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E N G L I S H
We have recently seen several notable achievements in
English based competitions. Very well done to Danielle,
Sarah and Anika.
Successes in English Competitions
Firstly, congratulations to Danielle in L4E who was named
as the winner of the age 13-17 age group in the nationwide
“Nature on your Doorstep” competition. During lockdown,
children and teenagers aged 4-17 were invited to write
about the wildlife outside their windows in a search to
find the UK’s most talented young nature writers. The
competition had three categories 4-6, 7-12 and age category
13-17.
Judged by a diverse team of wildlife writers, champions and
publishers, the competition saw entries from all over the UK.
The winners in the three categories each received a pair
of Savanna binoculars from Opticron, as well as benefiting
from a plethora of prizes for themselves and their classmates.
Prizes including several ‘money-can’t-buy’ experiences, such
as spending a day at the RSPB headquarters in Sandy. Most
impressively, the winners will get to see their stories in print,
published in a future edition of
BBCWildlife
magazine.
Nature author and wildlife storyteller Lucy McRobert
from Leicestershire organised the competition. She said:“I,
and all the judges, have been so moved by the stories we
have
received.Wehave laughed and cried and mourned
and smiled and learned lot, too. It was a hard competition
to judge, but the diversity of stories made for a magical
experience.They connected with nature using all their senses
and emotions. It’s magical.”
Danielle’s story follows a nightingale as she flies across
Europe on her migration north to return to Essex,
wondering what has scared all the humans into their nests.
Whilst humans hide from an unseen virus the birdsong
can be heard more clearly and nature thrives. Danielle said:
“When I saw the competition, I wondered what nature I
had on my doorstep. I decided to investigate the birds in
my flowering pear tree.I stumbled upon a track of different
birdsongs onYouTube and realised I had heard similar sounds
before in my garden. I used the nightingale as my inspiration.
He became my main character and I began to think what it
must be like for him and other birds coming back on their
migration to a completely changed world under lockdown.
Nature is a huge inspiration for me, and I love to explore.”
Well done to Sarah Sayid (U4N) who has been named as
one of this year’s winners in the annual Young Reporter
competition organised by newspaper publishing group
Newsquest Media Group. The competition involves the
budding journalists sourcing, researching, and then writing
eight articles across an eight month period about local events and
events pertaining to their neighbourhood. Sarah has yet to be
told which one of her eight articles secured the prize for her.
The competition, which has been running annually for 12 years, is
open to pupils in year 10 through to year 13. All their articles are
published on Newsquest’s online local newspapers, so giving the
“reporters” the opportunity to build up a portfolio of their work
to use with their CVs and UCAS applications. Mr Young, who
co-ordinates the scheme at Bancroft’s said;“TheYoung Reporters
Scheme is a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to get some
experience at writing, but also crucially forces them to organise
their own work and deadlines. It is no mean feat to complete the
year-long programme, and to win something at the end of it is a
lovely bonus!”
Finally, in this trio of young writers, congratulations go to, Anika
Vijay who has had a poem “Wilted” published in Trinity College,
Cambridge’s collection for young writers,
The Litmus.