A COLLEGE student has become a published author after successfully submitting an entry to a national competition.

When Barton Peveril Sixth Form College student Leah Goddard entered into a Young Writers creative writing competition, she claimed she had "no expectations".

But now, the student has become a published author after her entry was selected for publication out of a pool of over 2,500 entries from across the UK.

The competition, titled Unsolved, asked 11 to 18 year old students to write their own crime and mystery focused mini-saga of no more than 100 words.

Each student was required to follow the conventions of the crime and mystery genre, exploring their own ideas and stories in a creative way.

Leah Goddard, who previously attended Wildern School, submitted her entry after learning about the competition from Barton Peveril’s Subject Leader for English Literature, Tom Voaden, who also leads the College’s English Extension enrichment program.

The student decided to enter to develop her analytical and creative skills and as she had already had a piece published by Young Writers when she was just ten years old.

But Goddard said she had "no expectations" going into the competition "other than writing it would be something fun to do".

She added: "Receiving the letter telling me that my work had been selected was very exciting.

"Holding the book however made me feel proud of myself for having my short story published, as it was amongst hundreds of amazing pieces written by people of similar ages from all over the UK.”

Young Writers aims to encourage young people to engage in creative writing both inside and outside the classroom. The organisation has worked with schools, parents and young writers since 1991.