A SCHOOL in Darwen won £3,000 worth of state-of-the-art staging equipment after a parent put pen to paper and won a poetry competition.

Allison Mercer, chairwoman of the PTA at St Barnabas Primary School in Knowlesley Road, entered the competition run by schools’ magazine PTA+.

She was stunned to discover she had won the contest, which meant the school would receive the much-needed new equipment.

Mrs Mercer, whose children Spencer, eight, and Niamh, six, are pupils in years two and four at the school, said she was over the moon.

She said: “I write poems as a family thing for people’s weddings and things like that.

“I saw the competition which was to write in 100 words what you would do with the equipment, so I decided to do it as a poem.

“I have entered competitions before but never won, so I couldn’t believe it. It was fabulous to win it.”

Deputy headteacher at the school Helen Thomas said everyone was very grateful to Mrs Mercer.

She said: “We have a very committed PTA here called the Friends of St Barnabas.

“We had a very old stage before that was full of splinters and needed replacing.

“Allison wrote a great poem and we won the stage, which is worth £3,000.

“We have been putting on a lot of local productions here recently and the whole school will benefit from this.

“By the end of the year, every child will have used the stage.

“It is a huge confidence boost for the children and all credit to Allison for doing this.”

ALLISON’S WINNING POEM

We’d use our stage in the most exciting ways,
Talent & fashion shows, quizzes and plays.
Bingo nights, discos, nativities and fayres,
Book clubs and cake sales and dancing in pairs.
Drama and acting and sporting prowess,
Poetry and carols, we’ll all do our best.
Music shows, singing and art exhibitions,
“Forward with Confidence” without inhibitions.
Bringing us together, whatever the age,
We’d benefit so much from our QBuild Stage.
Being creative and having fun,
That’s what we’d do if we won!
It really would be the most valuable tool,
To help us raise money for our wonderful school.