Modern English Puchong recently celebrated their second annual Primary Short Story Contest Award Ceremony in Bandar Puteri Puchong.
After its successful first iteration last year, this year, participants had to base their story on the title “The Stranger”, with the stories being either fiction or non-fiction. The panel of five judges spent a month reading the entries before deciding on their top three choices whom were:
0First Place – Natalie Mingjia Hui, SJKC Kuen Cheng 1
0Second Place – Alia Adlina Hairel Anuar, SJK Dato’ Onn
0Third Place – Vidhvan Vicknendran, SJK Dato’ Onn
As with last year, the command of English shown by these young writers was amazing. They reflect the great teaching going on in Malaysian primary schools” said Modern English Puchong principal Steve Holloway, who also played an additional role as one of the judges.
Steve and Angie Holloway opened Modern English in Puchong in 2011 after moving on from their first centre, which has been in operation since 1999. With over 450 students of all ages and abilities now enrolled in Modern English Puchong, a new branch has just opened in Kota Kemuning.
“Our aim is to support the teaching in schools by bringing the best quality English teachers to as many people as possible. All of our teachers have one main goal – to make English come alive,” saidModern English Kota Kemuning director Eddie Lim.
The Modern English contest has the richest prize out of any primary school writing competition in Malaysia, both the winning writer and their school will receive a trophy and RM1,000, with the second and third prizes of RM500 and RM250, respectively, going to both the writers and their schools.
When asked why the contest is only open to students of government schools, Holloway said, “Quite simply, I believe that children in government schools deserve a little of the exclusivity that is readily given to the more privileged in society. Moreover, a country is defined by the strength of its government schools. If we can play even a tiny role in showcasing the excellent work their teachers are doing, then we will be honoured to do so.”
The top 10 stories from the year’s competition can be found at www.modernenglish-uk.com.
