27th January 2025
Our Year 11 students are to be commended for their exceptional engagement at the recent GCSE Poetry Live! event at Symphony Hall. Throughout the afternoon, students demonstrated enthusiasm and maturity, offering insightful reflections and participating in lively discussions about the poems.
A special mention goes to Vanessa from 11H1 for her remarkable courage in asking Poet, Imtiaz Dharker, a perceptive question about the profound significance of the final line in her poem 'Tissue' in front of the entire audience.
The students were also deeply inspired by the legendary poet John Agard, whose powerful performance of 'Checking out me History' – a firm favorite in our lessons – encouraged us all to reflect on the values that shape our shared histories and how these values contribute to our individual identities.
The students were exemplary representatives of the school, and it was a privilege to witness their genuine enjoyment of live poetry and their thoughtful engagement with the studied texts.
Student Alexa in 11T2, wrote this review:
On Tuesday 21st January, we had the privilege of attending Poetry Live! thanks to the English department - here we were able to experience poems from our anthology, spoken from the poets themselves. This meant that not only could we learn more about the context of the poem, but we could also comprehend more deeply the emotions of the writers regarding relevant topics in our society. Personally, I love the work of Carol Ann Duffy, who was present at the event. However, being there allowed us to explore the creations of different poets, like Daljit Nagra, who perfectly exhibited key symbols in his poems whilst also truly understanding his audience of Year 11 students. Some favourites among my peers were Imtiaz Dharker and John Agard. It’s fascinating to learn about one's raw experiences and feelings in such a beautiful and articulate format. Overall, we are massively grateful to the teachers, as well as Daniel Powell and the poets, for enabling us as GCSE students to benefit from such a significant event in developing our understanding of various different poems."