A Croydon student was shocked to find out he had taken out first prize in a national writing competition.

Young authors from across the country submitted written pieces for the National Literacy Trust competition around the themes of ‘copyright knights’ and ‘plagiarism pirates’

In the end it was eight-year-old Elias Atkinson from Elmhurst School for Boys who came out on top.

his victory came as a big shock to Elias.

“I honestly did not think I would win," he said.

"I was surprised to win out of the whole country and I feel very proud.

"I love writing and English is one of my favourite subjects. This has given me the confidence to do more writing.”