A collection of modern sonnets inspired by poet Hannah Lowe's decade teaching in an inner London school has been named the Costa Book of the Year. Her book The Kids was described as a joy to read by the chair of judges, journalist and BBC News presenter Reeta Chakrabarti.

Lowe won £30,000 for her work that was described as "poignant, witty, thoughtful and universal", with its 66 sonnets conveying the highs and lows of teaching A-level English.

It also offered fictionalised portraits of some of her own students.

Presenter Chakrabarti said: "The Kids is fresh, and original. When I first picked it up, I thought, goodness me, I haven't read anything like this before.

"It's a book of poetry that is written in the sonnet form, but it is so fresh and immediate and modern that you sometimes don't feel like you're reading poetry. You just feel like she's speaking to you."

The sonnet, with its 14 lines and strict rhyme scheme, dates back centuries. But in this collection, Hannah Lowe has taken it to unexpected places - with richly rewarding results. The collection also draws on Lowe's own experiences as a teenager and a mother.

Lowe said that the sonnets have a particular energy, and having to fit a structure "pushes your imagination to a new place".

"So often you'll find yourself going beyond the memory and beyond the documentary truth, even," she said. "And then the sonnet, it just seemed like the right form for these poems, because I often had to teach the sonnet.

"I started writing poetry because I enthused myself about poetry through teaching it. I sometimes felt I was the only person getting enthused in some of my lessons. But there's a direct relationship, which is why, in a way, it made sense for me to then write about teaching."

A lecturer in creative writing at Brunel University, Ilford-born Hannah left teaching in schools in 2012. The Costa Book Awards are among the UK's most prestigious book prizes and have been going for 50 years.

The other Costa Book Award winners were:

·         First novel award - Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

·         Novel award - Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller

·         Biography award - Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston

·         Children's book award - The Crossing by Manjeet Mann

The Kids was also shortlisted for this year's TS Eliot Prize.