The Christmas wish of one of our pupils has come true, as no less than Sir Stephen Fry will be reading his story online this week.

Matthew Edwards entered a competition with King’s Lynn estate agents Russen and Turner, who were looking for a very special festive story in under 500 words.

The competition was open to children aged under 11and was backed by Book Life Publications and Radio West Norfolk. As part of the prize, Matthew’s story will be read by the author and actor on Friday (19) and again by Radio West Norfolk DJ Simon Rowe on Christmas Day.

Sir Stephen has strong ties to Norfolk and is a former student of the Norfolk College of Arts and Technology – now the College of West Anglia. His family moved to Norfolk when he was young, and he later owned a home in the West of the county.

Assistant Headteacher Billy Overton said everyone was delighted for Matthew whose story was great.

“We are very proud of Matthew and his excellent story – it really was a pleasure to read. We’re grateful to Russen and Turner for the opportunity they gave the children, and to Book Life for the prizes. They have come in really useful for us, especially as we are refreshing our library and continuing to develop children’s love of reading. 

“We’re also excited to hear Stephen Fry read the story.”

It tells the story of Edwin the cheetah who lives in Africa and dreams of snow. Santa heard his wishes and helped his dream to come true.

Matthew, 7, said he was ‘really pleased to win’ and was especially happy with books for the prize.

Friday’s broadcast will be available via the Russen and Turner Facebook page.

His story, Edwin’s Christmas Wish, secured him a £50 Amazon voucher, a signed copy of Stephen Fry’s book mythos, £150 of books and a further £500 of books for the school library.