Empowered - Young Writers' Success
The last 18 months have been hard, particularly for students with school closures, isolation and general disruption to their education.
Young Writers invited students to write a poem for "Empowered", and take back some control over their lives. Empowered aimed to help students find and use their voices to express themselves through poetry. They said: "Being able to voice a concern, an opinion or a point of view is so important, especially when your students’ interaction with peers has been restricted or even removed over the last academic year, reducing their opportunities to discuss what matters to them."
Y7 really stepped up to this challenge and over 50 of their poems have been chosen to feature in an anthology. They also received very impressive certificates and a bookmark.
Here are some examples of the Y7 poems:
Our Polluted Planet
Windmills roll into a world of mechanics,
Steam engines burnt away.
Then combustion engines came along
And effluent flooded the rivers.
This toxic waste killed the fish,
Meaning the ecosystem won't stay to play.
But you can change this world of grey,
Man has the power to harness the elements
That are free of pollution.
So if we all work together
We will find a way, come across a solution.
Finlay Skene (11)
Let The Spirit Rise!
Every day is something new
from family to friends.
So nothing can stop you
and that means we're fighting a big war
but, a small battle
and that's so much more
so as long as we're together
we'll be friends forever.
River Yeates (11)
Social Media
Social media pollutes our brain, makes us go insane.
Who are we?
We are the core of the tree that allows us to be free.
We are the seed of life.
But what are we?
Social media tells us to not be loud.
Not too quiet.
Not too short.
Not too tall.
To be as blonde as the sand, dry as the desert.
As tasteless as soaked rice.
We are stuck in a box with a dozen locks.
No room to be ourselves, instead we're stuck on a shelf.
Keziah Martin (11)
Well done to everyone who took part!