Latest News

Young writers wowed a visiting poet as they got creative on their first National Poetry Day.

Year 7 students at Sir Frederick Gibberd College worked with creative writer and spoken word poet Rakaya Fetuga when she spent the day at their brand-new school.

The visit, arranged through The Poetry Society to coincide with the national themed day, introduced students to poetry at the school which opened its doors to its first ever cohort in September.

Working with all classes, Rakaya performed some of her own work before challenging students in groups and individually to come up with their own poems by inspiring them with just a title.

She said: “Today is a chance for students to express themselves and to speak their truth. They have been able to use poetry to put down their thoughts and feelings about things that are important to them.

“They have been so attentive. I just gave them a line and they have been able to come up with all sorts of pieces in response.”

English teacher Mizgin Koker said: “Rakaya has been getting students used to the idea of what poetry is and getting them to have a go at writing their own.

“As we are a brand-new school in our first couple of weeks, we have not yet covered poetry, so this acts as an introduction and a great source of inspiration for students.

“We have been studying Greek Mythology and plan on producing poetry off the back of that to consolidate that knowledge and develop a new skill.

“Today is helping students to realise poetry is not scary or hard; it is an opportunity for them to express their thoughts and feelings about things they are passionate about.

“This has been a great way to warm the students up to poetry before we tackle it in class. It is really exciting.”