YOUNG public speakers have been given the chance to put their skills to the test in a national poetry reading competition.

Students from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington, took part in Poetry by Heart, a national competition open to all students aged 14-18.

The group of ten performed each recited two poems, one from pre-1914 and one post-1914 piece, in front of an audience in the college hall.

The competition was judged by Calvin Kipling headteacher of Darlington School of Maths and Science, Sue Richardson headteacher of the Education Village and Peter Barron, editor of The Northern Echo.

There was also an audience vote for the favourite poem and performance.

The overall winner was Lizzie Aumonier with her performances of Eliot’s Journey of the Magi and Procter’s Envy, who will now go through to the regional finals in Middlesbrough.

She said: “It was a fun night. I really enjoyed it and gained a lot from being involved. I hope to do well in the regional finals.”

Thomas Parsons-Munn came second, while Alice Morley was third.

Alice also won the audience vote for her performance of Sylvia Plath’s The Applicant.

Julie Ashmore, head of English Literature at QE, said: “The range of poems chosen was delightful; students really took the poems to heart and communicated them with heartfelt emotion.”