Catholic Young Writers Award winners announced

Joanna Bogle with the winning essays

Schools had to shut earlier this year - but that didn't stop the Catholic Young Writers competition from going ahead. The winners of the 2020 Award are: Elizabeth McAllister of Mayfield School, East Sussex, and Vyvyan Ogenna Okoro of Our Lady and St Chad Academy, Wolverhampton. They share a joint cash prize of £50 (£25 each) plus book prizes and commemorative cups.

The Award was launched over twenty years ago by the Catholic Writers' Guild of England and Wales and as the numbers of schools involved expanded, it was taken over by the Catholic Union Charitable Trust.

This year, participants were invited to write about the importance of attending Sunday Mass and were expected to show evidence of having studied the relevant Scriptures and sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The organiser, author and broadcaster Joanna Bogle, said: "We were pleased to get so many entries for the project this year. The Coronavirus meant schools were closed, but pupils made an extra effort, taking the initiative working from home - and the results were very good."

Read more about the Catholic Union here: www.catholicunion.org.uk