Silver DofE Skills Section

3 or 6-Month Online Creative Writing Courses (Silver Skills)

Next Group Dates:

  • Tuesdays, 5pm–6pm: 3 November 2026 to 26 January 2027

  • Mondays, 5pm–6pm: 25 January 2027 to 19 April 2027

Private One-to-One Dates:

  • Flexible start dates arranged individually.

Note: No live sessions run during school holidays, half-terms, or bank holidays. These weeks are dedicated to independent writing projects with email guidance.

Cost & Options

Pre-Recorded Course (3 Months): £67

Live Group Course (3 Months): £145

Private One-to-One Course (3 Months): £267

6-Month Silver Option: If you require 6 months for Silver, please contact me directly. The first 13 weeks can be taken as pre-recorded or part of a live group, followed by 13 weeks of private one-to-one guidance and assessment.


Age

Silver is for those aged 15+ years (or in the school year they turn 15).


Parental Permission Required

As part of the payment process, a parent or guardian will be asked to complete a short online form to confirm enrolment. The form will request:

  • A digital signature
  • At least one emergency contact number

Why Choose This Course?

For Students:

A space for your imagination to flourish over 3 or 6 months. Dive into storytelling without the rigid rules of the classroom to build fantasy realms, craft memorable characters and develop a unique writing voice.

For Parents:

While students explore their creativity, they naturally master core curriculum skills from narrative structure to advanced vocabulary, giving their academic confidence and English results a genuine boost.

November Timetable & Syllabus

The course consists of 9 hours of live online workshops, 4 hours of independent holiday projects (with email guidance) and a Final Project (a short story or poem).

Date Week Topic & Focus Academic & Creative Benefit
3 November Week 1 Fiction: Generating Story Ideas Overcoming writer’s block and narrative planning.
10 November Week 2 Fiction: Character Creation (Needs vs. Wants) Psychological character mapping.
17 November Week 3 Fiction: Worldbuilding Structural planning and immersive writing.
24 November Week 4 Fiction: Setting & Atmosphere How location drives plot and shapes behaviour.
1 December Week 5 Poetry: Free Verse & Line Breaks Understanding structural intent and visual poetry.
8 December Week 6 Poetry: Metre and Rhythm Mastering poetic metre (crucial for unseen poetry exam analysis).
15 December Week 7 Poetry: Plosives, Sibilance and Fricatives Advanced phonetic devices to elevate descriptive writing.
22 December Week 8 (BREAK) Poetry: Independent Email Guidance Developing independent study habits.
29 December Week 9 (BREAK) Life Writing: Memories into Stories Mastering first-person perspective and pacing.
5 January Week 10 Life Writing: Sensory Mapping Using the 5 senses to ‘show, not tell’.
12 January Week 11 (BREAK) Drafting the Final Project Time management and project execution.
19 January Week 12 (BREAK) Final Submission & Reflection Self-evaluation skills.
26 January Week 13 LIVE: The Craft of Editing Proofreading, refining and analytical skills.

Completion & Sign-Off

Upon finishing the 3 or 6-month course, we will write and upload a formal DofE Assessor’s Report directly to your eDofE account, celebrating your progress and officially signing off your Silver Skills section.

★★★★★

”I have written so many little wonderful paragraphs about all sorts of things.

★★★★★

I think it was all excellently explained, even harder structures like iambic pentameter were clear to me and I enjoyed learning about them.

★★★★★

I think the world-building really helped in creating useful ideas that I could tie in with my plot ideas.