ON Monday, Robert Halfon, MP for Harlow, welcomed the winners of his World Book Day 2019 Short Story Competition and their parents in the Houses of Parliament.

Georgina Taylor, aged 7 from Tany’s Dell Primary School, and Ruby Ball, aged 11 from Jerounds Primary School, won the competition in their respective KS1 and 2 categories for their stories The Selfish Prince and The Burn.

The Selfish Prince focuses on a young prince who learns the error of his ways. His redemption sees him regret losing his last coin and confides in his sister who helps him to provide for his family and friends.

The Burn tells the story of protagonist Phoebe who forges a friendship with Bailey when climbing a mountain. The pair are confronted by a dragon and must work together in order to defeat it.

Robert’s competition, in partnership with Pearson, invited children aged 5-11 in Harlow and the villages to submit fictional entries up to 500 words in the run up to World Book Day on Thursday 7th March.

The two lucky winners and their families were invited to meet with Robert and Lindsay Nadin, Director of Primary Learning Services at Pearson, in his office in Westminster, where they were presented with a personalised pack of books from Pearson, a framed copy of their story, certificate, bookmark and then received a tour of the Palace of Westminster.

Robert commented: “A big congratulations to Ruby and Georgina for winning my Short Story Competition.

“We had over 200 entries at a very high standard, so they should be extremely proud of themselves. It was a difficult decision.

“I am so impressed with the imaginative and creative writing skills of Harlow’s young people and I hope that everyone that took part enjoyed the experience.

“I also want to say a big thank you to Pearson for sponsoring the competition and we hope to do it all over again in 2020.”