Pupils of St John’s won a clean sweep of the top prizes at third annual Creative Writing Competition this year hosted by St Mary’s School, Cambridge. The children were encouraged to write up to 500 words in response to a choice of keywords such as ‘Hope’ and ‘Battle’, along with artworks produced by St Mary’s Senior School students. In the Year 7 & 8 category, four of the six shortlisted finalists were St John’s pupils: Rupert Gardiner (F6), Rosie Knighton (F6), Ella Schumann (F6) and Taku Gomera (F5). Of these, Rupert and Taku were named the joint winners, the judges from the school’s English department being unable to separate them.
In the Year 5 & 6 category, Tallula Dettori was the St John’s representative on the shortlist of candidates from six different schools in the area. She was declared the winner for her gripping narrative describing a hockey match fought out as if on a battlefield.
All three winners were awarded book tokens and the opportunity to read extracts from their story at Ely Cathedral on Saturday, 21 March 2015.
The winners joined the hundred or so entrants for the presentation ceremony to hear motivational speeches from St Mary’s School, Cambridge resident author and English teacher Louisa Reid, and the High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire, Linda Fairbrother.