Delve into Dickens

What the Dickens?

This year marks the bicentenary of Charles Dickens. To celebrate, the National Schools Partnership, a TES content partner, has developed a resource programme called “What the Dickens?” It aims to inspire creative writing, introduce his work and explore the issue of copyright, for which Dickens was a passionate lobbyist.

What is it?

A resource website including six comprehensive lesson plans and activity sheets; an assembly presentation introducing Dickens and his novels; videos from contemporary writers about his influence on modern fiction; and a digital writing competition.

The competition calls for pupils to create an original, imaginative story. Moving literature into the modern world while celebrating genius in the past, the stories will be submitted online via a digital book.

Prizes for pupils include:

- A new Kindle, pre-loaded with books to entertain and inspire.

- Amazon vouchers worth up to #163;100.

Prizes for schools include:

- A visit from a leading author.

- A class trip to the Charles Dickens Museum and a presentation by a Dickens expert, or #163;1,000 worth of books for the school library.

The competition closes on Friday 27 April.