The Premier League Writing Stars Poetry Competition
One of the reasons I first started this blog was to share the poetry I wrote. I have verses dating back nearly 30 years now and still love to sit and write occasionally and, I will be bringing back Prose for Thought in the New Year.
Grace is a keen lover of the written word which is no great surprise given the fact that both Ross and I write a lot. She plays piano and writes songs and I encourage her with her poetry on a regular basis. With this in mind, I would love it if she had the confidence to enter a poetry competition. The latest one from Premier League Primary Stars would be perfect for her.
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Details of the Premier League Writing Stars Poetry Competition
Premier League Primary Stars launched their Writing Stars Poetry Competition back in October and it is open to primary school pupils (aged 5-11) in England and Wales.
The competition is asking children to submit poems on the theme of ‘Diversity’, encouraging children to understand and respect our differences, and to celebrate our similarities. The pupils who are entering are using inspiration from the poem written specially for Premier League Writing Stars, ‘Beautifully Different, Wonderfully the Same’ by Joseph Coelho.
The all-star judging panel includes former Premier League footballer Rio Ferdinand, singer and songwriter Olly Murs, Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate Lauren Child and poet Joseph Coelho. As well as this, Casia Wiliam, the current Bardd Plant Cymru (Welsh-language Children’s Poet Laureate) will guest judge all the Welsh-language entries. The judging will be overseen by National Literacy Trust Director, Jonathan Douglas.
Need-to-Know Information About the Competition
- The competition is open until the end of the autumn term – Friday 21 December 2018.
- There are two age categories – one for pupils in Key Stage 1 and one for those in Key Stage 2 – and two language categories – English and Welsh.
- Individual or group entries are allowed for Key Stage 1, only individual entries for Key Stage 2.
- Poems should be no more than 20 lines or 150 words and be on the theme of diversity.
- Pupils can continue the Beautifully different, Wonderfully the same poem or start a new poem. Poems can be of any structure and don’t have to rhyme.
- Teachers can upload entries as PDFs or image files using the upload function over on the Premier League Stars page OR by posting them together with the completed Class entry form which you can find in the Key Stage 1 resource pack or Key Stage 2 resource pack which you can download from the Premier League Primary Stars website.
- Teachers need to be registered for Premier League Primary Stars to enter their pupils’ work for the competition.
- Entries can be submitted via the online entry form or by post to: Premier League Writing Stars Competition, PO Box 170, Orbital Park, ASHFORD, TN24 0ZX
- You can enter the whole class or select your top entries, it’s up to you.
Full terms and conditions can be found here.
The Prizes
The prizes are certainly things that money can’t buy.
There is a top overall prize and then 10 prizes for both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 in each area. There will also be prizes for the best Welsh language entries in both Key Stages.
The prizes for the overall winners are:
- A Premier League Trophy visit to your school
- A visit to your school by a children’s author or poet to lead a poetry workshop
- Winning poems read aloud by one of the star judges
The prizes for the regional and Welsh winners and overall winners include:
- Poems published in an official Premier League Writing Stars book with bespoke illustrations
- An invitation to a national celebration event and the chance to meet other poets and special guests
- A framed version of the winning poems
- Poetry book bags for all winners’ schools
On top of all this, there will also be some big bags of poetry books up for grabs for the first 1000 schools who submit entries.
Top Tips for Poetry Submissions
If all of this hasn’t convinced you, then Writing Stars judge, Joe Coelho, has come up with his top tips for poem submissions in this video.
I am really looking forward to reading some of the great entries I know that this competition will attract and seeing what the winner comes up with.
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