33 children from primary schools across Somerset, Bristol, and Dorset have had their animal-inspired poems put together into a book.

The School Literacy Network's (SLN) annual poetry competition for primary schools was this year run in conjunction with the RSPCA under the theme 'Animals Matter.'

Children aged between four and 11 were invited to write poems showing their understanding of animals' needs and feelings, in line with the RSPCA's mission for a world where all animals are respected and treated with kindness and compassion.

More than 2,500 entries were considered by a team of judges, including poet Annie Fisher and head judge Alice Litchfield from RSPCA West Hatch near Taunton.

Winners in each category were selected from a shortlist of 32 highly commended works.

The winners were from Key Stage 1, Lower and Upper Key Stage 2.

The victorious schools included West Pennard Church of England School, Wellsprings School in Taunton, Upton Noble Church of England Primary School, Trull Church of England Primary School, and many others.

(Image: SCN)

A book was then created featuring a selection of the entries, with copies being presented to the contributors and their schools, as well as being stocked at the RSPCA West Hatch near Taunton.

SLN manager Dora Allen said: "The response was overwhelming.

"The poems covered a wide range of animals, from bats to blobfish and whales to warthogs, displaying some incredible emotion and understanding around the lives of domestic and wild animals.

"The quality this year was exceptionally high and made the judging process extremely difficult."

She added: "The School Literacy Network would like to extend its thanks to the RSPCA for being a part of this project, Toyota (GB) who funded the production of the book and the poet Annie Fisher who put her literary weight behind the materials that the pupils used.

"We are already planning next year’s theme, which will be Nonsense Poetry, so watch this space."

Cara, a year 6 pupil at Bishop Henderson School in Taunton, said: "We really enjoyed the poetry competition.

"We got to use our imagination.

"It has really inspired me to write more poems and has helped when we have written poems in class this year."

Teddy, also in year 6 at Bishop Henderson School, added: "It was so much fun to write the poems and know they might get published.

"We learnt a lot about the animals before we wrote our poems.

"I found out that sharks actually have 10 rows of teeth."

The Somerset Literacy Network was established in 2010 to provide schools with access to high-quality English support and resources.