Schoolwork Showcase: Fostering creativity and innovation

Committed to cultivating their pupils’ creative talents and raising the future generations of artists, poets and writers, this year saw 16 international schools and colleges across the south of Spain participate in SUR in English’s annual schoolwork showcase.

Schools sent in their entries, which were divided into three categories: artwork, poems and short stories, with each category further grouped by age: primary and secondary. Submissions were then passed on to be reviewed by the showcase panel of judges.

The panel was overseen by former SUR in English editor, Liz Parry, and featured journalist and art critic Georgina Oliver, who judged the artwork category; novelist Joan Fallon, who commented on the short stories; and singer-songwriter Peter Edgerton, who evaluated the poems.

For this last category, the children had to include the words words ‘pen’ and ‘talk’ in their compositions, the outcome of which were some very fresh and original poems.

Likewise, the theme for the short stories was ‘in a strange land,’ where the judges remarked on pupils’ imaginative descriptions of weird and wonderful places.

In a general comment, Georgina Oliver said, “Discovering the art works, stories and poems submitted by participants who remind us of the child or teenager within us is always extremely moving...”

Liz Parry remarked that she was “particularly impressed by students’ ingenuity, as they incorporated the given words or themes into their work. Artwork was my favourite category this year, as the cute animal faces made me smile.”

Peter Edgerton said, “In times when we need the power of imagination more than ever, it’s profoundly encouraging to read the work of so many young people quite clearly in possession of that very gift.”

Joan Fallon mentioned the “high standard of this year’s entries, which stood out as examples of clear, concise and imaginative writing”.

The judges congratulated all pupils who submitted entries, for their inventive and insightful work, as well as the teachers, for inspiring their creative flair in the classroom and encouraging their contributions to this year’s showcase.

Visit www.surinenglish.com to see more submissions to the schoolwork showcase.