Young travel writers win praise

BUDDING young writers have won praise for their essays about adventures in far flung places.

Students in form 2D were tasked with researching a country and writing about it with the finished pieces judged by local travel writer and author Jolyon Braime.

Mr Braime said he enjoyed the many humorous entries: “There are all kinds of ways to write great travel articles – from emotionally intense stories of self-discovery to dramatic tales of feats endured – but I've got a particular soft spot for lighter writing that tells a good story without taking itself too seriously.

“I also liked the way your writers in 2D often learned a wider lesson about life (and sometimes about life back home) through their adventures.”

Tilly Jarman won first prize with her piece on El Salvador, which Mr Braime praised for its humour, strong narrative and local colour, in addition to its stylish writing.

“It had a great opening line ('El Salvador means "the saviour" – but no-one could have saved my holiday...') and there was a nice balance between the story of her family's ill-fated walk to the volcano and descriptive passages about the surroundings.

“I enjoyed the contrast between little details like the moustache of sweat beads and the much broader canvas of the sounds and smells of El Salvador. A well-crafted piece in a strong selection of articles.”

Tilly, from Littlethorpe, also had an article published in The Guardian newspaper’s Country Diary last year.

The 12-year-old, who enjoys performing in musical theatre and playing rounders, explained that her article was inspired by some funny moments from past holidays: “But most of it just came from my imagination.”

Molly Hall’s piece on a Chinese zoo in Shanghai and Freya Walls’s, set in Phuket, were runners up.

Mr Braime said: “I've found travel stories can be quite difficult to finish well. Just ending them at the close of the trip often feels abrupt and unsatisfactory, so it was great to see your writers noticing this problem and trying to solve it by anchoring their travel narrative in a personal story with a satisfying resolution. I thought Freya's piece about Phuket and the swimming costume did this particularly well.

“I'd argue that a key part of what makes 'travel writing' distinct from other genres of writing (which may also be set in foreign countries, just as travel articles can be set right here in Yorkshire) is a strong focus on the place itself and what makes it interesting. In a travel article, the story is usually a framework to tell the reader about the place in an entertaining way, and some members of 2D did this very well. Molly's Chinese zoo story was an especially good example, casually weaving descriptive writing and facts about Shanghai into an entertaining story.”

Keen writer Molly, 13, who has won a number of poetry competitions in Ripon and hopes to become a vet, loves to read Michael Morpurgo, Richard Adams and JK Rowling.

She says she’s generally inspired by nature but the driving source behind this story was her desire to visit China: “It’s a country I find culturally appealing.”

Freya, 13, enjoys science and sports, including netball, cricket and rounders, and also plays piano.

A fan of Roald Dahl, she says: “For my travel essay, I wanted the reader to feel like they were being told a story by a friend, I wanted there to be a wholesome feeling and areas of humour.

“I found myself thinking about Roald Dahl and how I wanted to get across the same friendly, humorous tone with but also with vivid descriptions of the senses to really pull the reader in.