NINE-YEAR-OLD Annie Taylor, a pupil at Inglefield House School, Monmouth, is one of ten pupils that have made it to the regional Wales final in Royal Mail’s Young Letter Writer of the Year competition, taking her a step closer to the national final.

The competition posed the question ‘What is your dream job?’ with the Royal Mail receiving more than 2,000 letters from school children across Wales and almost 100,000 in total across the United Kingdom.

Annie’s entry, about her wish to be a

primary school teacher, has been shortlisted to go through to the next stage of the competition, where local judges will select their top two entries to represent Wales in the national final.

Judges said: “Annie’s letter was from an earnest young child, displaying wisdom beyond her years.”

Annie has won £40 in vouchers and £40 for her school. This cash prize will increase if she progresses further in the competition.

During the national final judging taking place later in the month, popular TV presenter Helen Skelton will be part of a panel of judges who will select the two winning letters. Other judges include former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen, Director of the National Literacy Trust Jonathan Douglas, and Royal Mail Group Chief Executive Officer Moya Greene.

TV Presenter Helen Skelton, said: “The number of entries we have received is phenomenal. I’m looking forward to reading the letters that make it through to the final so I can see exactly what dream jobs children would love to do.”

Stephen Agar, Managing Director of Consumer Network Access, Royal Mail said: “We’ve seen a fantastic response to the competition, with almost 100,000 entries. It shows that children are still excited at the thought of writing letters and expressing themselves by putting pen to paper.”

The competition received 97,355 entries in total, the highest since 2000. Entries were received from 18.8 per cent of all secondary schools and 22.6 per cent of all primary schools in the United Kingdom.