The winners of Moto’s annual Young Writer Competition have been announced, following some difficult decisions by award-winning author and this year’s judge, Gill Lewis.

The competition asked pupils from schools adopted by Moto service stations to choose from one of three story starters set by Gill and use them to write their own story of 200 words or more. The competition received nearly 500 entries from 16 schools from across the country.

Gill Lewis’s twelve novels for young readers have won a variety of book awards making her the perfect judge! After much deliberation Gill chose a story by 10-year-old Evelyn Worthington from Dolphinholme School, the adopted school of Moto Lancaster. Incredibly Evelyn also won last year’s competition so entered this year under the pen name Iona Checkers.

The win earns Evelyn a £50 WH Smith voucher to spend as well as an enormous £2,500 towards outdoor play equipment for her school and an author visit. The five runners-up, who will receive a £50 WH Smith voucher for themselves and £1,000 worth of books for their school from Oxford University Press are:

• Remal Junaid from Harris Academy the adopted school of Moto Thurrock
• Poppy-Mae Hemett from Willand Primary School the adopted school of Moto Tiverton
• Kyle Kelly from Bankier Primary School the adopted school of Moto Stirling
• Megan Tribe from North Petherton School and Kellen Popham from Kingsmoor School the adopted schools of Moto Bridgwater

Gill Lewis commented on the judging process:
“I found it incredibly difficult to choose just one winner and five runners-up as there were so many wonderful stories to read. But Evelyn’s exciting short story about two girls lost in the fog was full of great descriptions, tension and suspense. It really stood out from the rest and is a worthy winner indeed.”

Dolphinholme Headteacher Dianne Cross is extremely proud of her double prize-winning author:
“Our pupils thoroughly enjoyed creating their entries and working with the team at Moto Lancaster again. To say that we are proud of Evelyn and her wonderful story is an understatement – she is a brilliant writer! We will leave the important decision of how to improve our outdoor area to the school council and we very much look forward to welcoming another author to our school.”

David Bold, General Manager at Moto Lancaster said:
“We are thrilled to be working with Dolphinholme School just one of the partners in our local area. It’s amazing that out of 500 entries the winner should be the same pupil and we send Evelyn our huge congratulations.”