Young Writer Wins Thrilling Prize

Bethany Sercombe, from The Abbey Junior School in Reading won a holiday to Swedish Lapland and a huge cash prize for her school after being named the winner of the SCEMES National Short Story Competition.

The good news was announced at a special school assembly to mark the end of term, and left The Abbey Junior School with more to celebrate than just the end of the school year.

Bethany’s prize, donated by the responsible travel company Explore, will take her on a thrilling 5-day break in the frozen forests and lakes of Swedish Lapland, with a chance to enjoy a host of winter activities like dog and reindeer sledding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and ice fishing.

The exciting Arctic Ice Adventure holiday will also give the youngster the chance to stay at the famous Icehotel, where everything, including the beds, are made of solid ice and enjoy one of nature's greatest spectacles: the 'Northern Lights'!

On hearing the news of her win Bethany said: "It was an amazing surprise, I was speechless with excitement! I cannot wait to go on such an amazing trip. I have never done anything like it before in my life!"

Bethany was one of over 400 pupils to enter the SCEMES National Short Story Competition, which invited Key Stage 2 pupils across the country to write a story on the theme of ‘One World’.

The competition, run by the education supply company SCEMES Ltd, was launched to help raise the profile of sustainability in schools and help pupils think about environmental issues on a global scale.

The seven to eleven-year-olds addressed the theme of ‘One World’ in a number of different ways. Their stories ranged in theme from environmental degradation to the misuse of resources and social injustice, but it was Bethany’s story, ‘Little Brown Alien’ that particularly drew the judges’ attention.

Multi-award winning writer and competition judge Alan Gibbons described Bethany’s story as “an excellent parable, well ordered and intelligently planned,” whilst author and educationalist Bill Laar called it “a very effective and inventive piece of work that makes a strong argument for ‘One World’.

Bethany’s story uses the device of a young alien visiting earth to draw a bleak contrast between the world of the privileged and the disadvantaged. Instructed merely to observe the world and report back on what he finds, the ‘Little Brown Alien’ witnesses severe depravation and excess that is vividly described.

Competition judge Bill Laar commented: “There is an authentic young writer’s voice here, fresh, engaging, inventive, but articulated in a highly competent and engaging piece of writing, full of lovely touches.”

Bethany’s story beat off stiff competition from entries of a very high standard to win the top prize for her school.

Bethany’s form teacher Heather Mockler commented: “We were delighted to hear the news that Bethany had won the competition. We are all very proud of her achievement and congratulate her on writing such an effective story.

“We were very excited to win a competition which not only demonstrates the high levels of Literacy we have in the school but also the excellent understanding that the girls have of environmental issues.”

The Abbey Junior School is currently working towards its Green Flag Award with Eco-Schools and was thrilled to be able to enter the SCEMES National Short Story Competition, as the theme fitted perfectly with the work that they are already doing to promote environmental awareness in school.

The closing date of the competition, World Environment Day, 5th June, coincided with an Eco Week that the school was running and provided pupils with the perfect opportunity to pen their ‘One World’ stories.

Bethany’s story has won the school £2,500 to spend through the educational suppliers directories ‘The Headteachers and Bursars Handbooks.’ The directories are exclusively designed for educational buyers and contain the details of companies supplying a vast range of products and services to schools.

Staff at The Abbey Junior School are currently looking through the directories to decide where to spend the prize money.

Heather Mockler commented: “We are constantly working on improving our school grounds and I am sure that the money we have won will help to continue our work in this area.”

The SCEMES National Short Story Competition is one of the largest competitions of its kind and is widely supported by authors, government ministers and education organisations such as NATE, The NPH and the National Literacy Association.

SCEMES Ltd. first began running National Writing Competitions in 2006 to provide teachers with an easy route through which they could teach sustainable development through the National Curriculum and give pupils an opportunity to voice their opinions about issues such as climate change, which would affect their futures.

This year’s competition was supported by a raft of renowned children’s authors including Joyce Dunbar, Alan Gibbons, Brian Keaney and Geraldine McCaughrean and has elicited some fantastic responses from pupils who all engaged imaginatively and emotionally with the theme of ‘One World’.

The competition coordinator Helen Gordon commented: “We have been delighted with the success of the competition and the high standard of the entries received. Pupils approached the theme of ‘One World’ in many different ways, but all showed a deep connection to the world around them and a desire to make the world a better place.”

To read Bethany’s winning entry, or to find out more about the winners and prizes visit www.scemes.com/writing
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Editors Notes:

Background:

SCEMES Ltd was established in 1999 as an Education Service Provider and has since grown to be the number one resource for educational purchasing.

The company publishes the Headteachers and Bursars Handbook of Procurement, a directory listing a vast range of product and service providers for schools.

In April 2007 SCEMES Ltd published the first national Handbook of Sustainable Procurement offering schools advice on eco-issues and a directory of sustainable suppliers to help schools achieve their sustainable schools targets.

Both Handbooks are sent, free of charge to over 32,000 schools each year and all SCEMES’ services to schools are free.

Over the last five years, SCEMES has run several competitions with a view to giving something back to schools and donated prizes totalling over £100,000.

Last year, SCEMES ran a poetry competition on the theme of ‘The Environment’ and this year’s Short Story Competition follows hot on the heels of that success, with the theme of ‘One World’ designed to give pupils the opportunity to develop their understanding of ‘The Environment’ by placing it within a global context.

The SCEMES National Short Story Competition was judged by multi-award-winning children’s author Alan Gibbons, The Sustainable Development Commission’s Commissioner for Education, Ann Finlayson, and author and educationalist Bill Laar.

Judges Comments:

Ann Finlayson: “It was a pleasure to read such imaginative stories. Some made me hopeful, some sad, some made me gasp and some made me laugh! There were adventures, love stories, stories of rebirth and reconciliation.

I particularly enjoyed the many different lenses the children chose to look at our world and to show how we behave on it. There was everything from the perspective of animals, future generations, people from different cultures and times, and even the perspective of an aluminium can!

They took very complex issues – environmental degradation and social injustice and interwove it with great understanding of us humans – our foibles, our loves, our cares. It gave me real hope that with this understanding we could create One World worth saving!”

Bill Laar: “The stories ranged across issues from the domestic and containable to the global and apocalyptic, from uncaring misuse of rare and precious resources, through slavery and human exploitation, to the destructive consequences of war.

Common to all, whatever the particular approach, was an awareness of and a deep concern about the great threats to the welfare and survival of the planet; an insight into the injustice and hardship endured by vast sections of humanity, and a moving rallying cry for unified action to bring about a secure future for the world, and humane treatment and fair living conditions for all peoples.

The theme of “One World,” with all its implications, has succeeded in inspiring from the young authors coherent, moving, convincing viewpoints and arguments, expressed with high competence and technical certainty.”

For more information contact Helen Gordon, Marketing and Projects Manager on 01691 664199 helen@scemes.net