A SCHOOL librarian has been helping a BBC radio presenter to read.

Gillian Mayes, of The Queen’s School, has assisted Radio 2’s breakfast show host Chris Evans with his nationwide competition to select the best stories written by children.

Fifty scripts from more than 900 entries have been chosen to go forward to a panel of celebrity judges, including David Walliams and Anthony Horowitz, and the overall winner will be announced at the Hay on Wye Literature Festival on Friday, June 3.

The competition, part of the BBC Year of Books, invited children aged 13 or under to write a short story of 500 words on any subject.

Gillian reviewed a selection of the entries and has been entered into a draw to be at the Chris Evans Show on the day the winner is announced.”

She said: “I marked about 40 stories and was incredibly impressed with the entries.”

A spokesperson from The Chris Evans Show added: “We would like to say a massively huge thank you to all the teachers who have sent us back their marked batch of stories.

“We have been bowled over by messages of support for our kids’ writing talent.”