The winners of a young people’s creative writing competition sponsored by the Friends of Dronfield Station have been announced.

There were over 250 entries to the seventh annual essay competition at Henry Fanshawe School, where entrants were challenged to write pieces featuring stations or trains.

At a packed assembly on Monday 10 June, headteacher Martyn Cooper announced that first prize was awarded to 15-year-old Lucas Stonehouse, who wrote a compelling story about a young boy experiencing depression who is taken on a train journey by a mysterious passenger. Lucas’ main character comes to realise on this journey that the superficial things he was yearning for, such as having a rich family or being included in the popular group at school, were in reality not as attractive as he imagined.

Philip Brightmore, member of Friends of Dronfield Station and essay judge, said: “Every year I have the pleasure of judging the essay competition and it never disappoints. It is fascinating to see how the students manage to include references to trains and stations in their stories in very imaginative and creative ways.

“This year the quality of the entrants was as high as ever and it proved to be a difficult job to separate the three prize winners from the other entrants. Well done everybody!”

Headteacher Martyn Cooper said: “It is great to see our students engaged in a cooperative exercise with an important community group such as the Friends of Dronfield Station, which continues to maintain a great relationship with Henry Fanshawe and all the other schools in the Dronfield area.

“The essay competition provides our students with an unusual and challenging way of following the curriculum and continues to produce high quality results every year. Congratulations to our students and to the staff in the English Department.”

Keep up to date with future news, projects and events from the Friends of Dronfield Station via their website.