Category: Archived Events

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  Creative Writing Competition 2017

  

  The book!

  We’re pleased to announce that the This is My Dream paperback edition is now available!

  • All winners (below) are entitled to a free copy.
  • All schools who participated in the 2017 competition will receive a set of these books.
  • All schools subscribing to the Schools Library Services will receive a free copy
  • Link to the eBook on Amazon
  • Download “This is my Dream” pdf edition
  • Download “This is my Dream” .mobi (free eBook)

  The Winners…

  

  The winners of the 2017 creative writing competition, pictured with judges Sufiya Ahmed and Nadine Kaadan,

  The final decisions were very difficult to make considering the quality of the work, inspired no doubt by the writing workshops.

  Along with work by the Syrian prize-winners, their stories and poems will be published in paperback this year, with the book launch taking place at the Write Idea festival in November.

  View winners

  KS4 Short StoryCommendedAyat Muhammad Al-KilisAl-Tafawq School, Syria

  KS2 Poetry	1st & Best in school	Zarah Gaffar	Halley Primary School
  KS2 Poetry	2nd	Samiul Miah	Bonner Primary School
  KS2 Poetry	3rd & Best in school	Ajwad Munthasir	Marner Primary School
  KS2 Poetry	Commended & Best in school	Soraya Mahmood	Guardian Angels Primary School
  KS2 Poetry	Commended	Lewis Palmer	Guardian Angels Primary School
  KS2 Poetry	Commended	Ubayd Ibnzafar	Halley Primary School
  KS2 Poetry	Commended & Best in school	Jemima Workneh	St Elizabeth Primary School
  KS2 Poetry	Commended & Best in school	Shahana Islam	Stebon Primary School
  KS2 Poetry	Commended	Judy Hatim Yehia	Al-Mahdatha School, Syria
  KS2 Poetry	Best in school	Lauren Percy	Chisenhale Primary School
  KS2 Poetry	Best in school	Marwa Aya Zaouchi	Osmani Primary School
  KS2 Poetry	Best in school	Kyra Davis Wellington	Our Lady and St Joseph Primary School
  KS2 Short Story	1st	Aya Al-Hasaba	Al-Hashimya School, Syria
  KS2 Short Story	2nd & Best in school	Aoife Griffin	Saint Annes Primary School
  KS2 Short Story	3rd & Best in school	Ren Logan	Bonner Primary School
  KS2 Short Story	Commended	Anastacia Scedrin	Marner Primary School
  KS2 Short Story	Best in school	Safiyah Raynor	Old Palace Primary School
  KS2 Short Story	Best in school	Ramisa Begum	Blue Gate Fields Junior School
  KS2 Short Story	Best in school	May Braidwood	St Saviours Primary School
  KS2 Short story	Best in school	Raya Hussain	Cayley Primary School
  KS2 Short story	Best in school	Alfie Shields	St Pauls Whitechapel Primary School
  KS2 Short story	Commended	Afnan Ahmed Al- A’amar	Syria
  KS2 Short story	Commended	Muhammad Mahmoud Sobhyia	Syria
  KS2 Short story	Commended	Wijdan Nazir Al-Mohibani	Syria
  KS2 Short story	Commended	Abdelrahman Muhammad Al -Sanen	Syria
  KS3 Poetry	1st	Ola Abd Al-Razik	Al-Hashmyia School, Syria
  KS3 Poetry	2nd & Best in school	Nasihah Choudhury	Sir John Cass Redcoat Foundation School
  KS3 Poetry	3rd	Mohammed Tameen Asif Islam	Stepney Green College
  KS3 Poetry	Commended & Best in school	Taqiya Labiba	Central Foundation Girls School
  KS3 Poetry	Commended	Humairah Yasmin	Central Foundation Girls School
  KS3 Poetry	Commended	Madihah Begum	Central Foundation Girls School
  KS3 Poetry	Commended & Best in school	Muhammed Omar Hussain	Swanlea School
  KS3 Poetry	Commended	Riyann Chowdhury	Morpeth School
  KS3 Poetry	Commended	Waleed Hassan	Morpeth School
  KS3 Poetry	Commended	Humaira Uddin	Sir John Cass Redcoat Foundation School
  KS3 Poetry	Commended	Imaan Maya Ahmed	Sir John Cass Redcoat Foundation School
  KS3 Poetry	Commended	Esra’ Majid Al-Sa’aoor	Syria
  KS3 Short Story	1st	Umor Sahil	Sir John Cass Redcoat Foundation School
  KS3 Short Story	2nd & Best in school	Mabel Tahsin	Morpeth School
  KS3 Short Story	3rd	Azra Ali	Central Foundation Girls School
  KS3 Short Story	Commended	Faiza Ahmed	Central Foundation Girls School
  KS3 Short Story	Commended	Swahiba Begum Uddin	Central Foundation Girls School
  KS3 Short Story	Commended	Zaara Jabeen Zaman	Sir John Cass Redcoat Foundation School
  KS3 Short Story	Commended	Raghad Yousif Al-Rayes	Syria
  KS4 Poetry	1st	Rahma Mahmoud Shbat	Nimr School, Syria
  KS4 Poetry	2nd & Best in school	Abdul Khayam	Stepney Green College
  KS4 Poetry	3rd	Samirah Ahmed	Sir John Cass Redcoat Foundation School
  KS4 Poetry	Commended	Mahid Ali	Stepney Green College
  KS4 Short Story	1st	Abdul Khayam	Stepney Green College
  KS4 Short Story	2nd	Huda Walid Al-Halabi	Al-Mahditha Secondary School, Syria
  KS4 Short Story	3rd	Sulaiman Khan	Stepney Green College

  Please send details of any missing or misspelled names to jacob.turner@towerhamlets.gov.uk

  A creative writing link between children in Tower Hamlets and Syria

  This is My Dream is the second year of our creative writing link with Syria. The project’s  vision is to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere in schools in London for new arrivals, as well as providing a platform for children in Syria to tell their story to an empathic audience.

  The project builds on the Tower Hamlets Schools Library Service’s annual creative writing competition for Key Stages 2-5, and extends the competition to schools based in Syria, leading to a bi-lingual Arabic-English publication for and by children.

  The publication will be a collation of the winning contributions from both the Syrian and British cohorts and will be distributed to participating schools in Tower Hamlets and Syria, with a view to engaging pupils in a process of reading, discussing, interpreting and analysing the contributions of their counterparts, using tried and tested Global Learning methodology.

  This is My Dream

  Tower Hamlets Schools Library Service Creative Writing Competition will launch in January 2017 with winners announced following the Easter holiday.

  This year we have successfully bid for funding from the Arts Council to provide 25 author-led creative writing workshops to primary and secondary schools during the spring term. The aim being to inspire pupils and offer them expert advice on writing.

  The competition will also continue to link pupils in Tower Hamlets with young writers from schools in Syria. Work by children from both countries will be published by the Schools Library Services as a dual-language English/ Arabic book later in the year.

  Interpreting the theme

  This is My Dream builds upon the 2016 creative writing competition, Out of Place. The theme covers:

  • Children’s rights
  • Human Rights
  • Hopes and dreams
  • Journeys (metaphorical or otherwise)
  • Overcoming obstacles and challenges
  • Imagination

  Why take part?

  This year the competition is a way to engage pupils with global issues including children’s rights, human rights, and the crisis in Syria. Guidance on these topics will be provided in partnership with the HEC Global Education Centre

  Pupils taking part in the competition are encouraged to engage with literature and to read around the themes in order to inspire their own writing. Schools participating in our creative writing competitions have expressed how they have seen pupils develop in confidence, knowledge and in their ability to write.

  To take part

  1. Register your school. A fee of £30 to cover judging and prizes, is payable via SLA online
  2. Choose the date for your author writing workshop. If you are one of the first 25 schools to register, contact the Schools Library Service to arrange your free workshop
  3. Children write the stories and poems! Guidance and promotional posters will be sent upon registration.
  4. Send us your shortlist of up to 10 entries for each category (short story or poem) by Friday 7^th April 2017 for the final judging.

  Online resources to support the theme

  Selected online resources chosen by the HEC Global Education Centre

  Children’s Rights : A Teacher’s Guide

  • http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/file/docs/childrensrights_teachersguide_1.pdf

  What Makes Me Happy series from the Ragdoll Foundation

  • https://www.youtube.com/user/RagdollFoundation/featured

  UNICEF Child’s Rights Launchpad

  • https://launchpad.unicef.org.uk/

  UNICEF Teaching Ideas and material

  • https://teachunicef.org/teaching-materials/topic/child-rights-crc

  16/11/2017

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  KS3 SLAMbassadors 2017

  

  We are delighted to announce that the Said Foundation, through their new Amal Project, is to help fund our annual KS3 Slambassadors Poetry Slam that the Schools Library Service delivers in partnership with the Poetry Society each year.

  The aim of the grant is to celebrate the diversity of Muslim cultures through art and education, and so this year’s workshop leaders will be chosen from new and exciting British Muslim poets identified as a result of this project.

  Pupils work with the visiting poets to write and perform their own poetry using the theme “identity”, and the best performances from our Slam are entered into the National SLAMbassadors final later in the year.

  We have had several national winners from Tower Hamlets schools including NAGA (Oaklands School), Sadia Ahmed (Swanlea School), PACE (Oaklands School), Samilah Naira (Mulberry Girls School) and last year the wonderful Cold Fire Crew from Bow School.

  The Slam is part of the Schools Library Service Creative Literature Package, and so secondary schools who have already signed up for this will receive a refund to reflect the funding received.

  Secondary Schools who do not have a subscription to the Schools Library Service are invited to take part at a much reduced cost – the amount depending on how many schools wish to take part.

  The Slam consists of:

  • 2-day masterclass with students from across the school years
  • Performance/ assembly from the spoken word poet
  • INSET for teaching and library staff
  • A Showcase slam event at Soho Theatre on Thursday 6^th July 2017
  • Filmed poems entered into the national youth slam championships and uploaded to the SLAMbassador You Tube page (with consent)

  Please contact the Schools Library Service by Friday 12^th May to take part this year.

  • email : gillian.harris@towerhamlets.gov.uk
  • phone : 020 7364 6428

  [associated_posts]

  27/04/2017

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  Tower Hamlets Book Award 2016

  And the winner of the 10th Tower Hamlets Book Award is…

  

  The finale was hosted by the fantastic staff of Canary Wharf Group at East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf and we would like to thank Dale Pile, John Garwood, Helena Poland, Chris Handley and all of the staff who helped make the day such a success.

  The winning book appeals to children’s sense of utter injustice as it begins with Luke just nipping out to the loo at the very moment an alien lands in their tree house and gives his brother Zack superpowers – a most unworthy recipient, in Luke’s opinion. Luke knows all there is to know about superheroes, and Zack could not be more uninterested, and so Luke must overcome his insane jealousy and help Zack do what he has been given the powers to do and save the world!

  

   Thirty-five schools attended the finale at East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf on Friday 25^th November 2016 when eight schools performed a presentation about their favourite book. Cyril Jackson Primary School took the prize for their interpretation of the winning book. David Solomons, Jo Nadin, Sally Nicholls and Ross Welford were the shortlisted authors kindly agreed to come along and judge this competition.

  

  Eight prizes were awarded in the art and writing competition, where children were invited to write or draw a response to one of the books. Winners were :

  Madeena Ahmed (Marner); Aliyah Hussain (William Davis); Yusra Miah (Cayley); Khadijah (Lansbury Lawrence); Inaya Mehrin (Cyril Jackson); Harry Constantine & Zain Niemoller (St Mary and St Michael); Tanbeer Rahman (Marner) and Mahdi Adnan (Cayley)

  David Solomons and the other short-listed authors are available to visit schools for writing workshops and talks.

   

  “Children need to be enthused to read and if they are, this will become a springboard for their achievements throughout the curriculum.”

   (Report of the Inquiry into Overcoming the Barriers to Literacy, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Education, 2011)

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  #THBA16 The Books!

  The six books have been  chosen from the 80 books represented in the 2016 Teen Book list and the 2016 Must Read Book list.

  

  The Green Bicycle by Haifaa Al Mansour

  Wadjida lives in Saudi Arabia where attitudes about gender consider it improper for girls to ride bicycles. But she is a rebel, and when she sees the bicycle of her dreams, she devises different ways to make money to buy the bike for herself. She has to confront the issues of conforming to the rules of her society and the importance of her family to make her dream come true.

  The Monkey’s Secret by Gennifer Choldenko

  It’s San Francisco at the dawn of the last century, and fear of a plague epidemic has caused Chinatown to be quarantined. Lizzie Kennedy is more interested in investigating these rumours and learning to be a doctor than acting the perfect little lady that she’s expected to be, so when she finds a strange boy hiding from the mob in her attic, she’ll need to act fast to put together the pieces of the puzzle…

  My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomons

  Luke loves comics and he’d love to be a superhero. So it’s just his luck that when an alien who can grant superpowers does turn up, he misses out because he’s too busy having a wee! Instead his brother Zack is given the task of saving the universe. And Zack’s never read a comic book in his life!

  An Island of Our Own by Sally Nicholls

  Siblings Jonathan, Holly and Davy are struggling to avoid being taken in to care after the death of their mother. When the family’s wealthy but eccentric Great-Aunt Irene has a stroke, they go to visit her. Unable to speak or write, she gives Holly some photographs that might lead them to an inheritance that could solve all their problems. But they’re not the only ones after the treasure…

  Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin

  Thirteen year-old Joe returns from school to discover that he is being left home alone for the May half term holiday. His mum and her disreputable boyfriend are going to Spain, and leaving him in the flat to fend for himself with an inadequate supply of food, and only £20 for the electricity key.  It is fun at first, eating what you like, watching TV all day and playing Xbox games all night. But the novelty soon wears off and when his mum does not arrive home at the end of the week things start to become very difficult. Along comes Asha, visiting her grandfather next door, and persuades him that things are bad enough to run away…

  Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford

  Al Chaudhury’s birthday presents included a hamster called Alan Shearer, a tin tub, and a laptop left to him by his father. Apparently they’re a time machine (the tub and laptop, not the hamster). He’s also been left a letter, also from his dad, written before he died, instructing him to travel back to 1984 in order to save his life…

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  About the Book Award

  The award is just one of the exciting events made possible by subscriptions to the Tower Hamlets Schools Library Services, and is a free event for all subscribing schools.

  The Book Award is for pupils aged 10 to 13. The aim is to encourage children to read, to bring children together to enable debate and discussion about books and to encourage children to share the pleasure of reading.

  

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   Why join in?

  Because the award bridges primary and secondary schools, it encourages pupils from different phases to share in reading events and work together.

  Schools who have taken part in the award have found it to be highly beneficial in encouraging children to broaden their reading range and develop their literacy – not just in reading but also in speaking and listening, as a core part of any book award is discussion and debate.

  The award, and the primary and secondary booklists, encourage pupils to make their own choices about what they read, and to discover new and exciting authors and stories.

  Schools have the opportunity to attend the grand finale, meet authors and generally have a great time. This year the finale will move to a new venue where we’ll be able to host even more guests than usual!

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   Your FREE set of books!

  All subscribing Tower Hamlets Schools received a free set of the short listed Book Award books in September 2016. Canary Wharf Group have made this possible this year.

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  How to join in

  The next Tower Hamlets Book Award launches in July 2017 when the shortlist will be announced.

  Eligible for the shortlist are new books published in paperback in 2016 for ages 8 to 13. These books will feature on our 2017 upper KS2 and secondary/ teen booklists.

  For more information about the award, or to suggest books for 2017, email jacob.turner@towerhamlets.gov.uk

  [associated_posts]

  30/09/2016

• 

  KS3 Poetry Slam 2016

  The Tower Hamlets SLAMbassadors Poetry Slam took place at the Soho Theatre in the West End on Thursday 14^th July where budding poets from four secondary schools performed alongside professional poets and rappers. A total of 17 young poets and rappers took to the stage in the performance showcasing the skills they had learned during Masterclass workshops held in school during the previous two months. An additional Performance Workshop the evening before prepared them for the stage, to speak without notes, to own the stage and enjoy the dynamic between audience and performer. In short, the workshop was aimed at increasing confidence and self-expression.

  Extraordinary talent was demonstrated on the Soho Theatre stage last week! Working on the theme “Identity”, powerful imagery flowed from the stage and the audience was bowled over by the emotion and passion with which the poetry was delivered.

  The Showcase format allowed for the young spoken word artists to fully celebrate their voices in a supportive and dynamic atmosphere. There were no winners; they were all winners. Certificates were presented to each of the performers and their performances are being considered by the poetry society for progression to the National Slam event next year.

  The event was hosted by poet Joelle Taylor and headlined by poet, vocalist and MC Joshua Idehen.

  The Tower Hamlets Poetry Slam is one of a package of creative literature events available from Tower Hamlets Schools Library Service. Contact gillian.harris@towerhamlets.gov.uk for more details.

  Taking part this year were:

  • Sir John Cass Secondary School
  • Stepney Green Maths Science and Computing College
  • Swanlea School
  • Central Foundation Girls School

  Bow School and Morpeth School also took part in Masterclasses, but sadly, were unable to attend the Slam on the day.

  [associated_posts]

  22/08/2016

• 

  Out of Place : Creative Writing Competition 2016

  Order copies of the Out of Place paperback book

  I’ve recently had a number of enquiries about additional copies of the paperback edition of the Out of Place anthology of winning entries, including Arabic translations of some of the winning UK entries and the original Arabic text of the winning Syrian entries.

  The original print run covering one free book for each participating school was possible thanks to a grant from the Arab British Centre.
  Copies are now available to buy in paperback from Amazon.

  The winners

  The winners of Out of Place, the 2016 Tower Hamlets Creative Writing Competition have been announced!

  The prize-giving was held at Clifford Chance, with grey weather failing to dampen spirits despite spoiling the view. Guest speakers included Alia Alzougbi, head of the HEC Global Learning Centre, who spoke of the Syrian connection of the competition and who read out the work of Yousif Al-Kahal, winner of the KS2 short story category from Al-Noor school in Syria. Nadine Kaadan, the children’s author who judged the Syrian entries, and Kim Slater, winner of the 2015 Tower Hamlets Book Award, who judged the Tower Hamlets entries.

  

  Download/ buy the Book

  • Please be aware that the original Arabic texts of the Syrian writing are only in the .pdf and paperback editions. The eBook editions contain the English translations only.
  • [media-downloader media_id=”12747″ texts=”Download the .mobi format eBook”]
  •  [media-downloader media_id=”20759″ texts=”Download Out of Place (English and Arabic) pdf edition”]
  • Download Out of Place / Far from Here pdf edition
  • Link to the eBook and paperback on Amazon

   

  Congratulations to all of the prize winners. To register for the 2017 competition, order via SLA online. Contact jacob.turner@towerhamlets.gov.uk for more information.

  KS2 Poetry Winners

  Place	Category	Name	School	Title
  1st & best in school	KS2 poem	Tazbid Chowdry	Halley Primary School	‘Please let us Stay’
  2nd & best in school	KS2 poem	Penny Gould	Chisenhale Primary School	Refugee
  3rd & best in school	KS2 poem	Tanzila Ahmed	Blue Gate Fields Junior School	How I wish
  commended	KS2 poem	Nasifa Begum	Halley Primary School
  commended	KS2 poem	Isobel McGrath	Chisenhale Primary School	What’s the point of racism?
  commended & best in school	KS2 poem	Elysia Morton	Sir John Cass Primary School	Refugee
  commended & best in school	KS2 poem	Rojin Keefe	Guardian Angels Primary School	You never forget
  best in school	KS2 poem	Shamia Akhtar	John Scurr Primary School	My Refugee Poem
  best in school	KS2 poem	Ariana Dewhurst	Globe Primary School	Make a Change
  best in school	KS2 poem	Fahmida Naima	St Pauls Whitechapel Primary School	Out of Place

  KS2 Short Story Winners

  Place	Category	Name	School	Title
  1st	KS2 Story	Yousif Al-Kahal	Al-Noor School (Syria)	A Child’s Dream
  2nd & best in school	KS2 Story	Fergus O’Sullivan	St Elizabeth Primary School	Refugee Story’
  3rd & best in school	KS2 Story	Oumou Gassama	Canon Barnett	‘How?’
  commended	KS2 Story	Sabrine Denbri	Halley Primary School	‘The Refugees’
  commended & best in school	KS2 Story	Namira Sandhu	St Annes Primary School	James’ Journey
  commended	KS2 Story	Angela Vassilakis	St Elizabeth Primary School	Out of Place
  commended & best in school	KS2 Story	Safiya Begum	Cayley Primary School	Runaway
  commended	KS2 Story	Abdallah Abu Aeesha	Al-Ehssan College (Syria)
  commended	KS2 Story	Mahmoud Al-Aarabnyea	Al-Noor School (Syria)	A Story That Occurred One Day
  best in school	KS2 Story	Sumaiya Sany	Hague Primary School	I could feel Hope
  best in school	KS2 Story	Sanjeedah Ali	Malmesbury Primary School	Out of Place
  best in school	KS2 Story	Deborah Momoh	Our Lady and St Joseph Primary School	The Journal
  best in school	KS2 Story	Farhana Aktar	Marion Richardson Primary School	The Refugee Catstrophe
  best in school	KS2 Story	Archie Pyke	St Saviour’s Primary School	Out of Place

  KS3 Poetry Winners

  Place	Category	Name	School	Title
  1st & best in school	KS3 poem	Nasif Islam	Stepney Green School	Out of Place’
  2nd	KS3 poem	Syeda Najah Ali	Central Foundation Girls’ School	Out of Place’
  3rd & best in school	KS3 poem	Sam Mossop	Morpeth School	‘The Boats’
  commended	KS3 poem	Saimah Begum	Central Foundation Girls’ School	Life as a refugee
  commended	KS3 poem	Belal Ahmed	Stepney Green School	The Lone Refugee

  KS3 Short Story Winners

  Place	Category	Name	School	Title
  1st & best in school	KS3 Story	Lamisa Farhat	Central Foundation Girls’ School	Out of Place’
  2nd	KS3 Story	Raneem Al-Kahlos	Al-Ehssan College (Syria)	A Flower Blossoms From Under The Rubble
  3rd	KS3 Story	Raghad Mohei Al-Deen	Lahen Al-Hayat (Syria)	The War
  commended	KS3 Story	Sajidah Alam	Central Foundation Girls’ School	‘Home Sweet Home’
  commended	KS3 Story	Tahmeed Abdullah	Stepney Green School	‘Out of Place’
  commended	KS3 Story	Jasmin Rahman	Central Foundation Girls’ School	Every story deserves to be heard
  commended	KS3 Story	Muhammad Abir Choudry	Stepney Green School	Survival
  commended	KS3 Story	Ammar Hamada	Al-Anater School (Syria)	A Syrian child discovering the real meaning of homelessness
  best in school	KS3 Story	Muhammed Ibrahim	Bow Boys Secondary	The story of the Refugees

  KS4 Poetry Winners

  Place	Category	Name	School	Title
  1st	KS4 poem	Piah Uddin	Central Foundation Girls’ School	‘From inside a Black Hole’
  2nd & best in school	KS4 poem	Muhammed Towid Ahmed	Stepney Green School	Home
  3rd	KS4 poem	Sulaiman Khan	Stepney Green School	‘Out of Place’
  commended	KS4 poem	Aafrin Al-Mamun	Central Foundation Girls’ School	The right to rights
  commended	KS4 poem	Nadeem Mahmud Malek	Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat School	Thralldom

  KS4 Short Story Winners

  Place	Category	Name	School	Title
  1st	KS4 Story	Syeda Subha Anjum	Central Foundation Girls’ School	Wandered’
  2nd	KS4 Story	Saima Uddin	Central Foundation Girls’ School	‘If’
  3rd	KS4 Story	Tamanna Hussain	Central Foundation Girls’ School	‘Trapped and Isolated’

  The theme of Out of Place is refugees, and this year the Tower Hamlets Schools Library Services and the HEC Global Education Centre will be running the competition concurrently with Tower Hamlets schools and with schools for Syrian children.

  The winning entries from both countries will be published together for World Refugee Week 2016.

  The competition is for upper KS2 (years 5 & 6), and KS3 and 4 and ran from January to June.

  Approaching the themes

  Pupils should be encouraged to approach their writing in a way that best suits them and that will inspire their best work.

  This section will be updated over the term. Please contact us if you wish to share ideas here.

  Suggestions of issues to discuss related to refugees

  • Famous people who children may not recognise as being refugees
    • Judith Kerr (Germany to UK)
    • Albert Einstein (Germany)
    • Anne Frank (Germany to the Netherlands)
    • Anish Kapoor (Iraq to UK)
    • Marc Chagall (Russian-born Jew)
    • Sir John Tenniel
    • Bob Marley (Jamaica to US)
    • David and Ed Miliband (sons of a Belgian-Jewish refugee family)
    • Lenin (Russia to Switzerland)
    • Chief Sitting Bull (fled America to Canada)
    • Jesus (Israel to Egypt)
    • Muhammad (Mecca to Medina)
    • The current Dalai Lama
    • Jackie Chan (Hong Kong to US)
  • Challenge popular stereotypes in the media
    • The ‘wealthy’ refugee
    • The economic migrant driven by greed/ “Benefits Scroungers”
    • Criminals/ terrorists
    • Unskilled/ unqualified
    • A ‘drain on society’
    • “We’ve no more room”
  • Navigating a new society and trying to fit in
    • Child refugees and families
    • Finding employment
    • Language barriers
    • Dealing with prejudice
    • Refugees who may not be able/ allowed to make use of their skills/ talents
  • Conditions that the refugees are fleeing / why do people choose to leave their homes?
    • War/ civil unrest
    • Persecution (social, religion, ethnicity)
    • Famine/ natural disasters
    • Political freedom
    • Looking for a better life?
  • Where dopeople go when they leave their own country?
    • Across the border
    • Rich countries / poor countries
    • Life in a refugee camp / on a boat /staying with family
    • Looking for family
    • Areas of the world where there are refugees
  • Historical examples that pupils may be familiar with
    • Kindertransport and Nazi Germany/ the Holocaust
    • Soviet Russia
      • Where are refugees coming from today? (figures for 2014: Source: United Nations High Commission for Refugees, 2015 report)
    • Syria (3.9m)
    • Afghanistan (2.6m)
    • Somalia (1.11m)
    • Sudan (666,000)
    • South Sudan (616,200)
    • Democratic Rep. Congo (516,000)
    • Myanmar (479,000)
    • Central African Republic (412,000)
    • Iraq (369,900)
    • Eritrea (363,100)

  Other ideas for addressing the theme of ‘out of place’

  • Exploring personal identity
  • Recognition
  • Isolation/ alienation
  • Moving to a new home/ school
  • Foster families/ people in care
  • Fantasy genres
    • Time travel
    • Parallel worlds
    • Space travel/ science fiction

  Resources to support the theme

  The Schools Library Service has a large collection of fiction and non-fiction resources to support teachers and writers with this competition.

  You may also request resources on the topic of refugees using our online form

  Examples of stories on the topic of refugees

  We have compiled a short list of fiction titles here that address the topic in different ways.

  • Michelle Lord : A Song for Cambodia. Based on a true story about Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge
  • Gillian Cross : After Tomorrow. British children find themselves in a French refugee camp following Britain’s financial collapse
  • Karen Lynn Williams : Four Feet, Two Sandals. Based on the lives of Afghan refugees living in the Peshawar Refugee Camp.
  • Armin Greder : The Island. When a man is washed up upon the shore only a few lone voices welcome him. The others not only force him to leave, but turn their island into a fortress to prevent more arrivals.
  • Shaun Tan : The Arrival. Fearing what is to come, a father flees his country to make a new home for himself and his family. A wordless story that looks at starting a new life in a strange country and explores the many reasons people have to leave their homes.
  • Frank Cottrell Boyce : The Unforgotten Coat. Chingis and his brother, refugees from Mongolia, are determined to fit in with their Liverpool schoolmates
  • Roald Dahl : James and the Giant Peach. A young boy flees persecution by his family
  • Various : Superman. An alien child is sent to Earth to prevent his death from an environmental disaster. As he grows up he learns to use his talents to benefit his adopted home.
  • Michael Bond : A Bear called Paddington. The story of a refugee who enriches the lives of his adopted family and community
  • Geraldine McCaughrean : Not The End of The World. Noah’s daughter discovers a stowaway on the Ark
  • Benjamin Zephaniah : Refugee Boy. A fourteen-year-old’s journey through the British immigration system
  • Mary Hoffman : The Colour of Home. Having fled the war in Somalia, a child uses painting to express his feelings and experiences
  • Mary Williams : Brothers in hope. The story of an 8-year-old boy travelling across Africa, fleeing war in Sudan
  • Kathy Beckwith : Playing War by . A refugee child, having fled the conflict that killed his family, finds it difficult to join in with his new friends when they invite him to ‘play war’.
  • Karen Lynn Williams : My name is Sangoel. The story of a refugee child who feels out of place in his new country

For more information, email jacob.turner@towerhamlets.gov.uk