Young wordsmiths shine in short story competition

To mark Share-a-Story Month and celebrate the power and magic of storytelling, Year Six pupils at Lawford C of E Primary School recently took part in local heritage developer City & Country’s short story competition.

Tasked to write a story set in their historic hometown of Manningtree, the pupils wrote descriptive tales of adventure and intrigue, with talented young writer Mia winning a £25 book voucher and two runners-up, Nancy and Sadie awarded £15 and £10 vouchers respectively.

The team from City & Country, who are building a collection of new homes nearby at Manningtree Park, were amazed by the standard of entries from the pupils.

Jennifer Rhodes-Finch, Head of Marketing at City & Country, commented: “It was difficult to pick a winner as there were so many fascinating stories set in Manningtree, and we all really enjoyed reading them.
“However we all loved the winning story which really had us gripped and I am sure that the author has a bright career ahead – David Walliams had better watch out!”

The competition was organised as part of National Share-a-Story Month which takes place throughout the month of May and is an annual celebration of storytelling and story sharing, aiming to bring children and books together in new ways.

Deputy Head at Lawford C of E Primary Katie Usher said: “The children loved taking part in the competition, they were all talking about it for weeks and are so proud of the finished entries. The class really enjoyed sharing their stories with each other and it was a great opportunity to get creative about our local area.”

City & Country is building an exclusive collection of one and two-bedroom apartments and one to five-bedroom homes at its Manningtree Park development on Long Road. Residents will be able to enjoy a community farm shop and café, off-lead dog area and a natural playground in over 11-acres of landscaped parkland.

Close to the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty the development is the perfect blend of coastal and country location whilst benefiting from commuter links to London in under an hour, with Manningtree train station only a six minute cycle from the development.

The recently unveiled five-bedroom show home named ‘The Danbury’ is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Prices currently start from £375,000, with tailored incentives available on selected homes. To book an appointment to view the show home or to find out more please visit www.cityandcountry.co.uk or call 01206 598927.