A handful of budding poets from Lewes Old Grammar School are celebrating after hearing that their work will be published in an anthology of children’s verse.

The nine pupils, from years 7, 8 and 9, entered their poems in the Young Writers’ Poetry Escape annual competition which challenged school children across the country to write on the theme of “breaking the silence and telling the truth”. Some 8000 entries were received and a small percentage of children were rewarded for their efforts with inclusion in the anthology.

The poems chosen for publication are judged by an editorial team and the criteria includes perception, imagination, creativity, expression, originality and use of language.

Wills Berry, Rosalie St Maur Sheil, Mia Demetriou, Louis Sadek, Olivia Richardson, Micah Papadopoulos, Sophie Watson, Maddy Horney and George Stone will all see their creations in print.

Lewes Old Grammar School English teacher Carla Moloney said: “We introduced the competition to the pupils in their English lessons last year and it really fired their imaginations. The poems tackle so many issues that they provide a real insight into what is on the minds of young people today. Everything from global warming, feminism and animal welfare to online bullying, Brexit and Trump were tackled! They were written about with such feeling and originality – it makes us very proud as a school that their work was judged externally to be worthy of being published. We look forward to entering again next year and discovering even more writers in the making!”