Hampshire Book Award - November 2017

Students from Calthorpe Park joined with students from across Hampshire in early November to meet award winning author, Helen Dennis, at Winchester Guildhall.  Helen was presented with the Hampshire Book Award 2017 trophy for her book “River of Ink: Genesis”. The event was the culmination of four months reading, reviewing and discussion by Year 8 students. The six shortlisted books were evaluated using the criteria of enrichment, engagement and enjoyment.

The discussion and voting day in June took place in six regional venues, with students having the opportunity to discuss the shortlist with students from other schools. Once votes are cast and a quiz is won, votes are collated centrally and the winner is announced simultaneously throughout the county. 

Helen Dennis gave a warm, funny and enjoyable presentation about her very first writing room (a spider filled shed in the garden), her inspirational teacher who encouraged her to write and who gave her sage advice on the importance of research and ‘finding the extraordinary in the ordinary’.

Our visit to see Helen Dennis in Winchester was a valuable experience as it enabled us to learn more about the author.  It also allowed us to learn more about how to improve our writing as well as finding out how she started as a writer.  Daniel P, M09

I really enjoyed the trip to Winchester Guildhall because it gave me a chance to find out how to become a writer.  Euan W, K04

I really enjoyed the HBA trip to see Helen Dennis who won the award for her book River of Ink: Genesis because it was fascinating.  Helen’s talk was both funny and inspiring and I loved the fact that we could buy her books and get them signed.  Freya A, S07