Telling the truth about youth
A poetry competition for secondary schools
7 January to 29 March 2013
7 January to 29 March 2013
The National Literacy Trust has joined forces with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) to provide teachers and librarians with a competition and resources to engage young people in writing, and to teach them about copyright and the importance of protecting their own and others’ creativity.Research has shown that there is a relationship between attitudes towards writing and writing attainment; 75% of young people believe that to be a good writer means you have to enjoy writing but less than 50% of young people say that they enjoy writing.
Write On aims to put the enjoyment factor back into writing by using an engaging form of writing—poetry—and by focusing on a topic that is sure to be interesting and relevant to young people: themselves!
Click on the links below to find out a bit more about what the competition involves.
How does it work?
What are the prizes?
What are we looking for?
How does the competition fit in with school activities?
What supporting resources are available?
How do I submit my students' entries?
What are the prizes?
What are we looking for?
How does the competition fit in with school activities?
What supporting resources are available?
How do I submit my students' entries?
How does it work?
“What do you think about the way young people are viewed in today’s society? Do you get a fair deal? Now’s the time to have your say…”
The challenge is simple: Students must write an original poem expressing their thoughts about perceptions of and attitudes towards young people in today’s society.
Then just submit your students’ finished poems to the judging panel.
To provide some inspiration for your students, we have linked up with four fantastic young poets who have penned their own poems on this topic especially for us. These poems are a great stimulus for discussion around the topic, and also provide an opportunity to introduce the importance of copyright and the boundaries around it.A free eye-catching poster that promotes the competition is available for every school who registers to take part in the competition.
Bonus category: It’s Slam Time!
"Think you could pull out a performance that would blow the competition away? Film yourself performing your poem for the chance to win more prizes”
A poetry slam (performing poems in front of a live audience) is an exciting and accessible way to engage young people in poetry. For the chance to win some great bonus prizes, your students can hold a poetry slam in school and send in videos of their performances to our judging panel.
To help you, we have produced some practical advice for setting up and running a poetry slam. Download poetry slam toolkit
What are the prizes?
The winning entries for both categories will be chosen by a judging panel that includes poet Bridget Minamore, and the students selected will win some fantastic prizes, both for themselves and their school:
Main category
- For the school: A performance and a writing workshop from Dean Atta, a brilliant writer and poet whose work has been featured on Channel 4 and Radio 1Xtra.
- For the student: Signed work from the poets featured in the Write On competition, £50 worth of Amazon vouchers and a brand new tablet computer!
Slam Time bonus category
- For the school: A performance and poetry slam workshop from Catherine Brogan, performance poet and winner of numerous poetry slams.
- For the student: Signed work from the poets featured in the Write On competition and £50 worth of Amazon vouchers.
The winners and shortlisted entrants from both categories will also be invited to perform their poems alongside some of the professional poets featured in the competition at a Write On celebration event in London on Thursday 9 May 2013.
What are we looking for?
Written entries: main category
A winning poem will have a:
- strong voice – we’re looking for a piece of writing where we can hear the poet when we read it
- strong sense of rhythm (although it doesn’t necessarily have to rhyme!)
- creative structure and layout
Video entries: slam time bonus category
A winning performance will:
- be confident
- be well-rehearsed
- be interesting - have the audience hanging on every word
- make the audience feel something – whether it’s happy, sad, angry, frustrated, reflective, inspired…or any other kind of emotion
How can the competition fit in with school activities?
The Write On competition is a great activity for English, PSHE and Citizenship lessons, and could also make an excellent tutor time activity or library-based challenge. Poetry slams would also work well as part of a Drama lesson or club.
To help you integrate the competition in school we have put together a 12-lesson plan, complete with supporting resources. This plan includes two lessons that introduce students to the concept of copyright and the importance of protecting their own and others' work.
What supporting resources are available?
Every school that takes part in the Write On competition can access a whole host of resources to support them in running the competition in school.
Promotional poster
Request your free copy of our Write On poster to help you raise the profile of the competition in school. Request your copyPoems from four exciting young poets
Inspire your students and fuel discussion with these thought-provoking poems written especially for this competition. Download
Scheme of work
Embed the competition task into class time using this 12-lesson plan, complete with supporting resources. Includes two lessons that introduce students to the concept of copyright and the importance of protecting their own and others' work. DownloadA toolkit for running a poetry slam in school
Learn how to successfully run a poetry slam in school with this comprehensive and practical introduction to the slam world. DownloadHow do I submit my students’ entries?
Any student aged between 11 and 16 and based in the UK can enter the Write On competition. To enter your students, just complete and submit the entry form, along with their entries, to competitions@literacytrust.org.uk before 5pm on Friday 29 March 2013.
You can also submit your students’ entries by post to Write On poetry competition, National Literacy Trust, 68 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1RL, or by fax to 020 7587 1411.
Submitting video entries for the Slam Time bonus category
If you would like to submit video entries for the Slam Time bonus category, just upload the entries to YouTube or Vimeo and include the URL to the video next to each student’s name on your entry form.
If you do not wish these videos to be viewed by others you can make them private so that only we can see them. If you’re not sure how to do this then you might like to enlist the help of your students!
Please note: any video footage of your students that is submitted for the Slam Time bonus category must be accompanied by the consent form at the end of the competition entry form. Any entries submitted without this form cannot be accepted.
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Please make sure you have read the competition rules before submitting your entries
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Take part
Register to take part in the competition and request your free copy of the Write On poster.
RegisterEducating students about copyright
Find out more about ALCS and access additional free resources to help you educate your students about copyright.
Find out more
The poets
Find out more about the professional poets who are supporting the competition.
Find out more
