Creative Writing Competition Winners

In May/ June we ran a Creative Writing Competition for our students which was judged by best-selling authors Giles Paley-Phillips and Stuart Heritage. They had a difficult decision to make from all of the entries but are delighted to announce Grace as the under 10’s winner and Willa as the other 10’s winner. Read their short stories below.

Grace – aged 9.

As I rode on the abandoned ferris wheel it creaked and churned, as if it was about to collapse at any minute. What was I thinking? I shouldn’t have come here in the first place. The ferris wheel was a tragic sight to see, with rusting metal holding it together and creaky hinges that needed oiling. The colour had all faded away and as the clouds scowled and the wind roared it was as if the ferris wheel would fall in to ashes, like a phoenix. Part of the wheel was already broken and I started to wonder how old was this ride? It must have been centuries old and I asked myself was this monstrosity ever beautiful.

Willa – aged 11. Lost in a Desert

I woke up with a start. My head was spinning and my heart was pounding. I looked around me and all I could see in the distance was the desert. Everywhere I turned was miles of this sandy, scorching land. I had an unbearable pain in my back. At first I was bewildered and I had no idea how I got there. Then I remembered what unfortunate events occurred that night.

I had a strong memory of what happened. I remember being tucked up in bed with my parents talking about finding work in the other room. I was just lying there, unable to sleep.

I looked up at the plain ceiling, concentrating hard on one speck of dirt. Then I noticed a green, glowing light from the corner of the room. Slowly, I tiptoed out of bed, my feet freezing from the stone floor. My pyjamas clung to me, sweat building up on my forehead.

The light seemed to be coming from a book I had left lying on the floor. Although it was closed, the light was seeping through the cracks between the pages. Despite my fear, I slowly opened the book.

Just like that, I started screaming. I was being dragged by some sort of force into the book. My screams weren’t working. My parents couldn’t hear me! As the last of me got pulled into the book, I suddenly couldn’t keep my eyes open. My eyelids became heavy and I drifted off into sleep, as I fell through the portal. I had the feeling of falling for hours before I finally hit the hard ground of a desert.

This was the place my book was set. In the desert. And I remembered as clear as day what happened to the main character. She was trapped in a desert and had to find her way out of the book.

I was trapped in the story. I was the main character…