Lettie Schofield of Forbes has beaten a field of 65 entries from across the State to win a historic short story writing challenge.

A Year 3 student from St Laurence’s Parish School, Lettie was awarded first place in the Primary Students section of the Country Press NSW 125th Anniversary Writing Competition.

The competition was held across all country districts during this year, to commemorate the anniversary of Australia’s oldest print media organisation, which includes The Forbes Advocate among its members.

It was sponsored by agribusiness company, Manildra Group, which enabled entry to be free for primary and secondary students, and the general public, with a total of 178 stories being entered overall.

The rules required competitors to include a mention of newspapers as part of their story, and Lettie not only did that but structured her entire tale around a young girl who sets herself the task of getting the local newspaper delivered to the family farm.

In her official report judge Jenny England, of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW), said Lettie’s story, “Why Can’t We Go To Town?,” stood out due to her creativity at her young age.

Lettie’s proud mother, Jessica Schofield, said her daughter had entered the competition with the encouragement of her teacher Carmen Spry.