Tales of heroism see students celebrated

Young story-tellers who wrote about heroes were celebrated at an event today. 

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 ‘heroes’. 

The annual Hall Caine Prize for Creative Writing – named after the distinguished Manx novelist – attracted 1,016 entries. 

Winners and those whose work was highly commended gathered at the Manx Museum to receive prizes sponsored by Gloria Rukeyser, great-granddaughter of Sir Hall Caine. 

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

Presenting the prizes, Tim Crookall MHK, Minister for Education and Children, said:

‘Now in its fourth year, the Hall Caine Prize goes from strength to strength and is by far and away our most popular competition, with more than 10 per cent of the school population taking part.’ 

He told the young people present:

‘By virtue of the fact you are here today, you are all talented writers. You’ll soon be published authors, too, as – for the second year – we plan to compile all the winning entries into a book and you’ll receive copies, as will all school and public libraries. 

‘It’s exciting to think this could be the start of a great career for some of you and that, here among us today, we could have a famous novelist in waiting.’

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. 

Amy Hawke won the £100 Primary first prize with the opening of an atmospheric fantasy story about the interactions of a fractured family. The 11-year-old, who goes to Cronk-y-Berry Primary School, said:

‘I was inspired to write my entry this year by my big sister, Emma, who won the same prize last year while in Year 6 at Cronk-y-Berry. I like my stories to have a dark twist to them and I thought it would be interesting to have a story where the hero and the villain were interchangeable and were also conflicted by being in the same family.’ 

Ffinlo Wright, 13, a student at King William’s College, took the £150 first prize in the Key Stage 3 category of the competition with a fast-paced story of dragonflies’ fight to survive in the heat of the jungle. Ffinlo said:

‘Dragonflies are more exciting than most insects; they’re fast and colourful and easy to write metaphors about, especially the way they move in the air. They also have amazing strength, almost like superpowers, which made them seem to me like heroes.’ 

He added:

‘It took me about a week to go through the whole creative process, although writing the story only took a few hours. Then I had to get it down to 1,000 words. It was really enjoyable and a lot of fun.’ 

Another King William’s College student, Laura Stewart, 15, won the £175 first prize in the Key Stage 4 section with a starkly-told story about the Allied invasion on D-Day from a German soldier’s perspective. Laura said:

‘The centenary of World War One got me thinking. I felt it was only suitable to commemorate all the great men and women that died in any war throughout history, so when I was told that this year’s theme would be Heroes, it gave me the idea to write a short story about a single soldier. I wanted my story to have a twist so I decided to write from the point of view of one of the greatest “enemies” of all time, the Nazis, to show that, like everyone else, they were human, too.’ 

Bridget Bale’s breathtaking story about a saviour during a suicide bombing in a bustling town in the Middle East won her the £200 top prize in the Key Stage 5/Isle of Man College of Further and High Education category. Bridget, who is head girl at Queen Elizabeth II High School, loves art and reading, and said:

‘The ability to paint pictures with my words is something I value greatly.’ 

The 18-year-old added:

‘I have entered the competition several times but never won top prize before, despite the fact that this year’s topic is the one I found most challenging. When I thought about what it is to be a hero, my perception was clouded by clichéd images of cloaked supermen or war veterans. I found it difficult to equate the acts of violence that these two share with heroics, so instead I wrote about a person whose title of hero was unquestionable.’ 

The judges were:Primary– David Jenkins from Dhoon Primary School and Tina Graham from Cronk-y-Berry Primary School;Key Stage 3– Rachael Clarke from Ballakermeen High School, and Leona Bell from Ramsey Grammar School;Key Stage 4– Archana Kamble from Castle Rushen High School and Rosemary Cooil from the Isle of Man College of Further and Higher Education;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. 

Mrs Rukeyser, who was unable to attend this year’s ceremony, thanked the judges, a number of whom have been scrutinising entries for several years. 

The Minister noted:

‘Among this year’s winners are students who have won prizes several years in a row, proving that our judges, who get to see only the words and not who writes them, show great consistency.’ 

Appropriately as the Island celebrates Island of Culture 2014, the formal vote of thanks was given by Emma Callin, the DEC’s Community and Arts Development Manager. 

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 2014/15 prize will be announced in September.