School children show creative flair with NorthLink Ferries writing competition

Friday 26th October 2018

School pupils from across Orkney and Shetland have showcased their creativity by putting pen to paper as part of a NorthLink Ferries writing competition.

Forming part of this year’s ‘Year of Young People’ celebrations, NorthLink Ferries tasked P6 and P7 pupils from schools across the Northern Isles with detailing five reasons why they believe Orkney and Shetland are great.

Out of 215 entries, Amelia Tomalin from Evie Primary School and Ailee Burgess from Tingwall Primary School were chosen as the winners. Both winners have received a return trip with NorthLink Ferries. Their winning essays feature on the NorthLink Ferries website – www.northlinkferries.co.uk – and in the pages of the onboard magazine, Northern Lights.

Amelia’s top reasons to visit Orkney included landmarks such as The Old Man of Hoy, Ring of Brodgar and St Magnus Cathedral. Her rich descriptions of folklore, countryside walks, beaches, Groatie Buckie hunting and safe communities all made for compelling reading.

Shetland’s Viking traditions and fire festivals were amongst Ailee’s reasons to visit the island. Ailee’s brilliant insider’s guide also recommends trying out Shetland’s food scene and shops, exploring the neighbouring islands and keeping an eye out for wildlife, such as otters and seals.

Stuart Garrett, Serco’s Managing Director of NorthLink Ferries, said: “We were blown away by the quality and creativity of all the entries. Choosing the winners was a challenging task for the team as everyone really demonstrated why Orkney and Shetland are fantastic places to live and visit.

“All the winners, runners-up and entrants are clearly passionate about life on the islands and our communities definitely have a bright future ahead of them with these ambassadors at the forefront.”

10 runners-up from Orkney and 10 runners-up from Shetland were also chosen to each receive a NorthLink goodie bag.

For more information visit www.northlinkferries.co.uk