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International Writing Success at Sibford Gower Endowed Primary School
The writing talent of Nettie Parish, a Year 5 pupil at Sibford Gower Primary School, has been recognised in an international writing and art competition celebrating The Book of Kells and organised by Trinity College, University of Dublin. Scooping the merit prize in the primary category, Nettie was one of seven winners out of an incredible 1,500 entries from across the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States, which were judged by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Studies at this world class University.
Possibly the world's most famous medieval manuscript, the Book of Kells is a richly decorated copy of the four Gospels of the life of Jesus Christ which harks from the 9th century and is on permanent display at Trinity College.
The children in Nettie’s class had been exploring this masterpiece as part of their topic work. Oak Class teacher, Miss Rylance-Murdoch, entered the creative writing of some of them into the competition and a few weeks later, we were delighted to receive an email from the University letting us know of Nettie’s impressive achievement and saying,
“We were astounded with the number of entries we received, and also with the level of talent that was shown by all entrants in both writing and art categories, from primary right up to adult….I am delighted to inform you that your student’s entry was selected as the winner of the merit prize in the primary category.”
On a windy morning in January, an excited Nettie flew out to Dublin with her father to attend the awards ceremony. She said of her adventure, “It was amazing! The University was huge and looked really historic. Everyone there was really friendly and made me feel very welcome.”
Headteacher, Jane O’Sullivan, said “Nettie is both talented and very hard-working. This is a really impressive achievement, and so well-deserved. Nettie’s poem is genuinely moving and shows her real talent and ability as a wordsmith. We are all incredibly proud of her.”
You can find Nettie’s poem on the Oak Class page of the school website at www.sibford-gower.oxon.sch.uk