To ask how old you think the child is who wrote this?

[Fluffylikeacoconut]

I suspect I might get some snarky comments but I’m genuinely curious - people with more experience than me (which is zero) - what age would this be ‘typical’ of. Handwriting is joined and very good.

I am typing it exactly as it is written - spelling and punctuation.

The fire lit a spark - not only in my mind but in a foot deep pile of sharp kindling. It began its first meal, desperate for the first taste of fresh air. It ate and ate until it was sated.
You could feel the tension, taut in the air as the fire grew and grew. Below, the river looked up mesmirised as it slowly crossed beneath a bridge.
The fire danced on, waltzing with the twiggy fingers of the trees, the soft silky coccoons of leaves and the old, moldy, spiky kindling. Ash floated around me like little fairys and once again the fire opened its menacing jaws. As soon as the fire strocked a bright leaf dripping with sap, its thin flamey hands turned to a cold silver and then to stone black. The fire turned and tried to flee before it suddenly disintigreated.
Now the old forest is gone but the ecosystem begins again, I watch the very first bud blossoms bloom. I savour the moment and watch as the old forest rises again, new and beautiful.

Hmm maybe a 9 year old?? I reckon my older dd when she was 9 could have written that but she was pretty bright. I think it's a good writing for any primary school child though

It is a lovely piece of writing. I have no idea what age the person who wrote it would be. Some spelling mistakes but not many and fairly complex words. Maybe around age 10/11?

10?

7

9 or 10?

8 or 9?

Bright 9 year old

Knowing the state of education in this country I would say at least 11/12

DS is very very good at English and that would have been between 8-10 for him.

Maybe 8+ with assistance of chat gpt?

There's words in there that no child would use... children these days wouldn't measure in feet for a start. This wasn't written by a child

I wouldn't have thought it was a primary aged kid at all.

Don't believe the posters who are guessing ages seven, eight and nine.

I was going to say a very eloquent bright 12 plus. One who is a very strong reader with a wide vocabulary .I teach 10/11 years and not one could in any way reach this standard of writing .

I'd say around year 6/7 if written at home and good at English - if at school and more guided perhaps year 5 age (I was really
Impressed with some creative writing then but there was a lot of planning and using thesaurus/word lists and thinking hard about each sentence.)

I think it's beautiful

Agreed!

Probably about 8 or 9, when they start to really learn about vocabulary and writing stories at school.

I was going to say chat gpt. There are elements of it that are beautiful, the first paragraph particularly. I would say 10+.

10-13

I’d have said 12-14.

put us out of our misery OP, what age child?

I’d go with 8-10. They teach poetry in a really clever way these days. I was stunned by my DS’s poetry given his loathing of English.

I guessed bright 9 year old because it’s exactly the kind of thing my 9 year old would write. She is reading Pride and Prejudice at the moment, mind you.

It's because it reads like a scaffolded piece of writing. It definitely sounds like a year three of four piece of writing to me.

Well I couldn't write like that at 40! I think it's brilliant and I assume from the question that it's an unlikely she to be writing so well, but I can't really guess.

I don’t know what age I would say this is typical of, but it’s certainly not typical of an 8-10 year old. If your kid is 8, it’s absolutely exceptional, if your kid is 10 this work is really excellent. I think there are plenty of grownups out there who wouldn’t be this engaging and descriptive with their writing.

Out of interest, how old is your child?

I would’ve written something like that at age 8/9.