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Congratulations to Katie Parkinson for taking part in the 2025 Goldsmiths Young Writer competition. Katie recently found out that she had won first prize. We asked what inspired her to enter. Here is what she had to say:

'I initially heard about the competition from an e-mail the school sent out at the beginning of Lower Sixth. I did not apply straight away, but the competition did stick in my mind, especially as I began considering my post-A Level options. While at the time my focus was pursuing a law degree, I knew that I had a passion for English and storytelling, and since one of the recommended supercurriculars for any essay-related subject is writing competitions, I saw this as a great opportunity to put on my personal statement and just enjoy the process of indulging my creativity. I drafted and re-drafted my story many times, often using the time before school to sit in the Library mezzanine with a hot drink and focus (I live quite far away from school, so whenever I got a lift I would arrive super early to avoid traffic, usually at about 7.45am). This gave me about an hour to tweak and build on my story. I centred it around a mother-daughter relationship, both the love, friction and complicated emotional journeys we tend to undertake with our parents as we develop. The idea came from the title they gave us to use for our story: 'The Gamble'. What is more of a gamble than parenthood? 

When I finally entered my story I did have a bit of a panic, by that point I had not really told anyone I had entered and for a large majority of the time I was working on it no-one had any idea. Part of this was undeniably self-preservation, what if they hated it? Thought it was silly? But I had also become attached to this private little bit of creativity amidst the stress and regiment of A Levels. When I received the email that my story had been shortlisted, I was just coming out of Urban Outfitters in town and I do think I actually screamed. It was like in that moment it had all been worth it, I could put it on my personal statement and I was going to receive a book. The second e-mail a week later, which named my story as the winner, was the one I did not expect. It was the day after Sports Day, the last day of school, and when I found out (in Bill's might I add) I burst into tears. While in part it was complete happiness (I had just won £1000, ker-ching), part of me dreaded that I had been recognised for writing stories when I was going to pursue a degree in law. I had sort of told myself that law was the responsible route for someone who loved the subject of English, and had tried to suppress my passion hoping that I would simply be recognised for my talent but not enough to win. By winning I had proved myself wrong, and I knew that if I pursued a degree in law after receiving that validation that I would likely always regret it. So, after some time, I readjusted the courses I am applying for to better align with what I truly love. Overall, it was such a fun experience that taught me so much about myself, even in the moments I felt unsteady. My advice to anyone considering it is to just go for it, you genuinely never know what might happen and £1000 is a lot of money.'

You can access Katie's winning story on the Goldsmiths Young Writer website.