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Pupils from Norwich Primary Academy explored the magical and imaginative forest of BeWILDerwood in search of inspiration for the Briar Chemical poetry competition.

A fun filled morning of outdoor adventures, organised by Briar Chemicals, inspired a group of pupils; with a trip on the BeWILDerboat through the marshes and exploring in the treehouses. The children enjoyed activities such as whizzing around on the Wobbly Wires zip wire and finding their way through the Muddle Maze.

Exploring Nature is the theme of this year’s Young Poets of the Year competition and Tom Blofeld, author and creator of BeWILDerwood, is a first-stage judge for the competition. Mr Blofeld said:

As an author, inspiring children to write is simply what I’m all about.

“I’ve been appointed as one of the first stage judges and I’m very much looking forward to reading all of the poetry entries and seeing how children interpret Exploring Nature from their point of view.”

Pupils exploring at BeWILDerwood adventure park for poetry competition
Author and creator of BeWILDerwood, Tom Blofeld with pupils from Norwich Primary Academy

Lindsay Pierssene, Assistant Head of Year 2 and 3 at Norwich Primary Academy, and Literacy coordinator, said:

Everyone had an absolutely fantastic time. They particularly enjoyed the Sky Maze because they had to work together as a team to find their way out.

With the closing date for entries just under two weeks away, there is still time for youngsters across the region to find inspiration in the natural world.

Briar Chemicals organise trip to adventure park
Exploring and climbing tree houses at the adventure park

The final stage judge for this year’s poetry competition is TV zoologist and Cbeebies presenter Jess French. Miss French visited Wensum Junior School, with a host of creepy crawlies and bugs, to launch the competition in April.

There are two age categories: eight and nine-year-olds, and 10 and 11-year-olds.

The winner of each age category will receive £100 and each of their schools will receive £500, courtesy of Briar Chemicals. Briar Chemicals will also donate £500 to help support Miss French’s chosen charity, the Sumatran Orangutan Society. The winners and runners-up will also receive copies of her book Chimp Rescue: The True Story of Chinoise.

The competition winners will be announced in October as part of the Norwich Science Festival at the Forum in Norwich, on 18-30 October 2016.

The first stage judges are Prof Anne Osbourn from the John Innes Centre and founder of SAW Trust (Science, Art and Writing); Simon Proctor from the EDP; Tom Blofeld, author and creator of BeWILDerwood and Sarah Piercy from Briar Chemicals.

The closing date for the competition is 15th July 2016.

For more information about the competition, please download the entry form below or email poetry.competition@briarchemicals.com

Download entry form here Poetry Competition Entry Form