Work of Young Poets Features at Local Underground Stations
Competition winners displayed for World Poetry Day
The Light by Liam at Ealing Common. Picture: TfL
March 22, 2025
Passengers using stations across west London may have noticed display boards featuring poems from young local poets.
These are excerpts from the winning pieces from West London College’s 'Student with Voices’ competition and are being placed at seven stations - Acton Town, Barons Court, Chiswick Park, Ealing Broadway, Ealing Common, Hammersmith and Ravenscourt Park.
This is to coincide with World Poetry Day which was this Friday (21 March).
The competition included 20 schools in Ealing and 20 schools in Hammersmith and Fulham, with young people challenged to write about various themes from wellbeing and mental health to sports, arts and creative media. More than 130 students from Foundation Learning, Art and Design and Health and Social Care entered poems, which were judged by published poets Kavita Hansla and Alex Murdock.
This celebration of poetry follows the recent launch of the latest Poems on the Underground series, which has been running for almost 40 years – with the first posters appearing on the London Underground in 1986.
Earlier in the week, Irish poets John Hurley, Shakira Newton, Tumi Salu and Paul Gerard Dalton treated customers to recordings of Irish poetry at Charing Cross and Covent Garden stations to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. These recordings were made in collaboration with the Irish Embassy. Customers heard multiple poems on topics ranging from love to immigration to Irish identity.
Sabeena Shah, Assistant Principal Quality, Safeguarding & Learner Experience at West London College, said, "We are incredibly proud to see our students’ creativity showcased across the TfL network for World Poetry Day. The 'Student with Voices' competition has given young people in west London a platform to express themselves through poetry, covering themes that matter to them – from wellbeing to the arts. This collaboration with TfL highlights the power of words to inspire and connect communities, and we hope these poems will resonate with all who see them.”
Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said, “For decades TfL has brought poetry to the millions travelling on its network every day and Poems on the Underground has become much loved by so many. It’s fantastic to celebrate World Poetry Day by giving talented young pupils the chance to have their works shown too. I’m sure these poems will delight and inspire Londoners and visitors on their journeys, as we build a better London for everyone.”
Mark Evers, Chief Customer Officer at TfL, added, "It is great to see that these poems, created by talented west London students, will be displayed on our network to celebrate World Poetry Day. TfL has long supported public arts and Poems on the Underground has been displaying some of the best poets for nearly 40 years. We hope that by supporting the 'Student with Voices' competition, we will help create the next wave of poets for Poems on the Underground."
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