TWO Belbroughton schoolgirls have put a twist on fairytale classics to win a national writing competition.

Ten-year-old Cerys Hickman and 11-year-old Mary Muthuveloe penned modern-day takes on traditional tales as part of Pearson’s My Twist on a Tale.

The world’s learning company, Pearson, encouraged children between the ages of 4-16 to tear up the rule book and give their favourite fairytale, fable or folk story a 21st Century twist, showcasing the diverse and modern-day Britain within which they live.

Cerys, who scooped the Key Stage 2 award and Mary, the West Midlands regional prize winner, were chosen alongside 12 other fantastic stories written by children across the country, all of which have now been published.

The book, titled My Twist on a Tale Winning Stories, was released on World Book Day last week and all the budding writers have received a copy of the book which is also available to download on Pearson’s website at pearsonschools.co.uk/mytwistonatale

Cerys’s story was an inventive take on the Three Little Pigs, about a kind, sweet-hearted wolf who wanted to address climate change.

He was a cavity wall insulation seller, using his huff and puff to show potential customers how draughty their homes were.

Mary’s story gave Goldilocks a modern-day twist, featuring a teenage girl who was always glued to her phone and her favourite app, Tik Tok, which helped make her popular.

One day, disaster struck, her phone was almost out of battery and her dog had chewed her charger. She needed a fully charged phone to get more likes.

Cerys, who attends Belbroughton C of E Primary School, said: “I was so surprised I had won as I knew there would be many fantastic entries.

"I really enjoyed twisting my story, writing about climate change as it’s such an important topic but I wanted to include morals too like working together is stronger than working apart and that it’s wrong to judge people.”

Mary, who attends the same school, said: “I felt so proud when I found out I had won.

"I thought it was important to reflect modern tech problems and the panic in people it can cause but also to say that these issues aren’t really issues at all and to remind people that we don’t need to have our lives ruled by technology.”

More than 3,000 pupils and schools across the country entered the competition, with Cerys’ The Eco-Friendly Wolf story taking the top Key Stage 2 prize and Mary’s Goldie and the Three Shop Assistants story taking the top prize for the West Midlands.

Katy Lewis, head of English, drama and languages at Pearson said: “Cerys and Mary should be extremely proud of the stories they have written. Their imagination and writing skills were outstanding.

"It was an incredibly difficult decision choosing winners from the 3000+ stories we received, as they were all fascinating to read."