A BLACKBURN schoolgirl has embarked on a two-week trip to China after winning a ‘Flash Fiction’ competition.

Lucy Lamoury, 16, scooped a short scholarship to study at Beijing International Studies University after writing an impressive piece of prose describing a summer day, using 100 Chinese characters.

She entered the Mandarin contest, run by UCLan, after her dad spotted an advert for the competition in a car park in Preston.

UCLan professor Feixia Yu said her final entry was 'excellent work for a GCSE student’ and a ‘wonderful piece of writing.'

One hundred characters equates to about 80 words, Lucy said.

The Westholme School pupil, who has just completed the Mandarin GCSE, flew out to China with dad David last week, where she has been taking language lessons and seeing the sights.

Lucy, who lives near Southport, said: “It’s been really really interesting. I didn’t know all that much about Chinese culture and history so it’s been great to see all these amazing places, like the Summer Palace and the Great Wall.

“There’s been language lessons in the morning and then we’ve had the afternoons free to go and see things.

“It feels bizarre almost to see them in real life and using chop sticks has been a new experience for me.

“I’m thinking about continuing with Mandarin because I like languages and I realise that China is an up-and-coming place and economy and I want to get involved.”