THE winner of The Press’s secondary school First World War poetry competition has been announced.

Teenager Alice Fox’s poem, Lest We Forget, based on the petals of the remembrance poppy, caught the imagination of the judges and won her an iPad Air in time for Christmas.

The 13-year-old Huntington School pupil said: “When I found out that I had won I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was dreaming.

“I am so happy that I have got an iPad. I wrote the poem thinking of my cousin who is in the army.

“I have never been very good at writing poems but when I wrote this one it had a special place in my heart. I think that because it was the 100th anniversary I wanted to put more effort in and make the British soldiers proud.

“We had read so many poems about how terrible the first World War was. I would never have thought that I would win. I always think about the taking part but not the winning and I have never won anything before. I still can’t believe it.”

Her English teacher, Jackie Brea, said: “All of Huntington’s Year 9 pupils studied war poetry during the Autumn term and I feel that this really heightened their awareness of the significance of the armistice commemoration.

“Writing their own poem was an important way for each student to express their feelings about the great sacrifices that had been made in the last century.

“The school is proud of all the students who entered the competition and we are delighted that Alice’s poem won. She has a big heart and a generous spirit, so I believe that she is a very deserving winner. I will not easily forget the look of utter disbelief on Alice’s face when the head teacher and I informed her that she had won this competition. It was utterly priceless.”

The contest aimed to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War and we were inundated with entries.

Lest We Forget...
by Alice Fox

Petal one
The soldiers standing proud,
Remember the friends they lost,
shocked at what they saw.

Petal two
The families who grieve for loved ones to return.

Petal three
The rows of unnamed dead in war cemeteries across the world,
We will remember them - they will always live in our hearts.

 

The other top ten poems:

Journey by Chloe Cochrane

Poppies by Sophie Clarke

Lest We Forget (Haiku) by Trinity Barson

The Great War by Rachael Thorp

Remember by Eve Dawson

Over The Top by Moira Coomer

La Fleur Rouge by Rosalind King

Watching the poppies...by Cody Crawford

Just Because We’re Told To by Harvey William Oldershaw

Read all of the poems>>