Happy Hoot! Ipswich tech firm unveils children's competition
The team at TwoPointZero technology support company in Ipswich are so excited for this year's Big Hoot trail, they have organised a children's writing competition to go alongside it. L-R: Directors Alex Chapman and Billy Brundle, IT Technicians Adam Hubbard and Bradley Smith. - Credit: Liz Baalham
Suffolk schoolchildren will get the chance to have their writing published, as an Ipswich IT company unveils plans for its first-ever writing competition.
TwoPointZero, of West Road, Ipswich, is asking Suffolk school students from years one to eleven to flex their writing muscles, and get in touch with their owl-inspired stories, poems, and prose.
The winning entrants will then be showcased in a book. All proceeds will be donated to St Elizabeth Hospice, as they prepare for this year’s hotly-anticipated art trail, the ‘Big Hoot.’
“We’re already sponsoring an owl,” explained Liz Baalham, marketing manager at TwoPointZero. “But, as an IT company, we don’t have any tangible stuff that we can give away.
“We were chatting to the artist Jo Burrows, who’s painting our Hoot. She was telling us how she’d always wanted to illustrate a children’s book.
“It was a lightbulb moment!
“We thought maybe we could organise a book, with Jo involved, and give back to the community.
“Everyone who gets printed will be given a copy of the book, and then one winner from each category will win a £10 book voucher.”
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Entries will be divided into four categories, with two year groups in each, so students are judged alongside other entrants of their own age.
Submissions must be owl-inspired, but other than that, students can follow where their inspiration leads them.
“I know children love a competition where they can potentially win something,” said Liz. “But we think it will be lovely for them to then go out and see the trail afterwards.
“We’re hoping to have the book printed by the time the Big Hoot starts in June, so everything will come together.”
Submissions must be no more than 500 words, and can either be stories, poems or prose.
Email your submission to bighoot@2pointzero.co.uk
Be sure to include your name, age, school year and contact details for a parent or guardian.
The closing date for entries is midnight on May 1, 2022, and winners will be notified in the week commencing May 16.
