Students from across Victoria answered this year’s call for poetry in remarkable numbers, sharing stories, observations, reflections and imaginative ideas through their writing and performances.
Congratulations to all the Years 7 – 8 students who have been selected as finalists in the 2026 Student Poetry Competition. Explore the finalists in each competition category below.
Years 7 – 8 Written Poetry Winner
- ‘The Museum of Ordinary Things’ by Cecilia (Xiyu) Zhang, Lauriston Girls School
Years 7 – 8 Written Poetry Finalists
- ‘The Little Seed’ by Anneke Beamish, St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School
- ‘Born to Become’ by Claire Schroder, Woodleigh School
- ‘Snow on the Mountainside’ by Coen Pang, Cobram Anglican Grammar School
- ‘You know, that stone fortress’ by Emily Lam, Presbyterian Ladies’ College
- ‘Félicette’ by Emily Lo-Doherty, Lauriston Girls School
- ‘Cut Fruit’ by Fiona Han, Methodist Ladies’ College (MLC)
- ‘Waxing Gibbous’ by Isabella Zheng, Lauriston Girls School
- ‘Billabong’ by Noor Kaela, Southern Cross Grammar
- ‘Frida’ by Renee Kim, Balcombe Grammar School
Years 7 – 8 Written Poetry Honourable Mentions
- ‘Putrefying banana.’ by Harrison Moody, Tintern Grammar
- ‘The Colour of My Childhood’ by Lielle Galon, Methodist Ladies’ College (MLC)
- ‘Seven Hours’ by Mesoma Anawana, Harkaway Hills College
- ‘The Fruit Kingdom’ by Adriann Lea Pushie, Yarra Hills Secondary College
- ‘Birthday Blues’ by Christine Dang, Bacchus Marsh Grammar
- ‘The Last Orchard’ by Karina Wong, Melbourne Girls Grammar
- ‘Sorrow and Desperation’ by Ajrin Chowdhury, Sirius College
- ‘The Plum Cycle’ by Yousef Abuelroos, Minaret College
- ‘Bright and Bold’ by Noor Shakila Hussain, Minaret College
- ‘Between the lines’ by Ruby Wigley, Covenant College
- ‘What is the meaning to life to you?’ by Dana Revale, Mount Scopus Memorial College
- ‘Beach Treasures’ by Madeline, Rosebud Secondary College
- ‘Bushfire’ by Alessandra Sansoni, Mentone Grammar
- ‘One For the Rain’ by Evelyn Qi, Presbyterian Ladies’ College
- ‘Oh Strawberry’ by Ned Manche, Kardinia International College
- ‘New Roots’ by Siena Louise Harsant, Ruyton Girls’ School
- ‘kindergarten/eulogy for wolf’ by Adele Bilney, Methodist Ladies’ College (MLC)
- ‘The Royal Cook’ by Sumayya Zuhair, Haileybury
- ‘The Succulent Persimmon’ by Jude Co, Lysterfield Lake College
- ‘The Soap Sonnet’ by Nathanael Khoo, Lysterfield Lake College
- ‘A Recipe for Clearing the Mind’ by Katrina Du, Lauriston Girls School
- ‘Joy’ by Leda de Graaf, Mount St Joseph Girls’ College
- ‘Crisp Juicy Grape’ by Tilda Allberry, Yarra Hills Secondary College
- ‘Why?’ by Cameron Turner, Mentone Grammar
- ‘Just Not Enough’ by Melissa Ertekin, Aitken College
- ‘Perfection of My Love’ by Eva Sun, Glen Waverley Secondary College
- ‘Slowly, Slowly, We Grow’ by Chloe Findlay, Southern Cross Grammar
- ‘The Puppet’ by Audrey Brockett, Mentone Girls’ Grammar School
- ‘Knocking on deaths door’ by Ruby Lee, St Peter’s College
- ‘Unchained’ by Parthenia Morkos, Donvale Christian College
- ‘An Orchard of Memories’ by Charlotte Ho, Wesley College Melbourne
- ‘Which Berry?’ by Sophie Haines, Sacre Coeur
- ‘Crimson painted lies’ by Maya Thomas, St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School
Years 7 – 8 Ekphrastic Poetry Winner
- ‘Fruit Market of Life’ by Amreen Kaur Saini, St Peter’s College
Years 7 – 8 Ekphrastic Poetry Finalists
- ‘Lemons in a Bowl’ by Alix Jackson, Melbourne Girls Grammar
- ‘Fruits in Orbit’ by Emma Avila Daboub, Harkaway Hills College
- ‘Summer’s Secret’ by Aryana Sahil, Harkaway Hills College
- ‘the temptation of the persimmon tree’ by Eliana Perera, Harkaway Hills College
- ‘Honey Pumpkin Thief’ by Felicity Hack, Harkaway Hills College
- ‘The Selfish Crow’ by Lucia Peralta, Harkaway Hills College
- ‘Our Unique Bushel’ by Mahveen Channa, Al-Taqwa College
- ‘The Old Fig Tree’ by Qiana Zaher, Harkaway Hills College
- ‘Ripe’ by Scarlette Goh, Donvale Christian College
Years 7 – 8 Ekphrastic Poetry Honourable Mentions
- ‘Calm after the Storm’ by Miriam Carrick, Harkaway Hills College
- ‘I Beg of Thee, Butterfly’ by Imogen Oates, Bacchus Marsh Grammar
- ‘‘Tis the Mango Season!’ by Giulia Schavione, Harkaway Hills College
- ‘Under the Fig Tree’ by Nathaniya Kolamkanny, Harkaway Hills College
Years 7 – 8 Performance Poetry Finalists
- ‘The bowl’ by Samuel Sun, Wesley College Melbourne
Years 7 – 8 Performance Poetry Finalists
- ‘Even the smallest gifts’ by Marie Boules, Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School
- ‘The Man Behind the Mask’ by Naushali Navaratne, Harkaway Hills College
- ‘Sweet, Sour and Bruised’ by Nur Rafidah, Minaret College
- ‘Better to Nourish than to Rot’ by Ruansh Chowdhury, Good News Lutheran College
Years 7 – 8 Performance Poetry Honourable Mentions
- ‘The fruit bowl’ by Oma Habiba, Minaret College
- ‘Apple of their eye’ by Safiyyah Khatoon Binte Muhammad Siddiq Khan Surattee, Minaret College