A SCHOOLBOY has won a writing competition by penning a poem about his desire to join the Royal Marines and fight for his country.
Joe Cuthbert, 12, who attends Shenfield High School in Alexander Lane, wrote how he dreamed of "the deserts of Afghanistan" and "bullets flying over your head".
His mother Emma Cuthbert, 46, admitted she was concerned by her son's perilous ambitions but accepts he is determined to follow in the footsteps of a family friend who served in the Falklands.
Read Joe's poem in full below"It scared the life out of me to be honest but he's got a family friend who was in the Marines," she told the Gazette.
"Joe's always loved writing short stories and he's a very talented writer."
The fearless Year Eight student's piece, entitled A Life of Excitement, won the South East regional award for Kip McGrath Education Centre's writing competition 'Dream a Big Dream'.
"I can't believe I won really," said Joe.
"It was just something I did in class.
"I do like writing stories and other things so that helped."
He continued: "Joining the Marines is something I'd like to do one day.
"My mum's pleased I won but she wasn't too keen to begin with."
Schalk Meyer, of the Shenfield branch of Kip McGrath, said: "We are so pleased that Joe shared his big dream and what a great achievement to have won in the South East.
"We wish Joe all the success he deserves and we are proud of all the young people like him whose dreams will form the backbone of our country in the future."
Sally Fisher was part of the regional judging panel that spotted Joe's talent.
"The quality of entries we received from the region were of a very high standard and it was really inspiring to read about the big dreams of young people across the south-east," she said.
"Joe is a very worthy winner and on behalf of the judges I congratulate him."
