Athlone pupil wins Western Cape Education Department essay competition
WON: Umar Jones
A Cape Flats leader was announced by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) as the winner of its 2022 Story Stars essay competition.
Umar Jones won first place in the annual creative writing competition, which is for all Grade 4 pupils in the Western Cape.
The stories are derived from the youngsters’ creativity, with new characters being introduced each year.
The Blossom Street Primary pupil came first for his story Battling the Bully, which had a unifying and important message about bullying.
The story also contained several imaginative characters such as Ashtastic the flying unicorn, which the animators were very excited to animate.
The young boy’s success was announced by Education MEC David Maynier, who visited the Athlone school on Thursday.
“The story was also chosen because of Umar’s use of the correct punctuation, spelling and vocabulary throughout his submission,” Maynier explained.
“I also congratulate his teacher, Miss Andrea Liddle, for inspiring her class to participate and produce such good creative writing skills.”
The runners-up are second-placed Blair Davids from Northwood Primary and Kenzo Segals from Rietenbosch Primêr, in third.
The competition was launched in 2020 and the stories of winners turned into animated films starring the young writers, which they can also narrate.
“Umar follows in the footsteps of our 2020 Story Stars winner from Philadelphia Primary School, Keschrie Booysen, and our 2021 winner, Xia du Toit from Laerskool Mikro, in the Story Stars hall of fame.”
The Story Stars winner received a tablet, book bag, and branded stationery, while the winning school received R10 000 for support materials.
Maynier also launched the 2023 Story Stars competition: “The 2023 Grade 4 learners of the Western Cape can now write the next instalment of Felix and Felicity’s Adventures.”