Premier League Writing Stars

The Premier League Writing Stars competition 2020 is now closed

Thank you for taking part in this year's competition. We are currently reviewing all entries.  

This year’s Premier League Writing Stars competition is now closed however the challenge is open for families to try at home. We want young people and adults to write poems all about their dreams and ambitions for the future and share with us on Twitter @PLCommunities, #PLPrimaryStars.

This year's Premier League Writing Stars competition was based on the theme of ambition and used inspiration from the poem Beautiful Ambition by Karl Nova. The poem and subject encouraged us to think of our dreams for the future and understand that dreams and aspirations are valuable and that they can be achieved. The poem incorporates self-belief and resilience and these were the themes that ran through this programme. 

The new Premier League Writing Stars resources packs are now available to download: 

• Premier League Writing Stars: Ambition KS1
• Premier League Writing Stars: Ambition KS2

The resources are also available in welsh:

• Premier League Writing Stars: Ambition KS1(welsh)
• Premer Leiague Writing Stars: Ambition KS2 (welsh)

This is the fantastic new poem written by the poet Karl Nova to help inspire pupils to write their own poem:

Download a copy of the poster from the Key stage 1 or Key stage 2 resource packs.

The competition will be judged by our panel, including our star poet, Karl Nova, Waterstones Children's Laureate Cressida Cowell, and Leicester City captain Wes Morgan.

Watch the video below to hear how St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in London is getting excited about this year's competition.

The audio transcribed version of the film is also available. 

 Key information

This year's Premier League Writing Stars competition is now closed. We are currently reviewing all entries. 

 

• The competition was open from Tuesday 4 February 2020 until Friday 20 March 2020.
• There were two age categories – Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 – and two language categories – English and Welsh.
• Key Stage 1 pupils could submit either individual or group entries, only individual entries for Key Stage 2 pupils.
• Poems had to be no more than 20 lines or 150 words and be on the theme of ambition.
• Pupils could continue the Beautiful Ambition poem or start a new poem. Poems could be of any structure and don’t have to rhyme.
• We'll be in touch with all schools that have entered to let them know if they are one of the winners. (With schools being closed across England and Wales, the exact date will be confirmed once schools reopen.) 

Prizes

There will be a top national prize and 10 regional prizes for each category (Key stage 1 and Key stage 2). There will also be prizes for the best entries in Welsh at Key stage 1 and Key stage 2.

Prizes for national winners:

• The opportunity for the Premier League Trophy to visit your school, as well as an exclusive poetry workshop delivered by a leading children's author or poet

Prizes for regional winners and national winners:

• An invitation to a celebration event 
• The winning poems featured in an illustrated book of Premier League Writing Stars poems
• A framed version of the winning poems

There were also some brilliant bags full to the brim with poetry books up for grabs for the first 500 schools who submitted entries! 

Judging criteria

The judges will be looking for the following:

• Vocabulary that is relevant to the theme of ambition, dreams and hopes for the future
• An appropriate tone
• Poetry – figurative speech and devices to build a picture in the reader’s mind in a creative and effective way. For example, the use of alliteration, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, symbolism.
• Elements of poetry – words chosen for effect, a sense of structure, clever use of rhythm, purposeful use of rhyme, (although not all poems have to rhyme).
• Effect – does the poem celebrate ambition? Does the theme of ambition come across?
• Originality – does this entry stand out from the rest? Is it original and unique?
• Appeal – will it appeal to other primary-age pupils?

We will judge poems on their creative merits. Primary school-aged children develop their skills in writing, spelling and punctuation as they go through school and poems will not be disqualified for errors in handwriting, spelling or punctuation. However, we would encourage all entrants to proofread their poem carefully and send us their best copy.

Supporting resources and activity ideas

We have created some competition packs with just the right amount of useful resources, including lesson ideas, activity sheets, entry template sheets and inspirational videos. These resources are now available for home learning.  

 

 

Full terms and conditions are available.