Wakefield schools invited to take part in West Yorkshire Poetry Week

Primary and secondary schools across the district have been urged to get involved a week-long programme of poetry activity which includes in-person workshops with local poets; a virtual celebration event on World Poetry Day on Tuesday, March 21;, an ‘ideas and inspiration’ workshop with poet Sharena Lee Satti; creative careers panel event with Kirklees Local Television Studio; and events with Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and the Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin.

Participating schools will receive a Poetry Week Toolkit as well as classroom resources to support ongoing activity and build a culture of writing for pleasure across lessons.

The West Yorkshire Poetry Week aims to emphasise the joy and fun of poetry, and build the confidence and communication skills of the young people taking part. It is hoped that they will also be inspired to explore careers in the creative industries having learned how writing can help unlock opportunities.

Ms Brabin said: “Creative arts enrich our lives, bringing inspiration and joy to people of all ages and backgrounds. I’m thrilled to launch this initiative alongside the esteemed Simon Armitage and cannot wait to hear the work of our brilliant young poets. It’s fantastic that so many will get an opportunity to boost their literacy skills and confidence throughout this important week.”

It comes after research, from the National Literacy Trust, shows that half of children and young people who write poetry say it makes them feel happy (49 per cent) or confident (48 per cent), and two thirds say it helps them express themselves and their feelings (68 per cent).

The research also showed that children from more disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to read (31 per cent vs 24 per cent ) and write (22 per cent vs 17 per cent) poetry than their more affluent peers.

They will have the opportunity to learn from and engage with Mr Armitage and Ms Brabin in their duties and attend a number of key cultural events which they will be commissioned to write poems about.

A programme to support young laureates was originally the brainchild of the Poet Laureate Mr Armitage, who is also spearheading an ambitious project to establish a National Poetry Centre in Leeds that delivers benefit to people of all ages and backgrounds.

He said: “Poetry is art, it’s fun or it’s serious; it’s a way of thinking about the world and a way of telling the world what it feels like to be human. The West Yorkshire Young Poet Laureate programme will give every student in the region a chance to explore ideas and learn how far language can take them in life.”

Schools will also be encouraged to enter their budding poets into a region-wide competition to appoint West Yorkshire’s first-ever Young Poet Laureates.

The two young laureates, one in primary and one in secondary school, will be in post for a year once selected.

The West Yorkshire Poetry Week runs from Monday March 20 to Friday March 24.