Winner of Gee Cross short story competition will be by royal appointment

Primary school children in Gee Cross are being urged to write about the area - and there's plenty of royal interest.

The GX Brabyns Neighbourhood Watch group has announced the return of its short story competition and Queen Camilla, who takes a personal interest in children’s literacy, has asked to be made aware of the outcome so she can write to the winners herself, describing the competition as a “wonderful initiative”. 

Children aged between seven and 11, who live in the Gee Cross area or attend school in the village are invited to create a story on the theme of ‘My Gee Cross’ of up to 500 words. 

The competition is the brainchild of Yvonne Shawdale, an active member of the GX Brabyns group. 

She said: “I ran the first competition in the wake of Covid as so many children had such a bad year with lockdowns and schools closed, and the had suffered so much. This year, I thought it was time to bring it back as it was so popular, and talking about the local area is something the whole family can get involved in.” 

Local author, editor and storyteller, Mark P Henderson, whose works include Folktales of The Peak District and Fennella and The Magic Mirror, has agreed to judge the competition. 

To enter, children are encouraged to handwrite their entry, although typed up entries will be accepted. In addition to the story, entries must include: the story title, number of words, name, address, age and school of each applicant. 
 
Winning stories will be published in Tameside Reporter, and the winners will be awarded with book tokens and books, as well as a letter from Camilla. 

Stories can be submitted in person to either On The Move, Griffs On The Green or the Tesco Express store in Gee Cross from Monday, October 14 until the closing date of Monday, November 11.