Student winners of the annual Parliamentary Press Gallery writing competition met journalists and politicians on a visit to 10 Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament.
Winning political writers visit Westminster
Ten young political writers visited Westminster on 3 March to receive certificates recognising their excellent entries in the 2009 Parliamentary Press Gallery writing competition.
Regional winners were invited to visit Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament as part of their prize.
During a lunchtime reception the Secretary of State for Schools, Children and Families, Ed Balls MP, officially congratulated all the winners. In a speech he praised the student writers' skills and emphasised the importance of taking seriously the views of young people.
Alongside a number of sessions and talks over the course of their busy day, the winners received their certificates from the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin.
Building political literacy
Aimed at two age brackets - school years 10-11 and 12-13 - the competition invited students from across the UK to imagine they were briefing the Prime Minister about their ideas for the future.
Tom O'Leary, Head of Education at Parliament, said:
'The writing competition complements citizenship lessons for secondary school students and provides another way for young people to engage with contemporary issues while building their own political literacy.'
About the annual competition
Write Now: The Parliamentary Press Gallery Writing Competition was first established in 2003 to mark the 200th anniversary of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. It aims to support the citizenship curriculum in schools while encouraging teenagers to think about the issues of the day, and to give them an enthusiasm for democratic politics and parliamentary journalism.
2009 competition supporters:
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