A talented teenager from Wilmslow has won the Cheshire Poetry by Heart competition after using her own experiences of childhood confusion to inform her poetry.
GCSE student Ciara Allen was among 40 of the top young readers of verse nationwide to compete at the British Library, winning the title of Cheshire Champion.
Ciara, 15, chose 'Remembrance' by Emily Bronte in the pre-1914 section and 'Originally' by today's Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy in the post-First World War category.
She said: "I chose poems which touched me personally, particularly the Carol Ann Duffy piece, which is all about leaving your home and feeling out of place in your new surroundings. I remember feeling like that when we left Holland when I was aged nine and it did take sometime to get used to my new home. Now I love where we live, but for a while it was confusing."
Ciara, who wants to study English Literature, Psychology and French in King's Sixth Form followed by English Literature at university, said: "You have to live the emotion in both your voice and your facial gestures. It's not about making dramatic gestures as though you were on stage, but evoking the meaning and emotion of the words, as if a camera was on your face."
She added "I didn't have to practise that much.I find it quite easy to memorise the words, especially when I feel I understand the meaning and I suppose it only took two or three hours of practice to perfect each poem."
King's English Teacher Hannah Crockart accompanied Ciara to London. Hannah said: "There are many reasons why Ciara is such an exceptional reciter. She empathises really well with the writer's emotions, understands the narrative track and the changes in mood and intensity. She is able to portray the different ideas and themes and, of course, her annunciation, pronunciation and facial expressions are outstanding."
