By Alesha Capone
It’s no secret that Westbourne Grammar School pupil Preet is a great writer.
The 11-year-old, who lives in Truganina, has received a national award for a 500-word story she submitted to this year’s Children’s Word of the Year competition.
The competition, run by Oxford University Press Australia and New Zealand, asks children from grade prep to grade 6 to submit a piece of writing based on a word that reflected their lives and interests – in Preet’s case, the word was “secrets”.
Preet said she wrote a fantasy story about a girl who lives in a cave and cares for her sister after the village their family lives in burns down.
The girl later discovers she is a warlock and that her mother is still alive.
Out of more than 500 entries, Preet’s story won her the national award for grade 6 pupils.
Preet said she was “so happy” with her win, for which she received a $50 book voucher.
“At first I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
Preet said she loved reading and writing.
“I loved reading Harry Potter, and from that I found out that I love fantasy novels and I love magic,” she said.
Preet said that when she grew up, she hoped to be both a doctor and an author.
Westbourne Grammar’s grade 6A class also won an award in the competition.
