TALENTED pupils at a Knightswood school have triumphed in the city’s Coronation poetry competition.
Yara Tadfi, Devon Wyer and Joseph Quail, who are all in P7 at Bankhead Primary, impressed judges with their emotional and hard-hitting poem which highlights the climate crisis and the need to fund the NHS.
Pupils in primaries four to seven across the city were asked to submit verses on the theme: “If I were King/Queen for a day…” as part of the city’s celebrations to mark the Coronation on Saturday (May 6).
Yara, Devon and Joseph chose to send a strong message to the new king in their fantastic poem, entitled Our Saviour.
“If I ruled/ And made a promise for a single day/ The very first thing that would come to mind/ The first thing that I’d do/ Is to fund/ The ones that tackled the plethora of deadly Covid cases that spread like a loose wildfire/ The ones that came to save us/ When we needed them/ And feared for our lives/ All our loved ones/The NHS.
“If I ruled/ I’d prioritise awareness/ Show young and old/ How precious life is/ Educate on sustainability/ Protecting animals and habitats/ Leading to a better tomorrow.
“The future would be beautiful/The problems of the planet are real/ But together we can solve them/ With hope.”
Judges included Lord Provost Councillor Jacqueline McLaren, who is also the Lord Lieutenant of Glasgow (the King’s representative in the city) and Jim Carruth, Glasgow’s Poet Laureate.
Councillor McLaren said: “Congratulations to our Bankhead Primary poets and my thanks to everyone who took to the time to enter.
“As always, the quality and variety of work was first class - truly fit for a king and queen. Well done to all our promising poets. I’d encourage them all to keep on writing.”
Jim Carruth said: “It’s been wonderful to experience, once again, the imaginations that the children of Glasgow possess. This time around it was clearly allied with their hopes and ambitions for the new monarch.
“Many submissions contained a clear message about the need to tackle inequality and the environmental crisis.”
Lorraine Napier, Bankhead Primary’s depute head teacher, said: “We are absolutely delighted. It is just such a lovely thing to be part of. The children and the staff here will remember this for a very long time, it’s so exciting. It’s part of history.”
The school celebrated their success as part of an event in the school marking Saturday's Coronation.
The Bankhead pupils’ poem will now be sent to HM King Charles as part of Glasgow’s message of congratulations, and the trio will be invited to the City Chambers.
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