Two Enfield pupils have been shortlisted for a human rights journalism award.

Hala Abughazza, 11, and Ciara Griffin, ten, from Merryhills Primary School, are among ten contestants hoping to win Amnesty International’s Young Human Rights Reporter of the Year award.

Hala and Ciara, who were selected out of 7,000 applicants, will now have their work judged by a panel of editors, authors and industry professionals including award winning authors Christie Watson and Sita Brahmachari.

Hala chose to write about children in Palestine, while Ciara wrote an article focusing on Syria.

Amnesty’s human rights education specialist, Laura Jayatillake, was involved in shortlisting their work.

Speaking about Hala’s article, she said: “A hard-hitting article about a very emotive issue. It was refreshing to read an article written with such passion and conviction.”

Commenting on Ciara’s work, she added: “I’m impressed to see a younger writer tackle a human rights issue as topical and complex as the situation in Syria.  I felt that this article effectively brought to light the despair experienced by many children in this conflict.”

The top three in each category will be unveiled on April 18. They will then be invited to a prestigious awards ceremony at Amnesty International UK’s headquarters on April 30 when the winner will be announced.