Tag: Green Pencil Award

Celebration honours winners of Edinburgh 900 writing competitions

A celebratory reception was held on Thursday at the City Chambers to honour the winners of two Edinburgh 900 themed writing competitions.

Hosted by the Lord Provost Robert Aldridge, the event recognised the creativity and talent of local writers who submitted original works inspired by Edinburgh’s remarkable nine-century history.

The two featured competitions included the Green Pencil Award 2024, aimed at school-aged children (P4 to S3) attending Edinburgh schools or home-educated in the city, and a city-wide poetry writing competition organised through Edinburgh’s library network, open to adult residents.

The Edinburgh 900 initiative commemorates 900 years since the Royal Burgh was established by King David I around 1124. In honour of this historic milestone, residents were invited to share their reflections, memories, and love for Scotland’s capital through poetry and storytelling.

Both competitions highlighted Edinburgh’s rich heritage, cultural vibrancy, and strong community spirit. Six winning entries from the poetry competition will be immortalised on exclusive bookmarks to be distributed across Council-run libraries throughout the city.

The winning poets will also be filmed reciting their work, with the recordings shared across the Council’s social media channels and preserved as part of the Edinburgh 900 archive for future generations.

The winners are: Shasta Hanif Ali, Eric Robinson, Rory Allison, Tricia Ronaldson and Suzanne Smith.

The Green Pencil Award encouraged young people to express their voices creatively in written form, with entries limited to one side of A4 and open to stories or poems in any style.

Twenty finalists were selected, with one crowned the overall winner and presented with the prestigious Green Pencil Award trophy and winner’s medal.

The Green Pencil was awarded to Preston Street Primary 7 pupil Ema Mene for her poem “To Edinburgh She Went” (pictured top).

Highly commended: Isobel Rhys-Davies, Cargilfield School (P6); Marcus Osborne, Bruntsfield Primary School (P6B); and Sofia Brown, James Gillespie’s High School (S1).

The Lord Provost Robert Aldridge praised all entrants for their enthusiasm and passion: “Creative writing ensures our stories are told and remembered. Edinburgh 900 is not only a celebration of the past but also a platform to inspire the future. These competitions show how deeply people care about the city and its legacy. 

“Edinburgh has long been a city where literature thrives, as we mark 900 years these wonderful written pieces provide another meaningful way to honour the city’s legacy through the words of its people. My congratulations to our fantastic winners.”

Green Pencil Award – Going, going, gone: Scotland’s wildlife in danger?

Our successful environmentally themed creative writing competition, open to all P4-P7 aged children in Edinburgh and, once again, to young people in S1-3, is running again this year.

A lot of attention has been given recently to climate change and its effects on the natural environment, so this year our theme is, ‘Going, Going, Gone -Scottish Wildlife in Danger?’ Continue reading Green Pencil Award – Going, going, gone: Scotland’s wildlife in danger?

Children’s writing competition: green fingers required!

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Young entrants to Edinburgh’s Green Pencil Award were immersed in their subject matter at the launch of the annual writing competition yesterday. Preston Street Primary School pupils explored the competition’s theme, Scotland’s Glorious Gardens, during a visit to Princes Street Gardens. Continue reading Children’s writing competition: green fingers required!

Stories with taste: Green Pencil writing competition launched

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Tasty treats were on the menu at the launch of this year’s popular Green Pencil Award writing competition yesterday, when Carrick Knowe Primary School pupils were joined by leading children’s author Vivian French for a food-themed story workshop.

This year’s Green Pencil theme is ‘Food for thought: Scotland’s food and drink’. Entrants can write a poem or story about a favourite meal, or a memorable Scottish picnic, a drink they love or hate, or perhaps even invent a new Scottish food!

Or they could think about the journey of a vegetable from being planted as a seed to ending up as part of a delicious, nutritious meal.

Budding writers can get inspiration by visiting local  libraries, which have lots of ideas and books to help, and also by asking in schools, which have resources available to support this award.

All entries can be made by following this link and should be no longer than one side of A4 – entries longer than that cannot be considered.

The closing date is Friday 9 October, with an awards ceremony at the Central Library in late November.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener, said: “The Council has been running this competition for eight years and it grows in popularity each time. We have so many budding writers with fabulous imaginations in our schools, and reading the entries is always a joy for our library staff.

“Reading skills are such vital aspects to learning, but also a really fun way of doing so. Thanks so much to Vivian for bringing it to life so vividly for these lucky pupils. Good luck to everyone who enters.”

Ms French said: “I love the Green Pencil Award, because it encourages children to look at the world around them, and to think about things they might otherwise take for granted.

“It inspires curiosity, consideration, and critical judgement … essential ingredients for everyone – especially writers!”

Pupils all aboard for writing competition

Green Pencil 1An annual creative writing competition with an environmental theme for primary school children has been launched in Edinburgh by local author John Fardell.

‘Scotland’s Seas’ is the theme of this year’s ‘Green Pencil Award’, which is run by The City of Edinburgh Council for P4 – P7 pupils.

They are being encouraged to write creatively about how the sea impacts on local communities, the creatures that live in them, seascapes, what the seas are used for and how we can look after them in Scotland.

Primary 7 pupils from St Margaret’s RC Primary School in South Queensferry helped launch the event at Queensferry Library where they took part in a special writing workshop to pick up tips from John Fardell, who writes and illustrates children’s books.

The competition is open to all P4-7 pupils in Edinburgh and entries can be submitted through schools or public libraries until October 10. The 20 finalists and overall winner will be chosen on October 30 with a prize giving ceremony at the Central Library on November 27.

To help support the Green Pencil Award, a series of Live Literature events involving schools will be held in libraries across the capital during September, with support from the Scottish Book Trust.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener for The City of Edinburgh Council said: ‘I’m sure this year’s theme of Scotland’s Seas will inspire our young people to show their creative writing skills and how much they care about the environment.

“The importance of writing to children’s education cannot be underestimated, and the Green Pencil Award complements the work going on in our schools and libraries to encourage this. It’s a very popular competition and I’m really looking forward to seeing another excellent range of entries from children throughout the city.”

John Fardell said: “I’m delighted to be involved with the South Queensferry Library launch event of this year’s Green Pencil Award. I’ll be encouraging the pupils to have fun tapping into what they personally find exciting as they develop their own pieces of writing, and I’m sure this year’s Green Pencil theme of Scotland’s Seas will be a great catalyst for everyone’s imaginations.

“I’ve spent quite a bit of time throughout my life on, in and occasionally under Scotland’s seas, and that’s certainly been a source of inspiration for much of my own writing and illustration work.”

The competition, run by Edinburgh City Libraries and Eco-Schools in Edinburgh seeks to: promote literacy and creative writing; demonstrate care and understanding of environmental issues; encourage learning; link to Curriculum for Excellence aspirations and strengthen partnership working between libraries, schools and other partners.

Prizes have been donated by a range of sponsors, including the Scottish Book Trust, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Seabird Centre and the Royal Scottish Zoological Society.

The creative writing can be either poetry or prose but must only take up one side of A4. For further information visit

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/greenpencilaward

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