The Fabian Bursary 2018-2019

Hello,

Two years ago, I established, through the tuition and mentoring company that I run, a bursary that would allow a student a year’s worth of tailored tuition, with one or two hours’ one to one with me and ongoing support. I thought that it could be for someone of slender means, or from an under-represented group.

Now, much has been said of late about opportunities in publishing and the arts more broadly. Do listen to author Kit de Waal’s excellent piece on R4, Where are all the working class writers?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09fzmjt

Kit set up a Creative Writing Scholarship to increase access to the arts and, if you listen to the programme, you’ll hear the excellent new anthology Know Your Place mentioned. Dead Ink, a passionate and innovative independent publisher, commissioned this (here https://deadinkbooks.com/product/know-your-place/ ) and Kit contributed to it. Know Your Place is ‘a collection of essays about the working class, written by the working class‘ and the twitter discussion around the programme, the anthology and the incisive and passionate threads about opportunities (or rather not and how we create them) in publishing (with application to the arts more widely) from Nathan Connolly, Director at Dead Ink, got me thinking. Now, so far my Fabian Bursary has only been focused, through social media, on the local area. Let’s take it national and make it specifically for students aged 16 (lower sixth/year 13) to 21. Is that you, reading this now? Again, hello.

If you’re interested in reading, writing, working with books in some way…

And if you, because of your background, would like but could not otherwise access some extra support, teaching or mentoring along the way, may I help support you for a year? Online plus phone, or face to face if you’re in the South West and can get to me (or a combination: we can work this out later).

My background is in secondary English teaching, but I now run a company offering one to one tuition for secondary age and adult learners. That is, I support learning from years 7 to 11 and beyond in all the English subjects (English Language and English Literature at GCSE; these two plus the combined Lang and Lit A level). I also – because as you see I am also a writer – support creative writing projects, encourage young people towards publication, help them prepare a creative writing portfolio, hand in hand with looking at their UCAS for university (you will probably still need a centre-based referee however) and practice, if that is what is wanted, for Oxbridge, including discussion and guidance of any additional writing asked for. I have, and have always had, a number of volunteer roles, too, so I also act as a volunteer mentor for young people and as a mental health advocate and campaigner. Plus I am a mum of three.

So…if you, because of your background, would like some extra support, teaching or mentoring may I help support you for year? Online plus phone, or face to face if you’re in the South West and can get to me (or a combination: we can work this out later). One year, one to two hours a week, plus some ongoing support.

We could…

*work on your English A levels

*help you put together a creative writing portfolio for university, college or postgraduate study

*sort out your UCAS choices, personal statement, any written work needed and Oxbridge prep and practice. I know that loads of schools and colleges are awesome on that, but that may not be true of what you can access.

*encourage you, mentor you, cheerlead you. Help you find routes into work and further study in the arts. Where I cannot answer, I will help you find out.

What do you think? You should be young (21 or under…with a little flexibility) and have at least some access to the internet and a phone and we’d need to work out how we’d do one or two hours every week (term time with a bit of overspill!) for a year.

Write to me on my email address – annavaughttuition@gmail.com and tell me a bit about yourself and what it is you would like support with from the above list. How does that sound?

Starts mid January.*

Love,

Anna. x

*in case anyone official reading this, BA Hons, MA, public liability insurance, risk assessment and a full DBS. BAM!

http://www.annavaughttuition@gmail.com

http//www.twitter.com/bookwormvaught