The winning story for writers in Years 3 and 4 in the ISEB and IAPS 2025 Time to Write competition, Hero, is a funny adventure about a young boy named Bob that finds he is the only one in his village that can defeat a powerful Light Dragon. But to do so, Bob will have to call on his unique abilities and discover how brave he can truly be.
“A hilarious and energetic story with a great message that takes the reader on an adventure through superbly handled sensory imagery and a tone that is both emotive and light-hearted.” The Time to Write judging panel.
About the writer
Harry Spence is from the UK and was 9 years old at the time of writing Hero. Reflecting on his story, he said: “I was inspired to write my story because I had just finished reading the ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ series. I liked the idea of a dragon and a story set in an ancient time period. I also liked the idea of a child who wants to prove himself. So that was the inspiration for my story, Hero.”
About the illustrator
Rachel Ng is an illustrator from Hong Kong, specialising in children’s illustration. She enjoys creating bold characters with vibrant colours, minimalistic shapes, and lots of texture. She is currently studying illustration at Arts University Bournemouth.
Hero
Written by Harry Spence
Illustrated by Rachel Ng
Long ago, in a remote village, there lived a boy called Bob. He had heard of a Light Dragon with incredible powers. Now, Bob wasn’t treated well at all by the other warrior boys because he was BLIND. Since he could not fight properly, he was considered a wimp. So, he came up with a plan, a marvellous plan to prove them wrong. He would FIGHT THE LIGHT DRAGON. He packed his bag and set off, not knowing what horrors lay ahead.
He had heard of the powers the Light Dragon possessed. “Don’t look in its eyes,” he told himself firmly (the consequences are too ghastly to discuss). First, he had to find the LEMON. The one thing that could destroy it.
Now, although he was blind, he easily felt his way along the trees with his hands. He walked across bogs, swam over rough rivers and journeyed through thick forests, with the blazing sun shining down upon him like a fire cooking a steak back home.
Suddenly, his fingers came across what seemed like the entrance to a cave. He felt a patch of moss shaped like the body of a great lizard and he knew from the legends this was the place. His heart was pounding like a hammer. He had reached his final destination. This was the home of the LIGHT DRAGON.
Bob immediately heard a slithering movement from deep within the cave, and his nostrils picked up a scent he had never smelt before: something so sour! Then he heard something burst up out of the shadows and with an ear-splitting screech the Light Dragon swept Bob up in its spine-crushing claws. They felt like swords against his skin. He tried desperately to scramble out of its reach but it was too strong. He sensed the dragon’s huge eye – an eye as big as a boulder – press itself close to his face. He believed he was going to die! But he didn’t.
And then he realised! Normally looking into the bright light of the dragon’s eye would kill a man. But he was blind! The darkness saved him. Out of nowhere the dragon let him go. Even though Bob could not see objects his eyes could feel a light illuminate the cave. And then he knew. The lemon was what gave the dragon its immense power. The creature was recharging! He frantically leapt towards the citrusy smell. He felt for the lemon in his shaking hands. He found it and picked it up and... ATE THE LEMON!!!! He flinched at its super sour taste. And with a bonebreaking roar of anguish, the Light Dragon threw its head against the ceiling and collapsed onto the floor.
He had done it! He had proved himself a worthy warrior. He had learned two lessons that day. Firstly, he discovered how brave he truly was. And secondly that having his disability wasn’t a bad thing after all. Any normal man or woman would have faced a terrible death by looking into the dragon’s eyes. Only he was not a normal person. He was a HERO. THE END
About Time to Write
Following the success of Time to Write 2024, ISEB partnered with IAPS to bring the international creative writing competition back for 2025. Time to Write was open to all schools everywhere, and asked young writers to submit short stories written in response to the theme ‘Light’.
More than 3000 pupils from schools all over the world entered the competition, with entries shortlisted collaboratively by a pool of judges using cutting-edge adaptive comparative judgement technology, in partnership with RM Compare. This resulted in a reliable, fair and accurate ranking of entries.
The top ten stories in each category were reviewed by a panel of judges, including children’s book authors, a senior researcher from the University of Winchester, heads of English from St Swithun’s School and York House School, a literary events interviewer, and a senior lecturer from Arts University Bournemouth.
To find out more about ISEB and IAPS’s Time to Write competition for schools, visit write.iseb.co.uk.
ISEB and IAPS would like to thank RM Compare; the judging panel Ali Sparkes, Naomi Anson, Dr Ellen Spencer, Marc Knight, Rebecca Fletcher, Sarah Bentley and Vincent Larkin; the talented illustrators who helped bring each story to life; sponsors Arts University Bournemouth, Oxford University Press, Scanning Pens and Team Elite; everyone involved in the shortlisting process; and, most importantly, all the young writers who took part in the Time to Write 2025 competition.
The four winning stories of Time to Write 2025
When Bob is presented with an opportunity to prove he is as much of a warrior as the other boys in his village, he packs his bag and sets off. Can Bob find a way to defeat the powerful Light Dragon, and what will he learn along the way?
The winning story in the category for writers in Years 3 and 4 in the 2025 ISEB and IAPS Time to Write international creative writing competition.
“Who knew the power of a lemon! We loved how the theme of light and darkness was explored in a really unique way with wonderful The Time to Write judging panel.
