6 February 2019
A Year 5 girl from The Howard Primary School (Elford) was one of The National Literacy Trust Story Explorers lucky 25 winners in December. Schools from all over the country created maps of a famous story location and wrote descriptive pieces to accompany them.
The winning entry, from Holly Jones, age 10, depicted the magical land of Neverland, from JM Barrie’s Peter Pan. Holly’s teacher, Miss Jennings, said “We are so proud of all our children for the fantastic maps and writing they did, they all had so much fun completing their entries. We are thrilled that Holly’s entry has won us this fantastic prize”.
The competition prize was an author visit, and on the 5th February, Dave Cousins, author of “The Misfits” series, visited Holly’s class. Mr Cousins spoke to pupils about how he had become an author (his original dream was to be Batman – that didn’t work out) and what it takes to succeed – resilience and perseverance. As he illustrates his own work, he then did an art workshop with the children where they got to bring their own characters to life. They
created a range of characters – villains and heroes - and Mr Cousins signed their work. As a special gift, Holly was given a signed copy of his latest book.
Miss Mills, Headteacher, said “At The Howard, we believe that writing for a real audience and purpose is vital for engaging children’s interest in writing and this philosophy has definitely paid off. Well done Holly and Class 3!”
Notes:
The National Literacy Trust website can be found at https://literacytrust.org.uk/ and competition details at https://literacytrust.org.uk/news/our-new-competition-inspires-pupilsexplore-their-favourite-place-story/
Dave Cousins website can be found at www.davecousins.net
