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https://www.formbyhighschool.com/

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Take a look around.

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Welcome to Kingsley & Co!

Kingsley & Co is a project of Ykids children's charity. We aim to inspire children to exceed expectations and explore their imaginations through becoming engaged in literacy.

The shop is named after Mary Kingsley, a Victorian explorer, who defied the odds to travel the world and write all about what she had discovered.

Customer Reviews

We loved the secret doors, the brilliant books, the treasures all around and the cakes.

Thomas aged 7

and James aged 3

Simply boss! One of a kind-shop, just what Bootle needs, life and culture!

P.s Staff are brilliant and so interactive. Love and respect.

Best shop EVER. Brilliant books, magical and fun. This is better than any book shop. I would recommend this for anyone who is inspired by books. Thank you for inspiring more people.

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Literacy Project | Kingsley & Co | Bootle

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Welcome to Kingsley & Co, a Ykids led literacy project operating as a cosy cafe and book shop in Bootle, Merseyside. We host regular events for all age groups and provide regular workshops for schools and parents with their little ones.

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E-safety Guides for Schools | National Online Safety

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Ensure your school is compliant with our e-learning guides, including tips for keeping children safe when online.

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Read for Good

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Interview with Rory Branagan by Toby Ringland

Interview with Rory Branagan author Andrew Clover by Toby Ringland age 7

Toby: How did you have the idea for Rory Branagan - a boy who becomes a detective?

Rory: I got chicken pox when I was seven, and spent two glorious weeks reading The Secret Seven, and always wanted to write about a child who becomes a detective, but wanted the stories to be faster and funnier with real crimes and tough kids (not just posh Secret Seven kids who mainly drink lemonade in sheds).

Toby: Is he like a real person you know?

Rory: When I wrote it, he seemed so real, I really felt I knew him. Only afterwards did I remember my childhood best friend was a Dublin boy, who'd been adopted. He was amazing, but no one is exactly like Rory. I have some of his wild imagination and sense of FURY when things go wrong.

Toby: I would like to become a detective like Rory Branagan - would you like to be one or would you rather stay an author?

Rory: I passionately believe everyone would find life more exciting, if they were detectives. You must be curious, must find things out, must be BRAVE. I'd LOVE to be a proper detective, but also notice there is real detectiving all the time. I just tracked down an old school friend who'd disappeared.That was exciting. Plus you need to be a detective every time your mum says: 'I can't find my keys'. You need to work out where Mum came in the house, remembering how she tripped on a dog bowl...

Toby: The bit about unicorns in book two - The Dog Squad - made me laugh out loud.Your books are really funny! Have you always been funny?

Rory: I've always loved a laugh, and have learned more from being a comedian. I do loads of shows in schools. They are often wild, and I learn loads about what kids care about.

Toby: I love looking at pictures when I am reading a story - do you tell Ralph Lazar who draws the pictures what to draw, or does he give you ideas?

Rory: Yes, pictures make the books so much more welcoming. I also love Ralph, as well as his pictures, and when I'm writing, I'm always thinking of the things he loves to draw. He loves maps, and fantasy landscapes. Whenever I make Rory imagine a map, that's like giving Ralph a treat.

Toby: I've read books one and two and can't wait for the next one - when is it coming out?

Rory: Soon! 6th September. I just got my copy, and I think it's the funniest, fastest yet.

Toby: I have only just started reading books by myself and your books make me want to read more - have you got any advice for people like me when they are choosing which books to read?

Rory: The great thing about reading is you MUST find what you like, yourself. You explore. It teaches you what you like, and what you write. I'm only just exploring detective books myself. I find Agatha Christie boring, but LOVE Raymond Chandler, and it teaches me I prefer a brave detective who gets into danger, rather than a clever one, who seems to be solving a maths puzzle...I love fun and fantasy! Perhaps you're the same!

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Read for Good - become a 30-second author with our Storymaker

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Interview with Rory Branagan by Toby Ringland Interview with Rory Branagan author Andrew Clover by Toby Ringland age 7 Toby: How did you have the idea for Rory Branagan - a boy who becomes a detective?

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Find amazing facts about animals, science, history and geography, along with fun competitions, games and more. Visit National Geographic Kids today!

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Read for Good: motivating kids to love reading and helping disadvantaged children.

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Read for Good encourages children to love reading. We work in schools and hospitals across the UK to make reading accessible and fun.

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The Young Mathematical Story Authors (YMSA) competition is the world’s first annual international competition set up to encourage young mathematics learners (8-15 years old) from around the world to…

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Competition time! Design your dream cycling jersey and win a Frog bike!

Throughout January we are running an exclusive competition with Frog Bikes - this is your chance to get creative by designing your dream cycling jersey, using one of our Tools for Schools fun activities. The lucky winner will win a brand new Frog bike of their choice, courtesy of Frog Bikes, as well as a fantastic Frog cycling jersey to complete the look.

You will be able to enter the challenge from 4 January until 29 January 2021 - the winner will be chosen by judges from the Bikeability Trust and Frog Bikes teams.

You can find a template to use here: https://bikeability.org.uk/download/3786 - please be sure to make your design creative, fun and unique!

Just take a photo of your design or upload it to social media, making sure you tag both Frog Bikes and Bikeability Trust. Alternatively, email your entry to competitions@frogbikes.com. Please note: this challenge is for children to enter, but a parent/guardian must enter on behalf of a child.

Facebook: BikeabilityUK and FrogBikes
Twitter: BikeabilityUK and FrogBikes
Instagram: BikeabilityTrust and FrogBikes

Terms and Conditions
The Promotion
1. This Promotion (the "Promotion") is organised and hosted by Frog Bikes and The Bikeability Trust
2. The Promotion will run from 4 January 2021 up to and including 29 January 2021 (the "Promotional Period")
3. The Promotion is open to all residents of England and Wales aged over 18 or with the consent of a parent or guardian aged over 18. Employees and Trustees of Frog Bikes and The Bikeability Trust are unable to enter the competition.

Entry Requirements
4. To enter, participants must submit at least one image of their completed jersey design, using the downloaded PDF from the Bikeability Trust website ( https://bikeability.org.uk/download/3786). Entrants must upload their completed jersey design and tag at least one social channel of both Frog Bikes and the Bikeability Trust. Alternatively, entries can be emailed to competitions@frogbikes.com.
5. It is the responsibility of each entrant to ensure that any images they submit which include an identifiable person or persons have been taken with the permission of the person or persons pictured and do not infringe the copyright of any third party or any laws.

The Prize
6. The winning participant ("The Prize Winner") will win a Frog bike of their choice and a Frog cycling jersey from the online range ("The Prize")
7. The Prize is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash or an alternative prize
8. The winning participant ("The Prize Winner") will be chosen by a panel of both Frog Bikes and The Bikeability Trust employees. All qualifying entries will be judged on adherence to the Promotion challenge of a cycling jersey design, using the provided template, which is fun, creative and unique. Their decision is final.
9. The Prize Winner will be chosen and contacted via social media within 30 days of the closing date on 29 January 2021. The Prize Winner will then have 30 days to respond and claim their prize. The Prize Winner must consent that their details will be shared with Frog Bikes to arrange delivery of their chosen bicycle, via email. If there is no response after 30 days, a new Prize Winner will be chosen and contacted.

Promotional Rights
10. By submitting their entry to The Promotion, participants agree to grant Frog Bikes and The Bikeability Trust the right to free reproduction and exhibition of the entry in all media to promote Frog Bikes and the Bikeability Trust. The copyright of entry remains with the entrant.
11. Participants may be asked to take part in publicity activities, but their acceptance is not a requirement of the Promotion
12. Submission of an entry will be taken to mean acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.

For queries relating to this Promotion please contact:
marketing@frogbikes.com
Or
contact@bikeabilitytrust.org
Promotors: Frog Bikes Ltd, Unit 7-9 Silwood Business Centre, Buckhurst Road, Ascot. SL5 7PW.
And
The Bikeability Trust, Salisbury House, Station Rd, Cambridge CB1 2LA.

Challenges, puzzles, poetry, games, maths and amazing facts - all with a cycling theme. Use at school or home, with family and friends or on your own.

Download

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Bikeability | Family Cycling | Just For Fun Activity Pack

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Competition time! Design your dream cycling jersey and win a Frog bike! Throughout January we are running an exclusive competition with Frog Bikes - this is your chance to get creative by designing your dream cycling jersey, using one of our Tools for Schools fun activities.

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To celebrate the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature, the companion book to the Natural History Museum's epic new exhibition about J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World, we are giving away awesome Harry Potter goodies. All you have to do is design your own Fantastic Beast!
Click here to find out more about this incredible exhibition
The winne r

We're giving one lucky winner the chance to get their hands on:

A family ticket to see the Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature exhibition at the Natural History Museum (including up to £100 towards travel, plus one night's accommodation in London).

A copy of Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature and Illustrated Editions of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Runners up

Five runners up will each get:

A copy of Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature and Illustrated Editions of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

When Newt Scamander, the "author" of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them travelled around the globe, he encountered many magical species - from legendary creatures such as unicorns and dragons, to lesser known beasts including the Mooncalf (a creature that comes out to dance in the moonlight), and the Demiguise of the Far East (which is able to make itself invisible when threatened).

So let's get creative! We want you to create a picture of your very own Fantastic Beast, inspired by the creatures that Newt would've met.

You can draw/paint it by hand (or use computer). Give it a name and include a description of your creature's magical abilities.

To enter simply upload your creation to the form below. Good luck!

A family ticket is for up to 2 adults and up to 3 children. The winner of the Natural History Museum ticket must contact the Museum in advance by email to organise their visit at a mutually available time. The email address to contact will be provided to the winner once they have confirmed acceptance of the prize.

Moon Calf illustration by Tomislav Tomic © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2020

By entering our competitions you agree to the terms set out in our Privacy Policy and our competitionterms and conditions.

SIGN IN TO TAKE PART
or Register here

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WIN HARRY POTTER GOODIES! | National Geographic Kids

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To celebrate the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature, the companion book to the Natural History Museum's epic new exhibition about J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World, we are giving away awesome Harry Potter goodies. All you have to do is design your own Fantastic Beast!

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Lots of different competitions

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Young writer's competitions for children and teens aged 5-18

Please read our list of writing competitions for children. The contests are checked and updated each month. We are happy to feature writing challenges open to primary-age children, secondary-age pupils, and young adults in the UK. If you would like your competition featured here, please contact us. We are happy to feature competitions with at least one month remaining before the closing date. We have also compiled a list of recommended creative writing manuals and writing workshop activity guides suitable for use with KS1, KS2, KS3, and KS4 at the bottom of this page. New competitions are listed at the top of the page. Past and annual competitions are listed on the second half of the page below the horizontal line.

New writing competitions for children and teens

Annual (and past writing) competitions for children and teens
Please note - many previously annual competitions have been affected by lockdown/COVID during 2020-3. This is beyond our control.
Closing date in June

Alzheimer's Society poetry competition 'welcomes entries about dementia or people affected by the condition' and offers those under 18 the opportunity to enter up to three poems of 40 lines or less. Winning entries will feature in the October/November edition of Dementia Together magazine.

The Wells Festival of Literature offers young poets aged 16-25 the opportunity to enter poems of up to 35 lines on any subject for the annual Young Poets Competition. All entries must be in English.

Celebration Day writing competition - entrants are invited to write 250 words (primary) or 500 words (secondary) to tell the story of an inspirational person they know. There are five age categories: 5-7; 8-10; 11-13; 14-16; 17-18 & teachers. Full details and resources are available on the competition website and the Celebration Day website.

The Poetry of Science Competition - is open to children who go to school in Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire. The task is to write a 'terrific scientific poem'. Entries in three age group categories: Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Key Stages 3&4. The closing date is 11th June. There's a downloadable poster for classrooms here.

The Solstice Prize for Young Writers - open theme for either poetry - up to 40 lines, or short stories - up to 1000 words, aimed at secondary pupils. Categories for 10-13 and 14-17. The closing date is Saturday 20th June.

The Orwell Youth Prize - for secondary students aged 12-18, entries can be in any form, up to 1000 words. This year's task is to respond to this title: "The Future We Want". The closing date is 11th June.

The ISA Handwriting Competition is open to children in years 1, 2, 3-4 & 5-6 in ISA member schools, "to showcase their handwriting skills".

Cambridge University and SATIPS handwriting competition.

Closing date in July

The Young Wild Writer competition, run by Hen Harrier Action invites children aged 6-8, 9-12 and 13-16 to enter stories, poems, articles, prose or letters of up to 500 words on the theme of animal survival. Prizes include book vouchers and an online author visit to the winning child's school. Full details, including a downloadable poster, are on the competition website.

The Hampshire Young Poets competition is open to any young person aged 4-7; 8-11 or 12-16 "who lives or studies in Hampshire". Entrants can submit up to 14 lines of poetry on the theme of 'home'. Full details are on the competition website.

The Writing Tournament is a "free, not-for-profit writing competition for young writers which simulates the journey of a professional author". Run by author W.J. Kite, 8-16-year-olds can submit 750-word stories written in English on the theme "Unsung Heroes". There are two age categories - 8-11 and 12-16 - and the closing date is 31st July.

The Chester Cathedral Young Poet's Competition is open to UK students aged 16-18 and invites original poems of up to 40 lines. For further details and this year's theme, please see the competition website. The closing date is 17th July.

Foyle Young Poets competition - for 11-17-year-olds, the competition welcomes "poems on any theme and any length". Closing date 31st July.

Stephen Spender Trust poetry in translation prize - the challenge is to translate a poem from any language into English. There are three categories for young people: U18, U16, and U14. The top prize is £1000. The closing date is 17th July.

Ledbury Under 18's poetry competition. Two categories - 11 and under and 12-17 request poems of no more than 40 lines in length. There are cash prizes or book tokens for the winners. Deadline 15th July.

HG Wells short story competition.

The Lewis Carroll society is running a competition that includes categories for up to 16 and 16-20-year-olds who invite young writers to create a missing chapter of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking-Glass. Full details are on the website link and the competition closes on 3rd July.

Closing date in August

3-18-year-olds can enter the Potential Plus creative writing competition. Entries can be poems, short stories, essays, statements or plays. There are categories for KS1, KS2 and secondary school pupils. There's a comprehensive guide to the contest on their website. The closing date for online entries is 24th August.

Atom Learning's Young Author Award 2022 offers 7-9-year-olds and 10-11 year-olds the chance to win a trip to Disneyland Paris. Children can enter fiction stories of up to 500 words inspired by the theme "A Day That Changed The World". There's also a free creative writing activity pack to download. The closing date is 31st August.

The Man Up! Creative Writing Competition is open to young people aged 15-25. Inspired by the Man Up! exhibition that highlighted 'stories of women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who stepped into male roles', entrants are invited to submit short stories and poems inspired by the women and stories in Man Up! There are categories for 15-17-year-olds and 18-25-year-olds, and full details are on the competition's website. The closing date is 15th August.

Goldsmiths University of London is running a series of competitions for 16-18-year-olds who are invited to a short story, a piece of journalism with a historical angle, or a piece about identity and culture. The Young Writer, Young Columnist, and Young Anthropologist competitions close on 2nd August.

Cinemagic Young Filmmaker - open to films on any subject from young filmmakers aged under 25. The prizes include winning films being screened in cinemas.

Young Muslim Writers Award - open to UK children and teens in KS1, KS2, KS3 and KS4 who can submit a short story or poetry - and in KS3 and KS4, this is extended to also include journalism, screenplays, and play scripts. Full details are on the website. The closing date is 13th August.

C.A.B.B publishing is running a short story competition for children. Full details are available on their website.

Closing date in September

The Patricia Eschen Prize for Poetry invites children worldwide to enter poems written in English of up to 40 lines, on any theme, on 'any subject that kindles your imagination. The closing date is 30th September.

The Ottery Literary Festival is running a young writers' competition open to children and young adults aged 18 and under for flash fiction stories of up to 500 words. This year's theme is 'trapped' and full details are available on the competition webpage. The deadline is 30th September.

The National Museum of Computing has organised a poetry competition open to 5-18 years olds, in honour of WW2 code-breaking heroine Betty O'Connell. Entries should be "on the theme of community spirit, individual achievement, unsung heroes and those who inspire them." The deadline is 15th September.

The Curious Tales story competition offers children up to 16 the chance to win two tickets to the Harry Potter studios by entering stories of up to 3000 words. The deadline is 1st September. Full details are available on the competition website.

The Style of Wight Children's Writing Competition - children who live on the Isle of Wight aged 7-11 and 12-16 can submit stories of up to 500 words on any subject. The deadline is 2nd September.

The Betty Haigh Shakespeare Prize - open to "any sixth-form student of English Literature". There are two options, both with detailed entry criteria which can be viewed on the competition website. The closing date is 1st September.

Closing date in October

Poetry Together Competition - children in the UK aged 5-18 are invited to enter poems of no more than 14 lines on the theme of 'Laughter and Tears' by 12pm on 25th October. Full details are available on the competition website.

The Yorkshire Festival of Story Children's Story Competition invites short stories from UK children aged 7-12 that 'feature a woodland creature or creatures.' The deadline is 9th October.

Royal Geographical Society School Essay Competition - an annual competition, run in association with the Financial Times, for 16-19-year-olds, with a closing date in October.

The Young Walter Scott Prize is dedicated to historical fiction, defined as "in a time before you were born", and this competition has two age categories: 11-15 and 16-19. Entries can be prose, poetry, drama, fictional letters, or reportage. The closing date is the end of October.

The Solstice Prize For Young Writers, organised by Writing East Midlands, invites children and teens aged 7-17 to write 'imaginative short stories (up to 500 words) and provocative poems (up to 40 lines)'. The competition offers cash prizes and an anthology of the best entries. There are three age categories: 7-11, 12-14 and 15-17 and the closing date is 31st October.

Saugus Halloween story writing contest.

Closing date in November

The East Riding Festival of Words runs an annual poetry competition. This year's theme is 'My Wonderful World'. Entries of up to 45 lines are open to children aged 4-10 and 11-16 and there are cash prizes for the winners. The closing date is 30th November.

The Tadpole Press 100 Word Writing Contest is a worldwide competition open to writers of all ages. There's an entry fee for this one, with cash prizes and writing development packages on offer for the winners. The deadline is November 30th.

Wenlock Olympian Society Short Story Competition - open to students aged 16+ who are invited to write a story on any theme of up to 2500 words. Full entry details are on the Wenlock website. The closing date is 23rd November.

One Teen Story - story submission site for teenagers. The deadline is 27th November.

The Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize for writers aged 18-25 invites entries of 1000-1500 words on a Franklin quote which changes each year. The deadline is 30th November.

Closing date in December

Closing date in January

The Cheshire Prize for Literature is open to children and teens in two age group categories: 4-11 (who can enter poetry and short stories) and 11-18 (who can enter poetry or short stories). This year's theme is open. Entrants must have lived, worked or studied in Cheshire and the closing date is 31st January.

The Immerse Essay Competition offers teens aged 13-18 the opportunity to write an essay choosing from a range of topics including architecture, science, law, international relations, medicine, economics, creative writing and many more. There are two age groups: 13-15 and 16-18. The deadline is 4th January.

North Eastern University London is running an essay competition for students in year 12. Pupils can submit up to 1,500 words, choosing from a range of set essay titles that span a broad range of topics including humanities, philosophy, social issues, the law and creative writing. There are cash prizes for the top three entries and the closing date is 16th January.

The Korean Spirit & Culture Promotion Project Essay Contest is an international competition open to children in two age group categories: years 6-9 and years 10-13. There are cash prizes for the top three entries and honourable mentions in each category. Full entry details are available on this information poster. All submissions must be submitted by 15th January.

The Herne Hill Lit Fest is running a "Stepping into Stories" competition for children aged 4-7, 8-11 and 12+. The theme is "bouncing back". Entries can be written stories, drawings, comic strips, poetry, raps, or digital animations. There are book token prizes for the winners and the closing date is 14th January.

Bournemouth Young Writers prize - open to children in years 3&4, and years 5&6 and stories can be "about anything you like". Prizes include £150 worth of books. The closing date is 16th January.

Rotary Club International Young Writer competition.

Closing date in February

Bright Light Education Creative Writing Competition for children aged 7-13. This annual competition returns in 2023 and is open to all children in the UK, with three age categories - 7-9, 9-11 and 11-13. Entries need to be a 500-word story (full criteria on the website) inspired by Joseph Coelho's advice on the website. Closes on February 28th.

The Royal Society of Literature invites students aged 13-18 to write up to 500 words about "the writer from the past that most inspires them". Prizes for the "History is in the Making" competition include book tokens for both entrants and the school, and the closing date is 10th February.

The Hugo Young Award - held in memory of Guardian political columnist Hugo Young, this competition encourages "fresh voices" aged 16-18 and 19-25 from UK state schools to pen political opinion pieces. Highly recommended for students studying A-level politics, sociology or looking towards a career in journalism.

Perse Research's Year 9 Aristotelian Award is open to students in Year 9 or equivalent. Entrants are invited to write between 800-1500 words from a choice of topics and essay titles spanning arts, humanities and the sciences. The competition aims to promote independent study and research. The deadline is 20th February.

The Canterbury Tales Writing Competition - annual - open to all school pupils and home-educated children. There are three age categories: 5-10; 11-14 and 15-18. The 2023 theme is "Promises Promises". The closing date is February 28th.

The Elmbridge Literary Competition is open to children (free) in four age group categories: 5-7; 8-11; 11-13 and 14-18. The theme for 2023 is "The Road". Short stories or poems can be entered.

The Japan Society is running a haiku competition. Children aged 15 and under can enter a haiku on the theme of "towns". Full details are available on the competition website. Entries must be received by 28th February 2022.

Voices - a writing competition, run by the charity Coram Voice, which is open to children and young people who are in or have experience with the care system.

Christopher Tower Poetry Prize - open to young adults aged 16-18.

Closing date in March

Humanimal Trust Creative Awards 2023 - children and teens aged 7-18 can share their creative skills on the theme of 'Connectivity' and/or 'One Medicine' in four age group categories: 7-11; 12-14; 15-16 & 17-18. Full details are on the competition website.

Young Songwriter 2023 - "The world's leading songwriting competition for young aspiring songwriters, aged 8-18". Children are invited to enter up to five songs. There are three age group categories for UK children and teens: 8-12; 13-15 & 16-18. Full details are on the Song Academy website.

Never Such Innocence - The 2023 theme is "What does war mean to you?" and to enter, children and teens can 'share thoughts on how people, communities and countries build a life after conflict using poetry, art, speech and song'. There are four age group categories (9-11; 11-14; 14-16; & 16-18) and full details are on the competition website. The closing date is 10th March.

The BBC Young Reporter Competition is open to children and teens aged 11-18 who "want to report on a story or issue which is important to their life or the world around them".

Young Financial Journalist Competition - open to secondary students aged 14-15, 15-15, 16-17 and 18-19. "We are seeking well-argued articles from students aged 14-19". The closing date is 18th March.

Fitzwilliam College Cambridge is running a series of essay competitions aimed at pupils in their penultimate year of education before university - ie Year 12, S5 or Y13 (Northern Ireland). Entries (written in English) are welcome from around the world. With six categories: Ancient World and Classics, Archaeology, History, Land Economy, Medieval World, and Architecture; this competition is highly recommended for 6th formers and could provide useful evidence for university applications, a starting point for an EPQ project, or a talking point for an admissions interview. The deadline is 3rd March.

Chiltern Bookshops is running a children's writing competition open to reception, year 1 and year 2 children; years 3-6; and 11-16-year-olds in secondary schools. Full details of word limits and story titles are on the website. The competition will be judged by Cressida Cowell. The closing date is 12th March.

The BBC Young Writer's Award - is open to 14-18-year-olds who can submit a piece of original fiction of up to 1000 words. Highly recommended.

The Portico Sadie Massey Awards feature two competitions open to children. There's the KS2, KS3, KS4, and KS5 Young Readers Competition (write a book review - any genre - on any subject) and the Young Writers competition, open to pupils in KS3,4&5 (write a story based in the North of England.)

The Girton College Humanities Writing Competition - open to Year 12 students in the UK, the writing task is based on five objects in the college's antiquities museum.

The Royal Mint runs an annual competition for primary school pupils aged 8-11 who can enter short stories of up to 500 words. Prizes include books for the school library. For this year's theme and entry details, see the competition website.

The Lowry's Creative Writing Challenge is open to children aged 7-11 from across Salford and Greater Manchester. "Pupils can draw on all aspects of writing for performance", and enter writing of up to 500 words including poetry and stories or up to three minutes of playscript.

Closing date in April

In association with The Times and FIPP, Pitch Magazine is running a Young Sports Journalist competition. Students aged 14-24 can enter an article of 700-800 words in response to the question prompts on the website. There are four age group categories: 14-17, 17-19, 19-21 and 21-24 and there's a £150 prize for each winning entry.

Tadpole Press is running a worldwide 100-word writing contest open to writers of all ages. 100 words can be submitted in any genre. There is an entry fee for this competition and there's a cash prize for 1st place and writing coaching and editing packages for the 2nd and 3rd places. The deadline is 30th April.

UK-RAS is running 'Once Upon a Robot' - an up to 800-word short story competition for 7-11-year-olds in the UK. Children are invited to write a story - in any genre - involving a robot.

The Writing Bee organised by Boom Writer offers children an exciting opportunity for children attending schools or those who are learning at home. The competition runs from January to April as an in-school contest, and from April to May as an online competition.

Author of Tomorrow - run by the Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation, the Author of Tomorrow prize aims to find adventure writers of the future. Young people under 21 can submit entries between 1500 and 5000 words (under 500 words for primary-aged pupils). The prizes are £1000 for the 16-21 age group, £100 and £150 in book tokens for the 12-15 age group, and £100 and £150 in book tokens for the 11 and under age group. The closing date is 29th April.

The Day 'Young Journalist Awards" are open to anyone under 19 (under 10 and 11-18) and entrants can submit a written article, a video clip, an audio piece, photography, an illustration or a graphic in any one of 12 subject categories. Full details including how to enter are on the competition website.

Closing date in May

The D.H. Lawrence Children's Prize: Writing Competition 2023 is open to students aged 11 and under and 12-16, who can enter up to 500 words on the theme of "my neighbourhood". Prizes include Kindles and book tokens.

Primary children aged 5-7, 7-9 and 9-11 from Dorset can enter the Bournemouth Writing Festival Schools' Competition. The competition is run in association with AFC Bournemouth.

Inspired by the curiosity and imagination of Martha Mills, The Martha Mills Young Writers' Prize invites young people in the UK aged 11-14 to enter under 500 words of "writing that is lively, unusual or otherwise original". This year's theme is "The Stranger" and there are full entry details on the competition web page.

War Through Children's Eyes is open to children aged 7-17 and aims to "raise awareness of the impact of wars and violent conflicts on the communities caught up in them, and particularly on the most vulnerable members of those communities: their children". Entries of up to 1000 words are invited, there are vouchers for the top three entries and full details are available on the website. The closing date is 10th May.

The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition is open to young people under the age of 19. The competition features a starter paragraph and invites entrants to write under 1000 words to continue the story. The closing date is 22nd May.

First News Education School Newspaper of the Year Competition. (Not running in 2023) Open to primary schools, secondary schools, and special schools. Will this become the long-term successor to the legendary Daily Telegraph competition from the 90s and 00s?

SATIPS poetry writing competition. (Not running in 2023)

Undated or open

The Scottish Book Trust runs monthly mini-sage 50-word story writing competitions for children aged 5-11 and 12-18, with a different theme each month.

Wordhound runs a monthly creative writing challenge for children aged 12 and under, who can send in 300-word stories "of funny, weird or otherwise unique writing" on a different subject each month.

Kids' Poetry Club runs a variety of competitions for primary and secondary-aged children, with a new theme announced every few months.

The Young Poets Network runs regular writing challenges and competitions, which can be viewed on their website.

BBC Today Student Journalism Awards - annual. this competition features a variety of journalism categories, including journalism (any medium), broadcasting, visual and photojournalism, criticism, publication, and programme. Entrants must be over 18 and in full-time UK higher education. The prizes include places on highly coveted BBC Journalism Trainee Schemes (paid positions).

BBC Writers Room is inviting speculative screenplay submissions of at least 30 pages from young scriptwriters aged 16+ in the UK or the Republic of Ireland.

Blue Things Zine invites young writers aged 13+ to write articles and stories under 1500 words for consideration for publication.

Scholastic We Are Writers - not a competition per-se, but lots of ideas for literacy and writing projects with the aim of getting your pupils published. Ideal for fundraisers or whole-school writing initiatives.

Inkhead short story competition and writing clubs.

Amnesty International has a series of online resources - 'Words That Burn' - to inspire teenagers to write about human rights, equality and discrimination.

National Literacy Trust competitions page.

Readers' Digest Competitions. - including a 100-word story competition for children.

The Guild of Food Writers Write It - Young Food Writer of the Year - is open to children up to 18 in three age categories.

Live Canon: Children's Poetry Competition - for young people aged 5-18.

For a non-competitive option, the John Muir Award offers schools an opportunity to "encourage people of all backgrounds to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places." Through an award scheme, pupils can create a dossier of experiences, challenges and presentations to demonstrate how they have discovered a wild place, explored it, done something to conserve it and shared their experience. A good option for larger groups, classes and year groups, this award requires teacher input and planning. Suitable for year 4 through to secondary-aged pupils.

The First Story Young Writers Festival offers pupils a day-long online festival with workshops, resources, interviews with writers, showcases for young writers, resources and CPD for teachers. This is a fantastic resource to inspire children to write for publication and would make a great starting point for pupils considering entering writing competitions. (Note the festival is not running a competition of its own).

Resources for creative writing in schools and at home

Below is a collection of books recommended to inspire children to write - whether it be creative writing, nonfiction, or poetry.

Write Like a Ninja: An essential toolkit for every young writer by Andrew Jennings

This cracking guide to using vocabulary and grammar effectively in KS2 is designed to be used independently by children. Ideal for homework, home learning and SATs revision, this is a useful and worthwhile resource to help build confidence and inspire children to write with greater ambition and accuracy.

For more competition ideas, have a look at our public speaking and debating contests.

Browse our list of Children's Book Publishers in the UK

Peruse our list of magazines for children and teens

Why not have a look at our suggested reading lists for children aged 3-16?

Please respect copyright and don't copy or reproduce our reviews. Thanks.

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A list of creative & non-fiction writing competitions for children in the UK, including contests for poetry, stories, handwriting & essays.

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Cabin Fever

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Cabin Fever Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Audiobook

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The Week Junior is an award-winning current affairs magazine for children aged between 8 and 14. It's delivered weekly, and is filled with fascinating stories and information, written to engage curious minds. Subscribe today and get your first 6 issues free.

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Use BBC Bitesize to help with your homework, revision and learning from KS1 to GCSE. Find free videos, step-by-step guides, activities and quizzes.

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The Day is an online daily newspaper for young people. We publish analysis of the news that provides context for debates that explore the deeper currents shaping our world. All resources are created by our own team of journalists to help schools teach critical thinking, real-world knowledge and civic engagement. They are available in five different reading levels for children between the ages of 5 and 18.

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The Day is an online daily newspaper for young people. We publish analysis of the news that provides context for debates that explore the deeper currents shaping our world. All resources are created by our own team of journalists to help schools teach critical thinking, real-world knowledge and civic engagement.

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The home of news and fun facts for kids. Find out what is going on, with stories, pictures and videos. Try a quiz or one of our free games.

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Collins at Home

Free resources to support your child's learning at home

Collins at Home Blog

Tips and advice for parents

Collins Secondary dictionary

Online dictionary perfect for secondary students

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Free resources to support your child's learning at home Tips and advice for parents Online dictionary perfect for secondary students

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Encyclopedia.com | Free Online Encyclopedia

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Encyclopedia.com - Online dictionary and encyclopedia with pictures, facts, and videos. Get information and homework help with millions of articles in our FREE, online library.

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Explore virtual 3D tours of galleries and exhibitions at National Museums Liverpool.

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Fun Stuff! Fab freebies and Kool downloads Wow! This page is packed with groovy things for you to download for your computer, ideas for holding your own Friendship Festivals, recipes, activity sheets... the list is endless! Widgets - Make your own cupcake and share it with your friends! Download Wallpapers!

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Hello! I'm Cressida Cowell, the Waterstones Children's Laureate and the author and illustrator of How to Train Your Dragon and The Wizards of Once. On my cha...

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Roald Dahl Stories

From Sophie's adventures with the BFG and James' journey on the Giant Peach, to Matilda's brilliant bravery and Charlie's first step into the world of Wonka - Roald Dahl stories celebrate the incredible potential of young people and the power of kindness.

(And they really are brilliantly entertaining!)

Find out more

This week The Witches at the National Theatre opened to outstanding critical acclaim. Take a look at what critics have been saying about this brand-new production.

Roald Dahl in the Classroom

Bring the magic of Roald Dahl stories to life in your classroom with our YPO-sponsored lesson plans, spanning the full curriculum!

Created to align with Key Stage 1 and 2 learning objectives, our free lesson plan are designed to add a touch of Roald Dahl magic to the curriculum, from English, Maths and STEM to Art, PSHE and Geography.

Find out more

You can see a number of your favourite Roald Dahl stories reimagined for the stage.

Our new Theatre Division has been hard at work with a host of playful and talented songwriters, circus artists and playwrights to create a series of mischievously brilliant new theatre shows... which will be popping up around the UK very soon.

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The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre is an independent charity, founded in 2001 by Roald Dahl's widow, Liccy. Their founding objective as a charity is to further the education of the public in the art of literature and creativity, by running a museum and literature centre based on the works of Roald Dahl.

Since the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre opened their doors in 2005, they have used the example of Roald Dahl's creative craft to show that what he did, YOU can do too. More than a million people have visited the Museum to date, including an average of 10,000 school children every year.

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From Sophie's adventures with the BFG and James' journey on the Giant Peach, to Matilda's brilliant bravery and Charlie's first step into the world of Wonka - Roald Dahl stories celebrate the incredible potential of young people and the power of kindness.

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Join the The World of David Walliams to be the first to hear about new David Walliams books, special offers, free activities, live shows, events and more!

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Official webpage of Bren MacDibble, Australian/NZ, Children's writer.

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This way for all the latest news and information about J.K. Rowling and her writing.

This way for younger readers, who want to find out more about J.K. Rowling and her children's books.

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J.K. Rowling is the author of the much-loved series of seven Harry Potter novels, originally published between 1997 and 2007. Along with the three companion books written for charity, the series has sold over 500 million copies, been translated into 80 languages, and made into eight blockbuster films.

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One of the loveliest things about being an author is that I often get asked to review books, especially those of debut writers. Just before Christmas my publisher sent me a manuscript they thought I'd like, and from the moment I read the first sentence ...

The Widdershins sisters are back in a tale of kidnap, witchery, pirates and shipwrecks! A Sprinkle of Sorcery, the sequel to A Pinch of Magic is out now. Officially, the publication day is Thursday, 6th February, but early copies are already trickling ...

Jumping jackdaws! Here's something to shiver your timbers: the magical trailer for A Sprinkle of Sorcery, created by Simon & Schuster using Melissa Castrillon's beautiful cover artwork. The book is released on 6th of February 2020 in the UK. You ca ...

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One of the loveliest things about being an author is that I often get asked to review books, especially those of debut writers. Just before Christmas my publisher sent me a manuscript they thought I'd like, and from the moment I read the first sentence ...

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Be inspired and discover your child’s next favourite book with the BookTrust Bookfinder: search by theme and age, from babies and toddlers all the way up to teenagers.

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The Best Children's Box Sets - Great Gift Ideas for Young Readers this Christmas

Knowing how challenging it can be to encourage some children to read, we know the deep joy that comes with them finding a character or a story that really speaks to them, that they grow to love, and they want more, more, more of.

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LoveReading4Kids exists because reading matters, and books change lives. Support local schools through the LoveReading4Kids bookshop. 10% off RRPs, and 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice. Sharing book love with children's book reviews and book recommendations right across the ages, from toddlers to teens.

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Take a look at our coastline.

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Southport

Running away to the fairground

Ask Norman Wallis to list some the places in Merseyside his family has taken their fairground rides and attractions to and he's still going a minute or two later.

London Road, Dale Street, Fox Street, Great Homer Street, Arkwright Street, West Derby Street, Liverpool ONE, St George's Plateau, Vauxhall Road, Mill Street, Fazakerley, Seaforth, Bootle Stadium, Litherland, Old Roan, Aintree Racecourse, Maghull, Crosby, Formby, Dovecot, Sefton Park, Newsham park, Stanley Park, New Brighton, Moreton, Hoylake, West Kirkby, New Ferry, Bromborough, Birkenhead Park, Tranmere, Victoria Park, Raby Mere, Borough Road, Rock Ferry - for more than 150 years they have being putting a smile on the faces of people looking for an escape from their everyday lives.

Since 2007, Norman has been the owner of Southport Pleasureland, taking it over when it was a deserted, crumbling wreck and turning back into a family-friendly, very traditional fairground with a ghost train, dodgems and carousels that many of us remember from our childhood.

But he also has big plans to transform the rest of the site using the latest entertainment technology.

He says: "Rides and attractions, having the wind in your hair is something you can't do when you're sat in front of the computer. It's an experience you do with other people. People like to be with people and interact.

"Hopefully we're part of that, making people's memories, memories that last forever. We've done it for about 150 years and we're going to continue."

Norman's ancestors moved to Liverpool in the 1840s when one of them married an Irish woman called Anne Morgan and was disowned by his family: "We've all been Scousers after that."

He has photographs of Wallis-built rides dating back to about 1900 - a unique treasure trove not only of his family history but also of the history of British fairgrounds.

The Wallises designed and constructed their own rides, sometimes bringing carvers over from Italy to do some of the work.

Attractions that seem quite twee and nostalgic to us now would have been genuinely cutting-edge at the time.

They started as mapmakers and publishers, which naturally moved into photography and then cinematography. At a time when there were no fixed cinemas, Norman's ancestors would travel round with a screen showing films.

Then came the carousels, which unexpectedly did not all feature beautifully-painted horses. On one, from around 1900, you sat in a motor car to ride, on another on a motorbike. There was also one with bicycles on that you pedalled as you went round.

"If you can imagine, no-one would have seen motorcars when that was out," says Norman.

"It was like seeing these new rockets that Tesla's trying to get the moon. It would have been like magic."

During World War II, the Wallis family opened in Seaforth using blackout covers to stop the light escaping.

Norman says: "My uncle was in the fire brigade at the same time so he's told me stories of having to put arms and legs together after the bombing of the docks in Liverpool. We've really been immersed in the city's history.

"My dad was one of the first people to couple together amplifiers to create stereo sound. The only records that were available were of trains or ping pong balls because people couldn't get the concept of stereo, so you could hear the ball going ping on one side or pong on the other."

Sent to a boarding school in Southport, Norman would run away to Southport Pleasureland. After a few weeks he was moved to another one further away where he didn't know anywhere to run to.

He trained up in every part of the family business, from building rides to promoting them and eventually used his skills abroad, working in places including Dubai and Canada. He was brought in by the President of Kazakhstan to build entertainment complexes in his new capital city. Later he became marketing manager for First Leisure Corporation, which at the time operated Blackpool Tower, the town's Winter Gardens and its piers as well as other entertainment complexes.

Norman says: "I never really left in my heart. You go away to learn and discover and adventure and help other countries but this has always been my home.

"I'm back here now to do it for Merseyside. To make this the destination for families. What people want is immersive experiences and we're going to create those here so the rest of the world can come and see it.

"Now we're talking about augmented reality and 3D. Basically technology's caught up with the imagination now. The things that can be done are absolutely fantastic."

Plans revealed so far - and there are others Norman says he can't yet discuss - include a dinosaur park featuring animatronic dinosaurs and full-scale models, as well as a Viking-themed adventure golf, a zip-wire across the lake, a multi-storey car park and a hotel.

But the gentler forms of entertainment will not be forgotten. Part of the land leased from Sefton Council includes the Lakeside miniature railway, originally built in 1911.

Norman says: "We get people in their 70s and 80s saying 'we've been on this every year since I was a kid'.

"I've had the opportunity to do all sorts of things but I just feel very lucky to be in this industry. When I see people come here and they're smiling and you can see the kids are loving it, it's just great.

"If I can bring some joy and happiness to people, what could be better than that."

Formby

The unexpected film star

If Martin Scorsese decided Formby Beach would be the must-have location for his next blockbuster he would have to get past Gordon White first.

Gordon, 49, is countryside officer for Green Sefton, the team that looks after Sefton Council's green spaces, and an unexpected part of his job of protecting the coastline involves dealing with film crews.

Over the past 10 years, this stretch of coastal land has been used as a location for movies, TV dramas and documentaries, adverts and pop videos.

Monster trucks have driven along the beach, massive catering lorries with bottles of gas have parked near the sand dunes - and it's Gordon's job to make sure they don't damage the environment or harm the wildlife that includes protected species such as red squirrels and natterjack toads. Even when that means saying 'no' to big shot directors who aren't used to hearing that word.

Gordon says: "In the past there have been quite large scale productions here for two to three weeks at a time, transporting gear across routes that we wouldn't normally use for vehicles.

"Normally I deal with one or two people per shoot but I rely on them to then make sure that the rest of the crew are aware of why we've set things up the way we have.

"I've turned up at shoots before where the location managers have moved on to their next job and the directors and the production team are all there not following what's been agreed. So that's caused a bit of friction on occasion."

Sometimes the directors haven't been to the location at all before filming begins, having chosen it from photographs.

Gordon says: "On day one of the shoot the directors and the production managers arrive not having specifically been to the location and all of a sudden their reaction is 'right we'll do it over there'. My response to that is 'I'm really sorry but you can't do that'."

Many productions apply directly to Sefton Council for permission to use the land, while others come through Liverpool Film Office, the organisation that promotes the city as a location for shooting and enables it to be used as one.

Recent productions have included the TV film of Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution, starring Kim Cattrall, and last year's prime time BBC mini-series War of the Worlds with Eleanor Tomlinson and Rafe Spall.

Peter Kay used Formby Beach as a location for Car Share, with a monster truck driving across the sands, and Paloma Faith chose the Southport end of the coastal stretch as the backdrop for an album cover.

Peaky Blinders, Location Location Location, Countryfile, Britain From The Air and Hollyoaks have all filmed there, as well as companies making TV and online ads for McDonalds, Ford, VW and Vauxhall.

Gordon says: "It's quite easy for film and TV companies to cheat this area for any time in history.

"For Witness for the Prosecution, they cheated Edwardian times at the beach and it was supposed to be a French Riviera type location. It's probably an awful lot cheaper to film here than it is in Nice with a crew of 50 people.

"We had an online advert for an aftershave with Jude Law. They built a big stage and a big set on the beach at Ainsdale. That was a well-kept secret for a while. He was chauffeur-driven down the beach in some sort of gold-coloured Bentley. Amazing."

Sports shows have also filmed along the Sefton coastline, from the Premier League doing short pieces to camera in the run-up to Merseyside derbies to the Grand National recreating Red Rum's training regime along the beach.

Gordon says: "I think naturalness is one of the important aspects of the coastline that people find quite attractive to bring their teams here to shoot films or adverts.

"I find it a very calming environment. All your senses are tested because you smell the pine trees, you can smell the sea, you can hear the wind. There's birdsong, it's quiet, it's natural.

"Overhead it's a bit grey and cloudy and misty today, and a bit rainy, but the next time you come and visit the tide won't be in the same place and the wind won't sound the same or it'll be from a different direction, or the sun might be out. It might be a lot busier.

"It fascinates me that you can come to the same place and have a different experience every time you come."

Gordon has been working for Sefton Council for 25 years, following a five-year spell on the Jurassic Coast in Norfolk. When that short-term contract ran out and he was offered a job back home he was quick to accept: "It's been amazing. I've loved every minute of it. No day is the same as the cliche goes."

He even spends some of his spare time at Formby Beach, walking his dogs with his family at weekends.

He says: "The beach is eroding here so Formby Point is disappearing but if you go a little bit further up the coast in either direction you'll find the opposite is happening, it's actually accreeting and growing.

"At Southport and Ainsdale the beach is growing seaward. Southport was built at a time when land was reclaimed from the sea in order to do that. We're at a stage now that the Pier is now one of the shortest ones over sand."

One of Gordon's favourite spots along this 20-mile stretch of coastline is Ravenmeols, in Formby, where there was a seaside resort planned towards the end of the 19th century.

He says: "It's lovely and quiet - really good wildlife, fascinating history and has the remains of some old buildings where many years ago there was a move to create Formby-on-Sea.

"They built a promenade and they started to build hotels and houses there. Some of those have fallen down now but still some remain. The sea wall they built is buried under sand dunes now, which shows you how much accretion has occurred.

"There's a very big sand blow out called Devil's Hole and at the back edge there are pine woods with mature trees. You can stand on the sand and look across the tops of the 60ft-high trees. You think 'Wow, what a weird experience'."

Crosby Beach

An avalanche of Bichon dogs

It's a sunny Sunday lunchtime in Crosby and around 75 almost identical tiny white dogs are racing in all directions towards the sand dunes.

Millie! Penny! Milo! Victor! Their names are being frantically shouted out by their bewildered owners who, despite considering them members of their own families, are now unable to recognise which one is theirs.

An added complication is that the bichons are all wearing navy pyjamas as part of Matalan's appeal to raise money for Alder Hey Children's Hospital, in Liverpool.

"They all look the same. How can you tell which one's which?" exclaims one woman, clutching an empty lead.

"I've just picked up the wrong dog. My daughter's going to kill me," says another, who has been loaned Milo for the occasion.

The dogs - and their owners - are all members of the bichon dog walking group, which meets once a month at Waterloo Cafe for a route over the sand dunes, along the beach and around Crosby Marina to finish at the Victoria Pub.

The gathering is a spin-off from a Facebook group called Bichon Social, which currently has more than 1,800 members.

Kevin Delea, 73, from Tower Hill, explains: "It just started off with a couple of people with the same breed of dogs walking past one another like ships in the night. My daughter said 'why don't we all come here on the one day' so the next thing is a bichon avalanche."

Kevin became a dog-owner while recovering from cancer three years ago.

His bichons are Harry - "His Royal Highness" - and Benji. Both are rescue dogs. Benji was bought from a breeding farm, where he had been left outside to sleep in the snow.

Kevin, who had recently lost his wife, agreed to nurse the pet back to health.

He says his dogs - and the bichon walking group - have stopped him feeling lonely.

"You can spend a long time on your own and not have anyone to speak to," he says. "I speak to the dogs."

On the beach, Kevin's daughter Andrea Delea has stopped to enjoy the view. The tide is out and the sunlight is glinting off the wet sand. Antony Gormley's iron figures, one wearing a hat, are silhouetted against the sky.

"I just think it's amazing," she says. "As I was walking across the Marina before I thought how lucky we are to have this around us. I come from Kirkby and there's nothing like this where I live."

Andrea started the dog walking group with Ian Callaghan-Beardsmore and couple Judith and Dave McElroy who drive over from Darwin in Derbyshire every month.

Judith says: "It's a gorgeous day today. We have had worse weather. If it's absolutely throwing it down we don't come but we've had it where the wind has whipped up the sand."

They have three dogs with them - Bichons Barney, 6, and Fred, 2, as well as a rescue dog that is a bichon shih tzu mix.

Dave says: "We've got them like Russian dolls - they're all different sizes and they've got different personalities too.

"Barney's pretty grumpy and laid back. The other two want to play all the time. They're like Kevin and Perry the kids."

By the time we reach the Victoria Pub, in Waterloo, the Identity crisis has been averted. The dogs are, as far as we all know, reunited with their rightful owners and enjoying a drink of water.

Meanwhile the humans have taken a seat with them in a side room and are sipping glasses of Coke and cups of tea.

Usually, the pub welcomes these customers with platters of sandwiches, but today there is an event in the main lounge so the dog-walkers have brought their own picnic in tupperware containers.

Tracie Cousineau, international child health project manager for Alder Hey is thrilled with the sight of so many dogs in pyjamas - and how much money the walk has raised for the children's hospital.

She is here with her bichons Peppa and Honey.

"When I first got Peppa the breeder said 'they're always good in twos' and I was like 'oh god no'," says Tracie, from Anfield

"After three months, I just felt mean so I said 'go on then, I'll have another one'.

"They take over my house. They're on the couch. I swore they were never getting on the bed - there they are on the bed. You just can't help it, they're just so loving."

Otterspool

The little football team with big ambitions

Jim Stanway remembers the moment he fell in love with South Liverpool Football Club. He was on the train with his family, arriving back in the city after a holiday, and he saw the team's ground next to the railway.

"It was a proper ground, it had floodlights and a stand and terracing," says Jim. "I thought 'I'd like to have a look at that'."

At the age of 12 he did - and was so hooked on the excitement and camaraderie that he later became involved in the running of the club.

He is now 63 and, as South Liverpool FC's secretary, has big ambitions for his team in its new home at Otterspool - to get back in the non-league football pyramid and reclaim the reputation they once enjoyed.

Jim says: "There's a story told by a lot of South fans that Adolf Hitler has a lot to answer for. Before the Second World War, South were almost the best club outside the league and within a hair's breadth of getting into the league.

"I don't believe any of the squad died in the war but by the time 1946 arrived they were all six years older. We just weren't the force anymore and we never quite achieved that eminence again."

They did have later successes however, not least with two young players from Garston who went on to sign for Liverpool FC - Jimmy Case, who was at South Liverpool from 1970-71 and John Aldridge, from 1978-79.

The 1983/83 season was the club's best since the inter-war years, and they won the PL League Cup, the Lancashire Challenge Trophy and the Liverpool Senior Cup.

Gary Johansen, who joined the board of South Liverpool FC last year to help with its plans for promotion, says: "South Liverpool was a massive name in the 80s. It's been in the doldrums for a while but it's gradually moving back up through the lower leagues.

"When this new venue opened it was like we've got a real opportunity to push forward and try to get back into the non-league pyramid of football.

"I've always loved non-league football, even as a kid. I think Premier League football is too corporate now. It's too money-orientated, you don't have a sense of inclusion. Whereas all our fans are mingling with the players in the bar."

Holly Park, the ground that Jim had got so excited about as a boy, was lost to the club in 1989, and is now the site of South Parkway Station.

For many years the club was nomadic - playing on shared grounds and muddy fields until it settled Jericho Lane on other side of the railway to their current site.

They, along with their sister team Liverpool Feds Women FC, youth teams and vets team, now play at Jericho Lane Sports Hub, a multi-million pound joint development by Liverpool City Council, The Liverpool County FA and the Football Association.

Even on a cold winter's evening such as the one we visit on, when the breeze blowing off the Mersey is bitter enough to chill through several layers of clothing, there's an exciting, warm atmosphere at the pitchside.

Gary says: "Apart from when it's raining and the wind is coming in from the river, it's a bit chilly, but you couldn't have a more perfect setting.

"Moving here is the right time, everything seems to be coming together on and off the pitch. It's quite exciting."

There is still quite a bit of work to be done for South Liverpool FC to be considered for promotion.

On the pitch, they must finish no lower than fifth in division one of the West Cheshire League, which feeds into the North West Counties League.

Off the pitch, building work includes stands and a separate walkway for players coming out of their dressing rooms.

In the meantime, Jim and Gary are enjoying supporting their team, shouting on the players like other fans, parents and teammates on footie pitches across the city.

Jim says: "I think it's got a lot to do with the team mentality. You're not just doing it for yourself, you're doing it for you and your mates."

Halebank

An awful lot of trouble for a duck tea

It's only from above that you can see the incredible invention hidden away in a copse of trees in the middle of fields waterlogged from the River Mersey.

Completely shielded from the road, it's an unexpected and ingenious creation - as well as being a fascinating part of Liverpool history.

Peek out of a plane window as you start to descend into John Lennon Airport and you may just see it - a pentagon-shaped structure of ditches with a large pool of water in the middle.

This is one of the few duck decoys left in the world - and we're lucky to have one right here in Merseyside, which you can usually visit by appointment.

Originally built in the 17th century, the decoy was used by gamekeepers to trap ducks and ensure the local lord of the manor had plenty for his banqueting table.

It's now looked after by volunteers, who also take care of the nearby Pickerings Pasture on the banks of the Mersey near Hale.

Gary Broad, Friends of Pickerings Pasture secretary, says: "What a feat of engineering it must have been, dug with shovels basically.

"Back in the 1600s, to have the concept of doing something like this just so the lord of the manor could feed his face on ducks is just amazing."

Coming off at angles from the central pool, where the ducks would gather, are five pipes that are each narrower at one end. These would have been covered in netting to prevent the ducks from getting out.

Gary, who taught at Holly Lodge Girls College in West Derby before taking early retirement, says: "The ducks would be enticed down by the gamekeeper and, as soon as they are in the pipe, he would go back up the top end and drop another net down.

"The dog would keep guard of the opening. Then he can use the dog to force the ducks out and wring their necks."

Not just any dog would do however. If they were to bark the ducks would fly away, so the gamekeeper used dogs that looked like foxes and were quiet - initially bringing a breed called a kooikerhondje over from the Netherlands before breeding their own retriever called a duck toller.

Gary says: "When ducks see foxes they like to follow them and keep them in sight so they know exactly where the enemy is."

A mound of earth circling the decoy protects it from the tide. The nearby fields are so waterlogged from the Mersey that a farmer once found fish in them, says Gary.

He says: "It's basically the diggings out from the moat put to one side to form a barrier against the tide.

"Unfortunately back in the 70s the tide was so enormous that it completely came over the bund and killed all the trees. It was a massive tide, something like 12m, due to a combination of the wind, the moon phase - just one of those one-off things.

"A team of guys came over here with diggers to fix it. It was a hell of a job, took them months and months. As you go around you see large trees which are dead and never recovered."

Gary became involved with Friends of Pickerings Pasture when he moved to Halebank after retirement and attended one of their meetings - within a week he had been made the group's secretary.

He has always been interested in wildlife and remembers his mum giving him his first microscope - made of plastic - when he was a boy.

After the ranger service was disbanded around 10 years ago, his wife Lynda took over as chair. Once a month, they open the site centre at Pickerings and serve a range of home-cooked food to raise money for the organisation.

As there are only three duck decoys left in this country, the one at Hale has a special historical significance. Some do still exist in Holland but are predominantly used for ringing birds rather than to capture them to eat.

When the sky above is free of EasyJet planes, it's possible to close your eyes, listen to the birdsong and imagine you are back in the 17th century with a hungry lord of the manor to feed.

Find out more about Hale Duck Decoy and Pickerings Pasture at thefriendsofpickeringspasture.org.uk

New Brighton

The ramshackle street that's become an Instagram star

Word first spread on Instagram - something unexpected was happening on a dilapidated street in a seaside town near Liverpool.

Seemingly forgotten and unloved by all except its residents, New Brighton's Victoria Road was capturing the attention of major UK street artists keen to travel hundreds of miles to work there.

Many of them had never heard of New Brighton before, and they certainly hadn't heard of this particular street, but they wanted to get in on the buzz.

Ben Eine was one of the first street artists to paint the side of a building, and once he had posted pictures of his I See The Sea artwork on Windsor Street - an enormous, neon typographical piece - on Instagram, others wanted to follow.

London-born Ben is one of the world's most successful street artists and a pioneer in graffiti lettering. He set up the collective Pictures on Walls (POW) with Banksy and also helped him paint his Liverpool Rat.

He was invited to New Brighton, Wirral, by Rockpoint Leisure, the company behind the regeneration of Victoria Road and the surrounding streets.

Rob Jones, Rockpoint's brand manager and street art co-ordinator, told the ECHO's new podcast Liminal: "Everyone knows what everyone's doing in the scene. It only takes Ben to put one post out on Instagram and people want to come and paint here."

Rob's own connections helped too. He had become friends with one of the UK's original stencil artists, Dotmasters, while living in Shoreditch and later invited him to create a work in New Brighton.

Otto, one of his Rude Kids series, is a cheeky little boy in jeans and trainers painting a bright red line across meticulously-stencilled grey and white mock wallpaper that takes up the whole of an end-terrace wall.

Dotmasters, who is from London, says: "They're all doing cheeky things. My mum was from Liverpool so I know there's a certain irreverent humour in Merseyside."

The red line is a reference to warring street artists "lining-out" each other's work to destroy it. But in New Brighton the kids have been protecting the art rather than vandalising it.

Not long after Rockpoint had begun the project, a couple of the pieces were damaged - upsetting the local children who had been involved in their creation.

Ian Richards, Rockpoint's group brand director, says: "They'd actually invested time and energy into the pieces. Now we've got this 4ft-high police force patrolling the art works. They are fiercely protective of it because they see it as their own."

Dotmasters, who was featured in Banksy's 2010 documentary film Exit Through the Gift Shop and runs the Nuart street art festival in Norway, added: "When we were painting here earlier in the year, everyone was packing up for the night and there was a load of paint left near the cherrypickers. Some 13-year-old lad started picking up boxes and bringing them in.

"Nobody had asked him to. That's normally the kids that robs you.

"There's a strong community here because they've seen the change. They remember what it was like. It pulls people together because it's a change for good."

Bristol-based street artist Mr Penfold, whose vivid blue, pink and red torn wallpaper work covers the two upper floors of the front facade of a row of shops, was tempted to New Brighton after hearing about the other artists involved.

He says: "I didn't know it existed but talking to Rob who explained what they're doing up here and it just sounded fantastic.

"I didn't know what to expect to be honest. When I got here it was great, the food's amazing, great bars, the people are friendly."

He was sent a photograph of the wall he would be painting, mocked up a design on computer and headed north.

He says: "I do like attacking walls with no plan and free-styling the whole thing but when the wall's that big you need to get a gameplan down. I let it be as natural as possible."

If you haven't yet taken a walk down Victoria Road then there's still time to get there ahead of the crowd. Tucked away from the main resort, running parallel with the promenade, it's starting to draw a loyal clientele who are finding it increasingly difficult to get a table in Habibi restaurant or be first to the bar in the James Atherton pub.

But while it's currently mostly busy with locals, it is surely only a matter of time before tourists discover it on mass. Rockpoint has published a street art tour map and there are already visitors from outside Merseyside who are breaking off from sightseeing in Liverpool to check it out.

Bidston

The Wirral landmark very few people have ever visited

Most small villages would be counted lucky to have just one major landmark standing out on the skyline but at Bidston there are three.

A windmill, a lighthouse and, right next to that on Bidston Hill, a Victorian twin-domed observatory.

Anyone driving or walking anywhere near the area will have noticed the splendid Victorian building, looking like a cross between a mansion house and a laboratory, and wondered what it is like inside.

And for the first time in many years you can now step through the door for and see for yourself - at least once the current lockdown has ended.

As well as its beautiful wooden domes, sweeping staircase, cavernous cellars and several incredible views of the Liverpool waterfront - surely contenders for the best panoramas in the whole of Merseyside - Bidston Observatory was the site of some of the most important scientific research for 150 years.

In 2016, it was bought by a group of artists who now run the building as a not-for-profit 'artistic research centre', providing a place where people in the arts can spend time working away from the bustle of daily life.

Artist and trauma therapist Fiona James and her husband, furniture designer Edward Clive, both 38, searched the country for somewhere they could use as a home for their centre before hearing about the observatory.

Ed says: "We became fascinated by it. It wasn't even on the market at that point."

Built in 1866 to designs by architect George Fosbery Lyster, Bidston Observatory was initially run by John Hartnupp, an astronomer and director of the Liverpool Observatory, who was the first person to calculate the longitude of Liverpool.

Each dome contained a telescope - one used to calculate time, the other one known as his 'comet telescope'.

Crews of ships crossing the Equator had been mystified as to why their chronometers - instruments used to measure time on board ships - appeared not to be working correctly, until the discovery that the change in temperature caused the oil in their mechanisms to change viscosity and run faster.

Mariners from all over the British Empire would send their chronometers to Bidston to be calibrated. The enormous ground floor room that is now used as a kitchen was originally the chronometer room with its walls covered in clocks.

Fiona says: "They did up to 1,000 a year. The observatory was built as a space where you could bring chronometers and they would raise and lower their temperature to find out how they would work at sea."

The research into time naturally evolved into tidal research, with all of the world's tide times calculated at Bidston - including those for the D Day Landings - as well as the designs for the Thames Barrier. During World War II, the observatory was a Luftwaffe target as it was known as a place of important scientific work.

It was a smart machine, a couple of metres wide and covered in brass gears, pulleys and cogs, that was used to predict tide times. One of its inventors, Salford-born oceanographer Arthur Doodson, lived and worked at the observatory where the Doodson-Lege Tidal Prediction Machine was kept in the cellar but is now on display at the National Oceangraphic Centre in Liverpool.

Ed says: "It was effectively the first computer that could predict a year of tide times and height anywhere in the world.

"Obviously that's got huge ramifications for shipping, especially on Merseyside with this really tricky sandbar at the mouth of the estuary. Knowing the tide times was critically important."

A second machine was kept in the coach house in case either site was bombed during air raids.

Doodson and a staff of nine women researchers were based at the observatory, also taking it in turns on night watch as Bidston Hill was a key look-out point for the port.

Fiona says: "They actually foiled various attempts to bomb the docks from the vantage point of the roof.

"The US team was about 150 people, there were 150 people in Egypt as well - and then based at Bidston, doing all the D Day Landing predictions along with loads of other big pushes, were just nine women and one guy and two machines.

"Everyone that worked here, and we're met generations of them, had a really nice time. They're out of town, the building's lovely. When we first came and looked at this building, you really sensed it. There's a nice atmosphere."

In great Victorian tradition, Lyster designed the observatory as a monument to the work that was being done there. It was not only immensely practical - with its cavernous cellars, large rooms, series of bedrooms - now using by visiting artists - and two domes, but it was beautiful too.

As you step through the front door you are met with a glorious wooden staircase and Minton-tiled floor.

Fiona says: "It's a strange building. Era-wise you can see it's got this industrial might to it but there are things that look way later - Brutalist. It was really about, 'this is the future, this is star-gazing'.

"One of the nicest features is some of the cornicing upstairs where the ratios are the same as around the dome, so there are references to the technical all the way through it."

Later users of the building were not always respectful of its beautiful architectural features when there was work that needed to be urgently done.

Fiona says: "You look at some pipework that goes right through beautiful cornicing and you realise in the '50s there was a really pressing task to be able to get more bodies in this building to do research - and that was their priority.

"There are really sad things like beautiful marble, ammonite fireplaces that were just smashed up so they could put more bookshelves in. But this was a working building."

Bidston residents had fought to save the observatory, which had fallen into some decay after being sold to a private landlord by its last occupants, the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, which had moved into more modern premises at the University of Liverpool in 2004.

So it's perhaps unsurprising that many of them have been popping round to find out more about the building's new owners - sometimes even knocking on the kitchen windows with questions.

Ed says: "This room has windows at either end and the public footpath on to Bidston Hill over there so people quite often just wander around.

"You'll be having your breakfast and there'll be someone leaning in at the window. We found it very unnerving initially but everyone has been very friendly and you start to recognise people.

"People are very naturally inquisitive. They're always knocking on the door asking, 'What are you doing?' I'm like, 'Hi, I'm still in my slippers'.

"There's been a lot of support, and it's been really exciting having people locally coming and engaging with it and interested to see something happening here."

Burton Mere

Little known beauty spot with breathtaking views

Why would 1,000 visitors try to squeeze into a car park at a Merseyside beauty spot few locals are aware of?

Burton Mere Wetlands, at the Dee Estuary in Wirral, was overwhelmed by birdwatchers from across the country last year when they got wind that an American buff-breasted sandpiper had been blown off course and ended up on a muddy patch near one of the hides.

Within hours, the small car park was crammed and the cafe was churning out cups of tea and coffee, while the site manager figured out how to control the crowds.

Usually however, Burton Mere is a place of peace. While it is popular with visitors, many people in Merseyside have yet to discover its reed-lined paths, vast pools, ancient woodland and beautiful views - the most spectacular of which can be seen from the top of Burton Point.

Retired site manager Colin Wells, says: "This is my favourite place on the reserve because it's just a fantastic view.

"We're looking straight up the old riverbank on the left going all the way up to Chester and the reserve is behind us with a lot of wildfowl and grey legged geese.

"Then we swing round across Burton Point right out over the estuary - you've got Conah's Quay and the main river channel, the tower blocks at Flint and Flint Castle and all the way up to the Point of Ayr and out into Liverpool Bay with the wind turbines, and then the Wirral shoreline right up to Caldy Hill and Heswall."

Incredible as it is to imagine when you're standing there, much of Burton Mere wetlands was once underwater. The reserve covers land straddling the border between England and Wales that was historically reclaimed from the River Dee by industry, and is now made up of a mixture of freshwater wetland habitats, mixed farmland and woodland.

The site includes land owned by Henry Gladstone, son of prime minister William Ewart Gladstone, who dug out a mere and planted trees around it as a place for shooting, fishing, swimming and boating.

The reserve is bursting with wildlife - badgers, otters and water vole as well as the birds, which include lapwings, avocets, redshanks, egrets, harriers, swallows and swifts. There is even the remains of an Iron Age fort.

Colin, who recently retired after 33 years at Burton Mere, used to live with his family on site in a house overlooking the reserve, miles from any other homes.

Yet, having previously spent a summer on a remote Scottish seabird island, he didn't find the experience lonely.

Colin says: "Here you become part of a community and there are lots of birdwatchers in this area.

"I think I might have over-egged it a bit with my son in terms of birdwatching, being dragged around looking at birds all over the place. But he's actually getting a bit more interested now in his 30s.

"When he moved away to university and came back to visit one day he said 'Dad I realise what a fantastic place this was to be brought up in'. I was quite chuffed about that."

After retirement, Colin handed the site manager job over to Graham Jones who, having grown up in Wirral, is thrilled to be working so close to home. They first met when Graham was 14 and asked Colin for careers advice on a trip to Burton Mere with the Young Ornithologists Club.

Graham told Liminal: "I never really thought then that I would be managing this site 30 years later.

"The beauty about this job is the way you can see the fruits of your labour. Just look out there and you can see each year how the birds increase and the nesting successes that we have."

Although Colin and Graham had a lot to cope with when the 1,000 birdwatchers descended on Burton Mere, they completely understand the impulse to travel hundreds of miles for the chance to see a rare species, having done it many times themselves.

There is no guarantee of success however.

Graham says: "Quite often you wouldn't see the bird. I remember driving to Cornwall in the mid-90s and it had gone. That's all part of the challenge."

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Ask Norman Wallis to list some the places in Merseyside his family has taken their fairground rides and attractions to and he's still going a minute or two later.

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We have always given each other strange advice in times of plague. During the yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia in 1793, it was thought you could purify the air by firing muskets, both indoors and out, and for a while it became impossible to go for a walk without some earnest citizen shooting you in the ear. In London in 1665, it was said that powdered dried toad would protect against the terrifying sweep of death. Tobacco was used to ward off bubonic plagues, with toddlers puffing at pipes at the kitchen table.

But there has been good advice, too, and that advice is more constant across history: we have always told each other to tell stories and try not to despair. Tomaso del Garbo, a Florentine physician working during the 14th-century Black Death, wrote that those who could not "flee the pestilence" must "use songs and games and pleasant stories that do not exhaust the body". Writing at the same time, Nicholas de Burgo urged that people "take care to be able to be joyful ... listen to lullabies, stories and melodies". A 15th-century revised edition of Aldobrandino of Siena's Régime du Corps, which circulated widely during epidemic outbreaks, told its readers to "read joyful and strange things".This prescription was down, in part, to the ancient Galenic idea that fear and sorrow could alter the temperature of a person's body and thereby render them more prone to sickness: but it was also a sense that, in the midst of horror, we need to be transported.

I am not in the Galen camp: I don't believe stories will protect us against Covid-19, any more than would strength of character or moral probity. The solutions lie with science and the radical global cooperation of governments, but we will need the stories, even so. Tales of transformation and of emancipation, both real and fictional, can be a set of stars and maps. They point us both towards action and hope. Real hope, I think, is not the promise that everything will be all right, but a sense that the world has so many complexities and possibilities that despair is misplaced; that we still live in a universe shot through with the unexpected. There has never been a decade when we have not taken ourselves by surprise: we have never yet exhausted our capacity for change. I struggle with optimism, but nor am I a pessimist; I tell the children I write for that I am a possibilityist. I truly believe in the potential for human transformation.

The world has so many possibilities that despair is misplaced - our universe is shot through with the unexpected

So a few weeks ago, in search of that defibrillation for the imagination that happens when the right reader meets the right story (and in truth, in part to fight back at my own sadness and fear), I emailed some of the children's writers and artists whose work I love most. I asked them to write something, or draw something, anything, that would offer that galvanic sense of possibility even in darkness. The response was glorious, which shouldn't have surprised me. So many children's writers and illustrators are themselves already hunters and gatherers of hope; manufacturers and peddlers of wonder.

Now, a few weeks later, the pieces have been collected into The Book of Hopes. The stories and essays and images aren't explicitly about hope: rather, they aim to create it, through delight or comfort or new ideas, ridiculous jokes, wild heroic tales. There are true accounts of cats and hares and plastic-devouring caterpillars, there are doodles and flowers, revolting and beautiful poems, there are stories of space travel and new shoes and dragons. They are designed to be dipped into: you can eat one with your breakfast and another at midday. The psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott believed that during times of privation, the imagination can be a place of shelter for children. I hope that The Book of Hopes might help, even if only a little.

The collection is a free downloadable PDF, hosted on the website of the National Literacy Trust. It's dedicated to the doctors, nurses, carers and all those working in hospitals to protect us: they are the stuff that wild, heroic tales are made of.

* Katherine Rundell's fee for this feature has been donated to NHS Charities Together. Her latest adventure story, The Good Thieves, is published by Bloomsbury. The Book of Hopes is available at literacytrust.org.uk.

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Illustration: Emily Gravett

Emily Gravett is the illustrator and author of Meerkat Mail and The Odd Egg (Two Hoots).

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The town of Hope, near Aberdeen
Is somewhere I have seldom been
But then it's not a tourist trap -
It isn't even on the map!

There's certainly not much to see
They've closed the local library
Because they said there is no need
When no-one in the town can read
They've got a pub and a hotel
But neither of them's doing well
The hotel isn't quite the Ritz
The beds have fleas: the staff have nits
The only pub, "The Rose and Crown"
Is easily the worst in town

The one theatre's sadly gone
It burned down while a play was on
(The critics thought the play so dire
That all of them preferred the fire.)
The cinema is second rate
The films are always out of date
The last James Bond film that I saw
Had Bond still played by Roger Moore.

The pavements are never clean
Because the council's far too mean
To pay for cleaners - and the park
Is only open after dark
The grass is lumpy, full of weeds
And dogs can only walk on leads
There is a children's playground but
When school is finished, it is shut

The Chief of Police is eighty-two
He can't catch crooks. He can't catch flu!
The vicar surely won't be missed
Since he's become an atheist
The mayor sold his golden chain
And then was never seen again
The local paper isn't bought
Because there's nothing to report.
The school is like a concrete bunker
Matron's drunk. The head is drunker.

Now, living here must really stink
At least, that is what you might think
But that is simply not the case
There is no more delightful place
The fun and laughter never ends
Everyone is best of friends.
And all the residents agree
There's nowhere else they'd rather be.

So if you're feeling uninspired,
Sleeping badly, waking tired
If everything is going wrong.
The day feels dark, the night's too long
Remember all the people who
Have found the following is true:

It's so much easier to cope
If you decide to live in Hope.

© Anthony Horowitz 2020
* Anthony Horowitz's latest book in the Alex Rider series, Nightshade, is published by Walker.

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Reasons to be cheerful: poetry and stories to give hope to adults and children alike

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We have always given each other strange advice in times of plague. During the yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia in 1793, it was thought you could purify the air by firing muskets, both indoors and out, and for a while it became impossible to go for a walk without some earnest citizen shooting you in the ear.

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First News is the world’s most trusted newspaper for children. Read at home or in school. Resources for teachers. Try for free. 2.2 million weekly readers.

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