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  1. Foundation Degree Sets Dad of Three on Road to Learning
    A father of three from Boston set off on the road to postgraduate study by enrolling on a Bishop Grosseteste University foundation degree course at Boston College. This week Dave Callow (37) will graduate with an honours degree from BGU at Lincoln Cathedral – and he is now set to embark on a master's course at the University of Lincoln. Dave left school at 16 with a good set of GCSEs, and after studying Art and Design at Boston College he tried factory work, landscape gardening and office roles, but he didn’t settle into a permanent career. After becoming a full-time dad he realised he needed a rewarding occupation. “I wanted to be an example to my kids,” he said. “I didn’t want to be coming home to them feeling miserable from a job that left me unfulfilled.” He approached Boston College for careers advice, began volunteering at his local school and re-took his Maths GCSE. In 2012 he enrolled on the BGU Foundation Degree in Applied Studies (Learning Support) at Boston College and soon found himself being challenged to think about his work in school in fresh and interesting ways. “It awakened a thirst for knowledge,” said Dave. “I wanted a deeper understanding of social issues and injustices. At my work setting I found I was suddenly more aware of the complexities of children’s lives outside of school. “The connection between what we were learning in the modules and the day-to-day work was so strong; I felt drawn to working with families and to making a positive contribution to society.” One of the benefits of BGU’s collaborative partnership with Boston College is the opportunity it offers to people to study locally, said Dave. “At that time, as a full-time Dad in Boston, I just couldn’t have gone anywhere else. It gave me such an important step on the way.” At the end of his foundation degree in Boston Dave stepped up to the BA (Hons) degree in Applied Studies in Education at BGU in Lincoln. “I’ve loved the experience of being in a university,” he said. “The BGU campus is lovely, the library is amazing and the tutors are nice and helpful. I like the structure of the progression year - the way the modules had been planned allowed us to become more independent as the year passed.” As he neared the end of his degree Dave knew he wanted to continue studying, so he spoke to careers staff at BG Futures and undertook an in-depth psychometric test. He applied for the MSc in Social Work at the University of Lincoln and within a few weeks he had been offered a place. Dave recognises that he has come a long way since he started. “When I think now about the first presentation I had to do on my foundation degree, it was one of the scariest days of my life! But now, at the end of the honours degree, I feel much more confident in my ability, my knowledge and myself. Even though I’ve finished my degree, I’m still reading about the things I’ve studied – it’s definitely unleashed something within me that wants to go on learning.” BGU’s Foundation Degree in Applied Studies is a work-related programme that enables working practitioners (or experienced volunteers) to study alongside their work and family responsibilities. Students choose from three pathways: Learning Support, Early Childhood or Children & Youth Work, according to their work role. The course is validated by the university and delivered at three colleges in Lincolnshire – Boston College, New College Stamford and North Lindsey College in Scunthorpe – as well as at BGU in Lincoln. It usually runs over two years.
  2. BGU students shadow national book awards
    BGU Education Studies students are taking part in the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) book awards shadowing scheme this year. This national scheme takes place annually and offers students the chance to vote for their favourite new children’s book in a range of age group categories, 'shadowing' the official UKLA awards panel which includes teachers and literacy experts across the UK. The author selected by students nationally will receive a special award at the UKLA international conference in July. A group of 17 second year BGU Education Studies students volunteered to meet with lecturer Dr Helen Hendry and children’s librarian Janice Morris for four lunch-time meetings throughout this year’s second semester. They chose the 3-6 age range as the books are quick to read and fun to talk about! The meetings are informal and include time to talk about likes, dislikes and reactions to the text and illustrations. The students have been trying out the books on willing children of friends and family, and during school placements. They also used the official UKLA criteria to consider the relationship between words and illustrations, the author’s use of language, and to try to choose the book which young readers would want to read over and over again. Helen Henry said “involving the Education Studies students in shadowing the UKLA book awards is a fantastic way of widening their knowledge of current high quality children’s literature. This will be important for many of their future careers in education. “Through our informal discussions and consideration of the award criteria they really get a chance to think about what children gain from sharing stories and how picture books can be a powerful tool in the classroom. “This project also highlights the wonderful selection of children’s books and teaching resources in our library and encourages our students to use these when planning creatively on placement in partnership schools. It is a real pleasure to share the books with our students and debate and discuss our favourites!” Two students who respond to the shadowing event in an innovative way, perhaps by involving pupils and schools, can be nominated to attend the UKLA conference and meet the authors. At the end of May the student shadowers can vote individually online for their chosen winner. BGU students clearly know their books for children as last year both of the groups' favourites won their UKLA categories. Richard Byrne's 'This book just ate my dog' won the UKLA Students Award and Alex T. Smith ‘s ‘Little Red and the very hungry lion’ won the overall UKLA Book Award 2016 for its age range. We will find out in July if our students can pick a winner again! Do you want to get involved with the shadow book awards next year? Find out more about studying Education at BGU.
  3. Sandford Award Winners Announced
    The winners of the 2017 Sandford Award have been announced with 37 heritage sites from across the UK receiving the honour. The Sandford Award is managed by Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln in partnership with the Heritage Education Trust. The Award is an independently judged, quality assured assessment of education programmes at heritage sites, museums, archives and collections across the British Isles. Almost 500 sites including historic houses, museums, galleries, places of worship, gardens, landscapes and collections – have received an Award since the scheme began in 1978. Found out more about The Sandford Award here. The winners are: Abbey House Museum and Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds Attingham Park, Shropshire Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire British Motor Museum, Warwickshire Cardiff Castle, Wales Chawton House Library in Hampshire Cooper Gallery- Barnsley Museums Corinium Museum, Gloucestershire Coventry Cathedral Fashion Museum and Assembly Rooms, Bath Geevor Tin Mine, Cornwall Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, Norfolk Hull and East Riding Museum Jane Austen's House Museum, Hampshire Jewish Museum London Knole, National Trust, Kent Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire Leeds Castle, Kent Leeds City Museum, West Yorkshire Lion Salt Works, Cheshire M Shed, Bristol Mansfield Museum, Nottinghamshire Museum of English Rural Life, Berkshire National Football Museum in Manchester The Navan Centre & Fort, Northern Ireland Norwich Castle Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Scotland Sentry Hill Historic House and Visitor Centre, Northern Ireland Temple Newsam House, West Yorkshire The Englefield Estate, Berkshire The Geffrye Museum, London Valence House, London Warner Bros. Studio Tour London Weald and Downland Living Museum, West Sussex Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse, Cheshire Weston Park, Shropshire Winding House Museum, Wales Verulamium Museum, St Albans York's Chocolate Story
  4. New edition of popular resource celebrates family diversities
    The Family Diversities Reading Resource at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln has been updated to mark its tenth anniversary. Originally produced at BGU by Janice Morris, Teaching Resources Librarian and Richard Woolley, then Senior Lecturer in Primary Education, the booklet showcased over 100 high quality children’s picture books. “Children live in a variety of homes – of different sizes, in houses or apartments, in trailers or on boats,” said Janice. “They also live with a diverse range of others, including one and two-parent households, with mum and dad, dad and dad, mum and mum, grandma or an uncle, with siblings or in public care. Some have a parent who works away from home, or who stays away from home. Some live between two homes.” The Family Diversities Reading Resource helps those involved in education or caring to identify high quality resources to use in classrooms, libraries and in the home. Janice and Richard (now Deputy Head of the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester) began refreshing this key educational resource last year, and have incorporated 50 more titles into the 2017 edition. The updated resource is published as a joint venture between BGU and the University of Worcester. Many of the books listed in the resource can be found in the Teaching Resources Collection at BGU and at The Hive, the public and university library, in Worcester. Family Diversities is free to download as a pdf document. It is freely available to all educational and not-for-profit groups.
  5. Awards for Heritage Sites Where Learning Comes First
    Writer, historian and TV presenter Dr Lucy Worsley will celebrate the best in heritage education when she presents the Sandford Awards 2017 next month. Palaces, castles, cathedrals and museums are among the 39 UK heritage attractions that have won an award celebrating their excellent educational programmes. Dr Worsley, who is also Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, will present awards to the famous (Blenheim Palace and the Warner Brothers Studio Tour) and the less well known (Geevor Tin Mine in Cornwall and the Winding House Museum in new Tredegar, Wales). The Sandford Awards, which will celebrate their 40th anniversary next year, are administered by Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln in partnership with the Heritage Education Trust. This year’s award ceremony will take place on Tuesday 21st November at the Fashion Museum and Assembly Rooms in Bath. “It is wonderful to see another hugely varied range of Sandford Award winners this year, many of which have never entered the scheme before,” said Dr Tracy Borman, Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust. “We are particularly delighted to be presenting the awards at the Fashion Museum and Assembly Rooms in Bath, a city so closely associated with Jane Austen, whose 200thanniversary is being commemorated this year. Councillor Cherry Beath, Chair of Bath and North East Somerset Council, will welcome guests to the ceremony, which begins at 2.30pm on Tuesday 21st November 2017. Sandford Award Winners 2017 Abbey House Museum and Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire Attingham Park, Shropshire British Motor Museum, Warwickshire Cardiff Castle, Wales Chawton House Library, Hampshire Cooper Gallery- Barnsley Museums Corinium Museum, Gloucestershire Coventry Cathedral Fashion Museum and Assembly Rooms, Bath Geevor Tin Mine, Cornwall Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, Norfolk Hull and East Riding Museum Jane Austen’s House Museum, Hampshire Jewish Museum London Knole, National Trust, Kent Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire Leeds Castle, Kent Leeds City Museum, West Yorkshire Lion Salt Works, Cheshire M Shed, Bristol Mansfield Museum, Nottinghamshire Museum of English Rural Life, Berkshire National Football Museum The Navan Centre & Fort, Northern Ireland Norwich Castle Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Scotland Sentry Hill Historic House and Visitor Centre, Northern Ireland Temple Newsam House, West Yorkshire The Englefield Estate, Berkshire The Geffrye Museum, London Valence House Museum, London Verulamium Museum, St Albans Warner Bros. Studio Tour London Weald and Downland Living Museum, West Sussex Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse, Cheshire Weston Park, Shropshire Winding House Museum, Wales York’s Chocolate Story Find out more about the Sandford Award.
  6. Mystery Plays Archive Finds New Home at BGU
    An archive tracing the Lincoln Mystery Plays back to their modern revival in 1969 has been launched at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln. The Lincoln Mystery Plays Archive (incorporating the Keith Ramsay Collection) has now been preserved, catalogued and curated by Susan Rodda, Collections Librarian at BGU, and Claire Lamb. The archive was donated to BGU in 2014 and was jointly launched at BGU by the University and the Lincoln Mystery Plays Trust on Friday 6 October 2017. The Lincoln Mystery Plays (based on the N-Town Plays, a cycle of 42 medieval mystery plays) were revived first in 1969 and again in 1978 by Keith Ramsay, the former Head of Drama at what was then called Bishop Grosseteste College. The plays have since been regularly performed in Lincoln Cathedral as well as in France, Italy and the United States. The archive is a collection of ephemera from the first revival of the Mystery Plays to the latest in 2016. It includes more than 500 photographs, 130 press releases and reviews, 50 items of correspondence, programmes, scripts, working scripts, posters, DVDs of productions, television reports and interviews, music CDs and reference books. The archive will remain in the library but, for research purposes, it now falls under the auspices of the University’s School of Humanities. Susan Rodda commented: “Keith Ramsay, the driving force behind the revival of the Mystery Plays in 1978 and the director of all of the productions up to and including 2000, was keen that the Lincoln Mystery Plays Trust Archive should come to BGU where he taught drama for a number of years. “He was delighted to find that I was to catalogue and curate it, as not only had I been one of his drama students, but I was also in his first 1978 production. It has been a privilege to follow Keith’s 20-year journey through the Mystery Plays, and to watch the plays continue to flourish as they head towards their 40th anniversary. “Bishop Grosseteste University sees the scholarly potential of the Lincoln Mystery Plays Archive for students of medieval drama, community theatre, site-specific drama, religious drama and the practical aspects of staging theatre. “Prior to the official launch the archive had already attracted visitors, and we hope to attract many more. It also provides a rich resource for future directors of the Lincoln Mystery Plays. “The archive will continue to grow as the plays continue through the years, a tribute to one man’s dream and ambition and a testament to Lincoln’s commitment to community theatre.” Mystery plays were plays based on Bible stories which were performed in towns and cities across mediaeval Europe, often in cycles lasting several days. Lincoln had its own Mystery Plays in the Middle Ages but they had been defunct for centuries when they were first revived in 1969. The Lincoln Mystery Plays Company has performed the cycle approximately every four years since 1978. The next scheduled performances will take place in 2020. The archive collection is available to view by appointment only. Email e-mail susan.rodda@bishopg.ac.uk or call 01522 585606.
  7. Royal Geographical Society Teaching Scholarships Open To New Applicants
    Are you an aspiring geography teacher looking to bring your subject to life for the next generation of students? To help them to travel and learn about the world around them, all without leaving the classroom? If so, be sure to get your application in for the prestigious Royal Geographical Society Geography Teacher Training Scholarships. In addition to £28,000 tax-free funding the scholarships offer successful candidates: Free training events on key subjects and residential fieldwork Access to the Royal Geographical Society Library and teaching resources Networking opportunities and other support to complement your teacher training course Fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society. Two current Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) PGCE students, Harriet Lee and Joel Stockton, were successfully awarded scholarships last year and said they would recommend them to anyone considering applying: “The application and interview process is intense, but the training and resources available to you once you pass make it completely worthwhile”. To be eligible you must have secured an ITT training place allocated by the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL), which leads to qualified teacher status (QTS) by September 2019 and they must have a 2:1 (or predicted) degree. Candidates with a 2:2 (or predicted) may be considered if they can demonstrate significant subject knowledge. If you are still considering your PGCE options, look no further than BGU. With over 150 years of teaching training experience and high quality courses, there are few institutions better suited to prepare you for a career in teaching. You can find out more about our PGCE courses here. Once you have your PGCE place confirmed you can submit your scholarship application through the Royal Geographical Society. The deadline for completed applications is 1 July 2018. For any questions on the scholarships or our PGCE courses contact Steve Puttick (Head of Programmes: Secondary, FE, and Research Education at BGU).
  8. BGU Student's Wartime Drawings go on Display in Lincoln’s new International Bomber Command Centre
    Two cartoons, drawn in 1940 and 1941 during the height of the Blitz by former Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) student Betty Carpenter, are set to feature in the ‘Home Fronts’ gallery at Lincoln's new International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC). Due to open to the public Saturday 27 January, the centre will serve as a place for the recognition and remembrance of Bomber Command. Providing the most comprehensive record of the Command in the world, the IBCC ensures that generations to come can learn of their vital role in protecting the freedom we enjoy today. Joining the IBCC’s unique records, Betty’s two drawings show improvements made to the air raid shelters underneath BGU’s (then Lincoln Training College) Constance Stewart Hall between July 1940 and July 1941. Originally published in the college magazine at the time (copies of which continue to be held in the Library Archive at BGU) they were brought to the attention of the IBCC by Dr. Claire Hubbard-Hall, senior lecturer in History at BGU, who felt their level of detail and historical significance made them more then deserving of a home in the new memorial. In order to gain permission for the images to be displayed Betty's descendants were traced and contacted, and were pleased to agree to Betty's work being used in this way. In addition to going out on display to visitors at the IBCC the images will also be permanently preserved in the IBCC Digital Archive. Betty, who was from Cudworth near Barnsley, was born in 1921 and was a student at BGU between 1939 and 1941. One of the subjects she took whilst studying was Advanced Drawing, which (unsurprisingly) she passed with distinction in her Final Certificate Examination in 1941. She married Harry Bell (a Sergeant in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve) in August 1942 but sadly was widowed just four months later at the age of 21, when Harry was killed during a training exercise near Kinloss. She married again, after the War, and died in 2000, aged 78. Although the IBCC is not officially opening until Saturday, you can get a sneak peek at Betty’s unique drawings both in their original format in our archives or on our heritage boards which you can find on our campus outside Constance Stewart Hall.
  9. BGU celebrate women’s voting rights through Vote 100 events
    The history of the campaign for votes for women is inspiring and compelling, and still has great political significance in the present. Through 2018 and since, staff and students at BGU and other Lincolnshire communities have been exploring this history and its contemporary resonance. This engagement has found special expression through the creation of a touring exhibition, exhibition ‘Vote100: A Lincolnshire View of Women’s Suffrage’, and we have captured some of the reflections on its production and importance. The exhibition, which is continuing to tour locally, was created collaboratively with other organisations and individuals, including Lincoln Central Library and the local Fawcett Society as lead partners. It has formed the showpiece for part of a series of events celebrating important dates in the history of women’s voting rights and the extension of the franchise by #Vote100BGU project at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) and elsewhere in Lincolnshire through 2017-18 and into 2019. February 6 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which enabled all men and some women over the age of 30 to vote for the first time. July 2 2018 marked the 90th anniversary of the Equal Franchise Act, which gave women the same voting rights as men from the age of 21. December 14 2018 was the centenary of the first general election in which women could exercise their newly gained right to vote. BGU hosted a series of events in the lead up to the centenary on February 6 2018, and since. Lectures, debates, performances and more, including student-directed events, celebrated the important milestones. History and English Literature staff Dr Andrew Jackson and Dr Claudia Capancioni, and students, Elaine Johnson, Sian Hope-Johnson, Jasmine Mills along with team members from BGSU were particularly active in supporting the various events. BGU was founded in 1862 as the Lincoln Diocesan Training School for Mistresses, and through much of its history was a college specialising in preparing young women for the teaching profession. ‘Equal opportunities for women in professional life was at the heart of BGU’s original purpose. The history of the University over more than a century and a half make it a fitting setting to celebrate 100 years of progress in electoral and political opportunities for women.’ Dr Andrew Jackson, Head of Research, Bishop Grosseteste University. Upcoming dates: Our itinerant exhibition will contribute to the Wolds Women of Influence this summer. It will be at Spilsby Franklin Hall from 5th June to 26th July 2019. The exhibition will continue to tour throughout the year, please check back here for more information. Previous events: 2018, December 14. The Vote100 exhibition formed the backdrop to an event to mark the centenary of the 1918 General Election. The event also featured an extract from the play, 'The World At Her Feet', introduced by Dr Claudia Capancioni (BGU) and Stephen Gillard and Sam Miles (Lincoln Mystery Plays); an extract from the play, 'The Forgotten Suffragette', introduced by Phoebe Wall-Palmer (Lincoln Performing Arts Centre) and Rachel Baynton (Proto-type Theater); a talk by Prof. Krista Cowman (Lincoln University); and contemporary writings introduced by Dr Andrew Jackson, and read by Elaine Johnson, Sian Hope-Johnson and Jasmine Mills 2018, December 10 – 13. The Vote100 exhibition was placed on display in the historic Old Stonebow Guildhall on the invitation of the City of Lincoln Council, as part of the lead up to the centenary of the 1918 General Election 2018, November 17. The Lincoln Labour Club hosted the Vote100 exhibition for their event to recognise and celebrate women’s rights: ‘100 years of Women’s Suffrage: Learning from their Legacy’. The exhibition was opened by Karen Lee MP and Professor Krista Cowman from the University of Lincoln, who introduced the collection within its historical context and explored its ongoing significance. The event also featured readings from letters in the BGU archive of 1909, on the arguments for and against women’s suffrage. The readings were introduced by Dr Andrew Jackson, and presented by Elaine Johnson, Sian Hope-Johnson and Jasmine Mills. 2018, November 16. The Vote100 exhibition provided the stimulus and inspiration for a workshop with local schools for the Being Human Festival, led by Dr Claudia Capancioni and Sian Hope-Johnson. The Being Human Festival theme for 2018 was ‘Origins and Endings’. 2018, October 4 - November 13. The Vote 100 exhibition was on display as part of North Kesteven District Council’s Local Democracy Week, and tying in with European Local Democracy Week / UK Parliament Week. The portable exhibition was to be found in the Council Chamber, Sleaford Town Hall, and at Kesteven & Sleaford Girls High School in Sleaford, Sir Robert Pattinson Academy in North Hykeham, and in the Terry O’Toole Theatre, Nth Hykeham, over this period. 2018, September 27. BGU sponsored a Vote100-inspired evening event for the Lincoln Book Festival. The Festival’s theme for 2018 was ‘Revolution’, and under the banner of ‘Sisters of the Revolution, there were talks by authors Jane Robinson, Maggie Andrews and Janis Lomas, introduced by Prof. Krista Cowman of the University of Lincoln. 2018, June 4 – July 2. The exhibition ‘Vote100: A Lincolnshire View of Women’s Suffrage’, at Lincoln Central Library on Freeschool Lane, Lincoln. The exhibition was designed by History and English staff and students at BGU, Dr Andrew Jackson, Dr Claudia Capancioni, Elaine Johnson, Sian Hope-Johnson and Jasmine Mills; together with staff of Lincoln Central Library. The exhibition features Lincolnshire’s contribution, set in the context on the progress towards achieving the vote in 1918, and the equalising of the franchise in 1928. 2018, February 9. Women into politics event at BGU Students’ Union (BGSU). The evening included a debate on ‘who should sit on the iron throne’. Guest speakers included Lincoln MP Karen Lee, former BGSU President Becca Smith and BGSU Manager Abigail Rogers. 2018, February 6. Andrew Jackson and Sian Hope-Johnson, BGU SU Officer and Eng Lit student, featured on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, discussing the historical and contemporary significance of Vote100. Andrew and Sian appear a number of times through the first hour of a three-hour programme marking the event, available on BBC Catch-Up here. 2018, February 5. Parliamentary Reform in 1918: Continuity, Reform or Revolution? In this talk noted historian, Professor Martin Pugh, explored a number of important and relevant questions surrounding the Representation of the People Act 1918. 2017, November 27. BGU hosted the Lincolnshire heat of the Historical Association Great Debate 2017 on the topic of: ‘Was the 1918 extension of the franchise the most significant moment in British democratic history?’ The heat, organised by the City of Lincoln Historical Association was open to Lincolnshire schools and sixth form colleges. Further information is available from Dr Claire Hubbard-Hall at BGU. 2017, November 18 and 23. Part of BGU’s engagement with the national Being Human Festival on this year’s theme of ‘Lost and Found’. An event for two Lincoln-based schools on November 23 was organised in collaboration with the charities Slam Jam and First Story. The event on Saturday November 23 was open to the public and celebrated ‘Becoming teachers: women’s college life from 1862 to 1918’. This occasion considered the life and opportunities for young women in this period in history. Further information is available from Dr Claudia Capancioni at BGU. 2017, November 6. The first event relating to Vote 100, a lecture for the City of Lincoln Historical Association. Dr Andrew Jackson, Head of School of Humanities at BGU, presented ‘Life on the First World War Home Front: Distressing or a Blessing?’ Andrew was accompanied by Maureen Sutton, folklore historian and dialect poet. Maureen read some extracts of the work of the Lincolnshire home-front poet, Bernard Samuel Gilbert, whose writings considered the lives, experiences and opportunities for working women 100 years ago. Further information is available from Andrew or Dr Claire Hubbard-Hall at BGU. Articles: Dr Andrew Jackson: Celebrating votes for women one hundred years on, The Lincolnite. For further information: Dr Andrew Jackson, Head of Research, BGU andrew.jackson@bishopg.ac.uk Dr Claudia Capancioni, Programme Leader for English, claudia.capancioni@bishopg.ac.uk Staff from the Research Department at BGU are involved in the organisation of our Vote 100 events. Find out more about their work here.
  10. Monster Storytelling Competition Winner Announced
    Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) welcomed pupils from the Sir Donald Bailey Academy to announce the winner of BGU’s Monster Storytelling Competition. Part of BGU’s Monster Conference, the competition challenged BGU students to write monster stories for children across three age groups: 0-5, 5-7 and 7-11. As well as writing the monster stories, students taking part also had to submit a video performance of them. Winners in each category, along with an overall winner, were then picked out by the pupils from Sir Donald Bailey Academy (one of BGU’s partner schools). Chloe Pearce, a 3rd Year Primary Education undergraduate student, was crowned the overall winner. Her utilisation of props in her video to act out her story made her the clear favourite with the children who really felt the story had been brought to life. Looking back on the competition, Chloe explained why she wanted to take part: “I really enjoy writing stories for children. It is so important that they have opportunities to read growing up.” In addition to attending the prize giving, held in the Cornerstone Library at BGU, the Sir Donald Bailey pupils were also provided with a selection of books to read across the afternoon. Ruth Pearson, Senior Lecturer in Primary Education, highlighted the importance of this experience and why she and her colleagues felt it needed to be included: “At BGU we believe it is incredibly important when fostering a love of reading in children to give them experience of being in a library and show them the wonders that libraries can offer them” The storytelling competition forms part of BGU’s Monster Conference; an interdisciplinary conference exploring the work of Mary Shelley. The conference continues on the 31st of October with a live reading of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. You can keep up to date with the Monster Conference and all the exciting events taking place at BGU on our website.

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