Judges of the competition, run by Learnnewsdesk with Amnesty International, were overwhelmed by the quality of the entries, which explored human rights abuses in many different countries
Back in January, we announced the Young Human Rights Reporter of the Year 2011 competition. Learnnewsdesk (the Guardian's news website for schools) ran the competition in partnership with Amnesty International UK. We asked children aged seven to 14 to write up to 250 words on a human rights story.
We received almost 600 entries from schools all over the UK. The judging panel (which included Guardian journalists, teachers, human rights experts and last year's winners) were overwhelmed by the quality of this year's entries. Pupils wrote on an incredibly wide range of subjects, powerfully exploring human rights abuses across many countries, and themes from Burma to blood diamonds.
We are proud to announce the winners and runners-up of the primary and lower secondary age category of the competition.
The primary young human rights reporter of the year, 2011, is 11-year-old Isabella French, from Merryhills primary school in Middlesex. Isabella's piece on child labour in India moved the judges deeply. She put herself in the shoes of a child labourer of the same age and then presented her analysis of the issue:
"I take for granted the life I have. I wish that child labour like this could stop immediately. That is my wish."
The runners-up in the primary category are: Ellie Arden, 11, from St Ebbe's primary school in Oxford and Suraj Lall, 10, from Bablake junior school in Coventry. Ellie wrote a rousing piece on blood diamonds pointing out that the blood shed is often children's, and Suraj highlighted the plight of refugees with a stirring real-life account.
The lower secondary young human rights reporter of the year, 2011, is Angus Kirk, 13, from The King Edward VI school, Morpeth. His article on child soldiers impressed judges with its pace and power. His use of a quote from an ex-child soldier – "Two of my friends in the camp died because of the beatings. The soldiers buried them in the latrines. I am still thinking of them" – reduced at least two of the judges to tears.
The runners-up in the secondary category are Nicole Morgan, 13, from Bullers Wood school in Kent , who wrote a passionate piece arguing against corporal punishment, and Natasha Kelly, 11, from Belfast Royal Academy in Belfast, who analysed the uprisings in Egypt, from personal experience after a family holiday.
Congratulations to all the winners, runners-up, and all those shortlisted for the award.
You can read all the finalists' articles on EducationGuardian.co.uk. The winners will be showcased at the Amnesty Media Awards 2011 tonight in central London. See more details at the Be a reporter section of www.learnnewsdesk.co.uk (use "amnesty" for the login and password until the end of June).
• Emily Drabble is learnnewsdesk editor
The winners in full
Primary winner
Isabella French,11, Merryhills Primary School, Enfield
Primary runners up
Suraj Lall, 10, Bablake Junior School, Coventry
Ellie Arden, 11, St Ebbe's School, Oxford
Lower secondary winner
Angus Kirk, 13, The King Edward VI School, Morpeth, Northumberland
Lower secondary runners up
Natasha Kelly, 11, Belfast Royal Academy, Belfast
Nicole Morgan, 13, Bullers Wood School, Kent
Shortlisted in the primary category
Christina Cargill, 10, Knockmore Primary School, County Antrim
Daniel Galano, 10, St George's Roman Catholic Primary School, Middlesex
Kayla Bati, 9, Holy Trinity Cof E Primary School, London
Luke Walsh, 10, Badger Hill Primary School, York
Stefanos Stathis, 9, Holy Cross School, London
Alex Monk, 10, St Cedd's School, Chelmsford
Naomi Kerr, Putney High School Juniors, London
Shortlisted in the lower secondary category
Arian Thomas, 12, Kesteven and Sleaford High School, Sleaford
Conor Thompson, 14, Carre's Grammar School, Lincolnshire
Rhys Cahalane, 14, Archbishop McGrath High School, Bridgend, Wales
Orla Forde Bowden, 14, Princethorpe College, Rugby
Aisha Chowdhury, 13 Bancroft's School, Essex
Izabel Radley, 11, Gaynes School, Upminster
Sajjidah Perrier, 14, Paddington Academy, London
Educational resource material
• The Amnesty International education team have created resources for the Guardian Teacher Network to celebrate the Amnesty/learnnewsdesk competition. The lessons are aimed at age 14+ and introduce students to the work of Amnesty International. They also explore the role of investigative journalists in exposing and raising awareness of human rights abuses. You can view them here.
The Guardian's new education resources network offers free access to 70,000 pages of lesson plans and interactive material. This content is being added to every day by classroom teachers and educationalists. Nearly 30,000 people have signed up. To see for yourself go to teachers.guardian.co.uk