Writing

Writing is a key area of English. We want children to be competent and confident writers. Writing is an extension of a child's capacity to organise, comprehend, relive and relieve experiences. A wide range of writing opportunities will be offered to encourage a wide repertoire of forms - poetry, fiction, plays. autobiography, biography, argument, diaries, letters, reviews of books, films, television, DVDs, descriptions, reports, reconstructions, instructions, paraphrase, transcripts, etc. Choice of subject matter, purpose and audience will dictate the appropriate form. We want children to see themselves as writers, and we encourage contact with the real world outside school by inviting visitors, learning from authors and entering competitions. We like to celebrate children’s successes in writing by sharing their work, so please enjoy the pieces we have published here on our website.

SATIPS Poetry Success 2010

Port Regis has won the National Prep Schools’ Poetry competition for the sixth time in four years (winning poems in full below). It is a remarkable achievement and a huge credit not only to the children but also to Brenda Marshall (Head of English) and her talented team of English teachers. What is special this year is that the our children took first, second and third places in the Years 7/8 (A and B Form) section, as well as third in the Years 5/6 (C and D Form) section, with several children winning Highly Commendeds.

 

Years 7/8 (B and A Form)

WINNERS

1st – Wilfred with The Monkey

2nd – Julia with Recall

3rd – Maddie with The Peacock

 

RUNNERS-UP

Hannah with The Hen

Alex with Once I Made A Sailfish

Kareem with Zebra

 

Years 5/6 (D and C Form)

WINNERS

3rd – Cecily with How to Construct a Ladybird

 

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Jessica with Cat Masterpiece

 

There were over 750 entries from right across the Prep School world and the judge, David Morley, Professor of Creative Writing at Warwick University, commented in his announcement to schools of the results:

           

“Poems, finally, need to stand apart from their makers and place of creation. It was only when typing up the winners’ lists that I discovered the remarkable result that the top three poems in Years 7 and 8 had Port Regis as their school of origin, and that Port Regis featured often among the Highly Commended poems and had also taken third place in Years 5 and 6. Clamorous congratulations to Port Regis for submitting the best overall selection of poems across the age ranges”.

 

The Monkey

The tail, a broken umbrella handle, The ears, saucers without cups And four hands from a person A rather large teddy bear for the body, With a lick of mud to mix in with the trees, But not with enough for the hands, The flight of a glider, Barely touching the tree-tops, With a voice box, screaming for freedom, The mischievous streak of an imp. Supercharged with electricity And stamina of a river, Flowing gracefully, It can wreak havoc, Laughing at leopards, And always too risky To care. Do not release Or face the consequences Of a riot Or worse…   Wilfred

 

Recall

Winter - Erratic snowflakes fell like miniature bats From the sullen sky. We did not mind the cold, For we had each other. Time slowed down just for us. A clump of snowbells proclaimed the near arrival of spring And the trees murmured joyfully And my hand was in yours.                             Spring - Blossom drifted down like feathers, And the path ahead was strewn with petals, Like a wedding aisle. You picked a delicate forget-me-not, And the morning song of the wood pigeon Caressed my eardrums And my hand was in yours.   Summer - The sun was a pearl in its oyster. Flowers adorned the undergrowth like jewels. Foxgloves swayed in the slight breeze, Their petals like pink thimbles. We lay in the grass together. My head fitted into the crook of your neck Like two pieces of a jigsaw And my hand was in yours.   Autumn - Leaves are falling like tears from the trees, And the rain tattoos a rhythm upon the dying wood. Twigs claw at my face But the pain is welcome. From deep within my old coat pocket A single forget-me-not floats out. And my hand is alone.   Julia

 

The Peacock

Two small tinted windows make the eyes. A long, thin vase the neck Bandaged with part of a blue satin ball gown. His legs are Chihulys blown glass flutes. For a tail a Celtic woven blanket Patched up with stained glass Which he opens and parades for his sweetheart.                          The sturdy posture of a soldier Mocks the strut of a ballerina. His blue blood is mixed with breathtaking grace And his heart boils with confidence and pride.   Maddie

The Hen

A singer warming up Trying to reach the last note of her scale But can’t. On she goes, practising again, determined. She fails                  And resorts to digging for worms.   Her claw feet, oversized forks thrust into clay, Then covered in nobbly wallpaper, Scratch away at the tough soil, Like a nailless granny spending hours Getting the top layer off her lottery scratchcard.   Raucous clicking over bacon rind, or a slice of cake. A never-ending squabble over scraps.   Hannah

 

Once I Made A Sailfish

Two inky marbles for eyes Placed in the skull Made of carved ash.   An old pointed cutlass Welded to a scarred Streamlined aluminium face.   An erection of spines, Of slender delicate rods, Inserted into the elongated steel spine.   A crescent of iron Designed for the tail, United to the body with hinges.   A skin of cerulean silk Stretched over the immense body, And a bucket of snail slime Painted over the silk.   Alex

 

Zebra

It looks like someone played a bad joke on a horse, Covering it in stripes - The black shade from a panther and Pure white like a polar bear. The everlasting energy of the Duracell bunny on Red Bull, Hooves toughened from the constant running. Its tail - a frayed rope swishing from side to side, Bones of solid titanium.                   It has a peaceful heart, A porcelain mug Filled with warm milk.   Always speeding past in a blur of black and white, Like a 1950’s film On a vast sun-beaten savannah.   Kareem

 

	How to Construct a Ladybird
	You will need:   A small glittery shell fresh from the beach, Painted poison red and midnight black To keep precious organs safe. A Saxon warrior’s helmet, Beautiful black to match her spots For protecting clever brains. Some black wire soldered on So she can scuttle quickly and quietly,   Use someone’s joy For a heart.   Cecily

 

	Cat Masterpiece
	Elegant tail of flexible platinum Retractable-non-retractable claws Clock stuck at dinner time for a heart. Torches for eyes Turned off during the day Turned on during the night.   Jessica

The John Betjeman Young People's Poetry Competition 2010

The John Betjeman Young People's Poetry Competition was established to perpetuate the memory of one of Britain's best-loved poets and to promote a love of poetry amongst young people. The competition is open to all 11-14 year-olds living in the British Isles. It is co-sponsored by Shell International and St Pancras International station.

 

Over 2,600 entries were received and the longlisted poems were judged anonymously. The judge said the standard of entries on the longlist was higher than last year.

 

Congratulations to Wilfred whose poem, 'Under the stars in Dorset', made it onto the longlist of 30 entries. Wilfred wrote the poem when he was in Year 7 and was one of the youngest entrants to the competition. He will be receiving a prize.

 

Under the stars in Dorset The lush, rustling leaves of trees, From which one can hear the tuneful melody Of wood nymphs, calmly swaying To the song of the sunset. The campfire, melting the silver stars, Whilst giving light to all. Snapping, crackling, like a thousand demons That long to be free, The fire leaps from log to log, trying to escape its prison. A little way away, the brook gurgles its delight to the world, Meandering in no particular direction. No birds can be heard, calling sleepily to their loved ones, As the night rolls on. But one animal is prowling the forest, Keeping the fear alive. The fox cries its lonely call, And feasts on its foolish prey. Yet dawn brings his reign to an end. He slinks off, before anyone wakes And finds the thief gone. The stars watch this in fascination, Flourishing bright moonbeams, As they see the entire world again. In a new light.

National Poetry Competition Winner!

We were delighted to receive news that last year's Head Girl, Ruth, won first prize in the BBC Wildlife Magazine Poet of the Year Competition. Her entry, 'A Sea-Slug', submitted in the summer, won this year's 12-14 yrs category and this photo was actually taken of Ruth during the editing process, so is a piece of 'history in the making'. Well done Ruth!

A Sea-Slug

Two curious creatures drift over the rocks,
Like discarded flip flops,
Battered and ripped.
Like half-sucked sour humbugs,
A deceiving morsel, they are left in cloudy water.

Now no tongue can curl around them,
Nor feet slide on them and see the beach quake
Underneath when shoe slaps the sand.
Washed only by the sea,
As they skulk beneath the surface,
Where coral waves to silence,
And turtles glide grandly above them,
Casting jagged shadows.
Peaceful creatures, only beginning to wrestle when a giant beast
Rises above them –
Silver cylinders clasped to backs,
Masks covering faces, eyes squinting,
Pointing frantically, bubbles spluttering,
Do the sea-slugs try to twitch and jostle,
Threatening them, by rearing a feeble inch,
Painfully slowly, and then pretending
To be nothing more than
A garish, striped, shrunken rugby sock.

 

Ruth

Winning Entry in Pound a Poem Competition

Pound a Poem is a poetry competition for children aged 5 to 11, in school years 1 to 6. Every child is asked to write at least one poem about fruit and vegetables and pay £1 to enter their poem into the competition. All of the money raised goes to Rays of Sunshine granting wishes to terminally and seriously ill children.

The final 16 poems were be judged by a guest panel of: Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Annabel Karmel, Dom Wood, James Campbell, Dan Freedman and Tracy Ann Oberman. We received the following e-mail:

I am delighted to inform you that, Julia has been chosen as one of the five runners up for the Pound a Poem competition 2008/09!

Her poem, 'Avocado' was fantastic and attracted some wonderful comments from our chief judge, Dame Jacqueline Wilson.  We would like to invite her teacher, along with Julia and her family to the Prize giving in London on Tuesday 3rd March.  The event is taking place at The Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, W1G 0AE, 11.30am - 4pm.

Julia’s winning entry will be published in the ‘Pound a Poem’ Book. Here is her poem:

Avocado

The golden pear’s ugly sister
Squats fatly in my hand,
Skin like the hide of a toad.

Bathed under cerulean skies
The plantation shimmers in ivory heat.
Avocados adorn undulating trees.

I slice it in half, twist gently and
Pull it apart.
The glossy interior is revealed.
The mahogany stone, like a conker,
Nestles snugly in the buttery jade flesh.
My teaspoon hollows out
Irresistible velvety scoops of pulp
Which dissolve in my mouth.
The nutty, creamy flavour
Makes my tastebuds sing,
As I scoop the last scraps from the skin.

Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity exists to grant the wishes of terminally and seriously ill children between the ages of 3-18 who live in the United Kingdom. It does this by:

• Granting these children’s wishes however impossible the wish may seem.
• Purchasing equipment such as electric wheelchairs or hoists to make their lives easier.
• Helping hospitals, hospices and specialist schools improve their facilities.