THE Gloucestershire final of a UK poetry recitation competition takes place in Stroud next month.

Poetry By Heart - a national competition for students in schools and colleges - is being held at Hawkwood College, on Wednesday 10 February at 1.30pm. Launched by Sir Andrew Motion in December 2012 as a pioneering initiative of the Poetry Archive, it is now a success in its third year. Schools and colleges across England have held Poetry By Heart contests for students aged 14-18 and the winners are set to gather at regional events around the country.

From there, these school winners will further compete for a place at the national finals, from 17th to 19th March, at Homerton College, Cambridge.

Come and support your local students and hear the competitors recite poems from the specially selected timeline anthology covering 1000 years of our literary heritage from Beowulf in 1000 to Andrew Motion in 2014, and via many poets you may know, and others you don’t. At this year's regional events, students will have the option of reciting a poem from a specially commissioned online anthology of poetry about the First World War, created in 2014 to commemorate the centenary.

To find out more visit the website: poetrybyheart.org.uk, email info@poetrybyheart.org.uk or phone 0117 9055338.

The competition for Gloucestershire schools will take place at Hawkwood, Stroud on Wednesday 10 February, at 1.30pm. Organic and fair-trade beverages and snacks will be available for sale.

MC: Kevan Manwaring Guest Poet: Adam Horovitz Friends, family and the general public are welcome to this free event, book in advance – 40 spaces available. Ring Hawkwood 01453 759034 email info@hawkwoodcollege.co.uk