It's great at our schools

PROUD pupils from Hackney declared their schools to be the greatest in a London-wide competition...

PROUD pupils from Hackney declared their schools to be the greatest in a London-wide competition..

More than 6,000 children from primary schools across London sent off poems and pictures of their school to the My School Is Great competition, run in partnership with the Hackney Gazette and its parent newspaper group, Archant London.

The winner of the Hackney leg of the competition was seven-year-old Shanai Henry, from Queensbridge school, who submitted a poem, complete with illustrations of some of her best friends. She impressed the judges and picked up a prize of a state-of-the-art computer from London schools minister, Lord Andrew Adonis, at a ceremony in Westminster on Friday.

Sarah Bailey, head teacher at the school in Queensbridge Road, Hackney, was delighted Shanai had won.

"We are a very small but intimate primary school and Shanai has heightened our profile in the community through the pride she has chosen to express in her school," she said.

"Each day Shanai arrives at 7.50am and leaves at 5.45pm and her performance has made the extended day staff at Queensbridge very proud."

Nine-year-old Shahir Mijan, from Sebright school, was the runner-up in Hackney and won a Nintendo DES lite games console.

The school in Audrey Street, Haggerston, also won the title of most popular school after it entered the most high quality entries.