Schools Poetry Competition 2025 Winners
Key Stage 2
Elthorne Park High School
Rising Rainbows
There was once a time when the sky was endless grey
But with determination, colours began to light the way
Rainbows were formed, big, bold and bright
As activists raised awareness of the LGBTs fight
Battles fought for countless years,
Through tears, love and silent fears
Fighting for change, they marched & spoke with pride
No longer chained, they rose, they awoke, to begin their stride
A fierce revolution, they made their stand
As warriors, they carved their rights with firm hands
Battling unjust laws and hearts so cold
They remained determined, confident, strong and bold
The right to live, the right to be you
To walk with pride, to love as true
Rainbows continuously rising, hands unite
Voices roar, opinions shared, spurred on to win this fight
It’s a long road ahead, creating change takes time
Shaping society, changing minds, is always an uphill climb
Standing for love, for equality, for a place in our communities
It’s a fight worth fighting for to accept the rights of LGBTs.
So, for now LGBT activists will keep on their plight
Rainbows and flags will remain in constant flight
It’s time for the world to escape the grey scale
It’s time for acceptance, for the vibrant colours to prevail.
Key Stages 3-4
Ashcroft Technology Academy
Changing the Game
The first match was played in 1881
The Women’s Football journey had only just begun
The beginning saw not boots, but dresses and heels
Scrambling through oppression and chasing ideals
Just as it started, their game was scratched
Until 1971, women’s rights were snatched
A newfound revival brought a social shift
The prospect of a trophy that we could soon lift
Record-breaking crowds, people large and small
Admire what these women do with the kick of a ball.
Their rainbow armbands no longer something to hide
Instead, we wear our identity with pride.
Yes, these women, some may be gay
But what matters to us is the game that they play
Every chant is sung clear and loud
A symbol of unity shines from the crowd.
This is not just football, it’s something more profound
A sense of togetherness we have built up from the ground.
This game that we play is now honest and true.
We celebrate our differences,
Will you?
Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg
Stones Against Walls
A prideful chatter filters through the air,
Cast in rainbow lights.
It all changes in a moment, the violence a routine,
Yet something changes this time.
Like stones against walls, they stood tall, rainbows mostly red,
But the resistance does not change.
Bricks hurled, shot glasses shattered,
Sounds that resonated across the world.
Years later we stride through the very same streets,
Scribbled words that mean the world,
Banners of equal colors hoisted upon our shoulders,
A wave of the most prideful yells.
Those in power may pay it no mind all they want,
But, like stones against walls, we shall stand tall.
Key stage 5
Cumbernauld Academy School
What if I Noticed
I never noticed a need for change
Walking down the street and people shouting slurs
Where I was raised that was normal
So I never noticed a need for change
I never noticed the pain
Blissfully unaware people were bullied for who they are
How I was raised you ignore it
So I never noticed the pain
I never noticed the things that were wrong
Kids not wanting to leave the house
They didn’t feel safe in the world
I didn’t notice the things that were wrong
Until I did
One day I woke up
I woke up and I was being called slurs
I woke up and I was being bullied for who I am
I woke up and I no longer felt safe
I woke up and wished for change
I woke up and wished there was no pain
I woke up and wished nothing was wrong
I woke up and wished someone saw
One day they did
But what could be done
I was moving schools anyway
What if they saw earlier
What if they listened
What if I didn’t give up trying
Trying to make them listen
What if they understood
What if I noticed
USP Palmer’s Campus
Ancient Greece had an interesting way of describing people like me.
They said the God of the sun, Apollo, famous for his romances
Got drunk while creating humans.
They said he switched our brains and bodies,
We were not wrong, they said,
We were not confused.
We had simply been given the wrong mind.
I think about that a lot, when it’s dark and I am alone,
The other person out there, somewhere,
Wearing my face.
I think about them
Do they know?
Do they feel as I do, like there is a rock in their shoe,
An arrow in their gut,
Their mind disconnected from their body.
Do they think about me?
l look up,
I look to you,
You stare back down.
In your eyes, recognition
In mine, defiance.
You want to hide me,
You say that I have never existed,
That I am ill.
I think back to the person with my face,
Do you hate them too?
Do they scare you?
Do I?
You cannot erase us,
Me and my face,
My body and my soul,
My eyes hold the embers of the sun,
My blood the grapes of the vine,
I am defiance,
And I am alive.