Mr T Oulton (Principal), Miss M Winfield, The Mayor of Oldham Metropolitan Borough and Mrs V Stocker (Chair of Governors) at the renaming ceremony.
Hulme Grammar School is proud to announce the launch of the Winfield Literacy Award for Oldham, a new initiative aimed at promoting literacy and creative writing among young people in the local community.
This exciting program is inaugurated with the renaming of the school library to the Winfield Library, in honour of former headmistress Miss Margaret Winfield. The renaming ceremony took place on 26th June 2024 and featured Miss Winfield herself as the guest of honour, among other distinguished guests such as The Mayor of Oldham Metropolitan Borough.
This initiative is not just a milestone for Hulme Grammar School but a significant step towards addressing the literacy challenges faced by the wider Oldham community.
Recent discussions with Oldham Town Council have highlighted the urgent need to improve literacy rates, with local children currently underperforming in reading and writing compared to the national average. Additionally, alarming statistics reveal that as many as 40,000 children in Greater Manchester do not own a book.
In response to these shocking statistics, the Winfield Literacy Award for Oldham invites young people across Oldham to submit a short story to our competition. The award aims to ignite a passion for reading and writing, providing a platform for young writers to showcase their talents.
Our efforts will be supported by a series of creative writing and literacy workshops hosted at the newly named Winfield Library, designed to inspire and guide participants in crafting their entries.
We are delighted to collaborate with Madeleine Lindley Ltd., a local book supplier, who has generously agreed to sponsor one of the award categories. The prizes include:
- 1st Prize: £50 book voucher plus £500 in books for the winner’s school
- 2nd Prize: £25 book voucher
- 3rd Prize: £15 book voucher
“The competition will feature three categories, ensuring opportunities for a broad range of young writers. We would love to hear from other companies to join us as headline sponsors or to sponsor one of the categories.
“We believe this award will not only motivate our students but also reach out to the entire Oldham community, fostering a love for reading and writing among our youth,” said the Principal of Hulme Grammar School, Tony Oulton.
“We are committed to making a positive impact on literacy and we invite all local schools and young people across Oldham to participate.”
The judging panel will comprise distinguished authors, educators, and alumni, ensuring a fair and inspiring competition. We encourage all young writers in Oldham to seize this opportunity and submit their stories.
The competition features three categories based on age:
- 5 to 7 years old
- 8 to 13 years old
- 14 to 18 years old
Entries should:
- Be a story of no more than 500 words
- Be any genre or style that you prefer, but Oldham must be mentioned in one way or another
- Be sent as a PDF or Word Document via email to getinvolved@hulmegrammar.org
- Be sent along with the following information: Title of the story, name of the child, age, school (if attending), address and a phone number and email address (the parent’s if applicable)
- Be submitted by the deadline of Sunday 1st December 2024
In January 2025, during National Storytelling Week, Hulme Grammar School will host the Winfield Literacy Award Ceremony, at which the shortlisted entrants will attend along with our judges and guests.
At the event, our winners will be revealed, along with a special programme of events. Further details will be confirmed nearer the time, and all guests will be contacted ahead of the event.