We are pleased to announce the results of the 6th National English Writing Competition (NEW-C), where more than 40 primary schools in Singapore nominated more than 150 of their best students to represent them.
This year’s competition is testimony to the rivers of creativity running through our budding writers, with the entries covering a wide span of genres from reimagined fairy tales to heart-warming family feuds drawn from the daily life of sibling rivalry. As organisers of a competition to demonstrate that good writing does not come from memorised idioms, we find this shift away from stock plots and common clichés extremely encouraging.
We are also heartened by the visible leap in the use of increasingly sophisticated storytelling techniques in many of the entries. They have done especially well in terms of structuring their stories, through well-planned Story Mountains, foreshadowing and Show-Not-Tell techniques, and we applaud our teachers for their success in nurturing our next generation of writers.
Here, let us celebrate the effort and accomplishment of our budding writers who continue to keep the torch for Singapore literature burning bright:
2023 Category 1 (Primary 3 & 4) Winners
1st Prize
Chong Yi Xian Kerrie, Gongshang Primary School
2nd Prize
Emily Boy, Townsville Primary School
3rd Prize (tied)
Kee Ann, Haig Girls’ School
James Liew Jun Wei, Rosyth School
Keona Kwok Zi Qing, Rosyth School
Merit
Alyssa Goh Jing Rou, Jiemin Primary School
John Wu Weikai, St. Joseph’s Institution Junior
Isabelle Law, Telok Kurau Primary School
2023 Category 2 (Primary 5 & 6) Winners
1st Prize
Gwee Je Teng, Shuqun Primary School
2nd Prize
Chin Kaiyi Kayla, Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School
3rd Prize
Wu Yixuan, Nan Hua Primary School
Merit
Henry Park Primary School, Liu Yichen
Ngee Ann Primary School, Liesl Tan Zhu Ning
Unity Primary School, Lim Jia Di Mele
Woodgrove Primary School, Xing Wenxin Cherie
Yangzheng Primary School, Chia Zi Xuan
Thank you everyone for your support and we look forward to seeing you again at our next edition!
P.S. Thank you everyone for your strong interest in the publication of the competitors’ works, which will be ready by March. If you would like to be notified when the books are ready, please join our mailing list here. We know everyone’s excited and so are we!