Year 9 Hercules student Maya has been longlisted for the New Views 2023 playwriting competition.

The original script is a short story based on an elderly man who is coming to terms with his impending retirement as an author.

New Views is the National Theatre’s annual playwriting competition for groups of students aged between 14 and 19 in schools and colleges across the country. Maya was selected from a list of South Hunsley students who submitted an entry. Although her script was not shortlisted, the National Theatre later awarded Maya with a Highly Commended certification which means they feel the writing deserved special recognition. This is a huge achievement for Maya as only 43 scripts from the 468 submissions had been selected as Highly Commended.

Headteacher Mr Williman met with Maya to congratulate her in person and encourage her to nurture her scriptwriting talents for the future. Speaking to Maya after the meet, she said “When I heard that my play was longlisted, I didn’t believe it. My first thought was probably “My play? Longlisted?”…as it was something that I hadn’t imagined.”

Well done and keep up the fantastic writing!