Knebworth House launches Herts schools story writing competition

Inspiring young writers – Knebworth House launches Hertfordshire Schools Story Writing Competition.

Knebworth is often described as a ‘treasure house of stories’, and is one of the country’s great literary houses. Knebworth has a long tradition of writing. Many members of the family have been authors or dramatists and many famous writers have visited the House. Charles Dickens was a regular visitor in Victorian times, performing plays in the Banqueting Hall with his friend Edward Bulwer Lytton. Today Bulwer Lytton is best remembered for phrases such as ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ and ‘It was a dark and stormy night…’

Taking ‘It was a dark and stormy night…‘ as a starting point, children from school classes from Years 3-6 (aged 7 – 11) across Hertfordshire are being asked to write a short story of up to 500 words.Teachers can submit up to 3 stories from their school. There is a fantastic prize to be won of an afternoon at the amazing Knebworth Park Adventure Playground for the winner’s whole class in June or July 2014, including transport to and from Knebworth by coach provided by Chambers of Stevenage.

There is also a family ticket for 4 people to Knebworth House, Adventure Playground & Park, Dinosaur Trail and Gardens for the author of the winning entry. The winning story will be printed in Hertfordshire Life for everyone to enjoy. There are three Runners up Prizes of a family ticket for 4 people to Knebworth House, park and Gardens. The winning stories will appear on the the Hertfordshire Life website and the Knebworth House website.

The Spring competition has been launched to co-incide with World Book Day, the Hertfordshire LitFest and Stevenage Festival of Writing. The competition is supported by Hertfordshire Life and Chambers of Stevenage. The closing date for entries is 4th April 2014. To enter, teachers should go to the education section of the Knebworth House website www.knebworthhouse.com/education to read further information about the competition and download an entry form.

Knebworth has held the Sandford award for excellence in heritage education since 2001. The educational programmes offer both variety and quality, with something for all key stages in curriculum areas including History, Science and Literacy with an emphasis on hands-on activities. Young people can enjoy finding out ‘From seeds to Cedars: How Plants Grow’, take part in the ‘Tudor Treasure Trail’ and ‘Victorian Ventures’ as well as exploring the garden in ‘Monsters and Mazes’. The gothic architecture and rich interior of Knebworth House lends itself to creative writing programmes. As part of Inspiring Young Writers, there is a new afternoon Garden Story Trail to explore, inspired by the magical setting and unusual features of the extensive gardens. For more information about Educational visits to Knebworth please see www.knebworthhouse/education or call the Group Bookings Team on 01438 810931

For more information visit http://www.knebworthhouse.com/