or call 020 7404 3400
or call 020 7404 3400
Or call 020 7404 3400
Rosie Clarke submitted a story to the BBC 500 Words 2025 competition and her story was chosen as part of a random Wall Art prize draw. This means Rosie won a bespoke, literacy Wall Art project for her school; Mytham Primary School in Little Lever, Bolton.
Rosie also won a bundle of books for herself and her school. And she attended the BBC 500 Words winners’ ceremony in February. The ceremony took place at Windsor Castle and was a star-studded event to honour all the winners. Rosie, escorted on the day by her grandmother, met Her Majesty the Queen and BBC 2 presenter Sara Cox, who grew up in the same town as the school.
When Rosie submitted her story to the BBC 500 Words 2025 competition, she had many reasons to enter.
The competition allowed Rosie, alongside thousands of other children across the country, to express new and exciting ideas through writing. BBC 500 Words is an annual competition, and the focus is on originality and creativity.
Judges review stories based on their characterisation, plot, originality, language and enjoyment. They aren’t concerned with spelling and grammar. So this competition offers the chance for children to express themselves freely. Children like Rosie could enjoy the writing process and really unleash their creativity and originality.
The gold, silver and bronze winners of both categories received a huge bundle of books:
All winning stories were illustrated by children’s illustrators and published in a special 500 Words winners’ book produced by Oxford University Press. Illustrators included Korky Paul, Harriet Muncaster, Paula Bowles, Rochelle Falconer, Leigh Hodgkinson and Ken Wilson-Max.
As an added incentive for schools to enter, there was also a random draw to win a literacy-themed Wall Art project.
Rosie’s school won a fully bespoke designed Wall Art project to promote storytelling, fuel imaginations, boost vocabulary and provide stimulus for writing.
We worked very closely with key staff and pupils to bring the project to life.
Initially, we helped the school define their design brief. They wanted the design to inspire children to write, supported by a love of reading. The design needed to blend multiple imaginative settings together, so it felt immersive and layered with detail.
They also wanted us to include subtle objects to spark curiosity and encourage pupils to engage with the designs and discover more. These objects needed to be meaningful and relate to literature or to Rosie’s visit to Windsor Castle, where she met the Queen. We included a signpost to well-known places from children’s stories: Narnia, Hogwarts, Treasure Island, Oz, and of course, “Rosie’s Castle” as a nod to her trip to Windsor.
Mytham Primary School in Bolton has a big focus on reading for pleasure. The school has a Book Squad, which is made up of pupils who are passionate about reading. When we approached the school to work on their winning Wall Art project, the Book Squad played a key part.
They canvassed peers and researched which books should be featured in the bespoke design to ensure that every child could look at the wall and feel it resonated with them and their interests. Miss Findon, the school’s English coordinator, shared their ideas with us to include. The Book Squad also gave feedback on the designs we presented back to the school.
With the National Year of Reading highlighting the importance of relevance in encouraging children to read for pleasure, the pupils’ input was invaluable. By using student voice, we ensured the Wall Art design and content were perfectly tailored to appeal to pupils of all ages at the school. We loved seeing the school encouraging pupils to take ownership of the project, alongside the teachers who supported them throughout.
We were delighted to support the BBC 500 Words 2025 competition – this is our third year of partnership. Donating a Wall Art prize each year is our way of showing support to an incredible competition. As 500 Words directly encourages storytelling, creativity and self-expression.
These are very important aspects of educating the whole child. And, as leaders in designing for education settings, we see firsthand in our work with schools how important reading and writing are to children’s development and success.
Reading is the first step towards children becoming writers. Sadly, one in four primary schools in disadvantaged areas across the UK doesn’t have a library. At Promote Your School, we believe that every child deserves a space that inspires a love of reading – whether it be a large communal area, a purpose-built library, a quiet corner, or a transformed classroom wall. A space for reading encourages enthusiasm for writing.
So we loved creating this design for the school’s hall. Every pupil who uses the hall can enjoy the life-changing magic of stories in a large visual display and discover all the hidden gems within the design to inspire future story writing.
We’re already looking forward to next year’s BBC 500 Words competition!
We’ll visit your school to understand your goals, explain our process and provide you with a no-obligation quote.
