Following on from the success of the summer poetry competition, Carr Hill students recently enjoyed a John Betjeman Poetry Society workshop, awarded due to the number of high quality entries presented by pupils.
The workshop, which was hosted by poet, storyteller and photographer John Rice, was attended by 20 students from years seven to 13. All the students in attendance had been long listed for their entries to the summer poetry competition and the more recent Water Word and Image competition, which combined both words and images.
English teacher, Miss Fry, helped to organise the event working closely with library staff and John Rice. Together they selected a collection of books and anthologies to use in the workshop so that pupils had a wide range of poetry books to gain inspiration and ideas from.
Kieran, in year 12, was one of the pupils to attend the workshop. He said: “I am really interested in writing in general and found the workshop very inspiring. The tips and suggestions we were given to improve our writing skills were really useful.”
As a result of the workshop Kieran plans to set up a creative writing club in January so that other pupils can share and develop their interest in writing. Kieran said: “I saw how much the other pupils were enjoying the workshop and thought I would act on John Rice’s idea to set up our own workshop. This will probably take place once a week, during a lunch time and will hopefully start early next term.”
Miss Fry said: “The John Betjeman Poetry Society workshop was a great way to reward students for their hard work and encourage them to learn more about the art of poetry.
“I am delighted that Kieran has decided to set up a club as a result of the workshop. It shows that there is a real motivation amongst our pupils to be creative and learn more about the arts.”
Pupils were not the only ones who enjoyed the day with poet John Rice praising the efforts of all those who took part in the workshop. John said: “The young writers were marvellously enthusiastic and they worked hard throughout the day showing the kind of talent that the John Betjeman competition has invested in.
“Judging from this school alone, the efforts of the competition organisers have been justly rewarded. I would say that, without doubt, this was the most committed and talented group of secondary school poets, storytellers and writers that I have worked with since I moved to the north of England. They were truly remarkable and I enjoyed every single minute of the day.”
Other Images
A WAY WITH WORDS
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