Platform+ students were inspired to enter a new writing competition, culminating in an eclectic anthology of their works.

As part of their year-long programme, 2024’s Year 10 participants heard from authors, essayists, poets and playwrights, encouraging them to hone their writing skills and enter the Spark Awards.

Run in collaboration with the Kartik Prabhu Foundation, which was established by Tushar and Rewati Prabhu in memory of their son Kartik (OW2016), and the charity Writespace, the Spark Awards ran for the first time this year. The concept was to provide a space in which Platform+ students with an interest in poetry and prose could write using ideas and subjects that were of a particular interest to them.

To capture the curiosity of the writers among the Platform+ cohort, students could attend four workshops, each focused on a different genre of writing. Former Westminster teacher and Times Book of the Year winning author, Rebecca Wait returned to Westminster to speak on fiction writing; prize-winning poet, Susannah Hart looked into verse; Financial Times journalist, Anjana Ahuja, provided a toolkit for science commentary; and representatives from the National Theatre talked drama and the art of playwriting. The result was an anthology of works, encompassing fictional pieces that challenged notions of fear and existence, mystery and intrigue, love, loss and loneliness, non-fictional discourse that investigated themes of colonialism in Africa, mysteries of the cosmos and AI, and poetry that explored race, academic pressure, and the origin of meanings.

The competition was judged by Oxford professor of English Literature, Professor Ankhi Mukherjee, along with Director of Platform and teacher of English, Solly Hardwick and teacher of English, Lucy Freeland. Of the 16 entries, six Platformers took home prizes. On her experience writing the winning piece, which adopted a journalistic stance on Astronomy and was entitled ‘Uncovering the Mysteries of the Universe, through Edwin Hubble’s Eyes’, Barbara said:

“The Spark Award is much more than just a competition with a monetary reward, it is a platform where you are encouraged to write about your passion and explore beyond what you are taught at school. Every person in the foundation works so hard so that kids like me can have an opportunity in the future to become successful at what they do from such an early age. I am someone who has many interests, so sometimes it is hard to be centred and only choose one thing to pursue, but through this competition I realised I could combine both my scientific and creative abilities to make a science journalist piece. Every person who participated in this competition was so enthusiastic and so talented and it was so wonderful to be with like-minded individuals who have a thirst for writing. The foundation helped me so much this past year, we had talks from various wonderful writers such as Susannah Hart and Becky Wait, but the one that struck me most was Anjana Ahuja, writer for Financial Times. The workshops showed me I can combine my love for astronomy and for creative subjects and make something beautiful come out. This year, the support of the Kartik Foundation completely revolutionised my world and inspired me in so many unimaginable ways. I thank everyone who dedicated their time and effort to make this happen especially Tushar and Rewati. Thank you for everything.“

Tyrell was awarded the runner-up spot for his poem entitled ‘Meanings’, followed by Deborah, Mubaraq, Mysoon and Sara, who were each highly commended for their entries.

On participating in Platform and winning a Spark Award, Mubaraq said: “It’s brought me out of my comfort zone, and it’s made me do stuff I wouldn’t dream of doing, such as doing the writer competition and actually won something, which I wasn’t expecting also. Thank you for that, Platform.”

And on attending the workshops, another anonymous Platformer said: “They were definitely an important element, they improved our confidence and boosted our creativity.”

All contributions were published in the Spark Awards Anthology, which is now available to read here.

Westminster Platform

Westminster Platform is designed as an academic enrichment programme for gifted and talented young people from London’s state school sector. Through the three Platform programmes, we aim to nourish pupils’ academic potential and grow their confidence at different stages of their school life.

In 2018, Westminster School launched Platform, a programme set up to fuel the ambitions of boys and girls in Year 5 from the state school sector who show academic potential. Since then, the school has developed its initiative for widening access, with the 2020 introduction of Platform+ for pupils in Year 10 and the recent launch of Platform Pups in 2022, for pupils in Year 2.

westminsterplatform.org.uk