A promising poet from an Egremont school was invited to perform at a book festival in Carlisle.

West Lakes Academy Year 11 pupil Nisha Gardner performed Dusting the Phone by Jackie Kay at the Fratry at Carlisle Cathedral.

Her performance at the Borderlines Book Festival came after she won the academy’s heat of Poetry by Heart: a national competition designed to encourage pupils aged 14-18 to recite poems.

“I wanted to take part in the festival because it will be something which will benefit me in the future,” said Nisha.

“One of the Poetry by Heart judges told me how taking part was something different and would set me apart from the crowd.”

Nisha was asked to perform at the festival because she impressed judges at Poetry by Heart’s regional heats.

She said: “I enjoyed taking part as it was something I’ve not done before but it had an aspect of what I do like to do, which is acting.

“It combined both English and drama which are subjects I’d like to study in the future.”

Borderlines Book Festival aims to establish and sustain an annual celebration of the written and spoken word in Carlisle.

“Nisha’s performance was absolutely brilliant,” said Adele Freestone, a teaching assistant at West Lakes Academy.

“She was performing in front of the general public this time, rather than just people linked to the Poetry by Heart competition, so people had paid to see her.”

In the county final of the poetry competition Nisha had also performed Invcitus by Wiliam Ernest Henley.

Originally, the academy’s English department held in-class competitions with all Year 10 students given the challenge to learn a poem.

One student from each of the eight classes was put forward as class champion, getting the chance to perform in the academy final.