“We had planned to stop the tutoring after the 11+ exam, but with the next lockdown and more disruption to her education, we quickly relented when she literally begged us to continue going! The sessions are adjusted to her needs and she describes them as ‘really fun’ and she likes it that the work is specific to her level and much more individualised than the class work at school.”Summer Writing Competition
Summer Writing Competition!
I Love to Learn tutors have teamed up with local children’s author Justin Strain, to encourage children to get writing this summer. the competition is open to ‘I Love To Learn’ students as well as children in local schools.
The theme is ‘Mystery and Adventure’ and there will be three age categories;
- 7 to 8
- 9 to 11,
- 12 to 16
Portsmouth author, Justin Strain, has agreed to judge the stories and present a signed copy of his book to each winner On Saturday 29th September.
Summer writing competition will be a signed book, I Love to Learn goodies and £100 in book tokens for the overall winner’s school!
Click here for Justin’s ‘Profile’ page in The Times Chicken House Award
Click here for Justin’s ‘Good Reads’ page.
Justin writes books for young people (9-14) based in our home city of Portsmouth! His first book is called ‘The Secret of the Scarlet Ribbon’ and has been short listed for The Times Chicken House Children’s Fiction Award.
The deadline for all entries is Sat 8th September, to be handed in or posted to I Love To Learn Education Centres. Alternatively, email tutors@ilovetolearn.co.uk
Competition Judging Criteria:
- Originality of idea
- Use of language
- Imagination
- Development of characters/plot
Justin’s Top Tips for Writing
- Try and imagine a scene as your character would experience it. Showing the reader what the character sees/hears/tastes/smells/feels can be really powerful.
- Think about how things would be different for your character in their situation/historical period. What would they wear or eat? Would they go to school? How would they get about?
- Describing an everyday event from a different perspective can be really effective. A walk across a darkened room after the lamp has gone out can be an adventure in itself!
- If you have a hero and a villain, make sure the villain comes alive – villains can often be the most deliciously interesting characters to the reader.
