Students at an academy in Pool have shown their ‘verse-atility’ in a poetry competition.

Pool Academy invited its students to tap into their creativity and write a poem around National Poetry Day’s counting theme. From counting steps, to counting stars, counting on each other to counting money, the choice was theirs.

Students from all year groups were able to enter and submit their poems to the head of English Mrs Clark.  A range of exciting prizes were on offer and all students who took part received a certificate.  

The overall winner was Leon in Year 9, their poem was about counting time and how it passes.  Their poem will now be read out in a celebration assembly at the end of the school year. 

In their Annual Literacy Survey in early 2023, the National Literacy Trust asked more than 60,000 children and young people aged eight to 18 across the UK whether they read or write poetry. 

In 2023, 26.7% of children and young people said that they read poetry in their free time at least once a month, with 16.3% reading poems on paper, 7.5% reading poems on screen and 2.9% reading poems across both media.

Pool Academy students track the evolution of stories from the classical era to the modern day, developing an understanding of the way great writers create meaning in poetry, drama and prose as part of the English curriculum.

Nick Ward, the principal at Pool Academy, said: “Firstly, I want to say congratulations to Leon on taking first place in what was a tough competition.

“It was brilliant to celebrate National Poetry Day in this way and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the submissions.  I hope the competition helped to inspire some of our budding poets and also encouraged our students to appreciate it as a literary art form.”