Graham Knight is a qualified French teacher and currently works as a supply teacher at secondary level. Alongside, he is also taking MA Creative and Critical Writing on a part-time basis.
“A creative writing option is being added to the English A level,” says Graham. “I think an understanding and knowledge of this area would be a huge advantage in helping me with my eventual aim of teaching English at A level.
“The course at Winchester appealed to me as the focus isn’t purely on the creative side – we have also explored the critical side, which included areas of non-fiction. This has allowed me to develop a broader range of writing skills, and has proved to be original and unexpectedly valuable. One of our tutors was particularly interesting as he had experience in so many fields including journalism, TV, documentaries, films, children’s novels and thrillers and this gave us a very global view of writing.”
Graham has begun his dissertation, which is based on real-life experience of people he met when he spent time living in France. “It will be historical fiction, a post-colonial thriller that focuses on the story of people exiled from the country they were born in and how they cope with life in a new country. During my time in France, I happened to meet a number of ex-settlers who had been thrown out of Algeria at independence and learnt about their lifestyle and culture, which inspired me to want to write about it.
“Being able to take your life experience and apply it to your writing is a valuable skill – and these are the kinds of skills I hope I can use to inspire students in the future.”