Winning political writers visit Westminster
12 young political writers visited Westminster on 8 March to receive certificates recognising their excellent entries in the 2011 Parliamentary Press Gallery writing competition.
Regional winners were invited to visit Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament and the parliamentary broadcasting studios as part of their prize.
During a lunchtime reception Carolyn Quinn, the Chairman of the Press Gallery for 2011, officially congratulated all the winners.
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, John Bercow.
Press Gallery competition winner's day in pictures
Building political literacy
This year the competition focused on communication in the modern age with students, for the first time, being asked to write using an online method of communication.
Students in years 10-11 were asked to imagine they were a party leader who was writing a 500 word email to their party members who were concerned about the current political situation.
Year 12-13 students were asked to watch a political event and, imagining they were a political blogger, write a 500 word blog entry about their opinion of the event including links to other blogging sites.
Edge Watchorn, Education Service Manager, said:
'Write Now develops young people's political literacy by giving secondary school students the opportunity to engage with topical issues through politics and the media.'
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.
• Write Now: competition home page