The Sixth Form Centre was buzzing on Thursday, with a gathering of staff and students from Bushey Meads, Kings Langley, Ashlyns and Tring schools who met to celebrate the Yoto Carnegie Medal for children’s books.  It was a lively day with competitions, discussions, workshops, questions and much laughter.

The highlight of the day was the visit by poet/author/rap artist, Karl Nova who entertained us with his presentation and later delivered an inspiring writing workshop to the students.  In between sessions, Karl even gave an engaging talk to all Year 7 students. If ever there was a fun way to present poetry, this was it!  It was lovely to see so many young people eager to share their creative writing with the group, Karl’s inspiration was clear to all.

It’s always a pleasure to welcome like-minded students from other schools and our visitors expressed their enjoyment of the day saying “the whole day flew by and the students all had such a wonderful time…. a  memorable experience” and “it stood out as one of the best Carnegie events”.  I would also like to thank our students for their hospitality, making sure our guests were well looked after.

When the results were finally announced, the four schools’ combined votes agreed with the official Shadowers’ Choice: Crossing the Line. However, the judging panel themselves had selected Joseph Coelho’s The Boy Lost in the Maze, a novel-in-verse about a boy who, after learning the myth of Theseus at school, is inspired to search for his own long-lost father.  This marks the first time the prize has been awarded to a Black British writer.

Our own group of amazing students, Bushey Bookworms, have worked tirelessly over the last three months to read the shortlisted titles.  Between them, they enthusiastically read an incredible 74 books, selecting the verse novel Crossing the Line as their favourite at their voting party for which they even baked cakes and cookies!  A fabulous effort from all involved!

All the shortlisted books are now available for general loan in our library. In addition we have the titles shortlisted for the medal for illustration, which Yr7 & 8 classes enjoyed judging in library lessons.