Students, staff, family and friends gathered at our Paisley campus on Tuesday 9 June to celebrate the outstanding talent showcased in this year’s Westwords Creative Writing Competition.
Organised by the College’s Essential Skills team, the annual competition highlights the creativity, resilience and storytelling skills of learners from across the college community. This year’s event attracted 25 entrants and almost 30 submissions, demonstrating an impressive range of voices, experiences and literary talent.
Huge congratulations to our winner:
- Winner: Justyna Pula
- Runner-up: Al Morris
- Runner-up: Maria Venditozzi
- Commended: John Brewer
- Commended: Molly McMillan
Around 25 guests attended the awards ceremony, including students, family members, friends and staff, to recognise and celebrate the achievements of this year’s participants.
A particular highlight of the event was a powerful joint reading by competition winner Justyna Pula and this year’s judge, Shaun Moore, Renfrewshire’s Tannahill Makar.
Justyna’s winning poem "While You Dream, I Begin" offers a heartfelt reflection on her journey of learning English, exploring how language has shaped her personal growth and opened new opportunities for both herself and her child. Her moving and inspiring work resonated strongly with the audience and exemplified the power of creative expression.
The success of this year’s competition reflects the strength of creative talent across our learning community, and plans are already underway to build on that success in 2027.
