BBC 500 Word Competition
The BBC 500 Words short story competition, the UK’s most successful children’s writing competition, is underway again and it is the perfect opportunity to encourage Brentwood Prep pupils to demonstrate their amazing story writing and celebrate their excellent writing skills. Last year, five of our pupils’ stories went through to the second round and we hope for even more success this year.
Children are invited to write a story at home – there is no theme other than to write something that they would love to read themselves. The BBC website has many excellent resources including inspiration to get your child started and previous competition entries.
Stories should be sent to school (see below) and we will submit them on the BBC competition website; there is no need for parents to register separately. All entries will also be part of our Brentwood Prep 500 Words Competition. Our judging panel will choose the winning entry from each year group and prizes will be awarded. All entrants will also receive a certificate.
BBC competition rules state that stories must:
- Be 500 words or less (title is not included in the number)
- Be written by an individual and not a group
- Be a child’s own original idea
- Be prose, not a rap or poem
Stories must not:
- Give any personal details of the child, including his or her name
- Recount an historical event (but they can use a real person or historical character as a source of inspiration)
All stories will be judged on the following criteria:
- Characterisation
- Plot
- Originality
- Language
- Enjoyment
Only stories written on Google Docs or Word documents can be accepted. (Parents of younger pupils will need to type up their children’s stories without amendments). The title of the document must be your child’s name, form and date of birth. Please email entries directly to stylesv@brentwood.essex.sch.uk. The deadline for stories to be sent is Monday 3rd November at 6pm. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any entries received after this.
By sending your child’s entry, you are agreeing to the BBC Terms and Conditions. If you do not want the story to be submitted to the BBC, please email the entry directly to stylesv@brentwood.essex.sch.uk and include ‘not for BBC competition’ in the email subject.
Please note, the official BBC competition is only open to children who are five or older on 8th November but stories from all our Prep pupils are very welcome.
Thank you in advance for your support with this. We look forward to reading some wonderful stories very soon.
Have a fantastic half-term!
Miss Styles
Head of English