The Barnes Children's Literature Festival celebrates its ten-year anniversary by launching their largest ever London Primary Schools Programme, which will offer over 15,000 places this year, completely free, to state maintained primary school children all over London.
The Festival will provide 27 free, specially curated, curriculum-linked author and illustrator events over nine days, starting at The Rose Theatre in Kingston on 20 May with the UK Children's Laureate, Joseph Coelho.
This will be followed by the Genesis Cinema in Tower Hamlets (23 May), The Lyric Theatre Hammersmith (11 June), Battersea Arts Centre (12 June), Wandsworth Civic Centre (13 June), Twickenham Stadium (14 & 17 June), and finally on Barnes’ Green on 20 and 21 June. For the first time the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith will open its doors for the festival’s school programme and the Battersea Arts Centre will also provide 1,800 new free places for primary schools in Battersea, Brixton and Lambeth borough.
The ever-popular schools programme will launch its booking link to teachers on Thursday 22 February and features the superstar creator of the How To Train Your Dragon series, Cressida Cowell, Carnegie Medallist, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the Blue Peter Children's Book Prize winner, Vashti Hardy, the Waterstones Children's Book Prize winners Dapo Adeola and Sharna Jackson and the British Book Award winners S F Said and M. G. Leonard, among many, many others.
For over 90% of the children that attend these events, it is their first experience of live literature; over 30% of them are eligible for Free School Meals and sadly over 20% do not own a book of their own.
Barnes is the UK’s only national literature festival that is entirely organised and delivered by over 150 unpaid volunteers. Festival Director Amanda Brettargh says 'great pride' comes from delivering what has become England’s largest free literature festival Schools Programme. The Festival was honoured to receive the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in 2021, the highest award for volunteering in the UK, with a special citation for their 'At Home' online edition during the pandemic.
Amanda Brettargh said: “At Barnes we believe in the magic that happens when children meet the authors and illustrators they love and the lasting impact that this can have. Because we believe that every child should have this opportunity, we provide our Primary Schools Programme free to every state-maintained school in London. It's what keeps us going and growing: every year we want to reach more schools than ever before and, one day, we hope to be able to offer our Programme free to every state school pupil in London.”
The Festival is presented in partnership with St Paul's School, the University of Roehampton and Waterstones, who will act as bookseller.
The London Primary Schools Programme will be followed by the Festival’s public weekend beside beautiful Barnes Pond on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June with over 100 family friendly author events, workshops, performances and free activities. The full programme will be announced before tickets go on sale in April.
More information on The London Primary Schools Programme 2024 can be found here.
Highlights of The London Primary Schools Programme 2023 can be seen here.