The 500 Words 2024/25 'Highly Commended' list

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Each year, thousands of stories are entered into the 500 Words competition - this year we received almost 44,000 entries! The stories are whittled down to a top 50 - 25 in each category - thanks to our volunteer judges and partners, The Reading Agency.

We have been blown away with the phenomenal story writing from children across the UK this year. That's why we want to celebrate an additional 50 writers who came very close to cracking the top 50 - each writer also received a special certificate to celebrate the achievement of reaching our overall top 100.

Here is our 'Highly Commended' list of stories

5-7 category:

“Rats versus mice” by Thomas P.
“Chaos in the Kingdom of Harmonia” by Alexander H.
“Ostrich learns a lesson about friendship” by River S.
“Eddie and his dreams” by Eliyas J.
“The Tiny Dinosaur” by Aliaz G.
"The First Fog” by Kira E.
“The Impala Who Loved Jokes” by Amar R.
“Volcanic Escape!” by Lily Anne J.
“When you close your eyes” by Zianna K.
“Gunner’s Dream” by Leighton S.
“The Journey of My Dream Car” by Ahan D.
“The real reason why Pluto isn’t a planet” by Madeleine D.
“The Whispering Pages” by Jasmine C.
“Claws in Control” by Iris L.
“The Boy who Sings and Swings” by Osian S.
“The Turtle Who Wants To Be A Tortoise!” by Mabel K.
“Don't Mess With Kids!” by Cecelia B. H.
“Wurmy Tries Something New” by Katy H.
“The Scaredy Spider Who Faced Her Fears” by Evelyn K.
“The Seahorse and the Trumpet” by Jack C.
“Geo’s Big Adventure” by George S.
“The Matchstick Mouse” by Elissa S.
“The Mergirls” by Orla K.
“Master Disaster” by Henry H.
“Millie, Jinkey and the Mysterious Hairkle” by Annabelle N.

8-11 category:

“Jumbled” by Miriam T.
“The Junkyard Monster” by Alex H.
“The Tiger’s Roar” by Rishaan T.
“The Viking Exhibition” by Lexie R.
“The Legendary Treasure of Zendu” by Rupert S.
“The Heart of London” by Omar E.
“The Zeppelin Zoo” by Jonah C.
“The edge of everything.” by Elhanan P.
“The Cutlery's Revolt” by Alonso Gonzalez-Paramo C.
“The Residential” by Mia M.
“The Itchy Monkey” by Polly G.
“The Songwriters Dream” by Isla H.
“The Lonely Starling” by Abigail W.
“Yo-yo Hero” by Esme B.
“Anastasiya’s War” by Carla B.
“Dad’s revenge” by Corey M.
“Knock. Knock. Knock.” by Anouk U.
“Everything Will Be OK” by Solihom S.
“The Paper Crane” by Fareedah O.
“Welcome to Earth” by Isla V.
“Spit & Splat discover the 'Outside' is not all that!” by Erin B.
“The Magic of Food” by Morris C.
“Mr Rosenbaum” by Arthur W.
“The Dragon Bakery” by Lucy B.
“The Adventures of Gerald the Conker” by George M.

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