Two pupils from a Dorset school took part in the final of The Cranmer Awards.

Louis Lindsay and Bentley Cresswell, aged 14 and 17, from Sherborne School have been awarded with special certificates to mark their achievements.

The Cranmer Awards is a national competition run by the Prayer Book Society and has taken place annually since 1989.

The competition aims to introduce young people to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer created by Thomas Cranmer during the Reformation.

More than 300 school pupils entered local heats and 27 took part in the finals held at Old Palace in Worcester.

The judges of the Cranmer Awards were looking for competitors to able to demonstrate that they understand the words they are speaking while communicating them with clarity and fluency, in a style similar to that of a well-conducted church service.

During the finals, Louis memorised and spoke by heart the Collect, Epistle and Gospel for St Michael and All Angels in front of an audience of more than 100, comprising parents, teachers, clergy and members of the Prayer Book Society. Bentley opted for the Collect and Epistle for the Conversion of St Paul.

The certificates were presented by journalist, theatre critic and author Quentin Letts.

Mr Letts described the Book of Common Prayer as “a deep well of history, poetry and philosophy which teenagers relish”, and criticised those who say “no one will be able to understand that old language”.

He added: “That’s rot! Our contestants today not only understood it; they made it soar.”

The Prayer Book Society aims to encourage rediscovery and use of the majesty and spiritual depth of The Book of Common Prayer at the heart of the Church of England’s worship.

The society was founded in 1972 amidst liturgical reform in the Church of England. It was feared that the 1662 Book of Common Prayer – despite its continued status as the Church of England’s official standard of teaching – would fall into disuse, being replaced by contemporary forms of worship.