RHYMING couplets were put under the spotlight as a Yardley school welcomed Birmingham’s former Poet Laureate.
Esposito Giovanni (Spoz) paid a visit to Cockshut Hill School on National Poetry Day on October 3 to host a poetry workshop.
Pupils were called on to demonstrate their oracy skills, written creativity, leadership, teamwork and presentation skills throughout the day.
Spoz was Birmingham’s Poet Laureate and is an award-winning performance poet, singer/songwriter, film maker, playwright and the poet-in-residence at Birmingham City FC.
He was one of six ‘Bards of Brum’ in the 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.
Marc O’Malley, acting principal at Cockshut Hill, said: “I want to say a big thank you to Spoz for taking the time to come along and run a poetry workshop with some of our learners.
“I know that by the end of the session the group left not only feeling more confident about their oracy skills, but also with new found appreciation for poetry.”
National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 by the charity Forward Arts Foundation and encourages people to make, experience and share poetry. It is held annually on the first Thursday in October.
As part of their Annual Literacy Survey in early 2023, the National Literacy Trust asked more than 60,000 children and young people aged 8 to 18 across the UK whether they read or write poetry.
In 2023, just over a quarter (26.7 per cent) of children and young people said that they read poetry in their free time at least once a month, with 16.3 per cent reading poems on paper, 7.5 per cent reading poems on screen and 2.9 per cent reading poems across both media.
