Dixons Manningham Academy sparks a storytelling movement
Posted 1st August 2025
Over the past few weeks, classrooms at Dixons Manningham Academy have been buzzing with creativity, curiosity, and storytelling, even amid fire alarms, Ofsted inspections and SATs!
We were delighted to welcome the Story Quest team, Mary, Gabriel, and their colleagues into our school as part of their six-week literacy and oracy programme. This unique initiative blends storytelling, publishing, and neuroscience-informed techniques to empower students in Year 3 to Year 9 to become confident communicators and published authors.
Inspired by our school’s diverse family heritage and the breath taking views from the classrooms at Foxhill (some of the best in the country, according to the team!), students have been channeling their experiences into powerful written and spoken stories.
Highlights of the programme included our students sharing their work live on BCB Radio and a visit to Beckfoot Heaton, where Year 6 students helped inspire their Year 5 peers to find their own storytelling voices.
Mary and Gabriel shared:
“It’s been a true privilege to work alongside the children and staff at Dixons Manningham Academy. The imagination and energy here are sparking a real movement — young authors inspiring each other to speak up and be heard.”
We’re proud to be part of a growing network of schools where stories take centre stage. Thank you to everyone who made this partnership so powerful.