In November, we teamed up with Bupa Foundation to gift 5,000 primary schools a total of 15,000 paperback copies of Bloomsbury’s collection of brilliant short stories, artwork and poems, The Book of Hopes.
Each school had the exclusive chance to enter our Scrapbook of Hopes competition, where we asked teachers and their pupils to take inspiration from The Book of Hopes and show us how they are spreading hope, optimism and a love of reading in their school and community.
We’re delighted to announce the 15 winners of our Scrapbook of Hopes competition:
- St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Middlesbrough
- North Ormesby Primary Academy in Middlesbrough
- Beech Grove Primary in Middlesbrough
- Oasis Academy Don Valley in Sheffield
- Haveley Hey Community School in Manchester
- Peel Hall Primary School in Manchester
- St Anne’s RC Primary School in Manchester
- Eastern Primary School in Dundee
- Clepington Primary Academy in Dundee
- Summerbank Primary Academy in Stoke
- Glapton Academy in Nottingham
- Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Voluntary Academy in Doncaster
- Balby Central Primary Academy in Doncaster
- Town Field Primary School in Doncaster
- Niskam Primary School in Birmingham
Each of the 15 winners won prizes kindly donated by Bloomsbury Publishing including a beautiful signed ‘Bird’ print illustrated by Sam Usher which features in The Book of Hopes as well as a set of Katherine Rundell’s children’s books including Rooftoppers, The Good Thieves and the hardback edition of The Book of Hopes.
One school was also drawn at random from our 15 winners to win a special virtual visit from Katherine Rundell which will take place next month, as well as a year’s free membership to the National Literacy Trust. We're delighted to announce that the school chosen was St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School!
The calibre of entries was exceptionally high and the judges had a hard time deciding on the final shortlist. Each entry inspired so much positivity and hope. Pupils took part in various activities and projects such as: writing poetry, creating displays of writing in school and the community, supporting writing to boost mental wellbeing, participating in the Reading Tree Challenge, and reading to each other online during lockdown.
Feedback from judges on the top 15 entries included:
“It’s clear the school adopts the wider themes of the books throughout school life, whether it’s fundraising for vulnerable people in the community or supporting their most vulnerable families with Christmas presents.”
“It’s great that they have done activities with all different classes and worked with local libraries to make sure that every child in the school from nursery to Year 6 received a virtual library visit!”
“They really engaged the wider community, involving parents and even writing to an old people’s home.”
Thank you so much to everyone who took part in the Scrapbook of Hopes challenge and congratulations again to our final 15!
Keep an eye out for more details about the extra special virtual school visit from Katherine Rundell to St Joseph’s next month.