On Wednesday 15 April, the English GCSE team proudly came together with students and parents to celebrate the outstanding talent and achievements of those who took part in the Young Writers Stranger Sagas competition.
Over 100 Uxbridge College (HRUC) students were shortlisted for publication by Young Writers from hundreds of entries submitted nationwide.
The weird, wonderful, odd and mysterious
The Young Writers organisation runs national creative writing competitions inspiring young people to write short stories, improving their confidence, writing ability and providing them with the opportunity of having their work published.
This year’s theme, Stranger Sagas, enabled students to explore the weird, wonderful, odd and mysterious in a story of up to 100 words. All Uxbridge College students resitting their GCSE English exams took the opportunity to participate, with many going on to submit their work. The pieces showcased an incredible range of imagination, with writing that was gripping, gory, vivid, and extremely creepy!
Celebrating creativity and imagination
As part of the celebration event, guests enjoyed dramatic readings recorded by Performing Arts students from Uxbridge College, alongside a visual interpretation created by a talented Level 3 Computing student based at our Uxbridge campus.
Each student was presented with a certificate of achievement from Young Writers, recognising their fantastic success and they were congratulated for their creativity and imagination by Alastair Mullins, Assistant Principal at Uxbridge College.
Encouraging words to our budding writers
The event was further enriched by special guest authors Cecil Browne, former Head of Maths at Uxbridge College and 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize regional winner for Europe and Canada; and Joshua Kandapah, Digital Innovation Facilitator at HRUC and author of The Butchers of Twilight.
They both shared inspiring readings from their own work and offered encouraging words to our budding writers.
Bianca Fanciullacci, Head of School for English and Maths, praised the students’ exceptional efforts, encouraging them to continue their creativity and celebrating their voices as writers.
The celebration truly brought this creativity to life!