"The Parliamentary Press Gallery political writing competition has really helped me to increase interest in serious political issues among my students and has acted as a recruiting tool for Politics at A level.
Students are attracted by the opportunity to visit Westminster and meet important politicians and political journalists - although their teachers may be jealous of invitations to tea in Downing Street!
The benefits do not stop with the competition itself.
I have found that once my students have been involved in it, they are inspired to write more, enter other competitions and submit articles to the press independently.
They come to realise the importance of structure and the need to revise and rewrite initial drafts.
Many students claim to want to become journalists but this competition gives them the opportunity to see what is really involved and test themselves against those who will be their competitors in the future.
For me, such competitions allow me to encourage gifted students to stretch themselves by doing something with the opportunity for real rewards.
I have been delighted that my students have been so successful in it and am currently watching their developing careers to see if any of them will become the new Andrew Marr!"
Dr Barbara Hibbert is Head of History at Harrogate Grammar School, an 11-18 comprehensive school.
Please make sure your students read and comply with the competition rules before submitting their entries.
The following are some websites which may link into some of the issues that students might discuss in their responses to the competition.
