The Mary Palmer Poetry Competition 2016 Winners

A prize giving event was held on Wednesday 7 December at City Hall to congratulate the winners of The Mary Palmer Poetry Competition 2016.

This annual competition is run by The HOPE Virtual School and the 2016 theme was ‘Learning City’. The judges were impressed with everyone’s creativity and with the high standard of entries from children and carers.

The prize giving was an incredibly happy evening, with the winners reading out their poems and each receiving a prize. The HOPE staff learned lots from their young people, both through the poems and from meeting the winners, foster carers, parents and grandparents who attended the event.

Miles Chambers, Bristol’s very own poet laureate, supported the prize giving. Miles shared how he became a poet and then gave a performance of one of his poems, which was all about Bristol.

The HOPE Virtual School would like to thank Adele Gardner, one of The HOPE’s governors, and Julie Rowell for giving their time so generously and providing prizes. The school would also like to thank Paul Jacobs, Service Director of Education and Skills, and Ann James, Head of Children in Care and Care Leavers, at Bristol City Council, and Rachael Pryor, Headteacher of The HOPE Virtual School, for presenting the prizes.