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ST GEORGES SCHOOL,  HARPENDEN

 

MEDIA RELEASE

 

JULY 4th 2011

 

 

‘SHORT  - BUT SWEET AND CLEVER’

 

SCHOOL’S YOUNG WRITERS GET TOP PRIZES OF £2,600 FOR CREATIVE WRITING

 

FUTURE WRITERS PROVE THEIR WORTH IN REGIONAL COMPETITION

 

UNIVERSITY ENCOURAGES LOCAL PUPILS TO SHARE TALENTS

 

PRIZE STORY NETS A £ (One Pound) A WORD FOR SHORT STORY WRITER – AFTER SCHOOL CLUB BRINGS CASH TO STUDENT’S SAVINGS

 

 

Taking both top prizes at the recent award evening, St George’s students Natasha Fricker and Laura Whetherly carried away £2500 between them for their short story writing skills.

 

· Natasha is in the sixth form and has just finished her A levels and is an Oxbridge Law students for this September. Her short story of no more than 100 words was a graphic and emotional piece about Africa where she spent a lot of her childhood.

 

· Laura now in Year 10 at the Sun Lane School based her 2,000 word essay on Columbus’ discovery of the Americas in 1492. Neither pieces were course work for their A and GCSE English exams but done in their own time.

 

Teacher Laura Sandall (photographed centre of the group) runs a Creative Writing Club and has been doing school based research with the Cambridge Institute of Education on encouraging children to write.

 

“I was thrilled as were so many of the staff when the announcements were made at the Award Evening. The sponsors, the University of Herts. and UK Recruitment and Access had done a great job in getting actors to read all the pieces submitted and the standard was exceptional. We were pleased that 7 of our pupils made it through to the final 27 in all the categories and for us to win the two prizes was amazing.”

 

 

Headmaster Norman Hoare commented

 

 “Creative writing has really taken off here with Laura Sandall leading a great team of English staff who run an after school club.  Natasha’s short piece left a lump in my throat - her powerful description and style is moving. Laura’s was a clever and fascinating take on a well known story but even for a historian who knows about Columbus it was like coming across it for the first time. Natasha will save her £600 for university and Laura whose £2000 prize has worked out at a pound a word is spending some on a new musical instrument and more books! “

 

In the photograph taken at St George’s from left to right

Natasha Fricker (aged 18) Laura Sandall (English Teacher)

Laura Whetherly (aged 15)