Rotary Young Writers 2026

The Rotary Young Writers Competition is a well established and popular event. The entrants are required to submit a story in prose or verse to a theme set by Rotary.  For the stories, the number of words must not exceed  550 and for the verse no more than 40 lines.

The theme for 2026 was 'HAPINESS in NATURE" and each of the three age groups were given the same theme. The groups were: Junior (7 to 10), Intermediate (11 to 13) and Senior (14 to 17). The judges applied criteria that encompassed, imagination, ability to translate ideas to the written word, spelling (to some extent), and originallity.

This year there were more than 60 entries from the Dingwall cachment schools and the Dingwall Rotary Club Heat winners were: MILLIE PATERSON  (INTERMEDIATE AGE GROUP) and HANNAH BLACKBURN (JUNIOR AGE GROUP) both from  from Avoch Primary School.  Each received a certificate from the Club and a £30 monetery reward.  Both entries were submitted  to the next stage of the competition at Rotary District 1010 level. The District covers the whole of the North and N E of Scotland and includes the Orkney, Shetland and Westen Isles.

At this stage and against stiff competition Hannah's  entry took first place. Hannah was preesented with a cerificate to record the event and a prize of £75. 

The final stage of the competitionh was judged at Rotary GB&I UK level and Hanna's entry was forwarded for consideration  This was the first time that a Dingwall Rotary sponsored entry had progressed to this final stage.  The Dingwll Rotarians and the staff and fellow pupils at Avoch Primary School are very proud of Hannah's achievements...