The COBIS & Pobble Poetry Competition celebrates COBIS students’ creative writing skills across the globe.
Students were invited to write an original poem to reflect this year's competition theme, 'Today's actions shape tomorrow's world'. We received hundreds of entries from students worldwide. Congratulations to everyone who entered; our judges thoroughly enjoyed reading your excellent poems.
2020 Competition Winners and Runners-Up
The winners are listed below, along with the judges' comments. To read each poem, please click on the student's name.
Category A: 10 yrs and under
Winner: Hamza Al Mobaress, British International School of Marbella
“A simple poem, yet effective in its use of repetition, imagery and alliteration. The use of rhetorical questions served to address the reader on this current, tragic news story.”
“Great use of rhythm, questions and shape. Very moving!”
Runner Up: Rameesah Hannan, The Alice Smith School
“The poem uses excellently depicted images of what was once the beauty of coral reefs in contrast to the damage and decay. This image is successfully portrayed through the use of ambitious adjectives and alliteration. Personification is used to paint an image of the reality of the problem of overfishing. Excellent rhetorical question as an ending.”
“A powerful poem that begs the reader to question the future of our reefs. Wonderful use of alliteration and sophisticated vocabulary throughout. Well done Rameesah, keep writing!”
Category B: 11-14 yrs
Winner: Sophie Watkins, International School of Moscow
“Excellent vocabulary, fitting the meter and the rhyme perfectly. Each stanza rolls off the tongue”
“Great attempt at rhyme and brilliantly focused on the theme.”
“There is an excellent message in this poem, along with the skilful use of rhyming couplets.”
Runner Up: Joshua Thomas, Budapest British International School
“Joshua, this is an incredible poem which reflects so many aspects of this year's theme. Using the metaphor of life being like a game of dominoes is a clever and powerful analogy. I especially like the end, where you are handing out an ultimatum to the world. Well done!”
“I really liked the simile of the dominoes.”
Category C: 15-19 yrs
Winner: Aayami Jaguri, Doha College
“I loved the use of alliteration and consonance in this poem. The imagery used was very vivid, creating an ominous atmosphere across the first four stanzas. I especially like the sense of hope for the future in the final stanza.”
“Evocative imagery, excellent use of onomatopoeia.”
“Extremely powerful poem. Fantastic imagery that paints a vivid picture of the state of the world.”
Runner Up: Karolína Kubičková, Park Lane International School
“The image of the children under the old apple tree is particularly poignant and evocative.”
“Clearly a lot of time has been taken to craft a poem with so much visceral imagery of humanity and aging. The last lines were particularly moving 'weary, I smile at my twisted apple tree... children dancing beneath...' I took this to be a direct comment on the naivety of humans not being aware of the nature around them and how much it does for us. I loved the use of metaphor, as well as the rhythm - it's certainly a poem to be read aloud.”
Prizes
A certificate and prize has been awarded to the winner and runner-up of each category.
Winner: £75 Amazon voucher
Runner-up: £25 Amazon voucher
Judges
The success of our Poetry Competition is dependent upon the expertise of our external judges. Thank you to all the judges who volunteered to support this competition, including teachers from COBIS Schools, experts from COBIS Supporting Member organisations and professionals from the writing industry.
View the 2020 Entries
Entries from the 2020 competition can be viewed online. You will need a Pobble account to access the entries. It is quick and easy to set up an account - simply visit the Pobble website, click 'Try for free' (in the top right corner), and then register as a Teacher or a Parent (if you are not a teacher). Click here to view all entries.
Competition Sponsor
We would like to thank Collins for sponsoring the COBIS Poetry Competition 2020.
'Collins has been publishing educational and informative books for almost 200 years. Throughout this rich heritage we have maintained an impressive record in creating market-leading products across various sectors. Our educational publishing continues to deliver up-to-date and engaging student resources and exceptional teacher support to help schools tackle new initiatives and utilise the latest technology. We produce resources for UK and International curricula to support teachers and pupils at school and outside the classroom environment.
Collins is a leading educational publisher of primary and secondary resources. We support thousands of teachers and pupils, providing award-winning materials that enhance the learning experience with our easy to use and flexible programmes. Visit www.collins.co.uk.'