THERE was a happy ending for a 10-year-old Bury schoolgirl when she entered a national reading contest.

Anna Baird, who attends St Joseph’s RC Primary on Queen Street in Ramsbottom, won a regional award for ‘Most Interesting Written Responses to Books Read’ out of 208 North West schools.

The ‘Read My School’ competition challenged primary schoolchildren to read as many books as they could from January 21 until March 22, and log their progress on their website.

The books were all available to read online or borrow from local libraries, and the judging panel took into account online reading records and reports from teachers.

Youngsters then had to answer questions about books they had read, and the judging panel said Anna’s responses stood out so much they predicted a promising future.

Louise Richardson, event co-ordinator and a member of the judging panel, said: “Anna’s long, thoughtful and witty answers make me feel certain that she has gained a lot from the Read for My School competition.

“The creativity in her answers was exemplary. I think we have a writer in the making here!” Anna said: “I really enjoy fiction and adventure stories; my favourites are the Famous Five and Secret Seven and my favourite author is Enid Blyton.

"We had to write why we liked the books and what we found the funniest.

"I have already come up with some of my own stories, and when I am older I want to be a vet and a writer.”

Year Five teacher Anne Daniels said: “We are all really proud of Anna, to win the competition against entrants from throughout the North West is fantastic.

“We are trying to promote reading for pleasure, and this competition has definitely helped the children to get more interested.”

Anna was honoured at a presentation ceremony at Waterstones in Manchester.

Her prizes were presented by children’s author Cliff McNish, and included a Kindle e-reader, a £30 Waterstones book voucher and 100 books for her school.

She is in the running to win the national prize held in London on June 18, where a family ticket to see the musical Matilda, a room in a London hotel and 1,000 books for her school are up for grabs.