TWO ELOQUENT young primary school pupils have been named Coventry Building Society’s Young Writers of the Year 2025.
Maisie, a Year 3 pupil from Joseph Cash Primary School, and Nikoleta, a Year 5 pupil from Aldermans Green Primary School, beat over 1,200 young writers to the title.
The annual competition, which is open to all primary school children in the city aged 7-11, asked young writers to let their imaginations run wild by submitting a story starting with the line: ‘I came home from school and there was a mystery box at the end of my bed. I couldn’t believe what was inside.’
The Young Writers competition includes an English as additional language (EAL) category, making the competition more accessible for children who have been learning English for less than three years.
Coventry Building Society’s Becky Welch with overall winners Maisie (left) from Joseph Cash Primary and Nikoleta (right) from Aldermans Green.
Some 40 finalists were chosen to attend an awards ceremony, where winners from each year group category in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 were announced.
Prizes were given to the winners and runners up, before Maisie and Nikoleta (EAL) were named the overall winners.
The other first place winners were River, a Year 4 pupil from Manor Park, Evie, from Year 5 at Grange Farm, and Bethany, a Year 6 pupil from St John Vianney.
Other EAL category winners were Dhanvanth, a Year 3 pupil from Radford Primary, Grange Farm Year 4 pupil Pranavi, and Noor, a Year 6 pupil from Grange Farm.
The winners were selected by a panel of judges including local children’s author Ann Evans, father/son author duo Aaron and Oscar Ashmore, a former English teacher, and a creative writing expert from Explore Learning.
The judges attended the awards ceremony – held at the Coventry Building Society Arena – to announce the winners, give out prizes, talk about why they love writing, and read the winning stories to the audience.
Becky Welch, Senior Community Specialist at Coventry Building Society, said: “The talent of young writers in our city is truly astonishing. From Tudor history to outer space, it’s incredible to think these stories were written by children under 12.
“The competition was not only a celebration of their creativity but also a truly inclusive event that shone a spotlight on the remarkable imagination and originality of our young storytellers. Our judges had an incredibly tough time choosing winners, and every young writer should be immensely proud of their achievements.
“It’s clear that the future of storytelling in Coventry is in very talented hands, and we can’t wait to see what these budding authors create next.”
