Senior Creative Writing

In Senior Creative Writing this week, members of Years 10 and 11 contemplated a subject close to all our hearts: sleep. The range of responses, in poetry and prose, was remarkable. One student wrestled with insomnia, another depicted the ancient Greek personification of Sleep, others recalled camping trips and one writer explored the subject through an extended metaphor. Here are some extracts from their work:

‘The pressing urge to collapse into a dark world of unconsciousness whilst your mind, the very thing that demands rest each day, defiantly refuses your desire, is a misunderstood pain… a mind so plagued with exhaustion could begin to misfire creating twisted projections and haunting images that leave the victim asphyxiated.’ 

Lucy

‘Hypnos grasps the wistful power,
Controls the slumbering dead,
Each mind belongs to his dark forces,
Each body laid in bed. 

The mighty lightning bows to him,
The night and darkness heed his call,
Queens and princes know his order
Walls and cities sense their fall.’

Roxy

We whisper to each other from the corners of our subconscious;
I imagine moonlight above, shining onto the darkened field.
Our tent is green but the floor is black. It is like we are under the earth,
A pocket of grass for just me and her.

Natalie

Your pillow melts like
Toasted food, with it a distinct scent of something
Burning
Trickles up your nose.
You do not know it but
You are lying on a pyre, your limbs are
Kindling,

Rosie

Pupil Success

We are thrilled to celebrate Zoe S, one of our talented Year 8 students and an attendee of the KS3 Creative Writing Club! Out of many hundreds of entries, she has been named a runner-up in the Martha Mills Young Writers’ Prize 2025. Her work will be published and Zoe will also attend a special launch party at the London Review Bookshop – what an incredible achievement!

Here’s a snippet of Zoe’s work:

Suddenly, I hear a familiar whistle, getting lower and lower, developing into a deafening crash. 

I jump up and begin to run as the sound repeats. I turn around to see the girls still frozen in horror. ‘They’re jettisoning their leftover bombs!’ I shout, ‘We need to find shelter!’ Jet-black columns rise from a blanket of growing fires, poisoning the sky. I sprint back, fighting waves of heat and smoke. I grab their hands. Instantly, they spring into a panic. We heave our way up to the house, hands shielding our eyes, and rush inside. ‘What now?’ Mary calls. 

‘Under the table!’ I reply as I dive under the only shelter in the house.

The KS3 Creative Writing Club helps students explore their writing, share their ideas, get valuable feedback and enter competitions – just like Zoe did.