When pupils at the school submitted their stories to the BBC 500 Words Competition last year, they were also entered into a random prize draw.
The prize? A bundle of 500 books and a literacy Wall Art project, created by Promote Your School.
And now we can share the beautiful Wall Art design we installed at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Summer 2024.
Read on to find out more about the process of bringing this project to life. And see the impact the 500 Words Competition has had on the school.
BBC 500 Words is the UK’s largest writing competition for children aged 5 – 11 years. Children are encouraged to write a story they would love to read themselves. It can be happy, sad, fiction or non-fiction. The only rules are that it needs to be their own original idea and be 500 words or less!
Last year, the competition received thousands of stories from children across the UK. Spelling, punctuation and grammar were not marked. Instead, the creativeness and imagination were all that mattered!
During round one of judging, volunteer judges read the entries and shortlisted at least 5000 to progress to round two. Then, The Reading Agency submitted their top 50 stories.
Finally, the judges chose their winning stories to be published. The winning stories were performed by celebrities and the top 50 were performed by BBC Radio Drama voice actors. You can read some of these here.
In addition to the writing aspect of the competition, there are also a random prize draw. Every child who submitted a story, was entered into the draw.
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in North London were selected as the winners. They received 500 books AND a bespoke Wall Art project for their school library. Promote Your School, an education design agency based in the UK, donated the prize.
“This competition really brought back the love for writing. The children love expressing their own creativity and imagination and producing these wonderful stories” – Miss Nicholson, class teacher at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School.
Alison Fish, a Consultant at Promote Your School, contacted the winning school to visit them and discuss the prize.
She says, “I met with the team at St Joseph’s to discuss their Wall Art project. I was keen to find out where and what they had in mind. They browsed our Ideas Book to give them inspiration. The school explained what they hoped to achieve style wise provided the specific content they wanted, so we could create a design unique to them.
Next, we discussed the best area of their school for the Wall Art. They considered a couple of areas and eventually chose their school hall. This is where most pupils would see the Wall Art. They also felt that the hall would benefit from the addition of a makeover to enhance the area.
All departments of the school shared a quote about reading that was relevant to their subject areas. So everyone was included in the process and felt engaged. From here, I guided them through our design process. Our team made sure they were 100% happy when they approved the final designs. We printed the designs on premium vinyl. So it will last many years and won’t need to be maintained or replaced.
I’m delighted with the feedback we’ve received from the school – we were very pleased to be a part of the BBC 500 Words competition and look forward to supporting the competition again this year!”
The school’s motto has pride of place in the centre of the design – “We learn, love and grow with God at the centre”.
We brought the blue background to life with people, places and objects leaping off the pages of an open book. This shows the lifechanging magic of reading in action. We included quotes provided by each department at the school, to show how storytelling can cover all aspects of life – from sport and dancing to science and maths.
The design has transformed the school’s hall and brings an air of wonder to the walls.
“It has boosted creativity, it’s inspiring our students and you should hear the conversations that are happening as a result of this beautiful Wall Art!” – Miss Nicholson, class teacher at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School.
Want to stand the chance of winning your own bundle of books and a literacy Wall Art project? Entries are now open and will close at 9pm on Friday 8th November.
So why not encourage your pupils to submit their story and enter your school into the random prize draw?
You can find out more about the competition and the prizes here!
The BBC wants all children, of all abilities and backgrounds, to enter. So they are offering £50 National Book Tokens to schools with 50% of children on free school meals and three £10 tokens for their pupils! All schools need to do is submit at least one story and once the competition closes in November, they will contact schools directly and share the rewards.
Promote Your School is an education design agency with over twenty years’ experience. We create beautiful, bespoke Wall Art for schools, nurseries, colleges, universities and other learning provisions around the world.
Our service includes design, print and installation of long-lasting Wall Art. Our Wall Art is wipe clean and requires zero maintenance, so it’s a sustainable choice that delivers significant return on investment.
Get in touch to find out more about Wall Art for schools. Or browse our Ideas Book for inspiration on your next project…
We’ll visit your school to understand your goals, explain our process and provide you with a no-obligation quote.