On Monday 17th  October, twelve Aquinas entrants to this year’s Poetry Aloud competition set off with Ms McCaul,poems learnt, to the historic Linenhall Library. Our pupils from Years 8,9 and 10 took part in the junior category of the competition among  over 80 other juniors from across Northern Ireland.

Each pupil had to recite two poems in front of a packed auditorium and three adjudicators :’Lament for Thomas McDonagh,’ by Francis Ledwidge, and another poem from a prescribed list.The choices  of poems our pupils made showed a range of style and themes thus giving plenty of variety!

While all of the  Aquinas team did themselves and their school proud it was Year 9 pupil,Olivia Feron,who guaranteed a place for herself in the National semi-finals with her polished and remarkable  delivery of the Ledwidge poem and secondly,the Frost classic -‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’.

Olivia will  go on to perform in the semi final which takes place inThe National Library, Dublin,along with the other regional qualifiers from across Ireland. We wish Olivia the best of luck In November.