BBC Northern Ireland ‘Two Minute Tales’ competition

Congratulations to Grosvenor pupil Yousuf Mady, Year 12, who has been shortlisted in the BBC Northern Ireland ‘Two Minute Tales’ creative writing competition.

Yousuf’s piece is one of nine selected, from amongst thousands of initial entries, as announced on the Lynette Fay Radio Show on Thursday 25th November.

The nine shortlisted stories will now be read by an actor and broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster over the Christmas period, while each of the successful entrants will receive an illustration of their story to keep. One winner out of the final nine will also be selected on 23rd December, with their story being turned into an animated short film, which Yousuf remains in the running for.

Yousuf’s story, entitled ‘White Christmas’, was inspired by his love of the festive period and describes pure, unspoiled snow in the early hours of the morning, before the rest of the world awakes.

On Yousuf’s success, Grosvenor’s Head of English and Literacy, Mrs Sian Davidson, commented: “We are delighted that Yousuf’s hard work has paid off and his excellent creative writing skills have been recognised by BBC NI. What an achievement to be one of nine finalists, out of thousands of entries! Congratulations, too, must go to Mrs Ewart who encouraged Yousuf to enter the competition and guided him through the process. Sharing your creativity with the world can be very daunting, but Yousuf’s success is another reminder of how our pupils in Grosvenor are up for a challenge. He should be very proud of this accolade and hopefully younger writers coming after him will be inspired by his success”.

Well done to Yousuf on his most impressive achievement – an encouraging story to warm the heart during this most chilly of seasons. 

Year Twelve student Yousuf Mady.