TWO grammar school students from Sidmouth have won a competition celebrating the life of Charles Darwin.

TWO grammar school students from Sidmouth have won a competition celebrating the life of Charles Darwin.

Griselda Shipp and Annabelle Clarke from Year 12 at Colyton Grammar School, were judged winners of the competition; organised by the University of Exeter, by a panel of academics.

Liberty Brown, Year 11 junior reporter from the school writes: "The task involved writing a letter to Darwin, either from the present day or as a contemporary 19th century scientist.

"Students could congratulate him in the letter, oppose his theories or criticise them."

Griselda based her letter on Darwin's tree of life and said: "The task was educational, I learned a lot about newer theories of evolution, due to the development of technology."

Currently studying for her AS and A-levels, Griselda hopes to read Biology at university.

Annabelle wrote a letter contemplating the potential dangers of Darwin's theories.

As winners of the competition, both girls have been invited to attend a Darwin Symposium at Exeter University.

Liberty reports: "They will hear a lecture by Professor Marc Bekoff, a world authority on Darwin, entitled Animal Passions and Wild Justice: On the Evolution of Emotions and Moral Behaviour.