Our World on the Web
16 January 2012

Year 10 pupil, Joe Cooper, was delighted when he heard he was one of the ten individual winners of the Guardian children's fiction prize Young Critics competition.

The Competition is open to all young readers under 16 throughout the UK and invites them to share their views on one of the books nominated.

Joe entered by writing a 200-word review of Momentum by Saci Lloyd and winning a £20 National Book Token gift card, plus two sets of the eight long-listed books, one for himself and one for the School.

He said:  Travelling to the Guardian’s head office in London and meeting the authors of the books was a great experience. I haven’t actually read the other books yet, but looking forward to reading these.



Winning author, Andy Mulligan, pictured above with Joe says: I was...dumbstruck. I turned into a babbling football-player, discovering that phrases like 'over the moon' were the only appropriate ones - because I didn't expect to win. 'Return to Ribblestrop' is a strange book in a strange series.

It's not an easy book – it's long, and the plot is labyrinthine. The humour is a queer mixture of slapstick, farce and satire, intermingled with the naivete and worldliness of a rich variety of schoolchildren.

Dr Sam Crawshaw, Joe’s Head of Year commented: I’m so pleased that Joe’s long-standing passion and talent for English has been recognised by The Guardian. Joe’s achievement has resulted in a contribution to our library that will be enjoyed by MGS pupils for many years to come.

Long-list books and their authors
My Name is Mina by David Almond
Mr Gum and the Secret Hideout by Andy Stanton
Small Change for Stuart by Lissa Evans
Twilight Robbery by Francis Hardinge
Return to Ribblestrop by Andy Mulligan
Moon Pie by Simon Mason
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher
Momentum by Saci Lloyd