You may remember that before the school holidays we were looking for children aged 5-16 to impress us with their poetry prowess by submitting a poem or short story based on the theme – Do Computers Rule the World?
We received over 500 entries – an absolutely amazing response – and are delighted to announce that Ian McMillan, the Bard of Barnsley, has picked three winners.
Cue drum roll…
1st Place: Emily Wilson, Wetherby High School
2nd Place: Sophia Barnett – Bishop Walsh Catholic School
3rd Place: Annabel Cox – Oasis Academy John Williams
A huge thank you to all children who entered. We will be publishing a large selection of the entries in the coming days for you to read and share!
Emily鈥檚 poem:
My dog ate my homework
Was the line that used to be,
But now it鈥檚 all gigabytes
And my printers ran out of ink
The old park swing
That was full of joy,
Is now empty
Just swinging in the wind
The boy with his head down
Looking at a screen,
Just missed the chance of a lifetime
A friendship that could鈥檝e been
The mother that climbed monkey bars
Can鈥檛 get her child to stop watching 鈥楥ars鈥
She asks herself why?
Why don鈥檛 children want to see the kites fly?
We鈥檙e completely addicted,
Addicted to the net.
Those children who want to make computer games
Instead of becoming a vet
It鈥檚 got us in its grubby hand
Controlling us through its links,
We鈥檙e buried in the sand
Puppets on strings that can鈥檛 blink
Children used to cry
From a grazed knee,
Now children cry
From losing to technology
It鈥檚 a disease
And it鈥檚 spreading fast
There is no cure
No way you鈥檙e going to last
The forever chatting world
Is now silent
All the chatting is online
And bullying is no longer violent
It鈥檚 all done online
The hate, rumours, the stories
We鈥檙e running out of time
To return to our former glory
We don鈥檛 dare say it to their faces
But we say it in online places
Where we think we鈥檙e safe from torment
But we鈥檙e not safe from judgement
So look up from your screen
And see the world as it is
We don鈥檛 need to be the robot generation
We need to stop at the outside station
So break out of the chain
Out of your prison cell
To a world without pain
To a world which isn鈥檛 technology hell
