Creative Writing Competition - numbers and words

Like a challenge and winning prizes?  Why not enter the Young Writers Interger 100-word story writing competition?  Your challenge is to:

• Write a 100-word story inspired by a number or numbers
• It must have a beginning, middle and end
• Pick a number, a percentage, a time, a date or a temperature and use this as the inspiration for your story

As well as seeing your story published, the judges top 5 favourite stories will win £50 each.  Also, the school with the best overall entries will win a £100 National Book Token.

The closing date is the end of term.  All entries should be handed in to your English teacher or to the Library.  

Need help getting started?  Check out the student planning sheet and story prompts below:

For more information, watch the video below:

Marcus Sedgwick

We were incredibly sad to hear that the wonderful Children’s and YA author, Marcus Sedgwick died suddenly today at the age of 54. 

Some of our students were lucky enough to take part in a virtual author visit with Marcus on 2nd August 2020 from his home in the French Alps.  We all found him to be incredibly personable and open and honest when answering questions that the students put to him.  The insights Marcus gave into his life and work processes were interesting and inspiring and all the students were left wanting more! They particularly enjoyed being able to see his work space, hear about his writing and creative processes and learn about the publishing side of things.

Marcus generously sent signed book plates and postcards of some of his book to insert in copies of his Carnegie nominated novel Saint Death, that we gave away to all the participants.

You can find many of Marcus’s brilliant novels in the EPHS Libraries - all come highly recommended! 

His non-fiction title Be Kind, part of the Be The Change series, will be available soon too and is another example of Marcus’s great insight, empathy, sensitivity and real gift for writing.  He will be greatly missed!

Anti-bullying week, 14-18th November 2022 - Reach Out!

This week is anti-bullying week and the theme this year is Reach Out, with the aim of encouraging everyone to do something positive to counter the harm that bullying causes.  

Below are some book recommendations that deal with the subject of bullying and offer advice on how to tackle it if happens to you.  We have many more for you to browse and borrow - just ask!  Please remember that your Libraries are safe spaces.

Remembrance Day 2022

Armistice Day, also known as Remembrance Day, takes place on 11th November every year, marking the official ending of World War I on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918.  A two-minute silence is held to remember the people who have died in wars. 

Eden Park High School will be supporting the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal as usual this year.  A variety of items are being sold at Main Reception as part of the appeal.  

We have lots of war themed fiction and non-fiction in the Libraries for you to borrow.  In the Lower Library we have our 'Once Upon A Wartime' display to inspire you, with books such as The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and The Missing: the True Story of My Family in World War II by Michael Rosen to borrow.  For more suggestions, check out the history recommended reading lists and the 'wartime' genre section on Oliver, or ask your Librarians!

Black History Month Convince the Critics competition 2022 - winners announced!

We are delighted to announce the winners of our Black History Month ‘Convince the Critics', whose entries appear below.  All of the books championed so compellingly by our winners, are available to borrow from the EPHS Libraries.  

A big congratulations to our winners Millie, Jemmimah and Chloe who will receive a signed copy of Jeffrey Boakye's Musical Truth: A Musical History of Modern Black Britain in 28 Songs.  Thank you to everyone that entered - you will all receive achievement points!  

Why you should read Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison - by Jemmimah A-G (Year 8)

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison is a book all about inspirational black women in history.  They range from scientists to frontline nurses and even spies.  The reason why this book is so important is because the achievements of many amazing women of colour have been lost through the years with history choosing to ignore them just because of the colour of their skin.  I just find it so brilliant that the author has taken her time to research and write about all these women and make it easier for young girls to find out about how many things our ancestors have accomplished and how much they can accomplish too.

On top of this, it is really important to support black authors like herself, as it is said that only 0.025% of authors are successful (meaning they sell over 1000 books) and in the United States only 6% of writers being Black/African American. So, by reading this book you aren’t only enlightening yourself but making a change and paving the way for other people of colour who wish to pursue their dreams.  It starts with you! 

Why you should read Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo - by Millie S (Year 10)

I am writing to convince you to read Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo.  Clap When You Land is a beautiful book that is compelling and immersive.  It drags you into the story and pulls you along with it and explores deep themes such as grief and forgiveness.  The book is about two is sisters with a twisted backstory, and this story line will keep you reading until the end.  There is no limit to the emotions that you may feel when exploring this rollercoaster of a book, and so I recommend this to you, in the hope that you will also be able to experience how amazing this book is and learn a few life lessons along the way (who would want to miss out on those!?). 

Why you should read You Are A Champion: How to be the Best You Can Be by Marcus Rashford - by Chloe O (Year 9)

I strongly recommend You Are A Champion by Marcus Rashford.  It is a positive and inspiring guide on how you can improve your mindset.  Although Marcus Rashford talks about football, a lot of his views can be carried into real life experiences, so even if football isn’t something you love, I would still encourage you to read this.  It provides lots of essential advice, which I personally believe every child/teen should know.  It has taught me that I should only compete with myself.  This is so important as it encourages me to feel more confident in myself, as I am not constantly comparing myself with others.  This advice provided from Marcus’s book is something that has stuck with me.  I am sure that you would take away many ways to positively improve your mindset if you read this book.

First Story Young Writers - Summer Residential

Last academic year, a core group of 21 students from Years 10 and 11 took part in the First Story Young Writers Programme with professional writer, Rachel Seiffert and lead English Teacher Miss Altenburg.  From this group, one student was awarded a fully funded place to attend a residential writing course in West Yorkshire, alongside young people from other First Story schools.  

This amazing experience offered our student, Summer C, the opportunity to work with a group of professional writers to further develop her creativity, skills and confidence, culminating in the publication of an anthology of prose and poetry.  Highlights of the residential can be viewed on the First Story website by clicking here.

The summer residential anthology, Unboxed with a Bag of Beans, featuring Summer's work, is available to borrow from the Upper Library, together with The Maze of the Mind, the First Story Young Writers anthology featuring all our First Story programme participants.  Both anthologies have also been placed in The British Library.

A virtual celebration of the work created during the residential will take place virtually on Thursday, 6th November.

We are delighted that a new group of EPHS students from Years 9 and 10 have been given the opportunity to take part in the First Story Young Writers Programme for a second year with our amazing writer in residence Rachel Seiffert alongside our lead English Teacher Ms Koca.