Pupils perform their stories to local audience at Buckingham Library

Year 5 pupils from George Grenville Academy took part in the storytelling day, led by the acclaimed local storyteller and founder of Red Phoenix Stories, Terrie Howey.

The theme was the history of Buckingham, and children were able to work with Terrie in preparation for the day.

All the children had the chance to perform their stories to a panel of judges, and the best-developed stories were chosen to be performed at the library, to an audience of parents, pupils, teachers and members of the community. 

Terrie Howey said: “As a storyteller, I am keenly aware of how local stories make sense of the world around us, connecting people and places by shaping our identities through our relationship to our landscapes and heritage.

"It was amazing to hear how the children developed a sense of age and heritage of Buckingham, which they did not have before.”

Pupils also performed a song they had written about the legend of St Rumbold, with flute accompaniment from local musician Heidi Stopps and University of Buckingham medical student Charles Liu.

Terrie Howey also performed a specially commissioned story of her own, and former Bard of Buckingham Dean Jones read out a poem.

Dean, who helped organise the event, said: “After two years of lockdowns and isolation, it was great to see primary school pupils and residents from across the community come together in the library, to celebrate the stories and the history of our town.

"The library is the perfect location for this kind of cross generational community activity. It was lovely to watch the children perform and see our more senior residents from local care homes enjoying their performances too.”

Headteacher Emma Killick, said: “We were so privileged to be part of this local event.

“Terrie’s inspired storytelling instilled a deeper confidence in our pupils that I have not previously seen.

"Watching them perform was extremely moving.”

Chair of the Friends of the Library, Roger Edwards, said: "It was great to see the library being used in this way.

"Our library is such an important asset for the community and to see it coming back to life after the last couple of years is brilliant.”