Best-selling children’s author, Andrew Cope selects Britain’s next young writer

March 21, 2012 - PRLog -- The 2012 Explore Learning National Young Writers’ Award is a creative writing competition open to children aged 5 - 14 years. This year’s annual event welcomes best-selling children’s author, Andrew Cope who will be sitting on the judging panel to find the best young authors in the UK. This competition aims to encourage children to think creatively and inspire them to write stories.

The competition opens for entries on the 16th of April and the winner will be announced on the 11th June allowing children plenty of time to plan and write their story with a maximum word limit of 500 words. This year’s theme is  ‘Old and New’ and the story will be judged on its overall creativity, characterisation and descriptive language. Entrants can submit their entries by email, post or at their local Explore Learning Centre.

The winner will receive a trip for the whole family to Disneyland Paris and £500 worth of books for their school. Andrew Cope will select the winning entry from the anticipated 10,000 entries this year. Andrew (also known as Andy) is an inspiration to many writers and loved by kids all over the world for his award winning children’s books, the ‘Spy Dog’ series which are inspired by his dog. He is also a qualified teacher and learning junkie, currently studying happiness, flourishing and positivity as part of a PhD thesis.

Last year’s winner Samuel Groves, now aged 9 from Wimbledon Park Primary School took first prize with his story, ‘The Blue Guitar’ which takes you on an imaginary journey of the life of his blue guitar. You can read his story at www.explorelearning.org.uk/youngwriters.

The event is organised annually by Explore Learning, a national network of tuition centres across the UK . Now in its fourth year, the Explore Learning National Young Writer of the Year Award is one of the largest free-to-enter writing competitions for children in the UK and attracts children of all ages whether they are confident in writing or have been hesitant to write in the past.

Heather Garrick, from Explore Learning said “It is a great pleasure to be working with Andrew Cope this year. He is such an inspiration to both adults and children so will help encourage more young writers across the UK to step up and unveil their talent. Encouraging children to take part in national competitions like these helps to build their confidence  and improve their academic performance.”

To find out more about Explore Learning or to find the nearest centre, visit www.explorelearning.co.uk.

ENDS

Additional Notes

Interview opportunities are available with:
•   Last year’s winner Samuel Groves
•   Award winning children’s author, Andrew Cope
•   Heather Garrick from Explore Learning

Please contact 0203 393 6010 or email cassie@newsdatanetwork.co.uk or alicia@newsdatanetwork.co.uk

•   Interview and picture opportunities will be available for the regional and national winners, which will be organised through News Data Network.
•   Explore Learning provides maths and English tuition for 5-14 year olds.
•   Children of all abilities attend Explore Learning, including children who are gifted or have special educational needs.
•   15,000 children attend Explore Learning centres every week.
•   All Explore centres are located in areas that are convenient for families to attend – these include centres within shopping centres such as Westfield London, Lakeside, Cabot Circus and Sainsbury’s supermarkets.
•   More information can be found at www.explorelearning.co.uk.