You only have to look back about fifty years to the 1970s to find a time when letter writing was an essential part of daily life. People would write to loved ones who lived in different towns or countries or write to a company to order goods. This was obviously before computers and smartphones were in every home and emailing and instant messaging were the stuff of dreams, but is letter writing really a thing of the past or does it have a place in our lives currently?

We are all used to letters arriving through the post, usually bills and advertising literature however the excitement of receiving a handwritten letter or invitation to an event through the door cannot be disputed. Children especially enjoy tearing open an envelop to find out what lies within so fostering pen pal links with other children is a great way to encourage children to write for a purpose. These links can be easily set up between children from different schools in various locations in the world and can be related to a range of curriculum areas.

Sales of upmarket stationery goods such as fountain pens and notepaper has increased in recent years indicating the rise in popularity of letter writing amongst the population.