Emily Carter wins award presented by Poet Laureate

Emily Carter with Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy

Emily Carter was presented with an award at the Rochdale Literature and Ideas Festival by the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.

Emily’s piece of writing about a rowing competition was “highly commended” and saw her invited to the awards ceremony at Rochdale Central Library.

Emily said: “In the past, I’ve entered writing competitions and never heard back but I thought I’d take a chance anyway. So I was overjoyed when I heard the news.

“I knew the Poet Laureate was important so I was thrilled to find out that she was presenting me with an award. I feel privileged to have met her and the fact that she told me personally to ‘keep on writing’ made me feel great.”

Emily entered the writing competition at the festival along with fellow GCSE students Joe Simms, Clarence Dumanjug and Kacper Amanowski, all from St Cuthbert’s Business and Enterprise College.

The competition challenged young people to write about a day in their life, in no more than 500 words.

The four entries submitted by the St Cuthbert’s students were selected as some of the best and appeared on the festival's blog.

The event showcased some of the best writing from young people across the borough, along with a reading from Carol Ann Duffy, which included a new poem about one of the country’s greatest writers, William Shakespeare.

Carol Ann Duffy later presented Emily and other young writers with a certificate for their outstanding achievement.