Inspired by a recent Honda advertisement, Year 10 students from John Kyrle High School have been writing sonnets on bananas. The classic fourteen line poetic form fits perfectly onto a banana and the experience of writing with a biro on a banana is definitely not to be missed as the advertisement suggests.

The sonnets could be on any subject as long as they conformed to the strict demands of the form. Themes ranged from traditional topics such as love, death and war to more original ideas including a recent theatre trip, a football game and a hymn of praise to the humble chick pea.

The main purpose of the exercise was to encourage creativity but Head of English, Ben Abbott expressed his delight at how the challenge had led the students to a real appreciation of the skills needed to construct a poem in a form made famous by Shakespeare and many subsequent poets.

War

The sun rises into dangerous skies,
The sounds of the gunshots pummel my ears;
Hundreds of men are swatted like flies,
The ongoing battle won't end in years.
'Over the top!' the lieutenant commands,
By trekking over where once brave men fell,
The short road to death, with weapon in hand,
It gave the terrible thoughts of hell.
My faithful companions will fight 'til death,
Alongside me often they fall in pain,
Their final words muttered under their breath,
Their dreams of a family down the drain.
Now I remember back to those who've died,
Think in respect but glad to survive.

Luke Bedford

Love

The subject has bewildered many a soul,
For lack of substance, rules and prediction.
Sometimes it brings a gloomy black hole,
More often joy only described in fiction.
Such rarity, to hide therefore selfish,
Wear it with pride for the whole world to see,
Let it consume, complete your every wish,
Make you the person that you long to be.
Shout out from the rooftops, call through the town,
The language of love flows eloquently;
Step forth boldly, to your lover pronounce,
Have no fear what may come subsequently.
For better to give your sweet heart the choice,
Than live yielding to a love with no voice.

Liz Nicholls

Gorseley Goffs Girls Football Team took part in the Primary Schools Mini Soccer Silver Shield recently and did very well, winning the runners up trophy.

The Silver Shield Tournament is an event organized by Herefordshire Football Association and on the day, Gorsley Goffs Girls drew one game and won the rest. They played 'Burg Hill' in the final and only narrowly lost 1 - 0.

In the photograph, the team proudly show off their trophies in the beautiful grounds of Gorsley Goffs School.