TALENTED King’s Ely Junior pupil Eleanor MacGillivray has been shortlisted in a prestigious French writing and drawing competition.
Eleanor, 12, used the beautiful Bewick’s Swan as the inspiration for her book, entitled Ma Première Migration. The competition was organised by the French Institute in partnership with Eurostar, Le Muz and the South Ken Kids Festival (SKKF).
Students from across the globe were invited to create their own illustrated book, opening with the line ‘The day I left home’, which was to tie in with the SKKF’s migration theme this year.
Eleanor not only took the brave step to write a bilingual book themed around the fascinating migrations carried out by Bewick’s Swans, thousands of which are now wintering at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Welney, near Ely, but she also did all the beautiful illustrations herself.
Eleanor’s entry was shortlisted and as a result she was invited to attend a prize ceremony at the Institut Français in London. She came fourth out of 500 entries – quite an achievement with Eleanor not only being the youngest child who entered but also the only non-French speaking winner. She was also the only single entry whilst the top three winners were group entries.
Head of King’s Ely Junior, Richard Whymark, commented: “Eleanor’s entry in the competition was insightful, sensitive and an impressive achievement. We have enjoyed celebrating her success with her.”
To read Eleanor’s book, please visit www.lemuz.org/exposition/skkf-drawing-competition-2016/