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PICTURED: WINNING SMILES: Laverne Johnson of Oasis Acad- emy who wrote about Alicia Augusta Ball with her mother Linda and Leon Hamilton, chief representative at JN Bank. Laverne was the winner in the Most Inspirational category

THE VOICE’S successful history writing competition for primary and secondary school students is back and open for entries.

The annual Made By History competition, which will take place during Black History Month in October, aims to help students in their study of history and connect them with iconic figures of the present as well as the past through individual research.

Last year, the theme of the Made By History, in which 9 to 14-year-olds will take part, was black inventors. This year the theme will focus on the Windrush Generation.

The Windrush Generation is a phrase that refers to Caribbean migrants who arrived in the UK between 1948 and 1971 from countries such as Jamai- ca, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Bermuda and Barbados.

The word ‘Windrush’ derives from the ship ‘Empire Windrush’ on which more than 500 Caribbean passengers travelled, landing at Tilbury Docks, Essex on June 22 1948.

Workers from former British colonies were invited to help rebuild the UK after World War II.
The Immigration Act of 1971 gave Caribbean migrants who were already resident in Britain unrestricted right to live in the country.

Earlier this year the Windrush Generation hit the headlines after it emerged that hundreds of Caribbean migrants who were British subjects and had arrived in the UK before 1973 had been wrongly detained, denied access to healthcare and legal rights, and threatened with deportation.

In approximately 63 cases, Windrush Generation members were wrongly deported from the UK by the Home Office.

There are three options available to the students once they have carried out their research:

1. Create their own poem about Windrush
2. Interview a member of the Windrush Generation and report on this
3. Give their own personal view on what they believe members of the Windrush Generation have contributed to UK society.

The winning entry will be selected by an independent panel from the community and will be published in The Voice alongside a picture of the author who will also receive a prize. For the last two years, the Made By History event has been held at the House of Commons and in 2015 it was held at the Imperial War Museum.

There will be a similar location for this year’s event to ensure that it will be a unique and memorable experience for the children.Last year’s Made By History competition saw hundreds of entries from pupils across the UK.

Among the winners was Laverne Johnson of Oasis Academy in the Most Inspirational category who wrote about Alicia Augusta Ball and Te’vye Ansah who wrote about inventor Lewis Latimer.

We ask that all entries are emailed to madebyhistory@thevoicemediagroup.co.uk or posted to: The Voice Newspaper, Made By History Competition, Unit 220, Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre, London, SE1 6TE. The deadline for all entries is October 19, 2018, at 12 noon.

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