Intrepid primary school pupils paid a visit to Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College for a special creative writing workshop designed to give them the edge in a national competition.
Ten Year 5 and 6 pupils from Mount Pleasant Primary School in Darlington made the trip to QE for a story telling masterclass.
The creative youngsters were working on ideas for the BBC’s 500 Words competition – the UK’s largest story writing competition for 5 to 11-year-olds.
500 words celebrates children’s creativity and imagination, encouraging children from across the UK to create an original story in 500 words or less.
During their visit to QE, the Mount Pleasant Pupils were given a tour of the College for creative inspiration and then took part in a writing workshop with Julie Ashmore, Course Leader for English Literature at QE.
Supported by Julie, alongside QE English students Maya Crutchley and Audrey Meredith, the youngsters were then tasked with creating their short story.
And they certainly let their imaginations run wild, with stories ranging from finding yourself locked in school overnight to battling red eyed monsters.
The deadline for 500 words is Friday 6 November with some fantastic prizes on offer – including a framed illustration of the winning stories.
Reflecting on the visit, Julie said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the pupils from Mount Pleasant and they certainly impressed us with their creativity, imagination and enthusiasm.
“It is never too early to get young people thinking about creative writing and story telling and hopefully we might see some of them back as QE students in the years ahead.”
