A SIXTH form student is looking forward to seeing her work in print next week, after winning praise for her entry into a nationwide Golden Jubilee poetry competition.

Josephine Mbwana, 18, of St Margaret's School, in Merry Hill Road, Bushey, is one of 50 young writers selected to feature in the anthology Fifty Jubilee Poems published next week.

Josephine who currently lives in Peckham, London, and boards at the school during the week, was encouraged to submit her poem, Mama Africa Weeps, by her English teacher, Mrs Joanne Cox.

The poem focuses on a theme close to the poet's own heart: the working lives of people living in Africa and how current oppression gets in the way of its advancement.

Josephine has been writing poetry as an outlet for self-expression for more than a year.

She said: "I didn't write the poem, specifically for the competition, I wrote it a while back, and for me it has real meaning.

"I love to write and do so whenever I feel in the mood as an outlet and kind of form of self-expression."

The poem was selected from the hundreds entered, by an independent panel of judges headed by Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, who has autographed a copy of the anthology, which will be presented to the young contributor at the school on Tuesday.

The student, who claimed the school's Poetry Prize of the Year, said: "I never thought it would be published. I was so excited when I first found out and couldn't stop smiling all day."

Mrs Cox said: "Josephine's position in the anthology is one that is richly deserved, she has an original voice and one that I am glad will finally be heard.

"I think this is just the beginning for Josephine, who has a great amount of talent and a great deal to say."

July 4, 2002 15:30