Program Directed by
Andrew Manzella
If you have questions or would like to talk further about this program, please get in touch!
Ireland & Scotland
Writers' Workshop & Craft
Explore Ireland and Scotland this summer as you develop your voice and refine your skills as a creative writer and storyteller. Begin in Edinburgh, drawing inspiration from the city’s literary landmarks, storytelling culture, and daily excursions. Continue to the Irish west coast for a writers’ retreat on the idyllic island of Inishbofin, and conclude the program in Dublin with a public reading. Under the guidance of published and acclaimed writers, write in historic taverns, medieval ruins, and overlooking the low-lying beaches of the mythical Irish Sea. Return home with a polished portfolio of work, confidence in your craft, and a creative community.
- Program Highlights
• Explore medieval monasteries and seaside fishing villages
• Take in panoramic city views at sunset from the top of Arthur’s Seat
• Travel to a remote island for a three-day writers’ retreat
• Collaborate with your peers to produce a public reading
• Take in panoramic city views at sunset from the top of Arthur’s Seat
• Travel to a remote island for a three-day writers’ retreat
• Collaborate with your peers to produce a public reading
“Talia loved all of it—the writing instruction, exploring the country, the people, the instructors, the independence of it. She gained a lot of confidence and some very close new friends.”
—Debra L., Natick, MA
Featured
Expert
An Expert joins each Career program for a portion of the itinerary, lending their insights and perspectives to the experience.
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Itinerary
This itinerary represents our best projection of the group’s schedule. However, we may implement changes designed to improve the quality of the program.
Departure — Travel Day
Meet your fellow high school student travelers and one or more of your leaders in Newark, and fly together to Dublin, Ireland. To learn more about how we organize travel, click here.
Edinburgh, Scotland — 5 days
Begin your program in Scotland’s historic capital, staying at the University of Edinburgh’s Pollock Halls. After a group orientation, set out to hone your craft through writing exercises and daily excursions, drawing on your surroundings for inspiration. Take part in workshops with local authors, professors, and storytellers, and practice oral storytelling techniques. Meet your program expert and create a plan for your writing piece. Venture to the coast and the Scottish Borders to explore the Great Tapestry of Scotland, and head north into the Highlands to encounter Scotland’s iconic Hairy Coos. In the city, hike Arthur’s Seat for sweeping views, descend into the vaults beneath Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town, and draft your own works in the cafe where the first pages of Harry Potter were penned.
Galway, Ireland — 2 days
Fly from Edinburgh to Dublin, Ireland, and travel to the west coast to experience traditional Irish culture. Stay two nights in a small hostel in the center of Galway, home of the Galway Hooker sailboats, and recently-deceased crime fiction writer Ken Bruen. Galway is known as the spiritual home of the classic Irish custom of “trad music.” Explore the small city in groups, and complete writing assignments guided by your leaders.
Writers’ Retreat, Ireland — 3 days
Travel by ferry to Inishbofin, a small island off the coast of Connemara in the Gaeltacht, Ireland’s traditional Irish-speaking region, for an intensive Writers’ Retreat designed to give you the chance to revise and workshop your writing in a relaxed environment. Spend three nights on the island hiking, swimming, and exploring its mystical landscape. In the late afternoons and evenings, gather with your fellow students and instructors for workshops, craft talks, readings, and sunset hikes.
Dublin & Final Reading — 2 days
Conclude your journey in Dublin, a UNESCO City of Literature. Go behind the scenes at the historic Abbey Theatre, put finishing touches on the works you’ve produced, with guidance from your leaders and writing expert, and prepare for a student-organized Final Reading on the last night of the program. Publicize and stage a reading of your original poetry and prose completed throughout the course of the program in one of the city’s many hip cafés, bookstores, or collaborative art spaces. Your writing expert will join you again in Dublin to help you put the finishing touches on your work, and prepare for the final reading.
Return — Travel Day
Fly from Dublin to Newark with your group and a leader, then continue on to your final destination. To learn more about how we organize travel, click here.
Featured
Program Leaders
Meet some of our featured leaders. Please note that these may not be your leaders for the program.
Featured
Leaders
Meet some of our featured leaders. Please note that these may not be your leaders for the program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Review specific program questions here. For more general information, visit our full FAQ:
What are the main focuses of this program?
The focus of this high school creative writing program in Ireland & Scotland is to develop your voice and confidence as a writer and storyteller by engaging deeply with place, culture, and lived experience in these two countries. Through dynamic, hands-on exercises, students learn to shape stories inspired by the people, landscapes, and histories you encounter along the way.
Each day, program leaders facilitate interactive writing and storytelling sessions designed to help you experiment with genres and narrative form, build ideas, and share work in a supportive group setting. These workshops are complemented by public readings and a range of enrichment seminars exploring Irish history, Scottish lore, literature, music, food, theatre, and more. Students also take part in focused mini-workshops in poetry, travel writing, photography, blogging, and other forms of narrative expression.
Later in the program, you will participate in an intensive three-day Writers’ Retreat where students have time to revise, refine, and deepen storytelling projects. The experience culminates in a student-organized public reading of selected work on the final night in Dublin.
Students are not expected to arrive as an expert writer or storyteller. You should, however, bring curiosity, a willingness to experiment with different forms of storytelling, and an openness to contributing to a supportive community of creative and thoughtful peers.
How physically active is this program?
Putney’s Ireland & Scotland program is a physically active high school summer travel program. Exploring the streets of Dublin and Edinburgh on foot, hiking coastal and highland trails, playing a pick-up game of frisbee, or taking an Irish step-dancing lesson are all activities in which you might participate during this program. Students do not need to be at peak fitness to participate, but it is important that you have a desire to be physically active, and that you are excited about trying all activities.
What is the technology and cell phone policy?
To encourage full engagement and immersion in the Putney Student Travel experience, we limit the use of cell phones and other devices on our High School programs. Students are allowed to use their phones in transit to and from the program. During in-country orientation, leaders facilitate a call home, then collect and securely store all phones for the first half of the program. At the end of this tech-free period, leaders return student phones for the second half of the program. During the tech-free portion of the program, students have the opportunity for a weekly call home according to a pre-arranged schedule. For more details, please see our FAQ.
What are the accommodations for this program?
In Edinburgh, we stay in double occupancy, dormitory-style accommodations at the University of Edinburgh, In Dublin we stay in a boutique hotel close to the Dublin Writers’ Museum, the James Joyce house, and the lively arts quarter of Temple Bar. While on Inishbofin for the Writers’ Retreat, we stay at a small, family-run hostel in multi-bedded rooms. Students have access to common space at our accommodations as well as ample outside space for community meetings, writing, pick-up games of frisbee, and socializing. Leaders reside with students for the duration of the program.
What are meals like in Ireland & Scotland?
We begin each day with a simple breakfast at our residence. For lunches and dinners, we find small restaurants and pubs, or hit the markets to purchase food for a picnic in the field.
What type of student is most successful on this program?
Putney’s Career Ireland & Scotland program is designed for high school students (grades 9–12) who are seeking an opportunity to practice creative writing and storytelling and experiment with narrative form. This program is a good fit for students who are curious about people, place, and culture, and who want to develop their ability to turn lived experience into meaningful narrative. Successful participants are open-minded, observant, and willing to experiment with different ways of telling stories.
What makes Ireland & Scotland a good location for a Putney Student Travel program?
The storytelling theme of this program comes to life in Ireland and Scotland through the deep presence of narrative in everyday life, where landscape, history, music, and oral tradition are tightly interwoven and still actively shaping contemporary culture. Both Ireland and Scotland are especially rich locations for a creative writing and storytelling program because stories are not only preserved in books and archives, but are carried in conversation, performance, place names, and local memory.
Putney has offered this program for over a decade and, over the years, the program has solidified deep relationships with local educators in Edinburgh, artists in Dublin, and many special people across Ireland’s west coast, from residents of small islands to vibrant, culturally rich cities like Galway. The program is distinct in how it integrates travel and creative practice, combining structured storytelling workshops, field-based exploration, and a multi-day retreat into a cohesive arc that culminates in public sharing of student work, offering a level of depth that goes beyond typical classroom-centered programs.
Do students need prior experience or specific skills to join this program?
Students don’t need any specific experience or skills to join our Ireland & Scotland program. The program is intentionally designed to foster a supportive creative community, and to help students build confidence in writing and storytelling. What does matter is mindset. The most successful students are curious about storytelling, willing to experiment and try new things, and supportive and positive in a small group of young artists.
What outcomes, skills, or growth can students expect to gain from this experience?
Students will leave our Career Ireland and Scotland program with polished work to add to their creative portfolios, and a deeper understanding of how stories have shaped, and continue to affect the culture and history of Ireland and Scotland. Students also gain the soft skills that come from traveling and participating in a small-group environment: increased confidence and independence, adaptability and resilience, and strong communication skills, not to mention the friendships and connections developed along the way.
A Day in the Life: Scottish Borders
Due to the traveling nature of this student program abroad, each day is different. Here is a snapshot of a day in Scottish Borders.
- Morning
8:00am
Enjoy breakfast as a group
9:00am
Create an original story based on a piece of the Great Scottish Tapestry
- Afternoon
12:00pm
Make a picnic lunch in a church garden at Dunbar’s Close
2:00pm
Take a writing workshop at the Scottish Storytelling Centre
4:00pm
Sit down at a cafe to write, reflect, or relax
- Evening
6:00pm
Enjoy dinner, ice cream, and a group walk up Arthur’s Seat for panoramic city views at sunset
9:00pm
Meet with your group to discuss the day and upcoming schedule
“I learned how to make the most out of a relatively short time with new people, and how to be respectful as a visitor in another country while making the experience what you want it to be.”
—Cate C., Chicago, IL
