Wizard performance commended as Colyton Grammar School student is named runner up at ‘Harry Potter” venue
A Colyton Grammar School student has won a major cash prize in a national poetry contest.
Luke van den Barselaar, 17, was named runner up in the Christopher Tower Poetry Competition for his poem Research.
It is the second year that Luke has featured in the final stages of the contest – last time he was on the ‘long-list’ of contenders but just missed out on a prize.
The competition is in its 13th year and is one of the most prestigious poetry prizes for under 18s in the UK. Some 614 students entered, representing 322 schools.
Luke was invited to Christ Church College, Oxford, where he was photographed and interviewed in the dining hall, which is used in the hit series of Harry Potter films, accepting the award, along with the other prize-winners.
Luke, the only male in the final six, received a ‘significant’ cash prize for his poem.
He said the experience was ‘surreal’, adding that it was “a really good day”.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here