Once upon a car… Jaguar Land Rover celebrates World Book Day with creative writing competition
Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull manufacturing plant has created an inspiring creative writing competition as part of its support for nearby schools and to promote World Book Day.
The competition to nurture the next JK Rowling was designed to improve literacy and creative writing among Key Stage 2 children (aged 7-11) in schools across the Solihull borough and has received more than 150 car-themed entries.
The winning entry was written by nine-year-old Ella Powell from Coppice Junior School in Solihull.
Her story ‘Defender Saves Christmas’ was about the iconic Land Rover vehicle helping Santa on Christmas Eve. His sleigh had got stuck in a snow storm and Defender had come to his rescue so Santa was able to deliver all the presents to children around the world.
Fiona Duffy, Education Manager at Jaguar Land Rover who was also part of the judging panel said: “We were delighted to surprise Ella in her school and announce she was the winner, in front of her class. Ella’s story had great structure, characterisation and use of language.
“I would like to thank all the schools and children who have supported this competition. There were some great stories demonstrating the creativity, imagination and literacy of local pupils. “
Ella’s winning story will be read out at the Hay Literary Festival in May by children’s author Veronica Lamond. Her story will also be written up into a book where Veronica will produce the illustrations.
Veronica Lamond is best known for her well-loved Landybooks series which captivate children through the adventures of lovable, animated characters Landy (a 1956 Series I Land Rover) and Fender (a 1999 Land Rover Defender).
She said: “I am delighted to hear that so many children have actively engaged with this story writing competition.
“Literacy is a vital skill and creative writing inspires children to use their imaginations beyond their wildest dreams. It will be an honour to read Ella’s winning story at the Hay Festival.”
Jaguar Land Rover has a rich heritage in working with schools and has a dedicated Education Business Partnership Centre at the Solihull manufacturing plant.
The centre hosted nearly 6,000 students including 17 schools across the Solihull region in 2016.
It provides an interactive and practical approach to learning across all stages of the national curriculum as well as bespoke career programmes and plays an important part in the company’s Inspiring Tomorrow’s Engineers school STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education programme.
In December 2016, the facility opened its doors to female students to give them a deep insight into engineering and manufacturing careers.
The students aged 15-18 have all applied for Jaguar Land Rover’s Advanced and Degree Apprenticeship programmes. ‘Young Women in the Know’ is designed to inspire the next generation of female engineers, tackling the UK’s huge skills shortfall.