10 June 2002
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT IS ISSUED BY THE PRESS SECRETARY TO THE QUEEN
The Royal Household today announced the results of The Queen's Golden Jubilee Poetry Competition, which saw almost 4,000 children from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland put pen to paper to commemorate a great historical event in an enjoyable and lasting way.
The winners in the three age categories will be invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace and presented by The Queen with specially commissioned gold, silver and bronze medals, based on Raphael's Study for the Figure of Poetry.
The themes of the entries, which were judged by a panel of leading poets chaired by the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, ranged from The Queen herself and aspects of her time on the throne, to a particular incident or historical event which happened during the past last 50 years.
Andrew Motion said: "The range and quality of the poems were extraordinary and the competition as a whole lived up to our highest hopes.
"It is a great thing to have poetry forming such a central part of the jubilee celebrations."
Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Peat, added: "The poems have been fun and rewarding, and a good way to involve schools and young people in the Jubilee."
All entries will be preserved for posterity in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle. The fifty best poems will be published in the book Fifty Jubilee Poems, copies of which will be sent to all participating schools. Copies will also be for sale with all the proceeds going to two nominated Golden Jubilee charities; Barnardo's and I-CAN.
Notes to Editors:
1. The nine winning poems are attached, as well as the names of authors of the 50 best poems. All the poems will be published in the book Fifty Jubilee Poems.
2. There was a limit of three entries per school in each age category; 7-11 year olds, 11-14 year olds, and 14-18 year olds. The competition was open to all schools in the UK.
3. The prizes for the best three entries in each of the three categories are specially commissioned medals, which will be presented by The Queen at Buckingham Palace on 9th July, 2002.
4. All participating schools will receive two free copies of Fifty Jubilee Poems in September.
5. The judging panel was chaired by Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion. Other members were Carol Ann Duffy, Michael Longley, U. A. Fanthorpe and John Agard.
6. The design of the medals is based on Raphael's Study for the Figure of Poetry, which has been in the Royal Collection for over 300 years.
WINNING POEMS
7-11 AGE GROUP
GOLD MEDAL WINNER. 7-11 AGE GROUP
Aberfan 21st October 1966
Tony Managh
'In that silence you couldn't hear a bird or a child'
Aberfan resident
In Aberfan it was so quiet,
You could hear the burning tears fall,
Hurting,
Heart-broken.
In Aberfan it was so quiet,
You could hear faces crumpling softly,
Loving,
Lonely.
In Aberfan it was so quiet,
You could hear hearts breaking,
No laughter,
No life.
In Aberfan it was so quiet,
You could hear empty arms aching,
Slipping,
Sliding.
In Aberfan it was so quiet,
You could hear The Queen hugging her own
Kids
Hard ...
Tony Managh, aged 11, is a pupil at Park Junior School, Wellington, Shropshire
***
SILVER MEDAL WINNER. 7-11 AGE GROUP
Inviting the Queen to Tea ...
Louise Shaw
Dear Queen,
I hope you have a space suit,
For we are going to tea on Mars,
Please come,
Louise.
P.S. 5.30 sharp.
Dear Queen,
Please meet me at the space station, Florida,
For we are going on the 5.40 rocket,
Please come,
Louise.
P.S. Please come in that lovely pink dress for the rocket.
Dear Queen,
As you must recognise me, I will be wearing my blue frilly dress,
I'll be with four friends,
Please come,
Louise.
P.S. Oh, do come.
Dear Queen,
I hope you like roast beef, mashed potatoes and jelly with cream and strawberries,
Please come,
Louise.
R.S.V.P.
Dear Louise,
Yes, I love roast beef, mashed potatoes and mushy peas.
And yes, I have a space suit and I'd love to come.
Yours sincerely
Elizabeth
P.S. I will wear my pink dress.
Louise Shaw, aged 8, is a pupil at St. Martin's Church of England Primary School, Dorking, Surrey.
***
BRONZE MEDAL WINNER. 7-11 AGE GROUP
The Jubilee Cat
Eden Latham
Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?
I've been in London to visit the Queen.
Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you see?
I saw the Queen getting ready for her Jubilee.
I bet you didn't see her sneeze!
I did.
I bet you didn't sit on her knees!
I did.
And she said, Pussy cat, pussy cat, what are you doing here?
Would you like a sip of my Jubilee beer?
I said, 'No, thank you, Queen, I'm not yet eighteen,
But I'd appreciate a tickle and some royal cream.'
So the Queen clicked her fingers and called 'Daphne, come here'
And in a twitch of my whiskers a maid did appear.
She said, Daphne, Daphne, milk the royal cow
I need a jug of cream for this pussy right now.
And then the Queen made me her Jubilee cat
I was given a medal and a silk feather hat.
What, she made you her Jubilee cat?
Did you ride in her carriage?
Yes, on my own velvet mat.
There is just one problem!
Yes, what's that?
Don't you know she has corgis ...?
Eden Latham, aged 10, is a pupil at St. John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School, Fulham, London SW6.
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11-14 AGE GROUP
GOLD MEDAL WINNER. 11-14 AGE GROUP
Boogie in the Garden
Alexander Pirrie
Buckingham Palace announced that a free pop concert was to be held in the gardens of Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Golden Jubilee.
Hey there Queen!
Gonna boogie in the garden.
Boogie so loud
Gonna need a Royal Pardon.
Hip hop bash,
The roof will be raisin'.
You'll be tryin' not to hear us
Through the royal double-glazin'.
Not your scene?
You'll just have to lump it,
You can't always boogie
To the same royal trumpet.
Golden Jubilee, a right royal bash:
You can boogie in your garter,
You can boogie in your sash,
You can boogie with a sceptre,
You can boogie in a crown,
Man, they're gonna hear us
From the other end of town.
This party's out to prove
You're the best there's ever been,
As a hip hop happening
Cool mean QUEEN!
Alexander Pirrie, aged 13, is a pupil at Edgehill College, Bideford, Devon.
***
SILVER MEDAL WINNER . 11-14 AGE GROUP
Gold
Thomas Trevor-Roberts
Fifty golden wheat heads blow
Fifty golden wheat stalks grow,
Golden years lay row on row,
Fifty years may quickly go.
Golden hair will quickly grey,
Golden wheat heads brown and fray,
Golden leaves will rot away,
Virtues are here to stay.
Thomas Trevor-Roberts, aged 12, is a pupil at Trevor-Roberts' Preparatory School, London NW3.
***
BRONZE MEDAL WINNER. 11-14 AGE GROUP
Hairdresser Conversation
Claire Pelly
"How would you like your hair today
Blue rinses, highlights or curls?"
"Something pretty, something cool
Something to go with my pearls!"
"Is it a special occasion, Ma'am,
An event I might see on TV?"
"Nothing special, nothing grand
Just Tony Blair coming for tea!"
"So what are you doing this summer then,
I hear it's your grand Jubilee?"
"We're hoping to keep it a secret
Just my husband, the children and me."
"Have you had your holidays yet,
Are you going any place far?"
"Just America, Spain and France
And I'm hoping to meet a Czar!"
"Are you doing any more shopping,
Or are you not staying in town?"
"I'm going to buy some dog food
And a Versace gown!"
Claire Pelly, aged 12, is a pupil at The Goldolphin School, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14-18 AGE GROUP
GOLD MEDAL WINNER . 14-18 AGE GROUP
Burmese, the Queen's Horse, speaks for the Cavalry
Laura Craigen
Now days grow short, nights more bleak
And our nostrils twitch with the scent of ice,
Boxed hay draws dust, and rain makes sleek
The cobbled yards. Winter broods beyond our sight,
Looming beneath the Cotswold knolls, and coldness bites.
I am Burmese. Aged now, rain-whipped flanks
To the wind, I wax grizzled and weathered,
Ice-flecked across my darkened shanks.
Winds lift my matted mane northwards: the first feathered
Flakes of winter tumble among the muddied heather.
It was not always desolate. Once, strong and raven-haired
From the woody halls I commanded plumed horses,
And my Queen, side-saddled and equally fair,
Rode upright and proud at the head of her forces.
But all grow older: age runs its course.
And now I bask wearily in windswept disuse.
With the seasons pass household equestrian faces,
And to the kettledrum's colourless, ancient tune
Colts grow, are broken, and are put through their paces -
Among bearskins and banners they seize time-honoured places.
As slow seasons turn, lost times are remembered,
Winter is dire but cannot sustain.
We are steel-shouldered with untapped labour:
Though the winter of technology seems to maintain
Its frosts, we huddle wordlessly, and do not complain.
For at Mons and at Cambrai they pushed bravely forward,
Our forefathers tussled at Bosworth, they claimed.
So we linger, we linger, and when winter is thawed
All the Queen's horses with all of her men
Shall hurtle in bright summer battle again.
Laura Craigen, aged 18, is a pupil at Wychwood School, Oxford.
***
SILVER MEDAL WINNER. 14-18 AGE GROUP
Ealasaid
Nina Matheson
Nad aonar, air a' chathair
Le clogad òir mud cheann
Gad dhìon bho na teangannan biorach a-muigh.
Cumaidh tu ort,
Le fiamh gàire, a' gabhail nam flùraichean
Ag obair mar cheannard nad fhactaraidh.
An t-aodann ainmeil,
Eòlach, sìtheil, sàmhach
Na mo phòcaid gach latha gam chumail beò.
Tha na h-uile eòlach ort
Ach chan eil,
Tha thu fhèin eòlach, ach chan eil.
Chan eil e furasta,
A' cur ceann eòlach air pàiste,
Nad thaigh leis a' ghàrradh, stòlda, gun ghlusad, nad ghearastan.
A' coiseachd air an dùthaich, d'ealachan air loch,
Coin, eich, rèisean, cupa, teaghlach,
Eallaich is uallach Ealasaid.
Nina Matheson, aged 17, is a pupil at Tain Royal Academy, Ross-shire, Scotland.
TRANSLATION
Elizabeth
Nina Matheson
Alone, on the throne,
With a golden helmet on your head
Defending you from the sharp tongues outside.
You carry on,
With a smile, accepting the flowers,
Working as head of your factory.
The famous face,
Familiar, peaceful, silent,
In my pocket each day keeping me alive.
Everyone knows you
But does not;
You yourself know, but do not.
It is not easy,
Putting an experienced head on a youngster,
In your house with the garden, sedate, not moving, in your fort.
Walking in the country, your swans on a loch,
Dogs, horses, races, a cup, a family,
The burdens and responsibilities of Elizabeth.
***
BRONZE MEDAL WINNER. 14-18 AGE GROUP
The Queen's Hats
Helen Nightingale
A simple number, pretty nifty,
Was required in the nineteen-fifties.
In sixty-one I felt quite pensive;
My grey hat matched the comprehensives.
In sixty-six the grey was history;
I wore white for the World Cup victory.
In Vietnam, red showed my rage
For the napalmed girl on the world's front page.
As the seventies drew to a close
My fuchsia trilby stunned the discos.
But my lime green beret wasn't noticed at all
(Eclipsed in eighty-nine by the Berlin Wall).
Communism fell, I was glad of that -
Capitalism means more hats.
My hat was black in Y-2-K;
I always knew that dome wouldn't pay.
I've always liked my hats. (At the moment I have pink.)
They give me an air of dignity, I think
Because a hat has more history than any crown jewel.
Though I know that as a ruler I'm not allowed much rule,
I've always had opinions - I've just hidden them with grace.
I'm more than just a hat stand and a pretty face.
Helen Nightingale, aged 17, is a pupil at The Henley College, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
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FULL LIST OF 50 JUBILEE POEM WINNERS IN THE GOLDEN JUBILEE POETRY COMPETITION
Tony Managh, Park Junior School, Wellington, Shropshire
Louise Shaw, St. Martin's Church of England Primary School, Dorking, Surrey
Eden Latham, St. John's Waltham Green Church of England Primary School, Fulham, London SW6
Alexander Pirrie, Edgehill College, Bideford, Devon
Thomas Trevor-Roberts, Trevor-Roberts' Preparatory School, London NW3
Claire Pelly, The Godolphin School, Salisbury, Wiltshire
Laura Craigen, Wychwood School, Oxford
Nina Matheson, Tain Royal Academy, Ross-shire, Scotland
Helen Nightingale, The Henley College, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
Key Stage 3 combined entry, James Brindley Hospital School, Birmingham
Marta Ciechanowicz, St. Catherine's School, Bramley, Surrey
Joseph Rogers, St. Andrew's Church of England School, Hove, Sussex
Josephine Mbwana, St. Margaret's School, Bushey, Hertfordshire
Lucy Dunsford, St. Helen's School, Northwood, Middlesex
Brendan Davies, Pittville School, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Leah Parker-Turnock, St. Thomas of Canterbury Junior School, Chester
Rachel Ponsford, Launceston Community Primary School, Cornwall
Jenny Wall, The Belvedere School, Liverpool
Michael Binnie, St. Ninian's Primary School, Dundee, Scotland
Megan Carson, Holywood Primary School, Dumfries-shire, Scotland
Christine Paterson, Belmont Middle School, Harrow Weald, Middlesex
Tessa Riley, Notting Hill and Ealing High School, Ealing, London W13
Megan Baddeley, St. Edward's School, Oxford
Helena Conroy-Lewis, La Retraite Swan, Salisbury, Wiltshire
Alex Wicks, Highfield Primary School, Moortown, Leeds
Anisa Bocus, Hackney Free and Parochial Secondary School, London E9
Emily Mercer, Maharishi School, Latham, Ormskirk, Lancashire
Kabir Sabir, Ercall Junior School, Wellington, Shropshire
Victoria Batten, Lady Joanna Thornhill Primary School, Ashford, Kent
Naomi Miller, Oxford High School, Oxford
Megan Rotherham, Sutton Valence Preparatory School, Chart Sutton, Kent
Ellen Proudfoot, St. Katherine's School, St. Andrews, Scotland
Martin Dubois, Wimbledon College, London SW19
Katy Vincent, Kingsbury Hill House School, Marlborough, Wiltshire
Luke Bennison, Plymouth Hospital School, Plymouth, Devon
Emily Colley, Great Bentley Primary School, Colchester, Essex
Katie Leafe, Thornden School, Chandler's Ford, Hampshire
Emma Ballantine Dykes, The Godolphin School, Salisbury, Wiltshire
Sarah Grant, London Jewish Girls High School, Hendon, London NW4
Michael Hart, Pope Pius X Catholic High School, Wath, South Yorkshire
Naomi Cherry, Glenalmond College, Perth, Scotland
Kate Hamilton, King's School, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Patsy Amadi, St. Michael's Catholic Grammar School, Finchley, London N12
Lydia Wilding-Smith, Newnham Middle School, Bedford
Sinead Costelloe, Queen Anne's School, Caversham, Berkshire
Genevieve Raghu, Norwich High School for Girls, Norfolk
Stella McCall, Kinloch Primary School, Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland
Connor Trendell, George Heriot's School, Edinburgh, Scotland
Sophie Lyon, Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Telha Arshad, Woodhill Preparatory School, Chandler's Ford, Hampshire
