We are delighted to announce that Zoe in Year 9 has been shortlisted for the post of Midlands Young Poet Laureate with her poem Nan’s Bumble Bee. This is a fantastic achievement for her and a very exciting time for our school!
Zoe is one of 20 shortlisted students selected from across the region. The number and standard of entries was exceptionally high, making this an outstanding accomplishment. All shortlisted students will now enter the next stage of the process, where they have a chance to be appointed the new Young Poet Laureate for the Midlands and become an ambassador for poetry. All shortlisted students will also have their poems published in a celebratory anthology and will receive a copy of this.
Zoe will attend a full‑day poetry masterclass in Birmingham in April, which will end in a celebratory performance. She will be recorded performing her poem during this time for the judging panel.
We are incredibly proud of Zoe and, of course, the other students who entered this competition: Max, Bella and Siyona.
Mrs Meredith and Mrs Johnson
Nan’s Bumblebee Girl, by Zoe
As busy as a bee, Nan used to say,
I’m busier than the whole hive,
My Jiggles and Wiggles the wings from my back,
My laughter is bubbly, alive,
You were born of the fairies, my Nan used to say,
Made a beautiful child of dreams and clay,
And busy as a bee the light shines in me,
You’re my very own Bumblebee girl.
The bees in my garden are lazy now,
They Bumble around in the grass,
The summer is growing to a close, and the sun,
Melted to honey in their hearts,
Shines golden within them whilst we snuggle down,
The blankets we wrap round and round,
But busy as a bee the light shines in me,
I’m Nan’s Bumblebee girl.
The Christmas movies have doubled in price,
The shops have elves in the windows,
The crackle of fireworks still ring in my ears,
The clouds blowing frost with a hint of snow,
The grass has grown yellow and turned underfoot,
The fireplaces billow ashes and soot,
But busy as a bee the light shines in me,
I’m Nan’s Bumblebee girl.
The tips of tiny unfurling green shoots,
The frost that has melted to water,
The streams that overflow and the bluebirds that sing,
The snow drops Mother Earth’s daughters,
And beneath the pale rays, the first butterfly flies,
The Honeybees buzz, populate the skies,
And busy as a bee the light shines in me,
I’m Nan’s Bumblebee girl.
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