Schoolboy Tristan Robinson has won the first Father of the Year essay competition.

Tristan came out top among 160 Primary 5 and 6 pupils from across the island to scoop the top prize, which includes gift certificates and pizza for his class at Southampton’s Port Royal Primary School.

The results were announced tonight as the island prepares to celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday.

Proud father Edmund Robinson said: “Fatherhood is a journey that is simultaneously incredibly rewarding and particularly challenging.

“There are moments of shining success tempered with, hopefully fewer, moments when you think - and perhaps have - made a considerable mess of it.

“However a goal of producing a confident, intelligent and engaged participant of our community is always the ‘end in view’.”

The competition involved youngsters writing an essay to highlight their fathers’ achievements and different parenting styles.

There were three zones - eastern, western and central - with each area also getting a winner.

Viquan Chambers of Elliot Primary School won the western prize for an essay on father Vivian Chambers.

Shia Bean, a pupil at Paget Primary School, took the top prize in the central area for an essay on step-father Hilton Wolfe.

West End Primary pupil Jace Donawa triumphed in the west for his piece on his father, star runner Jay Donawa.

All three of the youngsters won gift cards, certificates and a pizza lunch for their classes.

The competition was the brainchild on Diallo Rabain, the Minister of Education, who said the response “exceeded my expectations”.

Mr Rabain added: “I wanted to inspire the children to recognise the significant rold fathers have in their lives.

“I thought an essay competition would be a great way for students to share their thoughts about their fathers.”