Seventeen students from across the UK win national writing competition as research shows fluent reading skills top the list of English skills needed for future careers

A new book and audio stories, which celebrates the futuristic work of seventeen inspiring young writers has been launched today (3^rd March 2022). Pearson’s My Twist on a Tale: Our Tomorrow celebrates the stories and poems written by 4–19-year-olds as part of their national writing competition.

As new research[1] sees fluent reading skills top the list of skills teachers feel will give students the best chance of accessing a wide range of careers (71%), alongside spelling, grammar and punctuation skills (52%), adapting their writing for different audiences (51%) and critical analysis skills (44%), learning company Pearson empowered children and young people to put pen to paper and write their own stories of the future, compiling the winning entries into a brand-new book, and individual audio stories available for all to read and hear.

Stories and poems include One Day in the Future by East Anglia winner Jessica Smith, A Mother’s Plea by South West winner Sophia Papasouliotis, Into the Blue by Key Stage 2 winner Veer Khanna, and New Atlantis by Northern Ireland winner Emma-Louise White.

My Twist on a Tale: Our Tomorrow saw Pearson once again encourage key stage one through to key stage five students let their imagination run wild and write a story or poem about what they think the future may hold. Over 1,200 school, sixth-form and college students entered the competition, unleashing their fortune-telling skills and producing their own reflections. 17 winning stories were picked across categories including key stages 1-5 and all regions in the UK. Stories and poems came in all shapes and sizes from global warming to hoverboards and life post-Covid to trips into space!

The illustrated book is available to download on Pearson’s website with all budding authors receiving their very own hard copy as part of their prize. Audio versions of each story have been made available too!

Lindsay Nadin, Director of Primary at Pearson, said: “We are committed to empowering schools to give their students different opportunities to excel and develop the essential skills needed for their futures. My Twist on a Tale allows us to encourage and excite young children with writing, motivating them to create work that represents their own perspectives of the world in which we live, and find joy in the written word.

“This is the third year of Pearson’s My Twist on a Tale competition and every year the imagination and writing skills of our children and young people amaze us all. It was fascinating to read what some believe the future may hold. The book will take readers on a rollercoaster of emotions as our authors imagine earthlings zipping around on hoverboards, focus on ‘selfish ancestors’ who didn’t pay attention to climate change and highlight the need for new laws to protect people from getting harassed in the future.”

The competition was supported by a range of partners including The Reading Agency, National Literacy Trust, Love Reading, Authors Aloud, Parentkind, Governor Cymru Services, Book Love, Bookmark, Gingerbread, Heady Mix and Coram Beanstalk.

The winning stories include:

Research summary

To find out more about Pearson’s My Twist on a Tale: Our Tomorrow and to download a copy of the book, please visit: go.pearson.com/OurTomorrow or follow us on Twitter @PearsonSchools, Facebook @PearsonPrimary and Instagram @pearsonlitandeng

[1] Research carried out on 2,270 primary and Secondary English teachers* by Teacher Tapp on 28 September 2021. Teachers include classroom teachers, middle leaders and school leaders including Headteacher