Pupils’ writing bridges the generational divide.

Connecting humans across the generations, our Pen-Pals program culminated this week in our meet and greet sessions. Finally, the participants from Beaminster St Mary’s Year Five class got to meet their penpal correspondents from Harbour House, West Bay, The Hyde residential home in Walditch and Saint Mary’s Gardens housing in Beaminster.

The young people have been writing to their penpals for the last month and a half so it was a real delight when they got to meet face-to-face for the first time. All participants had a great time swapping stories, exploring their shared interests and eating plenty of cake.

The children were so excited to read their replies and respond every week, and the residents of the care settings reported being equally excited to read and reply every week too.

Huge thanks to the different settings for their tireless participation and to the penpals themselves for all the effort they put in writing letters to support the project. Thanks also to our indomitable group of Marvellous Mentors who gave up so much of their time to facilitate the children’s letter writing. The staff at BSM, Mrs Whelan, Mrs Cross, Miss Woodrow and Headteacher Darren Marklew, could not have been more accommodating, and their support helped this project become a source of unalloyed joy for the participants, young and old alike.

Many of these connections have continued after the the final session and we can’t wait to catch-up with the participants later in the year.