A 11-year-old from South Ruislip has won the much coveted accolade of being named a runner up in Explore Learning’s National Young Writers’ Award.

Jaimini Ganatra from Hunters Hill fought off tough competition from children all over the country with her story.

This year’s theme was Old and New, and Jaimini’s story was about a time travel adventure on Ayers Rock. She was presented with a trophy and certificate at her school – Newnham Junior School – on Friday, June 29 in front of her teachers and fellow pupils.

The competition was judged by bestselling author of the hugely popular Spy Dog series, Andy Cope.

Andy said: “The entrants this year completely blew me away. These are some of the best young writers in the country and I’ve loved the opportunity to get involved in a competition where we encourage children to put pen to paper, get inspired and create something that’s never been created before.”

The National Young Writers’ Award is an annual event organised by tuition provider, Explore Learning, who give English and maths tuition to five- to 14-year-olds, with centres based in Ruislip and Harrow.

The competition aims to encourage children to get their creative juices flowing and give writing a try. To support this, tutors from Explore Learning ran free workshops with hundreds of schools across the UK.

Alexis Humphrey from Explore Learning was thrilled with the number of entries received this year.

She said: “Writing is a fantastic pastime for children. As well as helping with their grammar and spelling, it takes them away to another place where anything goes; it lets their imagination run free and we were amazed by the inventiveness of some of the stories we received.

"We’re proud to put on a competition that attracted so many entrants and want to congratulate all our participants, and of our runners up, who fought off tough competition to have their stories named the best in the country.”

Explore Learning specialise in providing maths and English tuition to children aged five to 14 of all abilities. The programme works in line with the National Curriculum and offers members a fun and stimulating learning environment, allowing them to fulfil their full potential outside of the classroom.

At present Explore Learning provides extra-curricular tuition to approximately 16,000 members who attend their existing centres nationwide. This figure is set to increase as new centres are due to open over the next 12 months, offering more parents access to after-school tuition.

For more information about Explore Learning and its tuition services visit www.explorelearning.co.uk