Year 7 poetry competition winners

Poetry competition winner Harry felt his point needed making – that spectators shouldn't ‘moan, boo or hiss’ when watching children's sport.

Year 7 have been studying poetry as part of their English lessons and, for the second year running, they were given their chance to display their creative flair with a poem on any topic they wished.

Harry’s poem talks about children playing football and ‘when someone misses, there’s moans from the crowd, some boos, some hisses’.

He continues: “If you are ever tempted to shout or moan, remember it’s a child who stands out there alone.”

Harry, who plays local football as a centre half, said: “It is an issue as, at our age, we just want to play and have fun. It is competitive but all we want as a team is to be encouraged and we don’t want any negativity. There are ‘Respect Barriers’ now that people have to stand behind so it is improving.”

Head of English, Mrs Gidden, was the judge and she admitted she was impressed by the number of entries and the standard of the writing.

“We had more than 100 entries and they were all of a high standard, they are getting better every year,” said Mrs Gidden.

“I chose Harry’s as the winner because it’s a topic not many people talk about. Children appreciate the support off the spectators when playing sport but Harry makes it clear that, from the child’s point of view, it’s about enjoyment and they don’t want pressure. It was a brave topic for Harry to write about.”

Runner-up in the competition was Jessica whose poem was about Anne Frank, the young girl who wrote a diary during the Holocaust before she died in a concentration camp.

“Since primary school when we studied World War 2, I have been fascinated by Anne Frank. In fact my teacher there let me keep her diary to read. I just find it interesting and, with the recent Anne Frank exhibition in school, I decided to write about that.”

Josh put pen to paper on the Australian wildfires which recently swept the country. “It was a big problem at the time when I wrote my poem and you could see the devastation it caused.”

Young Football by Harry

They stand on a field,
their hearts beating fast,
the whistle has blown,
the die has been cast.

Mum and dad can't help,
they stand all alone.
A goal at this moment,
would send their team home.

The ball nears their feet,
they kick and it misses.
There's moans from the crowd,
some boos and some hisses

The home fans in agony,
especially my mum.
A  caring voice cries out,
"unlucky, my son".

If you're ever tempted to shout or moan,
remember, it's a child
who stands out there alone.

So, open your heart
and give them a break.
It's moments like this,
a player you make.

Keep this in mind
when others forget;
They're only young children, 
not adults yet!