English and Science Launch Bede's' First Eco-Writing Competition

Published by Bede's Senior School on Tuesday 30th of November 2021

1st November is the launch date of the trust’s first Eco and Environment Writing Competition, inspiring pupils across all years in both the Prep and Senior Schools to think about the natural world around them, or about pressing ecological issues further afield, and pen a well-crafted piece of prose in response.

Bede’s English and science departments across the trust are delighted to be part of something that allows students to draw upon their Science and English lessons to explore an issue about which they are passionate.

This year, pupils have a single word as stimulus for their writing: ‘unseen’.

Pupils can interpret this word in any way they wish, and science and English teachers in both prep and senior schools will explore with students how they might make this stimulus personal and unique. Students could write a descriptive or polemic piece. For some students, the phrase might prompt them to describe the first hatching of a rare newborn bird, or the hidden root systems under our feet in a great forest. Other students may wish to write a nonfiction piece on an environmental issue that they believe is ‘unseen’, or overlooked. Teachers will be able to guide students, and draw on excerpts from brilliant contemporary nature writing, such as the books shortlisted for the 2021 Wainwright Prize.

Helping us celebrate the excellent work of our students will be leading conservationist, writer and campaigner Isabella Tree, author of modern masterpiece Wilding and founder of the Knepp Estate’s re-wilding programme. On 29th November, Isabella will join students and parents for a rare online Q&A event discussing her writing, ecology in the UK, and how we might fuse science and storytelling as a means of capturing public interest in environmental issues.