Staverton Story Festival
At Staverton, we believe stories matter.
They help children make sense of the world, encounter people and places beyond their own experience, develop their imagination and, above all, discover the joy that comes from reading.
Our Staverton Story Festival is our annual celebration of all of this: a day when our school becomes a festival of books, authors, illustrators, storytelling and creativity.
Children and families are invited to join us for author talks, live storytelling, creative workshops, illustration, book signings and activities, alongside plenty of opportunities simply to enjoy books together.
The festival is open to our school families and the wider community.
Our next Story Festival is coming in 2027
Date to be announced – but we're already looking forward to another day of stories, authors, and imagination. Full details will be published here nearer the time.
Why a Story Festival?
The Story Festival grew from something very simple: we want children to love reading.
Teaching children how to read is one of the most important things we do as a primary school, but developing successful readers is about more than teaching phonics, fluency and comprehension.
We want children to see themselves as readers.
That means giving them access to brilliant books, surrounding them with stories and helping them understand that books are written and illustrated by real people with ideas, imagination and stories of their own.
Meeting an author or illustrator can be incredibly powerful. Children discover how an idea becomes a story, how characters are created, how writers edit and improve their work and how pictures can tell stories just as powerfully as words.
Most importantly, they experience books as something exciting.
Our festival therefore forms part of our wider commitment to developing a strong culture of reading for pleasure across Staverton.
Looking back
Story Festival 2025
Saturday 25 May. Our first Story Festival brought authors, illustrators, children and families together for a day of stories, creativity, and our now-famous scarecrow trail.
Story Festival 2025
Saturday 24 May. The festival returned for a second year, with money raised on the day supporting our continuing investment in books for the children at Staverton.
Story Festival 2026
Saturday 16 May. Our third festival continued what has now become a much-loved part of the Staverton calendar.
A festival for the whole family
The Story Festival isn't just for children.
Reading culture grows when schools and families celebrate books together, so the festival is designed as a community day that parents, carers, grandparents and children can enjoy alongside one another.
Previous festivals have included
- Visits, talks and workshops from published authors and illustrators
- Live readings and storytelling
- Creative writing and illustration workshops
- Family craft and storytelling activities
- Opportunities to meet authors and have books signed
- Our festival bookshop
- A family BBQ
- Activities around the school and grounds
In 2024, our festival also included a community scarecrow trail, with creations remaining on display across the weekend.
Authors and illustrators at Staverton
We are enormously grateful to the writers and artists who have shared their creativity with Staverton children and families.
Previous guests have included James Mayhew, award-winning children's author and illustrator whose work combines storytelling, art and music; Michael Mann, children's author and primary school teacher; and Clare Harlow, author of the Tidemagic series.
Clare has since included the Staverton Story Festival among the literary festivals, schools and organisations where she has delivered author events and workshops.
Every visitor brings something different, but they share an ability to show children that books don't simply appear on a shelf: they begin with imagination, ideas, perseverance and creativity.
Get involved
The Story Festival is a community event and there are lots of ways to be part of it.
Families can attend workshops and author sessions, visit our bookshop, enjoy the activities taking place throughout the day and help us spread the word about the festival.
We also welcome volunteers who can help us make the day happen. This might include helping to prepare the school, welcoming visitors, supporting activities, helping with refreshments and the BBQ, assisting authors and workshop leaders, or helping us tidy everything away afterwards.
If you would like to volunteer at our next Story Festival, please contact the school office.
We are also delighted to hear from local organisations and businesses interested in supporting or sponsoring the festival.
Come celebrate stories with us
More than one day – it's part of our ambition to raise children who love books, love reading, and believe their own ideas and stories matter.
