Writers aged 14 to 17 share their stories about racism, austerity and health inequalities
For National Writing Day we’ve published a powerful political poem by Vallentina Mujaji, the 14-year-old writer of the inaugural junior prize in the Writing Wrongs Schools Competition.
The Centre for Human Rights in Practice (where Lacuna Magazine is based) has been running the Writing Wrongs Schools Competition for the last four years, with professional writers and journalists supporting young people in high schools to write about human rights issues that matter to them.
Below are some of the stories they’ve produced. We’ll be publishing more over the coming months.
Am I a person or a colour?
Vallentina Mujaji, 14, produced this powerful poem and became the winner of the inaugural junior prize in the Writing Wrongs Schools Competition.
Are major changes to school exams damaging children’s health?
The joint-winner of last year's senior prize, 17-year-old Rose Mudie, writes about one student's deterioriating mental health and the impact of school assessments.
Eyes Blurry...
Last year 16-year-old Zahra Anwar produced this short story describing an anxiety attack, a mental health issue affecting increasing numbers of young people at school.
Targeted as Terrorists
The winner of the 2017 prize writes about Prevent, the government's anti-radicalisation strategy, asking whether it's inherently Islamophobic.
