Western Isles pupil is a first-class prize winner

“1st Class Hero”

Jamie Tyler from Uig Primary School on the Isle of Lewis is a first-class prize winner in a letter writing competition run by Royal Mail with schools in Scotland.

Primary School children were asked to write to their 1st Class Hero and entries from across Scotland show that admiration for relatives is as strong as for sporting heroes and pop stars.

Jamie aged eight wrote a letter to his dad, setting out his admiration for his work as a coastguard. The judges confirmed him as one of three Scottish runner-up prize winners in the 7-9 age category.

“Jamie is a worthy prize winner”

In his letter, he wrote: “You also did some pretty amazing stuff when you were training to be a coast guard as well. You went down a rope off a helicopter which was really amazing. So that is why you are my hero.”

Jamie was presented with his certificate and prize by Royal Mail manager Nicola Lyall, during a special event at the school.

Ms Lyall said: “Jamie’s letter was outstanding and he should feel extremely proud. He clearly expresses the enthusiasm and admiration that he has for his dad, who is a worthy hero and Jamie is a worthy prize winner.

“We need letter-writing for everything so it is excellent to see that children are learning this essential skill. The standard of entries was very high and short-listing was difficult. Across the UK, over 13,000 children took part so all the children who were judged winners have been declared first-class.”

“Demonstrating imagination and creativity”

There were three categories in the competition for ages 7-9, 10-11, and a Special Achievement award, for children who overcome particular difficulties to enter.

Each category winner received a set of Smilers® stamps and a £50 book token, plus a £75-box of letter writing goodies to share with their classmates. There were also three runners up in each category who each won a £10 book token.

The competition encouraged children to write a letter with a purpose to their hero or heroine, demonstrating imagination and creativity within a basic letter format. The competition was designed as a class activity to fit with the school curriculum, to motivate children of all ages and abilities.

“Letter writing skills”

Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust who helped launch the competition before Christmas said: “Our recent research found that most young people do acknowledge a link between writing and future success. Nearly 9 in 10 (87.7%) young people understood that writing was important to succeed in life.

“We know that employers are put off by badly written job application letters which means a young person may never even get a job interview. Having difficulties with writing skills will limit opportunities throughout adult life so it is very important to practise letter writing skills.”

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