Mrs Graves (Head of English)

It’s that time of year again - the first Thursday of October heralds National Poetry Day celebrations across the country. The timing of this event complements the studies, which our students have been undertaking across the year groups, looking at poetry that focuses on diverse themes and reflects a range of time periods and cultural origins.

Whilst leaves are falling from the trees outside, our ‘Poetree’ is coming back to life, decorated with the poetic musings of girls in Years 7-9. This year’s theme of ‘truth’ has prompted a range of thoughtful and provocative responses, as students consider what relevance truth has in their personal lives and wider society. We hope that as many students as possible will come and see the display and take the time to reflect on the different perspectives being shared about truth.

During Thursday, we invited students and staff to engage with poetry and the chosen theme in a number of ways. We began every English lesson by reading a poem, and considering what it is about poetry which makes it so emotionally effective. We also invited staff in other departments to share poems which they loved in their lessons.

Pop-up poems around the school gave students the opportunity to read and enjoy poems in different environments. Embracing the wider cultural environment of the United Kingdom, we were happy to be able to display some poems, provided by the Forward Arts Foundation, in Welsh, Gaelic and Scots, inviting the girls to consider the role of poetry and language in forming and representing communities.

Having hopefully stirred the poetic imaginations of our students, we look forward to launching a House Poetry Writing competition, turning our collective attention to the theme of ‘change.’ We undeniably live in an ever-changing world, and creative writing is one way in which we hope to empower the girls to give voice to their feelings about these volatile times.