EXAMPLE SHEET
Unsocial Media
Put down your phone and open your eyes,
Friendships are made from what’s inside.
Put down your phone and open your mouth,
The words we speak are more kind and thought out.
Put down your phone and open your ears,
Listen to the real pleas of your peers.
Put down your phone and read these words,
People’s stories are desperate to be heard.
Not in a text, a Snapchat or a TikTok,
With a smile, a voice, not a screen to mock.
Put down your phone before it’s too late,
Social media creates lots of hate.
Put down your phone and talk to your friends,
Remember to be sociable until the end.
By Oliver Groom (12)
Wardrobe Of The Heart
Before I leave my house
And leave my safe cocoon
Of blankets, books and cookies
There is something I must do
Place a hat of humour on my head
So my feelings don’t get hurt
A scarf of sensitivity
To remind me ‘Don’t be curt’
A coat of courage
Keeping me strong
Fuzzy socks of silliness
Cos my heart is still young
Mittens of modesty
To keep my ego away
A jumper of joy
So sadness won’t stay
But one day, I might realise
That to myself I lied
I don’t need to carry all that around
Because I have it all inside.
By Sashya Nussbaum (14)
EXAMPLE SHEET
The Glass Figure
I see him standing there
A figure of iron-bound glass
His shadow upon the wall
Of words they thought would last
His tears yet run freely
But I turn to the brighter sun
In a garden of hope and light
That from the past has sprung
I take his hand, this younger me
And we turn from scolding gaze
I show him the new schoolyard
Away from primary haze
Their spite fades from my mind
And much clearer do I see
This glass figure will not break
This figure who was me.
By James Mitchell (12)
Censorship
Freedom of speech;
The very thing used to silence the [REDACTED].
An age of media,
Ideas radical or conserved,
At the fingertips of the [REDACTED].
Opinions welcomed; criticism not found,
So we still ask, where is our so-called ‘freedom of speech’?
Our speech is still bound by a payment,
And restricted by the views of a [REDACTED] society.
Our power is not judged by what we say,
But by how loud we shout.
By Fizlee Douglas (14)
EXAMPLE SHEET
Dear Future Me
Dear Future Me
I wonder who you’ve become.
Do you wake up excited for the day,
or does the weight of the world sit heavier than it used to?
Have you followed the paths we once imagined,
or did you carve out something new,
something unexpected, something better?
I hope you still find joy in small things—
the way rain sounds against the window,
the smell of old books,
the way laughter fills a room and makes everything feel lighter.
I hope you’ve learned that mistakes are not the end,
that failure is just a step, not a wall.
That you are more than your achievements,
more than the expectations of others,
more than the doubts that whisper when the lights go out.
If you feel lost, remember this:
You have made it through every hard day so far.
You have found light in the darkest places.
You have been enough, always.
So keep going.
I believe in you.
Always,
Me
