Young authors on voyage of discovery

The Minister for Education and Children has praised young story-tellers who went on a voyage of discovery. 

Tim Crookall MHK was speaking today as winning and highly commended authors in the Hall Caine Prize for Creative Writing received their prizes. 

The Minister said the competition boosted literacy in the classroom. 

‘When we in education talk about “critical thinking skills” or “creative problem-solving abilities”, what we really mean is children using their imagination,’ he said. 

‘This competition encourages children to think beyond the world they know and allow their imaginations to roam free – with joyous results.’ 

Students aged 21 and under in full-time education were invited to pen a short story, a memoir or the opening chapter of a novel on the subject of ‘discovery’. 

The prize – named after the distinguished Manx novelist – attracted 933 entries. 

Winners gathered at the Manx Museum to receive their prizes from Gloria Rukeyser, great-granddaughter of Sir Hall Caine, who sponsors the competition. 

Mrs Rukeyser is, like her famous ancestor, a writer and journalist. Her family still occupies the novelist’s former home, historic Greeba Castle.

Entries were in four categories: Primary, Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5/IoM College, with cash prizes totalling £2,350 on offer and certificates for first, second and third placed and highly commended students. 

Aalish Watts, 11, of Arbory Primary School, won the £100 Primary first prize with a story inspired by a trip to Namibia. She said:

‘The country captivated me and the memories of the vivid colours and textures of its stunning landscape still live with me. The image of the sheer power and majesty of the waves thundering up the coastline, the haunting beauty of the shipwrecks and the beguiling desert remain strong in my mind. 

‘I was lucky enough to stay with the San Bushmen who enthralled me with their encyclopaedic knowledge of their habitat. Parts of the vast Namibian desert and bleak Skelton Coast remain relatively undiscovered, so I linked this to the theme.’ 

Kazia Whittaker, 13, of St Ninian’s High School, took the £150 first prize in the Key Stage 3 category of the competition with a tense tale inspired by the many books she reads. She said:

‘I pictured a girl on a mission. I liked the idea that you don't know much about her and that you seem to arrive in the middle of a story. I could see her in my head as I typed.’ 

Xifong Christian won the £175 first prize in the Key Stage 4 section. The Ballakermeen High School student, 14, said:

‘I wrote my story about a hill. I wanted to look at human discovery in a different perspective; a perspective largely untinted by the eyes of a human observer in order to isolate the human drive to understand the world. However, time was twisted in a way that made the hill’s interaction with people, and thus discovery, more meaningful. The hill was seeking to understand the universe through people and their lives and so are we.’ 

Willoughby Whittle, 17, of St Ninian’s High School, won the £200 top prize in the Key Stage 5/Isle of Man College of Further and High Education category with a story about St Kilda, the most remote of the Hebridean islands. 

Willoughby interwove factual and fictional elements into his story.

‘Having travelled to the Isle of Skye, I have always wanted to write about a remote and intriguing landscape, and this competition was the perfect opportunity.’  

The judges were: Primary – Tina Graham from Cronk-y-Berry Primary School and Rachel Ashley from Andreas Primary School; Key Stage 3 – Leona Bell from Ramsey Grammar School, Katie Shelley from Queen Elizabeth II High School and Gaynor Moss from St Ninian’s High School; Key Stage 4 – Archana Kamble from Castle Rushen High School and Rachael Clarke from Ballakermeen High School; Key Stage 5/Isle of Man College – Karen Maloney from Castle Rushen High School and Zeba Clarke from King William’s College. 

They scored the entries on strong characterisation, good narrative flow and imaginative story-telling. 

The Minister thanked the judges for giving up their own time to scrutinise the entries. 

Taking part in the competition is an accredited Children’s University activity, earning young people stamps in their ‘passports to learning’. 

The theme for the 2015/16 prize will be announced in September. 

Full list of prize-winners: