Primary school pupils from Kingsbridge are celebrating creative success after being recognised in a Devon-wide Short Story Competition focused on waste and recycling.

Their achievement comes as National Storytelling Week (31 January to 8 February) highlights the power of stories to inspire, connect and educate people of all ages.

Children aged between seven and 14 from across Devon were invited to submit a 500-word illustrated story between September 2024 and July 2025, exploring themes such as recycling, composting, reducing waste and plastic pollution.

Among more than 80 entries, two young writers from Kingsbridge impressed judges from Devon County Council’s Waste Education team and the Devon School Library Service.

Storm, from Kingsbridge, was awarded a runner-up prize for Speedy the Snail, while Oscar received a special mention for a poem centred on recycling.

Judges praised the creativity, imagination and strong understanding of environmental issues shown by both entries.

Joint first place in the competition was awarded to Monty from Bradninch for The Rubbish Alien and Thomas from Appledore for Kong’s Machine.

Another runner-up prize went to Ralph from Kentisbeare for Scoogles.

All stories were required to focus on waste and recycling and could include topics such as reusing materials or food waste reduction.

Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity, congratulated all those who took part, saying it was encouraging to see so many young people engaging with sustainability through storytelling.

She said the entries showed just how seriously children are taking environmental issues, with many offering imaginative ideas for reducing waste.

The five prize-winning pupils will receive awards during school assemblies in December, with prizes sponsored by Suez.

The joint winners will receive £50 book tokens, while runners-up will receive £10 book tokens. All winners will also be presented with a Recycle Devon goody bag and a framed certificate.

All five winning entries can be read online via Devon’s waste education website, The Zone, at: https://tinyurl.com/yjfhjzbb