10-02-2025
Leicester Comedy Festival: Coalville pupils re-writing history
An abandoned sweet shop in the mines, a mother frozen in glue and a giant in the clocktower are among the tales of landmarks in a Leicestershire town which have been re-written for laughs by short stories about notable locations around Coalville have been created by school pupils at Broom Leys Primary School as part of Leicester Comedy Festival 2025. The tales can be read on a mobile phone app which will guide users along a trail around the landmarks, which include Snibston Colliery Park and the Century Theatre. Leicester Comedy Festival producer, Chris Butler, said "kids are really creative and really imaginative" so the idea made "complete sense".
More than 720 events will take place across 80 venues in Leicester and Leicestershire as part of the annual comedy festival. Broom Leys headteacher Robert Prior said he was approached about the project by organisers in said it has inspired his pupils to enjoy learning "about the real history of Coalville as they go into Years 5 and 6" and the interactive trail will make children more "proud of the heritage of Coalville.""It has a really interesting history and people don't always know that about Coalville", he said.
The stories can be accessed via the 'Go Jauntly' mobile phone app and will be available during the Butler said the project was a part of the comedy festival because "no one's funnier than kids"."In creating the made up history, they've learnt a lot about the local history", he comedy festival organiser added: "Kids love engaging with physical comedy, but also kids love to write, kids love to create, kids have great imaginations and writing is a big part of all comedy."
Sienna, who wrote a story about the Mother and Child Statue outside Belvoir Shopping Centre, said she knew about the real history of some local monuments, but thought their stories were "better" and "more funny."Maya, who decided Coalville Clocktower should be home to a giant, said "I learned that Coalville's really fun, more than I thought." Leicester Comedy Festival runs until 23 February 2025.
