As part of the Leeds 400 celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of the city receiving its royal charter in 1626, the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society held a creative writing competition for school children in the city.
The theme of the competition was ‘400 words to celebrate Leeds 400’ and stories not judged on grammar and spelling, but on Originality, Plot, Characterisation, Language, and Enjoyment.
90 entrants from 20 schools competed with Aleena from Beeston Hill St Luke’s C of E Primary School judged to be the overall winner. Alex from the same school was ‘highly commended’.
To mark the inaugural year of what will now be an annual competition, the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Cllr Stephen Holroyd presented a golden owl award to Beeston Hill St Luke’s C of E Primary School.
“The award features the city’s iconic owl emblem, a nod to the gold-leafed statues atop the Civic Hall. I was informed by the judges that they had a very difficult job making their decisions. I wanted to ensure the talents of all the young writers was also recognised, and gave each a gold pin badge of the golden owl, because their imagination and creative writing skills were so wonderful,” he said.
Here is Aleena’s story:
Deep in the heart of Millennium Square, a golden owl named Barnaby gave a giant yawn. He had been perched on top of a pole for a long time, but today was special.
“Wake up!” Barnaby hooted to the other stone owls across the city. “It’s been 400 years since Leeds became an official town. That’s older than your great-great-great-great-grandma’s socks!”
Barnaby decided to throw a party, but he needed a few things first. He zoomed over the River Aire, where 400 years ago, people were washing woolly sheep.
“I need some birthday cake!” he cried. He flew to Kirkgate Market, where the stalls were piled high with giant parkin and sweet treats. He grabbed a piece of ginger cake so big he nearly tipped over.
Next, he needed music. He flew to the Leeds Town Hall and tickled the giant organ pipes until they roared with a happy tune. Then, he soared over Elland Road, where the cheers of the fans sounded like 400 lions roaring all at once.
“But wait!” Barnaby realized. “A party needs a story!”
He swooped down to the Leeds Central Library. He found a magical book that had 400 pages, one for every year the city had been growing. On the first page, there were muddy fields and spinning wheels. In the middle, there were big steam engines and smoking chimneys. On the very last page, there was a picture of you—reading, playing, and dreaming in the bright, busy city of Leeds.
Barnaby landed back on his perch just as the sun began to set, turning the sky the same golden colour as his feathers.
“Happy Birthday, Leeds!” he whispered. “You’re 400 years young, and the best stories are still waiting to be written.”
Photo: Zöe Cooper
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What a brilliant story. Many congratulations to Aleena..
Such a great story and full of imagination well done to Aleena on winning this competition