CORONAVIRUS is the Oxford Children’s Word of the Year for BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show’s 500 Words story competition.

Young writers used it 459 times, with Wuhan and Covid-19 also featuring among the total of 134,709 entries to the competition.

The competition closed on February 27 – before the UK’s first recorded coronavirus case and before lockdown in the UK, showing how engaged many children were with the emerging pandemic.

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Previous Children’s Word of the Year include Brexit (2019), plastic (2018), Trump (2017), and refugee (2016), indicating the influence of global affairs on children’s creativity.

Oxford University Press, based in Walton Street, analysed the entries using its Oxford Children’s Corpus—a large electronic database of real and authentic children’s language—the only one of its kind in the world.

Oxford Mail:

Zoe Ball, Radio 2 Breakfast show presenter, said: “The OUP’s analysis is so fascinating. Revealing, to no surprise, that kids are so aware of everything that’s going on in the world around them and then are able to turn it into the most brilliant, engaging and imaginative stories!”

The final will be broadcast live on Radio 2’s Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday, with the winning stories read by celebrities including David Walliams, Dua Lipa, Joanna Lumley, Jodie Whittaker and Mwaka Mudenda.

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Along with competition winners, special guests will include 500 Words judges Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Malorie Blackman, Francesca Simon and Charlie Higson, and honorary judge Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cornwall.

Oxford Mail:

Helen Freeman, director of Oxford Children’s Dictionaries and Language Data at Oxford University Press, said: “Once again, the analysis of the children’s writing has revealed how tuned in young people are to global events and how real-world events can inspire such a variety of stories and writing styles, from apocalyptic science fiction, to fairy tales, and humour.

“It’s striking that so many children are choosing to explore these themes and ideas in their writing, and it’s a complete delight for us to read their stories in this special 10th anniversary year.”

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The inclusion in stories of the devastating impact of coronavirus, the bush fires in Australia and ongoing fears of the effects of climate change has shown that Britain’s children are in touch with the most pressing issues and respond to them with sensitivity, compassion, and a desire to find positive solutions.

Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2 Content Commissioning, said: “I’d like to thank OUP for their incredible work analysing this year’s 134,709 stories.

"I’d also like to thank all the talented children who entered in the competition’s 10th year, as well as the teachers and judges who initially judged the entries – we could not have done it without you!”