Spartans Alternative School
The Alternative School at Spartans Community Foundation supports young people who find it a challenge to cope with five days a week in school and may be at risk of exclusion from mainstream education. Since 2022, we’ve brought a Writer in Residence into the school to help bring the transformative power of the written word to young people.
Our current Writer in Residence is Owen Sutcliffe, an award-winning writer, musician, and community worker. Throughout the school term, he works with young people at Spartans, learning what stories they have to tell, what their ideas of place and neighbourhood are, and supporting them to share these stories and ideas as they choose.
Check out the Spark exhibition at the August 2025 Festival, showcasing the young people’s creative work:
Image gallery
The latest from Spartans
29 April 2025Guest blog: Spartan's Writer in Residence Owen Sutcliffe
Owen Sutcliffe is an award-winning writer, musician, and community worker. Since late 2024 he has been our Writer in Residence at The…
25 January 2023Guest Blog: Spartan's Writer in Residence - Chris Barkley
Chris Barkley is an award-winning fiction writer, whose work is concerned with belonging, place, myth, and reality. Since August 2022 he…
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