Celebrating Our Young People: The This Is Me! 500 Words Competition 2025–26
Across New Bridge Multi Academy Trust this year, we launched a competition with a simple but powerful question:
Who are you?
The This Is Me! 500 Words Competition invited children and young people from across our schools to share their identities, interests, passions, challenges, hopes and aspirations through writing, poetry, multimedia projects, performances and visual creations.
What followed was nothing short of extraordinary.
A Celebration of Individuality
The competition was designed to give every learner a voice and an opportunity to tell their story in a way that worked for them. For some pupils this meant writing autobiographies, poems and personal reflections. For others it meant creating visual collages, presentations, music tracks and performances.
The judging panel encountered heartfelt personal stories; inspirational accounts of overcoming adversity; powerful reflections on disability and difference; celebrations of family, friendship and identity; creative fictional narratives; artwork and multimedia projects that spoke as powerfully as words; messages of kindness, acceptance and inclusion.
Every entry reminded us that no two young people are the same, and that our diversity is something to be celebrated.
The Judging Process
Judging this year's competition was an incredible privilege, but also an enormous challenge.
The quality of entries was exceptional. We were inspired by the honesty, courage, humour and creativity shown across every key stage. Many learners shared deeply personal stories. Others made us laugh, think, reflect and see the world through a different perspective.
The competition became far more than a writing exercise. It became a celebration of resilience, self-belief, creativity, identity, belonging and hope.
Publishing Young People's Voices
To ensure these remarkable pieces of work can be enjoyed by a wider audience, we are currently seeking permissions from families to publish the winning and highly commended entries in a digital eBook.
Subject to permissions, the publication will be released via Apple Books, creating a lasting celebration of the incredible voices across our Trust.
Celebrating Our Winners
Key Stage 5
1st Place: Thomas
Thomas's powerful celebration of football, family and ambition captured the judges' attention. His passion for Oldham Athletic, Arsenal and his dream of becoming a striker shone through every word.
2nd Place: Harry
Harry's creativity and attention to detail shone through his writing about creating paper models, drawing and storytelling.
3rd Place: Savannah
Savannah's visual entry demonstrated imagination, originality and a strong sense of personal identity.
Key Stage 4
1st Place: Sarah
Sarah's breathtaking poem about living with narcolepsy, cataplexy, anxiety and depression was a deeply moving reflection on resilience, belonging and self-discovery. It left a lasting impact on every member of the judging panel.
2nd Place: Jamie
Jamie's authentic voice, reflections on creativity and discussion of personal growth created an engaging and memorable piece.
3rd Place: Harry Benson
Harry's love of history and his reflections on leadership through the Royal Air Cadets demonstrated maturity, knowledge and confidence.
Highly Commended
- Millie
- Isabella
Key Stage 3
1st Place: Ella-Marie
Ella-Marie's poem about acceptance, difference and inclusion delivered a powerful message that perfectly reflected the spirit of the competition.
2nd Place: Libby
Libby's reflections on disability, creativity, identity and kindness created an inspiring and thought-provoking entry.
3rd Place: Tommy
Tommy's imaginative writing, vivid imagery and unique perspective made his work stand out.
Highly Commended
- George & Teddy
- Callum
- James
- Caiden
Key Stage 2
1st Place: Beaux
Beaux's autobiography was hilarious, original and brilliantly written. Her storytelling voice captivated the judges from beginning to end.
2nd Place: Rory
Rory's honest and heartfelt reflection on family, friendship and resilience demonstrated tremendous courage and authenticity.
3rd Place: Class 5 from Spring Brook Academy
Class 5 impressed the judges with a poem that celebrated friendship, teamwork and the importance of being proud of who you are. Through the repeated phrase “This is us”, the class created a strong sense of identity and belonging, while sharing honest reflections on overcoming challenges, never giving up and celebrating individuality.
Highly Commended
- Toby
- Rocco
- Oliver
- BW
- HF
Key Stage 1
1st Place: Class 7 from Spring Brook Academy
Class 7 captured our hearts with a vibrant poem and accompanying performance that celebrated individuality, resilience and self-belief.
Thank You
The success of this competition would not have been possible without the extraordinary support of staff across every school. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Headteachers, Literacy Leads, Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Support Staff, Families and, most importantly, our incredible learners for embracing the spirit of This Is Me! and helping create something truly special.
Every entry mattered.
Every word mattered.
Every child mattered.
This year's competition reminded us of something profoundly important: when children are given the opportunity to share their voices, they have remarkable stories to tell.
And what a privilege it has been to listen. To that end, we’d like to share Sarah Gillard’s poem. Sarah is a student at Sprinboard Project.
Didn’t grow up easy.
My body betrayed me before I even knew its name
narcolepsy pulling me under,
cataplexy dropping me without warning,
like the world could snatch my strength whenever it felt like it.
People saw the fall, but never the fear.
They saw the tired eyes,
but never the nights I lay awake
begging my own body to behave.
And anger grew from that.
Not because I was cruel, but because I was hurting.
Because I was drowning in a life
that moved too fast for me to keep up.
Because every time I tried to stand tall,
my legs, my mind, my energy gave out beneath me.
I used to shout without meaning to,
break without wanting to,
shake without choosing to.
I didn’t know how to hold myself together
when everything inside me felt like it was tearing apart.
Mainstream school made it worse.
Crowds pressed in like walls,
voices blurred into noise,
and I felt myself shrinking smaller and smaller
until I wasn’t sure I existed at all.
Depression didn’t arrive loudly – it crept in quietly,
sitting beside me in classrooms,
following me down corridors,
whispering that I didn’t belong,
that I was too much trouble,
too different, too broken.
Anxiety wrapped around my ribs
like hands that wouldn’t let go.
Every day felt like a battle
I was losing before it even began.
I hated the noise.
I hated the crowds.
I hated the feeling of being watched
and misunderstood
and judged for things I couldn’t control.
But then
something shifted.
A door opened.
A school saw me, not the symptoms.
Not the falls.
Not the anger.
Me.
They didn’t ask me to be normal.
They asked me what I needed.
They didn’t punish my struggles.
They supported them.
They didn’t make me feel small.
They made me feel safe.
And slowly,
the storms inside me softened.
The anger melted.
The anxiety loosened its grip.
I learned to breathe again.
I learned to trust myself again.
I learned that I wasn’t broken.
I was surviving.
I was growing.
I was becoming someone stronger
than everything that tried to pull me down.
I still carry weight, but I also carry light.
I still face battles,
but I also face them standing.
I still fall,
but I rise every single time.
This is my story,
not of weakness,
but of becoming.
Not of pain,
but of power.
Not of being misunderstood,
but finally being seen.
Writing Competition
