• What is Pound a Poem
• How it works
• Prizes
• Who we need to thank

What is Pound a Poem

Pound a Poem is a poetry competition for children aged 5 to 11, in school years 1 to 6.

Pound a Poem is focused around three key areas: Literacy, Healthy Eating and Good Citizenship (children helping children).

We are continuing with 2006's successful theme of Healthy Eating and we are asking for every child to write at least one poem about fruit and vegetables and pay £1 to enter their poem into the competition.

All of the money raised will go to Rays of Sunshine granting wishes to terminally and seriously ill children.

How it works

Teachers organise Pound a Poem within school (you can use the lesson plans and topic web on this site to help).

Every child writes a poem about fruit and vegetables and pays £1 to enter – children can enter more than one poem but must pay £1 for every poem entered.

Poems are judged within each school and you send us one winner from each year group. Winning entries from each school will go through various rounds of national judging.

The final 16 poems will be judged by our guest panel: Jacqueline Wilson, Annabel Karmel, Dom Wood, James Campbell, Dan Freedman and Tracy Ann Oberman.

One overall winner and three runners up will be announced.

If you are a teacher click here to find more information about what you need to do.

Prizes

All winning entries to be published in the Pound a Poem Book.

- The overall winner wins a weeks holiday for four to Barbados.

- The overall winning school gets £1000 to spend on equipment.

- The five runners up will receive an iPod and their school will be visited by a celebrity author.

- The regional winning schools will receive £100 worth of book vouchers from Scholastic UK

- The 96 regional winning poets will be published in the book alongside their favourite celebrities.

FAQ

Q	What is Good Citizenship?
A	Teaching children the value of giving back to the community in the form of charity.
Q	Can I submit more than one poem?
A	You can submit as many poems as you like. Remember though each poem will have an entry fee of £1.00. However the more you write the more money you can raise for such a good cause.
Q	Do I have to handwrite my poem or can it be word processed?
A	Either will be acceptable although we would like to see the original handwritten drafts of the winning entries.
Q	Is there a minimum length of poem?
A	No, but the maximum length is 250 words.
Q	Can I submit my poem without my schools support?
A	No. Your school must register in order to take part in this fantastic competition.
Q	Is Pound a Poem only open to schools? We are a Scout Group and are also keen to join in.
A	Although Pound a Poem is mainly aimed at schools we are also happy to receive entries from established groups such as Scout groups.
Q	We are a school based outside the UK: can we still participate in Pound a Poem?
A	Yes, that’s fine, we will accept entries from schools based outside the UK.
Q	Is there a simlar scheme for Key Stage 3/secondary schools?
A	This is the second year we have run Pound a Poem so we have had to limit the competition to Key Stage 1 and 2 this year but we may widen it in future years.
Q	We are a special needs school whose children, although older, are of a similar ability to primary level: can we still take part in Pound a Poem?
A	We’re afraid not: it would be unfair to accept entries from children who do not meet the actual age criteria we have in place. However, you are still more than welcome to use the materials/ ideas with your pupils. This is the second year we have run Pound a Poem but we will consider including a special category for special schools in future.
Q	Can I contribute more than a pound?
A	Yes.
Q	Can my school raise money from joining with a local sponsor?
A	Yes, extra monies can be raised through your local community.
Q	Where should I send the winning poems and money?
A	Please send all winning entries and donation to: Pound a Poem, c/o Rays of Sunshine, No 1 Olympic Way, Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 0NP. Please include the winners entry form.

Who we need to thank

We would like to thank the following for their support:

1. Landsbanki
2. The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP
3. The Rt Hon David Cameron MP
4. The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE MP
5. Scholastic UK
6. Everyclick
7. Barbados Tourist Board
8. Department for Education and skills
9. National Literacy Trust
10. Poetry Society
11. Jazzy Media
12. Royal Society of Medicine

We would like to thank the following for their expertise:

• Education Direct
• Polly Gowers
• John Blake Publishing
• Impact, Design and Marketing
• Dan Freedman
• Paul Summerfield
• Michelle Signore
• Karen Harris
• Edward Kerner
• Tim North
• Julie Randel
• Emily Oakes
  

For the Movie:

1. Theo Walcott
2. Dick & Dom
3. Danni Harmer
4. Jacqueline Wilson
5. Tracy-Ann Oberman
6. The pupils of Childs Hill School
7. Writer/Director/Producer– Richard Philips