Festival Aims to Inspire Pupils’ Love of Poetry
March 21, 2009
While most adults can quote a line or two of Shakespeare, few can recite a whole poem, let alone do it in front of an audience — but that’s exactly what Smallwood Manor pupils, Oliver Fanning and Luke Collins, have done to win poetry cups at their school’s poetry festival.
The school, based in Uttoxeter and part of the Woodard Group, staged the festival in order to inspire a love of poetry amongst its 93 pre-prep and prep school pupils.
At the beginning of January, teachers introduced poetry to their lessons, helping youngsters to explore the rhythm and language used within the prose. Each child was then asked to choose a poem that they enjoyed reading and to learn it by heart.
Once they memorised the poem, the teachers then helped them to polish their performance, so that they could not only read it clearly but also emphasise the true meaning of the poem. Each child was then asked to perform their chosen poem in class. The recitals were marked out of 20 and the marks each child received were allocated to their house total.
The finalists from each class then went through to the Poetry Festival competition, which was judged by Hettie Beetham, Smallwood Manor’s Drama and LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) teacher. The pupils were awarded marks for intonation and rhythm; correct pronunciation and stress; memory; and confidence during the recital.
The junior cup was awarded to Oliver Fanning for his reading of ‘Maths My Way’ by Carol Diggory Shields, whilst Luke Collins’ recital of ‘Chemistry Class’ by Gareth Lancaster secured the senior cup. And Cedars House received an average of 16.2 marks out of 20, making it the winning house.
Speaking about the Poetry Festival, Headteacher Christopher Cann, said that he was impressed with the poems that the children had selected and the quality of their recitals.
‘Congratulations to winners, Oliver and Luke as well as to Cedars House. All the children performed extremely well and I know that it was extremely difficult for Mrs Beetham to choose winners.
‘Most young children love poetry but as they grow older it seems to loose its magic and is frequently described as ‘dull and boring’. That’s because poetry is designed to be read out loud and listened too, not studied quietly by yourself.
‘Reading poetry allows both the speaker and the listener to understand the tone, mood, rhythm, rhyme, and pace of the language used — and this brings the verse to life. That’s why the performance is such an important part of our own poetry festival here at Smallwood Manor.’
