THE ANNUAL PORTSMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL Short Story Competition is now drawing to a close. There have been over two hundred entries to mark, over 40,000 words written in total and a long journey from the first discovery of a body in the Hall back in early May. But why had we fixed on crime as the genre in this particular year

The founding of the school coincided nicely with the arrival of a certain Dr
Arthur Conan Doyle in Elm Grove, Southsea in 1882, a mere 125 years ago. What better cause for a celebration and a chance to pay tribute to the undoubted literary and scientific talents of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in a modern setting? This famous writer had all the scientific knowledge he needed at his fingertips, but in order for our project to be successful we needed to get an insight into procedure at a crime scene and a rapid injection of forensic, psychological and legal expertise.

Enter our School Police Liaison officer, PC Chapman, who very kindly set up the crime scene to stimulate our imaginations and help us experience
the problems the police face when a violent crime has been committed. it
was a real treat to see the rottweiler instincts of a very tenacious year 7 at
work! To balance the fact with the fiction, Meiron Trow, the writer of a number of successful crime novels (including the inspector Lestrade series), was at hand to talk about how to start and structure a story. Since his interests included historical research into this area, he was also able to illustrate his talk with amazing – and gruesome real life facts, which few of us will forget!

Our visit to the University of Portsmouth was a real highlight of the process. For many it was the first time they had set foot in a university and sat in a lecture hall. There was a fascinating lecture on forensic science from Dr Michelle Harvey, whose special focus was on the importance of maggots, a look into the mind of a criminal in a sparkling lecture by Dr Francis Pakes and legal detail from Ms Caroline Strevans, should our writers want to take their case to court. We are very much indebted to all these people, who gave so freely of their time and expertise, tailoring their talks to our needs and dealing so adroitly with our questions. It has been a fantastic opportunity to cross the usual subject boundaries and enjoy looking at the fictionalising of fact that
is at the heart of the detective genre. Finally we would like to acknowledge the interest of those at Blackwell University Bookshop and thank them for their generosity in donating prizes to the following girls:

Best Story: Hannah Bryant 9P with Carrot Soup

Best Use of Forensic and Legal Detail: Zara Marshall 8H,  with The Black Ace Murder

Best Story in Year 7: Fay Davies 7H, with Cold Blooded Murder

Best Story in Year 8: Lucienne Peach, 8H with The Perfect Crime

Best Story in Year 9: Emma Gowling, 9P with Exhausted

Happy 125th Birthday Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Portsmouth High!