Premier League launches poetry competition for primary children

Caleb Femi

The Premier League has launched a poetry competition for children aged five to 11. Premier League Writing Stars is backed by names from the worlds of football and literature, such as Frank Lampard and ‘Charlie and Lola’s’ Lauren Child.

The campaign is open to all primary schools in England and Wales and aims to get young people writing poetry in different creative forms.

Inspired by the William Hickson poem ‘Try, Try Again’, which is recited by footballers in the recent Premier League Primary Star advertising campaign, the competition asks school children to write around the theme of resilience; what does it mean to you to try and try again? Entries can be any form of poetic writing including a rap or lyrics. Teachers and parents can register or nominate their child’s school to take part at PLPrimaryStars.com.

The all-star judging panel includes former professional footballer and children’s author Frank Lampard; ‘Charlie and Lola’ author-illustrator and Waterstones Children’s Laureate Lauren Child; Premier League star and lyricist Yannick Bolasie and Young People’s Laureate for London Caleb Femi. All judging will be overseen by Jonathan Douglas, National Literacy Trust Director.

Entries will be considered against a range of criteria including creativity, tone and originality. The winning poems will be published in a limited-edition book. Other prizes include author-led writing workshops and Premier League trophy school visits, as well as winning poems being read aloud by football stars. The first 1,000 schools that enter the competition will receive a bespoke ‘Book Bag’.

The campaign is supported by the National Literacy Trust and is part of the Premier League Primary Stars education programme, which has already engaged more than 10,000 primary schools and 13,000 teachers in England and Wales.

Waterstones Children’s Laureate Lauren Child hopes this campaign encourages creativity. She said: "It is always inspiring to see just how many children, when given the chance, feel a desire to write. It’s especially wonderful that children want to express themselves by creating poems, since poetry can be such a powerful way to connect with the world and to better understand oneself. It is a privilege for me to be part of the Premier League’s Writing Stars Poetry Competition, and to have the opportunity to read these children’s words and discover what is important to them."

Frank Lampard, who has authored 19 books in his ‘Frankie’s Magic Football’ series, added: “Resilience is something every footballer certainly knows about. Encouraging children to think about what it means to persevere and keep trying is a hugely valuable life lesson and I love that this message forms a core part of the Premier League Primary Stars programme and Writing Stars poetry competition. I am sure I will be reading lots of creative and inspiring entries.”

All entries are submitted via schools and teachers and parents should visit www.plprimarystars.com to register or nominate their schools to take part.

Read more