Pupils write poetry for the princess

Primary pupils are hoping for the royal seal of approval after writing poetry to commemorate the birth of Princess Charlotte. Children from Newcastle-under-Lyme Junior School turned to verse to capture their thoughts about the baby's future as the fourth in line to the throne.

Now their collection of poems has been sent to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge ahead of the princess's christening on July 5.

The seven and eight-year-olds were spurred into action after hearing how England's Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, had chosen not to write a poem to mark the special occasion.

Around 14 pupils took up the literary challenge as part of a group at school for gifted young writers.

Nine-year-old Zaara Farhan, from the Westlands, said: "The words just came to me. I thought of sentences that would describe the princess and what she would be like.

"She is going to grow up with a different lifestyle to everyone else. But it would be quite hard to grow up as royalty.

"You'd have lots of things to do and everyone would be watching you."

Zaara enjoys writing and likes to craft the language in her work.

The poems are addressed to the royal baby and give an insight into the tensions between wanting to be an ordinary child and leading an extraordinary life.

Seven-year-old Olivia Berrisford, from the Westlands, reckons the responsibility of being a princess would be an onerous one.

"You'd have to make choices and decisions," she said.

"I found the royal birth quite interesting and I saw a picture of Kate and William leaving hospital with the baby. I started to find out a bit more about the subject."

Olivia's poem refers to Princess Charlotte as being 'wrapped in pearl-white blankets'.

She wrote: "Your life stretches ahead of you. I hope you have lots of true friends, that you never fail any tests at school. Try not to boast to others."

Before writing the poems, pupils read Philip Larkin's 'Born Yesterday' to draw inspiration.

Nine-year-old Louis Morgan, from Market Drayton, said: "I feel quite excited that of all the people in the world, the Royal Family could now be reading our poems. It must be strange to be royalty.

"You can't just say, 'I don't want to be king at the moment because I don't feel like it'. You also rule over people."

He added: "It's a good idea to write poetry for special occasions. We could also write poems when the Army parades through town or something important happens at school.

"I like writing poetry. And if you read it aloud in the right tone of voice, it's something special. It makes you feel proud to share it."

The writing group at school has tackled lots of different assignments, but this is the first time the children have addressed their work to a princess.

Other activities have included tackling cryptic crosswords and anagrams to help stretch their vocabulary.

Deputy head Mike Erian said: "We've also used music and art as a stimulus for writing. They are using literary techniques that you wouldn't expect a seven or eight-year-old to know.

"The poetry they have created is brilliant. It's sweet and innocent, as well as being very well-written and imaginative."

The children's work has also been entered into a competition in The Spectator magazine.