It must leave other parts of the country scared out of their wits.
Because whilst young writers from Norfolk to North Wales have had a couple of stories published in a new anthology, students from Nelson and Colne College have supplied a staggering SIXTY.
And amongst the often-cryptic tales penned for collection “Glitch,” the would-be Stephen Kings have produced a Twilight-Zone type thriller where time stands still and the gory story of a waiter turning-up for her shift at a restaurant – only to find a zombie eating the chef!
Student Harrison Clark’s (17) entry “7-56”, where the clock never moves beyond breakfast time, has given the Nelson and Colne College A-Level candidate the confidence to pursue a creative career. The English, Politics and Law student confesses that when he heard about the competition to get published in the Young Writer’s organised book, his, “mind was just full of ideas. The challenge really inspired me, and I now know that I definitely want to go onto university and do something creative with English.” Fright fan Izzy Curtis (16) cooked-up her entry, “A Breakfast Most Bloody” after gorging herself on zombie films. “It was a mad idea” joked the Whalley based A-Level English, Law, and Psychology student, “But then we are just scary people!” chipped-in Harrison!
Another person to get an albeit happy fright was Curriculum Leader for GCSE English, Roberto Garcia Lopez. “I have been teaching for 20 years and have never seen such imaginative ideas. But then the College promotes creativity like no other, and the project allowed the students to let-off steam and actually have fun!”
Whilst our horror duo is already creeping towards top A-Level results Roberto was particularly pleased that GCSE re-sit students also featured in the book. They included an English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) student with additional educational needs, who usually has difficulty expressing himself.
“These young people doing their GCSE in English for a second time have previously been told they are failures. We never see them like that, and I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to see the smiles on their faces when they saw their names published in a book” he continued.
“Glitch” invited young people to dream-up a story of fewer than 100 words, which contained a beginning, a middle and an end. The twist was that the finale had to surprise the reader – something that Harrison and Izzy certainly achieved! “I am not sure that we have created the next Roald Dahl with our tales of the unexpected” concluded Roberto, “but the students can now say with some pride, “I am a published author.””
Read more about the international Young Writers competition at https://youngwritersusa.com/contest/middle-high/glitch
Why not study English Language or Literature at Nelson and Colne College and get your creative juices flowing. Learn more at https://www.nelson.ac.uk/16-18/a-levels/english-language/ For English Literature courses, go to https://www.nelson.ac.uk/16-18/a-levels/english-literature/
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For further information
Please contact peter.gibson@nelsongroup.ac.uk
