At a packed assembly on Friday 13th June 2025 the winners of the eighth annual essay competition sponsored by the Friends of Dronfield Station (FoDS) and run by Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School were announced by headteacher Martyn Cooper. The contestants were encouraged to use their imagination; the only stipulation being that they had to make some mention of stations or trains in their work. The first prize of £125 and a certificate was awarded to Helena Watts (pictured) who in an extremely well written and mature short story described a journey on a luxury train through a mountainous country which was catastrophically ended when the train was overwhelmed by a avalanche of snow and rock. Second prize (£80) went to Ella Worthy with the third runner up Freja Pratt receiving a prize of £50. Teacher Ruth Houldsworth explained that there were over 300 entries to the competition and because of the high quality of the students’ work it was very difficult to draw up a shortlist to submit to the two judges from Friends of Dronfield Station, Mrs Jan Alexander and Mr Philip Brightmore . Because of the high standard of the essays submitted the judges agreed that the stories submitted by three other contestants Annabel Kistell-Jackson, Nicholas Giovanardi and Oscar Aspinall came close to winning prizes as well.
Introducing the presentation Ms Houldsworth reminded the students of the importance that rail travel plays in the life of the country and its economy. She went on to show a short video which celebrated this the 200th anniversary of the passenger transport by rail which started with the first journey on the Stockton and Darlington line in September 1825.
Before announcing the names of the winners Mr Cooper said that the annual essay competition is a fine example of cooperation between the school and a much valued local voluntary organisation. Compared with other small railway stations elsewhere Dronfield is beautifully maintained with an attractive garden and flower filled planters on the platforms, and Henry Fanshawe students are fortunate to study in such a community focused town. Mr Cooper congratulated all the students who took part in the competition and thanked members of the English department for their hard work.
Essay judge Jan Alexander said “Every year I have the pleasure of judging the essay competition and it never disappoints. It is fascinating to see how every year the students manage to include some reference to trains and stations in their stories in very imaginative and creative ways. This year the quality of the entrants was as high as ever and it proved to be a difficult job to separate the three prize winners from the other entrants. Well done everybody.”
Press release above from Friends of Dronfield Station.
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