A student from Foley’s School in Limassol recently secured the first prize in the senior section of the 2025-26 Canterbury Tales Writing Competition.

The Chaucer Heritage Trust awarded Julia Messolonghitis a £300 cash prize while her school’s library received a £1,000 award in support of its educational programmes.

“This was my first time participating in a poetry competition, which I discovered online, after I had already written my poem,” Julia told the Cyprus Mail.

This year’s topic was ‘Happily Ever After?’, which happened to fit her existing poem’s theme.

“I write a lot of poetry, and what I wanted to express is that at the end, no matter what goes on in life, we can always turn to the craft.

“What motivated me further to express myself were my teachers, who have been especially encouraging towards my writing”, she added.

The competition is based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s style.

Julia reacted enthusiastically to the potential idea of similar competitions to be based on Greek poets: “That’s a wonderful idea; I would definitely be open to the challenge”.

The overall experience has made Julia eager to express herself through poetry: “Even if you don’t believe that your work can be appreciated, there is always someone who will see the value in it”.

In Julia’s case, that value was equal to a total of £1,300.

“The most rewarding part of this, is that I felt seen,” she concluded.