We have teamed up with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) to launch our Copyright Knights and Plagiarism Pirates creative writing competition for pupils in Key Stages 1-3 across the UK.
The competition, which runs until Thursday 31 May 2018, aims to inspire creative writing and help children understand how copyright protects creativity and why it is wrong to plagiarise. Pupils are asked to either:
- Become a copyright knight and write a chivalrous code of conduct to let their squires know why it is
important to protect creativity; or
- Become a plagiarism pirate and write a swashbuckling song about what plagiarism is and what happens to the scallywags who do it
To inspire pupils’ creative writing, we have worked with ALCS to publish a brand new teaching resource packed full of information, activities and games. It also includes wonderfully designed templates of a shield and a scroll for pupils to write their entries on.
The pupil who writes the most gallant knight’s code of conduct or swashbuckling pirate song will win £50 worth of book vouchers in addition to some fantastic prizes for their school including £300 worth of books and two interactive theatre shows from Creative Education UK. 10 runners up will also receive £25 worth of book vouchers each.
The winners will be presented with their treasure trove of prizes at a special event for writers in the House of Commons on Wednesday 27 June to celebrate National Writing Day.
Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust, said:
“This competition is a wonderful way to get children and young people thinking and writing creatively about copyright and plagiarism. This competition aims to spark children’s love of creative writing – something which we know boosts children’s attainment, confidence, aspiration and imaginations. Good luck to all the knights and pirates who will be embarking on their creative writing quest to claim their treasure!”
Barbara Hayes, Deputy Chief Executive of ALCS, said:
“With National Writing Day approaching, it’s a great time to be thinking about why we should protect copyright and support the creativity of our wonderful authors – many of whom have written our favourite children’s stories. Our competition challenges pupils to think creatively about copyright and plagiarism, so we hope it will inspire some truly unique writing. It is fitting that the young writers and their winning entries will be celebrated at our exciting National Writing Day event in the Houses of Parliament. I look forward to meeting the winners.”
The deadline for entries is Thursday 31 May, 5pm.