Telford MP Shaun Davies has presented awards to local primary school pupils who took part in a creative writing competition celebrating the reopening of Ironbridge Gorge museums.
The competition, organised in partnership with the National Trust, invited primary school children from across Telford to write a letter to their MP explaining why Telford’s green spaces are important to them and highlighting an environmental issue they care about. The competition encouraged young people to think about the natural environment, their local community, and the role they can play in protecting both for future generations.
Six pupils were recognised for the quality of their entries, with five attending a special award presentation at Blist Hill Victorian Town on Friday. The awards were presented by Telford MP Shaun Davies and Amanda Phillipson representing the National Trust.
Shaun Davies MP played a key role in securing the long-term future of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums securing a £9 million of Government funding to protect the museums and helped establish a partnership with the National Trust, which took over the care and management of the sites in 2026.
Each winning pupil received a family pass to visit a National Trust property this summer, giving them the opportunity to explore and enjoy some of the country’s most treasured historic places and green spaces.
Gaurav Singla, parent of Anvi from Priorslee Primary Academy commented: “Anvi is super excited to be recognised for her creative writing. She loves writing and this has been an incredible effort by Shaun Davies, his team, Priorslee Primary Academy and National Trust to encourage young writers to shine. The whole event has been so well organised and receiving her award inside one of the jewels of our local community made it even more special. Proud moment for us as parents!”
Lauren Cheadle, parent of Elouisa Wright in year 4 at Holmer Lake Primary School said: “We’re incredibly proud of Elouisa for this fantastic achievement. She has always loved reading and writing, and it’s wonderful to see her creativity and hard work recognised in this way. We’re grateful to everyone involved in the competition for encouraging young writers and giving them the opportunity to share her views on what matter to her so much at such a young age. We hope this experience inspires her to keep writing and following her imagination for many years to come, and also encourage young children to also follow suit and never be afraid of writing what your passionate about. On this note we would like to thank Shaun Davies and Holmer Lake primary for this opportunity to allow to shine.”
Jessica Rimmer parent of Darcey Rimmer, in year 2 at Redhill Primary School said: “Darcey is so thrilled to have won the competition. At home, she often spends time creative writing and creating her own stories for us to read and we have really seen her skills develop. Darcey really enjoyed the task of writing why Telford’s green spaces matter and her hard work has paid off. We couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Amanda Phillipson, National Trust, Lifelong Learning Manager added: “A huge congratulations to all the children that took part in the competition, and of course to the winners. We look forward to welcoming them to Ironbridge Gorge over the summer, when there will be lots of fun activities to take part in!”
Shaun said: “This competition was all about encouraging young people to visit our fantastic museum sites this summer, while also giving them the opportunity to write to me as their MP and showcase their brilliant writing skills. For some of the children at the presentation, it was their first visit to Blists Hill, and I’m confident it won’t be their last. I hope they left feeling inspired by our local history and proud of everything they achieved through the competition.”
