A YOUNGSTER has Christmas wrapped up after winning a trip to Lapland to meet Santa and Rudolph.

Ten-year-old Lucy Smith, from Holy Trinity School, in Stockton, beat off stiff competition to win first prize in a national junior language contest.

Lucy was joined by school friends Oliver Giles, Sophie McGee and Katie Gibson who were runners-up in the EuroTalk Junior Language Challenge in which they showed off their skills in Saami - the language of Lapland.

Saami is the third language the children have learned in just eight months using CD- roms.

Lucy beat 31 finalists from 14 primary schools across the country to scoop the family trip to Lapland, as well as a private tour of London toy store Hamley's and vouchers to spend on toys of her choice.

Oliver, Sophie and Katie received goody bags from Hamley's

Teacher Julie Soper said: "This challenge is a very good education initiative, particularly in terms of inspiring the children to learn. The computer games style has been a fantastic motivator - so much so that they often gave up their free time. Grasping the basics of three languages in such a short time has proved just how much can be achieved through ICT learning."