7 July 2014 12:16

More than 250 sixth formers from across the UK have competed in the second annual Lancaster Writing Awards.

First Prize in the three categories of literary criticism, prose fiction and poetry was £100 and publication in the literary journal Cake.

The awards were judged by literary critic Distinguished Professor Terry Eagleton, poet Professor Paul Farley and novelist Dr Jenn Ashworth, all from the Department of English and Creative Writing.

First Prize for Criticism went to Jack Foden from Warwick School with a study of TS Eliot’s The Waste Land.

Professor Eagleton said this was: “A remarkably eloquent and sophisticated piece of critical analysis, impressively well researched, and with admirable sensitivity to qualities of poetic language.”

Second Prize went to Jasmine Simms from Greenhead College in Huddersfield and Third Prize to Maisie King from Camden School for Girls Sixth Form.  Chris Dobson from Runshaw College and Charlotte Petter from the Perse School were both Highly Commended.

The Poetry category was judged by awardwinning poet Professor Paul Farley.

First Prize was awarded to Jasmine Simms from Greenhead College for her poem “Like Horses”.

Professor Farley said: “It just has a lovely rightness, assurance, unity, inevitability and simple imaginative charge.”

Second Prize went to Joseph Davison-Duddles from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form and Third Prize to Esme Partridge from Oxford Spires Academy. Ila Colley from Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School and Cloe Geary from Cronton Sixth Form College in Cheshire were both Highly Commended.

First Prize in the Prose Fiction category, judged by award winning novelist Jenn Ashworth, went to Elizabeth Hillesdon from Winstanley College for ‘Heat’.

Jenn Ashworth said: “‘Heat’ is an evocative and direct piece of well controlled prose that created tension and suspense through dialogue and details of setting.”

Second Prize went to Amelia Morris from the Samuel Whitbread Academy and Third Prize to Caoimhe McColgan Downing from the City of London School for Girls.

Highly commended were Rebecca Kells from Winstanley College and Anastasia McMeeking from Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School. 

The prizegiving took place at the annual Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Sixth Form Conference on campus.