The Historical Association Write Your Own Historical Story Competition and the Joan Blyth Memorial Prize 2012.

The competition this year has again been successful. With the change in categories there was a very slight reduction in entries but this was balanced by the number of schools entering students who had been writing historical fiction as part of a whole class or year group, with some schools even sending in details of their scheme of work. We received 86 entries from 30 schools across England and Northern Ireland with far flung entries from the International School of Geneva in Switzerland and from the English School of Asturias in Spain.

As in previous years the stories were set in a wide variety of periods and places in the past; they ranged from Ancient Egypt to recent day Afghanistan, from the great plains of the USA to the deserts of the Middle East. There were a number of stories set on the Titanic. The quality of stories was strong across all Years. The most successful stories had an interesting problem that drove their plot whilst those who entered the character category created well rounded people whose characters were conveyed not just by physical description but also by what they did, said and felt. Some students had clearly benefited from good advice from a writing partner or teacher and others were clearly drawing upon their own reading of romantic, adventure and time travel stories. In one pleasing development the winning entry in one case came from a school where a teacher had attended the Historical Association's own eCPD course Teaching history in the classroom using historical fiction. All the entries were remarkably creative.

A judging panel of Dave Martin with Beth Brooke and Nigel Watt (teachers at All Saints Comprehensive School, Weymouth) and Fiona Ray and Fiona Scott (teacher and librarian at Dorchester Middle School) and Year 5, 6, 7 and 8 pupils from Dorchester Middle met on Saturday 26^th May in the Dorset County Museum to read, enjoy and discuss the short listed stories.

 

Winners

Year 6 Best Story Joan Blyth Memorial Prize 2012

‘Hattie's Story' by Hannah, St Mary's and St Peter's C of E Primary School, Teddington.

‘My Adventure: The Titanic' by Anna, St Mary's and St Peter's C of E Primary School, Teddington.

 

 

Year 7, 8 and 9 Best story written as part of a whole class or year group

‘1940 by Olive, Year 9, Stroud High School, Stroud, Gloucs.

 ‘The Other Side of the Wire' by Emily, Year 9, Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

‘Over Many Waters' by Elizabeth, Year 8, International School of Geneva, Campus Des Nations, Grand Saconnex, Switzerland.

 

Year 7, 8 and 9 Best fictional historical character

‘Green Jackets at Dawn' by Adam, Year 8, Bishop Wordsworth's School, Salisbury, Wilts.

‘Witch Hunter' by Georgina, Year 8, Sandhurst School, Owlsmoor, Berkshire.

‘Lebensborn' by Aimee, Year 9, Newport Girls' High School, Newport, Shropshire.

 

Short listed

Year 6 Best Story Joan Blyth Memorial Prize 2012

‘Queen Victoria's Coronation' by Flora, Maldon Court Preparatory School, Maldon.

 ‘Life in Auschwitz' by Ina, Maldon Court Preparatory School, Maldon.

 

Year 7, 8 and 9 Best story written as part of a whole class or year group

‘Pyramids: The Story of Re Um-Nekele, by Joshua, Year 7, Netherthorpe School, Staveley, Derbyshire.

‘Hope in the most Dismal of Places' by Hamza, Year 9, Hall Green School, Birmingham.

‘Signing on the Dotted Line' by Alex, Oaklands Catholic School, Waterlooville, Hampshire.

‘My Historical Story' by Kathleen, Year 7, The Mount School, York.

 

Year 7, 8 and 9 Best fictional historical character

‘Johanna Heinz' by Molly, Year 8, De Lisle Catholic School, Loughborough.

‘The Apple Tree' by Lucy, Year 7, Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School, Aylesbury, Bucks.

 

The eight winning entries each received an engraved Bath Aqua Glass paperweight and £25 prize plus a Winner certificate. Their teachers receive free year's membership of Historical Association. All short-listed entries also received a Short Listed certificate.