Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) is thrilled to announce the winners of our Student Poetry Competition 2022.
The competition was open to students from all school sectors and generated over 500 entries and more than 100,000 words from our student poets.
Students were able to write on any subject, with the optional theme of ‘Belonging’. In addition to written entries, this year we added a new Performance Poetry category, where students could make a video of themselves speaking or performing their words.
In a media release announcing the winners, ISV Chief Executive Michelle Green said she was impressed by the maturity of even the youngest entries, the creative skills shown by all the student poets, and the engaging styles they had applied to a wide range of themes.
‘It’s heartening to see the record number of entries. Clearly students, supported by their teachers, have something to say and can express themselves creatively.’
Read the written entries, watch the winning performance poems and find out which students received honourable mentions via the links below.
Written Poetry
‘One thousand years to the future’, by Isaac Poh
Year 2, Harkaway Hills College
‘Space’, by Cameron Wong
Year 2, Melbourne Grammar School
Performance Poetry
‘Who Loves Spring?’, by Emerson Pitman
Prep, Carey Baptist Grammar School
Written Poetry
‘Belonging’ by Emily Lam
Year 4, Presbyterian Ladies’ College
‘What to Write’, by Arthur Hall
Year 4, Cornish College
Performance Poetry
‘It’s Raining Cats and Dogs’, by Naushali Anne Navaratne
Year 3, Harkaway Hills College
Written Poetry
‘The Old Steam Train’, by Annette Burger
Year 5, Harkaway Hills College
Performance Poetry
‘You Belong’, by Millie Daniel
Year 5, Woodleigh School Minimbah
Written Poetry
‘World’s Apart’, by Eliza Ashby
Year 7, Loreto College Ballarat
‘A New Dawn’, by Felicity Van Rensburg
Year 7, Harkaway Hills College
Performance Poetry
‘How to Belong’, by Katherine Lam
Year 8, Presbyterian Ladies’ College
‘Song of Hope’, by Grace Sudjuno
Year 7, Harkaway Hills College
Written Poetry
‘white-washed; I will never stop stealing back what is mine’, by Suri Liu
Year 10, Carey Baptist Grammar School
Performance Poetry
‘But I Love Them’, by Helena Mazer
Year 9, Bialik College
‘Blissful Ignorance’, by Ethan Lust
Year 9, Bialik College
Written Poetry
‘The Death of the Sun’, by Marianna Mossonidis
Year 11, Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School
Performance Poetry
‘The Thrill of Theatre’, by Ruby Wiggins
Year 11, Alice Miller School
According to this year’s judges, the joy of discovering often breathtaking poetry has been an enormous thrill. Click here to read their thoughts, insights and notable lines from this year’s entries.
Now in its third year, the Student Poetry Competition has established itself as an annual highlight of ISV’s arts learning program and reflects our long-standing commitment to the role of the arts as an integral part of school education.
