Peterborough pupils receive writing award from children’s author Guy Bass

Local award winning children’s author Guy Bass was at Jack Hunt School on Friday 2 February to inspire and reward the creative writing efforts of Peterborough pupils.

Year 6 pupils from 10 of the city’s primary schools and Year 7 pupils from Jack Hunt secondary school took part in an exciting writing competition, which was launched by the National Literacy Trust, Peterborough City Council and the Jack Hunt Learning Trust for the second consecutive year. 

As part of the Peterborough Literacy Campaign, pupils were challenged to write an original story of less than 500 words on any subject that they are passionate about.

Guy Bass presented the winners with certificates and new books during the special ceremony at Jack Hunt secondary school. As well as an overall winner, second and third place, he awarded the top three entries from each of the participating schools. Guy also shared the inspiration behind his writing and talked about his experiences of secondary school. 

The competition was launched to encourage pupils to write for enjoyment and to help prepare them for the transition from primary to secondary school. Many of the Year 6 pupils who took part will be attending Jack Hunt from September.

Sally Atkinson, Manager of the National Literacy Trust Hub in Peterborough and one of the competition judges said: 

“We were delighted that Guy Bass could join us to recognise the brilliant writing efforts of pupils in Peterborough. This is the second time we have run this competition and once again we were so impressed with the range of original ideas and writing techniques the pupils have used. The ceremony was a great opportunity for Year 6 pupils and their parents to get a taste of secondary school  before they make the move later this year.” 

The 10 primary schools that took part in the competition are: Sacred Heart RC Primary School, Eyrescroft Primary School, West Town Primary Academy, Thorpe Primary School, Longthorpe Primary School, Ravensthorpe Primary School, Middleton Primary School, Paston Ridings Primary School, Highlees Primary School and Gladstone Primary Academy.