Faye’s ‘coronavirus cloud’ story is a prizewinner

Faye Oliver, 18, has just completed her second year at the college’s 7th Form, studying A levels in English language, psychology and sociology.

She submitted a story written during lockdown to The Opinion Panel Community, an online research panel which promotes the work of 13-30 year-olds.

And after receiving rave reviews and a big online audience, it was chosen as the site’s Article of the Month for May, earning her a £50 prize.

Faye said: “Right now, the world is scary and stressful. Yet if we see the glass as half full rather than half empty, we can see that elements of our challenged lives have brightened.

“Nobody can promise that the world will return to ‘normal’, but maybe our new normal will be better than our world before the outbreak.”

Faye, a former Charlton School student, said: “I heard of The Opinion Panel through UCAS, as they have paid surveys for young people aged 13-30.

“They also have a community page with articles on a range of topics, usually relating to current issues.

“At the bottom of the community page, there were details on how your article could be published on the website and possibly help you to break into a career in journalism.

“So, as I really enjoy writing articles, I decided to write one about the positives of the coronavirus.

“Although it is a terrible illness, it seems as if we only ever get to hear the negative sides, which made me want to write about the positives!

“Once I'd written the article, edited it and shared it with a few friends, I sent it to the editor and I was really surprised to get a response a few days later.

“The editor told me that it would be published on the website and it would be entered into the Article of the Month competition.”

Faye has an offer to study BA English language and linguistics at the University of Birmingham from September.

Her story received more than 1,600 views in its first two weeks, and she described winning the Article of the Month accolade as ‘a lovely surprise’.

Announcing their decision, The Opinion Panel Community editors said: “Faye’s article gave us some positivity to focus on at a very challenging time.”

Telford College A Level English teacher Yvonne Thomas said: “Faye is a talented writer of both fiction and non-fiction.

“She has won several accolades and prizes for her short stories and articles over the last two years, including a recommendation from a literary agent that she should pursue her creative writing.

“She has been an excellent student for us, and we wish her well in her future endeavours.”

To read the full story, visit: www.opinionpanel.co.uk/2020/05/20/finding-the-silver-lining-in-the-coronavirus-cloud/