EIGHT-YEAR-OLD Grace Ames has scooped the top prize in a national competition for her creative re-telling of a Bible story.
The St Andrews CE Primary School pupil wrote a poem about Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary, where Martha busied herself with the cooking and cleaning while Mary sat and listened to Jesus.
She took the top spot in the Key Stage 1 category, in a competition run by Open the Book, a charity which promotes Bible storytelling in primary schools.
Grace received a framed cartoon depicting her poem, drawn and signed by Beano artist Kev Sutherland, as well as a copy of The Lion Storyteller Bible, signed by author Bob Hartman, and an iPad for her and one for the school.
As well as presenting Grace with her prizes during an assembly, Kev Sutherland and Bob Hartman both led creative workshops with Grace’s class.
Bob led a storytelling session, reading from several of his books and answering questions about his work as a writer.
And Kev helped the class created their own comic book, which they called Evil Half Chicken Villain.
“I thought writing this poem would be hard but it was actually fun. My mum and grandad helped me choose the story and I liked it,” she said.
Open the Book is a charity which places teams of volunteers in primary schools to re-enact and retell Bible stories during assemblies. They use props and costumes, and encourage children to join in as much as possible.
The charity has been going for 20 years in England and Wales, and currently has volunteers in more than 3,000 schools – including St Andrew’s.
Tanya Simpson, who coordinates RE in the school and also runs Crew Club, an after-school club for children interested in leading and organising collective worship, said: “The children here love Open the Book and the experiences of Bible stories every week.
“We are able to link it to our school values of friendship, respect and perseverance.”
