The winner of the UK’s major award for published poetry for children, the CLiPPA (CLPE Children’s Poetry Award) was announced this afternoon at a ceremony at the National Theatre on London’s Southbank.

The CLiPPA is awarded to poet Matt Goodfellow for his verse novel The Final Year, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton. The Final Year details Nate’s time in Year 6, an important time for any child, but particularly tough for Nate especially when his little brother falls ill. Helped by his teacher Mr Joshua, and with the love of his family, chaotic though that is, Nate survives and thrives. His voice with its Mancunian vernacular is authentic, raw but full of humour too, and unforgettable. 

The Final Year is a LoveReading4Kids Star Book and Book of the Month about which our expert reviewer Joy Court said, "Highly accessible, lyrical and life affirming, this is must-have novel that will authentically resonate with so many under-represented children and perfectly captures what this crucial transition period feels like. As such, it is a must-read for adults as well as the children who will devour it." 

A former primary school teacher, Matt Goodfellow is one of the most exciting and popular new voices in children’s poetry and has featured on the CLiPPA shortlist every year since 2021, most recently for Let’s Chase Stars Together (2023). His teaching experience feeds into his poetry, and he delivers workshops in schools, libraries and at festivals throughout the year speaking to thousands of young people. 

Poet Liz Berry, chair of this year’s judges, said, “The Final Year was our unanimous winner. A powerful, sensitive, verse-novel which perfectly captures the voices, energy, and complex feelings of the Year 6 classroom. We admired its empathy, depth, deft storytelling and beautiful use of the vernacular. We were all gripped by Nate's journey and know young readers will be too. For The Final Year is not only a great read, it's also an invitation into poetry and the power that writing and reading can hold for those just starting to find their voices.”

Once again, a strong shortlist reflected the vitality of the UK’s poetry publishing for children with new collections from past winner, Kate Wakeling; a carefully compiled anthology exploring the world of feelings featuring new poets and illustrators; poems describing the everyday lives of young siblings in Guatemala, translated from Spanish; and an emotionally intense collection drawing on the poet’s experience as a wheelchair user.

The show featured performances from Matt Goodfellow and poets shortlisted for the award, including Kate Wakeling and Stephen Lightbown and, via video link, Julio Serrano Echeverria and Lawrence Schimel. 

As well as celebrating outstanding poetry, the CLiPPA encourages schools to explore the shortlist with their pupils through its Shadowing Scheme, each year prompting poetry performances by thousands of children in hundreds of classrooms across the UK. Children from Birmingham, Brent, Wandsworth, Birkenhead and Caterham, winners in the CLiPPA Shadowing Scheme, also performed live at the ceremony on the Olivier Theatre stage alongside the poets. Former Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell illustrated proceedings live. On the day of the ceremony, the performing schools took part in performance skills workshops delivered by the National Theatre to support them in their preparations to perform on the Olivier stage. The pupils also had the opportunity to journey behind the scenes of the National Theatre by taking part in a Sherling Backstage Walkway tour, gaining a unique insight into the production workshops for set construction, scenic painting and prop making, and being introduced to the many career pathways into the theatre industry. 

An audience of 1,100 watched the event live while hundreds of schools across the country joined in watching the CLiPPA Award Ceremony via livestream.

Rebecca Eaves, Chief Executive at CLPE said, “In its 21st year, we are delighted to congratulate Matt Goodfellow on winning the CLiPPA with this compelling, heartwarming verse novel. The Final Year celebrates primary schools, their teachers and the power of poetry and stands out even on such a strong shortlist. It’s an enormously popular win with our young audience who lifted the roof off the National Theatre today and we recommend everyone read it. Kids like Nate don’t often get to tell their own stories, and we’re delighted to be putting it in the spotlight today.”  

Matt Goodfellow receives a trophy and a cheque for £1000. As part of the prize he will also be recorded for the prestigious National Poetry Archive.

Poetry fans can check out our Poetry section for more verse novels and rhyming texts.

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