In March, the English Department’s Morison Verse Speaking Competition saw Year 7 and Year 8 girls involved in delivering a wide range of recitations and poetry performances.

Fifteen girls from Year 7 delighted the audience with recitations of published poems, ranging from Lewis Carroll’s ‘The Jaberwocky’ and Michael Rosen’s ‘The Car Trip’ to Pablo Neruda’s ‘If You Forget Me’ and Walter de la Mare’s ‘Snow’. Tahira Fitzherbert won the Year 7 round with her wonderfully varied and confident performance of Hilaire Belloc’s ‘Matilda’, whilst Molly Fenwick was runner-up with her quietly humorous rendition of Spike Milligan’s ‘The Baboon’. Sofia Watson was highly commended for her lively performance of Roald Dahl’s ‘The Pig’. Year 8 performed a series of self-penned ballads. Caitlin Sinclair and Bo Wetherall were joint winters of the best written ballad, whilst Adelina Donaldson, Daisy Cloonan, Matilde Monteforte, Ria Villait and Grace Wormald won the best performance category.