A Bridgwater & Taunton College (BTC) student has won a creative writing award at the 2024 Somerset Anne Frank Youth Awards (SAFYA) for his poetry piece.

SAFYA invites young Somerset writers from many different age groups to submit a piece of work inspired by Anne Frank. Each year, they choose a quote from Anne Frank’s diary, and ask entrants to write a piece based on it.

In 2024, the chosen quote from Anne Frank’s diary was as follows:

We can’t control our destiny, but we can control who we become.

Entrants range from 9 – 18 years of age, and are able to choose any form of creative writing to produce a piece; whether poetry, prose, a diary entry, or a short story. An annual award ceremony takes place, celebrating the entrants and providing them the possibility to read their piece aloud.

This year, the award ceremony took place at Wells Cathedral, where Hadley Carreras-Bennett, BTC A Level student, was awarded first place in his category.

Hadley was also able to celebrate his achievement at the Bridgwater campus, alongside his peers, teachers and tutor.

Katherine Stern, Course Leader, commented,

What an achievement! We are very proud of Hadley and his beautiful poem, and for such a worthy cause. His success will inspire others and I sincerely hope that this recognition encourages him to continue writing. Congratulations, Hadley!

You can find and enjoy the entire collection of entries – including Hadley’s own – for the 2024 competition here.

For more information on A Levels or other stories of student success, please visit www.btc.ac.uk, get in touch with the Information & Advice team by emailing info@btc.ac.uk, or come along to one of our events.