LoveReading4Kids is delighted to announce the winners of the 2022 Poetry Prize in association with National Poetry Day, today during the UK’s biggest annual celebration of poetry!

What better time to celebrate the creativity of our young poets across the nation and bring people together to enjoy, discover and share words that matter. 

Earlier this year, with the backing of National Poetry Day, LoveReading launched the fourth year of this popular poetry competition for children aged 7- 11 from across the UK inspired by the National Poetry Day theme of The Environment. 

The Judge's winning poet is Amy Pearson, aged 10, of Langton Green Primary School in Tunbridge Wells with her poem The Noise Extinguisher. Amy is awarded a trophy and certificate, plus a virtual visit to her school from National Poetry Day ambassador and LoveReading4Kids fave Liz Brownlee - and £250 of books for her school. She will also receive a batch of beautiful poetry books.

Take a look at Amy’s winning poem below. 

The Noise Entinguisher

The machines came this morning

So many large and grey,

Put nature sounds into a truck

And carried them away.

The chopping of the axe,

The crashing of the trees

The yelping of the animals

As they start to flee.

The screeching of the birds,

The tearing of the leaves,

The shouting of the men

While cutting down the trees.

The growling of the chainsaws

The whirring of the trucks

The howling of the monkeys,

As they run amok.

The crackle of the fires

On the forest floor,

The roaring and the hissing

Of flames wanting more.

The habitat destroyed

The safe and homely space

A desolate barren wasteland

Is all that’s left in place.

The machines left this morning,

They had achieved their aim,

Left us only silence

Life will never be the same.

We’d also like to announce the People's Choice Winner as 10 year old Amaya Raynor of Montgomery Primary School in Exeter for her poem Where Does The Tide Take You? You can also enjoy her creation here:

Where Does The Tide Take You?

Where does the tide take you, bottle?

Left on the shore

Joined by thousands more

Swept up in the foaming white

Nicking fins of helpless fish

Choking tiny turtles

Unbroken by any foe

Where does the tide take you, plastic bag?

Caught on pieces of pale pink coral

Sucking the life out of

defenseless fish

Hoovered up by turtles

Poisoning, destroying, killing

A trail of blood left behind

Where does the tide take you, toy?

Hacking at plants

Polluting the ocean

Weighing down jellyfish

Caught in whale's mouth

Eaten, swallowed, killing from inside.

Where do your footsteps take you, adventurer?

Picking up plastic

Rescuing toys

Recycling bottles

Scooping up bags

Healing the earth

Saving Our Seas

And finally a special mention must go to well-deserved runner up Milo Pollard aged 10 of Beneden Church of England Primary School in Cranbrook – a worthy runner up with his poem The Piglet In My Pocket, which can also be enjoyed below.  

The Piglet In My Pocket

The piglet in my pocket,

Came to school with me one day.

My teacher couldn’t understand

The squeaks and snorts it made.

The piglet could calculate pi,

And could count right up to ten.

He would complete the assigned task easy,

And then he would do it again!

I would dress him up in school uniform

And cute little piglet glasses.

He was always star of the week,

And always came top of his classes!

He knew every country in geography,

And even how to tie his shoes,

He was always the teacher’s favorite,

And way overlapped me and you.

The piglet in my pocket,

Came to school with me one day.

I really quite enjoyed it,

But I never did it again.

National Poetry Day Manager Jay Bhadricha commented: "I've loved reading the poems submitted to the competition this year. The theme for National Poetry Day for 2022, the Environment, has elicited such a strong response from the young people writing. There is a real strain of activism and climate justice but also hope for the future. We're thrilled that LoveReading4Kids have run this competition again this year, they're such champions of writing and books and this competition is a marker of that."

LoveReading Managing Director Deborah Maclaren reported: “Huge congratulations to our winning poets. We thank every child for sharing their poems with us, every parent who encourages a love of poetry at home, and every teacher who engenders a love of verse in their students. It was an incredibly rewarding and inspiring journey of creativity reading the hundreds of entries. Thank you to National Poetry Day for working with us to get children and schools across the UK engaged with words and creating their own poems. We look forward to next year’s competition so watch this space!”

National Poetry Day 2022 is today, Thursday 6th October: the theme is ‘The Environment’.

To find out more information email kids@lovereading.co.uk or contact Managing Director Deborah Maclaren at deborah@lovereading.co.uk.

The 2023 competition will launch in June 2023.

#NationalPoetryDay