Cranford Community College, Hounslow

“This book is full of wonderful stories, and I’d say it was only the tip of the iceberg if that weren’t the kind of cliché these brilliant young writers would never dream of using. Every week, whatever we sat down to write about, someone – or everybody – produced something that surprised, moved, delighted and stayed with me. Now I’m thinking of the way Cyrus began his description of an airport: ‘This is a place where birds are beaten at their own game.’”

 William Fiennes, First Story Writer-in-Residence at Cranford Community College

 The sun was blazing down on that peaceful Sunday morning. I sat on the white plastic chair, just outside my aunt’s house on the dried mud. My cousin Navneet sat next to me with a bowl in front of her on the ground, a peeler in one hand and an onion in the other. Her concentration was strong as she quickly began peeling off the shell of the purple onion. I watched as each shell spun in the air gracefully and tapped the bowl sweetly as it landed.

An extract from “Back Home” by Amarpal, a student at Cranford Community College

Click here for more on the First Story programme at Cranford Community College.