Halifax school pupil is finalist in national schools’ writing competition from musical ‘Wicked’ and the National Literacy Trust

The overall winners of the Wicked Writers: Be The Change competition will be awarded a class trip to see Wicked in London, as well as an in-person workshop with award-winning author of the High-Rise Mystery series and The Good Turn, Sharna Jackson.

Taking inspiration from the award-winning musical’s protagonist, ‘Elphaba’, students entered the competition by writing about a cause important to them, raising awareness and support to fight social injustice. From climate change to clean water, food banks to football, children up and down the UK have made their voices heard about the things they would like to change for the better in our society.

The shortlisted entries in Yorkshire are: Lucy Kettlewell, age 10, from Burley and Woodhead Church of England Primary School in Bradford, who wrote about women’s rights, sexism and discrimination, and Hannah Firth, 13, from Trinity Academy in Halifax, who focused on the treatment and attitude towards refugees coming to the UK, and the government’s Stop the Boats bill.

Both entries made good use of some fantastic writing techniques to demonstrate their passion for change, speaking directly to the judges, and using emotive language, repetition, and alliteration to make their point. The young writers also illustrated their arguments with informative statistics around their chosen subjects, as well as encouraging the judges to question their own beliefs, challenging stereotypes, and the status quo.

Beth Deighton, teacher at Trinity Academy, commented “We entered this competition to demonstrate to students that writing can provide an outlet for personal expression and creativity. It's exciting to show them that their thoughts, emotions, and ideas are valued in a real-world context.”

Tim Judge, Head of Schools Programmes at the National Literacy Trust, said: “Be the Change has encouraged young people across the country to use their writing skills to advocate for a cause they believe in, and it’s clear that everyone who entered has a real passion for inspiring change. We hope that this enthusiasm for writing, and the literacy skills they have learnt, will stay with them not just throughout their school careers, but for the rest of their lives.”