Shortt Story Showdown

The 'Shortt Story Showdown', an 'aptly' named event in which dozens of writers from Years 4, 5 and 6, voluntarily enter a competition, hit another level this term ... not just in numbers, but in the quality of writing on display. We had 40 entries submitted in full. What’s more impressive is that those 40 pieces don’t reflect the amount of rewrites, restarts, and “ugh… I’m starting again” moments that went into them. That’s where the real work happened.

Because while we love a winning piece, this competition has never really been about who wins. It’s about who keeps showing up, taking feedback, making changes, and having another crack when it would’ve been easier not to.

The result of that? An absolute smorgasbord of creative talent. Same challenge brief … completely different outcomes. Some leaned into humour, some built suspense, others nailed atmosphere ... but across the board, students made deliberate choices to engage the reader and actually control how their writing felt.

(Also worth noting: my inbox has never been busier - equal parts “Can I get more feedback?” and students jumping into each other’s work just to hype it up. Not a bad problem to have!)

That said… we do have winners!

Harper (Year 4 Winner)

Riane (Year 5 Winner)

Chloe (Year 6 Winner)

These pieces stood out not just for quality, but for control - deliberate choices, strong voice, clever structure to build tension, and writing that actually knew what it was trying to do to the reader (which is harder than it sounds!).

To everyone who entered: you’ve made, and continue to make, this a better, more exciting competition. And to those already asking when the next one is … soon enough!

Check out the winning entries, and the challenge itself below.

In addition to the full written pieces this term, I also created a video. The video features short snippets from our winners, read as a narrative voiceover and paired with the footage behind their pieces ... a chance to see just how well they captured the moment: the mood, the atmosphere, the anxiety, the struggle, the panic, and the tension.

Enjoy!

Mr. Shortt