Skip to content

The lost art of letter writing uniting generations

Lauren Hirst,North Westand
Annie Knowlson,North West
News imageBBC Lynne Aldersley, who is wearing a white cardigan, is sitting on a chair next to Skyla, who is standing. Skyla is wearing her school uniform which includes a dark blue jumper and white shirt. They are both smiling at the camera. BBC
Skyla and Lynne Aldersley have shared letters as part of the initiative

Emails, WhatsApp messages, Teams chats, social media posts - we're certainly no strangers to communicating in a digital world.

But how often do we put pen to paper?

In the hope of reviving the lost art of letter writing, BBC North West Tonight has launched a pen pal project, bringing two different generations together in the coastal town of Fleetwood in Lancashire.

"We need to connect a bit more like we used to back in the good old days," said Flakefleet Primary School head teacher Dave McPartlin.

'Lovely interaction'

"The kids spend so much time on devices and on-demand TV and things like that.

"We've all seen today that this is the kind of stuff that's really special."

As part of the project, pupils from the primary school have written letters to members of an aqua aerobics class at YMCA Fleetwood leisure centre.

The project has led to friendships across generations.

Nine-year-old Jesse was among the pupils who picked up a pen to write a letter.

"I've never been a pen pal and it's just so exciting," said Jesse.

"It's just been like a calming thing to do."

Dennis Spence, 76, was the lucky recipient of Jesse's letter, bonding over their shared love of football despite the different allegiances.

"I could just reply to what he was saying because he likes football, even though we do disagree about the teams," he joked.

His wife Sue Spence, 75, also received a letter from nine-year-old Roman.

"It was just a lovely interaction and a breaking down different generations," she said.

News imageDennis Spence, who is wearing a maroon jumper and patterned shirt, is sitting next to Jesse, who is wearing his school uniform. They are both smiling at the camera.
Dennis Spence and Jesse loved talking all things football

For Skyla, the scheme has helped her improve her reading and writing.

"It's helped me with a bit of confidence as well because I'm really shy in class and quiet," she said.

"Dear friend, my name is Skyla," she wrote.

"My favourite thing to do is to roller-skating.

"I'm 10 years old and my favourite thing at school is English.

"What do you do in your free time?"

Lynne Aldersley, 73, who attended the same school as Skyla when she was a child, was only too happy to respond to the handwritten letter.

"I did try roller-skating when I much younger but I kept falling off," recalled Lynne in her letter to Skyla.

The project was a trip down memory lane for Lynne as she admits she has not written a letter in many years.

"It was just such a nice thing to do," she said.

"I thought it was such a good idea as everything is on emails now."

News imageA group of school children, who are wearing their school children, are standing alongside a number of adults who are taking part in the pen pal scheme. They are all smiling at the camera.
Those taking part in the BBC North West Tonight pen pal scheme have since met face to face

Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the UK's Children's Laureate, said the scheme of writing letters was "so brilliant".

"You're going to find so much pleasure in it, so much fun and so much treasure in it," he said.

"A letter is a brilliant place to learn to write because you're not writing for a teacher, you're not writing for a competition, you're not writing for marks, you're writing to connect with someone."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.