Judged by Jamie Stewart (OA and Governor)

Finalists: Robyn Annetts, Alvaro del Castano, Nick Burgoyne, Elsie Houston, Kate Bygott-Webb, Bethany Oyston, Gabrielle Rose, Tom Siviter, Gavin Whyte, Arthur Scott, Jack Stansfeld, Timon White, Max Carleton-Smith, Ken Dumand, Alex Moore, Jonathan Richmond, Miles Burke, Nick Garvie, Grace Jones, Abigail Pearson, Simon Edwardes, Chloe Evans, George Hay, Freddie Michell, Tim Cole, Richard Plowden, Christopher Spilsbury, Titus Bridgwood, Tosca Griffin, Robert Hinchley, Wulstan Nixon.

The day began with the Top Year listening intently to a number of very moving (and funny) readings of personal poetic favourites by a large number of the teaching staff, bringing a tear from Mrs Duckham (Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep) and an audible waver in the voice from Mr Kennedy (In Flanders Field). The Top Year then had an intensive 90 minutes of searching out and rehearsing their own poems followed by a hard fought semi-final round in Forms.

The afternoon Final was brilliantly judged by Jamie Stewart and mixed all the finalists from the 5’s and 100’s with the freshly picked Top Year contenders. It was a close fought contest, with excellent readings from many quarters. Mr Stewart picked out for particular commendation Bethany Oyston reading Slow Dance and Gavin Whyte reading Dulce et Decorum Est (Wilfred Owen), but chose as the overall year-group winner Alex Moore for his excellent rendition of I Saw a Child by James Fenton.

In the Top Year, Mr Stewart commended Titus Bridgwood (Let’s Hear It for the Limpet by Kit Wright) and Wulstan Nixon (with an extract from Measure for Measure) and Tosca Griffin (Applemoon by Rose Flint) but picked as the overall year-group winner Abigail Pearson for a brilliant rendition of I Am by John Clare. Well done to all who took part throughout the school.

Overall winners: Alex Moore (5’s and 100’s); Abigail Pearson (Top Year)
Form winners: Nick Burgoyne (100G), Bethany Oyston & Gavin Whyte (100P jointly), Timon White (100K), Alex Moore (Form 5); Abigail Pearson (CE1), Chloe Evans (CE2), Chris Spilsbury (CE3) and Tosca Griffin (Form 6).