The Royal Parks are calling for all aspiring wordsmiths to submit entries for a winter poetry competition.   

Children aged between seven and 11 are invited to put pen to paper and come up with themed poems celebrating the wonder of winter.   

The winning entry will then be carved into stone at a new reading and storytelling area at Brompton Cemetery in West Brompton, Kensington.   

The Royal Parks are a charity that care for the eight royal parks across London, including Greenwich Park.   

The Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Councillor Danny Thorpe, has been tasked with the difficult job of picking a winner.   

Cllr Thorpe said: “As many children are learning from home this is a fantastic opportunity to get our creativity flowing and show how fantastic our young poets are.   

“It will not be an easy job to pick a winner but I am really excited to see what our brilliant students come up with.   

“Winter can be a tough period as the days are longer but it will be fantastic to see how students apply themselves and come up with what I’m sure will be amazing poems.”  

The competition asks for poems which are “inspired by the sounds, smells and sights of winter walks as you stay well outdoors and immerse yourself in nature”.  

Poems must be a maximum of 20 lines long and can be in any verse. If an applicant has written a longer poem then a 20-line segment can be selected and submitted instead.   

The winning entry, along with the poet’s name, will then be carved out into stone to celebrate the new storytelling area.   

Entries must be submitted before Friday 12 February. For more information and to apply, click here.