This term, all of our Key Stage Three students and many of our High School students took part in the annual FOBISIA (The Federation of British International Schools in Asia) short story competition. The chosen theme for the competition was ‘Spark’ and entrants were challenged to write an original short story up to 1000 words in length.
In English classes, students discussed and explored approaches to the stimulus. Some thought the story could be about a spark of fire, or an explosion, while others felt that ‘spark’ could hold some metaphorical significance such as the spark of an idea or hope. With these thoughts and ideas in mind, the students set to work on drafting and developing their individual stories.
The standard of the stories submitted was outstanding. Each story provided a unique take on the theme and it was clear that a lot of hard work, imagination, and creativity had gone into the submissions. It was extremely hard for the judging teachers to select class winners, but selections were made and we celebrated the work in class with group readings and sharing of work.
After much deliberation, the year group winners were:
Year 7 - Leo
Year 8 - Jacqueline
Year 9 - Cassie
High School - Summer
All students received book vouchers and recognition in their year group assemblies.
Cassie, in year 9, was also awarded the overall school winner award for her dramatic narration of Guy Fawkes’ attempt to ignite the spark to blow parliament to smithereens. Her vocabulary was rich and sophisticated, and she built tension effectively throughout the story.
The standard of creative writing from year 7 upwards is excellent and a testament to the emphasis placed on creativity as a core value at Taipei European School. With opportunities to develop writing skills in the new Writers’ Hub and the Creative Writing CCA, the future is bright at Taipei European School.