A RAP poem by a Mill Hill teenager has won a competition to find the best young writers in Britain.

Joshua Jackson, 13, who studies at Belmont Mill Hill Preparatory School, will see his poem Rick in de Rapland published on Thursday as part of World Book Day.

Joshua, who will soon become head boy at Belmont, was presented with an award by the judges at school on Monday, and is one of only 24 youngsters to be selected out of 3,800 entries across the country.

As part of the competition, children got to choose the first line of their work from a list supplied by leading children's authors.

Joshua chose Benjamin Zephaniah's first line “Once upon a time on Rapland, where words were wicked and cool” as the starting point for his winning work.

Mr Zephaniah told Joshua: “You are great – I know now where to go when I need help.” He added: “Encouraging new writers is something all established writers should do. Inspiring new writers takes encouragement to a new level.

“I’m so proud to have inspired these young writers in my own small way.”

Joshua's poem will now be published in a collection called Imagination Station and Other Stories and Poems, an anthology of the best entries to this year's Evans Schools Short Stories competition.