Want to extend your writing skills and write about futuristic scenarios that are set 20 – 40 years from now? Choose from a range of given topics, such as Mission to the Moon, Mars & Beyond, Drones, Food Loss, and Waste, Coping with Stress and Criminal Justice Systems and create a scenario based on your own chosen topic?

Scenario writing is a word-limited writing challenge where students choose a focus from the given topics of Mission to the Moon, Mars & Beyond, Drones, Food Loss, and Waste, Coping with Stress and Criminal Justice Systems and create a scenario that particularly appeals to them, research it thoroughly and identify the major issues that are likely to exist within the topic in the future. Scenarios are set 20 – 40 years in the future, giving students the opportunity to expand their imagination.

The FPSNZ site says: The future is an intrinsic part of our lives. Every day we take actions that will impact on our future. We have a desire to learn about things we will need or use in the future – in essence, we learn and achieve based upon our images of the future. Our visions of the future have an effect upon our abilities to live, adapt, cope, and grow in our changing world. Scenario Writing encourages students to develop their own visions of the future and personalises the ever-growing perspective a student has on the future.

Here are some testimonials from this year's students who have learned to extend their writing skills while having fun at the same time.

Two main reasons why I have sincerely enjoyed and strongly suggest being a part of scenario writing is the new type of writing and the support from students and teachers. Futuristic writing was the type of writing we had to produce and this was a step out of my comfort zone. I normally write fan-fiction where the world and characters were already introduced into the universe. By creating original pieces of work, we had to make our own characters and places. This allowed me to have a go and try out different styles of writing. The support was also another reason why I enjoyed these sessions so much. Mr. John, who now runs the sessions, gave us well-needed advice and made the sessions fun by ending in short games and challenges. The other students who were writing their own scenarios helped one another by throwing ideas at each other and giving tips on certain parts of their writing. I really recommend Scenario Writing for those interested and basically everyone. Caitlyn W

2019 scenario writing was an awesome extracurricular, and I really enjoyed our Monday afternoon meetings. For me, scenario writing was an opportunity to write about a world that, although, it will be thrown at us in the near future, isn’t one that has to have correct facts, you can make a bit up, which I prefer rather than writing about the now. Scenario writing was also a time that I could use to work on my own story, without a prompt or being told exactly the topic, and I improved my skills such as building on a character, showing, not telling, and, of course, working towards a word limit. I would definitely recommend scenario writing to any Year 7 for next year who enjoys writing and creating their own world. Ellie B

This year, I have had the wonderful opportunity to take part in Scenario writing. Scenario Writing is a wonderful opportunity for keen writers to spend a Monday afternoon just writing with a small group of friends (this year, it was six friends) in a calm but bubbly environment. It has been so much fun, with our first few sessions brainstorming what topic to write about chosen of the four given. Before we knew it, we were writing 1500-word stories and entering them in competitions! At the end of most sessions when there are ten minutes left, Mr. John would host a writing-related game, like lipograms, pangrams, and finding words in dictionaries the quickest. We all met in a large classroom (Room 17) for a guaranteed space to think. The people in scenario writing made the experience even better, and I have made lots of friends. Mr. John, our scenario writing teacher, has been especially helpful in these sessions. Clara M

As a scenario writer, life can be rather hectic. Pulled out of class every Monday afternoon, missing out on work and an impromptu teacher change, life is simple. Mostly. But the numerous, positives easily override the negatives. Top teachers, fun friends, and super skills (like alliteration) boost what even initially seemed to be one of the best prospects at Cobham. My personal experience of Scenario writing 2019 has made this year unforgettable because of the friendly environment, and I encourage all you future writers to give it a go. Maya R

It's really quiet so I can concentrate well, and it really gets my creative juices flowing, so I can stay creative in everyday life. The premise is that I write stories, and writing stories always appealed to me. It also helped me write sci-fi, and I've always been rather weak at writing when it came to sci-fi. All these reasons are why scenario writing has always been a breath of fresh air, and I really liked it. I hope I get to do it again. Brandon L

Scenario writing was a brilliant opportunity for Year 8 students who love writing to write scenarios and enter them into ‘competitions’. It helped me personally, when I could learn different techniques in writing, or writing in different styles, (Such as sci-fi, science, etc) improve skills, and learn new things that I could include in writing, such as character development. I loved working with people from other classes like Room 18, who was always open to help with ideas, and ‘handy hints’. Mr. John made the classes fun and exciting, by ending many sessions with fun games, or mini-competitions, where sometimes, things got a little competitive. If there was anyone who was offered to join scenario writing, it is a really fun learning opportunity that can teach you many skills that can really enhance your writing skills. Phoebe D.S

The atmosphere of the classroom is catered to everyone's needs and is a really cool experience when you get into it the future thinking and plain excitement of it takes over.

The learning experience is great and I highly recommend it for any aspiring writer.

Learning about the fine line of futuristic thinking is the most exciting part of this experience. Finn P