12-year-old Leo Templer from Muswell Hill has been selected as the London winner in a national writing competition, and will see his futuristic story about the impact of climate change published in a brand-new book, released today, as part of Pearson’s My Twist on a Tale: Our Tomorrow writing competition.

In autumn 2021, learning company Pearson empowered children and young people between the ages of 4–19 to put pen to paper and write their own stories and poems of the future, compiling the winning entries in a brand-new book: My Twist on a Tale: Our Tomorrow, alongside a collection of audio stories being launched today.

The My Twist on a Tale: Our Tomorrow winners’ book and audio stories are being launched alongside new research, released today, which suggests fluent reading skills top the list of skills that London teachers feel will give students the best chance of accessing a wide range of careers (70%), alongside spelling, grammar and punctuation skills (50%) and adapting their writing for different audiences (50%).[1]

Scooping the award in the London category, Leo’s work, Ingamed, was chosen alongside 16 other fantastic stories and poems written by children across the country, including A Mother’s Plea by South West winner Sophia Papasouliotis, Into the Blue by Key Stage 2 winner Veer Khanna, and New Atlantis by Northern Ireland winner Emma-Louise White.

Leo’s story starts with a boy called James, who’s eating a bacon sandwich whilst watching the news about boring life. A report of rocks crashing into earth and the sun collapsing then comes blaring out, with the scientists’ only solution being uploading everyone into a new online world called Ingamed.

As his Dad cries, saying people had long warned them this would happen, James is full of excitement about living in a real-life computer game. The reporter says that in two days time, everyone will receive an email with a link they must click.

The day arrives. As they watch the sun changing colour, they know life on earth is about to change, and they have no control over it. Excitement turning to fear, James and his Dad click the link, and their humanoid bodies are uploaded into a pixelated universe.

Leo’s story then follows James’ life a year later. He is playing virtual football with his friend. Life in the online world turns out to be almost the same as before – except there are no insects! Leo closes his tale with James and his friend reminiscing the taste of bacon sandwiches, as they stare up at a perfect digital sun.

Leo, who attends Fortismere School in Muswell Hill, said: “I can’t believe my story was chosen. It’s such an honour and I’m really excited to see it in print and hear the audio version. I love playing online games and I spend a lot of time chatting to my friends over my headset. That’s what gave me the idea.”

Over 1,200 school, sixth-form and college students entered the competition, unleashing their fortune-telling skills. 17 winning entries were picked across categories including KS1 through to KS5, and all regions in the UK. The resulting book, My Twist on a Tale: Our Tomorrow, is available to download on Pearson’s website, with all budding authors receiving their very own hard copy as part of their prize. Audio versions of each story have been made available too!

Lindsay Nadin, Director of Primary at Pearson, said: ‘Leo should be extremely proud of the story he has written. His creativity and writing skills make him a worthy winner, alongside the 16 other young authors whose stories and poems ranged from earthlings zipping around on hoverboards, to the need for new laws to keep people safe.

‘At Pearson, we are committed to empowering schools to give their students different opportunities to excel, and develop essential skills needed for their futures. My Twist on a Tale allows us to encourage and excite young children with writing, motivating them to create work that represents their own perspectives of the world in which we live, and find joy in the written word. Everyone who submitted a story should be very proud of their creation.’

CBBC star Tillie Amartey, who judged the London category, said: ‘I loved the fact that Leo managed to convey several complex thoughts, ideas and images of the future using a very subtle narrative form. I felt it was particularly clever of Leo to show James’ growth of character and change of perspective, from the classic teenager who heard the news as ‘blah,’ to his excitement of living in a futuristic virtual reality, to the instinctive dread and sadness he felt which mirrored his father’s perspective. I was hugely impressed by the completeness of his story and the use of seemingly insignificant details which then became so significant in the end; symbols of a lost past. Well done Leo!’