Two south Bucks pupils have taken the top prize in a national writing competition.

Maya Tiwana, 10, from Maltman’s Green School, in Gerrards Cross, and Ayaan Khan, from Stokenchurch Primary School, beat off tough competition with their stories based around the theme ‘The Future’, to win the regional heats of the National Young Writers’ Awards.

The competition, organised by Explore Learning, which has centres in Beaconsfield, where Maya is from, and High Wycombe, is now in its ninth year and was judged by TV presenter and adventurer Steve Backshall.

More than 10,000 children from all over the country entered in a bid to win a trip to Disneyland Paris and £500 worth of books for their school.

Entrants were tasked with writing a 500 word story set in 3017 and while the national winner has not yet been announced, both Maya and Ayaan impressed judges with their stories, The Leap and The Adventures of Tagbot respectively.

They won prize bundles with goodies from National Stationery Week partners, Nu notebooks, Mustard, edding, Maped Helix, Write Size, Manuscript and Stabilo.

Mr Backshall said: “The quality of the stories was beyond belief. 

“If I didn’t know this was a competition for young writers, I’d believe I was reading the scribblings of Isaac Asimov or Philip K Dick, and while there were elements from the great works of science fiction -every story was original, and had its own sense of individuality. 

“What astounded me more than anything was that these young people had not only imagined future worlds, but imbued them with the conundrums of our modern planet.”

Carey Ann Dodah, head of curriculum development at Explore Learning, said: “This year’s National Young Writers’ Awards attracted so many entries so Ayaan and Maya should be very proud of their success.

“We were blown away with the amazingly creative, thoughtful and inventive stories.”