England international visited Brook House Primary School

Tottenham Hotspur defender Kieran Trippier visited Brook House Primary School this week as part of ‘Premier League Writing Stars’, a poetry competition supported by the National Literacy Trust, for children aged five to 11.

Backed by names from the worlds of football and literature, the campaign is open to all primary schools in England and Wales and aims to get young people writing poetry in different creative forms.

England international Trippier joined pupils and teachers for a Premier League Writing Stars session, helping children with poetry-based activities and inspiring them to develop their own entries.

“It was great to meet the children at Brook House Primary School today and to hear some of the poetry they are working on,” said the 27-year-old.

“Being resilient is important to people of all ages, from all walks of life — as professional players, we need to demonstrate a great level of resilience, particularly if we have lost a game or had an injury as we need to be able to bounce back and work harder.

“It’s important to never give up and I hope that some of the advice I gave the children today will inspire them to keep trying and working hard at school.”

Inspired by the William Hickson poem ‘Try, Try Again’, which is recited by footballers in the recent Premier League Primary Stars advertising campaign, the competition asks school children to write around the theme of resilience; what does it mean to you to try and try again?

Entries can be any form of poetic writing, including a rap or music lyrics. Teachers and parents can register or nominate their child’s school to take part at PLPrimaryStars.com.

The judging panel includes former professional footballer and children’s author Frank Lampard; ‘Charlie and Lola’ author and Children’s Laureate Lauren Child; Everton footballer and lyricist Yannick Bolasie and Young People’s Laureate for London Caleb Femi. All judging will be overseen by Jonathan Douglas, National Literacy Trust director.

Entries will be considered against a range of criteria including creativity, tone and originality. The winning poems will be published in a limited-edition book. Other prizes include author-led writing workshops and Premier League trophy school visits, as well as winning poems being read aloud by football stars. The first 1,000 schools that enter the competition will receive a bespoke ‘Book Bag’.

• Tottenham Hotspur are one of 88 Premier League, English Football League and National League clubs in England and Wales which provides in-school support through Premier League Primary Stars.

This is the Premier League’s most ambitious community programme to date and has already engaged more than 10,000 primary schools and 13,000 teachers in England and Wales.