WIRRAL PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR LAUNCHED AT BIRKENHEAD SCHOOL
WIRRAL’ S SAM QUEK: FROM OLYMPIC GOLD TO THE JUNGLE
WIRRAL PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR LAUNCHED AT BIRKENHEAD SCHOOL
WIRRAL’ S SAM QUEK: FROM OLYMPIC GOLD TO THE JUNGLE
Staff and students at Birkenhead School were thrilled to be the hosts of the launch of this year’ s Wirral Paperback of the Year Awards.
The day was marked with a range of literary and artistic workshops and events, along with the discovery of the books that had made it on to the shortlist. Students from across Wirral will now have until June 2017 to enjoy the books and input their preferences for an overall winner to be selected.
One of the authors, Rhian Ivory, whose teen-fiction novel‘ The Boy Who Drew the Future’ has made the shortlist, attended the event to talk to the students about her books and gave aspiring writers hints and tips on how to hook readers in and how to get published. Rhian, who has shared an editor with JK Rowling, is currently writing her seventh book following a career as a teacher where it was her pupils who inspired her to get her first book published. Rhian said,“ It is really exciting to be here at Birkenhead School for the launch of the awards. To be on the shortlist and to be able to play a part in encouraging a love of reading in young people is a huge honour.”
The launch encompassed a cross-curricular theme involving English and Art showing how both subjects can play a role in creative writing through the development of character and setting using both words and visual effects. Groups of students looked at flash fiction to inspire them to create artistic works, including Ernest Hemingway’ s‘ For sale: baby shoes, never worn’ where a theme of‘ shoes’ was then expanded into creating their own characters and thinking about the types of shoes that they would wear. They were then tasked to create‘ giant’ versions of the shoes, which reflected their characters, for display.
Birkenhead School Librarian, Elizabeth Reeve, said,“ The day was incredibly interesting for the students and hopefully has inspired them to pick up a book and try something new, or to even try their hand at their own writing projects. We look forward to reading all of the books on the list and helping to decide the winner in June next year.”
Wirral’ s Olympic hockey player, Sam Quek has been confirmed in the line up for the new series of I’ m a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!
28 year old Sam Quek, who attended Birkenhead High School, rose to fame this summer after winning gold during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Talking about her forthcoming appearance in I’ m a Celebrity, Sam has predicted that she will play the role of“ games initiator” in the camp although she admits her phobias include: cockroaches, spiders, and anything small.
On taking part in the ITV show, Sam said:“ Yes I am really looking forward to the challenge but gosh going in the Jungle is way tougher than playing in that penalty shoot out in the Final of the Olympics. It has been such a whirlwind since I got back from the Olympics. We were just hockey players trying to achieve our dream and to come back as a Gold medalist has meant whatever we say is picked up immediately in the press. That is for me a complete life changer but some good things have happened. I am embracing everything and to have been given the opportunity to do I’ m a Celebrity is unthinkable and its just so crazy. I am so grateful’.
I’ m a Celebrity is aired on ITV and started on 13th November 2016 Good Luck Sam from your fellow Wirralians!
8 wirrallife. com