British Council Poetry Competition for School Pupils 2026
The winners
© Andrea Vollmer
© Andrea Vollmer
© Andrea Vollmer
© Andrea Vollmer
© Andrea Vollmer
© Andrea Vollmer
© Andrea Vollmer
© Andrea Vollmer
© Andrea Vollmer
© Andrea Vollmer
The British Council and Haus für Poesie are collaborating to host the seventh annual poetry competition for students in grades 6-12 in Germany. Pupils were asked to write a poem in English or German that refers to and responds to the work 'Again, Again' by Bohdan Piasecki and reflects on the theme of 'Repair'.
We are delighted to announce this year’s winners and offer our warmest congratulations!
1st prize for poems written in English:
Kayoon Song (16), International School, Hannover
Until We Can Breathe
1st prize for poems written in German:
Emilie Bollack-Kirazkaya (14), Annette-von-Droste-Hülshoff-Gymnasium, Düsseldorf
Wieder, wieder
Joint 2nd prize for poems written in English:
Miu Tanaka (13) and Maya D'Souza (12), International School, Hannover
Spinning. (Miu Tanaka)
Green Stitches (Maya D'Souza)
2nd prize for poems written in German:
Coralie Josephine Spohr (12), Labenwolf Gymnasium, Nürnberg
phönix rebootet
Special mentions:
Poems written in German: Mia Mai Gessner, Sarah Zeiss, Emilia G, Asmin Sibel Akyüz, Gloria Reschke, Saskia Beck, Josephine Winter Caisan, Anneke Glade
Poems written in English: Jeongwon Park, Grace Cassel, Ekansh Gupta, Ethan Lorenz, Henrik Dömeland, Alex Lupei, Hiba Makhlouf, Shumirai Zoe Mutetwa, Tim Simon, Zainab Mashmour, Iman Qasem
Class workshop with Bohdan Piasecki (online) awarded to: Werner-von-Siemens-Gymnasium, Magdeburg. Class teacher: Julia Jantz. Special mentions to: Henrik Dömeland, Alex Lupei, Tim Simon
Workshop with Bohdan Piasecki (onsite in Berlin) awarded to: Jeongwon Park, Grace Cassel, Ekansh Gupta, Ethan Lorenz, Leah Faina Eliasson, Jeanne Vallier, Catalina Kaabour, Ida Mairi Mizani, Alexander Ellahi, Valentin Umanets, Livgrete Karges, Victoria Roggenbuck, Helen Peisger
Haus für Poesie open poems workshop awarded to: Mia Mai Gessner, Sarah Zeiss, Henrik Dömeland, Alex Lupei, Hiba Makhlouf, Shumirai Zoe Mutetwa, Tim Simon, Zainab Mashmour, Iman Qasem