Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), has launched a national poetry competition designed to stir their children’s imaginations and show them that there is life outside of tech.

The poetry competition seas Govia Thameslink Railway teaming up with Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho.

Research has shown that 80% of parents wish that there were alternatives to tech. gadgets to keep their children occupied when they were travelling, especially as traditional travel games such as ‘I Spy’ are largely forgotten.

The competition is open to children aged between 5 and 13, and all they need to do is to write a short poem about somewhere they love visiting using Govia Thameslink’s Southern, Great Northern, or Thameslink trains, or places they think others should visit by train.

Children can submit their entries any time between now and 23:59 on Friday, 10 May.

Govia Thameslink Railway and Joseph Coelho will judge all entries based on their language, structure and theme.

Full details about the competition, together with an entry form, can be found at:

• Southern – Poetry in motion (southernrailway.com),
• Thameslink – Poetry in motion (thameslinkrailway.com), or
• Great Northern – Poetry in motion (greatnorthernrail.com).

Ten lucky winners will receive a free return train ticket for themselves and four family members.

Their poems will be displayed on trains and at stations across the Govia Thameslink Railway network where they can be read and admired by travellers far and wide.

To inspire aspiring poets, Joseph Coelho has written his own piece, titled To Hastings We Go!, which was inspired by a family’s exciting trip to Hastings by train.

This is not the first time that a railway company has run a poetry competition, as last November train operator Lumo ran a similar one for children in Newcastle and Gateshead, and the Tyne and Wear Metro is displaying poetry in some of its stations.

Poetry is a wonderful way to get children exploring their innate creativity and their voice, helping them to see that their words have power. One of my earliest memories of writing is during a poetry competition when I was twelve years old, so I am truly looking forward to reading the entries. I encourage the youngsters who get involved in GTR’s poetry competition to have fun with it and good luck to all who enter.”

Children’s Lauraye, Joseph Coelho

Travelling by train is a great way to entertain kids, as the journey becomes part of the experience, but as a mother myself, I know how hard it can be to keep children occupied when on the move. This poetry competition is a fantastic distraction aimed at sparking children’s creativity. We hope to inspire young explorers to take on an adventure by train this summer, with our far-reaching network that helps open the door to more!

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director at GTR