Twelve year old Blake Henwood, of QE2 School in Peel has been named as the Isle of Man's representative for the Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Letter Writing Competition for young people for 2018. Blake's handwritten letter was selected from entries received from children and young people across the Island.
The competition was organised as a collaboration between Isle of Man Post Office (IOMPO), Department of Education Sport and Culture (DESC) and Cabinet Office as part of Year of Our Island. The competition ran from 19th Feb to 31st March and was open to all Island primary and secondary school children up to the age fifteen. The theme for this year's competition was "Imagine you are a letter travelling through time. What message do you wish to convey to your readers?"
Maxine Cannon, General Manager of the Stamps and Coins division of IOMPO, said, "The motto in our team is 'It's better by letter'; we are passionate about carrying on the art of letter writing and instilling in young people the sense of joy in both sending and receiving letters. We are thrilled to have been able collaborate with our colleagues in Government and support Year of Our Island"
Graham Cregeen MHK, Minister for Education, Sport and Culture said, "The Department of Education Sport and Culture were delighted to assist Isle of Man Post Office and Year of our Island with the organisation of this international competition. The standard of the entries, in both primary and secondary, were excellent and showed a real knowledge of our Island and its heritage through the themes the children had chosen for their letters."
Chris Thomas MHK, Minister for Change and Reform and Culture Vannin Chairman said, "The letters were wonderful to read as they shared a real sense of what makes the Isle of Man a special place for the children that wrote them. It was also lovely to hear how our children love living here on our island and the ideas and passion they have for protecting and improving our environment. " .
Winners were selected by a panel of judges with representatives from each of the organisers. There were six winners in total, three from the primary schools and three from secondary schools. First place winners received £100 for their school, second place £50 and third place £25; each winner also receives 100 stamps and postcards for their school. In the primary school category Jamie Corkill and Lucie Williams, both from Onchan School took first and second place respectively with Jenna Gelling from Arbory School taking third place. In the secondary school category Blake Henwood was awarded first place, Charlotte Hewitt who is also from QE2 took second place and Francesca Lord from Ramsey Grammar School won third place.
Blake's letter about life on the Isle of Man as a fictional prisoner of war has now been submitted to the international competition, which will be judged at the end of August. Blake said, 'I really enjoyed taking part in this competition and I am very proud that my letter has been selected to represent the Isle of Man".
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