.

Vickerstown pupils show off their creations (Image: South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust)

She said: "They love the comics and some of our reluctant readers are now accessing the comic library we have set up in school.

"We are using this kind of sequencing across other subjects for example we looked at the water cycle in science and created comics for that topic."

Vickerstown School Headteacher, Mr David Holmes, mentioned plans to hold special sessions across their Trust based on what they've learned from the Comic Potential project.

"We are now looking at sharing what we have learnt through this project with other schools across our Trust as special sessions in June," he said.

The project is set to conclude with an exhibition at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival in October 2024.