STUDENTS PRODUCE HIGH QUALITY ENTRIES FOR INAUGRAL ‘WRITING FOR REMEMBRANCE’ COMPETITION 

Miss Weston, Lead Teacher of English at Richmond School and Sixth Form College and Mr. Boulton-Lear, Lead Teacher of Media Studies, recently launched a competition looking for imaginative creations from students in Years 7 to 13, capturing the theme of ‘Remembrance’. Students could either submit a poem, a piece of prose or an illustration to enter the competition. 

Over to Miss Weston and Mr Boulton-Lear to introduce the winners: 

“Students across the school have been busy working on their entries to our inaugural ‘Writing for Remembrance’ competition.  

Whether they were inspired by famous war poetry, such as ‘In Flanders Fields’, or writing more from personal experience, we were impressed by the students’ creativity and sensitivity. We saw a range of prose and poetry, with many students experimenting with form and style.  

After an intense period of adjudication, the winning entries can now be confirmed: 

1st Prize – £20 Book Token – Myles Fairhurst Year 11 

Myles’s short prose piece, ‘Waiting’, captures the final moments before going ‘over the top’. We felt that Myles handled the subject matter with sensitivity and restraint, balancing his historical knowledge of the First World War with clear characterisation. His use of the Commanding Officer’s orders as a structural device was particularly effective in conveying the impending sense of dread experienced by those in the trenches. 

Runners Up – £10 Book Token – Ellie Hughes Year 12 and Keira Brooks Year 8 

We were impressed by Ellie’s use of the sonnet form for her entry, ‘Silent Sombre Field’, and we found the simple yet genuine sentiment in Keira’s poem, ‘Remember Them’, very moving.  

Highly Commended – £5 Book Token – Noah Sandell Year 7 

It wasn’t our plan to offer a third prize, but we were won over by Noah’s entry, ‘The Poppy’. An impressive debut in Year 7, we look forward to seeing his work over the next few years. 

Five illustrations were chosen as ‘Commended’: 

Pencil crayon sketch of ‘In Flanders Fields ‘ – Amy-Lee Hastings – Year 8 

Silhouette of soldier ‘Lest We Forget’ – Harry Willis – Year 8 

Silhouette of soldier facing with poppies – Poppy Penrose – Year 8 

Central poppy and two crosses – Maddie Watkins – Year 7 

Central poppy and two crosses against a sunset – Abbie Smith – Year 8 

Thank you to all those who entered the competition – it will return next year.”