A Reflection on Being a Royal High Girl

Last July, Head, Heidi-Jayne Boyes, invited our Poet Laureate, Tatyana, to write a poem capturing what it means to be a Royal High girl. Almost exactly one year later, we are delighted to share her words with our school community.

Tatyana's poem is a thoughtful and heartfelt reflection on her time at Royal High School Bath, celebrating the experiences, friendships and opportunities that have shaped her journey. During her tenure as Poet Laureate, Tatyana used her exceptional talent to mark many significant moments in the life of the school, creating poetry that inspired and united our community.

We are incredibly grateful to Tatyana for this wonderful piece of writing and for the creativity, insight and dedication she brought to her role as Poet Laureate. We hope you enjoy reading her powerful reflection on what it means to be a Royal High girl.

Do Not Deny Your Daughters Their Teeth

A poem for the Royal High Girl
By Tatyana Gow - RHB Poet Laureate 2025-26

Pigtailed, dimpled, she sits
Utterly unaware, 
Of the furor around her, 
And the violets in her hair. 

Her finger traces the words: 
Vincit Veritas—Truth Conquers All. 
And a hunger stirs within her, 
At that unyielding call. 

Her mind, free from the trappings, 
Of her everyday fears, 
She slips inside the pages, 
And suddenly disappears. 

The preface is the first to go, 
Dissected and then devoured. 
Her thoughts bloom with colour, 
Awash with newfound power. 

Each sentence is savoured, 
The spine cleaved apart, 
A thousand parallel lives, 
Shaping the frame of her heart.  

The novels are in the Sophie Cam, 
Dog-eared and outworn. 
The chatter melts to murmurs, 
As something vital is born. 

Why she huddles over a book, 
Even she cannot explain. 
The facts somehow transfix her, 
And illuminate her brain. 

Anthologies and manuals, 
Epistolaries and memoirs, 
Her plate is a writing desk, 
And what she swallows are stars. 

She rolls equations around her mouth, 
To keep the hunger at bay, 
She sketches, sings, experiments, 
Beneath our stone archway.

Resurfacing from the chapters, 
In pursuit of making her mark, 
Across the Hive her workings scatter, 
Bright evidence of her spark. 

And when she strings words together, 
Something inside her mends, 
For knowledge grows in the giving, 
And flourishes among friends. 

Words blossom from their tongues, 
And coalesce under their skin,
They name each sorrow they carry, 
And each glorious win. 

Together they sharpen one another, 
Each voice, each question, each truth; 
Growing not only in wisdom, 
But in courage, kindness, youth. 

Do not deny your daughters their teeth, 
For to be hungry is to be blessed, 
Their hearts are no longer on their sleeves, 
But stitched into the Royal High crest.  

June 2026

Do Not Deny Your Daughters Their Teeth - Tatyana Gow 2026