Writing club students at St Thomas More College in Sunnybank can now call themselves award-winning poets after taking home the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Award – Senior Secondary Award for Best Overall Standard of Entries.
Every Thursday, the passionate young writers meet in their lunch break to share their writings, ideas and develop their skills under the guidance of English Teacher, Ben Potts.
Acting English Academic Leader Kate King said the students decided to enter the awards to join with like-minded students from around the country through a platform that celebrates Australia's young poets.
"We were thrilled the students were recognised for not only their talent but also their dedication and passion for their craft," Kate said.
"It has been a great initiative to be involved in – the students were able to experiment with ideas and have lots of fun in their writing club meetings where their passion for poetry blooms."
Writing everything from poems, short stories and fiction, students say the club provides a creative outlet in "an inclusive and non-judgmental space".
"It's a place to go and have fun, write whatever you want and share your story and poems with the people around you."
"What I enjoy most about writing club is I get to have conversations with other people who are really interested in writing like I am."
"I like reading other people's work and seeing what they've done."
"The thing I enjoy most about writing club is the creativity that I can bring, and that it's an inclusive and non-judgmental space."
St Thomas More College Principal Les Conroy said the students' award "is a tremendous achievement".
"We encourage students to explore their world through poetry," Mr Conroy said.
"It's deeply personal and a wonderful expression of what it means to be human."
The annual awards are Australia's longest-running poetry competition, dedicated to the iconic bush poet Dorothea Mackellar who wrote Australia's most quoted and beloved poem, "My Country".
With entries reaching almost 7500 Australia-wide, the competition challenges students to put their imagination and creativity to the test.
Judge Sherryl Clark said, "the poems from their (St Thomas More College) students were adventurous, passionate and well-crafted, and would make a great collection for the school to publish if they wanted to."
The College was featured in the online national presentation ceremony which can be viewed at
Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards and in the video below (skip to 58:13 to watch St Thomas More College's presentation).