We were thrilled this year to take part in the Poetry Live competition, hosted by St Mary’s University, Twickenham. The aim of the languages-focused content is for students to practise their speaking skills by reciting poetry in their chosen language, French or Spanish. All Year 8 students took part in the school round of the competition, which took place during their MFL lessons. Standard was very high, and teachers found it difficult to select the finalists. After much deliberation, Zayd Kapadi (8Br) and Chris Kolev (8Ad) were chosen for Spanish, while Joe Gilmour (8Am) and Harshdeep Matharu (8Bl) were chosen for French.
The grand final, then, was held at the university on Tuesday 19 June. It was a great event, with schools from across London taking part. Our boys did a fantastic job over the two-part competition. In the first part, students recited their chosen programme for the packed audience. Then, in part 2, students were given an unseen poem (i.e. one they had never heard before) and, after short practice time, recited it for the crowd. A tough ask, but our boys did brilliantly. Although none of them emerged victorious, they could be rightly proud. They were fitting ambassadors for Isleworth & Syon School.
Below you can see the final performances from Zayd, Joe and Harshdeep.
