Six Towns Storytelling consists of six online sessions of around 10-15 minutes in length. New stories will be available on our Stoke Reads Facebook page and this web page every Monday at 11am. Each story will centre around one of the six towns and will tell the stories of local people from the past. Sessions will be delivered online by Alan Barrett, a local writer, actor, poet and storyteller with many years’ experience delivering school workshops. Alan has lived and worked in Stoke on Trent for most of his working life and is a very proud Cultural Champion of Stoke-on-Trent.
Supporting learning tasks
Following each storytelling session, schools and families will be given a range of learning tasks suitable for KS1 and KS2. These tasks can be submitted each week for Alan to choose his personal favourites. The deadline for submissions each week is Thursday at 12 midday. Winning submissions will be announced each week in a Six Towns shout out. An overall winning entry will be selected at the end of the six weeks, and they will receive a free storytelling workshop for their school delivered by Alan.
| Date/Time | Town |
Story theme |
Task submission deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday 8 June 11:00am | Tunstall |
The Tunstall Pirate How can a city so far from the sea have a pirate? Yet apparently we did! Why did he become a pirate? What treasure did he steal? Why is it important to Tunstall? |
Thursday 11 June 12:00pm |
| Monday 15 June 11:00am | Burslem |
Molly Leigh- The Burslem Witch Or was she? You should make your own mind up, and perhaps this story will help you. Perhaps it might just cause you to think. |
Thursday 18 June 12:00pm |
| Monday 22 June 11:00am | Hanley |
Dreams that Matter Hanley is a very busy shopping town these days, but many years ago, it was busy with potteries, trams, coal and iron, and people making the treasures we value today. Listen to Maisie's story as she meets Sybil Lockheart, a market trader, who was also her great-great-great-great-great-aunt. |
Thursday 25 June 12:00pm |
| Monday 29 June 11:00am | Stoke |
Stoke Secrets Did you know that London Road in Stoke was so famous? Do you know why? Here's a possible reason. |
Thursday 2 July 12:00pm |
| Monday 6 July 11:00am | Fenton |
Town Hall Whodunnit Fenton Town Hall is a wonderful building and it used to be the local courthouse, with its own jail cells, but one day the crime was committed in the court itself! |
Thursday 9 July 12:00pm |
|
Monday 13 July 11:00am |
Longton |
Toby Jugg: 'ero Toby Jugg is a Victorian kiln placer, working on the Gladstone Pottery in 1858. His work involves long hours through the night, but one night, he became a genuine hero. |
Thursday 16 July 12:00pm |