A remarkable gathering of 18 young people, aged 11 to 18 years old from different dioceses across Yorkshire took centre stage at St. Margaret's church in Ilkley recently, to compete at the Cranmer Awards Yorkshire Heat.

It was the first heat to be staged by the Yorkshire branch.

The heat's Senior Section was won by Roseanna Williams of St Margaret’s church Ilkley. The Junior Section was won by Nelson Adewale of the Bishop Young Church of England Academy in Leeds (pictured above), who each received a prize of £50.

Judges, Father Alexander Crawford, vicar of St Margaret's; Father David Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes and Nigel Pearson of the Chester Branch of the PBS were all impressed by the fluency, composure and speaking skills of all the participants. Catherine Cheater, heat organiser, was delighted that so many young people from across Yorkshire had worked so hard to prepare for the event.

“I would like to thank everyone for taking part and congratulate every entrant on their efforts,” said Father Alex. “Judging between them was no easy task. It was wonderful to see young people from a variety of backgrounds come together to recite these beautiful texts that have inspired our ancestors for generations.”

The Cranmer Awards is a national competition run by the Prayer Book Society to introduce young people to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, described as the "bedrock of the Anglican Church".

Roseanna and Nelson will both advance to the national final which takes place on 24 February 2024 at Hampton Court Palace, London.