Cronton Poets ‘Busta Rhyme’ for Competition

Pictured above left to right; Cara Sullivan, Rachel Whitehead, Molly Raby, Laura Farrell, Vanessa Pie, Olivia Darwin-Welsby
Six budding poets, studying A Level English Literature at Cronton Sixth Form, are to have their poems published in a new book after entering the ‘Young Writers Busta Rhyme’ competition.
Now in its 25th year, the competition received over twelve thousand entries from talented young writers from all over the UK. Cronton staff and the students were delighted to be told that six of the poems submitted had been chosen to feature in the new book, titled ‘Busta Rhyme (The North West)’.
Feedback from the book’s editor on all of the Cronton Sixth Form entries was both complimentary and encouraging. Stephanie Power, English tutor at the college explained, “Entering this competition was a fantastic opportunity for our students to demonstrate their creative and imaginative writing, and to receive professional feedback. I was really impressed by the calibre of the poems and the variety of topics featured. The students received some good, constructive feedback to help them in their writing. It is fantastic that some of the poems will appear in print, but I am very proud of all of the students that submitted a piece of work. We have some very talented authors here.”
The students reported feeling surprised, honoured and very excited about seeing their poems in print. Rachel Whitehead, a former pupil at The Grange School, wrote ‘I Am Invisible’. The 18 year old said “I felt a distinct level of pride as well as feeling honoured when I heard that my poem had been selected.” Cara Sullivan, a former pupil at Saint Gregory’s Catholic High School, penned ‘The Dancer’. She commented “I felt really proud and happy with myself.”
The six students are now eagerly waiting for the launch of the book ‘Busta Rhyme (The North West)’ at the end of March to see their poem in print. The Young Writers competition ends with the editor selecting one favourite published poem and also the best set of entries from a college/school. The winning individual author will receive a cash prize of £1000 and the winning college/school will be awarded the ‘Young Writers’ Award of Excellence’. We would like to wish all of the authors the best of luck in the competition and with their future writing ambitions.

Poems

• ‘Last Words’ by Olivia Darwin-Welsby (Age 18, from Widnes)
• ‘Me and She’ by Laura Farrell (Age 18, from Widnes)
• ‘Rejected’ by Vanessa Pie (Age 16, from Warrington)
• ‘Education’ by Molly Raby (Age 16, from Warrington)
• ‘The Dancer’ by Cara Sullivan (Age 16, from Warrington)
• ‘I Am Invisible’ by Rachel Whitehead (Age 18, from Runcorn)