This competition has now closed
Hampshire Young Poets is an annual competition run by partners the Winchester Poetry Festival (WPF) and Hampshire Cultural Trust (HCT). Its aim is to inspire creativity and encourage a love of poetry, writing and words in young people across Hampshire.
Open to young people across Hampshire in three age categories:
4 to 7 years | 8 to 11 years | 12 to 16 years
In this year’s Hampshire Young Poets competition, you are invited to explore the theme of ‘Our world, our planet.’ Whether it’s your favourite place in the world to be or your thoughts on climate change, we want to read about what the words mean to you. Write a poem of no more than 14 lines on this theme and send it to us for a chance to be one of the winning poets announced at the awards ceremony on Saturday 5 October 2024 at Winchester Poetry Day 2024 to be held at The Arc, Winchester.
Competition closing date: Wednesday 31 July 2024.
Prizes
Our prizes for this year’s competition are sponsored by Paris Smith and P&G Wells.
First prize in each category:
£50 National Book Token plus £50 for your school to spend on poetry books.
Second prize in each category:
£25 National Book Token plus £25 for your school to spend on poetry books.
Third prize in each category:
£10 National Book Token plus £10 for your school to spend on poetry books.
How to enter: this competition has now closed
Please make sure that your entry contains the following information:
Your name, address, age at time of submitting entry plus a contact phone number and email address. Please also tell us where you heard about the competition.
Enter online: this competition has now closed
By post: this competition has now closed
On a separate piece of paper, please provide:
Your name, address, age at time of submitting entry, a contact telephone number and email address as well as a contact name and email address for your school. Please also tell us where you heard about the competition.
Please send this entry sheet securely attached to your poem to:
Hampshire Young Poets Competition
Hampshire Cultural Trust Chilcomb House, Chilcomb Lane Winchester, Hampshire SO23 8RB
THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED
Theme: HOME
Open to young people across Hampshire in three age categories:
4 to 7 years | 8 to 11 years | 12 to 16 years
In this year’s Hampshire Young Poets competition, we’d like you to write a poem on the theme of ‘home’. Whether home is a place or if it’s found in the people who matter to you most, we want to read about what the word means to you. Share your thoughts with us in a poem of no more than 14 lines. The winners and runners-up will be announced at an awards ceremony at The Arc, Winchester, on Saturday 14 October 2023.
Competition closing date: Monday 31 July 2023.
Prizes
First prize in each category: £50 National Book Token, plus £50 for your school to spend on poetry books, supported by P&G Wells
Second prize in each category: £25 National Book Token, plus £25 for your school to spend on poetry books
Third prize in each category: £10 National Book Token, plus £10 for your school to spend on poetry books
Hampshire Young Poets is a partnership between Hampshire Cultural Trust, Winchester Poetry Festival and Hampshire Library Service. School prizes kindly sponsored by P&G Wells, Winchester.
Enter the competition online by clicking here The competition is now closed to entries.
To enter by post, on a separate sheet of A4 paper, please provide the following information:
- Name
- Address
- Age at time of submitting entry
- Contact phone number
- Email address
- Where you heard about the competition.
Send your poem and entry sheet in an envelope clearly marked Hampshire Young Poets 2023: Home to:
Hampshire Cultural Trust
Chilcomb House
Chilcomb Lane
Winchester
Hampshire SO23 8RB
Competition rules
• The competition is open to any young person in the three specified age categories who lives or studies in Hampshire.
• Entry is free.
• Entries can be submitted online or by post.
• The poem should be no longer than 14 lines, in English, be the entrant’s own work and should not have been published elsewhere, including online, and not have won any other competition. You may enter more than one poem if you wish.
• Closing date is midnight GMT 31 July 2023.
• No changes can be made once entries have been submitted.
• The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
• The winners will be contacted by email or post and announced at a ceremony at The Arc, Winchester, on Saturday 14 October 2023. Unfortunately we are unable to contact entrants who have not been successful.
2023 Competition Winners
4 - 7 Years:
Second place: I love my home and my family, Alexandra-Elise Urry
Third Place: Save Our Homes Today!, Bliss Evelyn Aspray
8 - 11 Years:
First place: This is what I call home....., Nia Matthews
Second place: Lying Awake at Home, Joseph Buckland
Third place: So Does A Refugee, Kataleja Tuzikiene
12 - 16 years:
First place: Home, Ella Tighe
Second place: Home, Isabella Golding
Third place: three boys, Shravya Subash
Hampshire Young Poets 2023 winners with Hampshire Poet Nazneen Ahmed Pathak
2022 Competition Winners
4 - 7 Years:
First place: #The Queen, Leonardo Rogers
Second place: It's the Jubilee!, Nia Matthews
8 - 11 Years:
First place: The Jubilee, Clover Mason
Second place: The Jubilee, Layal Soudi
Third place: Red, White and Blue, Isabelle Evans
12 - 16 years:
First place: The Wave, Molly Towgood
Second place: Reflection from Platinum Jubilee, Ffion Turberfield
Third place: Jubilee Celebration, Bea Underwood-Russell
Hampshire Young Poets 2022 winners with Hampshire Poet Nazneen Ahmed Pathak
