Doncaster School Enjoys Staggering Success In Young Writers Competition
A Doncaster secondary school is celebrating phenomenal success in a Young Writers literary competition.
Thirty students from Outwood Academy Danum entered the Survival Sagas: Mission Catastrophe competition, launched in November last year, and were tasked with writing a 100-word mini saga.
The challenge set by the competition organisers was to write a short story inspired by the theme of catastrophe; to tell in a 100 words a thrilling tale that answers the question of what would happen if an epic natural disaster hit Earth.
Out of the 30 students that entered the competition, an incredible 25 were successful and their story was chosen by the organisers to go in the South Yorkshire edition of ‘Mission Catastrophe; It’s the end of the World as we know it.’ This is a collation of all winning entries, and the participant’s school will receive a free copy of the book.
Jayne Gaunt, Principal of Outwood Academy Danum, said: “We are so proud of not only the writers of the 25 stories that were chosen, but of all the participants who took the time to write a story and enter the competition.
“We believe in putting students first, to help them reach their potential and this goes beyond the classroom. That’s why we were delighted to help so many students enter the Young Writers competition.
“Some of the storylines were incredibly exciting, and expertly structured within the 100 word limit. The writers had to craft tales of destruction and redemption, new beginnings, and struggles of survival and to do this while scripting a story with a beginning, middle and an end, within the word limit is extremely impressive.
“We were delighted when the news came through that 25 students had been successful, and it’s been a pleasure reading the book.”
The competition organisers, Young Writers, were established in 1991 and work with schools, parents and children to promote poetry and creative writing by creating literary resources to inspire children.
The complete list of ‘published authors’ from the Academy is: Emma Pickering (13); John Starr (12); Sophie Mcaleod (13); Daniel Fox (13); Kieran McCormack (14); Lauren Reilly (13); Jacob Bates (12); Davina Wheatley (14); Maxim Boulby (14); Oliwia Skibinska (13); Kaitlin McPhillie (13); Rebecca Sayer (13); Emma White (13); Jack Ward (14); Courtney Doyle (13); Scarlett Rollinson (13); Ellison Smith (12); Stevie Stokoe (13); Jayden Green (12); Katie Darbyshire (13); Louise Brailey (13); Karys Gruszczak (13); and Alicia Hardy (13).