Bathroom scales weigh in with winning story

Kristen Hall

A pair of bathroom scales can be ample inspiration for an award-winning story, a Rotorua student proved yesterday.

Western Heights High School student Kristin Hall won a College Herald Editor's Choice award for her article, about the trials and tribulations of choosing the right gift for Mother's Day.

The 16-year-old writer felt compelled to pen the piece after her father bought her mother a pair of bathroom scales for Mother's Day - a mistake he is unlikely to repeat, she said.

Kristin has written eight stories for the weekly College Herald, and was "stoked" with the award. "I like writing because I get to be straight up, and I usually get into trouble if I do that when I'm talking to someone."

Kristin was one of 36 contributors to win an Editor's Choice award. Two of them are decided from the 20 pieces chosen for publication each week.

College Herald editor David Lawrence said it was amazing to see so much talent and rewarding to see people improve over the course of the year. "As they grow in confidence, their writing just gets better and better," he said.

Herald multimedia editor Jeremy Rees said the standard of the winning stories was extraordinary. "Please enter the world of the media. We need more people to take on the exciting and responsible job of trying to delve into what is on society's mind."

Prize winners for stories written around weekly themes won a digital camera pack and $500 for their schools. General-themed stories won $300 in Westfield vouchers.