2026 Year 5 Second Prize
Every day is work by Arfa
Work, write, work. Every day is work
I just want to talk to my friends and BOOM a fine
Every day I wake up and say "Time to get ready for work"
No matter what
every day is the same
If only I could go to school
I would be so much happier
I could talk to friends, have fun...
Until one day...
Someone called Annie Besant stood up.
Stood up when we all couldn't
She finally revealed the truth to everyone.
about our health, hard work, everything.
After that we all stood up.
We all went on strike.
The boss was furious but we don’t care
After that our life lives changed forever.
July 2026 saw the 138th anniversary of the Matchgirls Strike. On 10th July, to mark the occasion, The Matchgirls Memorial were hosted at the Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives to present prizes of the annual Schools Matchgirls Poetry Competition.
Prizes were presented to the winners of this years school poetry competition from both Blue Gate Fields Junior School and William Patten Primary School. Our judges this year were Dr Anna Robinson and Fawzia Kane.
Arfa won Second Prize in the Year 5 category with the poem, 'Every day is work'.