BUDDING young writers are being urged to put pen to paper as The Press launches its schools' poetry competition ahead of Remembrance Day next week.

The contest aims to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War and we are appealing to all secondary schools in York to get involved and to get their pupils writing.

The First World War inspired some of the greatest poems in the English language and now it is the current generation's turn to put their thoughts and feelings in words.

The competition will be judged by a panel of experts, and the winner will receive the latest iPad. The top ten poems and the including the overall winner will be published in The Press.

Already several schools have told us that they are keen to enter the competition, and they are weaving the writing into their English and History curriculum.

The competition is very simple to enter. Just go to the First World War poetry section of our website, where you can upload your poem.

The poem can be no more than 200 words long, and please fill in all the requested information about your entry. All poems will appear on The Press website and poems that are above the word limit will still be published online but will not be entered into the competition and cannot be printed in The Press.

If your school is interested and would like more information then email paul.ketley@nne.co.uk

The closing date for entries is Friday, December 12.