A Ripon Grammar School student has won an award for her use of poetry to express feelings about the cancellation of this year’s GCSE exams.

Rebecca Edwards, 16, explained how her poem called An Epidemic of Emotions captured her feelings during lockdown. She said:

“I felt quite pointless after our exams were cancelled. After years of work and preparation we were being sent home empty-handed.”

While the daily routine of being cooped up at home was dull and repetitive, she was heartened by acts of kindness, such as the clapping for carers and small gifts and messages from friends and family:

“My friends and my community went above and beyond. I will be eternally grateful for the love and support of my friends and family at that time.”

Studying English literature, design technology, physics and maths at A-level, Rebecca hopes to become a graphic designer.

Ripon Grammar School

Former RGS student Dr Paul Hullah, professor of poetry at Tokyo’s Meiji Gakuin University and sponsor of the school’s annual Hullah Poetry Trophy competition, described Rebecca’s work as ‘magical and masterful.’

He felt the poem offered hope for the future and added:

 “Let’s write ourselves out of these scary and strangest of times.”

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Rebecca’s poem was selected from the category for students. Dorothy Wood, a parent, won the community section award with her entry, My Journey’s a Day, which reflected on ageing and Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr Hullah commented:

“It made me cry. When poems do that, you know they’ve struck a chord. All the chords struck here are plangent, poignant, and greatly inspirational.”

Fleeting moments

Former RGS student Mrs Wood, from Burton Leonard, whose three older children all attended RGS, where daughter Catherine is in Year 11, fondly remembers her old English teacher Mrs Carrick, saying she was ‘inspirational.’

A qualified accountant, who now runs a gymnastics club, she said witnessing the sad decline of a relative suffering from the dehumanising and painful condition of Alzheimer’s informed her poem. She said:

“I was particularly inspired by the precious, fleeting moments when we glimpse the strong and capable person the sufferer once was, and still is somewhere deep within.”