A nine year-old girl from Mollington has been named as one of the regional finalists in Royal Mail’s Young Letter Writer of the Year competition, taking her a step closer to the national final.

Aoife Kelleher, a pupil at St Oswald's CE Primary School, wrote a letter about how she wants to be a teacher on a tropical island.

It was chosen as one of the 10 best entries received from across the North West.

The judges said: “Aoife’s letter was absolutely magical. It made us laugh out loud at her words, including this - “In the Antarctic, I taught penguins to dance… they loved the Argentinian tango.”

Her entry has now been shortlisted to go through to the next stage of the competition, where local judges will select their top two entries to represent the region in the national final.

Related: Mollington St Oswald's named best primary school in the county

The competition received 97,355 entries, the highest since 2000.

During the national final judging taking place later in the month, TV presenter Helen Skelton will be part of a panel of judges, including former Children’s Laureate, Michael Rosen, Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, and Royal Mail Group chief executive officer, Moya Greene, who will select the two winning letters.

Aoife has won £40 in vouchers and £40 for the school. However, this cash prize will increase if she progresses in the competition.

Helen Skelton said: “The number of entries we have received is phenomenal. I’m looking forward to reading the letters that make it through to the final so I can see exactly what dream jobs children would love to do.”