On Sunday 4th July 2026, six Woolmer Hill School pupils took to the stage at the Haslemere Fringe Poetry Slam—and they absolutely blew everyone away! Not only were Woolmer Hill named the Overall Winners of the competition, but they also swept the individual titles!

Woolmer Hill School shared online, “Huge congratulations to all six candidates for showcasing such incredible poetry writing skills and taking the stage with such bravado. We are so incredibly proud of you all!”

The joint winners captivated the audience with two powerful and thought-provoking performances:

"I Am a Tree" by LP – a moving reflection on the resilience of nature and the urgent need to protect it.

"The Vultures" by US – a passionate and compelling call to action highlighting the vital role vultures play in our ecosystems and the devastating impact of human activity.

Both poems showcased incredible creativity, confidence and environmental awareness, delivering important messages with skill and emotion. Well done to these two young poets and everyone involved in representing Woolmer Hill at the Poetry Slam.

With permission from the young poets and their school, we have published their poems in full below:

I am a tree, by LP

I am a tree

I stand tall

I have seen a lot

You could say I’ve seen it all

Yet you want to see me fall?

I’ve seen heartache and heartbreak

Growth and death

Peace and war and love and hate

You could say I've seen it all

Yet you want to see me fall?

I’ve withstood Winter’s frost and icy blast

The Spring sprout around my roots

I’ve seen the sweltering Summer heatwaves

I shelter passersby from the rain and picnics from the sun

You can say I’ve seen it all

Yet you want to see me fall.

I give you flower and fruit and bark and wood

I give you everything I can and more

Yet you strip me, you cut me, you burn me and you break me

Til I’m nothing but a stump.

The Vultures, by US

The vultures in the sky are no longer flying, they are dying.

Those who refuse are lying, conservationists are sighing

I know it sounds like I’m whining

But you are all denying that their lives we are buying

The conservationists are now crying

This species is dying.

We cannot revive

Even if we tried

Gone for ever

Guess your plan is not so clever

Stop the poison,

Stop the poison

You poison our minds

And poison their food

Now you’re just being cruel

Picture this:

Land full of carrion

Death around every corner

Decaying animals that won’t be disposed of

“They weren’t there before”

Well, this species you did shove

To the side, ignored the pleas

Now our once clean world is plagued with disease.

Our planet needs this clean-up crew

Yet they are being hated on, poisoned, what should we do?

They are just doing their job, let them enjoy their meal

Without the poachers squealing a delighted squeal…

At the sight of their death

Their logic has no sense

They will keep killing, keep poisoning just to put money in their pocket

They make a profit

They make a profit