New- Bridge Megan thinks big and wins in Kip McGrath Education Centre’s national writing competition
New-Bridge student Megan Rafferty, winner of the Regional Final of ‘Dream a Big Dream’ national writing competition has become the National winner for Kip McGrath Education Centre’s UK competition Dream a Big Dream . The competition was open to 9-14 years olds and invited entrants to write about their dreams for the future whether they wanted to save the rainforest, fly to the moon or become a world-renowned author. Megan’s entry reflected on her view that she felt that dreams were just like bubbles that needed to be chased in order to bring them about and she said: “I’m so pleased that my big dream has been selected as the winning entry. I’d never really spent any time thinking about what my dreams for the future might be but winning the competition has inspired me to hold onto my dream and go for it.” Clare Rimmer was part of the regional judging panel and is Centre Director of the Kip McGrath Centre in Lisburn. She said: “The quality of entries we received was of a very high standard and it was really inspiring to read about the big dreams of young people in across Northern Ireland and the UK. However, Megan is a very worthy winner. Her entry captured the spirit of the competition perfectly and the standard of her prose was very high.” “Megan’s entry entitled “Fragile Dreams” showed a great maturity,” says Michael Rooney the Centre Director of Kip McGrath Education Centre in Craigavon where Megan penned her piece during a writing workshop. Megan described her dreams saying, “I have many dreams that range from an animator to a voice actor. Each of my dreams are shining bubbles, floating around my head, whispering words of encouragement and catching my attention. With the slightest touch, a bubble can pop, much like a dream. Only faith and belief in a dream can protect it from its own fragile nature.” Over 200 Kip McGrath Education Centres across the UK and Ireland were involved in the competition and Megan was in competition with over 560 other children. Megan received her award from Bernard McCloskey, the Head of Education from Northern Ireland Screen and was able to chat to Bernard about how she can develop her interest in script writing and animation. Bernard said “I would like to offer my congratulations to Megan on this fantastic achievement. Winning both the regional and national competitions is testament to the quality of her writing. In her piece she eloquently expressed her dream to have a career in a creative discipline, an aspiration for many young people. I am confident she will succeed in her ambitions.” Megan will also receive a professional bound book featuring the winning entries, £100 worth of Amazon vouchers and a signed certificate of congratulations from the young aspiring Olympians that were the initial inspiration for the competition.
Congratulations Megan from everyone at New-Bridge. We look forward to following your writing career.