Babington Community College student Hibo Deria was among only four youngsters to attend a special reception at 10 Downing Street last week.
The 14-year-old’s dedication and passion for creative writing earned her the invitation to the Prime Minister’s official residence in London via the charity, First Story.
She was among 15 pupils from the school in Beaumont Leys who took part in a reading and writing project by the national charity which arranges and pays for acclaimed writers to run creative-writing workshops for students in state schools.
Poet John Berkovich worked with Babington pupils and those who took part have had their work published in a professionally produced anthology.
Hibo’s poetry impressed First Story so much that she was chosen to attend the reception hosted by the chancellor’s wife, Frances Osborne, herself a published author.
“I spoke to Frances Osborne and she congratulated me on my work. I loved being part of First Story. Some of my friends decided to do it and as time went on I started writing more and more poetry and found I really enjoyed it. The workshops we did were lots of fun so I’m definitely going to carry on writing. I don’t write about anything in particular – just whatever inspires me.”
He said: “The charity targets schools in disadvantaged areas and we saw it as an opportunity to expand on all the good work that’s already going on here at Babington.
“Hibo really took to poetry straight away. All of the sessions take place outside school hours so those taking part have to show a dedication and passion for what they’re doing and that’s exactly what Hibo did.
Babington head teacher Denise Newsome said: “This is a wonderful project and something we’ll continue to be part of. Hibo produced some excellent work and we’re delighted that she had this fantastic opportunity to go to Downing Street.”
“We took this opportunity to invite four students, along with their teachers and headmasters, to represent the four ‘hubs’ in which we currently run our programme: London, Oxford, the East Midlands and West Yorkshire/Lancashire. Hibo was chosen, along with three other fellow students as she distinguished herself during the year not only by her excellent writing but also her enthusiasm and her motivation.”
