In honour of world-wide Roald Dahl Day celebrations, which took place on Wednesday 13 September, YPO, the UK’s largest public sector buying organisation, announced Sowerby Village CE (VC) Primary School as the winner of its schools competition to win a one-of-its-kind splendiferous Imagination Box.
The competition ran through social media as part of YPO’s partnership with the Roald Dahl Literary Estate, which launched earlier this year. The collaboration is aimed at creating educational lesson plans and resources on each of the world-famous author’s best-known stories.
Children from year 5 at Sowerby Village CE (VC) Primary School were selected by YPO as the triumphant winners of its Imagination Box competition and have, this week, been delving into this special box of creative resources – which includes craft materials, dressing up outfits, books and games – to help them engage in Roald Dahl-themed and curriculum-based activities.
Form teacher, Miss Chelsea Gledhill, said: “We have some very keen Roald Dahl fans here at Sowerby Village CE so when I heard about YPO’s Roald Dahl Day competition, I did my utmost to ensure we had the best chance of winning!
“Roald Dahl stories really capture children’s imaginations and promote creative writing and reading skills so anything we can do to enhance that, while working in line with the curriculum, is a positive move.
“The children have had a wonderful week getting stuck into fascinating science experiments and letting their storytelling minds run wild with fun reading and writing workshops: it’s a fantastically fun way to celebrate the works of this much-loved author!”
YPO’s commercial director Jo Marshall said: “Our partnership with the Roald Dahl Literary Estate has delivered some truly inspiring resources for teachers and pupils across the country over the last few months and it’s wonderful to see children, like the class at Sowerby Village Primary School, benefitting from these in such an engaging way.
“Congratulations to Miss Gledhill and her class on winning this special Imagination Box of tricks. We can’t wait to see the creations and discoveries the pupils continue to make beyond Roald Dahl Day!”
YPO’s collaboration with the Roald Dahl Estate also includes engaging and creative lesson plans on writing and reading as well as teaching ideas around friendship, behaviour, identity and reward.
Wakefield-based YPO, which last year supported ‘Roald Dahl 100’, a celebration of the storyteller’s centenary, is one of Roald Dahl Literary Estates’ official educational resources partners. The not-for-profit company provides all the products and resources a teacher would ever need to bring the lesson plans to life. Products include pens, glue sticks, tissue paper, stencils, scissors as well as resources to encourage pupil interaction and creativity.