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FIRST-YEAR B6 STUDENT WINS PRESTIGIOUS CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION

FIRST-YEAR B6 STUDENT WINS PRESTIGIOUS CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION

Everyone at B6 was delighted at the end of term to learn that first-year student, Holly Hargreaves, had won Bishop Grosseteste University’s 2022 Short Story Competition. 

The competition was open to all year GCSE and A-level students who are passionate about writing creatively. This year’s theme was ‘Plotting New Worlds’ with a maximum word count of 2,000 words and no minimum. The judging panel was made up of lecturers from Bishop Grosseteste University’s Department of English, recognized by The Sunday Times and The Guardian as among the top thirty in the UK.

Holly, a previous Sharples High School student, is studying A Level English Literature, History and Sociology with the Honours Programme and Extended Project Qualification at B6. She was also shortlisted for the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester Award for Young Citizen of the Year 2021 and has recently found out that she’s a finalist in the She Inspires Awards.

Holly was really pleased to have won the short story competition. Her beautiful story, ‘The Damaged and the Broken’, has been published on Bishop Grosseteste University’s website and can be found here. Holly, who has also been awarded £250 in cash, said she never thought she’d win: 

I entered into the competition because I know Creative Writing is the subject I want to study at university. But I never expected that I’d win! My story is centred around an important aspect of life – mental health. I tried to feed my own advice into the piece so that those who read it may be able to take something away from it that has the potential to help them, no matter what they’re going through. And a writer decides the end of the stories they craft, just as we decide how to change our lives and make them have a happy ending too. A life is a story, and you can decide its end when you take certain actions.

Julie Parkinson, Head of English and MFL at B6, was over the moon for Holly and said:

A huge congratulations to Holly from all of us in the English and MFL department. From the beginning of the year, Holly has been working on developing her creative writing skills and her confidence in sharing her work, and this has really paid off.  Her story is a thought-provoking piece,  full of interesting ideas and imagery and we are delighted that this has been recognised by the judging panel. As an aspiring professional writer, Holly has now made the first step towards a future in the industry and a place on a Creative Writing degree. Well done Holly, we are all really proud of you! 

Well done to Holly from everyone at B6. We really enjoyed reading your work and look forward to seeing more soon.

Find out more about studying A Level English Literature here.