Pupils who have been taking part in a
creative writing competition will be awarded for their poetic and literary
efforts at a civic ceremony tomorrow.
Hundreds of children from primary
schools across the city submitted entries into the Arooj creative writing
competition, with 35 pupils being short listed as potential winners. The winner
in each category will be announced tomorrow, Thursday 19 March, at a special
ceremony at Leeds Civic Hall.
The competition which is in its fifth year
is organised by Leeds City Council’s Inclusion team, is part of a project which
aims to increase attainment in pupils of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage and
is open to all primary aged pupils in Leeds. The aim of the Arooj project is to
work closely with the 12 primary schools with the largest populations of these
pupils to help to close the gap in attainment.
Media
opportunity
When:
Thursday 19 March 3.10pm to 3.30pm
Where:
Banqueting Suite, Leeds Civic Hall, Portland Crescent, LS1 1UR
The
winners of the creative writing competition will be awarded their prizes by Cllr Jane Dowson, deputy executive board member and Paul
Brennan, deputy director of children’s services.
Awards will be presented to winners
and highly commended pupils in each category. The winners will receive a book
and a special notebook to encourage their writing talents, highly commended
entries will all receive a book.
Entertainment will be provided by pupils
from Arooj schools and will range from Indian dance to dhol drumming, singing, and performing an extract from Macbeth. Peter Chand, a renowned story-teller
who has worked with the pupils during the year will also entertain the
audience with his riotous stories.
Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage
pupils are the largest ethnic minority group in Leeds comprising 6% of the
total school population. Attainment levels for these pupils is below their
peers both in Leeds and nationally, however the gap in attainment has narrowed
in recent years due to the hard work of the schools involved in the Arooj
collaborative.
The Inclusion team have developed a
creative curriculum project with a focus on Muslim heritage, which has had a
dramatic impact in terms of engagement and motivation of pupils and parents as
well as increasing attainment and attendance.
The team has also been developing
school to school support between the 12 schools involved in the project so that
they can benefit from each other’s expertise.
The categories for the Arooj creative
writing competition are:
KS1 (5-7 year olds) Short Story,
Poetry, Calligraphy
Lower KS2: (8 – 9 year olds) Short Story, Poetry,
Calligraphy
Upper KS2: (10-11year olds), Short
Story, Poetry, Calligraphy
This
year’s theme was “Going for Goals”. Here are some examples of the poems written by Leeds primary school
pupils for the Arooj creative writing competition 2015:
I
wish……
I wish I was exceptional
So I could achieve my goals
I wish I could be perfect
or even kick a ball
I wish I could be great
To score that winning goal
I wish I could fly
If only I could touch the sky
I wish I was confident
To run further than a mile
I wish I had the bravery
To put on that special smile.
By
Safa Sabegh, Y6 Harehills PS
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is the hardest,
Sacriest, toughest, most painful,
Challenging and demanding sport
But it is also the most amazing,
Beautiful and incredible one
And I love it and that is my goal.
When I’m in the gymnastics hall
I feel like a star!
By
Uzma Begum, Y6 Bankside PS
Goals
Growing up and working hard
Owning your own behaviour
Always trying hard
Learning about the world
Solving problems
By
Angadpreet Singh Grewal, Y2 Bankside PS
ENDS
For
media enquiries, please contact:
Emma
Whittell, Leeds City Council press office, on (0113) 2474713