Rebecca Maxwell and Canon Albert Radcliffe

We are delighted to announce that Rebecca Maxwell from The Blue Coat School in Oldham has been awarded the first prize in her age category and been named Young Poet of the Year.  Her poem can be seen below.

The theme for 2008 was sacred space.  Pupils were encouraged to look not only at the sacred space that the Cathedral and other such religious buildings offer, but to consider other places and experiences that were sacred to them.

We were delighted that so many pupils were able to engage with the theme and impressed at their thought-provoking poetry. The words of these young people speak to us all, no matter what our age.

We would like to thank all who entered and the teachers who enabled them to take part. I would also like to thank our judges Jan Dean and Albert Radcliffe for their expert help in selecting the winning poems; I am only glad I did not have to choose from the many inspiring entries!

Click here to download the report in PDF format