Poetry by Heart 2017

The English department have run the Poetry by Heart scheme in school for several years now, and it remains popular with students from across the age ranges. The competition asks students to learn a poem by heart, and then recite it to their peers and the staff judging panel, made up of the Mrs Clayton, Miss Hannon and the four House Leaders. This is certainly a daunting task, but it is always fantastic to see so many students getting involved and representing their house. This year’s KS4 competition (plus Jack Shiels, representing Year 9 on his own) took place on Wednesday 18 January in the library. Twenty-one students took part in a fierce competition – it was almost impossible to judge a winner, so high was the standard. However, after much deliberation, the judges chose two winners: James Pusey (10E) and Daniel Vakili (10F). The two boys will now progress to the regional stage of the competition, battling students from across the borough.

Before Christmas, we also held a competition for Years 7 and 8. Students first had to test their mettle in their form round during class time, with each of the English teachers nominating three students from each form to progress to the KS3 final. All staff that witnessed the event were mightily impressed with the bravery on display from these students, as they recited some quite daunting poems! The judges declared Jack Barratt (7E) as the Year 7 winner, with Alex Lynch (7D) in second and William Sweeney (7C) not far behind. Meanwhile, in the Year 8 competition, nothing could separate joint winners Jude Collie (8E) and Albert Campling (8F), with Ruben Lopes (8E) second and Dhruval Patel (8C) third. Well done to all the boys!

Tags: 2016-17, English, News, Poetry by Heart, Year 10, Year 11, Year 7, Year 8, Year 9