The Stewartry Secondary Schools – The Annual Essay Literary Award
The Stewartry Literary Society, in its relationship with the wider community, presents an annual Essay Literary Award to each of the three Secondary Schools in the Stewartry: Dalbeattie, Castle Douglas, and Kirkcudbright. In agreement with the Schools, this was introduced at the start of the 2023-24 academic year.
The winning entries, chosen by the Schools, are announced in the summer, and can be viewed on this Website. Each winner receives a Book Token to the value of £50.
Congratulations to our 2024 Annual Essay Literary Award winners.
Kirkcudbright Academy
Winner: Ava Newton (S2)
The class read a play called ‘White Poppies’ by Sue Saunders. In the play there is a family document box that exposes a miscarriage of justice done to a character’s ancestor during The First World War. The S2 class were asked to recreate the family documents that would have been in the document box.
Dalbeattie High School
Joint Winners
Lily Davidson (S4)
‘Plastic in the Beauty Industry‘
(view essay pdf)
Fraser Campbell (S4)
‘Why single use plastic production needs to be stopped to save our natural environment?‘
(view essay pdf)
Pupils at Dalbeattie High School undertook a body of work learning about Plastic Pollution; these two essays took two different approaches urging society to make a change: the first looked at the widespread problem, its impact particularly on marine life, and urged companies to stop plastic production at its root – in their unnecessary packaging; and the second looked particularly at the beauty industry, which makes up over 15% of our plastic pollution, and illuminated the shocking excess-packaging in which make-up and hygiene products come in.
Castle Douglas High School
Winner: Joe Morrison (S1)
‘Apple Vision Pro‘ (view essay pdf)
This Essay is representative of a good example of Informative Writing.
“To me reading is a great adventure. I have loved it since I was very small, and I would love everybody else to enjoy it as much as I do.
You can escape and you can travel, and you can laugh, and you can cry. Every type of emotion which humans can experience is in a book”
A Quote from H M Queen Camilla