A STUDENT from Oxford has won a prestigious poetry award.

Linnet Drury, 17, of Oxford Spires School beat 6,000 other young poets to win the Foyle Young Poets of the Year award, 2020.

The international Poetry Society’s competition had 6,791 entries submitted from 118 countries and only picked 15 winners.

Read here: Over 10,000 kids in Oxfordshire are eligible for free meals

The poetry competition saw a 44 per cent increase of entrants compared to the previous year.

Ms Drury said: "Getting the Foyle award has been a really great experience.

“In any artistic venture when you put something of yourself into it, that is quite vulnerable, so it’s nice to have something very personal recognised and shared.

Read more: Oxfordshire MPs respond to free school meal vote

“I am really glad to be part of this celebration of poetry, especially in this year with poetry dropped off the GCSE course, to spread the message that poetry is something for everyone, whatever your background, and especially for young people.

“I wrote the poems I entered into the Foyle during lockdown, and it’s shown that poetry can be an amazing tool for capturing a moment in these difficult and uncertain times, and owning it."

The young poet has been writing poetry since she was 11 and in those years has been commended for several prizes."

Ms Drury added: “I like to write poems that channel my everyday feelings and experiences to capture details, moments and people in my life.”