Listed below in no particular order.

FOOTBALL, MY LIFE
by Daniel, The Windsor Boys’ School.

Football, my life, the thing I’ve been given,
Tying my new boots, just like ribbon.
Turning, spinning, shooting top bins,
Don’t stop believing, always improvin’.

I’m dangerous, the defenders can’t stop me,
I’m so scary now, they call me Henry.
Getting assisted by Ljungberg,
Later I’ll buy you a Kopparberg.

Lukaku kicks it to row z (zed),
Ronaldo is so lethal with his head.
Messi dribbles like a little magician,
Kylian Mbappé has the precision.

Haaland’s shots break the net,
Oh and Auba we can’t forget.
Aubameyang has all the pace,
Full backs know they have to chase.

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DOWN BY THE VALLEY
by Leonora Jungels-Winkler, St Mary’s School Ascot.

Down by the valley, Sat a small willow tree,
Alone by the river, But happy you’ll see.
Swaying in the wind, encircled by fields,
Mountains surrounding, like mother natures shield.

He stayed by that river, Growing so tall,
Not knowing the troubles of next winters fall.
The planes flew high, Disturbing the peace,
And that large willow tree felt the tension increase.

He felt the fresh mountain air turn into smoke,
Thicker than ever, a coal black, dark cloak.
Then came the sounds of bombs raining down,
Not the soft hums of birds anywhere around.

Lungs full of ash, bark burning off,
He looked at the river trying not to cough.
The river at the beginning and now at the end,
Was the one thing that didn’t change, his one true friend.

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THE VOICE
by Alex Duguid, Eton College.

There’s a voice inside my head,
And it whispers all day long,
It’s always there, everywhere,
And it’s never ever gone.

It will never stop telling me
what’s right and what is wrong,
Because that voice inside me,
Is never, ever wrong.

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THIS IS ME!
by Ayanah Smith, The Langley Academy.

Ahhhh…is my favourite phrase
Sometimes I’ll sit in a daze,
Cooking, baking, oh, and eating too,
Some of my favourite things to do,
Why, why, why, piles of homework,
Science, English and History,
All things that interest me,
My family, my friends,
What would I do without them,
My name’s Ayanah, this is me!!

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WHAT IS LOVE?
by Aine Pickford, St Mary’s School Ascot.

What is love?
That’s the question that has been running through my mind,
Like a dog after the hare,
Is it happiness, sadness, envy?
Or the relief that you found your significant other?
When you meet them, is it like your whole life lit up?
Or is your mind just paying attention to the scenery because they are there?
Do you want to be with them?
Or are you happy you finally got noticed by someone?
Do you actually love them?
Or do you just never want them to leave you,
Like everyone else did.
What is love?

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DISABILITY
by Hector Dennis, Eton College.

Misery clouds my brain every hour.
There isn’t a single second where I am not in suffering and in distress.
Many visitors come to see what abuse I am held in.
They come to see my prison, and my chains.
I am restrained to this wheelchair,
imprisoned by my own inability to get up and leave, my own ‘disability’.

Growing up I believed that people were born with their heads cocked,
because that’s how they’ve always looked at me.
To be told what to do is one thing; to be told who to be is another.

Society tried to bury my reality.
They pushed me away from normality.
They pushed me towards depression and anxiety.
They pushed me to question the love from my family.
They pushed me up the bridge.
They pushed me off.
Misery clouds my brain every hour.

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EXPRESS YOURSELF TO ME
by Ellis, The Windsor Boys’ School.

Express yourself to me,
Or to the world,
It doesn’t matter.
Talk to me,
Talk to someone,
Don’t talk to anyone.

Express yourself in a hobby,
Express yourself in a game.
Do it to release unwanted pain.
Talk to me about your problems,
Talk to me about happy times.

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SWIRLS OF PAINT
by Chloe Flower, St Mary’s School Ascot.

The feeling of calm
The feeling of freedom
The feeling that nothing is perfect
And it doesn’t have to be
You’re ideas straying beyond the boundaries

The smooth, soft bristles of the paintbrush
Engraved forever with the memories
Of your previous art
Of the dancing of the waves
Or the swaying of the trees

The thick, yet thin, sleek strokes of paint
Dancing, twirling, filling the page
Once plain and hopeful
Now beautiful and strong
How I feel now
Calm and quiet
Free and strong

When I paint I appreciate the beauty
In everyone and everything
And life and nature
I inspire myself to do great things
With those small swirls of paint

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DREAMS
by Bryan Ho, Eton College.

The boy sat in the back
His chair rocking steadily
His teacher talked like a maniac
Half the boys asleep already.
Suddenly a crash
From outside the window
The heavy haze of boredom came apart
The boys lifted their heads
What was it?
The source was unseen
And they returned to their teenage daydreams.

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