Girls and staff at Farnborough Hill were delighted to welcome Theresa Breslin (pictured far left) to the school this week. Mrs Breslin is the author of bestselling books Remembrance and The Medici Seal and has won over ten literary awards, including the Carnegie Medal. Her visit was part of the school's prize for winning the ‘Page to Stage’ competition; the school was also awarded £1,000 of books for the school library.
National Drama and Random House Children’s Books launched the ‘Page to Stage’ competition as a drama project for secondary schools. Drama groups were challenged to adapt and dramatise selected opening scenes from Theresa Breslin’s new novel, Prisoner of the Inquisition - a thrilling, dramatic adventure set in 15th century Spain.
The judges’ verdict on the winning entry was: 'Farnborough Hill is the worthy winner of this competition and those named on the film’s Credit List should take a deserved standing ovation. From the opening elegantly framed shots of the dying mother, the boy’s confusion and the father’s increasing desperation, the piece didn’t falter. Individual scenes, speeches delivered direct to camera and crowd scenes displayed conviction and empathy. Thoughtful scene setting, well crafted scripting and smooth linkage combined with intelligent acting and understanding of the story (with the inherent undercurrents) showed real mastery of the form. Pitch perfect.'
Awarding the prize certificate during whole school Assembly, Mrs Breslin praised script writer Tiggy Gabb (UVI 2009-2010) for her ‘sensitive, wonderful interpretation’ of the book. She impressed the school with her passion for reading and her commitment to research in her writing. The appeal of Mrs Breslin’s books is that they feature teenage characters in historical adventures.
Mrs Breslin was very generous with her time, spending the whole day in school. She was very complimentary about the school saying: 'Fabulous Farnborough Hill School! - the well-deserved winners of the drama competition featuring scenes from my book Prisoner of the Inquisition. A superbly organised visit by librarian Mrs Wood. I was made so welcome in the school, beginning with morning tea in the Head's study followed by whole school assembly to present the prize certificate. Then I gave a series of presentations on various aspects of my books where lively intelligent discussions took place on research and creative writing. A highlight of the day was being shown the film locations; gardens, chapel and creepy cellars, by former pupils, Izzie, Tiggy and Lizzie (UVI 2009-2010, pictured above), three participants in the competition, their friendly and gracious manner making them a credit to the school and themselves.'
Mrs Breslin has been much in the news recently. A former librarian, she was at the forefront of the read-in protest against cuts in public library funding outside the Scottish Parliament on Saturday (5 February). In their statement Mrs Breslin and her literary colleagues said ‘In addition to the promotion of knowledge, literacy, and information retrieval skills, a professionally delivered library service embeds the joy of reading in our young people, building self awareness, articulate self expression, confidence, validating their life and culture, and leads to social and emotional literacy.’
Links
More photos from the visit
Winning film (via YouTube)
Theresa Breslin's Website