A BLACKBURN junior school seems to be producing the next generation of Wordsworths.

Children at Hawthorns Junior School, St James Road, were among the winners of the Young Writers national poetry competition.

The 40 pupils, from years three to six, have received certificates and will now see their work published in a book showcasing the county's best young poets. The book, Once Upon a Rhyme: Lancashire, will be published later this summer.

This is an even greater achievement considering English is a second language for most of the children.

Shagufta Shah, the school's literacy coordinator, said she was very proud of the children. But she added that their success came as no surprise.

She said: "We've held internal poetry competitions before and I've always been impressed by the quality of the work, so I wasn't surprised when they won."

She hoped that having their work published would spur the children on to even greater success.

"It really motivates them, it's like seeing their names in lights," she said.

The competition was run by Young Writers, an independent company set up to promote creative writing and the enjoyment of literature among children.

A spokesman said: "We obviously congratulate all the winners at Hawthorns. We get thousands of entries so it is quite an achievement to have so many pupils win and have their poem published."