A CHESTER student is celebrating after being told her poem would be available to read on a national website.
Sixth former Katie Proctor, 17, took part in the Christopher Tower Poetry Prizes this year, a national competition offering young people an opportunity to write poetry.
Each year, students between the ages of 16-18 years are asked to submit poems on a set theme, which this year was promises. The King’s School student’s entry was put on the ‘long list’ and her poem will be available to read online soon.
King’s School spokesman Vicky Titmuss said: “Based at Christ Church College, Oxford, the prizes have rapidly established themselves as the most prestigious poetry awards in the UK for this age group, offering a first prize of £3,000.
“This year’s judges were poet Stephen Romer, Professor of Poetry at the University of Glasgow, Michael Schmidt and English lecturer at Oxford University, Peter McDonald. Previous judges have included Simon Armitage, Andrew Motion and Philip Pullman, making this a tremendous achievement indeed.”
Katie, of Chester, is a regular member of the King’s Writers’ Group run by King’s English teacher Hayley Brown. She is also applying to read English at university.
The Christopher Tower Poetry Prizes was launched in 2000. For more information go to www.tower poetry.org.uk/competitions.