Beyond Words - writing for wellbeing
Writing can have so many benefits for our wellbeing and mental health. And in these extraordinary times, the creative process can help us make sense of how we feel.
Recognising the need to support young people’s mental health, last year the Bupa Foundation, Cheltenham Festivals, National Literacy Trust and Mind partnered to encourage young people to take part in Beyond Words – a national creative writing initiative
Your stories shared
We're excited to publish the Beyond Words anthology featuring exceptional creative work from children and young people whose writing captures their experience of living through a year like no other.
We worked with award-winning authors to produce tutorials supporting young people to get creative. You can find inspiration from them on our resource pages below.
About Beyond Words
In partnership with Cheltenham Festivals, National Literacy Trust and Mind, the Bupa Foundation invited all schools and young people to join Beyond Words, a national creative project where students put into words their feelings about a year like no other.
The project has now closed. In recognition of the extraordinary submissions the Bupa Foundation has donated a total of £75,000 to our charity partners, split between Cheltenham Festivals, National Literacy Trust and Mind to support their young people’s mental wellbeing programmes.
A selection of pieces have been published in a digital Beyond Words anthology to celebrate the outstanding contributions from children and schools.
Beyond Words is a year-round creative writing project by Cheltenham Festivals as part of its education strategy. It’s designed to increase the wellbeing, confidence and literacy of 14-16 year olds who are too physically or mentally unwell to attend school.
Free mental health resources
We've put together a selection of free resources from some of our friends and partners to help support the mental wellbeing of children and young people, and the people who support them.
