Young Ellie Barriga is proving to be an accomplished writer.

She has recently had a story, The Gingerbread Men, published in a compilation book called A Twist In The Tale with her entry being chosen from thousands of entries from the UK and abroad.

Following on from this she received third prize, and was highly commended, for her essay which was entered into the Independent Schools Association Essay Writing Competition.

Ellie’s entry into the BBC Radio 2,500 words competition has been judged, from over 118,000 entries in her age category, to be in the top 25 in the country. As a result of this she was invited to a special Radio 2 breakfast show which was broadcast live from the Hay Festival .

To read the story, The Palm Watching People go to the BBC Radio 2 website and follow the links from there.

Ellie developed her considerable writing ability while at Aldford School, the infant and junior department of Abbey Gate College, which she now attends.

Her current English teacher, Nerys Moses, said: “Ellie's eyes light up when she has a piece of writing to produce. She crafts her writing with great care and spends time considering appropriate language to use to create the desired effect on her reader.”