First place in this year’s Pushkin Prizes competition has gone to Vicki Gray of Queensferry High in Edinburgh and Dasha Boussarina and Regina Latfullina of St Petersburg. The Russians’ writing was so good the judges felt both deserved to win rather than one be placed second. The first runner-up of the Scottish entries is Philippa Carter of Mannafields Christian School in Edinburgh.
The winner of the Special Endeavour Award made to a Scottish pupil receiving reading and writing support is Mohammed Ahmeidat of Thomas Muir High, Glasgow.
After the award ceremony, the nine Scottish and two Russian winners were whisked off to Moniack Mhor Writers’ Centre near Inverness for a residential writing course in an informal atmosphere, to work with poet Gerry Cambridge and best-selling writer Catherine MacPhail.
The annual writing competition is open to S1 and S2 pupils in Scottish state schools and schools specialising in English language in St Petersburg, Pushkin’s home town. Full texts of the winning entries will be posted on the Internet at www.pushkinprizes.net
