Out of Bounds: Creative inroads into the boarding school experience

A series of Creative Writing for Wellbeing workshops (Zoom),
co-facilitated with John Shirley

Next course: April/May 2024 (Dates TBC)

out of bounds (idiom) = outside the limits of where one has permission to be

A series of six Creative Writing for Wellbeing workshops offering ex-boarders inroads towards achieving a better understanding of the boarding school experience. We will be creating a safe space for personal and group exploration with writing prompts and an opportunity - but no obligation - to share your writing and be witnessed. These Out of Bounds sessions are offered up as a gentle but powerful exploration of what it is to be a boarding school survivor. We aim to support and connect people who are reflecting more closely on their experience of boarding school.

John: I was sent to boarding school at the age of eight because my father worked for the RAF, moving around every two years, and so it was the done thing to send your children away to school. 

My boarding school experience looked idyllic from the outside. A country house in extensive grounds of flat playing fields and woods to roam in. It was 1972, innocent times maybe. Not in retrospect. Neither innocent or idyllic. Abandonment is what I call it now. Dropped off and left in an idyllic country house setting. 

It took me until my mid-fifties to start to properly re-evaluate the true impact of my boarding school experience. I have been doing the work now for five years and the lifting of hitherto unseen and inexplicably heavy burdens has been transformational to me and the important relationships I have with my wife, my family and friends. 

When I write, I make creative and imaginative inroads into the deep tissue damage of my boarding school experience. When I write, I see my feelings on the page and get in touch with my current self and my childhood self. I find words to connect the decades and make sense of what has gone on in between.

Rachel: I didn’t go to boarding school, but I’m keenly aware of oppressive systems large and small that have inhibited my relationships with self and others over the years. Creative Writing for Wellbeing in groups has provided me with a rich and textured approach to self-exploration (turning in, tuning in, finding words) and self-expression (opening up, being witnessed, witnessing others), and I’m very much looking forward to running this series of workshops with John.

All levels of experience of Creative Writing for Wellbeing are welcome. All you'll need for the workshop is a notebook, a pen, and space where you can work undisturbed (to protect confidentiality for yourself and others), or earpieces. 

Note: John and I are a husband-and-wife team.

Zoom: Min group size: 6, max group size: 8. £175

Read about the aims and objectives of my courses and workshops and read my FAQs, where you can also find out about my theoretical approach to running Creative Writing workshops.

“I did this course last year and it was a great experience. Really amazing how much a small group of strangers can help each other and become close over a few weeks. Well run and highly recommended for anyone interested in how boarding school may have affected them.”

- Patrick