A seven-year-old pupil from Newtownards Model Primary School won the primary school category of the Voice Box 2026 joke competition.

Ethan Steele from Ballyhalbert delivered his joke during the final held in the Senate chamber at Parliament Buildings.

The event was hosted by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and featured entries from across Northern Ireland.

Ethan received the top prize for his school of £500 worth of books.

The competition aims to highlight speech and language skills and the prevalence of Developmental Language Disorder among children.

Proud mother Louise Steele said Ethan had first presented his joke to his classmates, who voted to select him for the final.

Ruth Sedgewick of the Royal College said the event was held at Parliament Buildings to show the importance of speech and language therapy to political representatives.