Horsham College student Matilda Riddell has won 100 books for her school by writing and illustrating a book about her dog, Navi.

Matilda, 14, said she was surprised to do so well in the Coles’ ‘Create Your Own Book and Win’ competition. 

“I’m not the best at writing, I like the illustrating side of things much more,” she said. 

College library manager Helen Hynes congratulated the year-eight student on her efforts. 

“Matilda has been a very good representative of the school,” she said.

“She’s always done well with her studies and is clearly a very good writer. She did really well in the competition and there were about 6000 entries.

“As a result, Coles will donate 100 books to the school. They are generally fiction, although some are non-fiction, such as a couple of thesauruses. 

“There are several books for primary school children as well. It’s going to be a great benefit for our library and all our students.”

Head of English Mark Block said the school had a heavy focus on writing in 2020, particularly with a reliance on remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve had several competitions that we’ve been encouraging all the kids to enter,” he said.

“It’s been great to see so many kids writing so much more this year and getting really enthusiastic about it – and so many have been winning competitions, which is amazing to see.

“We’re really proud of Matilda and the work that she’s done.

“There are so many opportunities for good writers and we want to make sure they have every opportunity to excel at that skill.”

– Sarah Matthews 

The entire November 25, 2020 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!

The entire November 25, 2020 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!